*thanks for the support on the previous chapter. Tbf I didn't read the thing after I wrote it. I was like "eh imma read it and see how it is", turns out its fucking garbage lmfao. Dull as fuck and rushed. I'll prolly change it up a bit with this update (maybe not). Hopefully the writing should get better with this chapter. Btw ill respond to the reviews at the end of each chapter. Also, I don't really have a schedule but I'll still try to upload weekly or sth. Maybe get like 1k words a day in or sth idk. Whatever. Don't forget to review.
ILL BE RESPONDING TO REVIEWS AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER*
SUMMARY:
Percy Jackson is a clear sighted mortal whose dad left him and his mom at birth. In desperation, Sally married Gabe Ugliano, who killed her when Percy was 8, which landed Percy in an orphanage. Having enough of the abuse, he escapes the orphanage runs into the forest on his 11th birthday. At 14 years old, he meets a mysterious lady in the woods who may or may not be a Goddess.
Chapter 2: The Big Reveal.
It had been two years since his interaction with Artemis. A lot has happened since then. He grew up, got taller, got stronger, and became a lot more knowledgeable compared to before. But, that's not the only thing that happened during those long two years.
He saw some weird stuff. And what he means by weird is creepy, disgusting, horrifying, bone-chilling, whatever you want to call it.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
~.~ FLASHBACK ~.~
It was a random summer evening, he was resting on his hand-made hammock, enjoying the chipping of the birds and the warmth of the sun on his tanned skin, he heard a high-pitched chilling shriek.
Immediately jumping out of his hammock, Percy ran towards the source of the sound to investigate. But when he reached the place the sound came from, all he found was gold dust on the ground.
Fighting against his naturally curious nature, he decided to get the fuck out of there. He ran back to his camp, packed his shit and moved locations.
~.~ FLASHBACK END ~.~
Though, that wouldn't be the first time something unusual like that happened to him. Some time after that offsetting experience, during fall, something even more horrifying happened.
~.~ FLASHBACK ~.~
He was on the way to head back to his camp, a rabbit on his right hand that was being held by its ears. His bow was slung over his back, and his hunting knife sheathed on his waist. After hunting for about two hours, all he managed to catch was a small rabbit. It looked like luck wasn't on his side today. Percy let out a sigh. Even though it wasn't much, it still would keep his hunger in check till the next meal.
Out of nowhere, he heard a loud feminine scream to his left. A scream that was full of pain. Fuck.
Dropping the rabbit onto the ground, Percy ran in the direction of the noise. It wasn't every day that you heard screams in the forest.
When Percy got there, he saw an armored boy fighting a massive one-eyed monster with a bronze sword and a shield. The boy was fighting a cyclops . The cyclops had a torn underwear covering its private area. It was wielding a huge spiked club that could only be wielded by a being of that size.
Gold dust littered the ground. It was the same gold dust he saw months ago. There was also a girl a few feet away from the boy laying on the ground next to a tree. A few feet away from her, there was an open backpack that was currently lying on its side. The girl was wearing the same armor that was worn by the teenager boy fighting the cyclops. Albeit the armor was a size too big for her. The girl's armor had a noticeable dent on it. Clearly injured, she no longer could participate in the fight.
The armored boy ducked under the bat. But what he was not accepting was the cyclops hitting him on the nose with a jab. He was sent sprawling to the ground, his sword getting launched a few feet away from him.
Percy's heart was hammering in his chest. His every instinct told him to run. This was not his fight. He couldn't fight a fucking cyclops.
As the cyclops walked towards the boy he realized he couldn't just let these kids die. Muttering a silent "Fuck it." to himself, Percy raised his bow. Quickly notching an arrow, he aimed at the cyclops' single eye and released the arrow.
Sending a quick prayer to God, he hoped for his shot to hit its mark. Raising its club to finish the job, the cyclops wasn't expecting an arrow to hit his shoulder and bounce off.
"Fuck." He cursed as he saw his arrow effortlessly bounce off of the monsters thick skin.
Even though the arrow didn't hurt the cyclops in any shape way or form, it still caused enough confusion for the boy to grab his sword and recover back up. Wasting no time the boy went for a clean strike to the cyclops' neck. Attempting to behead it.
