[David's Pov]

I had never seen Chiron get upset.

It seemed like, no matter what absurd trouble the campers caused, the wise centaur was thoughtful enough to calmly analyze the situation and suggest a fitting solution.

However, half a dozen pegasi escaping the camp, added with a complete demolition of the stable, was something even he couldn't take in stride.

"So, let me recap what happened."

Chiron's voice trembled with barely controlled emotions. It was hard to look up higher than the pool table as his tail swished left and right.

"First off, Mr. David. You dragged Thalia to the stables for a riding lesson. Did you know Thalia had Acrophobila?"

I wished nothing more than to become one of the leftover nacho chips stranded on the poker set.

Each word felt like hot daggers stabbing my gut, and it was burdensome ten times more to spit out the answer.

"No, sir."

"Did you, at that time, have the authority to instruct a ridding lesson without any supervision?"

"...No, sir," I mumbled miserably.

It was one thing to get scolded for something you did with a good intention, but the disappointment and anger contained in Chiron's voice—the fact that I let him down deeply—made it much more unbearable

Then, to my surprise, Thalia stepped up.

"It was my fault," she said, "David tried to stop me when I got on Blackjack, but I ignored his words and took off."

I looked up at her, mouth gapping in shock. Thalia Grace, doing something selfless? Was I dreaming?

Chiron seemed surprised, too.

He stopped in the middle of clopping back and forth to stare at Thalia with his eyebrows raised.

"You chose to take off on a pegasus? Why?"

"To prove that I could," Thalia replied stoutly.

It was not untrue, but a crucial detail was missing that I'd taunted her to take the challenge in the first place.

Of course, I wouldn't have done such a thing if I had known Thalia feared heights, but still...

Thalia met my amazed eyes and wrinkled her nose.

She mouthed, "Don't get any funny ideas." then turned to face Chiron as he let out a huge sigh.

"In that case, I believe both of you are responsible for this catastrophe.

Therefore, I'll sentence both of you to two weeks of stable cleaning duty after the repair work is done.

Also, it will be your task to bring the escaped pegasi back here before any of them get harmed."

""Yes, sir."" We answered.

With a heavy nod, Chiron dismissed us.

Thalia was silent while we walked out of the Big House, so I decided it would be better if I said the first word.

"Thanks for taking cover," I said.

Thalia snorted in response.

"As I said, don't get any funny ideas. I didn't take the blame for no reason. Now, you owe me one."

She grabbed my shoulder and pulled me close.

Her spiky hair nearly poked me in the eyes as she leaned next to my ear.

"If you ever tell anyone else I'm...uncomfortable with heights, I swear on Hades that'll be the last rumor you'll spread."

"What's wrong with having a fear of heights?" I asked, pushing Thalia away with a frown, "That's a normal fear everyone has."

"Maybe it's normal for you, but I'm a child of Zeus. I am not supposed to be afraid of anything," She scowled back.

Her words made me frown deeper.

Since when was 'Not having any fear' a pivotal trait of the Children of Zeus? Even Heracles had feared Typhoon when it attacked Olympus.

"Thalia, I think you are being too harsh on yourself," I started, but Thalia rolled her eyes and brushed me off.

As Thalia walked away, a few Aphrodite Campers glanced at between with interest, giggling while exchanging excited whispers.

Great. Now, I'll have to deal with another stupid gossip between me and Thalia. Lee Fletcher won't be happy when he hears it.

"Ugh..."

I might as well take care of the trouble at hand.

Although, I had no idea how to track a flying horse on the loose. It wasn't like they left traces through the air.

Maybe Silena could give me some advice; she was the Pegasus Professor inside the camp.

Besides, I owed her an apology for demolishing the stables.

[Line Break]

The damage to the stable was more severe than I had first expected.

More than half of the stables were unrecognizable and turned into a pile of burnt woods scattered on the ground.

It stung my heart when I realized the area where the lightning struck was also where we—Cabin 5—kept our skeleton horses.

The duo, Deim and Phob, were not strangers to dying, but that didn't make me feel any better for accidentally turning them into a pile of dust.

The remaining pegasi snorted and stomped their hooves on the wet grass as I approached them.

I didn't speak horse language, but the loathsome glare from the flying equestrians was enough proof that I was on the top of their list of poop targets.

"Sorry, I'll fix your homes as fast as possible," I said.

One Pegasus snorted as if saying, "Yeah, right. Try not to bring down what we have left, will you?"

