Luke collapsed at the shore of the River Styx.
"We're finally here," he moaned. "I thought we would never make it."
"Now we must begin," Zoë said.
Maya took the fleece from over her shoulder and then laid it carefully into the river, careful not to let her hand touch the surface. The golden fleece began to glow, then the golden glow of the fleece spread to the entire river, leaving a trail of golden liquid that could be seen from miles.
"What is it doing?" Maya asked.
"Purifying all the negative from the river," John said. "The river has always been filled with misery and sorrow. Pain and suffering. Now all of those spirits are freed from their burden."
"Typical Ryan," Moxie said. "He always likes to act like a good guy."
Suddenly, a soul appeared before them. This one was different. It was just as golden as the river. Soon, it materialized in front of them. A strong jaw, warm eyes, and an incredible build. Old greek armor and a single sword strapped to his side, brand new. Old sandals and Maya noticed a notable wound there that was slowly healing itself now on his heel.
She looked at him wide-eyed. "Achilles, I-I heard of you. My dad came to you once."
He nodded.
Luke waved at Achilles. "Hey guy, how are you these days."
"Until now I have been the same," he looked at Luke, a little puzzled. "I thought you died, I could feel my blessing flow back into me."
"Yeah," Luke said. "I did but I was brought back a few decades ago."
"Anyway," Achilles said. "You finally decided on the ritual."
"The ritual?" Zoë asked.
"Ryan came by earlier," he said. "Told me all the steps to the ritual to tell you while he helps Annebeth with their quest. I must say that it is surprising to see an undead walk among the living."
"So how does this ritual go?" Moxie asked. "I never heard of one where you dip the fleece into this river."
"That is because Ryan made it up. It is a new ritual," Achilles explained. "He seems very adept in the creation of magic."
"Almost too good. Why am I not surprised," John said thoughtfully. "He should run this by me."
"You completed the first step," he said. "Now you must set the fleece on fire using flames from the land of punishment. All the flames. And then bring them here to incinerate the fleece. I will use the ashes to create the gem of the dead."
"Gem of the dead," Maya said. "Like the one Ryan wears around his neck?"
"No," he said. "Ryan's is imbued with godly magic. But this can be done the same way. It acts as a container of sorts.."
"Then that is the entire ritual?" John asked. "This is a very crude ritual. But still, the fact he has the knowledge to create things like this intrigues me."
"Got it," Luke said. "Flames from the land of punishment, that shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"If it didn't require all the flames," Moxie told him. "All the flames? It's like a suicide mission."
"Let's focus here," Maya said. "I don't know if I can survive there. But I am sure that servants of the disorder can."
"Sure," Luke said. "Exploring actual hell seems fun now doesn't it Zoë?"
"Super fun," she agreed with a passive smile.
They went on back towards the fields of punishments that cast a bright red weary glow on the land of the dead horizon.
As soon as they were gone, John turned to Maya with a very serious look.
"You are Perseus's daughter?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?" she asked him.
"That explains your physical abilities," he whispered. "But listen, there is a very serious problem we have."
"And that would be?"
"That Ryan isn't who he appears to be."
Now Maya was interested. She looked at John and Moxie, reading their facial expressions to gauge whether or not they were telling the truth. And their misery stricken faces said it all for her and she knew she could at least hear them out.
"What do you mean?"
"In the past, we had the olympian war," Moxie said. "There were the six heroes, each a godslayer of specific gods."
"Ryan is the Godslayer of three gods," John said. "First is Aphrodite. She was the very first goddess he ever encountered, and she ruined his life. Forcing him into the war by killing the orphanage where he lived. More into that later. He truly hates her with every fiber of his being. Next is Thanatos. The only god he likes. More into that later as well. And last is Hermes. He brought out this chaotic power in him by threatening his friends in front of him."
