Hey there lads and lasses who're reading this for the first time/returning readers:
Right now, I'm reviewing this story and I feel like there's things that can be improved, hence why I've gone back to chapter 1 and written this.
I feel like some of the latter chapters (2-6) aren't as top-notch as I want them to be, and I know some people may wanna click off due to this. I really hope you don't though, because I'm fixing up my messes in later chapters to try and make up for it. If you're able to, leave reviews so that I know what to improve if I ever decide to rewrite them.
This is my second fanfic that I've really actually...well, tried hard, for the lack of a better term, and I really hope I won't disappoint.
Anyway, I've occupied your time long enough. Enjoy the story.
Percy was broken.
Physically, he was in tip top shape.
Mentally, he had snapped.
Annabeth's betrayal on Olympus stung. He had treated her as a close friend, and she had betrayed him.
Her love for Luke was simply too strong.
His friends were mostly dead. Thalia was hanging on by a thread, Nico had all but disappeared, Luke was dead, and the whole camp had ousted him as a traitor simply 'because Annabeth says so, her mom said so, and Athena is never wrong'.
The worst part? Some of the gods believed it when evidence was presented.
Zeus, the ever paranoid egotistical jerk, instantly believed it when he heard the news.
Hera despised him as a demigod. Naturally, she supported her husband as well.
Athena chose to turn a blind eye on the evidence that proved his innocence. After all, it was her daughter who ousted him as a traitor, and while she didn't like her daughter for turning over to the titans, she believed her.
Dionysus simply wanted him out of his camp. "One less ungrateful brat to deal with," he had said.
Ares still wanted to turn him into a human Bolognese sauce.
Demeter stayed out of this, as did Hephaestus and Hermes. Aphrodite initially supported Percy as well, but after being threatened by Zeus and Ares, she had to stand down.
Poseidon, his own father, was forced to stay neutral as he was at risk of getting voted off. And after the war in the oceans, with his city destroyed and his domains in turmoil, he was in no position to fight off 5 gods at once.
Percy didn't blame him for not sticking up for him.
In the end, only Artemis, who firmly believed in his loyalty, Apollo who was the god of truth, Hestia who was the goddess of the hearth and family, and Hades who came to begrudgingly respect the demigod supported him. At least, supported him without fearing backlash.
The gods voted for a blandishment of the demigod in Olympus. Demeter, Hephaestus and Hermes were forced to vote for Zeus. Percy apologized to them, knowing that it wasn't in their interest to. Even though Poseidon and Aphrodite went against the king of Gods and voted for Percy, alongside Artemis, Apollo and Hades, Percy was still banished. Hestia, sadly, couldn't vote for him as she didn't have a seat in the council.
Of course, Zeus had to make the banishment cruel for him and amplified his scent by tenth fold.
His parents were zapped by Zeus' lightning. Hades ensured they got the isles of blest, but Percy still felt like he was breaking apart internally.
Oh, and Zeus got Styx to remove the blessing of Achilles too. How they did that, he didn't know. He didn't care. It wasn't like he could get that back anyway.
Now, in a clearing in a forest, Percy knelt on the edge of a lake. After being separated from civilization for almost a year, he was ready to give up. He initially got visits from Hestia, but after Zeus stormed his campsite, smothered out the flames and literally dragged Hestia back to Olympus with the aid of the male gods who voted against him (minus Hephaestus and Hermes), he was left alone and isolated.
He encountered the hunters of Artemis thrice. The first time, he was nearly killed when Hunters mistook him for a rapist. The second time, they didn't recognise the haggard man who stood before them. The third time, they welcomed him into the hunt, and he cleaned himself and shaved-only to be driven out as Athena and Hera literally kicked him out.
The hunters knew who he was, and knew his back story. Their patron, Artemis, firmly knew that Percy didn't betray Olympus after her brother told her the truth. The hunters were informed of this, and a small tale was passed from hunter to hunter, telling the tale of Perseus the saviour and how he was 'the only respectable male' on the planet. New hunters were told to not kill any male with tanned skin, sea green eyes and unruly black hair, and seemingly lived in the wild.
Still, even though the few moments he spent with the hunt helped him for another few months, his mental state finally couldn't hold out anymore and he fell into a spiral of depression and insanity. The titan war finally caught up to him, and he couldn't even get a good nights sleep in without waking up screaming and thrashing around.