Watching the sword cut through the monster, Percy was NOT expecting the cyclops to turn to gold dust.
The boy sighed in relief, seeing that the danger was eliminated.
"You okay?" Percy asked the boy as he walked into the clearing.
The boy's head snapped towards him. He raised his sword, getting ready to fight for his life once again.
"Woah! Chill." Percy pointed towards the gold dust that was a monster moments ago. "I'm on your side! I was the one who shot the arrow at the monster,"
The boy reluctantly lowered his sword, still skeptical of Percy. "and by the way, what the fuck was that thing!?"
"Thanks for the help, but we really got to go." The boy answered, avoiding his question.
"I can treat your wounds if you answer some of my questions" He tried negotiating with the teenager.
"Thanks but uh, yeah- no. We gotta get going. Can't stay at the same place for too long."
Percy pointed at the badly injured girl who was still on the ground. "She can't even move!"
The boy seemed to ignore his words. Instead, he walked up to the girl. Kneeling down, he grabbed the already-open backpack and took out a golden drink. Bringing the bottle up to the half-conscious girl's lips, he let her take a few sips before putting the bottle aside.
Immediately, the girl's wounds started healing. Her barely open eyes snapped open on high alert, and she got up like she wasn't half-dead ten seconds ago.
" What. The. Fuck . " Percy exclaimed in shock. He really needed answers after that. But it looked like they weren't too keen on answering his questions as they grabbed their bearings and started running.
"Get back here!" He shouted after the teenagers, starting to run after them. He couldn't keep up. Even though they were heavily injured, they were still outrunning him. The girl was half fucking dead. He was already far away from his camp though. Still, he would get his answers, one way or another. Right now though, he had to get back to his camp. He had a rabbit to pick up on the way.
~.~ FLASHBACK END ~.~
Plot twist, he never got his answers. Kind of. Greek mythology had cyclops in it but he never found information on them turning to golden dust after being killed. And about the drink that healed the girl's injuries, he had no clue whatsoever.
Percy let out a big sigh. He was starting to lose his mind. He hadn't talked to a human being in months. Even though the forest was a "fun" place to live in, it still lacked in human interaction. He craved to have someone to talk to. Someone to interact with.
A thought crossed his mind. The nearest town wasn't that far away. He could maybe get into a bar. Despite being 16, he looked mature. His lifestyle of six years has changed him a lot. He hoped he wouldn't be asked for identification. He has never gotten drunk before anyway. He just wanted to experience it once. He could arrive there by tomorrow.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
~.~ LINEBREAK ~.~
His heart was pounding in his chest, threatening to burst out of his ribcage. His hand was wrapped around the door handle. He could hear the noise coming from inside the bar. Bottles slamming down, laughing, he could even hear a chair being moved. He wanted this. It was his choice coming here. Yet, something felt wrong. Everything about this felt like a mistake. He should have never come down to this place. He didn't belong in here.
Percy was frozen in place. He didn't know how long he stayed at the door for, nor did he care about it. He didn't want to move. He wasn't even sure if he could move if he tried.
He didn't even realize his hand was shaking until the door handle slipped out of his grip. Percy took a few steps back away from the door. The 16-year-old took a few deep inhales.
No. He would not do this. Percy wouldn't let himself become like him. Turning around, he took off running, trying to get as far away as possible.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
~.~ FLASHBACK ~.~
He could hear Smelly Gabe at the front door. He was trying to put the keys in and unlock the door. However, he was hammered . Absolutely thrashed and wasted from drinking and playing poker. It seemed like Gabe was extra angry today as he smashed the door loudly a few times. He probably lost all his money.
"WHEN THE FUCK ARE YOU GONNA OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR!?" Gabe's enraged voice shouted behind the door followed up by a few more bangs.
"Coming." Sally responded gently, voice high enough for Gabe to hear.
Sally ushered Percy into his room. Trying to get him out of harm's way. Gabe was always mad at Percy. If he was angry now, seeing Percy would make him livid.
"Whatever happens, stay in this room. Hide- " Her voice got cut off by Gabe's shouting. She looked towards the door for a split second. "OPEN THIS DAMN FUCKING DOOR BEFORE I BREAK IT."
