Artemis sat in before a circular table of black stone, surrounded by men. Percy and Prometheus sat as well, with Kronos leaning against a wall and the Minotaur standing behind Prometheus. Because of course the Minotaur was in a dark and ominous labyrinth. The beast stood with his arms crossed over his barrel of a chest, his omega war ax strapped to his back. The Minotaur glowered at Percy, his beady eyes seething in hatred and rage while the fur covering his body bristled. At least he was wearing pants and a cuirass. Artemis and Percy had barely entered the room before Percy had been buried under a mountain of cow. The resulting scuffle between demigod and bull-man nearly resulted in Riptide piercing the chest of the Minotaur before Prometheus showed up and deescalated the situation.

And that led to now. A titan, a demigod, and a goddess, gathered around a table. She was sure she had heard this joke before. The study that they found themselves in was made of carved stone of interlocking patterns, torches and bookshelves lined the walls, and a large desk rested at the far end. The last structures she had seen built like this were pyramids. Judging by their trip from the entrance to the study, the goddess gauged the residence to be as large as a mansion most likely. Percy sat drumming his fingers against the table while glaring daggers at the Minotaur. Prometheus exuded a false sense of calmness, sipping from a finely crafted wine glass.

Kronos growled lightly in frustration, "I grow bored with this." Artemis couldn't help but agree, much to her displeasure.

"Agreed," Percy said as he stopped drumming his fingers, drawing the attention of Prometheus and the Minotaur. The titan looked at the demigod in confusion, unsure of what he was agreeing to. "You're the titan of foresight, yet you did not see this coming?" Anger laced his voice. Artemis was unsure if he was angry at Prometheus, the Minotaur, or his predicament. Most likely all three.

Prometheus timidly took a sip of his wine before clearing his throat. "Forgive me for not seeing a scenario where my demigod sacrifice dies in front of me and then is reborn connected to the divinity of my Lord Kronos," he grumbled sarcastically before gaining a curious glint in his eyes. "What is it like? Does he speak to you? Give you impressions? Advice? What new powers have you gained?"

Artemis' eyes flickered to the specter, who rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Ask him about removing our curse," he demanded, he pushed off the wall and leaned on his hands against the table. "I am done with his petty excuses and questions."

Percy sighed, rubbing at his forehead. His long black hair falling around his face. She should have fashioned him a hair tie. "I am not here to answer your questions, Prometheus," Percy told the titan. "I want you to break this curse."

Prometheus seemed to have gained his courage, placing his wineglass down. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" he asked in exasperation. "Do you think spells that powerful can just be wiped away with a wave of your hand? It was a sacrificial ritual. Lord Kronos' revival was paid for in your soul." He leaned back in his seat, "There is nothing I can do for you."

"Then he has outlived his usefulness," Kronos claimed, pushing off the table and looking to the demigod. "Let us be done with him and move on. There are other means to find the information on our potential adversaries."

Artemis' eyes narrowed as she watched Percy seemingly agree with Kronos. Is he already influencing Percy? Maybe not in the normal sense, but Percy was already angry about the Minotaur attacking him, Kronos would be a fool not to use that to his advantage.

The son of Poseidon scowled, his eyes flickering to Kronos and then back to Prometheus. "You don't really get to make demands," he told the specter, much to the titan and monster's confusion. Percy then glared at Prometheus. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't tear you and the cow apart," he said in a deathly calm tone. Artemis watched him carefully, seeing his muscles tense as he prepared to strike.

"W-what? But…?" Prometheus recoiled in fear and the Minotaur seemed prepared for the confrontation. "How about a deal?" Prometheus tried to bargain, a hand held against the Minotaur's chest. The beast snarled in frustration but did not push against him.

Percy and Artemis both raised eyebrows. "What kind of deal?" Artemis asked, deciding it was time to enter the discussion before Kronos could speak. Percy relaxed in his seat; his eyes locked onto the titan of foresight.

Prometheus looked to the goddess in relief before seeing her own hard glare. She was growing tired of the sniveling titan as well. "I-I have something Lord Kronos-I mean, Perseus here, might find useful," he answered, his tone seemingly asking for permission to look for said thing.

