As soon as Percy came through the portal, he was hit by the familiar smell of eucalyptus trees and the sea breeze. He was a bit away from Caldecott Tunnel and New Rome. It had been just a month since he came to New Rome to talk to a few of the members of the legion, primarily Reyna, Frank, and Hazel to give them the truth of what had happened. He had come after his meeting with Katie Gardner and Lou Ellen.
He was currently on the hills on top of Caldecott Tunnel, just far enough away to not give his position to the eagles patrolling the city as well as near the place of his meeting with the two praetors and the legionnaire.
As he made his way through the hill, he chuckled at remembering what happened the last time he was there and how differently each of them had reacted.
Flashback(1 month Earth 7 monthsTartarus)
Percy and Zoe had finished their meeting with the Greeks and now had traveled to the Western United States for a chat with the Romans. Zoe had not participated in his chat with the Greeks since his word was more valued than Zoe's, but the Romans were another issue.
In the eyes of the Romans, Percy was a traitor and should be apprehended on sight. He was hoping that by bringing Zoe she can help him establish his credibility and convince them of staying out of the war.
Zoe had to go and talk to the legionnaires guarding the entrance to the camp and seek an audience with the praetors. The legionnaires were suspicious at first but once she stated that she was a hunter of Diana she was let in and went to the Principia to talk to Reyna and Frank.
During their first 40 days in Tartarus, Zoe had told Percy that she had known of the Romans since she was alive prior to the Roman Empire's existence. She said that she was there when Artemis had gained her Roman persona and had to temporarily change her attitude to a much stricter and cold one since Diana was very rigid and aggressive, not letting anyone get away with their attitude, not even her hunters.
Percy waited for about 20 minutes by their meeting point before he sensed Zoe's aura of power approaching him followed by three other significantly smaller auras. He could sense the difference between all three; Hazel's aura of death and underground, Frank's ability to transform and battle, and Reyna's aura of authority, power, and motivation.
Just a few minutes later, Zoe came through the small clearing of trees on the outsides of New Rome with the three Roman demigods behind her. Frank and Hazel looked pretty much the same as always with Frank looking a bit more defined in his muscles instead of just fat. Reyna however had a glow-up. She shortened her hair short to just hover over her shoulders; her skin tone had lost a bit of the tan that this had gotten from traveling in pegasus for the most part of the summer; her body became even leaner, remarking an hourglass figure that Percy hadn't knew she had.
The moment all three Roman demigods came through the line of trees, their eyes widened and their mouths gapped. The first to react out of their shock was Hazel, she immediately tackle-hugged Percy and started babbling incomprehensible things while almost snapping his spine with her strength if it weren't for the fact that he was now immortal.
The one to follow next was Frank. After Hazel was pulled off from Percy, he clasped his hand and gave him a bro hug while still being a bit shocked by seeing him in front of him. They exchanged a few words about their lives and were glad to hear that each other was doing good.
However, before Percy could say anymore, a strong punch from an angry Latina teenage girl to his left cheek made him stagger back one step. He felt it, but it almost didn't hurt at all, it was more the push of the punch than anything else. He looked back to the furious praetor and knew that he was in for a good scolding.
"Perseus Jackson! What do you think you were doing by going up against Terra alone...!" Reyna started her long scolding to the new immortal, completely oblivious to the shocked looks from her fellow Roman demigods and an amused primordial heiress.
"And you better tell me whenever you are doing something as stupid as that! Understood?!" Reyna demanded, her breathing worked and her face blushed.
Percy just stood there, blinking for a couple of seconds at the furious praetor in front of him. He was amused by Reyna's sudden care for him. Not even after he came out of Tartarus had she been so emotional.
All the young immortal could do was nod. "Yeah, I'll make sure to run it by you before I do anything else," He softly spoke, still trying to get his head over the Latina's rant.
Reyna gave him a tern look. "Good," And then surprised everyone by hugging him.
It was well common knowledge that Reyna wasn't one to demonstrate emotions or affection, not even to girls, even less to males. Zoe raised an eyebrow, suspicious of the girl's real intention at her boyfriend. Frank and Hazel just shook their heads and smiled. Percy on the other hand was surprised by the sudden hug and cautiously wrapped his arms around Reyna, giving her a reassuring and most friendly hug he could possibly think of.