"Hide in the closet Percy." She said before breaking eye contact and closing the door.
After that, he could hear the front door being unlocked. Gabe's steps were audible, even from his spot in the closet. He could hear a clear-sounding slap followed up by a gasp.
"THE FUCK TOOK YOU SO LONG!?" Gabe yelled into Sally's face, his eyes glazed over in alcohol filled rage. Balling his hand into a fist, Gabe hit Sally with a nasty backhand. She was sent straight onto the ground.
"Get. Up." Gabe growled, a crazy look on his disproportionate face.
Sally pushed himself from the ground with the help of her hands. As Gabe raised his hands into the air once again, Percy couldn't help himself. He remembers his mom's words for a second, but he simply couldn't hide away while his mom was getting hurt like that.
"NO!" He screamed as he pushed the doors of the closet. Percy immediately ran straight to the door and reached up to open the door. He didn't expect to get lifted up into the air by his hair the moment he opened the door.
Percy screamed in pain. Gabe was holding him up with his right hand, and his left hand was balled into a fist on his side.
"NO! DON'T HURT HIM" Sally cried out as she reached out to take the little boy out of Gabe's hands. "ARGHH" Gabe used all his strength to push her away. In process, he turned his right hand, causing even greater pain to the little boy. Sally was sent back onto the ground.
He looked back at the little boy. Pure hatred in his eyes.
"You. " Gabe glared at Percy. "You made my life fucking miserable." He put both his hands around the kid's neck, choking the boy. Percy could feel his vision fading away due to the lack of oxygen that his brain was being deprived of. He was thrashing around however this didn't seem to soften the drunken man's tight grip around his neck. His futile attempts at kicking himself free didn't even faze the older man. Percy's face went crimson as he continued to suffocate. His limbs went numb as he started losing consciousness, tears in his eyes.
~.~ FLASHBACK END ~.~
Percy came to a sudden stop as he gasped for air. His heart was pounding in his chest. He could still distantly feel rough hands clasped around his neck. His hand went to his throat subconsciously, his breathing still erratic. He could hear the peaceful sounds of a waterfall nearby. It sounded so distant..
He could still feel the tight grip of Gabe's hands wrapped around his neck. Percy's hand subconsciously went to his throat. It was over now. He didn't have to worry. He never saw that that abusive piece of fucking shit again after he got locked up.
Percy let out a slow exhale. He wouldn't let this ruin his day. Listening out to identify the waterfall's location, Percy started walking towards the sound of water. As the splashing sounds of the waterfall got louder, his mind cleared, and peace resonated within him. Each step he took brought him a feeling of pure bliss. And when he finally arrived there, every single step he took was worth it.
It was a river stream leading to a waterfall from a large cliff. He was on top of the cliff, overlooking the forest below and the decline of the sun going down the horizon. Streak of orange and pink stretched across the sky, leaving the onlookers in awe. The waterfall led into a beautiful, clear lake that was bathed in the astonishing hues of the sunset. And when someone cleared their throat right behind him, he absolutely lost his shit.
Percy's immediately turned behind him, his head snapping to meet the eyes of the newly introduced person. His heart skipped a beat as he stared into silver colored orbs. The world quieted down around him as he looked into those angelic eyes. He easily recognized the identity of the person whose eyes he was lost in. He recognized the long flowing auburn hair, those fierce silver eyes, and those sharp facial features. How could he forget her? It was Artemis.
"Beautiful view isn't it?" The person in question said.
"Huh? Wha- Y-Yeah." Percy stuttered. His cheeks flushed in red from the embarrassment. He can't be stuttering in front of her. "Get your shit together, Percy." He berated himself. He couldn't look her straight in the yes when she was looking at him like that. "It's b-beautiful out here." He looked back towards the waterfall, avoiding eye contact with Artemis.
Artemis giggled. Her melodic laugh made him freeze up in his place. He couldn't come up with anything coherent to continue the conversation with . "God, this girl is driving me fucking crazy." Percy thought to himself, almost groaning out loudly in frustration.
"Nervous much?" Artemis commented with her head slightly tilted to the right.
