'My dad's trident didn't come to me. Hecate didn't know about it or anticipate it.' I told Alexander gleefully. 'This is nothing but an illusion. Did you see how that rubble distorted when my beam hit it?'
#I did. Yet, one way or the other, you've to go along with it. Because, as I said before, the only way out is through.#
'Will be a lot easier if I am not worried about it being real, won't it?' I followed the illusion of Triton through the city. 'And a relief.'
#That, I believe, is also true. But the sooner you do it—#
'The faster I free my friends. I know. And once I do, I am going to kill Hecate. She said she chose her path.' The tips of my trident glowed. 'Now, she'll live with the consequences too. Or die with them.''
Ch.59 The Chosen's Blaze
Triton and I swam through the dust, and blood-ridden water, weaving through the debris of tall buildings and avoiding the bodies of dead mermen, naiads, and fishes that drifted in the current.
"Percy, Oceanus, and Tethys are in Dad's palace… or what's left of it." He pointed to the tall building that used to be the palace of my father, and I felt a wave of pure anger surge through me. I wanted to tear Oceanus and Tethys to shreds with my bare hands.
A second later, I smothered it, as a thrum rang through my head. #The rage was induced. Not your own. One of Hecate's friends is trying to influence you. If you have strange urges or emotions that you usually don't, remember that it is being induced. If you are willing, I could easily help you overcome them. If not… Well, it'd take me a lot of effort, Percy. And you're fast. So, by that time, you might've made a mistake that you'd come to regret.#
'I see.' My fist clenched before I frowned and took a calming breath. 'The aura is still in place, blasting me with full force, if I'm to guess. That's why my anger is becoming volatile, especially without the helm. Which, in hindsight, is why Hecate wanted it away from me. To make it easier for me to fail.' I scowled. 'I will not fail.'
#But you could get angry. And the last time you got pissed, you sunk two and a half islands as a side effect. Let's not do that in Salem, shall we? Because, physically, you should still be there, and your friends, just around. Even with the spatial manipulation that Hecate can carry out, which, admittedly, can be on a large scale, your scale might blow that out of proportion.#
'And we don't want that in a populated area, especially since my friends would be in harm's way.'
#Yes. Your storm powers are quite frankly, in the league of what I was once capable of, given that I didn't wish to exert myself. Even if my storm power weren't my strongest domain, I was a very powerful god. Your father was even better than I in that part, and you've inherited that power from him in spades, mine only amplifying it multifold.#
'How strong of a storm could you summon?' I asked curiously. 'When you exert yourself, that is?'
#I suppose if I truly exerted myself during the time of Gigantomachy, pouring all my strength into that domain, I could cover most of the United States with a storm. Your father could do the whole continent of North America, if not more.#
'And I can only probably cover New York at best.'
#The State of New York, you mean?# Alexander snorted. #Believe me, it is a mercy. You don't want to accidentally blow up the eastern seaboard, do you?#
'Hell no.'
#Good.# Alexander said. #And heads up. The palace is approaching. And by the gods, Hecate can really conjure some intricate illusions. I never knew they could be so… sophisticated.#
'Wasn't she your girlfriend once?'
Alexander sighed. #It was one outing, which I regret telling you about. I was never one much for romance, Percy. And you know it. It is why I never married.#
'If you say so.'
#I regret sharing with you. How would you like it if I prodded into your love life and asked you stuff about Artemis?#
Little waves lapped across my heart and a warm glow filled my chest. 'I mean, you already do, no? Anyhow, back to this thing… illusions and the godly aura I am being blasted by.'
#Don't get carried away with your emotions. Use logic like I've taught you to do. Usually, you have the helm to help. Today, you don't. I am helping as much as I can.#
'Right. I hope Annabeth can figure out some way. She's the best bet to get out of this mess. That or I'll have to pull something. Tell me, will additional power help to fight this off? Raw power?'
