AN: Sorry again, was super busy again so I couldn't write unfortunately. I also felt a little burnt out and the single day I felt like writing, I had a massive migraine. From now on, updates will slow down to about one month or 1.5 months between each update, and I'll try to write up longer chapters for you all to read.
Go check out "Crown of Slaughter", prequel to Ascension of the Fallen, this story, it's up on my profile.
Dismal Dreams
Ascension of the Fallen: Chapter 22
The abyss in front of her felt supernatural, powerful even. She peered over the edge, careful to not tip over.
There was no bottom; it was a pit of eternal darkness, powerful and unyielding. She shivered at the malicious aura seeping from the pit. She could feel a force slowly pulling her towards the edge, taunting her, mocking her to jump in. This was Tartarus, there was no doubt about it.
"Daughter of Zeus..."
The voice sounded like nails scraping across a chalkboard, grating Thalia's ears and making her want to cover them. Yet at the same time, it resonated with power beyond imagination, power that could crush her like an ant.
This was the king of the Titans. The Crooked One, Kronos himself. The only reason Thalia even had a clue who he was was because of Perseus' brutal method of forcing her to learn all of Greek mythology. Including every monster, every god, every titan, and even every primordial. At the time, she'd yelled at him, screamed at him, even punched him and tried to put on a puppy face, but he wasn't having it. The god had been adamant that she learn information 'critical to her well-being' as his fancy ass put it, and she had been equally adamant that she already knew the information 'critical to her-wellbeing'. And thus, Thalia was made to sit through a five hour test with her demigod ADHD as the god bullied her into submission with a couple sheets of paper.
"Father of Perseus."
She grinned slightly when she felt the voice's anger rise at the jibe, but her mind paid the price for it as a crushing force began encroaching on the edges of her mind again.
"I will condone that insult as long as you agree to what I have to say. The Olympians are a horrid, abysmal group of rulers. They have plunged the world into a dark age, from which it is just starting to recover. You surely have seen the damages. The children of the Big Three caused numerous tragedies, and a son of Hades started the bloodiest war in history, the one mortals know as the second world war. It was madness, it was insanity. The Olympians have many, many faults, including keeping gods away from their demigod children by enacting the 'Ancient Laws'.
Under my rule, the people prospered. Our age was known as the Golden Age for a reason..."
The Crooked One began showing her images of great, prosperous cities, filled with joyous people and great wealth. Humanity was thriving and so were the titans of Orthys and the rest of the mythological world.
"You can be the herald to a new age of prosperity, an age that will shine so bright that the Golden Age will pale in comparison. All you need do is join me. Join me to destroy the wretched, undeserving, Olympians, and return the world to its former glory."
"I have people that I care about, people who always have my back." She thought to Perseus, to Annabeth, Nico and Bianca, even to the friends she'd made among the campers.
"Why should I join you? You know what the world knows you as? The Crooked One. And for good reason. Your words warp and twist minds alike, bending them to your despicable whims. Each trap set by you is tailored to each demigod's flaw, and you are a master of words. I won't fall for your words, and as the child of the Great Prophecy, I'll make sure that you will fail."
She could almost feel the voice's visible surprise at her knowledge of the Great Prophecy. Perseus had been much more transparent with her than the gods had ever been. He didn't speak in riddles, only plain words. Obviously, the god didn't just give out the positions of their troops – not that Thalia was interested in that anyway.
A chuckle shook her out of her reverie, as the voice started full on laughing.
Unlike the previous one, this was actually a laugh. Born of genuine rather than mocking amusement, the voice's chuckling reverberated throughout the abyss.
"You think you understand everything, child. You do not. The world is in grave danger. Allow me to show you."
Suddenly, the space around her warped into a barren plain. Barren would have been an understatement. Devoid of life, there were no trees, no plants, no animals. She saw a lone, hooded figure standing, seemingly waiting for something.
Thalia squinted, but she could only make out the vague features of the figure.
Two more figures appeared by his side; it was painfully obvious that one of them was hunched over, old and frail, weakened for some reason. This was Father Time. The other one shifted uneasily as the center figure kept waiting, patiently.
Suddenly, a white-haired man appeared in front of them, levitating several feet off the ground. Blue bolts of electricity crackled around him, and Thalia knew it was the Protogenos of the Heavens, Ouranos.
More and more protogenoi appeared in front of the three figures. Pontus, Erebus, Tartarus, Gaea...
Suddenly, the figure drew a pulsing sword of black, darkness radiating off it as veins of gold ran through the blade, pulsing with pure power. A gust of wind blew into their faces, but the three stood their ground.