Percy wasn't as oblivious as many would think and he knew that Reyna's feelings for him were still there, possibly even stronger than before if her sudden act of care was anything to go by. Also, Percy wasn't blind and could see how much Reyna had physically changed. Her long and toned legs were almost as long as Zoe's; her muscular but still lean body mixed with her breasts and buttocks were a perfect combination of agility and sexiness.
However, Percy was already in a relationship with another woman whose body won't be surpassed by anybody. Thousands of years traveling with the hunt had given Zoe a perfect body that any woman could only dream of. Nonetheless, Reyna was a very close second in regard to athletic and voluptuousness. Sure, Calypso was also very attractive, but hers was more in the natural way of everyday activities while Reyna and Zoe's was on the athletic side.
"Okay, now that introductions are done, we need to get over what happened," Zoe stated, bringing back the conversation to their original purpose.
Percy nodded and pulled back from the hug with Reyna. "Yes, we need to talk," He said, looking at the three Romans in front of him.
End of flashback
Percy could only smile at remembering how relieved they had looked when they had seen him. It truly made him feel good that there were still people that cared and trusted him, not believing the words of the Olympians.
Their reactions when hearing the truth had been almost the same as Katie and Lou. The initial was shocked, then it became anger, and finally, it was betrayal. It mostly affected Reyna since she had been in the legion the longest, thus making her trust in the Olympians more powerful than Hazel's or Frank's.
After finally a good set of questions and him and Zoe explaining the purpose of their visit, they finally agreed to not intervene in his war with the Olympians. He smiled at remembering that Reyna was ready to go against the Olympians for what they had done to him as well as supporting him in becoming the new leader. Zoe and Percy were quick to shut them down and said that they will only ask for help if need and wanted to avoid as much meaningless death as possible.
Percy finally arrived at the previous clearing where he had initially met with Reyna, Frank, and Hazel. He only had to wait for a few minutes before he felt Reyna's aura approaching. He was curious to see why Frank nor Hazel were with her, but he will have to ask her once she arrived.
Soon enough, Reyna crossed the threes and was dressed in regular clothes instead of her praetor robes. She was wearing a tight white shirt, making her curves and the material over her breast expand; tight blue jeans that perfectly showed her legs and hips, leaving Percy to only wonder how her posterior looked like.
Percy had to mentally berate himself for thinking like that when he was already in a relationship with an amazing and very attractive woman. He cleared his throat before starting their conversation.
"I see that you are alone. Hazel and Frank couldn't make it?"
Reyna nodded before sitting on a chair that Percy had previously made. "Yeah. Both praetors can't be absent and Hazel is helping him for now so I could come,"
Percy nodded before taking out a piece of paper and handing it to Reyna who only raised an eyebrow while taking hold of the offered paper.
"What is this?" Reyna asked as she looked over the paper.
The galaxy-purple-eye immortal gave a modest smile. "It will be the main structure of the place where the new city will be built," Reyna's eyes widened at that and saw that the place was going to be 3 times bigger than New Rome and Camp Jupiter combines. "I wanted to give you the dimensions to see if you could start asking around if anybody on my side will be interested in designing the structure of the city. You can get multiple people for it and update me in the next meeting,"
Reyna numbly nodded, still shocked by the way Percy's plans were going. The new place where the new generation of immortals and already-known diving beings will be staying was enormous.
"Also, we are already working on the place where demigods will be living," Reyna's head shot up. "We want to make it a combination of both camps. We want a barrier like the one in Camp Half-Blood but stronger, and we also want a city for demigods and a system just like here in New Rome,"
Reyna was rendered speechless at hearing the project. It would probably be the biggest and most impactful project in existence if it came out correctly. The idea of a city where the new rulers of the Earth is designed by demigods was mindblowing, but to hear that they want a place for demigods and be the mixture of the Greek and Roman camps was the cherry on the cake.
The Latina demigoddess had her doubts at the beginning, but now after seeing how serious Percy was with his plans for a better world, it was the perfect thing to kill any doubts that she had. She would follow Percy to the end of the world in search of revenge after what the gods had done to him, but to see him act so tactfully and have plans already in play was making her see him in a new light.
