AN: Well, I'm back. It's been a while, I know. I'm not even gonna try to set a schedule; updates will come when I can push them out, like always. I'm still sticking to my promise: I will see the story out to the end, and I will always prioritize quality over quantity. Sorry in advance. This is gonna be a filler chapter. Kinda dull but necessary for the story to move on. With that said, enjoy the long-awaited chapter.

(Unknown, Thalia POV)

Pain. Excruciating pain shot up my spinal cord, flooding my brain with screams from every bone and muscle in my body. My eyes strained to focus on what is perhaps the most dangerous enemy I have ever fought. The sweltering heat making the air shimmer and dance didn't help.

The image of the figure finally cleared, revealing a slightly out-of-breath icy goddess. Her silver eyes locked with mine, and a feral grin spread across her chilly face. With little warning, her legs extended at blistering speed, propelling her across the arena in less than a second. Her kopides descended on me, cleaving the air with sharp whistles. A sidestep kept my head on my shoulders by a few millimeters, the displaced air from the two deadly blades blowing my hair back. The artificial wind caressed my face, bringing much-needed clarity to my mind.

I thrust my spear into her side, and satisfaction flowed through my brain as the attack connected with her torso. It ripped through her armor, embedding itself deep into her icy body. She fell to the ground, losing her grip on one of her wickedly sharp kopides. Doubling down on my attack before she could recover, I stabbed down at her chest, throwing all my weight into the blow.

At the very last second, she managed to bring her remaining kopis up to deflect the trajectory of the spear tip to the ground beside her. She jumped upright almost immediately and swung her blade at my exposed flank. The kopis connected, ripping through the light armor I had on and slicing through my skin by a couple of centimeters. My side turned slick as hot fluid pumped out of the cut. I jumped back a few feet, grimacing in pain.

The Hydrocine grinned, raised the blade to her lips, and licked my blood off the sharp edge. She began to circle me, looking for her next opening. Determined not to give her one, I rushed at her, pressing her with a flurry of thrusts and swings. She adeptly dodged and parried each strike, biding her time for an opening. She found one, swinging her kopis with such strength that the blow forced me a few feet back. She smiled once more, eyes daring me to attack again.

A bead of sweat ran down my forehead. Despair crept into my mind, the sheer strength and skill of my opponent slowly convincing me that after all I had accomplished in my life, it would all end here in this godforsaken arena, far from my friends and family.

'Lady Artemis, forgive me; I have failed you. Please watch over Percy and the rest of the hunt.' I hoped my last-ditch prayer would reach my patron's ears as I readied my spear for one last assault. I rushed the Hydrocine, letting loose an ear-splitting war cry. It resonated throughout the arena, ensuring the world would know I didn't go down quietly.

The goddess laughs, swinging her kopis at and through my trusty spear, leaving me holding a useless shaft of wood. Before I can react, her kopis whistles through the air, homing in on my neck. Just before it separates my head from my shoulders, the Hydrocine stops. The blade rests on my neck as if frozen in time.

My eyes were wide open, and I fully expected to find myself in the underworld with my next blink. The silence was deafening, so when the tip of my spear clattered to the ground, it felt like a shockwave. I let out a sigh of relief I hadn't realized I was holding, and my body began to shake as the shock wore off.

The sound of swirling water drew my attention to a spot a few feet before me as Pontus manifested himself in the arena. His silver eyes rested on mine, pride shining forth from them.

"Wonderful, Thalia. You fought one of my most skilled lieutenants and even managed to wound and disarm her. This is no easy feat; Not even your patron goddess could defeat someone of her caliber. Soon, with my essence coursing through you, you will become a warrior of unparalleled strength. You will need all your strength for the upcoming ritual. Rest now." He says, waving his hand. Suddenly, my vision turned blurry. Then everything went black.


I came to in the same chamber I woke up in all those weeks ago. My body feels rejuvenated, almost heavenly compared to how I felt during the battle. My eyes fluttered open, landing on the liquid form of Pontus not far from my bed. He grinned, an almost giddy kind of energy flowing off of him.