Percy looked at the ground. His face somehow getting even redder. The teen's embarrassment clearly visible to the outside world. He refused to answer her question.
"It's a special place, isn't it?" Artemis said, sitting down by the edge of the cliff, near the waterfall. "I come here sometimes to clear my mind."
Percy nodded, following Artemis' example and sitting down next to her.
They watched the alluring, breathtaking scenery in silence. The sound of the rushing water soothing them both. The sky continued its colorful display; casting a warm, golden glow over the landscape.
"You know," Artemis said, turning her head to look at him in the eyes. "It's impressive for you to survive this long by yourself."
"Oh." Percy began, not really expecting a compliment. "Thanks, I guess."
"How did you end up living out here in the woods," She inquired, lifting her eyebrows in curiosity. "You know, it's not really a common place to live all by yourself. Especially for a person your age."
Percy looked at the ground, remembering the chain of events that led him here. He thought about his mom. Sally Jackson. What wouldn't he do to see her once again. To talk to her one more time. To hug her one last time. He would give the entire world to just to be in her presence for one more second. She didn't deserve his dad. His biological father who left them. If he had stayed with them and hadn't left him at birth, all of this never would've happened.
Percy didn't realize that he zoned out until Artemis waved her hand in front of his face a multiple times. He was about to answer her question when she began to talk.
"You don't have to answer, If you are not comfortable, we can drop-"
"No," Percy cut her off sharply. "I have to do this. I need to get it out of my chest."
"Okay" Artemis said softly.
"My father left when I was born. I don't know much about him. Mom refused to talk to me about him. All she ever told me was that I got my eyes from him." Percy paused for a second, gathering his thoughts.
"When I was about 3, mom married this guy called Gabe Ugliano. I don't really know how or where they met but- I mean he was a pretty cool guy at first. He was a caring, nice, and a hardworking guy. I don't really remember that year. I was pretty young and all." Percy swallowed the saliva that had been building up inside his mouth.
He had never talked about this to anyone ever. Needless to say, he was pretty fucking nervous. Despite the fact that he found her presence immensely soothing, his past was still a sore subject to talk about- not that he had ever talked to anybody about it. Regardless of how much he would've wanted it to disappear, the trauma that his former stepfather inflicted on him wasn't going away any time soon.
"Shit went south when I turned four." Percy took a deep breath. "His personality switched up completely, it was almost like a switch flipped in him. There was no trace of his old demeanor. He was rude, always mad at something and he stopped going to work. He would invite some of his friends over and they'd play poker all day long. They'd drink crap ton of alcohol, get absolutely wasted and lose themselves. The abuse started some time after that."
Artemis mentioned him to go on.
"It- Uhh- The abuse got gradually worse as the time went on. He would beat my mom up, beat me up. He'd stay home, eat all day and play poker. He didn't go outside or anything. I mean- Actually he did go outside sometimes but when he did, it was to go to a bar. Most of the household income went into feeding him. Because he stopped working, mom had to get a second job to keep us afloat. He lost his temper really fast. When he did…. Well, it wasn't fun." Artemis got visibly angry at what he just said but still opted to stay silent.
"I got some permanent scars from the cuts that he inflicted on me. He'd get this crazy look in his eyes and the next thing you know- yeah." Percy shifted in his place, turning his back to her. Artemis gasped when she saw the scars that were littered on his back. It was unbelievable almost.
"I have them all around my body. Just gotta live with it I guess." Percy put his shirt back on.
"Where's he now?" Artemis was practically fuming. How can a person be this evil.
"Well, shit went on like that for years. One day, when I was eight years old, he took it way too far. I still remember that bloody fucking day." Percy zoned out for a second, recalling the day it all happened. He wasn't going to forget it any time soon. As much as he'd like to remove the imagery of his mom laying unconsciously on the ground, getting beating to a pulp by his step-father from his mind, he unfortunately couldn't do it. He had to live with the trauma.
Percy cleared his throat. "It was over fucking nothing. All over a bottle of fucking beer." He dug at the dirt beneath his fingers.
"I don't exactly recall what she was doing prior to that but I remember everything clear as day after the shit started going south." Percy gulped. "She was lying there on the fucking ground as he beat her skull in. It was an atrocious sight to see. Especially as a kid." He didn't want to talk about that scene no more. "Moving on."