#Theoretically, it may make you more resilient to it. And I suppose that a well-placed surge could even blow through the illusion and free you from it. But you're better off not doing that, as Hecate's magic is way out of our league, and we don't know the first thing about dissipating illusions.#
'Unless it is with raw power, which I shouldn't summon as mine can be rather destructive, like my father's.' I told him. 'Anyhow, if power will make me more resistant, open one of the binds on my trident. It should power me enough to keep my wits or at least help me overpower the influence'
#Very well, brace yourself.# Alexander warned. #This may not be the best of ideas, though, if you are about to kill three or four gods.#
'I will handle it. I'll leave one to Thalia or someone.' I swam through a window, following the illusion of Triton through the twisting corridors, some broken and caved, weapons and bodies strewn throughout. 'Now or never, Alexander.'
A moment later, a surge of power flooded me through my trident and my senses opened. Energy thrummed in my veins, the water— fake water as I felt it, distorting slightly around the glow of my trident.
'Illusions. Right.' I reigned in its power, the glow dimming, which itched in my arm, but I held it. 'No need to tip my hand till I want to.'
"They've desecrated the place," Triton spat as he saw a fallen, decapitated statue on what looked to be a courtyard. Or a large arena. "I think… I think he even killed dad. I cannot feel him, nor can I feel my mother."
"We'll get them, brother," I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.
He was nothing but an illusion like everything else. I could only feel Triton slightly when he should've been a beacon to me in the sea, especially so close. I could only sense him like I could sense the enchanted weapons in the Olympian arena where Athena and Ares trained me.
The only actual power I could really sense was farther, which, likely, was whomever Hecate had put in Oceanus' stead to get me to him. And honestly, it was still weaker than I anticipated. Much weaker.
"This could be a trap," I added.
Triton whirled around. "Do you even want to avenge our father or not? Do you even care for Atlantis?"
"I care for him, of course." I bit back, before swallowing the annoyance. "But if they know you're alive—"
"We'll deal with it. Just follow me." he shot off, and I hurriedly swam behind him toward the throne room of Atlantis.
Or, wherever it was, in the illusion.
The thrones of the Council of Atlantis laid shattered across the cracked tiles, a single golden throne rising over them, upon which Oceanus lounged, Tethys sitting next to him. The crab-shaped throne was Oceanus' own, glowing with a faint sea green sheen in the ocean light, and resting atop the remains of Poseidon's shattered fishing throne.
The worst part? Oceanus' foot rested atop my father's severed head, the golden ichor still seeping into the water from the body that laid a few feet away.
I forced myself to breathe slowly, to think through the rage simmering in my chest.
"No," Triton stumbled between the broken armrests, horror dawning on his face before it was replaced by anger. "YOU'LL PAY!"
I winced as Triton barreled past me in a trail of bubbles, only to be swatted aside by a wave of Oceanus' hand.
Triton was slammed across the room, his body crashing into the remnants of a marble column. A second later, he rose out of the dust with a roar and attacked Oceanus, his trident skittering down the golden throne as the Titan disappeared in a stream of bubbles.
Triton spun and caught Oceanus' trident— or what I supposed, was my father's trident upon his, their edges glowing with power that cracked like magic, and the waters churned.
Yet, the only power I sensed was near the tridents, only a faint whiff of what it actually should be. Triton was no slouch when it came to the power department, rivalling some of the younger Olympians with ease while Oceanus was one of the most powerful titans.
A clash between them should've been felt like a tsunami crashing onto land.
Yet, it didn't.
I watched them fight, standing in my spot as Tethys rose from her throne, and made her way slowly toward Triton. I saw it before it happened.
Tethys stopped behind Triton and drove her trident straight through my brother's chest. I winced as Ichor poured out of Triton's chest, coloring the water around it turning it golden and rage filled my chest, churning like a storm before I shook my head, remembering what it exactly was.
An illusion, nothing more, nothing less.
Then, my heart soared, and a smile broke on my face like beams of sunlight pouring through a storm.
'Alexander, the prophecy! By the golden waters a brother shall fall. It is done.' I felt the warmth of the hearth tear through the storm. 'No one's dying. It was supposed to be an illusion. Hecate's doing nothing more. That's why she wasn't mentioned.'