"Go," Percy told him with a gesture of his head. "Pray that this thing is worth your life."

The titan nodded profusely as he got up and quickly made his way to one of the bookshelves. He pulled a certain scroll, and a click resounded through the room. "You have got to be kidding me," Artemis groaned as the shelf moved to the side and revealed a lockbox sitting in a small alcove in the wall.

Prometheus grabbed the lockbox and brought it to the table. "I had planned to give this to Lord Kronos whole after his resurrection. However, I ran into… complications and this was all I could retrieve," he explained as he unlocked the box and opened it. Golden light filtered into the room and Prometheus slid the box to him.

Percy's eyes widened as the golden light covered his face. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked as Kronos looked over his shoulder. The titan specter's own eyes widened as he stood frozen. The demigod looked to Prometheus who nodded. Artemis quirked an eyebrow as Percy reached into the box and pulled out a sword hilt. The golden hilt glowed in the torch-lit room, its grip wrapped in fresh black leather, the cross guard was barely wider than the shard of broken sword that jutted from it. The shard was barely as tall as her thumb, slanted down in a jagged edge of mostly grey steel into gleaming bronze. Power exuded from the hilt in waves of golden energy.

Shock flooded Artemis' system as she realized what this was. Before she could speak, Kronos disappeared as golden light traveled up Percy's arm. His arm was replaced with the specter's as they shouted in pain, scrambling to their feet and hand locked onto the hilt. The golden light consumed their form, before dissipating just as quickly. Percy collapsed onto the floor, the hilt falling from his grasp. Artemis quickly rose to her feet and rounded the table, looking the demigod over as he struggled to bring air in his lungs. Prometheus and the Minotaur recoiled in fear and concern as they watched the demigod gasping for breath. Kronos reappeared on his knees next to Percy, gazing down at the hilt.

"This… this is my symbol of power," Kronos breathed before abruptly snapping his gaze to Prometheus. "But how is it shattered? Why is it not whole?!" he yelled at the titan, only to get silence in return

"How did you get this?" Artemis questioned Prometheus, the titan seemingly noticing her for the first time. "Last I heard, Hestia left it in the Hearth of Olympus."

Prometheus gave her an easy grin. "Do you not recall that it was I who stole the Flame of the West to give to mortals? I have stolen from you Olympians before; it was not difficult to do so again."

"Then why is it broken?" Percy asked, looking up from the hilt for the first time. "And why is it Backbiter again?"

"Once the blade was reforged into the scythe, it was capable of switching between whatever form the wielder chooses," Prometheus explained to him. "It's easier to hide a sword than it is a scythe. As for why it is broken, well, apparently Zeus almighty found out about my deed before I could make my escape into Tartarus. He unleashed the full might of his Master Bolt onto the blade, shattering it and scattering its parts throughout the realm.

Kronos' eyes narrowed as he stood before the titan. "You mean that pieces of my weapon, my power, is scattered across the fields of Tartarus? Anyone could have found them and gained a significant power increase," the titan lord raged at Prometheus and became even more frustrated at his lack of reaction. He turned to Percy and Artemis. "We must retrieve these pieces."

Percy rubbed at his eyes. "One thing at a time," Percy said as he regained his bearings. "First we got Pallas and Perses to deal with and now we have to go on a scavenger hunt to recover broken pieces of a weapon that I would rather not ever see again."

Kronos growled in anger. "What you want is irrelevant. Even if you were willing to ignore the obvious that we will never reach our full potential without it, are you willing to allow shards of my power to remain scattered around this wasteland? Where any creature or deity can wander in and take it for their own?"

"As much as I don't want to agree with him," Artemis began as she helped Percy to his feet. "He is right. We need to secure the pieces of the weapon before someone else does."

Prometheus looked between Percy and Artemis confused. "Who are you two talking about?" he asked before his eyes widened in realization. "Are you speaking to Lord Kronos? He speaks to you?"