"After that I ran out the door. That piece of shit noticed it though and went after me. He tripped and fell down while trying to run after me so that gave me a few seconds while he tried to lift his fat ass off the ground. I uh- ran into the street, and into a closed-off alleyway. I tried hiding there but well, I failed. He tried to kill me too, but luckily the cops were there in time."
"Woke up in a hospital, got told that my mom died and I would be living in an orphanage from now on." Percy scoffed. "Let me tell you one thing about orphanages, they suck. They absolutely fucking suck. I got bullied, beat up, assaulted and everything in-between. Took it for a few years expecting the living conditions to get better but they did not. So, on my 11th birthday, 25th of August, after living in an orphanage for 3 years, I ran away, never to come back. I've been living in the woods since." Percy ended his story with a clap of his hands and looked down at the splashing of the waterfall.
"Wow." Artemis said, breaking the loud silence. "That's a lot, especially for a child. Sorry you had to go through that."
"Yep." Percy replied, popping the letter 'p'.
"How did you manage to survive though? An 11-year-old should not be able to survive in a forest, with wild animals, all by himself." Artemis asked, genuinely intrigued about him.
"Uhh- When I was in orphanage, I took an interest in nature. We didn't really have much to do in there. I spent my free time learning about wild animals, camping, survival out in the wild and everything of that kind while I was in there. Still, the first few months were the hardest. The fact that my journey began during the summer really helped me out as well. I would not have survived if I had escaped in winter. The first winter sucked. The ruthless weather conditions absolutely pushed my limits. But yeah, after the first winter, surviving became a thousand times easier. I fell into a rhythm. Surviving through the next winter felt so much easier than the first." Percy answered Artemis' question.
"Still very impressive," Artemis complimented, staring him in the eyes. "You shouldn't downplay yourself."
The person in mention blushed crimson red. "T-thanks." Percy said turning away, not being able to look her in the eyes.
Artemis laughed at the clearly embarrassed boy's reaction.
God, that beautiful laugh again. Despite having not consumed drugs in his entire lifetime, he was sure the sound of her laughing could top it off. He could get high from her laugh.
Suddenly, a question popped into his mind from nowhere. "What about you?"
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked in a confused tone.
"Oh- I mean- Like-" Percy stuttered. "Since when have you been living out here? Don't you have a home?"
"Since a long time. I've been living in the woods since I've been born, this place is my home." She replied.
"What do you mean since a long time? I mean- we look the same age."
Artemis opened her mouth like she was berating saying something for a second before closing it back up.
"What?" Percy asked confusedly, lifting an eyebrow up.
Artemis sat up suddenly, looking alert as ever. Percy immediately followed her move and sat up right after she did. Hairs on his body rose as he felt the tension building up in the air. Something wasn't right, they were being watched.
Percy noticed Artemis' eyes narrowing as she looked forward. Suddenly, Artemis reached forward with her left hand. Bright light radiated from her fingers, getting brighter and growing bigger each passing second. Percy's eyes widened as his eyes locked onto Artemis' hand. It hurt his eyes to look into the bright flash, however he couldn't take his eyes away. His mouth was left agape as the light went away, revealing a beautifully crafted bow that had intricate designs engraved on it.
"What the FUCK!? " Percy took a step back, shocked. He couldn't believe his eyes. His brain couldn't process what was going on. She literally just summoned a bow out of thin air. Out of thin fucking air.
Before Percy could wrap his mind around what he had just witnessed, a low, deep growl emerged from the shadows. The sound sent shivers down his spine. Sun had completely set by now.
A monstrous creature entered the opening. The monster had the body of a lion, long tail of a scorpion, and a human-like face that was twisted into a snarl. Its eyes glowed with malicious intent. Percy froze. It was a manticore. A manticore. A deadly monster that originated from Greek Myths. If he had to summarize the creature in a single word, it would've been ' evil'.
Percy's heart hammered in his chest. He didn't even have a weapon. He had no means to defend himself. Even if he did have his stuff with him, it wouldn't have even mattered. He couldn't just defend himself against a manticore.