"My dear Thalia, the time is upon us. Are you ready to ascend into a being the likes of which hasn't wandered this world since the beginning of the golden ages?" He asks, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

"Tell me more about this ritual," I said as I sat up. "What is supposed to happen?"

He looked me over, seemingly thinking about how much of his knowledge he wished to reveal. After a few moments, he crossed his arms and cleared his throat.

"The very existence of this ritual has faded from memory from almost all living beings in this universe. It is nearly as old as me. Long ago, the birth mother of all primordials, the swirling vortex of Chaos in the center of the universe, cast her powerful magic into the very fabric of the universe, manifesting itself in the form of several powerful and deadly monsters, the very ones you slew. Each of the twelve monsters took after one of the greater primordials: Ouranos, Gaea, Tartarus, Erebus, Nyx, Aion, Hemera, Aether, Chronos, Ananke, Moros, and me, of course. The purpose of their existence was to embody a fragment of a powerful curse. One that only mortals can inherit. No immortal being can even lay a hand on the beasts. To try would mean certain death for us. If a mortal were to slay one of the beasts, they would become the bearer of that piece of the curse. Should a mortal obtain all the fragments, they can then conduct a ritual meant to draw the attention of Mother Chaos, who would break the mortality of the human and allow the curse to take hold. They would cease to be human or demi-human, instead becoming something other. Once the curse awakens in full, it burns away and immortality within the person. This would sever your connection to your father, Zeus."

"That doesn't sound very powerful..." I said, trying to understand why anyone would willingly inherit this curse.

Pontus merely smiled. "As you can tell, this curse removes any immortality it touches. And that's what makes it so powerful. You will become something neither mortal nor immortal. You will be a separate species, one that ages yet can slay any living thing in the universe, a true reaper of souls. Anything you kill will be sent back to the void, never to return. Chaos created this curse not long after you mortals were born to ensure that should we immortals step out of line and abuse our powers, a hero amongst the humans can arise to challenge us. However, with the war that ended the Golden Age, the knowledge of this curse faded from memory, and very few individuals remain to remember its existence. Thalia, this curse will give you the power you've been seeking. You will be the ultimate decider of the outcome of this coming war. Should you choose, you can slay all of Olympus, send Aion to the void, or even end my existence. You will finally have the power to change the world, and it will be your decision. This kind of power is not given lightly, however. Remember, it is a curse, after all. Your life will never be the same. You will be hunted down by almost every god, titan, primordial, and monster. You will have a target on your back for the rest of your life. Perhaps worst of all, your connection to your patron goddess, the Lady Artemis, will be severed forever. Are you prepared to accept the burden and responsibility of becoming the most deadly creature in the universe?" He finished, hitting me with so much information I could barely process his question.

I sat in stunned silence for what felt like an eternity, trying to understand how I ended up in this situation. I now faced a crossroads, possibly the most important one in my life. If I accepted the curse, I could change the tide of this war and even the world. But it would come at a significant cost—my relationship with my father and, more importantly, Artemis. I would be abandoning them for power. If what Pontus said was true, they might never speak to me again. However, if I refused, I would be powerless to stop anything from happening to them or my friends.

Deep down, I already knew what my decision was. I would sacrifice my life three times over to protect my friends. I looked up into the sea god's silver eyes and nodded. "I accept the curse."

His face cracked into a large smile. "Wonderful, let's go awaken Chaos from her millennia-long slumber." He spun around sharply and strode out, leaving me in the room with a vortex of emotions swirling in my stomach.

Not wanting to leave the timeless god waiting, I sprung up and walked out of the room, following the winding tunnels up into the coliseum arena. I found the stands packed with the top brass of Pontus's army, and at the podium stood Pontus himself, his grin still plastered across his face. In the center of the arena was a small table cut from Stygian Iron. I walked over to it and examined the strange object. The only interesting feature was a bowl that protruded from the middle of the table. Its lip was a series of jagged points, and the visage of a skull was carved in the middle of the bowl. A feeling of intense dread washed over me as I looked into the hollow eyes staring at me through the bowl.