#That's good. That's great, Percy.# Alexander agreed. #And better news is that someone— a god or two are here, near us. In person. But right now, the power is coming from everywhere, and I cannot pinpoint them.#
'Excellent. That means I at least have someone to kill properly and force Hecate's hand to what I need.'
"Perseus Jackson!" Tethys' high voice rang through the Throne Room. "Come out, little hero. Don't hide in the shadows, boy. You have already lost. The line of your father ends with you!"
The water churned around me, pulling apart the remnants of the marble wall behind which I had been standing. I stepped through the broken bricks, using my trident to clear a path toward the golden throne.
'Should I just stop playing around?' I asked Alexander. 'We both know this isn't real, and the last time I figured it out, Hecate revealed herself immediately.'
#Worth a try.#
"Alright, the game is up. Where are you, Hecate?" I asked. "Get your miserable ass here. I need to tell you something."
Oceanus raised an eyebrow before smiling. "Hecate isn't here, young hero. But we must, in part, thank her for all this." He waved a hand around the room. "The downfall of Atlantis came while its favored mortal son was kept away for weeks without even knowing what was happening under the seas. You were only brought here, again, thanks to her, because I wished to see your face as your family fell in front of your eyes."
"Weeks?" I raised an amused eyebrow.
"Weeks." He smirked.
I rolled my eyes. I would've immediately heard if Atlantis had fallen under siege or if things had gotten tough for my dad. I was in regular contact with river spirits, Kympoleia, Tyson, and most of all, Artemis.
"I don't think you're fooling anyone, Oceanus. Or hiding the fact that you too, are an illusion. And so are these bodies. Grand and sophisticated, but ultimately, to someone who's expecting it? Lacking."
Tethys let out a cackling laugh. "You don't even know, Son of Poseidon. You overplayed your hand, and Atlantis paid for your mistakes. You made a choice, guided by Hecate's hand. Several choices that led us here. You and your friends came to slay us, and we heeded the call!"
'What are the chances that Hecate knows the Prophecy?' I asked Alexander.
#The campers knew. The gods knew. I think even Enyo did.# Alexander mused. #So, it is entirely plausible that the Titans have heard the prophecy by now. Hecate, especially, could have.#
"So, what was the trap's part in it?" I asked. "Getting me here? Setting up a trail with Hecate so my attention was away? Hate to break it to you, but I always kept an eye on everything, even while fighting you. I met with sea spirits hours before I came after you. So, the story is not working. Come out, Hecate. And just give me whatever's next instead of wasting my time."
"Time. You still don't understand, do you?" Oceanus rumbled. "You don't even know."
I raised an eyebrow. "So, keeping up with the ruse… what do I not know?"
"Only the fact that you and your friends, Perseus Jackson, didn't walk into Hecate's trap. You walked into the Titan Lord's." Oceanus spread his arms. "Hecate was only the flash of magic that distracted you. You didn't even notice as you fell into the power of the King of Titans. The power of time."
"Okay, I'll bite. What are you blathering about?"
Tethys swooped down, swimming around me like a shark. "Your friends and you have been away, Percy. Away for weeks. Weeks that felt like mere minutes under the Titan Lord's power, while Hecate's show distracted you. And while Olympus' greatest heroes were away, the allies of Olympus fell."
She waved her hand, and the water in front of me churned, and the light twisted. Legions of monster armies rose, storming upon a familiar hill, only a skeletal defense to face it, while Chiron galloped, wearing full armor, rallying the handful of demigods who were there.
The scene changed. A forest burned, as silver blurs flitted amongst the trees, arrows sinking into monster hides until it all twisted away again. The lights dimmed, and an army of underwater creatures surged forward, Greek firebombs shattering through walls and doors, as they tore through an opposing army.
Dread filled my chest as the scene darkened further. Smoke rose from burning cabins, showing Camp Half-Blood in flames under a dark night sky. The view shifted to the burnt remains of silver tents, bodies of faceless girls lying in the dirt, some with missing limbs or torn in half.
And then, it turned to a mountain that exploded and shattered, a dark, humongous hand tearing out of it, as thunder rumbled, followed by a colossal strike of lightning that seemed to shake the palace, even through the visuals.