The center figure's hood fell off onto his shoulders and Thalia saw him.
It was Perseus. Why was he drawing his sword?
The woman beside him took down her hood, revealing creamy white skin and pitch-black eyes... this was Nyx, protogenos of the Night. Chronos drew his staff, planting it into the ground.
This was not a meeting. It was a confrontation.
"Perseus, son of Kronos... your crimes against the Primordial Council have been recorded and documented. Do you have anything to say in regards to the evidence against you?"
Perseus snorted in derision, blasting Ouranos several hundred meters into the air.
All out battle ensued, pitting protogenos against protogenos, brother against sister, grandfather against grandson. The Earth was ripped to pieces as Gaea drew on her power, and bolts of lightning were so numerous that they blotted out the sun, as Perseus and Nyx clouded out the sun while Hemera and Aether fought against the darkness they created.
The world was falling apart, cities demolished and lifted into the air as millions upon millions of people died.
They simply ceased to exist. Deleted from existence.
Like a movie, the scene stopped, and Thalia was once again at the mouth of the dark abyss.
"Consider my offer. If you join me, I can promise you and your demigod friends protection from the deadly feud of the protogenoi."
She woke up in a sweat, panting, as her eyes frantically scanned her surroundings, already wary and on guard.
Thalia let out a relieved sigh as she gleaned the sweat from her forehead with the back of her palm.
Despite her displaying casual attitude with the Crooked One himself, the dream had taken a toll on her mind. She felt like she had a horrible hangover... not that she'd ever tasted alcohol before or had Nico or Bianca slip alcohol into her drink and then subsequently got put on cleaning duty by Hecate when she found out... why would that ever happen?
She'd have to tell Perseus about the vision.
---
Thalia rounded the corner of the cabin, quickly tiptoeing out of camp. After a full day of training at camp again, she decided to try and get in contact with Perseus. After all, it was much riskier in broad daylight, where anyone could see her, and where the sun god would most certainly see her. At night, Perseus, who held control over the shadows, aided by Nyx, obscured the moon goddess Artemis' vision, clouding it so that they could send him any messages needed.
The night was silent, the moon diminished as none of the nocturnal creatures of the night were making any noise. It was... unsettling. It was as if they were waiting for something.
But Thalia had to tell him about her dream, and so despite the strange tingling on the back of her neck, she proceeded to step outside the border of camp.
She couldn't afford to take any risks here. As she leapt into the shadows of the forest, she prepared to make a call to Perseus when a knife embedded itself in the tree beside her.
Startled, her spine went ramrod before her instincts kicked in.
Immediately ducking behind the tree, she activated her shield and spear, and she stepped out, her head swinging from side to side to see her opponent.
Except the opponent was already gone.
"Right behind you."
Her electric blue eyes widened in shock as she shifted to the left as fast as she could, but the knife still grazed her flesh, leaving her crying out in pain. This was no normal metal. It felt like her soul was being shattered, and that was a simple graze.
She let go of her spear in shock, a critical mistake.
Her attacker went on the offensive, landing several hits onto Thalia with their fists.
Thalia hopped back, turtling behind her shield as hits were rained down on it.
A boot to her shield sent her skidding backwards several feet as her spear returned itself to her hand and she landed in a crouching position.
She finally got a glimpse of her opponent. He was more than a few inches taller than her, with a lean build, east Asian features, and dark hair. Other than that, she couldn't make out too much in the dim moonlight of the night.
Thalia grit her teeth, blasting at him with electricity, but the man was nimble; he ducked and rolled his way towards her, and she blocked immediately.
It was not a second too late, as three knives slammed into Aegis, forcing her on the backfoot again. It wasn't often that an opponent could force her on the defensive end, especially when she had trained daily for a year with Perseus, along with Nico and Hades. Her fighting prowess took leaps and bounds, but it wasn't just fighting with him. Perseus was a scholar himself, not only a warrior. He made the three study with him with one or two hours a day spent in his room alternating each day between debating morals and philosophies, reading literature and poems, and going over applicable mechanics of physics. Thalia was most interested in the third one rather than the other two once Perseus had explained what "mechanics" meant, and how it was beyond useful, especially for combat.
A kick to her sternum jolted her out of memory lane, and she shook her head to get back into the fight.
The man landed three swift kicks to her shield, then swinging for a wide kick.
Thalia prepared to duck and leave the man off balance.
Shit. It was a feint.
The man suddenly switched legs, landing a hard hit on her right. Something cracked, and she grunted in pain, not having time to block as a brass knuckle caught her in the face.
She backpedaled furiously, blocking the man's knives with her jet black spear.