Reyna knew that her feelings for Percy didn't died at all and were now more intense, but she knew that he was already in a relationship with Zoe, who is becoming the primordial goddess of the Earth. She had seen the primordial heiress in person the first time Percy had come to them after being branded a traitor by Olympus, and she can say that she was way much better for Percy than her. Zoe was over two thousand years old and spent most of her time as lieutenant of Artemis and was Percy's right hand in his plans. Reyna knew that she had no way of beating Zoe in any way, but there was still some hope for her. Back in the first time of Rome, kings were known to have a wife and a couple of concubines, but was she that desperate to become nothing more than a sexual maid for Percy?
Reyna quickly shook those thoughts from her head before resuming her reading on the paper. The more she read over, she just noticed that it was dimensions and the main buildings that needed to be built in the new city: A meeting room, a hospital for divine and half-divine, residence zones, markets, a city hall, and a few other buildings needed to properly run a city.
"Percy, these plans are incredible," Reyna said, awed at what she was seeing. "You are planning on constructing a city for divine and half-divine beings so that everyone is welcome, unlike Olympus. If these are just your plans for this, then I don't know how I will react to the plans for the city for demigods," She shook her head in disbelief.
If someone were to tell Reyna just under a year ago that she will be asked help to form a city for the new generation and already alive divine beings, she would actually give them a good slap to the face for their ridiculousness.
"Don't be too shocked, these are only the main things," Percy nonchalantly said as he looked over to the sea, completely oblivious to Reyna's shock. "There are still more things needed to be added and nothing of it can actually get done until I finish with the Olympians first,"
Reyna noticed his grim looked and just nodded. She already knew that Percy was immortal and was getting ready for war against Olympus, but she still felt like she needed to help him.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Reyna softly asked, completely different from her strict and stern persona.
Percy just smiled at her before shaking his head. "No, you have already done enough by standing aside," He then looked back at her. "The actual fight will only be between the Olympians and Zoe and me,"
Reyna felt a pang of jealousy and anger at the mention of the primordial heiress. She knew that she should be jealous, but then again, she was always left alone. However, she was experimented enough to not show any signs of jealousy or anger and just mask it with an emotionless face.
"Okay, but if you need anything, just ask," Reyna supportingly said with a smile that Percy could only return, making her insides turn warm and wanting nothing more than to go ahead and kiss him.
"Thank you, Reyna," Percy then created a portal beside them. "It is time for me to leave. Chaos only knows how concerned Zoe is right now after being absent for almost half the day,"
Reyna pushed down the flare of jealousy once again and nodded. "Alright, I'll make sure to talk to a few people and let you know next week," She then walked up to him and engulfed him in a tight hug.
Percy was initially surprised by the hug but still hugged back. He was aware of her feelings for him, but she had already turned her down once and didn't have to do it once again since she already knew that the was dating Zoe.
After pulling away from the hug, Percy gave her a smile that he was trying to keep friendly. "See you next week and don't get into trouble, Reyna," Percy walked over to the portal and walked through it, leaving behind a sad but hopeful praetor.
"Maybe if my luck goes right,"
Line break
After Percy had left Reyna, he took a quick trip to Long Island to talk with Katie and Lou about the new plans. It suffices to say that both girls were astonished by his plans. Both girls gave him reassurance that they had already talked with Thalia and the designated people.
Percy had gone back to the House of Night, where he found an interesting sight. In front of him in the leaving room was an angry looking but defeated Zoe, a smugly looking Calypso, and two very smiling primordials.
"What is going on?" He questioningly asked, thankful that it had been argumental and not physical.
Zoe's anger seemed to increase for a moment while Calypso's attitude changed to one of eagerness. Nyx and Erebus just fondly shook their heads before looking at Percy almost in an apologetic way.
"I don't like that look," Percy thought to himself before looking over to Calypso, knowing already that Zoe was too angered to talk.
"Percy, we need to talk,"
Flashback
Zoe used a portal that Percy had left open for her to go back to the House of Night. She wasn't really that preoccupied with him since he was visiting his father's domain, but it was more anxiousness than anything else. Why anxious? Well, it was because she wanted to talk to Percy about finally taking the next step in their relationship.
