Percy POV
Same time as the last chapter
The last thing I could remember prior to waking up was that I was walking through the beach in Atlantic City with C and Artemis. I felt my surroundings getting quieter and quieter until I fell to my knees and slowly lose consciousness.
Before opening my eyes I could feel a familiar freeze and wet sensation all throughout my body. I immediately knew that I was underwater and my instincts were in overdrive. I tried to move my arm up to my face only to be met by the resistance of cold and strong metal shackles in both of my forearms.
I opened my eyes and I am met with the beast that I have been looking for. Now the fact that I passed out earlier made sense because the Leviathan was who made me black out. I got up and stand right in front of the beast concealing my nerves and fear and putting on an emotionless face. I took a moment to really look at the Leviathan and noticed besides being a monster, I could say that it was the most magnificent sea creature that I have ever seen.
Its sea-blue scales that cover its entire body really help it camouflage in the ocean. The crest that it has from its head to the end of its tail. Pure white teeth that could destroy anything without too much effort. The mane just gives it more authority than anything else. If it weren't for the fact that I was chained to the sea floor with power-dampening golden chains, I would really be lost in this creature, but the circumstances didn't help.
"Hello, Perseus Jackson" The Leviathan spoke in an ancient feminine voice. "What do you want with me?" My voice was raspy even though the water kept healing me. The Leviathan just kept eyeing me until an army of several species of sea monsters started to gather surrounding me completely. In a desperate attempt to get out of the chains I pulled back on them only to have a monster hit me with a whip on the back. I gritted my teeth trying to hold on to my scream not giving them any pleasure in my agony.
"Now now young Perseus, you must know that this is only the beginning. It will end once you have lost everything and everyone you love." The Leviathan promised as she nodded to the monster with the whip to continue. Once again I could feel the burning and insufferable feeling of the whip against my flesh. I could not see my back but I could feel small bits of flesh separating from my body from the amount of force that the whip had.
"Why are you doing this? I have never done anything to you?" I pleaded. As much as I don't like the way of getting information, I needed to know a bit more so that I can have some background of why they are attacking. "You have slain millions of monsters along with powerful deities. You slay the most powerful titans and giants, effectively demonstrating that you have more power than anyone else."
"But I am not even from your pantheon. I am a greek and roman demigod who just wants to live in a piece for once in my life." I argued. I didn't know what exactly my plan was, but I needed to gain as much time and information as possible if I wanted to get out of here alive. The Leviathan just smiled and said something that took me by surprise. "Your bracelets hold a power that no one else has. If someone were to take that power, they will become the strongest being on the planet. Unlike with many deities, if someone kills you while you wear those, they receive your power. I don't know why but I was told that."
Wait, she said that she was told that, was she working for someone else? And if she did, who was that another person or being that was so powerful that could manipulate the Leviathan? These and many more questions started popping into my head, but I knew that if I kept poking I will eventually end up dead sooner rather than later.
My thought was suddenly cut off when I felt the whip slash my lower back, efficiently drawing blood and small amounts of flesh. I gritted my teeth as the pain started to subdue because the water kept healing me. Ever since I started training with my father, my water abilities had increased effectively healing me two times faster than they how originally did. As my cut started to close another hit came to my gut from in front.
Time Skip(20 hours, next day in the morning)
The torture kept going for most of the day and night until I was on the brink of passing out. I could feel how my bones kept getting broken and healing the entire time. How my flesh would be slashed and/or punched open until the water healed it. The Leviathan never tortured me which had me preoccupied but relieved at the same time. I was okay with it because I didn't want to feel a worse type of pain, but I was also scared that she was doing it for the purpose of hiding some of her power.
I was slowly starting to lose the mental battle. Why am I even doing this? I have never had peace in my entire life, maybe death would be the best? I thought to myself. As just as I was about to give up hope and my will to live, I heard a powerful deity enter my mind. This being was much more powerful than the titans, gods, and probably the primordials. Hello Perseus, I can see that your will is on the brink of falling. A feminine but powerful voice said in my head.
'Who are you?' I responded in my head. I didn't know who it was but I was sure that this being wasn't hostile. You don't need to know that... At least for now, but I am here to see why you have almost no hope. The voice responded. I was skeptical about her not telling me her name, but for some reason, I felt like I could trust the voice. 'I have no way of getting out of here. She is going to kill my friends and I can't do anything about it. She wants to kill me to take the power that I draw from the bracelets.' I responded barely holding back a sob and my tears mixing with the sea.
Let me tell you something, Perseus Jackson. What did you do when you and your friends were cornered by Ares in your first quest? The voice asked me. The sudden question took me by surprise because she knows about me and the situations that I was in. 'I stood for me and my friends and defeated Ares even though I had no idea of how at the time.' I answered back.
Now, what did you do when you were in the sea of monsters and encounter the sirens?... The cyclops? The sheep? She pointed out those parts of the quest that almost no one knew about. 'I... I don't kno-' I couldn't even finish when she cut me off. You used your emotions and your will to keep fighting. For your friends and family to be safe. You did the same when you rescue Artemis and Annabeth, you snuck out to save them and even hold the sky when you noticed that you couldn't go up against Atlas. In the labyrinth, you took the mantle of the grown-up and look for help and exploded a volcano in order to save Annabeth. In your encounters with Kronos when you thought you were dead you kept going and going until the final decision that you took to save the world. Your times at New Rome and with the seven across the world are just evidence of your will to keep going, to keep those you love safe. And your time in Tartarus is the biggest evidence of that. No one has escaped Tartarus, but you did it because the lives of your friends, family, and the rest of the people in this world depended on it. The voice said bringing hope into my soul. I felt the energy within me telling me to keep fighting and never give up.
You think those bracelets give you power, but it doesn't. The power is within you, those cuffs are just instruments to help you channel and have better control of the power inside of you... Now, are you just gonna wait here for your death while your friends at camp are being killed? Or are you going to get up and show them to not mess with your family?! The voice finished. I felt myself grow stronger by the second. My thoughts on everyone back at camp preparing for the attack of one of the strongest monsters, which isn't even from our pantheon.
All the cuts, broken bones, and bruises across my body healed completely. I control the water around me to help me break the golden cuffs that chained me to the floor. I pulled on them with my entire force until they snapped, leaving me free once and for all. I look down at myself and see that my clothes are in complete shambles. I mist travel out of the cavern into the sea outside and look at the sky, I noticed that it's almost sunset, which means that the Leviathan and her army are either already attacking or close to camp.
I mist traveled myself to camp. As soon as I was within a mile of camp I hit an invisible barrier. I materialized myself and noticed that the power surrounding the area was stronger than any other that I have seen. I looked around to see an army of around a thousand monsters going through the barrier with ease when I got an idea.
I mist traveled right behind one of the monsters and effectively cross the barrier. I materialized myself once again a hundred yards away from them because I was already exhausted from mist traveling and breaking the chains. The second after, I heard battle screams from the campers about 2 miles away from me, probably towards the beach. I was confused by this since the army was walking through the woods and not through the beach. That's when realization dawned on me, the campers were being distracted so that they wouldn't notice the other army.
I also noticed that this army wasn't led by the Leviathan. This surprise attack was their main attack, I needed to destroy the army before they reach the campers and kill them. With that thought in mind, I summoned a piece of ambrosia and some nectar to energize myself. In a matter of seconds, my entire energy was restored. I took out riptide for the first time in months and summon another similar sword in my left hand. If I was to fight this army to save my friends, might as well use this opportunity to test my inner power.
Let's get this party started...