"Your gods fight a losing battle against Typhon. Atlantis has fallen while the armies of the Titan Lord hunt the remaining demigods and hunters who fled." Tethys declared. "Olympus has fallen, all while you were trapped in an illusion, unknowing of the game the Titan Lord wove around you. Now all that is left is you. The hero. The child of the prophecy."
"No," I muttered, taking a few steps back as a chill ran down my spine. "This isn't true."
#It isn't.# Alexander agreed. #No temporal disruption is around us, Percy. It is an illusion. Don't give in to the dread. That's Deimos working his influence on you. Dread.#
'Right.' I took a deep breath. 'Illusions.'
"This is Olympus' end, Percy Jackson!" Tethys cackled. "With you, Olympus will fall! And the vic—"
She stopped short, letting out a wheeze as I grabbed Tethys by the throat and slammed her into the ground, the tips of my trident digging into her neck.
"Good try, Hecate. But not good enough," my voice echoed through the chamber. "You see? You're not the only ones who can make plans. We have our own. This? Imitating the prophecy I am undertaking, the illusions, everything? It was a great trick. But the thing with tricks is, they cannot work if the person on the other hand knows they're coming. So, come out."
I let go of the power I had reigned in and stabbed my trident through the illusion of Tethys, channeling a burst of power down the shaft. Tethys' body blew up in an ear-rattling explosion, turning to chunks of rocks and dust that scattered over my feet.
Oceanus and the destruction around me faded away until I stood in a round room, as broad as a football field.
A slight chill tingled down my spine as I felt a faint signature appear behind me, and spun around, leveling my trident at Hecate's fuming face.
"Very well, son of Poseidon." She scowled. "Whom do you—"
I pounced before she could complete the sentence, and Hecate let out a startled yelp, raising a magic shield between us. She flinched as my trident pierced through the magic and drew a thin line of ichor across her arm, and she yelled, a wave of power bursting from her, pushing me back.
"Gotcha." I grinned and sprung, my trident blurring through the wind as I attacked Hecate, who brought out her torches, parrying the Thyella Kavalaris, the dark flames burning higher as armor formed over her torso, her robes billowing around her ankles.
I ignored the flames that roared at me, savoring as a thrum of power filled me. With a jab of my trident, I unleashed it at Hecate in a burst of ice spikes that tore through her robes, while most melted in a blaze of heat from the torch's flames or shattered against her armor.
Magic cracked between her fingers, and I tapped my watch. Coeus' shield spiraled onto my arm, just before a bolt of purple burst against it. Greek fire lit upon the prongs of my trident, and I released a column of flames onto her, only for her torches to drink them in.
"ENOUGH!" A wave of force slammed into me, sending me sprawling.
Hecate rose in the air, a sheen of magic rising over her body as her features changed. The red hair whitened, and her face grew paler as her robes turned pitch black. The flames in the torches turned purple and seemed to suck out the very light in the room, turning it colder.
#Crone.# Alexander's tone was heavy, carrying an edge that set me on alert. #Be very careful, Percy. Very, very careful. She's unhinged and just… the worst aspect of her now.#
"You worthless mortal." She spat. "You have no honor. You do not move by love or despair. Do not feel dread or anger. So, I have only one option left. I shall crush you myself! You've invited your doom by challenging me, the Mistress of Magic!"
Bolts of green and blue arced toward me, bursting against my shield with the noise of a thunderclap, rattling my arm and eardrums.
I peered over the edge of my shield and gave her a smirk. "Do an Expelliarmus, oh great Mistress of—"
A flash of red screamed through the air, and I dove out of the way as it tore through the ground I had been standing upon.
"Impudent child!" She slammed her torches together, and the ground beneath me rumbled. "Your words offend me. Your very presence offends me. The gods shall pay when they shall. But you, boy? You'll feel my wrath now and forever till you breathe, even if it won't be for long!"
"Yeah, if you say so." I poured my strength down my trident and hurled it at her.
Hecate waved her torch, deflecting my trident in the midair and it sailed over her right shoulder before sinking into the stone wall behind her.
"So be it, Perseus Jackson. Have at thee!" Flames rained from her torches, slamming onto the floor, disappearing into the ground like rainwater on mud.