Yes, she might have been a huntress before, but ever since her feelings for Percy had increased to proportionate amounts, her old habits had almost completely vanished. It didn't mean that she would just let any male talk and be friends with her, but she was at the point in which she was clearly more available to talk to them, not to say that she was hungry for Percy. It was a foreign feeling to her, but she knew that it was normal for her to react that way with the man she loved.
A couple of hours after she entered the mansion, she noticed that Erebus and Nyx were sitting in the living room talking with Calypso.
Zoe's relationship with her older sister was still a bit rocky, but they were in a temporary truce, at least until the end of the war regarding her love interest in Percy.
Zoe had really thought about it for really long periods of time for the last 7 months. She knew that Calypso's life regarding her love life was anything but a cruel joke from the Olympians. She knew what heartbreak was, so she couldn't imagine all those times that she had to suffer it with every new hero that landed on her island.
Nonetheless, she couldn't fault her older sister for beings so intense in her feelings for Percy. After all, Percy was the first and only person to come back for her and be true to his word. Yes, she wasn't released when he demanded the Olympians to release her along with the rest of the peaceful Titans, but he had come back for her even after knowing that they didn't do it. Zoe felt like a bitch for taking Percy before Calypso could when her love life had been way worst than hers. She had tried to come up with a solution for dealing with Calypso and her insistent interest in Percy, however, she knew that everyone in their family was more stubborn than almost everybody else excluding themselves.
However, the only solution Zoe could come up with through the months of trying to find a suitable one always made her mad. She knew that Calypso wouldn't let go of her feelings for Percy and the only way to satisfy her was to have Percy. So the only solution that she could come up with was to share him. It always made her mad and almost audibly growled at the thought of sharing Percy with anybody. But she knew that if anybody deserved a good attempt at love after their own life, it would surely be Calypso.
"Hello, Zoe," Nyx greeted the primordial heiress when she felt her aura entering the room. "We were just talking with Calypso about Percy,"
Zoe raised an eyebrow, her interest in the conversation exponentially rising. "What is it that you are talking now about him?" She was genuinely curious about it. She knew that Nyx and Erebus didn't talk badly about Percy, they just pointed out his flaws while trying to find solutions to help him.
"We were just talking about how things will follow after he officially becomes king," Erebus answered while signaling for Zoe to join them on the couches. "As you know, being a king will require him to take a wife..." Erebus didn't a small pause, trepidation creeping into Zoe's body. "Or more exactly, wives,"
Zoe's entire body went stiff and momentarily lost her voice. After blinking several times trying to get her bearing, she was finally able to respond. "Wait, what do you mean by wives?!" She demanded, rage clear in her tone and body posture. "I'm his girlfriend and if everything goes right, I'll become his one and only wife. You have been training me on how to take care of my responsibilities if I became his wife as well as his right hand. I'm more than capable of doing my jobs perfectly as well as taking care of Percy as his partner," She argued, completely driven by her ire.
The daughter of Atlas might have been thinking of letting Calypso share Percy if he let it, but for it to be something to happen without her consent was outrageous. She might be willing to share Percy with her older sister, but any other will definitely be crossing the line.
"It's not our call, Zoe," Nyx intervene before Zoe could keep ranting. "Chaos talked to us and told us that Percy is required to have three wives,"
Zoe's jaw which was so tightened from anger completely slacked and almost hit the floor. Three wives were too many! Even just thinking of letting Calypso in was a lot, now another one was just insane!
"Bu-but why?!" Zoe screeched.
"Think about it, Zoe," Nyx started before signaling for her to calm down with her hands. "If something were to happen to you, not that I'm saying it will happen," Nyxq quickly added at seeing Zoe's look on her face. "If Percy were to lose you, then he will be so mad and filled with rage that he will avenge you by any means necessary. He will cause the end of the world if you were to be taken away from him. He will do anything to avenge you and even get you back,"
Zoe was momentarily confused before she thought about the primordial of the night's words. She knew that even if his loyalty had been broken, Percy's fatal flaw was still personal loyalty. She had seen how he had reacted when he lost people, she could only shiver at thinking what he would do if she was harmed, even worst, killed to never be seen again. A perfect example would be just what was going on with Percy. After his parents' death, he accepted to end the Olympians' rule and start one of his own but better. While his intentions were noble at first, she knew that he was also doing it for revenge. She knew how powerful he was, probably the most powerful in existence just behind the major primordials.