He batted her spear away with another knife, forcing her to either let it go or to lose balance and possibly lose the fight entirely.
The spear flew out of her hands and the man jumped several feet into the air, leaving her extended and exposed. She hastily brought up Aegis to block but the man spun, bringing the heel of his boot down onto the shield. He landed, kicking her in the side and then punching into Aegis again, denting it against his brass knuckles.
He kicked again, his metal boot once again clanging against Aegis and sending Thalia skidding backwards. She widened her eyes as he twisted and flipped over her head, kicking the tip of her spear into the ground.
The man gave a cocky smirk, and Thalia narrowed her eyes at him. Was this some sort of assassin? He was more than skilled, even with no powers, and it seemed like he wasn't even trying.
Her eyes began to light up, flashing electric blue.
Arcs of lightning began to dance along her fingertips as her spear and shield crackled with electricity.
The man, who now looked slightly impressed, flung three knives at her again, and she batted them away with her spear.
The daughter of Zeus lunged towards the man, covering several meters, but he ducked again, launching into a roll. She jabbed at him with her spear, and he backflipped onto his hands before springing, covering several meters and hurling knives at her.
She blocked with her shield, only peeking cautiously when she felt the knives clatter against her shield and fall to the ground.
Thalia rolled her eyes internally. This guy was an absolute showoff, that was for sure.
He opened his hands, the multitude of knives and daggers returning to his fingertips. Thalia fired at him, and instead of ducking, this time he manipulated the knives in the air to spin rapidly, forming a sort of shield.
They absorbed the lightning, holding it and conducting it for a few seconds before the man fired it back at her.
Thalia's eyes widened as the lightning bolt struck her chest with tremendous force, flinging her into the tree like a doll being flung around by a child.
She woozily stood back up, holding her hand out for her spear, yet it would not come. It was... fighting against her, against her will. She recoiled in slight shock, before taking a grasp of it again and pulling, yet it wouldn't budge.
She saw the man make a yanking motion with his hand, and she tilted her head in confusion before stumbling as she almost lost control of her spear. They struggled for a few moments, a battle of wills before Thalia clenched her fist and yanked it back. The black spear finally returned to her side, still crackling with electricity.
It seemed that the man had some powers after all. Unfortunately for him, powerful enchantments from one such as the goddess of magic overruled his will.
Thalia let loose, deciding to end this fight before it got out of hand.
Lightning exploded through her veins, crackling and chirping like an incoming storm as she gathered it at the tip of her spear. It grew and grew, growing so bright that it almost blinded her as she sent the spear at the man with immense speeds as it flew through the air like a javelin, homing in on its target.
The man's eyes widened in surprise as Thalia smirked. This had to be it; this would surely be the end of him.
Instead, he reached out his hands, deflecting the spear off to the side as it surged and crackled into the ground, wanting to explode, but instead, it simply fizzled into the ground.
She grit her teeth in annoyance. He would just not lose; he just kept countering her. She was ragged and torn, while he only showed the slightest hints of exhaustion. He had been toying with her, making her use up all her stamina. The numerous wounds inflicted on her finally caught up to her, as she began feeling them take their toll while her adrenaline slowly wore off.
The man grinned, tilting his head to the side and mockingly crooking a finger.
Her anger burned, screaming at her to finish the man and end his insolence. Thalia charged at him, foregoing all and any methods of tactics, opting to just use brute force.
She rammed her shield into his stomach, forcing him skidding backwards.
He jumped over her spear, twirling and twisting in the air before landing a devastating downwards kick onto her head.
Thalia stumbled, the pain flaring in her head. She felt woozy, incoherent as she struggled to put up her hands to block.
The man slammed his brass knuckles into her stomach and kneed her in the face.
A punch sent her reeling, and a heavy boot to her ribs cracked several of them painfully.
She blinked, and the next second, she was on the ground with a knife flying at her throat.
Thalia frantically pulled on her rather weak shadow powers that she had neglected to train which would have been very useful right now.
She focused on the destination of Perseus' base, feeling herself lose consciousness by the millisecond.
The knife just barely missed her throat as she sunk into the ground and fell into the shadow realm.
---
Mars groaned as he opened his eyes, quickly shutting them as he realized the lights in the room were absurdly bright, scorching his retinas. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the bright rays.
He struggled to sit up, forcing himself, groaning as his muscles ached from the exertion. He turned his head and stretched his back, feeling a pop.
"Lord Mars, you're awake!"