"Stay behind me." Artemis said in a commanding, stern but gentle tone.
He didn't even have time to retaliate as the manticore began talking. " We meet again, Goddess." The manticore snarled at Artemis.
There was nothing he could do against this thing. Just being in the presence of the manticore sent shivers down his spine. Feeling utterly helpless, Percy moved behind Artemis, following her command.
However, the sudden movement wasn't left unnoticed. The manticore's attention snapped to him, its eyes boring straight into his. Percy immediately looked away, hoping for the manticore to move its focus away from him. There were no words being exchanged for a few seconds, the manticore continued staring at him whilst Artemis watched the monster closely, intently observing every single move the manticore made.
" A mortal man?" He snickered, failing to hold in his laughter. " Gods above Artemis, is this how low-". The manticore was cut off by a silver arrow flying at unimaginable speeds towards him. The arrow made a resounding booming noise as it passed the speed barrier. It continued getting faster and faster, closing in on its target.
Not wanting to get skewered before the fight even began, the manticore sidestepped the arrow. As the arrow whisked past him, the manticore followed the arrow with his eyes, watching it impale the poor tree behind him. However, turning his back towards his enemies did not seem to be the best idea as Artemis chose this moment to strike. Her bow vanished, being replaced by two silver daggers that she was now holding in each of her hands.
Wanting the fight to be over as soon as possible, Artemis dashed towards the manticore in the blink of an eye. The manticore barely had enough time to react to her attack. He stepped back to evade a slash that was aimed for the his neck. Though, the monster couldn't evade the attack entirely as Artemis' dagger cut through its lower lip and left an open wound on the monster's chin.
The manticore growled in anger as he was found himself on the back foot, struggling to dodge the Huntress' relentless attacks. The fight was in Artemis' favor and both sides knew that very clearly. In an effort to change the course of the battle, the manticore attempted being a little offensive rather than defensive. If the Goddess continued on her whirlwind of attacks, the fight would've been over in a few seconds. The manticore knew that.
This was his moment. Side stepping an overhead slash, the manticore swung his tail at maximum force towards Artemis' legs, hoping to catch her off-guard. However, one thing the monster didn't take into account was the Goddess' agility. Artemis leaped into air, the manticore's poisonous tail whipping past her feet. The manticore's eyes widened as he realized the position he was in.
The momentum of the tail spun the manticore with it, making him turn his back against the Huntress. Artemis, while still in the air, front kicked the manticore's back, sending him sprawling into the ground face-first.
Artemis was ready to finish off her prey, but the manticore had a smart idea. As he turned to face his enemy, he shot thorns at Percy. Artemis' eyes widened, realizing where the thorns were flying towards.
"NO!" Artemis shouted. If she ran for the thorns, the manticore would send much more coming their way. At the same time, these thorns were flying too fast for a mortal to dodge. And if Percy got hit with one of the thorns, well, let's just say the results wouldn't be pretty. The manticore had already gotten back up.
Making a split-second decision, Artemis flung her left dagger towards the four thorns at an angle, hoping to hit at least two of tthem. The rest was up to Percy.
This gave the manticore just enough time to conjure up an attack to give himself the upper hand. Spinning a full circle, the legendary monster whipped its tail at Artemis' left cheek at full speed. Not being able to get out of the tail's way, The Goddess raised her right arm to protect her head. The force of the blow threw her dagger away from her hand, also stunning her. Seeing this as its chance, the manticore kept attacking her with the poisonous tail, stacking hits upon hits. Artemis tried to back away, but it was futile. The monster didn't even leave a second for her to breathe, attacking as rapidly as he could.
Not being able to take any more hits, Artemis dropped to the floor. The poison couldn't kill her due to her being a Goddess and all but it sure as hell could hurt. The manticore walked up to her body, victorious gleam in his eyes and a mocking smirk clearly visible on his face. The monster opened his mouth but it quickly turned into a shriek of pain.
Percy stood behind the manticore, holding her dagger, which was now dripping with the monster's blood, in his right hand, standing against the the manticore with determination evident in his eyes. As he went to stab the monster a few more times, the manticore swiftly turned around. The boy's eyes widened. The manticore pounced onto Percy, hitting him with its paws. The teenage boy was sent to the floor, air knocked out of his lungs.
