Being in a tropical country feels really different from back home. I'm starting to understand why so many people keep going to tropical countries like Indonesia. The sun is really warm, it's hot actually. It's the perfect place to get yourself tanned.
I've changed to a Hawaiian t-shirt and short beach pants with a pair of beach sandals and sunglasses.
We enter "Eternity", one of the wooden café huts, looking for someone who we have absolutely no idea how the person looks like and not even a gender. All we know is that the letter specifies for us to go here and we'll be able to find them.
I grumble in my thoughts the moment we set foot here, gods are really alike whether they are the elder gods or the Olympians, they only tell so little information and expect us to work it out. I guess they're doing it on purpose, it's fun after all for them to watch us struggle.
I look around in the hut, they don't really have doors or windows, the doors and windows are simply empty spaces, probably so the tourists can feel and enjoy the scenery and the breeze. Then again, it's pretty standard for cafes and bars like this to have this kind of design in a tropical country. The entrance is on the both sides of "Eternity", allowing people to come and go as they please. The bar has a great view of the beach and the ocean, at the opposite end of the bar is the normal chairs and tables.
I look around, trying to find this mysterious person that told us to come here. It shouldn't be that hard, so far the people that want to see us is either strange freaky gods, or people that want to kill us.

'Mr. Jackson.' Says a man sitting on the bar. 'Please take a seat.' He gestures to the seats next to him.
He has a buff body, wearing a white plain t-shirt and a short white pants. Somehow he looks quite normal actually, except for his face.
He has silky thick brown hair that is pushed back, some of his hair escape to his forehead. He's handsome, and around the age of early thirty, but that's not the weird part. His face somehow looks timeless... Like it has that feature that makes you think that time has no effect on his face. He has a regal face that makes him look like a king in Europe. Also... Instead of pupils, he has clocks as eyes.
I take a seat next to him, and Calypso sits next to me.

'So which god are you?' I ask right away.

He smiles, 'Can't you tell, Mr. Jackson? Do my eyes not give you the answer that you seek?'

I roll my eyes, 'I'm sorry, I must have missed "Get to know the primordial gods" class.'

He chuckles, 'Even in the presence of an almighty power, you have yet show fear... Interesting, it's not like you do not know fear.. You just chose to confront it. That's what I call true bravery.'

I don't feel happy at all from his praise, it feels like nothing good can ever come from the gods, not even a simple praise. 'Thank you, but what I want to know is who you are.' Even I can feel my gratitude is hollow.

He smiles to me, 'I am Aeon, the personification of Eternity.'

I raise my eyebrow, 'Eternity?'

He smirks, 'When someone talked about forever and ever, they were talking about me. When they talked about eternal time, I was the one they mean by that. In a way... I am a purer form of love than Aphrodite herself. Nothing is more beautiful and romantic than eternal time. You might even say that the idea of immortality is based on me.'

I look to him carefully. 'Why did you summon us here?'
The bartender places a long drink glass with orange liquid inside and a funny straw in front of Aeon.

Aeon takes the glass, and holds it out. 'Long Island ice tea, Mr. Jackson?' He asks.

'I'm underage.'

He chuckles, 'What does age have to do with anything, Mr. Jackson? You have done so many heroic things that one person cannot hope to do even in multiple lifetimes. Age is merely a number, Mr. Jackson. What matters is what you've done during your time alive.' He says.

'And I'm on a quest to save Olympus, I don't have the time to sit idly here sipping drinks.' I reply.

Aeon sighs, 'Such a rush... Then again, you mortals are always in a rush because of your limited time.'
Aeon snaps his fingers. Suddenly everything else stops moving except for Calypso and I. The people around freeze where they stand and sit, the balls that have been thrown are now hanging still in the air. The wind stops breezing and the gulls stop chirping. It's like someone just hits a giant pause button on the world, it feels like—

'Time has frozen.' Aeon finishes the sentence in my mind.

I look to him cautiously, 'What did you do!?'

Aeon shrugs, 'Since you appear to be in such a rush, I'm giving you more time.' Aeon smirks, 'Now how about that drink?'

I stay silent for a minute, 'I still have to say no.'

