Reincarnation to the Past

Chapter 83

From this chapter on, we will be starting a new arc. So before we begin, there are some things you should know.

1) This arc starts a week before Percy's birthday and death anniversary (same day). Each chapter takes place during these 7 days leading up to August 18th. It ends at midnight on August 18th.

2) Fair warning: this may be depressing (at least I feel depressed writing it since I was trying to get in the mindset of the characters) since it is a kind of closure arc, being the first anniversary of his death and a reminder of how quickly everything went wrong.

3) When Percy was electrocuted and his soul left his body, it wound up in the body of Li Yǔ, who died in the same second. Their deaths lined up at the exact same time, creating a connection or link between Percy's soul (which had lost its body) and Li Yǔ's body (which had lost its soul), which is why Percy ended up in the past. The reason why this connection was formed will be explained in future chapters, maybe. However, even though both parties died at the same moment, the timeline isn't the same. For one, Li Yǔ died years in the past, and for another, while Percy died on his birthday, August 18th, Li Yǔ died sometime in January. So in reality, it's only been seven to eight months since Percy ended up in the past, replacing Li Yǔ. But especially for Percy, August 18th will always be a reminder of his death.

4) The weather for these 7 days will be dark and depressing, i.e., constant gray and gloomy skies and rain. This is because the waters resonate with Percy's pain and feelings and mourn his death.

5) This arc ends with a side story from Present/Future Poseidon's View Point, so look forward to it.

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(-13 days later-)

(August 13th, night-)

Hestia's POV

I stood in front of a Willow tree and stared up at the sky. It has been raining for two straight days without stopping. It felt like the heavens were crying. There was a feeling of depression in the air, and that didn't make sense. Poseidon wasn't upset or depressed; heck, he was so sure it wasn't his doing at all.

"Why are you hurting??" I asked as I held out my hand to the rain. It was a slow drizzle now, like the heavens had run out of tears to cry. Other times, it would be an inconsolable downpour that fell for hours on end. Sometimes it would be like a storm, angry at someone or something. Other times, it would come as melancholic showers. For a while, now and then, the rain would stop, but the heavy gray clouds would remain drifting about, a reminder that it was far from done.

It's been two days since the sun last came out from behind the clouds—two days since even a tiny gleam of sunlight was spotted. It wasn't just here, but all over the world. Whether it was the part of the earth having day or the part having night, even in the hottest deserts that haven't had an ounce of rainfall, it is raining. Zeus is going crazy because of the weird, unexplainable weather; Poseidon is going crazy trying to figure out what is happening; and Apollo is going out of his mind with boredom.

"They're mourning." A quiet voice intrudes on the silence of the night. I lifted my head in the direction of the voice that seemed to emit waves of sadness, and I saw her—the figure sitting on the roof, almost hidden by the shadows, her raven black, blowing in the wind, seemingly unaffected by the rain. It was like staring at a female version of my brother in his 20s. My eyes locked in on her sea-green eyes, and my heart throbbed in pain.

I didn't know her, though I knew of her. When my nephew Hephaestus came to me one day with the story of a son of Poseidon from the future, here in the past, in the body of a woman, I truly thought he was playing a prank on me. I was offended that he thought I'd fall for such tomfoolery. And then when I visited Hades seeking help for my current problem, he confirmed what Hephaestus had told me and suggested I go to her for help.

While it made less sense for my stoic, serious brother to partake in such a prank, I was still doubtful. I didn't believe it... It sounded inconceivable, but here, staring up at her, I could tell it was true. I could sense my blessing on the child, even though I have never blessed a soul. What other proof could I ask for???

How could someone be so hurt and broken? How could the champion of hope be so hopeless? What did my family do to her to put that heartache in her eyes? She smiled, but the smile froze on her face. She looked happy to see me, but her sorrow seemed to bury the happiness deep within.

"Mourning?" I asked, shaking myself out of my stupor.

"Yes... Although I do not know why or how they seem to know, the waters seem to be mourning the death of their beloved prince." Her voice was but a soft whisper as she jumped down and stood in front of me. "You look the same, Sis Hes." The happiness in seeing me seemed to win for a minute and gushed to the surface before being dragged down into the depths of anguish.

"Sis Hes? Aren't I your aunt??" though I found myself quite liking the title and nickname. In the body of an 8-year-old, being called a sister felt more true than being called an aunt. "Yes, you are. But you always preferred me calling you sister. You said I felt more like a big brother you could dish with about all the annoying relatives than an aunt. However, if you wish, I shall go back to calling...", she smiled fondly

I stopped her before she finished the sentence. "Nonsense!" I exclaimed, waving my hand, "I quite like it. You are to call me Sister! I insist!" Her eyes sparkled with joy that matched the wide grin on her face. I wanted to make sure that smile never disappeared. "So is today the d-day you died?" I asked hesitantly, almost regretting it instantly. What person would like to be reminded of their death? Although to be fair, it's not common for those who die to end up in someone else's body with the memories intact. Even with reincarnations, the memories are always wiped away so that everyone can start fresh with a clean slate.

"Five days from now, actually. It was supposed to be my birthday but also ended up being my death anniversary." A ghost of a smile played on her lips as she murmured the next part more to herself. "I wonder if they (the future Olympians and demigods) realized that. That the day they chose for my execution was my birthday. Or did they just not care?"

I realize now why the weather was like this. Percy was right; it was mourning. The domains of gods reflect their owner's emotions. The waters mirror the future Poseidon's pure love for his son and, therefore, love him dearly. While Poseidon may have ended up betraying him, the domain still loved him. I don't know if it was that the waters remembered their prince or if it was his presence here as a girl that made them recall, or even if they just sensed that someone they cared so dearly for was no more, but they knew. They knew the one they loved had died unjustly. And this is their act of rebellion against the gods, against Poseidon, for taking away their beloved prince, for hurting him, and for breaking him. I knew now for a fact that the waters would not allow the sun to shine, at least until the end of Percy's anniversary. This was their way of showing Percy that he was not alone, nor was he forgotten.

I didn't know what to say. Honestly, I felt that I had to leave. How could I ask her to help me with my meager problems when she was already suffering so much? With the fact that her death anniversary was only five days away, I couldn't imagine what memories were flooding her mind. Before one dies, they usually remember all their fondest memories. But what do they recall if they come back to life? Would she be reminiscing about the good memories? Or would her good memories be ruined by the bad ones that are to follow? "How can I help you, Sis Hestia?" she asked with a kind smile.

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(A/N: One thing you all should not forget is that Percy wasn't reborn or something, which is why his memories are intact. While reincarnation means rebirth, in Percy's case, when his soul left his electrocuted body, it went into another body of a person who died at the same time. He doesn't start over from birth but continues Li Yǔ's life.)

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