Killing monsters became a pain for Percy. He couldn't lift his blade without remembering his friends, his comrades.
And finally, that night, he snapped.
He was kneeling at the edge of a lake, mindlessly conjuring water constructs. His father had blessed him with better hydrokinesis, and he could control water like an extension of his limbs. He let his mind wander, before he looked at his construct and almost fainted.
It was-or, were Bianca and Zoë. At least, water statues of them.
His heart froze. His head spun, and a sick feeling rushed through his body. His hands trembled, and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.
"You lied!" Nico's voice penetrated through his mind.
"Give this to Nico…" he heard Bianca's voice.
Memories flashed in his mind-the hades statue, Bianca's laugh, Zoë's piercing yet oddly warm glare.
"The stars, milady. I can see the stars."
"Stars."
It was too much.
His failures finally overcame the crumbling wall of his mental defences.
Unconsciously, he uncapped riptide, and grasped the hilt.
The blade slowly rotated, and the tip pointed towards the wielded of the blade.
Percy pushed the tip against his rib cage, just between his bones. His heart thumped just inches away from the sharp tip, and Percy slowly pushed. The tip pierced his skin, and blood began pouring out.
Percy grinned sadistically.
Looking at the two statues of the huntresses, he willed the water to freeze into ice. He stared at Biana's face, forever locked in that laugh he remembered so clearly when he joked with her and the quest on her first-and last-quest.
He looked at Zoë's statue, and reminisced all the times he'd seen her under the moonlight, glowing like the ethereal figure she was, her stern features softening under the moonlit night.
He remembered the pledge Bianca took in the tent.
"I, Bianca di angelo, pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maiden hood, and join the hunt."
Unconsciously, words formed in his mind, and Percy muttered them out under his breath as he stared at the twin statues, the two girls he wished to protect the most forever frozen in time, shimmering under the moonlight.
"I, Percy Jackson, offer my soul and pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, may my soul be pure and chaste, and be pledged to the hunt. May my soul redeem my failures, and may my sacrifice honor those who have fallen."
He began glowing a dull silver. Not that he noticed, as he shoved the blade into his chest.
The last sight he saw was of the two statues, glinting under the moonlight. The stars dimmed above him as he exhaled. A trickle of blood ran down his lips and chin, and he toppled sideways as a silver flash illuminated the area.
A moment later, Percy Jackson was no more.
—
Artemis was ready to spend a peaceful night in her hunter's camp.
Imagine her surprise when she heard her hunter's pledge spoken by a male voice in her ear.
I, Percy Jackson, offer my soul and pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, may my soul be pure and chaste, and be pledged to the hunt. May my soul redeem my failures, and may my sacrifice honor those who have fallen.
The pledge sickened her to the core. The words were twisted, dark. It sounded insane, and she did not know why this pledge was even sounding in her ear.
But what surprised her the most was the person who pledged themselves to her.
Pinpointing the origin of the Pledge, she immediately flashed to the location, only to see Percy, with his trusty sword stuck in his chest, topple sideways and exhale one last time.
She rushed to the side of the saviour of Olympus, frantically checking for a pulse, for any signs of living even.
She could feel nothing.
His normally vibrant sea green eyes were dull and listless. His limbs were limp, and blood spilled from his wound.
Percy Jackson was dead.
Artemis lowered her head and sighed. The only respectable male in the world, dead due to her family's stupidity and arrogance.
Though…he did pledge his soul to her and the hunt.
Picking up his body, Artemis began to glow silver. First, she was going to get his body back to her hunter's camp so she could burn his body. Next, she was gonna go to the realm of her uncle and figure out what the hell happened to Percy's soul.
—
The hunters were surprised when their mistress randomly flashed out at night.
They were even more surprised when their mistress returned with a body that had a familiar bronze sword sticking through its chest.
His chest.
Thalia had all but broken down over his cooling body. She screamed, pounded his chest, hugged him, kissed him, and shocked him again.
But she knew he was gone and he wouldn't return.
Artemis had to compose herself and allow Thalia to grieve over her cousin-and closest friend's-body. Dionysus, having felt a disturbance in his domain, came to visit, took one look at the body and knew what had happened.
Artemis though Thalia had gone insane. Dionysus told her that it was he who had gone off the brink.
The hunters originally thought he abandoned his cousin in favour of escaping his suffering. They simply stood there numbly, looking at the only respectable male they knew.