"Thalia, my child, are you ready to commune with the Creator of the universe and receive her blessing?" Pontus's voice boomed through the coliseum.

I nodded in response. "I am." A slight shiver ran down my body as giddiness and fear fought for control within me.

"Very well. Now pour forth the life essence tainted with the power of the twelve beasts in the summoning chalice," Pontus commanded in a booming voice. I heard a grating sound next to me and saw a wickedly sharp knife rise from the table. Knowing what Pontus was asking of me, I grabbed the blade and sliced the palm of my hand, letting the blood pool in the bowl. As the blood splattered on the skull, its eyes glowed a dark purple.

"Now, Thalia, you will use this blood to forge a connection with the goddess of creation. Repeat after me to create a channel to the void."

Pontus began to speak in ancient Greek, and I recited after him. "Goddess of creation, awaken from your eternal slumber within the void. Awaken and rain down your blessings upon this humble servant so that I may protect my people from tyranny and corruption!"

As the last syllable left my mouth, the heavens split apart as a lightning bolt descended upon the altar. After the ringing in my ears quieted, I looked back into the bowl and saw the eyes shining bright. My blood looked like a dark purple miasma.

Another loud crack resonated through the sky, and a small twister formed around the altar, isolating me from the rest of the world. The roaring of the wind deafened the sound of everything outside the storm.

A blue flash signaled Pontus's arrival beside me. A small glob of water emerged from his body and floated before me.

"Now, my child, imbibe my essence! Quickly! We are running out of time!" Pontus shouted over the din. I cupped my hands, and the glob settled in them. The water was crystal clear and perfectly still despite the buffeting wind. Holding a small piece of Pontus's power made me feel on top of the world. I could move mountains if I wanted to. I quickly brought my hands to my face and drank in the primordial essence.

The water went down like acid, burning and scalding every square inch of my mouth, throat, and esophagus. It settled in my stomach, sending excruciating waves of fire rocketing up my torso. I gasped, clutching my stomach with both hands.

He let out a sigh of what sounded like relief and locked eyes with me, his face solemn. "Now, girl, I must leave you. You must endure this next part alone," he said, vanishing in a blink of blue light.

The entire bowl began to shine a deep purple, casting the whole interior of the storm in a purple glow. A deep and rich female voice emanated from the skull, every word booming through my bones.

"Which child of mine awakens me from my eternal slumber, and for what purpose?" The skull demands. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. I dropped to my knees and felt tears streaming down my face. Intense emotions of all sorts bounced through me: pain, fear, awe, joy, and a sense of fulfillment. I was the first living creature in thousands of years to speak to the Creator of everything. Chaos. If I upset her, she could very well end the universe. I couldn't even begin to think of what to say.

"Well, child, I await your name." The skull demanded.

"T-Thalia Grace, d-daughter of Zeus," I managed, voice filled with fear.

"Ah, Thalia, my daughter. I must say, out of all my children, I am most surprised it is you calling me. I see you have thrown your lot in with Pontus. Hmm... Oh, I see. Hahahahaha!" she chuckled, her booming laugh pounding my head. "Pontus, you sly little delinquent. It has been too long since I've punished my eldest if they have gotten brazen enough to pull stunts like this. No matter, I will leave that lesson for you to learn on your own. Let us proceed. Ask what you want of me, sweet daughter. Make sure you've truly thought about what you're asking for. There is no going back." She finished.

Her words cast a pit in my stomach, but it was too late to back out now. "Please, Lady Chaos, give me your blessing so that I may protect my friends and family from those who mean them harm. I ask you to bestow upon me the curse you created so many ages ago."

"Very well, Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus." Miasma began to rise from the bowl. It floated over to me, enshrouding me and obscuring my vision. The constant pain from Pontus's essence dissipated, and a warm fuzzy feeling washed over me. The tranquillity that enveloped me exceeded even that of gorging myself on nectar and ambrosia.

"Go forth, my child. It has been too long since this world has seen a Reaper. I await your company in the void," Chaos uttered her last words, her return to slumber signaled by the purple glow fading and the twister dissipating. Dread settled in my stomach once more as I heard the goddess's last words.

