The vast elder god, endless and unknowable as the void that gave it birth, stood in silence, his maw a gaping hollow abyss, his eyes reflecting starlight from eons long past. He sighed again, his gale-like breath nearly sending them flying back, and bowed his head. His great, empty eyes quirked with curiosity, and he stepped forward, the endless stone plateau trembling under his thunderous footsteps
The great Elder opened his gash-like mouth, and began speaking, his eyes focused on the son of Hades, who stood before him, trembling like a leaf, and yet unmoving, "I can offer you information, yes... but why should I ? You are brave indeed, little one", Thalassa said, "to have the gall to demand anything of me"
Nico smiled wryly, a self-deprecating laugh slipping free of his lips, "Well, I wouldn't call it "brave" exactly. "Foolish" might be more apt"
Thalassa laughed, a thunderous sound that seemed to echo out across the endless nothingness, like drums in the deep, before speaking once more, "I am Thalassa, the Endless Abyss. I am Nothing and Everything. I am the Gaping Maw of the World. My hunger is endless. Tell me, why should I not satiate it with you ?"
Nico gulped, paling slightly as he stepped forward, "Because... you are curious"
Thalassa's gaping maw seemed to widen, it's ragged, slashed edges sliding up across the god's face, "Is that so ?"
"It is, indeed", Nico continued, "You want to see what happens next. How long have you been here ? How long have the gods condemned you to remain here ? A thousand years ? A million ? You must be desperate for entertainment. You want to see where we will go, if we will die, live, whatever. You want us to win, or, at least, lose spectacularly"
Thalassa cocked his head to one side, regarding the young chthonic prince with a baleful stare, even as Will and Alabaster rushed forward to try to silence him, "You believe you can defeat Nyx ? You ? A thousand stronger men... a thousand braver men than you have tried and lost. Who exactly do you think you are ?"
Nico stared up at the god, at the misty veil that hung over his face, a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors swirling within. Nico had always been able to command the swirling, roiling tides of his own destiny, of his own pain. Forged by endless tragedy, now young, now old; now a brother, now not; now a son, now orphaned, now a son again; now… not human, not demigod, but something else. His own version of Nico. Just spin the kaleidoscope and watch the colors dance like a butterfly or an actor on a stage.
"I'm Nico di Angelo", he smiled up at the Primordial, "son of Maria di Angelo. Runner, coward, loser, survivor"
Thalassa grinned, "Interesting... you may even be right, little one", the Primordial said, "Let us see", his voice rumbling like a thunderstorm. Reaching down, one misty arm engulfed the son of Hades, and Nico closed his eyes as he felt the white smoke surround him
The world went dark, but it didn't feel like Nico was surrounded by void. Instead, it felt more like the air around them was solid as steel, pressing down against his chest and head, dragging him down like anchor weights. A young man stood before him, his hair long and white, flowing down his back like a white, foamy waterfall. He was dressed in cobalt-blue robes, lines with silver, and a golden crown sat on his head, a large sapphire set within.
"Greetings, son of Hades, great-grand-nephew mine... to my palace... the Palace of Thalassa", the man said, not even turning to look at Nico. Before him, the darkness split open, revealing a long, winding path composed of brick and stone, leading up to a vast palace, onyx towers that brushed the sky, tall, gaping windows, their edges studded with sapphires. Thalassa turned to Nico, revealing brilliant blue eyes, his sclerae a midnight-black. "Follow me", he commanded.
The earth seemed to melt beneath their feet as they walked, forming pillars and monuments as and when needed. In fact, the very environment in which they resided seemed to mold and shift around them. Eye-meltingly bright flashes of brilliant blues and greens seemed to flash randomly across the void-black sky, and the distance between them and the palace seemed to morph and shrink randomly as they moved. Sometimes it seemed as if they were right beside it, only for them to take one step forward and discover that no, the palace was actually two miles ahead of them.
After a few minutes of this, Nico stopped in place. Thalassa stopped a few meters in front of him, and spoke, a mocking lilt to his voice, "Getting irritated, Death-spawn ?"
"This is an illusion"
"It is"
"Break it"
Thalassa turned to him, his thin lips stretched into a cruel smile, "If you cannot even break my illusions, how can you possibly hope to challenge my mother ?"
Nico snarled at the Primordial, who merely chuckled at him. "Little one, I am the Abyss. I am endless. I am ageless. I have lived forever. I have seen stars fade and gods die. I brought an end to the last of the Primordial Wars. I marked the passing of the Protogenoi. I am the Gaping Maw. Do not think you can dare threaten me"
Nico gulped, "I am Nico..", he began speaking, standing tall before the god, even as every nerve in his body told him to run, "Nico di Angelo. I am the Ghost King. I have lost things you will never understand. And though my lifespan may be nothing compared to yours, what is better ? An endless life trapped in a prison ? Or a short life of pain and joy and laughter ? I threaten you for those things. For things you will never know. For love. For joy. For laughter"
Thalassa was silent, for a moment, before he raised his head, a laugh escaping his throat, deep and throaty and genuine, " Your words are as slippery as they are daring, boy. Most gods would kill you for that... but I'm man enough to accept a defeat with grace. You have won this battle of words. It seems I have underestimated you... Nico di Angelo. "