Aside Percy and Lucia, none of them had ever seen Nihil in person.
"Um, who are you?" Jason asked.
"Uh, guys. This is Chaos." Percy said. "Or as per her temporary name, Nihil."
"Hey." Nihil grinned as she waved at everyone while floating midair in a cross-legged position.
"Chaos." Jason repeated.
"Chaos." Nihil assured him.
"Chaos, as in, creation?"
"Chaos, as in, creation." Nihil repeated.
"As in, older than everything else? That Chaos?"
"That's me, although I use moisturizer every night to keep my skin smooth." Nihil said.
Jason laughed nervously. "She has a sense of humor. That's great." Jason muttered. "Um, hello there."
"Don't worry. I had trouble believing it at first." Percy said.
"You guys need to relax." Nihil said. "Think of me as just a normal god. You guys are used to that, right?" Nihil said. Then, she turned towards Reyna. "And no, I'm not the enemy."
Reyna looked surprised. "I didn't say anything."
"He can read minds." Percy sighed. "One of the more annoying traits he has."
"It's not that I could read minds." Nihil said. "It's like a comic book. All of your thoughts are projected into my head like a comic speech bubble."
"That's . . . unsettling." Annabeth said. "So, uh, what are you doing here?"
Normally, when demigods are graced with the presence of a god or goddess, they usually tend to be more respectful and humble.
But with Nihil, people are just so confused and in awe that they can't help but be casual because they thing it's a dream.
"I'm here to talk to Percy for a second." Nihil said. "Then I'll return him back to you guys, okay?"
No one argued because, well, it's Chaos. Even someone like Zeus would've smited someone just for breathing at him wrong, let along someone like Chaos.
So Percy and Nihil went to the other side of the arena for a talk. "How are you feeling?" Nihil asked.
"I feel fine." Percy said. "My chest feels funny."
"Any unusual feelings?" Nihil asked. "Funny side effects? Sudden urge to bite into a tree?"
"Uh, no."
"Good. I was just making sure your body is adapting well to my powers." Nihil said. "Which is why I'm here."
"I've been meaning to ask." Percy said. "What the hell did you do to me?"
Nihil grinned. She held her hand out with her palm open and sparks of black lightning shot out of it. "I've made you my apprentice, so you'll receive some of my powers."
"Like this lightning thing?" Percy asked.
"This 'lightning' thing is called Flames of Creation." Nihil said. "One of the earliest tools I used to create, well, everything."
"You're kidding."
Nihil shook her head as she lowered her hand. "I've used the Flames to create the first stars in the universe. The stars themselves weren't as hot as the Flames though. They can't really be contained, which is why they sprout out everywhere like lightning."
"Uh huh." Percy said, pretending that he understood what Nihil just said. "So, what can I do with them?"
"These Flames have enough power in them to evaporate anything." Nihil said with a serious tone. "And when I say everything, I mean everything. Primordials included."
Percy gulped. He thought when he was holding Zeus's masterbolt was dangerous, imagine the feeling of having the power to annihilate Earth itself in his body.
"What I've given you is not the full power." Nihil said.
"So, you've given the Flames to me with only half the power?"
Nihil snorted. "Not even half. In fact, not even a tenth. The power inside your body right now is like a droplet of its full power."
That just reminded Percy of how incredibly powerful Nihil actually is. "So, I can't evaporate Gaia with this."
"No. But it's enough to knock her out into oblivion for the next millenia." Nihil said. "I had half a mind of giving you more, but even this much is dangerous for you. If your body couldn't contain it, you would've exploded and let loose all my power and accidentally destroyed half the planet."
Percy laughed nervously. "This much is good enough." Percy said. The last thing he needed in his conscience was to accidentally blow up half of the world.
"Now, I should warn you." Nihil said. "Using these Flames will drain your energy. This is not like controlling water. This is like using your body as fusion reactor. And you have limited uses."
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
"I've given you enough for you to use it three times."
"Only three times?" Percy asked. "I don't think that's enough."
"Three times is already pushing your limits." Nihil said. "Any more, and you'll blow up."
"Why do many scenarios with your powers involve me blowing up?" Percy asked.