" Consider yourself dead, mortal." The manticore hissed. " For I am the-"
The monster didn't have time to finish its sentence as a silver arrow went through its head, leaving golden dust behind. Artemis was laying on the ground, with her bow in hand. Breathing a sigh of relief she cast her weapons away. She'd be able to fully recover with just a few ambrosias. The manticore wasn't really strong enough to damage her badly. Percy, in the other hand…
Suddenly, she sat up as fast as she could. She ran to his side, checking him for any serious injuries. He had a paw mark on his chest due to the monster's claws being out as it pushed the boy into the ground. Nothing that wouldn't heal with time. Other than that, he didn't seem to have been injured at all. It looked like Percy was able to dodge the arrows.
"You good?" Percy asked with a worried look on his face.
"Don't worry about me," She exclaimed. "Are you hurt?"
Percy shook his head. Her headache got worse. Right, the poison. Summoning a few ambrosias, Artemis downed them one by one, the effects of the poison vanishing alongside her injuries.
Awkward silence sat between them after that. Percy was confused. He didn't know what was going on. Strange monsters dissolving into golden dust, summoning stuff out of air, the monster saying Goddess. It all caused him a headache trying to connect the dots.
"So," Artemis cleared her throat, not sure how she should break the news to the mortal teenager. Or, if she should even reveal it. The boy was clearly a clear sighted mortal. He witnessed her summoning her weapons; he saw the manticore, hell, he even stabbed it.
"So!?" Percy exasperated in complete disbelief. He was going crazy, slowly losing his sanity. Everything was connected, and his brain was about to shirt-circuit trying to connect it all together.
Seeing that there was no way around the subject, Artemis decided to cut to the chase and give it straight up. "Answer me this, do you know anything about Greek mythology?" Artemis asked the confused boy.
Percy nodded his head. "Yeah? I don't know much but yeah I guess?"
"All of it is real; gods, monsters, demigods, everything." The Goddess revealed, searching Percy's face for a reaction. However, the boy was displaying no signs of emotion on his face.
"Bullshit." Percy stated, not even believing his own words. What was he supposed to believe? He just wanted a reasonable explanation that sat well with his brain. He wanted a proper answer. An explanation that was rational. Artemis was joking, right? She had to be.
"The mist divides the mortal world from the divine world, hiding the truth. It changes the way you see supernatural occurrences. However, sometimes, some mortals are born with a gift, you may call it a curse, even. These special mortals can see past the veil that's in front of everybody else, we call it clear-sightedness." Artemis paused for a second. "It appears that you have this ability that only a small percentage of mortals possess."
Percy sat up, taking a few steps back from her. "Why are you lying to me? Tell me what's going on- please." The boy begged, refusing to believe the truth that was right in front of him. He refused to do it.
"I'm not lying to you Percy." Artemis exclaimed, being patient with the boy.
"No- Wha- T-Then what does that make you? Are you a clear-sighted mortal like me? How the hell did you summon crap out or air. What are you?"
"No, Percy, I'm not a clear-sighted mortal. I'm Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, Wilderness, Childbirth, and the Moon."
*shit took like 6-7 months to write lol i was mad procastinating. Idk what im going to do about the first chapter cuz it was straight ASS. I gotta update that one day frfr. Imma get to the reviews tho.*
Azure Mane: thanks g, honestly I get it it was acc pretty bad when I read it. First bit of this chapter kinda sucks but yeah. I tried being a bit descriptive n all on this chapter overall. Thx for the tip!
Shadow (Guest): He's a clear sighted mortal xd. Ion wanna spoil much on the other questions tho. Thanks for the review!
turbo (Guest): yuh
Cgl3: there you go lmao. Idk when the next update is going to be tho. Depends on my motivation levels frfr. Thanks for the support!
*Ight guys that's it ig. Idk when the next chapters going to release but yeah. If u have any suggestions or constructive criticism or whatever put it in the reviews or u can js dm me. Imma go proof read this lol, I don't want it to end up like the first chapter. Cya
Im back nvm cba to proof read im posting this shit lol*