I felt the hair on my arms and neck prickle as purple cracks spread over the floor, and the temperature plummeted. A horrible snapping sound filled the room as skeletal hands clawed out of the cracks and the floor rumbled. I raised my hand and summoned the storm-rider back, a wave of flames bursting from it, setting the nearest skeletons aflame.
Hecate's face twisted as she watched the skeletons turn to ashes. "You'll die in this room, Percy Jackson! Your ghost will then join my army! You'll be bound in servitude for eternity, screaming in vain for a mercy that will never come!"
Hecate's torches flaring brighter, casting eerie shadows across the room. The skeletal hands tore through the floor in earnest now, pulling their spectral bodies into the chamber. They crawled toward me, their hollow eyes shining with magic. I slammed my trident against my shield, sending a shockwave that pounded the bones to dust.
Spectres rose from the dust, their screeches sounding like nails were being dragged down a chalkboard, right next to my ear. I swept my trident in a trail of flames, and the ghosts drifted away and disappeared in the darkness.
Above me, Hecate's eyes burned, the flames in her torches rising.
"That's enough," I snarled as more skeletons pulled themselves out of the ground, anger burning in my veins, and I poured them down the blade. The wind around me howled, ripping the skeletons apart as bones flew up in the wind.
I poured power down the shaft of my trident and aimed it at the titaness, shooting a beam of sea green.
Hecate's eyes widened, and she raised her torches to intercept, the beam striking the edge of her left torch and deflecting onto her shoulder. She spun in the air, slamming into the far wall where my trident had stuck before. The chamber shook, fragments of stone raining down as the wall, onto a thin bubble of magic that groaned in protest.
With a sweep of my trident, I smashed through the remaining skeletons and strode through the scattered bones over the floor. Hecate raised her head groggily, the shield around her brightening slightly as I turned my trident into its sword form.
My blade cut through Hecate's magic bubble, bursting it into sparks of blue. She thrust her hand out, and a wall of force slammed against my shield, sending me skidding away.
"This is what I call a fight!" Hecate floated to her feet, one of her torches turning into a long staff that cracked with power under her laughter. "I would've almost wished to test myself against you."
She blurred, and I whirled around, thrusting my sword, but Hecate just backed away out of reach, a flash of fear passing through her green eyes.
"But your insolence deserves special treatment." A spell pushed me further away. "I want to hear you scream now! I want to see you cry! And I will make that happen!"
Her staff banged on the floor, and I felt the ground beneath me vanish. Then, I fell, plummeting straight into the darkness.
I felt pain flare over my right side as I slammed onto a cold, dark floor and groaned, rolling onto my back and pushing myself up and looking around to see broken thrones once again, the torn banners of Olympus fluttering behind them.
"Oh, come on," I muttered. "At least give me something new. Changing Atlantis to Olympus isn't new."
I looked around, rolling my eyes at the destroyed thrones, wincing slightly as pain flared in my shoulder. 'Alexander?'
Warmth bubbled in my shoulder, and the pain faded away. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around once more as long shadows fell upon my face.
"ANYONE HOME?" I yelled. "This is getting boring, Hecate."
"Boring?" A voice spoke from behind me, and I turned to see Zeus sitting on his throne, his skin deadly pale, whiter than Hades, his greek armor burnt and melted in places, and his irises white. "Is that what you think, Son of Poseidon?"
I blinked, and suddenly all twelve Olympians sat on their broken thrones, their pale skin and white eyes boring into me. At my feet, the Hearth didn't spark, the wood in it cold as cold as ice.
"Answer him, Percy." A familiar voice said, and I turned to see Artemis, and I felt like I was punched in the gut.
Her eyes were no longer the radiant silver, and her hair was in tatters, her armor torn. Dried ichor clung to her wounds as her white eyes bore into me.
"No," I whispered. "What?"
"You failed us, Percy," My father spoke. "You failed Olympus. You failed Atlantis. Your actions have razed Olympus."
"That's not possible. What the hell?" I breathed, turning to Athena. "What's happening?"