"He would literary do anything, just as he is doing with his parents," Zoe softly whispered.
The three others in the room nodded before Nyx continued talking. "Exactly, he would literally do anything to avenge those close to him that were harmed. This time we were lucky that we could give him the correct way of fulfilling that desire for revenge. He will try and search for revenge himself without getting anyone involved, but if pushed, he will bring everything he can,"
Calypso and Zoe shivered at the thought of Percy going full out just to avenge one of them. Calypso had been brought up to date with everything that had been going on in the world during her time imprisoned.
"If he has two or three wives, they can reign him in and stop him from committing something that he could not take back," Nyx continued, making a very good point to Zoe. "It will also facilitate your duties as queen as well as a wife," She gave her a teasing smirk, causing the two maidens in the room to blush as, well, maidens.
"You might not know this or are still oblivious to it, Zoe," Erebus spoke up, getting her attention. "But Percy's body will change the moment he becomes king. His job as the main ruler will cause him stress and will need someone there to always help him release it, which will be your main work as his wife and queen," Erebus put a hand up to stop her from talking. "Yes, it sounds misogynistic, but it is the only way that Peryc will be able to let go of himself without causing damage to others or the world,"
Zoe knew that Erebus didn't mean to sound misogynistic since her over two thousand years of life had let her see how kings act and behave as well as their consorts. They will always have one main wife and two or three concubines if not two or three more wives that would be underneath the first wife. So learning that Percy will require to have three wives didn't come as a shock, but more as an offense to her.
"So what? Am I supposed to just be okay with it?" Zoe indignantly stated clear anger on her face. "Let two other women screw with the only man I've ever loved and will only love in my life?"
Nyx and Erebus smiled apologetically at the primordial heiress while Calypso just kept quiet, knowing that if she talk it could unleash a very heated argument that she didn't really think will stay only verbal.
"We know that it isn't fair to you, Zoe. Even less considering your past, but you got to understand that these aren't orders from us, but from Chaos herself," Erebus sympathetically stated. "But you gotta understand that you alone can't properly handle, Percy. Maybe you haven't seen or experienced it yet, but you will see what I'm talking about in the future," Erebus gave her a teasing smirk.
Zoe kept quiet for a couple of minutes, thinking about the entire situation that she had been made aware of. She was actually glad that it had been told to her prior to it being necessary because she honestly didn't know how she would have reacted if they had told her after she became his queen.
After a couple of more minutes, she let out a defeated sigh. "You win," She reluctantly said. "I can't go against Chaos' orders and she must have had her reasons for doing it besides just the ones you brought up,"
Nyx and Erebus nodded while a winning smile formed across Calypso's face. "Yes, we may have been born since the beginning of the universe, but even we can't figure out the true purpose behind her every move," Nyx admitted, albeit a bit reluctantly.
"Yes, but even if we can't, we need to look at the best possible candidates for Perseus' remaining two wives," Erebus interjected, trying to get it all over with already.
Zoe groaned and reluctantly nodded.
"We believe that by nature of your character, Percy needs someone who can be your opposite to you and the other being opposite to you two," Nyx stated before giving a subtle glance to Calypso, which Zoe just had to groan and rub her face. "We believe that Calypso will be ideal for Percy's second wife,"
"Yeah, I've also been thinking about it for the last couple of months and to be honest," Zoe stated while sending a look to her older sister. "I prefer it being someone I already know than a complete stranger. At least I know that Caly won't be stupid enough to cheat on him like Annabeth did,"
While Erebus and Nyx smiled approvingly at Zoe for her words and reluctant acceptance of the matter, Calypso didn't know if to feel offended or elated by her words. It was true, Calypso would never even think of cheating on Percy after everything he has done and done the impossible for her. Freeing her from her island was the only needed thing for her to be devoted to him for the rest of her life, even if he wouldn't return the feelings.
"Yeah, but how is this going to happen?" Zoe pointed out after a moment of thought. "It's not like we can tell him, 'Percy, you will also be dating my sister and will be your second wife," no, it doesn't work like that. Percy will need to fall for whoever he wants after we tell him about him needing two more wives,"
Luckily for her, the three of them had already discussed the situation and told Zoe of their plan. They will tell him that he needed two more women to become his wives in the future while leaving out that they had already chosen Calypso. They will let Calypso get close to him and finally seduce him after months of trying, much to Zoe's dismay. She might be okay with it, but she didn't look forward to seeing her older sister seducing her boyfriend and becoming sister wives.
