Shakily, Nico got back up onto his feet, "Was that supposed to mean something ? That was just a history lesson"

Hypnos smiled again, wide and sinister, " The past holds more truths than you give it credit for, di Angelo... and your past, in particular... is returning... to "bite you" as the prophecy said"

Nico went pale. His past ? That could be referring to anything, to anyone. Did he mean Talos, the bronze giant who had taken away his sister from him ? Did he mean Tartarus ? He knew that Nyx had to be a part of this, since she was the one he had to stop, but Hypnos didn't seem the type to waste words on re-explaining the obvious, so who was he talking about ? Who ? Who ? Who ?

At last, he looked up, confused beyond compare, to look Hypnos in the eyes, "Alright, I'll bite. What do you mean ?"

Hypnos grinned again, "Telling you outright wouldn't be very fun, now, would it ?"

"You bitch"

Hypnos threw back his head and laughed, an ethereal, airy kind of laugh, tinkling and soft, and yet it seemed to fill the room, "Ah, death-spawn, you truly are something else. Insulting a god ? Are all you children of the Big Three so bold... or so careless ?"

"What can I say, you tend to stop giving a fuck about anything after being hunted by monsters for a few years"

Hypnos smirked, "I suppose so. In any case, the time has come. A path must be chosen, ghost king" As he spoke, the world seemed to shift and warp. Hypnos looked around for a moment, confused, before a look realization dawned on his face, "You are awakening. Your time in my realm has come to an end. In that case, heed my final message, Angel of Death, for it's answer decides the fate of the universe. Does your dim heart heal... or destroy ?"

With those words, The world faded away into a black void, which slowly filled with light as Nico's eyes... his real ones, this time... opened to the sight of the train's interior, and almost immediately, Nico heard something whispering, it's voice an indistinct murmur amidst the sounds of the other passengers. He closed his eyes again, sending out a pulse of death-magic out into the floor and walls of the train, only to immediately snap his eyes open.

Right there, just outside the train... was a writhing mass of darkness, invisible to the naked eye, but more than visible to his death-magic. It was black, the blackest black Nico had ever seen... and stars flickered within it's form, almost like it wasn't composed of darkness... but of night. It's voiced sounded again, a whisper, sending a tingle down Nico's spine

"O Enkataleimménos, O Forsaken one, our Mistress demands this... and her will will not be denied"

Shit

He turned to look at Will, who, though unable to use death-magic, had clearly sensed something as well, because he looked alert and ready to fight. "Where ?", Will asked, his diamond-blue eyes narrowed with determination, and Nico allowed himself a few seconds to admire the way the harsh mid-day sunlight glinted off of the sapphire discs of his irises, before remembering the giant night-monster right outside the train.

"Right outside the train", he responded.

"What ?"

"Servant of Nyx, most likely"

Will and Nico stood up, drawing their weapons. Nico took another moment to wonder what the Mist was showing the mortals... if it was showing them anything. Judging by the horrified looks on their faces, whatever Nyx was doing was also interfering with the Mist

Luckily, they didn't have to worry about that for long, as a disembodied force struck the train doors, making the whole vehicle shudder. It pulled back. Nico and Will approached the doors, before, with an almighty crash, it struck the doors again, sending it flying off it's hinges.

"It's here", Nico warned.

Will turned to him with a look that practically screamed sarcasm, "Oh really ? I didn't notice".

Nico smirked, "Just in case", before his face smoothed out into a far graver expression, "Do we stay inside the train, or battle outside it ?"

"Outside. Far too much risk of collateral damage inside"

"My thoughts exactly"

The force struck again, this time leaving a dent in the floor, just barely missing the two demigods as they jumped towards the now-empty doorway of the train. They clambered onto the roof of the train, the sound of the wind, and the crashing waves below loud in their ears. The train was passing over a bridge, resulting in quite the impressive view from their spot on it's roof. Unfortunately, they had no time to admire it as the force struck again, this time hitting a spot right beside Nico, who jumped in a mix of fear and wariness as it hit, leaving yet another dent in the roof

"This is a lot of damage to public property", Will shouted over the sounds of the roaring wind, "Think we're gonna get blamed for this ?"

"With our luck ? Yeah"

Will and Nico stared at each other for a second, before Will sheepishly interjected, "Err... Now what ?"

Nico stared back, a horrible realization dawning on him. They... didn't actually have a way to combat the beast. They could avoid it, sure... but they couldn't hurt it. Nico believed that he summed their current situation up quite nicely with the words he spoke next

"Fuck"

Will looked back nervously, "Yeah"

"What do we do ?"

"Keep avoiding it until we get to NYC ?"

That was... not an option. Nico's muscles were already starting to tire out. No way would he last until NYC

"Not possible", he grimaced. So that was it, then. They were screwed. Eventually one of them would get too tired to keep avoiding the monster and get crushed to a bloody paste by it... and Nico had the sinking feeling that if that were to happen, the other person would just give up and let themselves be killed.

Nico looked down from the roof. It was a long drop to the water, but with enough luck, they might be able to survive the fall. He looked back at Will, who immediately started mouthing the word "No" at him. Apparently he was wrong. Still, couldn't hurt to try, right ?

He was just about to take a flying leap from the bridge when a loud voice sounded from the side of the train, distracting him long enough for Will to grab him and pull him back from the edge, berating him for being "an idiot" as he did

The voice sounded again, " INCANTARE ! LUX SPEI !"

For a moment, all was silent, before a brilliant white light appeared out of nowhere, nearly blinding Nico and Will. Blinking rapidly against the harsh light, Nico looked up, and saw, with no small degree of satisfaction, the light ripping through the servant of Nyx, tearing it to shreds as it let out almost-demonic-sounding screeches and wails, until the last shred of the monster had disappeared amidst the blinding light

Then, as quickly as it came, the light faded