I looked around, expecting to find Silena nearby, tending to the angry Pegasi. She cared for the Pegasi more than anyone else in the Camp did, after all.

Oddly, however, I couldn't find her anywhere near the Pegasi.

Maybe she went to look over the remains of the burnt portion of the stables, hoping to salvage what was left.

I tip-toed over the smoking wood carvings, careful not to accidentally knock one over and risk bringing down the unstable structure.

When I got close to the rubbles, I heard an unexpected sound: a stifled sound of someone sobbing.

I was about to call out her name when I heard Silena's tearful voice, trembling like a willow branch in a harsh wind.

"P, please...it was an accident. It won't happen again. Just please... leave the others alone..."

My hand immediately jumped to my sword. I couldn't understand what Silena was talking about, but it was obvious that someone was threatening her.

But before I jumped in, a bubbly—yet, bone-chillingly cold voice responded to Silena's plea.

"Of course, it won't happen again," the feminine voice said, "Because if there is one more mistake like this, I'll fill up my threat for real."

It was soft as if she was gently scolding a whining child, but the presence behind the voice made me tense. My instinct warned that the identity behind the voice was a powerful and vile being, even by monster standards.

Still, I couldn't just stand by if someone was threatening Silena. I drew my new sword and peeked out from the corner.

Silena was standing in the middle of a small caved-in area of the remains of the demolished stable.

Dark smoke swirled around her like she was burning wet wood in stacks.

Then, the monstrous voice spoke again.

"There is a rat eavesdropping..."

I flinched.

The strange voice was coming from Silena.

Black smoke bellowed from her mouth, and when she turned around, Silena's eyes were blood-red.

"Ah, if it isn't our master's trump card," the thing possessing Silena grinned widely, but her narrowed eyes were anything but kindly.

I had no idea what the monster was talking about.

Whoever the ambiguous master was or why I was considered a trump card, none of it mattered at the moment.

I drew my sword and pointed it forward.

"Get out of my friend's body!"

"Or what?" The monster jeered, "Are you going to stab this girl through the chest?"

The monster took a step closer, tempting me to try and attack.

I kept my blade leveled, but it had a point. I couldn't harm it without maiming Silena as well.

The monster let out a shrill laughter.

"You are the blackest sheep of the bunch, aren't you? I have never seen a son of Ares act this noble."

It reached out and tapped my chin.

"From next time, let's pick on someone you can actually take on, shall we?"

Before I could react, the monster lunged forward and clamped on my shoulder blade.

I grunted as rows of teeth sunk into my skin and drew blood. There were too many fangs to be considered normal.

Black smoke gushed out from Silena and dissolved into the air. Before it did, I caught a glimpse of a pale-skinned, red-eyed face leering at us.

Then, Silena pushed me away.

Gladly, her eyes were back to normal—even if they were brimming with tears.

"Hey..." I started, but Silena shook her head violently.

"...don't, don't tell anyone about this. Please..."

"What? Silena, you are being threatened by a monster. We can't just keep this under the rug!"

"You have to!" Silena screamed.

I stepped back, surprised.

Silena never raised her voice about anything—not even when the Stoll Brothers trashed Cabin 10 with one of their pranks.

She was a strong leader to her fellow cabinmates and a deep-hearted individual everyone could trust.

"David, please...don't tell anyone about this. I, I can't afford the consequences if the word slips out..."

But here she was, trembling with fear while curled up into a ball with her hands clasped over her ears.

I knelt next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"If you want to keep it a secret, then I will. But there is a catch."

Silena looked up with a slight hiccup.

"Wh-what's that?"

"If that monster ever bothers you again, you'll ask me for help," I said with a grin, "I know your secret now, so there is no harm telling me, right?"

"I..." Silena gulped down an invisible pill and smiled back. "...Thanks, David. I'll keep that in mind."

Silena pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her tears. Then, her eyes dropped to the bite mark on my shoulder blade.

"Oh, that's nasty. We'd better go to the infirmary..."

I waved away her concerned hand.

"Nah, I've had worse with my siblings...and Thalia."

Silena giggled, "There is a rather big rumor floating around in my cabin between you two. Lee is not happy about that."

I let out a groan. Teenage romance is one of the least concerning things in my life.

After all, the girl of my dreams was over three thousand years old.

...Huh. When you put it that way, it does feel a bit odd.

"Can you tell them there is nothing going on between her and me apart from a very one-sided rivalry? It's kind of like Clarisse and Percy."