"Yeah, not, who is going to tell him?" Zoe asked after she had been told the plan. "Because I am sure that he won't react too well to the idea of having two more women to be in a relationship with after what Annabeth did to him,"
They nodded and eventually Nnyx spoke. "Yeah, you will be the one to tell him,"
Zoe's eyes widened at her response. "Wait, what?!" She shouted, completely shocked by the embodiment of the night's response. "Why am I the one responsible of it?"
Nyx gave her an apologetic smile while her husband answered Zoe. "Think about it. Who is the most appropriate one to tell him about the situation of needing three wives? Us, Chaos, or you? He will take it as an order from us while you will be reassuring him. Being the first to tell him about will make him see that you are okay with it and most of his worries will be eliminated. Yes, it doesn't mean that he will be completely okay with it from the start, but it will be much better coming from you,"
Zoe seemed like she wanted to argue about it, but the more she thought about it, the more she saw their point of view. If Percy was to hear it from her, he will figure out that even if she didn't like it that much, she was okay with it and he shouldn't feel guilty about it.
Eventually, she just gave up and nodded, already dreading the conversation that she will need to have with her boyfriend.
At that moment, Nyx and Erebus turned their heads to the door, which meant only one thing: Percy was back.
End of Flashback
Percy followed Zoe upstairs to their room for a conversation which he wasn't sure how it was gonna go. The last time he had seen Zoe as angry as she was right now was after he told her about Artemis killing his parents. So, he didn't have any idea what it was about and was silently praying to Chaos that everything will go right.
"Come here, sit," Zoe gestured for him to take a seat next to her on the couch. "This is going to take some time and will be shocking, so it's better if we sit down for it,"
Percy was now more interested and curious than nervous about the situation. "Okay, what is it,"
And so, Zoe spent a good half-hour explaining to him how the conversation with Nyx, Erebus, and Calypso went. She explained to him that he was required to have three wives and that even if she doesn't like it, she was okay with him having two more wives.
Throughout Zoe's explanation, Percy remained quiet and the only signs that he was listening were his facial expressions. They changed so much during her time explaining that he ended up with just an emotionless face. She had always hated when he was unreadable because Percy had always been someone who wore his feelings on his sleeve, so when he didn't, it really irritated her.
After she finished explaining everything, they remained quiet for a couple of minutes. Percy is completely motionless and his eyes fixed on the table. Zoe's anxiety was skyrocketing as she couldn't figure out how Percy was feeling and reacting, she could only guess. Eventually, after 5 more minutes of complete silence, Percy stood up from his spot and headed over to the middle of the room where a portal suddenly appeared.
"Wait, Percy where are you-?" Zoe's voiced turned desperate as she saw the clear signs that he needed to free some anger.
"Just need some fresh air," Percy coldly responded before walking through the portal, leaving behind Zoe who wasn't able to get to him on time before it closed.
"Shit!" Zoe cussed out before hitting the carper with her fist. "This is bad,"
The primordial heiress ran downstairs and burst into the living room where Calypso and the two primordials were chatting.
"He's gone,"
That got their attention.
"What? What do you mean he is gone?" It was her older sister who spoke first.
Zoe's emotions were going haywire and needed to control herself, she wasn't gonna help out if she couldn't talk. She took a couple of breaths before composing herself and answering.
"He got mad about what I told him and he was completely silent for a moment before he stood up and left through one of his portals to who knows where," Zoe's voice was full of emotion and desperation.
Surprisingly to all of them, Calypso stood from her seat and sat next to her younger sister before wrapping her arms around her in a hug. Initially, Zoe was rigid before she heard Calypso whisper soothing words in her ear, causing her tears to spill and wrap her arms around her older sister.
"It's fine, we will look for him later if he doesn't come back after letting out his anger," Calypso softly spoke into Zoe's ear.
It's still day, so we can't see unless he is in a shadow," Erebus spoke after seeing Calypso's gaze on them.
