Death and Reincarnation

5.9K 87 38
                                    

Percy never thought he'd live this long.

A two time war veteran, multiple time savior of the world, Percy had, quite frankly, done it all. He'd seen all, fought all, and most definitely, out sassed all. After all, who would Persassy be without his most infamous weapon? Yet, he sat alone, in front of a gravestone, sitting silently as he basked in the midnight moonlight, enjoying the silver glow spread across the landscape. His hands gently glided over the grass next to him, enjoying the soft, cotton like texture, while sensing the small, pure dewdrops hidden from his sight, as he looked up, at the brand new gravestone, a solemn and downtrodden expression on his face.

The gravestone was smooth, clear cut obsidian marble, a creation of pure beauty, yet only radiating melancholy and sadness. The name on the grave wasn't visible, being covered in shadows, but Percy didn't need the name to know whose grave it was. It belonged to his Wise Girl, his soulmate, Annabeth Chase. He'd cried and cried till he had no tears left, and here he sat, knowing he could have saved her but didn't. Knowing that he failed his promise. He promised they would be together, but he never thought it would go so wrong. Here one was, still in the world of living, while the other was in the afterlife.

"What went wrong?"

Percy muttered under his breath, not really knowing the answer, but not being able to live without it. Everything had gone wrong, the rescue of the Athena Parthenos, the fall to Tartarus, and the landing. He used the Cocytus to save them from instant death from landing, but the River of Lamentation wasn't one to let go easy. He didn't know if the impact of the fall did it, or the fact that his water control didn't extend to Underworld rivers as well as those above. But, it happened.

Percy separated from Annabeth, both being left on their own to deal with the river. Percy searched as much as he could for her, and then he saw it. He saw her on the shore, and rushed to check on her, but it was already too late. She was dead long before Percy reached, and even he knew that. He blamed himself for letting go, even if it wasn't his fault. His rage governed him the entire duration in Tartarus. The kind of reckless, dangerous anger that drives man beyond his limits. Percy manipulated, cheated, betrayed whichever monster he struck a short term alliance with. He knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill him, and with Annabeth, Percy's morals had also washed away.

He killed a primordial, fought two others, and lived to tell the tale. That was what he'd become. He had changed from hero to monster. He killed without regret, mercy or any form of remorse. He was a blank slate, all he felt was white hot anger at Gaia. And, when the time came, he unleashed it all.

"To storm or fire, the world must fall."

In this case, Percy was both. He was the storm, and the fire. He fought, he maimed, he tortured, and then he killed. He changed further, choosing to stay alone in the Poseidon cabin for days, rather than visiting his friends. In his heart, Percy truly believed he was the monster, a monster than no one but him saw. To the others, he was still the same, the same hero, their savior, ally and friend. But, did it matter to him? At the end of the day, the one thing, the one person who mattered to him the most was gone, and he could never allow himself to feel that kind of loss again. To fall into a pit even deeper than the one he already was in. A pit of pain, despair and death that he could never leave.

Percy perked up as he sensed a presence, whom, he could not tell.

"You're up lat-" Percy began, only to double over as a celestial bronze spear sailed through his gut, entering one point, and out the other. Percy stumbled backward, hand on the hole in his gut, but with no way to heal it. He looked up, and his eyes widened as he saw a familiar face.

"A-Athena." He growled, or at least tried to, ending up coughing up blood from the very attempt.

"You Sea Scum! You're the reason my daughter's dead!!" She screeched, reappearing in front of Percy and punching him into a tree, as he crashed into it with a loud crack. Percy felt his bones break as he coughed up even more blood, as his vision started to turn into double.

Percy Jackson: Demigod Turned Demon Lord.Where stories live. Discover now