Silena winked in response and turned around. Right before going around the corner, the daughter of Aphrodite stopped.

With her back still turned, she said, "...I'm glad that...you were the one who found me, David. Thanks for the help and encouragement. "

"The gladness is all mine."

I gave her a bow before realizing she wouldn't see it anyway.

When I looked up, however, Silena was facing me. She gave a one last dazzling smile before sprinting off.

I stood in my spot in a daze for a long time.

No wonder so many boys were after her. She knew how to imprint herself on other's minds.

...I also forgot to ask how to track down the Pegasi.

I considered following after her, but in the end, I decided it would be best to let her rest after the shaking experience.

Besides, I had one other option...even if I didn't like it.

With a resinged sigh, I turned my steps toward the woods. I hope Hecuba wasn't causing too much trouble there...

[Line Break]

Going deep in the woods was an unspoken taboo in Camp Half-Blood.

Although the entire woodland was considered as the ground of the camp, there was too much danger inside the forest.

A handful of monsters roamed the darkness, not to mention the nymphs themselves acted more cranky.

There were even rumors that there was a Groove of whispering trees that drove people insane if they listened too closely.

All in all, it was considered wise not to venture too far into the woods.

That meant it was a perfect place to meet someone you'd have trouble explaining otherwise.

I pushed aside some huge leaves, ignoring the annoyed scowls from a dryad, and walked up to a cave.

The cave entrance was pitch black, ignoring the sunlight shining obliquely. The sound of someone tearing flesh echoed from the inside.

"Hecuba, you better be eating a monster inside there."

The horrid noise stopped, and then, from the darkness, a giant black wolf merged out into the forest.

"Greetings, Μεσσίας(Messiah). On what occasion have you come to your humble servant?" Hecuba bowed her head.

"I told you not to call me that," I scowled.

The troublesome wolf snickered and shrank herself down until we were at a similar eye level.

"And I know it gets on your nerves," She replied coyly, "But seriously, why are you here, David? Did you make up your mind about my proposition?"

"Before that, what were you eating inside the cave?" I asked.

Hecuba rolled her purple eyes.

"I bite at a Nymph once, and you suddenly treat me as if I crave after those pesky spirits."

The woods shuddered angrily at Hecuba's words. However, when the wolf growled and glared at some trees, the trembling stopped.

Hecuba had grown stronger since I'd run into her in the Junkyard.

It was partially thanks to her living off something more substantial than a husk of magic left within broken magical items, and also my doings...but I don't want to talk about that at the moment.

"If you must know, I was having a delicious meal on a boar. Quite a treat." Hecuba licked her lips hungrily.

For those wondering, there have been attempts within Cabin 5 to use boars instead of steeds during one of our chariot races.

The idea was, of course, shot down by Chiron, so the boars were set free into the woods.

"So, about the reason you came to me..."

I sighed, "Yeah, I made up my mind. Let's try out the Chaos Magic."

Hecuba's eyes lit up with excitement. She practically bounced up to her feet and circled my stomach, her tail waggling like a helicopter blade.

"Finally, you made up your mind! Once you get used to it, it will never let you down, no matter what!"

"Yeah, yeah. You have already sold me the bits countless times. Let's just do this."

I relaxed my shoulders, even though it didn't mean much when I was about to use the most ancient, dangerous, and chaotic branch of sorcery.

Now, some of you might be wondering, "Chaos Magic? What is that? When did this happen?"

It goes back to when I jumped into the tidal wave of junk with Hecuba.

[Flashback]

When I woke up in a void, I thought I bit the dust. My bet had failed.

But then, I remembered that in the Greek Mythologies, the Land of the Dead was anything but an empty darkness.

"You idiot," A voice said from behind.

I whirled around and found Hecuba staring at me with disbelief and...a tiny bit of respect.

"You actually risked your life on the pretense that I'll save you," The she-wolf said, "I could have let you get crushed under a broken refrigerator."

"But you didn't. That's the point," I returned.

Hecuba sighed, "I hate to admit it, Son of Ares, but you are indeed an extraordinary case. I can see why many deities have their eyes on you..."

It was an odd compliment to give someone. Getting attention from various immortal and powerful gods didn't feel like a good thing at all.

The black wolf chuckled, prowling around me. In here, Hecuba seemed much stronger than she had been in the overworld.

Not just in measurable strength, but her presence—the very existence of her...being seemed more prominent.