Pontus manifested next to me once more with a giant grin plastered on his face. "Thalia, how do you feel," he asked.

I struggled to respond, my mind still reeling from the surreal encounter. "I don't know, I... I just don't know." I didn't feel like myself. Something was wrong with me. Before I could understand what had changed, my legs gave and the ground rushed up at me.

(Pacific Ocean, Percy POV)

"Perseus Jackson. At long last, we meet. I have awaited this moment since the day you awoke me from my eternal slumber. You are the chosen one, the man destined to defend this world's natural order. And you have arrived not a moment too soon. Even as we speak, unnatural abominations are being born into this world. The time has come for you to restore the natural balance that has been maintained for millennia. You have much work ahead of you and very little time to do it."

My mind was reeling throughout his speech. It was hard to believe that after all this time hunting for an explanation for all the weird things happening around me, I was finally close to getting some real answers.

"Wait a second, who, or what, are you?" I asked, my question a tiny whisper compared to its booming voice.

It chuckled, each laugh echoing around the underwater cavern like peals of thunder. "Of course, how silly of me. Truth be told, my name will be of no significance to you. In fact, the only ones who will gain meaningful knowledge from my name are the oldest of the primordials. I am much like you, in fact—an outcast from my own family. My power did not make my family view me as one of their own. No, they viewed me as a threat, one that had to be put down. I'm sure you can sympathize since your own family, the Olympians, were none too keen on you."

"Are you saying you're a Primordial? I thought there was only one Primordial of the ocean. Why have I never heard of you in the myths?" I asked.

"No? Then it would appear I have been forgotten to all but my dear family," the being spoke, his voice filling with venom. "The circumstances of my birth are somewhat strange. I was formed after Pontus had taken physical form and began cavorting around the aether with his siblings. They were not content with carrying out their duties and simply embodying their domains. No, they abandoned their post almost immediately, choosing instead to abuse the power of their domains to fight amongst themselves."

What were their duties? I can't imagine there being much work to do at the beginning of the universe," I asked.

"I see much has been lost over the millennia. You should at least know that everything started with Chaos. What you might not know is that Chaos has yearned for a family since time itself began."

"Didn't sound too hard the way I heard it. She created the primordials, and from there, the rest was history, right?" The creation myths were pretty simple. It was all the stuff after that got really complex and confusing.

"You're not wrong, but a lot is missing from that. There is the void, and then there is Chaos. They are one and the same, yet very different as well. Her physical form is a raging void that crushes and destroys anything in existence, but her mind is that of a loving mother who wishes for an abundance of children. I only know what she would later tell us, her firstborn. From what she has told us, her attempts at creating life were numerous and never worked out. The domains of air, earth, water, and all the rest necessary to provide a setting for life to take place were created many times, yet no matter what she tried, they inevitably crumbled against the onslaught of the void. She finally got it right when she imbued each domain with her essence. It granted each domain consciousness, the first primordials. They were tasked with keeping the void at bay so that life may take root. As you can imagine, this was no easy task, and it took their all to defend themselves from the ceaseless onslaught of the void. Until the crafty Ananke expended a small portion of her power to create her symbol of power, the spindle. She used it to channel her energy to wherever it was needed immediately without her having to focus on it. Soon, the rest of the primordials followed suit, and they soon forgot about their symbols and their duty of keeping Chaos at bay. In truth, it was an ingenious idea. However, there was one small problem. Pontus was among the most powerful and imbued his symbol with so much power it eventually gained consciousness, as powerful inanimate objects are wont to do."

"And that was you, wasn't it?" I asked, even though I was sure of the answer.

"Yes... and Pontus was none too happy to share his domain with another. So he sealed me away in this cave, deep in the ocean, where I was powerless to do anything except the job I had been created for."

"Why would you continue keeping Chaos at bay instead of letting it fall on Pontus?" I asked, this time truly confused.

"It was a matter of self-preservation. With all the power Pontus had lost by creating me, he could not defend against Chaos without his symbol of power. So it fell to me to use all of my strength and the symbol to protect us. It was either that or ending up back in the void. I chose the former."