"He killed himself, he abandoned our friendship! He abandoned his cousin! He is no better than the typical male!" Phoebe, always the staunch man-hater, yelled. Some hunters actually gave her words a thought.
"No, Phoebe. He did not do it out of spite, he did not choose to abandon us." Their mistress strode up and said calmly, trying to keep her emotions in check.
"But he-"
"He was broken. Getting dragged away from us, and apparently seeing Bianca and Zoë one final time, broke him. He snapped." Their mistress said.
"How did he see Bianca and Zoë?" A new hunter asked curiously. She had heard about the two huntresses, with Zoë being the previous lieutenant and Bianca being the girl Thalia spoke fondly of.
"He…I do not know why, but he created two statues of them in their finest moments." Artemis calmly replied.
The hunt was silent as they soaked in the information. Thaila cried silently, tears streaming down her face as she stared into the dull eyes of her cousin.
Finally, the silence was only broken by Artemis as she ordered the hunters to prepare a funeral shroud. Thalia and some of the hunters closer to Percy wrapped his body in a silver funeral shroud-the only colour they had. Riptide was pulled out of Percy's chest, and placed atop Percy's shroud.
Thalia lit the fire.
As the shroud burned, riptide shimmered and turned into a bright silvery wispy trail, and flew into Artemis' body. The shroud also brined brightly, and another dimmer silvery, wispy trail also flew into her.
No one noticed this except for Artemis.
She made a mental note to ask her uncle about this when she got into his realm.
—
Nyx looked at the demigod's kneeling form in sadness, knowing he had finally snapped and was ready to end it all.
"Olympians. Pathetic lot, especially that idiot…Zeus."
"Indeed." Her husband, Erebus, agreed.
But just as she was preparing to materialise next to the demigod and hopefully pull him out of his stupor, she heard a pledge under his breath.
She was shocked to hear the pledge.
She was even more shocked as she realized his reasoning behind the pledge.
Sighing, she watched as he plunged the blade into his heart.
Just mere milliseconds later, the goddess of the hunt flashed into the tiny clearing and cradled the dead demigod in her arms.
She decided to act. She had witnessed this Hero's entire adventure from start to finish. She could sense that his soul was one-in-a-kind, pure and unblemished. She couldn't just let him suffer whatever fate the…well, fates had planned for him.
She uttered a blessing underneath her breath.
"I, Nyx, primordial of night, bless Perseus Jackson's souls with my blessing. May the fates smile upon him."
After all, she'd grown fond of the demigod over the years. Seeing him snap in such a manner was sad.
Hopefully Artemis would put his soul to good use…or even release him into Hades' realm.
Turning her focus away from the small clearing, she scowled at the mortals lighting up her domain. "Insufferable," she thought as she gazed down at the cities bustling with light so bright her domain was covered up by the artificial lighting.
She should really conquer the world and wipe mortals off the face off the planet. At least her domain would remain.
—
Hades was yelling at skeletal servants when Artemis flashed in.
Waving his hand at the servants, he dismissed them quickly. He hadn't had anyone else visit him in the last century-well, except Persephone and Hermes.
So it was quite a surprise when Artemis decided to pop into his throne room.
"My dear niece, how have you been?" Hades asked in a neutral tone. Either Artemis was demanding elysium for her fallen huntresses again, or she was here for an entirely different matter.
For once though, hades noticed something different in her eyes. Normally, she looked high, mighty and cold. Today, she looked distraught.
"Uncle," the auburn haired goddess greeted him, "I may have a slight…problem."
"What is it, dear niece?" This was unusual. The man hating goddess would often go and find her sisters, or simply keep her problems to herself. Having his niece find him out of all the gods to help her solve a problem…that was new.
"Ah…the problem concerns you. Specifically, your domain." Hades raised an eyebrow-maybe she was trying to get her huntresses into elysium again.
"I suppose you remember Perseus Jackson?" That caught him off guard.
"I do. He, after all, used his wish to help me and my sister regain our thrones, and asked for recognition for all of the minor gods. Quite noble, but sadly our brother has quite the ego and little intelligence to back it up." Hades responded, and Artemis smiled slightly at the remark about her father. "But, with that said, wasn't he brandished? His soul isn't in my realm, if you're asking, and I don't see why you'd go ahead and locate him. Unless our brother had a change of heart-"
"Uncle, father didn't ask me to locate him. Rather, I located him through an…unusual method." Artemis said.