Damn, I need to read some more books.

Still, piecing that with what Hecuba had told me before, a plausible guess as to where we were came to mind.

"Hecuba, this place...is it Erebos?"

The wolf nodded.

"Yes, this is my birthplace and my purgatory.

Welcome to Erebos, demigod. Be honored to be the first visitor to the cosmos before the Cosmos."

I looked around, trying to drink in the fact that I was in a realm of darkness itself.

There was nothing to note of except for complete blackness, which fit the bill...but it was hard to be impressed by nothing.

Hecuba noticed my lack of enthusiasm and snapped her jaw in irritation.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, David. The place is vacant because the ruler, Erebos, is long gone.

The realm itself had been slowly returning to Chaos for eons..."

She nudged upward. I looked up as well.

At first, I couldn't see anything different. The same void seemed to stretch into infinity...until I saw what Hecuba was referring to.

It was the most marvelous and terrifying thing to witness—the essence of everything swirling above my head.

The darkness was pooling into the swirling mass of Chaos, if you can call it a mass.

Chaos seemed to contain all the properties of liquid, gas, and solid.

I caught glimpses of various things appearing without any rhyme or reason.

A great white shark swam through the cosmetic soup, evaporating into a whisp of purple smoke before suddenly expanding into a gigantic planet.

"What in the..."

"There is no point in trying to make sense of it," Hecuba said flatly, "Sense was born after Chaos, after all."

All of the philosophical metaphors and metaphysical sights swirling drove my head to the limit.

I had to look away, no matter how mesmerizing the visual was. If I looked at it any longer, I would have lost my mind.

"As you have seen, my homeland is on the brink of destruction. A long time ago, a prophecy was given to the Night Creatures on how to save their home."

"Night Creatures?" I asked.

Hecuba prowled over the empty void. Her tail swished around as if waving at the vacant nothingness behind her.

"Those who were born from darkness. Or, put more simply, beings who sprouted from either Erebos or Lady Night."

"Lady Night? You mean Ny—"

Hecuba snapped her jaw half an inch from my face, nearly tearing my lips off.

"For the last time," Hecuba growled through clenched fangs, "Be careful with names."

"Right," I said. I didn't want to admit it, but Hecuba in her home was quite intimidating.

"As I was saying, the Night Creatures was given a prophecy.

One day, when we are at the brink of extinction, a man would come and reopen the gates to the new world for their purgatory.

When the prophecy was given, the world was yet to be formed. It had not been long since Gaea had arosen.

So, many of us waited until this 'Man' came to be.

We watched the Titans overthrow Uranos and then witnessed a new batch of immortals—calling themselves gods—rise and defeat the Titans.

After more time passed, finally, man came into being.

However, by that time, our influence had been reduced so much. Their eyes and ears were covered by the gods, and our cries for help went unheard and ignored.

One by one, we lost hope. They chose to be degraded into regular monsters, or join the ranks of Lady Night.

Now, I am the only one left.

I did anything to survive, waiting for the man from the prophecy to show himself."

"...and you think that man is me?"

Whoever the man of the prophecy was, it didn't sound like I'd fit the bill.

I couldn't protect my family from a disgusting mortal; how could I bring an entire species back from extinction?

Hecuba, on the other hand, nodded without hesitation.

"There is no other man I could think of."

"What makes you think I'm suitable instead of...anyone else?"

Hecuba sighed and rested her chin on her paws.

"Because you view others like no other does.

Your eyes excludes race, appearance, and even good and evil, only looking at the person alone.

You risked death to save me. I tried to kill you and your friend, but you said you would give me a new life.

I have never seen a hero offering a helping hand to a monster that tried to kill him before.

You're a great man, David.

To you, I can entrust our secret wish that has been weathering for eons.

If you don't want to receive it, you can refuse my offer. At that time, I, too, will return to Chaos."

Hecuba's words made my skin prickle. Her words made it sound like I was some grand hero.

To me, well, I was just me. I still had far much to learn and improve.

And maybe, this was one of the ways I could improve.

"How do I accept your offer?"

Hecuba lit up her eyes. Her tail waggled like a propeller on turbo as she pounced in surprisingly light-weighed steps.

"Follow me."

She led me to an altar, only discernible compared to the surrounding darkness by having actual mass.

A black sword was sticking out of the altar, Excalibur style.

"Pull out the sword."

"That's it?" I asked.

Hecuba nodded and gave no further explanation.