Nihil ignored him. "This means, no matter what, you will only have three attempts in defeating Gaia for good." Nihil said firmly. "Remember that."
"I understand." Percy said.
"Good." Nihil said. "Now, try it."
"You want me to try the Flames?" Percy said.
Nihil nodded. "Just do like a flicker or something. Send a few sparks. Try not to destroy the area. Try to focus on one point on your fingertip and let it out."
"I thought you said I can only do this only three times?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, you can do it three times with full power. If it's just sending out a few sparks, it'll be fine."
Percy was nervous. If he messed this up, he could risk blowing him and his friends into pieces. He took a few deep breaths and held his hand out. He focused onto one tiny spot at the tip of his index finger.
In an instant, a tendril of black lightning flew out of his fingers and gave out a tiny spark. It disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, similar to a real lightning.
"Was that it?" Percy asked.
"Great, you can control it." Nihil let out a deep breath. She seems worried for some reason.
"I think I can get the hang of-" A surge of power instantly filled up Percy's hand and the area around them exploded. Percy must've blacked out briefly after that because the next thing he remembered was his friends crowding around him.
"What happened?" Lucia's voice said through the ringing in Percy's ears.
"Slight miscalculation on my part." Nihil said.
"Urgh." Percy groaned as he sat up.
"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked.
"I'm fine." Percy said. "Did I blew anyone up?"
"Yeah. Yourself." Nihil mused. "Don't worry. That wasn't the full power, but it was a bit more than a few sparks."
"That'll take some time of getting used to." Percy said.
"You'll be fine with training." Nihil said with a grin. "Now, if you demigods will excuse me, I have something to attend to." She said before snapping her fingers and disappearing out of sight.
"What the hell was that?" Reyna asked.
"I'll tell you guys later." Percy groaned in pain. "After everything stops spinning."
Line Break
"So basically speaking," Jason said. "You have a weapon of mass destruction inside of you right now, and you can only use it three times."
"That's the gist of it." Percy said as he munched on his sandwich. They were currently in the dining pavilion, taking a break from sparring after Percy nearly blew himself up.
Well, not nearly. He actually did blew himself up.
"So, our objective is to find Gaia, then you have three chances to defeat her." Annabeth said.
"Simple, right?" Percy said.
"It's simple when you put it like that." Reyna sighed. "How are we even supposed to find Gaia? Where do we even start?"
"Zoe." Percy said. Mentioning Zoe, he felt his heart being twisted. The sting of her betrayal still felt fresh.
"Zoe? You mean Zoe Nightshade?" Annabeth asked. Percy nodded. "But that's impossible."
"Who's Zoe?" Reyna asked.
"Zoe's a friend of mine who died a few years ago." Annabeth said. "She was one of the Hunters of Artemis who fought Atlas when he got free from holding up the sky." Annbeth turned towards Percy. "Were you there?"
"I was." Percy said. "The quest initially started with Zoe, Bianca, Thalia, and Grover. I snuck out of camp to follow them."
"Bianca and Zoe died during the quest." Annabeth muttered sadly. "But Zoe was one of us. She's a hero. Why would she work for Gaia?"
"Honestly, I don't know." Percy said. "Gaia could be feeding her lies."
"But that's absurd. Zoe's been with Artemis almost hundreds of years. She wouldn't betray her like that."
"I don't know, Annabeth." Percy said. "Maybe she has her reasons, but only she can tell us. But right now, we need to see her as an enemy."
Percy could tell that Annabeth wasn't set on it. She remembered Zoe as a hero. Artemis even put up a new constellation in her honor. It wasn't realistic for her to turn against her friends like that.
"How is she even alive anyway?" Annabeth asked.
"From what she told me, she walked through the Doors of Death when it was chained." Percy said.
"Is that even possible?" Jason asked.
"That's what she and Bianca said."
"Wait," Annabeth raised her hands up. "Bianca's alive too?"
Percy nodded. "Surprised the heck out of me as well."
"You mentioned her name as one of the people with Zoe." Reyna said. "Who was she?"