He whipped his head around to see a middle-aged, brown-haired nurse looking at a screen - probably his vitals, he deduced. The god of war roamed his eyes over the room, checking his surroundings. There were numerous decorations and paintings of old Roman generals over the room. Other than the decorations, the room was your typical hospital room with white walls, white sheets, and a monitor displaying his vitals.
He expanded his senses, realizing that there were hundreds of demigods and legacies within the vicinity of the hospital.
Why and how were there hundreds of mortals near him?
Crap.
This was New Rome. Jupiter and the other Olympians would be here any minute, if they weren't here already. Jupiter would have his head.
"I need to get going."
Mars pushed himself out of bed, and his leg almost gave out as the woman rushed to his side to support him.
"Lord Mars, I must insist you stay, at least for another day. Your injuries were significant, and even accelerated healing has still left you with some minor injuries. Please stay in New Rome, the people would appreciate your presence."
The god held back a snort.
The people would most definitely not appreciate him after they learned of his betrayal.
"I would truly love to stay. But I must insist that I get going, as the monster I'd been tracking is still on the loose."
A bold-faced lie, but one that was believable nonetheless. After all, just what kind of monster would be able to cause this much damage to the renowned Olympian god of war?
The nurse reluctantly let go of his side, and Mars quickly limped out the room and got out the door. He didn't want to linger in one place for too long. Call him paranoid, but he did not want to be caught by a multitude of gods who may or may not execute him for treason.
He walked through the streets towards the Fields of himself. The people parted like the sea, stopping and staring at him before kneeling; after all, it was not every day that one saw a god. Although he had mostly recovered, his power was still at an all-time low. No being had ever defeated him this soundly and this badly before, and it would take a couple weeks before he was back up to full battery. He needed to get back to Perseus.
"Lord Mars!"
He groaned internally, turning to face the two praetors, and plastering a deceptively fake smile on his face, internally hoping that the two wouldn't see right through it.
"Praetor Grace, Praetor Reyna," he greeted. The two bowed in turn.
"Lord Mars, New Rome welcomes you. The people would love it if you would stay at least for another day."
He'd heard
"Although I would love to remain and take a look at New Rome, I'm unfortunately quite occupied at the minute, hunting an extremely dangerous monster that is currently on the loose, and I really must get going."
The praetors reluctantly nodded, accepting his answer, and Mars breathed a silent sigh of relief. The people went back to their daily lives, and Mars trekked further into the Field of Mars.
The day was serene, clear blue skies with a several white clouds hovering calmly. Apollo rode his chariot across the sky and for a moment, Mars would have liked to imagine that there would be no war, no war with the Olympians or the Titans, and merely nature and himself.
He prepared to flash away but was suddenly alerted to the presence of several gods flashing into the area themselves. He stiffened, and slowly turned his head.
The god of war turned around to see the entire Olympian council impassively staring back at him.
"Shit."
---
The news was troubling for anyone who heard it. Well, except Perseus, and he was the only one who had heard it. He would have been distressed if not for the fact that he already knew this was going to happen.
Thalia had told her of her dream, and Perseus had outright laughed at her, before laughing some more at the betrayed look on her face before proceeding to explain to her exactly how he'd prevent that from happening.
Then when she asked how he would do so if it was indeed the prophesized event of the fates, Perseus had laughed for the second time and told her that the fates had no power over the protogenoi or himself.
The tongue was always stronger than the sword.
Or it might have been the pen. Either way, Perseus needed to make sure that some protogenoi stayed neutral, and if possible, pull more than a couple of them to his side. Despite him being immortal, he still had some shreds of humanity inside him, and Perseus always tried to avoid damaging or hurting them as much as possible; in fact, he often went so far as to care for some mortals and demigods, Thalia, Nico, and Bianca being prime examples.
No, Perseus would not allow an all-out war with the primordial council on Earth. Damn the fates and their strings if he had to, he would try to save every legacy and demigod in New Rome and in Camp Half-blood while demolishing Olympus in the process.
Then there was the question of the gray-haired assassin Thalia had encountered in the forests of Camp Half-blood.
The man was certainly peculiar. From what Thalia had told him, he seemed to have a power vaguely similar to polarity, control over metals.
Then he was athletic, and an apparent show-off, words straight from the daughter of Zeus' mouth. His fighting style focused on utilizing legs more so than hands, and he stored a multitude of different daggers and knives on his body.
He would have to do some research on powers; he knew of no god who had the power of polarity.
It seemed that more and more new factors appeared each day.
His brow furrowed; could this be the work of the primordials?
How'd you like it? Let me know in the comments down below! I did try to make this chapter longer, but at the end of the day I didn't want to delay anymore and so I updated instead of making you guys wait some more for another couple thousand words.
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