"Explain."
"Well, just tonight, before I checked up on my huntresses and prepared for a night of rest, I heard a pledge. Not the normal pledge that we use to accept hunters-the person who said it pledged their soul to me, as well as offering a sacrifice to honor the fallen and aid the hunt."
Hades looked at his niece with an amused expression. "And?"
"Well, I immediately flashed to the origin of the pledge. And…I saw Perseus. He killed himself after his Will to live snapped."
"Oh…" Hades said, saddened at the fact that the saviour of Olympus had passed. "Wait. I cannot detect his soul…did you just mention that he pledged his soul to you?" Hades asked, suddenly alert.
"Yes. And there was something that alarmed me-when we burned his shroud and sword, two silvery wisps of dust flowed into me. I was wondering if this had anything to do with-"
"This has EVERYTHING to do with his pledge. Niece, give me your hand. I shall see if my assumptions are correct." Hades said, moving forward the throne to stand in front of his niece.
Artemis held out her hand, and Hades touched the back of it with his finger. He smiled.
"Yep. Just as I thought. The soul of young Perseus is within you…but also another that I never imagined I would find. Zoë nightshade is within you as well."
"But…how?"
"Perseus pledged himself to you. Not just his life, his soul. So, when his body got burned, his soul-which was still inside because he pledged himself to you, and thus couldn't be claimed by Thanatos-got released and entered your body. As for Zoë…I believe her immortal essence resides in you simply due to the burning of her weapon. She captured most of her immoral essence in the blade riptide, and when its housing body was destroyed it naturally went into the closest deity it found. You."
"But what can I do with them now? I am inexperienced with these matters." Artemis said, and Hades turned, sat back on his throne and spoke.
"This is…particularly difficult. You see, since Zoë's immortal essence is still kicking around, she isn't actually dead yet. Either you release said essence-in which her soul will gravitate towards it, and reunite as one somewhere nearby. Alternatively, you can let her soul rest and consume her immortal essence, which grants you power at a cost. Her soul will fade in the next decade, and she will retreat into the void. The huntress constellation will be no more."
Artemis immediately made up her mind. Let Zoë live and defy the fates, or let her fade and never see her again. Pretty easy choice on her part. "But what about Perseus?" She asked, and her uncle frowned.
"Him? He can be reincarnated if you choose. A god or goddess can create a new body for him, and you can pass his soul to said god or goddess to place it into his new form. Or, you can summon him as a spirit and have him offer advice, remember things, blah blah blah. Just know he will not be able to interact with the surroundings, and can still die if any weapon hits him."
Hades paused for a bit, before Continuing. "There is something else though. Since he pledged his soul to you, it is bound to your essence as well. If you release him, you may not retain said essence. If he dies, he will not be whole and will most likely fade. Your choice, either reincarnate him or risk him fading."
"Who can I ask for help though? Hera isn't happy with me-she never will be, and I cannot give birth as it would ruin my oath of chastity."
Hades pondered the question, before finally setting on an answer. "Hestia. She is the goddess of the hearth, and the hearth is powerful. She may have a solution."
Artemis thanked her uncle.
"Don't thank me just yet. Perseus' soul is…unique. It still retains all his personalities, his memories, and…blessings. If he is indeed reincarnated in a new form, he will retain brother's lineage and hydrokinesis, part of your immortal essence and minor control over your domains, and…something else that originated from the pit. It is not tian magic…it feels like something much more ancient."
"What do you mean by part of my immortal essence?"
"Well…think of it as a full blessing, instead of the watered-down version most gods bless others with. He will be able to control some of your domains, more prominently the domains of the moon, the hunt and wildlife. Childbirth and maidens…I do not sense those within him."
Artemis nodded and bowed, before flashing out to Olympus, leaving Hades to ponder what exactly happened to his favourite demigod other than his children.
—
Hestia was sitting at the hearth instead of her throne, gently stoking the fires when Artemis flashed in.
"Aunt Hestia." The moon goddess bowed, and sat next to the goddess of the hearth.
"Artemis, what brings you here today?" Hestia asked, her soothing voice washing over Artemis.
"Um…you remember Perseus, yes?"
"How could I forget him? Oh, I just wish I could visit him…sadly my brother had forbidden me from doing so. It pains me to see him slowly slip away through the flames of his camp."