"Bianca's another Hunter of Artemis who was our friend. I don't really know her that well since we didn't really talk." Annabeth said. "But she was Nico's sister."
"I thought that was Hazel." Jason said.
Annabeth shook her head. "His actual sister. Bianca di Angelo." Then, a look of realization dawned on Annabeth's face. "We have to tell Nico."
"No, don't." Percy said.
"What do you mean 'don't'?" Annabeth argued. "He has to know."
"Please don't tell him." Percy pleaded. "At least not yet."
"Why?"
Percy sighed. "I don't know the rules of death, Annabeth. And I certainly don't know whose side she's on." Percy said. "Is she with Gaia? Do we have to go against her? Let's say we beat Gaia, what happens to her? Will she go back to the Underworld? Will she stay here?"
Annabeth seemed to realize the point that Percy was making. "I see."
"I just," Percy took a deep breath. "I don't want to see Nico suffer like that. Seeing her sister turn evil or having her taken away from him once again. Nico doesn't deserve that."
Annabeth nodded. "You're right."
"We'll tell him, but not now. We have to wait until this is over."
"Okay." Annabeth muttered.
"So, back to planning." Lucia said, changing the topic. "Where do we find this Zoe person?"
"Good question." Percy said. "I don't know."
"Seriously?" Lucia said.
"With Gaia's help, she could be anywhere right now. My guess is, she's collecting relics to help Gaia regain her strength." Percy said. "And those relics could be anywhere."
"What do you mean by relics?" Jason asked.
"Remember that coin you found? The one I stole?" Percy said. "That was one of them. They're like these little objects imbued with godly powers."
"Any specific details for these relics?" Annabeth asked. "Anything to differentiate them from other objects?"
Percy shook his head. "It could be almost anything." Percy said. "It could be something as mundane as a paperclip, for all we know. The only difference is that they have powers."
"It's sort of like the pen we found." Reyna said.
"Oh yeah." Annabeth agreed.
"What pen?" Percy asked.
"This one." Reyna fished out a ballpoint pen from her pocket. Percy instantly knew what it was. It looked like any other pen that you could get from anywhere, but Percy recognized it.
It was his sword, Riptide.
"Where did you get that?" Percy asked.
"We found it at the bottom of Little Tiber." Reyna said.
Percy had the sudden urge to grab the pen away from Reyna. That sword was gift from his dad. He'd thrown it away when he started working with Gaia to cut all connections he had of his past life and it had never returned to him ever since.
Now, it's here.
Out of the blue, the pen flew towards Percy and he caught it before the pen hit his face. As soon as Percy touched it, it let out the familiar sound of the blade extending into its true form. A leaf-shaped bronze blade glinting from the sun.
Percy felt a familiar feeling wash over him as he reunited with his old weapon. The only sword that's perfectly balanced in his hands.
"Good to see you too, buddy." Percy muttered with a small smile.
"Uh, what just happened?" Jason asked. "And why are you talking to a sword?"
Percy chuckled as he turned Riptide back into a pen. "This was my old weapon." Percy said. "It was a gift from Poseidon when I first learned I was a demigod. It's been with me for as long as I could remember until I threw it out."
"Well, you can have it back if you like." Reyna said. "I'm more of a 'spear' gal myself."
"Thanks." Percy said as he stuffed the pen into his pocket. "So, we need to find out how to track Zoe, who will then lead us to Gaia."
"Maybe Lady Artemis will know something." Annabeth said.
"Worth a shot." Jason said. "I'll ask my sister about it."
"And we need to find out more about these relics." Reyna said. "We might have something in the records of previous Praetors." Reyna turned to Lucia. "I know you're new, but would you like to see the camp for Roman demigods after this?"
"Uh, sure?" Lucia said.
"Great. Let's prepare for tomorrow." Reyna grabbed Lucia by the hand and ran off somewhere.
"I'll try and contact Thalia to find out her whereabouts." Jason said as he also left the table.
Which left Percy alone with Annabeth.
"I'm gonna go, uh, train." Percy said as he started to get up.
"Wait, I wanna ask you something." Annabeth said.
Percy instantly got nervous. "What's up?" Percy said.