Aeon sighs, he turns to Calpyso, 'What about you, my dear sweet Calypso..?'

Calypso looks uncomfortable with Aeon, 'Thank you, Lord Aeon, but I have to say no as well.' She says respectfully.

Aeon drinks from the straw, he shrugs, 'What a pity, to not start enjoying the little things in life earlier.' He smirks, 'Especially when you might die anytime soon.'

'I appreciate the concern but can you tell us why you summoned us, now?' I ask impatiently.

Aeon points to a lighthouse that looks small, probably because it's at the far end of this island, 'Your destination lies at the top of that tower, Mr. Jackson. We will be waiting for you there.' He smirks.
Strange, I never notice the pale white lighthouse before, even though it's hard not to notice that.

'Aeon, I have a question.'

He looks intrigued, 'Ask away.'

'Why are we really here? I've been thrown from one part of the world to the other without ever really knowing why. What lies there, at that lighthouse? What do you want from us?'

He smiles, 'Getting a bit sick of saving the world, are you now? What would your friends think if they see the hero of Olympus' faith and belief are wavering.'

I shook my head, 'No, I'm just sick of you gods.' I mean every word that I've said. I just really want an explanation from my dad, why did he abandon Matthew..? Why didn't he save him? If he had helped Matthew and his mother, Matthew wouldn't have died. He probably could have lived a long happy life and died naturally. Not by the edge of my blade.
I bite my lips, remembering again how I ended his life.

Aeon glances to the lighthouse, 'Worry not, Mr. Jackson. In that lighthouse lies the answer to your question, and with it, a way to return to your beloved.'
Annabeth... Her face comes across in my mind once more... It feels so long since I last saw her, maybe it has already been that long. I miss her so much that it hurts do bad.

'I'm guessing that you won't just hand them to me?' I sneer.

He smiles wickedly, 'Now where's the fun in that..?' He takes one last sip at his drink, and then he stands up. 'We'll be waiting, Mr. Jackson.'
He starts to glow brightly. Both Calypso and I turn away. The light dissipates slowly, and Aeon is gone from sight. Everything starts to move again, like someone just pressed play on the world. I don't know if what Aeon did affect the whole world, but it's scary to think that they can easily influence this planet however they see fit.

Calypso touches my shoulder, 'Percy, don't go.' She looks to me with pleading eyes.
I look to her, unsure of what to say. She's right after all, whenever a primordial god told me to go somewhere, I ended up hurt, or worse.

'We don't have much choice.' I say to her.
She looks down sadly, I'm sure she knows that I'm right as well. If we want to proceed forward, we have to do what they say.
I clench my fists, remembering what I've said to Pontus. I swore that I would never play by their rules, but I only have one objective and that is to save all the other sons of Poseidon. I will smash this game apart, even if it requires me playing it nicely before I am able to do so.

I sigh and forces a smile, 'Let's go.'
Calypso nods, but she's not convinced.
We get off from our seats and start walking toward the lighthouse. It took us half an hour and a lot of asking around before we're finally able to stand in front of the lighthouse. Surprisingly enough, Calypso speaks fluent Bahasa, the national language in Indonesia. She told me that there's actually a lot of other types of language here in Indonesia, but mainly everybody speaks Bahasa. She also mentioned that Malaysia is using a similar kind of language which they also call Bahasa. From reading that many books over the centuries, she said. It's funny to think that we could finally enjoy walking around here in a resort island even if it's just for a couple of minutes while Calypso told me a bit about Indonesia. I wish that Annabeth could have been here with me... Gods, I miss her.
The lighthouse that stands in front of us is pale white in colors, and has a lot of cracks all over it. It's around ten meters tall, shaped like a tall slim cylinder and looks really big from all the way down here. No light is coming out of the top of the lighthouse. Figures, there's still a lot of daylight after all. There's only one entrance and no windows, the main door is colored gray, like it's not depressing enough already.
I approach the main door and reach for the handle. I pause when I hold the handle, I turn back to Calypso while still holding the handle.

'Are you ready?' I ask.
Calypso looks scared, but she nods.
I takes a deep breath and let it out, and then I turn back to the door and turn the handle, I swing the door open.