"He was never the same again," Moxie said with a discomforted look. "And finally, the war began. It was long and brutal. Many people died, millions. Then, he found out that Kym was an evil deity that wanted him. She told him about his fate, and he ignored it. He and Kira, the new god of death tried, to sacrificed themselves to save the world. But instead, he absorbed the essence of the god. He has pain beyond belief. For five years he had been in hiding, doing who knows what and planning a lot. He finally resurfaced, along with his followers. He killed and resurrected the general of the Frost lands, Esdeth, the vampire, even another version of Percy to be a general of his growing."
Maya struggled to take this all in. "So what is he?"
"No telling for certain," John said with a sigh. "He has been crossing realities, meeting different heroes and creating new magic to rage an all-out war on the worlds, show them what real pain is."
"This is all too much to process," Maya said for the first time."
"Then let me put it in a simpler form," she said. "Ryan is dangerous."
"How dangerous?"
"Say if he had the means he would destroy every reality and create a perfect one."
"That's insane," Maya said. "That's unbelievable, who would ever want to do something like that?"
"As crazy as it sounds," John sighed. "I understand him. He explained to me once that he watched the world destroyed and restart. And as a controller of the world forces, the truth is is that it is chaotic that serves no real purpose. The human soul lives an infinite life that holds little meaning."
"Dark," Moxie noted.
"Doesn't make it any less true. But don't worry, there is only a thirty percent chance he decides to destroy your world."
(X)
Zoë and Luke floated across the fields of punishment. Luke saw some familiar faces. Those who turned to his side because of his lies and deception. Because of his own cowardly and bitterness towards the gods. All his hate could have led him here to if he didn't fight Kronos. But, so many demigods died just because he wanted revenge so much for being ignored by his father. At first, he felt terrible. But then he met Ryan, and he let him understand that he could only repent for his sins with him. And he has done nothing but repents for the past twenty years. And what has he changed?
Not much.
They both landed in the fields of punishment.
"I'll hold off these demons, you go and collect the flames. Hurry."
She flew off and then began sucking in the fire with her magic. He began cutting down any monster that came too close. Hecate down two of the furies and took their whips. They were smoldering hot, but he powered through the pain and used the whip to keep the spirits of the damned at bay. One tried its luck. Its skin was peeling off and blisters covered his face. It got too close and Luke used the whip to grip the spirit, and at his command, the spirit roasted to charcoal. But soon he had to drop the whip otherwise it would have burned off. But his burns were already healing.
Suddenly, he heard whispers.
Traitor
"No," he whispered in disbelief. Even in the intense heat, a sudden chill rose up his spine without his consent. He turned to a group of spirits. They had sword wounds, stab wounds and burning wounds. Some were wearing armor. But he recognized them all. He suddenly couldn't move, and his fingers could no longer hold the shaft of his hilt. He started to sweat for the first time in twenty years.
"No," he whispered once more. "It cannot be. Please, please don't tell me this isn't real."
The voices of the damned steadily grew louder in his ear, as the voices of those who were turned only because of his words of deceit to expand his army to wage war on the gods. Those he cursed with his curse but who were persecuted because of their foolishness.
He tried to move from them, but his legs were paralyzed. He couldn't move. They were all clawing at him with their stubbed fingers. He screamed, but he still couldn't move.
"I am sorry," he whispered. "I did something wrong and I deserve punishment. But I still haven't repent!"
Join us! They continued. Accept punishments!
Suddenly, a fire ball sailed and incinerated the ground in front of him. The blast blinded him, but it got him away from the spirits.
That was when Luke finally opened his eyes. He realized that he had been crying. Something else he hasn't done in years. His sword lied on the now dark stone a few feet away. Zoë alighted down and came to him. He squeezed her in a hug, and he couldn't take it. He began to cry. She didn't object. She reminded her of what she was like a long ago. Broken and a person with no identity. He needed someone to show that he is important in the world. So she hugged him back and they sat there while he cried in the uncaring abyss of the land of the dead where a million more souls toned his out.
"I got it Luke," she whispered. "I got the fire. We must complete our mission."
"Thank you Zoë," he said. "I think I can move on now."
"I'll help you," she said. "We'll help each other."