"I still have some gaps in my memories." Annabeth said. "I need you to fill me in on some stuff."
"I'm not sure if that's important right now." Percy said.
"It might." Annabeth argued. "Maybe there's something in those memories that could help us find Zoe."
Percy really didn't want to do this on the off chance she realizes what kind of relationship they had previously.
On the other hand, he really wanted to spend some time with Annabeth.
"Fine." Percy said as he sat back down. "What do you want to know?"
"First of, the thing with Atlas." Annabeth said. "What happened?"
"How much do you remember?" Percy asked.
"Uh, I was kidnapped." Annabeth said. "Held up the sky for a while for Atlas. Then they got Artemis and she held up the sky. Then Zoe and Thalia came in. They freed Artemis from under the sky and my dad swoop in with his plane, shot monsters down, and we went to Olympus."
Percy chuckled at Annabeth's summary. "Anything else?"
"Some bits, but they're a bit blurry." Annabeth said.
"So, you remember how they free up Artemis and then defeated Atlas and trap him back under the sky, right?" Percy said. Annabeth nodded. "So when Artemis was freed from the sky, someone else had to hold it up while they fight Atlas."
Annabeth realized what Percy was saying. "You're kidding."
Percy grinned. "At the time, the two of us got a streak of grey hair to prove it as well. I guess we grew it out over time."
"I remembered having that." Annabeth mused.
"What else do you want to know about?" Percy asked.
"How about," Annabeth tapped her chin. "The same year when we were battling in Manhattan against Kronos."
"What about it?"
"I remember getting wounded." Annabeth said. "My shoulder was struck. But I don't remember much what happened."
"Oh." Percy muttered. That was one of the dearest memories Percy had of Annabeth, despite how painful it was. Not because she was wounded, but she'd saved Percy's life. "Um . . ."
"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked.
Percy felt a lump in his throat. "It's a hard story to tell." Percy admitted.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." Annabeth said.
"No, it's fine." Percy said as he blinked the misty tears out of his eyes. "In preparation to fight against Kronos, Nico came up with a plan to even out the playing field."
"And that is?"
"To bathe in the River Styx." Percy said.
"Are you serious?" Annabeth said. "And you survived?"
"Fortunately." Percy replied. "So when I bathe in the River Styx, I had to pick a spot in my body that would remain vulnerable. It's to anchor my body to the mortal world. It was a spot on my back, around my spine."
Annabeth continued to listen intently as her stormy grey eyes regarded Percy. "During battle, we were surrounded. I don't remember the details myself, but I was about to die that moment."
"How?" Annabeth asked.
"This demigod. Ethan Nakamura. Do you remember him?" Percy asked. Annabeth nodded. "He took a chance with me. It was by sheer luck. He would've gotten me right at my vulnerable spot and I would've died. But . . ."
"But?"
"You jumped in front of him and took the blow." Percy smiled. "Knowing full well I was invulnerable. You didn't even know where my weak spot was. As far as you know, no blade could've harmed me. And yet you still jumped in front of a blade for me."
Percy took a deep breath. "You saved my life that day. Maybe by luck or instinct, it doesn't change the fact that you did save my life. If you hadn't taken the hit, I would've died."
Once he was done telling the story, Percy sighed. "Seems like a hard story to believe, right?"
Annabeth shook her head. "For some reason, I believe you."
Percy smiled. "Thanks."
"And hey, if I took a fatal blow for you, we must have been like the ultimate best friends." Annabeth grinned.
That hurt. They were infinitely more than best friends. But Percy couldn't tell her that. She'd freak out.
"We were." Percy said with a small smile.
"So, does it mean you owe me?" Annabeth asked with a smirk. "I did save your life."
"Not a chance." Percy grinned. "We've had plenty of near-death scenarios after that where I saved your life as well. At the very least, it's a tie."
"You're making that up."
"Remember your meeting with Aphrodite in Charleston?" Percy said.
They continued to exchange stories. Percy shared all the dangerous and fun memories they had together. But he left out any detail about the two ever being in a relationship.
If Percy starts to bring that up, he's gonna be a creep in Annabeth's eyes and that's the last thing he wanted.
For now, this was good enough.