"More like annoys the Hades out of me," Percy grumbled irritably before addressing Kronos. "Even assuming that the other pieces haven't already been claimed, how would we find them?"

"I know where another piece is," Prometheus interjected as he scrambled back to the shelf. He pulled a large roll of parchment and rolled it out on a table, revealing a map of Tartarus. Artemis felt shocked as she observed the vast expanses of Tartarus displayed on the map. The map itself was split in half by the four rivers: Phlegethon, Cocytus, Styx, and Lethe, flowing down from the entrance to the underworld in the north. The four rivers joined in the Delta of Despair resting in the center, the River of Despair led south from the delta to the edge of the map.

Percy looked at the map in confusion. "I had no idea Tartarus was this big," he said as he examined it closer. Artemis was glad she was not the only one surprised by the sheer scale of it. "What are these different territories?" Percy pointed at five territories, four on the eastern half of the map and one in the northwestern portion.

"They are the legacy of the builders of this place," Prometheus answered as he gestured to the room around them. "See, this labyrinth is built underneath the Dark Citadel here," he pointed to the Dark Lands west of the River of Despair. His finger resting on a dark structure aptly named Dark Citadel near the northern border of the lands. "I actually know the way into it, but most would get lost here. I think this maze was built for many purposes; it is an escape route for the occupants of the citadel while not allowing an enemy force in, it also acts as a hide away for potential elites to do whatever it is they fancy. I think this structure was one such location. And, after some extensive research, I have discovered that all of these places were built by the same civilization. Their language is difficult to interpret, but the most direct translation I can come up with is, Skiódes."

"Shadow Ones," Artemis translated as she looked to Kronos. "You mentioned their progenitor." Kronos nodded to her. "It wouldn't happen to be Erebus, would it?"

Kronos nodded again. "The great Erebus crafted these beings from the shadows of his domains. They populated Tartarus for a long time, until they plotted against the great primordial. They tricked and imprisoned him before locking away the cage."

"So, what happened to them?" Percy asked in confusion.

"Nyx," the titan lord answered, the goddess and demigod's eyes widened. "She became enraged at her husband's imprisonment and warped the beings into forms fitting their beastly desire for power."

Artemis inhaled quickly. "Hellhounds," she realized, the titan nodding his head in agreement. "She turned them all into hellhounds?"

"That is how the story goes," Prometheus said finally. "The Skiódes were transformed by the primordial of night into beasts of shadows." He stood next to Percy and Artemis before looking where they did. "I can assume, by your interactions, that you both can see him as a physical being. That he converses with you both."

Percy and Artemis shared a look before Percy nodded. "We see him as a golden specter dressed as Luke was when he died. He comes and goes as he chooses, sort of like a bad penny," at that, a growling sound could be heard from the former titan king, "though his voice is always present."

"Fascinating," Prometheus said, resting a hand against his chin. "I assume he isn't able to physically interact with anything?"

"Not for a lack of trying," Percy answered. "But we are getting off topic, where was this other piece of Backbiter?"

Prometheus' eyes widened minutely, "Yes, of course." He quickly returned to the map, searching it over before pointing to the northwestern territory. "A piece landed in these Highlands and was taken into the Fortress Above by the warlord who rules there."

"Warlord?" Artemis asked in confusion. "Doesn't Tartarus rule here?"

Prometheus smiled. "Of course he does," Prometheus answered her question. "But there are always pockets of resistance here and there. This one has defied Tartarus for the longest."

"Can't Tartarus just stomp the fortress flat?" Percy questioned, observing the map.

Prometheus smiled. "Why couldn't Gaea just stomp Mount Olympus flat in the first Gigantomachy?" he asked rhetorically. "Powerful magic has been laced into these ancient structures. If Tartarus wants to tear them down, it will have to be done with legions and generals. This warlord commands legions of his own. Though, with the giants freed of Gaea's control, Tartarus may finally have the forces to take it."

"What of Pallas and Perses?" Artemis mentioned. "We found a war party on their way to join their forces."