The Titaness nodded before going back to soothing her younger sister. Never in her life would she have ever thought of doing what she was doing. Just 8 months prior she would have been living miserably in her island with false hope of getting out, but now, now she was out of there and calming her younger sister who she never was on good terms with.
Line Break
Percy appeared by the beach on Montauk. He would always come here to let himself free of his emotions while in a familiar setting. He could see the old small cabin a couple of dozen meters away from him. The sea breeze hit his nostrils, sending a wave of nostalgia and sadness through his body.
"I miss you,"
He walked over to the cabin and saw that there was a car parked outside. He was slightly surprised at seeing someone else in the cabin and decided to see who it was. Pushing his senses out, he could feel that it was two adults with a child.
"At least it will still give good use to others," He sadly muttered before walking down the beach, farther away from the cabin as the sun started to lower.
Percy kept walking for a couple of more minutes before deciding to go for a quick swim without his powers. He walked into the cool waters of the sea until he was able to swim without hitting the sand underneath the water. His first strokes were slow and smooth, but the more he did, the faster and more aggressive they got.
His mood prior to traveling to the beach was of anger and fury, but the moment he saw the house it had turned into nostalgia and sadness. However, not because his feelings had changed, it didn't mean that he wasn't mad anymore.
The initial anger the felt was towards Chaos for telling him how to live his life. Even if he knew and respected the creator, he was furious towards her for telling him how he was supposed to live. It angered him to learn that Zoe didn't like the idea of having to share him with two other women, but she was okay with it. He was furious that he would become someone he had never wanted to become. He was tired of people telling him how to live his life.
These and many more thoughts came through his mind before finally stopping when he felt something brush on his legs. He looked around and noticed that the beach was nowhere in sight and he was in the middle of the sea, also taking notice that the thing that had brushed his legs was a shark. Normally, people would freak out at one of them being close to them, but Percy was already used to aquatic apex predators seeking his attention, so he just floated on the surface of the water while slowly petting the shark.
It seemed as if the shark had noticed his foul mood because it was being rather cuddly to him. He couldn't normally hear it talking to him as he would usually do when he had his father's powers, but he could still use his domain to let him hear the shark talk.
"It's alright, friend, I was just letting out a bit of heat," Percy softly said while petting the shark.
"It's alright, milord. If you need help, remember that the seas and its creatures are on your side," He heard the shark's female voice speaking in his mind.
Percy could only smile fondly at the shark before saying his goodbyes and teleporting away to Yellow Stone Park for a bit of lonely time with nature. However, what he wasn't expecting, was for a group of maiden hunters to be in his vicinity...
Line Break
Artemis and her hunters had spent the last month going across the country hunting down the remains of Gaea's monster army. They had gone from East to West while tracking and attacking the largest and most dangerous groups before they could get far away.
The goddess had noticed the somber mood her hunters were displaying ever since they had lost more than half to the giant Orion. Her oldest hunter, Phoebe, had been killed in the battle against the giant, being one of the hardest deaths. The daughter of Ares had been serving her prior to Zoe's service, so it was a really big blow to her. Another thing that she had noticed, was Thalia's distant and cold mood towards her after her visit to Camp Half-Blood a week after the battle against Gaea.
Artemis knew that her half-sister was still hurting from Percy's 'betrayal', so she didn't push her to talk, yet. She knew that Thalia would have to eventually let out her frustrations and feelings or they would all just pile up until it explodes.
The goddess and her hunters were currently deep in the forest of Yellow Stone tracking down the last group of monsters from Gaea's army. It was a group of mostly cyclopes and dracaena, but they were quite a few of the to be left roaming free.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, they noticed that the surrounding trees and vegetation had been disturbed as if a large group had been through there. They kept going forward with Artemis leading the group and Thalia at the rear, making sure that they weren't flanked by any monsters.
As Artemis lead her hunters toward the monsters, she felt a new energy appearing in the area. The aura of the being was so powerful that she couldn't even compare it to the big three. It was so pure and strong that it made her skin tingly even from several hundred meters away. She suddenly stopped when she recognized the familiar aura. It wasn't the same as before, but it was close enough to not leave any doubt about who it was.