"Well…" Artemis began, but stopped. "This is gonna be hard," she thought as she looked at Hestia sadly. The goddess quickly caught on.
"…oh no. Did he depart already?"
"I, ah, suppose…in a way, yes." Artemis said, and began the confusing explanation of why she had Percy's soul within her.
—
"…and that's why I'd like to know if you could perhaps help me create a new form for him out of the hearth." Artemis finished, and Hestia sat in silence for a bit before replying.
"I suppose it could be done. I haven't tried this though…but if you do pass his soul to me, he'd end up possessing the powers of the hearth and moon."
"And uncle Poseidon's water powers. In other words, she'd be powerful."
"She?"
"Well…Perseus sort of pledged himself to the hunt before he, ah, willingly departed to uncle's realm. And if he is to actually return…well, I do not believe my girls would accept a he."
"I see." Hestia said plainly, before smiling at her niece. "Artemis, I'll see what I can do. For now, could you pass his soul over? You'll know it when he-no, she is reborn."
Artemis smiled slightly, before nodding at the hearth goddess. "Thank you, aunt Hestia. Do I just hand his soul over or…?"
"Just let his soul go towards the hearth. I'll do what I can do for our wronged hero."
Artemis closed her eyes, concentrated, and dragged Percy's soul to her fingertips. Pointing it towards the hearth, the wisp of silvery smoke curled and twirled on itself, slowly flying towards the hearth. The flames jumped towards the smoky trail, engulfing it and intertwining. The dust didn't burn-it shimmered brightly as the flames retreated into the hearth.
Feeling that Percy's soul had been fully pulled out of her body, Artemis opened her eyes to find the hearth roaring.
"Uh-did I do something wrong?" Artemis asked shakily, to which Hestia responded, "No. You did everything perfectly, and now it is my part. By the way-since you're technically her parent as well, what should we name Percy's reincarnation?"
"Persia. Persia Hallie Jackson."
Hestia smiled at the name. "Love it. The destroyer, thinking of the sea. Fits him quite well." She said, smiling lightly at her niece.
Artemis smiled. "Well, that's one thing taken care of. If you'll forgive me…I have somewhere else to be."
She then began to glow, and assumed her divine form before flashing away, leaving Hestia to form Percy-now Persia's-new form.
—
Percy felt nothing.
Nada.
Literally nothing.
He floated in a silvery…space. There seemed to be no floor, no ceiling, no sides, nothing. Everywhere he looked, it was silver, silver and silver. He tried walking, he tried jumping.
Nothing changed.
He looked at his form. Whisky, silvery just like everything else.
He mentally groaned. Why in hades-no, tartarus was everything silver?
Couldn't they be blue? Come on.
At least if it was blue, he'd be happy.
He did it know how much time had passed. He didn't even know if time passed at all. The genius who left him in this place didn't bother leaving a clock. How thoughtful.
He spent his time-or, existence, floundering around the silvery space. Je jumped, did. backflips, discovered there wasn't gravity-or he supposed there wasn't.
In his defence, no one can distinguish up from down if all they see is silver. He was dead after all-he didn't have any senses.
He wondered if this was just a cruel joke.
He couldn't speak, couldn't yell. He couldn't even touch himself his hands just passed through anything and everything-actually, just himself.
It wasn't like he could touch the silver space confining him.
Yet, after an undetermined (and agonizing) amount of time, the silvery space seemed dull. It no longer shone, instead fading in luminosity and colour.
What was happening?
As the space began dimming, Percy's non existent heartbeat quickened. If he was in battle, his adrenaline would be through the roof. Sadly, he was dead.
A small black point in the infinite expanse of silver caught his attention. He looked at it, intrigued.
Wait, was it growing?
Before Percy could even ponder what the black point was, the silvery space dulled significantly, before everything became black. Darkness enveloped him, and the last thing he felt was an emotion he'd never felt in the past few months, after he'd slowly lost his will to live.
He felt fear.
—
A/N: and that is one chapter of my side project done.
I assure you, my main project 'servant of rome' (or as I like to call it 'SR'-it's in Latin by the way, and I think you'll know which work it is by looking at the summary) will be worked on. Do not fret, do not worry-it isn't abandoned. I jut need to vent creativity so I can stay on-track with said storyline.
This may receive sparse updates. This may receive frequent updates. This may receive no updates. I don't know which option I'll pick, but hopefully I'll update this fic soon.