"You've failed the gods, Perseus Jackson. You didn't do your duty, and your family paid the price." Athena rose from her throne. "Hestia is dead, her hearth cold because her champion failed her. You failed all of us."
"No, no. This isn't real." I took a deep breath, burying the fear and dread that rose in my chest. "None of you are real."
"We aren't." Ares grunted. "We all fell when the Titans won. We're the souls of the dead, the fallen gods."
"None of this would've happened if you had been there, Percy. If you had won." Artemis sneered. "It is just like a boy to fail."
"Enough," Zeus rumbled. "The failure mustn't go unpunished. Olympians, execute him!"
The gods rose from their thrones as one, and I felt my senses prickle as I ducked under an arrow that Apollo shot at me. A second later, everyone charged at me, their weapons glowing.
I reacted on instinct, my battle-honed reflexes kicking in as I parried a pair of spears and Dionysus' Thyrsus, slamming my shield into Hermes. My senses screamed, and I raised my sword, catching a bolt of lightning that cracked upon my blade, which I slashed at Ares.
The god of war flew across the room, and I felt my senses open as electricity ran up my arm.
#Thank the gods for human biology.# Alexander said as I pushed my father away. #The lighting helped me push up to you. There are four gods here, Percy. Real gods. If you find Hecate—#
I caught the Aegis upon my shield, parrying Artemis' knives, and chopping a pair of arrows from Apollo.
'Four out of these twelve are real.' My father's trident clanged against my shield, which began to glow, and I smirked.
A moment later, a shockwave of blue energy ripped through the throne room, flinging the gods— or whatever Hecate had made them from, away.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Artemis' face distort, her white skin turning to an ebony color for a moment as her eyes flashed red.
'It is Artemis.' I felt my heart drop before I steeled myself, anger burning in my chest, replacing the dread. 'But it isn't. Someone's wearing her face in the most horrid way.'
#Um, what are you planning to do, Percy?# Alexander asked as she charged at me, alongside Athena, Apollo, Hermes, and Aphrodite.
Zeus took to the sky, sending another bolt cracking toward me, which I caught in a blinding flash of white, redirecting it at the gods coming at me, except Artemis.
She snarled and pounced, but I caught her, disarming the knives and holding her over the hearth by the neck.
"Game over, Hecate." My eyes flicked to Zeus as I willed the hearth to light up, the flames rising over us. "OH, GODDESS OF HOME, THE LAST OLYMPIAN! ACCEPT THIS SACRIFICE! FREE MY FAMILY. FREE MY FRIENDS FROM THE ENEMY. TO HESTIA!"
I drove my sword down, straight through Artemis' heart, feeling a pang through my chest as ichor rained into the flames, which turned golden and flared.
A pair of warm brown eyes flashed in my mind before they turned orange with flames. Pure, unadulterated power roared through the room and a column of golden flames shot up high in the air.
Artemis's features shifted in my arms, a pair of terror filled red eyes staring at me as the skin darkened, the hair turning pitch black.
#Lyssa.# Alexander said as her body turned to black dust and was swallowed by the golden flames. #And by the gods, Percy. You just sacrificed a goddess to get the job done.#
I smirked as the illusions were burned away, leaving us in a flaming house, my friends stumbling around, the flames not even touching them.
"PERCY!" Grover bleated, trembling, before he fell to the ground, curling into a ball.
"YOU BITCHES!" Thalia roared, and a bolt of lightning smashed through the roof of the burning house, onto her Ax."I WILL KILL YOU!"
Her ax cracked across the hall, and Hecate dove out of the way. But I barely paid heed to it as I saw Nico and Bianca stumble out, their hands stretching toward something as it crumbled to ashes, tears running down their cheeks.
I felt the flames climb up my body, and over my sword, and power filled me, burning like an inferno, and only one word rang through my mind and my mouth, my whole body wrapped in golden flames.
"BURN!"
AND… DONE! I hope you all liked the chapter!
So… yes, all that happened. But if you think the plot's over, it only thickens ahead, as it always does. I am not going to give away anything for the fear of spoiling it.
And yes, I do like my cliff-hangers. Always have, always will.
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