I climbed the steps and stood before the sword.

Just looking at it sent a chill down my spine. The sigil at my left hand throbbed warningly.

I shouldn't take this.

Every fiber of my instincts screamed at me to turn back and run away from the sword.

"It's a hard decision to make, I understand."

I nearly yelped when Hecuba muttered right over my shoulder.

The she-wolf seemed to have grown even bigger. Her jaw could easily gobble up Toffy, the tofu turtle in one bite.

"Of course, I also thought about the compensation.

The first one is that sword. That's the sword used by Lord Erebos.

Although it was only used once during the final battle with Lady Night, that sword can cut through any concept within the Cosmos.

Not only can you cut off material things, but if you want, you can cut off one's mind or soul as well.

It is the ultimate power that can defy even the judgment of Hades.

Second, I will teach you Chaos magic.

A powerful, eldritch magic passed down among Night Creatures.

Whatever kind of magic it is, I can't explain. But if you master it under my guidance, I can guarantee that no force will be able to stand in your way."

Not going to lie; those suggestions were very intriguing. Heck, what she said basically translated into ultimate, unstoppable power—who could ever resist that?

But at the same time, it was not the way how I wanted to gain strength.

And as much as I could see my father screaming at me to accept the offer, I could also easily picture him disappointed if I do.

So, I was about to decline Hecuba's offer and perhaps suggest another way to fulfill her prophecy when she dropped the biggest bomb yet.

"With those two powers combined, you'll be able to save your sister."

I froze, staring at the wolf.

"Come again?"

Hecuba grinned. Her lips stretched out wide, showing off her fangs that were nearly as long as my entire body.

"Your sister, Rose, was it? She is currently colluding with a very powerful and evil being.

I don't know how a mere mortal came into contact with him...but he has also been planning for as long as I have.

And unlike me, he had continued accumulating strength as time went on.

With your sister as the final piece, he will soon complete his plan."

I tried to keep my emotions under control.

"How do you know this?" I demanded.

"I obtained from here by listening," Hecuba said simply, "It is possible because the darkness is connected in one giant network.

But even the information I heard only came out because he allowed it.

To put it bluntly, you can't find out where your sister is, let alone save her.

If I help you and if you pull out that sword and learn Chaos Magic, anything becomes possible."

I glared at Hecuba. Suddenly, this contract felt extremely one-sided.

"I thought you were giving me a choice."

"I am," Hecuba said.

"You can ignore my offer if you want to. Maybe I am lying through my teeth, or I'm doing this under Orion's order to lure you in to a trap.

You believed in me, David.

So I trust you won't make foolish decisions based on fleeting emotions."

With that final word, the she-wolf melted into the surrounding and vanished, leaving me alone in the dark.

I looked at the sword, than at the sigil burning angrily at my hand.

...you all know what I chose.

[End of Flashback]

I stood facing the cave of Hecuba.

The black wolf in question prowled around as if I were her prey, except for her purple eyes glinting with expectation and excitement.

"Now, remember what I told you. Chaos Magic is the ultimate Jack-in-the-Box.

Anything is possible as an outcome, so you need to have a strong grip on what you desire."

I only nodded in response. I had to build up focus to start up the magic, and that was only the first step.

"φιδρός, επλοιομή, χειρο.

ίκβη, προνιώνω, μεταόφρέν.

δβλάη, λουρί, αόλεμοςπω!"

For anyone wondering, that was complete gibberish.

There wasn't a set enchantment for Chaos Magic. You just had to feel out what nonsensical words to spout to kick-start the magic.

Obviously, nine out of ten times, I only ended up sounding like I'm babbling crazy talk, but I was lucky this time.

The world warped and twisted as if a giant invisible hand was crumpling the space itself like a sheet of paper.

Then, all of my five senses flared up, sending my consciousness into the stratosphere.

The Chaos Magic was active.

Now, all I had to do was not go insane.


A/N:

Hey! It's been some time, huh?

Sorry for the wait again. As you'd all be aware by now, serving in the Army doesn't give me much time to write.

I had to think a lot about this specific chapter since I had much to explain. I didn't want it to be an info dump, and I did my best to avoid it...but I'm not sure if I did the best job possible.

I hope I can cook up the next chapter sooner than I had with this one! Any questions are welcome in the review or PM!

I hope you all had a great time reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter. Ta ta~

Oh, and my Grammarly stopped working for some reason, so sorry if the grammar is messed up.