Prometheus hummed in thought. "The brother titans are in the Desert of Terror," the titan pointed to a territory west of the Dark Lands. "They have been gathering forces for some time in the Tower of Terror. I believe they have a benefactor; however, they could not rally these forces otherwise."

Percy and Kronos shared looks. "We thought so as well," Percy said. "We think they are planning something against Tartarus."

"Well, they wouldn't be the first," Prometheus said. "Hyperion and I were planning the same if we had successfully resurrected Lord Kronos." He looked to where he thought Kronos was. He wasn't far off. "Maybe we still can."

"What?" Artemis asked, noticing the titan's inquisitive stare at the demigod.

"Perseus, under Lord Kronos' guidance, you could prove your power and rally the former forces of the Titans and bring that might down on Tartarus," Prometheus declared, his voice echoing through the ancient chamber. "You could take his place as ruler over this dominion."

Percy scowled at the titan. "I have no interest in anything but the protection of the mortal world," he answered in annoyance as he looked down at the map. The very idea that he could try to rule this desolate land disgusted him and the fact that Kronos was quiet at the moment worried him more.

"We are not on Earth, Perseus," Kronos retorted, his tone surprisingly non-hostile. "This is The Pit. If you wish to protect the mortal world, then you will have to take this world as your own."

"No," Percy denied him. "I can stop these titans now before they rise to power."

"And what do you think will happen if you defeat Tartarus?" Prometheus asked. "What happens when you defeat Pallas and Perses and their benefactor, whoever that may be? And what about the next villain? And the next?"

Kronos hummed in agreement. "He has a point, Perseus," he pointedly said as he appeared between the demigod and titan of foresight. Kronos looked down on him with intense and cruel eyes. The demigod clenched his fists, barely containing his rage that the titan would suggest such a thing. "Your enemies will never tire, never rest. As long as you live, you will be challenged and tested by the strong and the fierce."

Percy stood tall before the titan, rage boiling in his sea green and gold speckled eyes. "Then let them come at their own peril. I've done this for decades, killed these monsters tens of thousands of times over. I will bring these fortresses down upon their heads and drown the realm in the waters of the five rivers if I have too!" he vowed in a voice that could freeze the Phlegethon. A golden mist began bleeding from Percy's body. All around them, the ground shook as dust fell from above, minute cracks beginning to spread across the ancient ceiling. He glared at the titan lord with the full fury of the Earthshaker. "I will not be your pawn to regain your former glory. I defeated you once before, and I will not be controlled by you.

"Perseus!" Artemis shouted at the demigod. Percy looked at the goddess who balked at the flowing, golden light from his eyes.

The demigod closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The quakes slowed to a tremor before vanishing all together. His golden aura dissipated just as quickly. Percy opened his eyes, revealing his stoic, sea green eyes. "Sorry, I think all of this is starting to get to me," he apologized before taking a seat. He looked up to see the others looking to him in fear and concern. "What do you think we should do Artemis?" he asked, not trusting himself to really think.

Artemis chose to ignore his outburst before thinking. "Pallas and Perses seem to be the biggest priority right now," she answered him. "They are closer and are actively gathering forces. Plus, we need more information on who is backing them. This… warlord, is intriguing but if they have held their ground for this long, they can wait a little longer."

Prometheus nodded, "As good a plan as any. The Minotaur will guide you to the tower." He gestured to the beast who snorted in acknowledgment. "I have a few strings I can pull. When you return, head for the Dark Citadel. I will ensure you are welcomed with open arms."

"Why are you helping us?" Percy asked the titan of foresight.

Prometheus seemed to think about it momentarily. "You wouldn't believe me if I said I am just a loyal soldier. Let's just say I believe you to be a good investment."

"And the Minotaur?" Artemis questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"He is loyal to me, and in turn, you," he promised. As if in answer, the Minotaur huffed assertively.

"You expect me to work with that guy?" Percy argued, glaring at the monster.

Prometheus smiled. "It isn't like you are spoiled for choice my lord," Prometheus reasoned with the demigod. "I think you will find him a capable companion. Now go, your prey awaits."