"Wait, I thought you were the symbol, and you just gained consciousness?"

"Yes and no. Initially, I was born as part of the symbol, but after some time, I had absorbed enough of the domain to become my own entity, separate from the symbol. And that's how Pontus accidentally created another primordial to share his domain with."

"So Pontus isn't actually at his full power, is that what you're saying?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"Yes, if Pontus hadn't accidentally created me, he would be much more powerful than he is now."

"Gods, that is terrifying. We already barely stand a chance against him."

"Indeed, but lucky for you, not only is he not, but you also managed to attract the attention of the Ocean's Wrath." As soon as its name was uttered, the trident began softly glowing, and a sudden energy rush filled my limbs.

"Yes, the trident you've been using this whole time is none other than the symbol of power of the ocean. For some reason, your emotions and your actions resonated with it, and it has been lending you its strength. Even I was surprised. It appears to have some semblance of thought still even after we had separated."

"Wait... hold on. I'm confused. How can I be using Pontus' symbol of power? Doesn't he have direct control of it? Has he just been letting me use it all this time to trick us into thinking we have an advantage?" My mind was racing. How could I have been so dumb to just blindly trust this strange weapon that just happens to appear whenever Pontus's influence is around? I led Artemis on a wild goose chase across the country only to find out I'd been tricked.

"No, Pontus has no idea of you using the trident. It stopped being his symbol when I awoke. It is now a physical embodiment of the ocean, owned by no one but itself. Until now, I didn't know it even had a will, but apparently, you are the first it has deigned to bestow its power to since its creation."

I marveled at the glowing trident. If what this imprisoned primordial was to be believed, my connection to the ocean goes deeper than simply being a son of Poseidon. I was somehow connected to the very heart of the sea.

"This is just what we needed, an ace up our sleeves that Pontus won't see coming. How do I summon the trident to me? Up until now, it just appears at random." I was starting to feel excited. Maybe we could win this war after all. I have been giving it my all this whole time, yet deep down, I knew that it was all a lost cause. Now I had hope that we could find Thalia, gather our own army, and take the fight to Pontus. With the Ocean's Wrath in my hands, we could finally go on the offensive.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you there. I have as much control over Ocean's Wrath as Pontus does. It lends you its power when it sees fit, and there's nothing I can do about that."

My hopes were crushed just as suddenly as they had been raised. My doubts and fears returned with a vengeance, washing over me with such force tears began to form in my eyes. "Damn it all, of course. What good is this power if I can't use it to end this war? If I can't even use my only strength reliably, then what good am I to my friends?"

The statue let out a slow, rumbling laugh that shook the walls of the cavern. "Fret not, I didn't bring you here just to tell some old stories. You might not have complete control over the Ocean's Wrath, but you can be the bearer of my revenge on Pontus. Accept my blessing. With it, you will have a much better chance of defeating Pontus."

I swallowed. Accepting the blessing of a vengeful primordial might be the biggest mistake I ever made. But it might also be my only chance of saving my friends. "I accept. On one condition. Tell me your name."

"Hah! You've got some balls, mortal one. I offer you the very power that will influence not only you're survival but also that of your friends, and you put conditions on it? I like you. Very well, I will reveal my identity to you. Now, are you ready for your blessing?"

I nodded, too nervous to speak.

"Very well." The statue began to shine so brightly that even with my eyes tightly shut, the pain was immense. It was all I could do not to turn around. The glow began to fade from the statue, allowing me to crack open one eye—big mistake. As soon as I opened my eyes, my body began to glow just as bright, if not brighter. I gasped as enormous power flew into me at shocking speed. I could not contain this kind of power within me. I could feel it begin ripping me apart. I screamed, thrashing on the ground, realizing that I would die at the bottom of the ocean and no one would know what happened to me.

My mind grew hazy, and the sweet release of what was either sleep or death embraced me. The statue spoke, but I could barely hear it over the rushing in my ears.

"...irst to receive the blessing of Hydros," was the last thing I heard.