"Excellent," Lord Chaos smiled. "You shall become the commander and knight of highest honour of my army. You shall lead the Alpha Force team, a group of demigods not unlike you who will lead the defeat of this ancient force. Ready to go?"
"Go where?"
Once more, the primordial in front of me grinned. But this time, it seemed a lot more sinister. "You'll find out."
I looked back at camp once more. I wondered if I would ever be back. Not if I can help it, I determined. Suddenly, I thought of something. I pulled out the ring that had been waiting in my pocket for a moment that would never come, not ever. I tossed it up and down in my palm, considering. Then, I threw it as far and as hard as I could into the labyrinth of trees.
Chaos placed his hand on my shoulder, and the world went black.
-
We appeared in the middle of Camp Half-Blood's dining pavilion. I stumbled away from Lord Chaos, as busy campers passed by us, their hands laden with trays of food.
"What are we doing here?" I exclaimed.
Lord Chaos responded with another annoying answer that didn't actually answer anything. "We aren't really here, Perseus."
I turned to him. "What do you mean?" But suddenly, a young daughter of Apollo strolled up to us. And kept walking. Right through me.
I gasped, as the girl continued walking away. "What happened?" I began to notice more things. The entire camp had a tinge of black and grey to it, like I was looking at it through a dark stained glass window. The colours seemed more subdued. As I glanced up, I widened my eyes at the sky, which held more glittering stars than I'd ever seen in my life. Planets and constellations that I didn't recognize revolved so close that I could make out their distinct features. And the sun - wait. Where the holy hades was the sun?
Next I noticed the sound. While I could still hear the various noises of camp, it too was like it was under a thick layer of compression. The voices floating from the tables seemed miles away.
"You are in my realm, Perseus. It coexists with my brother Order's realm, teeming under the surface. Everything that is physical in your world, the world of Order, is also in the world of Chaos. Even sight and sound. However, while Order's realm is available to everything, mine is open only to the select few. If it was not like that, both worlds would look identical and anyone would be able to flip between the two. In my world, magic and power flows freely, chaotically. In my brother's world, he channels it to only some. Gods and Titans, for example. He runs his world with an iron fist, though many do not even know of his existence. To keep it that way, he hides the way the universe really is. Look at the sky. In the realm of Chaos, it is as it truly is. In the realm of Order, a fine magical line traps the mortals in and projects what humans have come to think of as their Milky Way Galaxy. I don't think he prefers that name, though."
I struggled to think of an answer to that. Absently, I wondered what Annabeth would think of this place, and if she knew of Order and Chaos.
"It's a lot to take in." I finally replied.
"Yes, it is," Lord Chaos agreed, "Now come, you must meet the rest of the Alpha Team and find your powers!"