"Milady, everything alright?" Atalanta, her now eldest hunter asked when the goddess suddenly stopped. "Did something change because the tracks are still fresh and clear,"
Artemis quickly shook out of her shock before looking back at her hunters with a stern look. "We are on the right track, but I feel another presence. It is very powerful, so be careful and don't engage them, let me deal with it. Even more, if it is who I think it is," She whispered the last part so that nobody could hear her.
Thalia was not close enough to hear their conversation, but she could feel the strong and intense aura. She didn't know who it was, it was vaguely familiar, but just different enough to not let her remember.
None of the hunters nor Artemis were prepared for what they were about to witness.
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As soon as Percy appeared in the middle of the forest in Yellow Stone, he instantly grabbed his head because of the sudden pressure he felt. He had learned how to teleport without portals just a couple of weeks prior. It was quicker than making a portal, but it depended on him making his particles appear in a different location instead of creating a rupture in space and time, thus having a slight effect on him as he still hadn't mastered it.
Because the young immortal was distracted by his temporary headache, he hadn't realized that there were other beings very near him. A group of cyclopes and dracaena were running away from the hunters when they came upon Percy appearing a couple of meters in front of them. The majority of the monsters immediately recognized it was Percy, so a few of them were hesitant to attack while the rest didn't hesitate to attack.
Percy was suddenly brought out of his moment when a club as big as his body hit him, sending him flying and slamming into a thick pine tree. If he was still a mortal, or half-mortal for that fact, his entire body would have been broken and batter, but since he was immortal, the hit felt as if he was just hit by a regular punch.
The galaxy-purple-eyed immortal quickly stood up from his place on the ground as his temper started to exponentially increase, almost all of his anger from before had been extinguished by swimming without powers, but he still had some left that still needed release. Purple energy appeared and started swirling over his hands; the white of his hair, which was half of it now, was slightly glowing and moving in now-existent air; his eyes started slightly glowing. A deafening silence settled across the area as the monsters noticed the gravity around them suddenly increase, making it harder to breathe.
"I needed to let out a bit of rage, and you guys are the perfect way to let it out," Percy growled as riptide suddenly appeared in his hand along with his dagger on his left.
The young immortal quickly rushed the monsters at a speed that they could barely keep up with. He quickly reached the cyclopes that had initially hit him. His speed had momentarily shocked the monster enough for Percy to stab his dagger hilt deep into its knee, making it roar in pain and fall down to one knee. Percy didn't hesitate for a second before stabbing riptide into its chest, immediately killing him and drawing black blood before disintegrating into golden dust.
The first kill of their platoon shook the monsters out of their shock and charged at the immortal. Percy didn't care about it, fueled by rage his only thought was killing these creatures. He didn't want to deal with the cyclopes so he just consciously created spears out of light before commanding them to stab the monsters through their heads and got on to the dracaena.
The female serpent monsters were scared by the sudden show of power from the legendary son of Poseidon that none put up a fight when Percy quickly and swiftly relieved them of their heads before turning into golden dust.
Percy had to take a moment to bring himself out of his moment of rage. He blinked a couple of times as he saw what he had just done without much effort. Prior to becoming immortal, it probably would have taken him 10 minutes to deal with the monsters while being cautious. He would have ended up tired or at least slightly, with a couple of bruises and cuts. However, now that he was immortal, and with the strongest domain at that, the monsters were nothing but a nuisance.
It was at that moment that it became clear to Percy how much of a difference between a half-immortal and a full immortal was when it came to power. He took a moment to mentally thank Chaos for the laws she created about immortals not being able to fight properly when dealing with mortals. If those laws didn't exist, then his fight against Hyperion would have gone really bad, especially when he had the domain of heavenly light and could move faster than stronger immortals.
As he was about to leave the area, he felt the presence of over 2 dozen people along with two surpassing them. One was clear to be mortal, but the most powerful one caught his attention since it was as strong as the one from an Olympian. Taking into consideration the number of people present and the immortal's power it only led to one conclusion; he had come across the hunters and the goddess Artemis, the goddess responsible for his parents' deaths.
Turning at the direction that he felt the presence, he noticed the hunters surrounding him with Artemis at the front with her bow ready, aimed at his chest. However, what caught his attention was the sight of the only huntress not taking aim at him: Thalia.
"Hello, Lady Artemis,"