At this point, Percy's just questioning why the Fates wrote his life this way.
He's tired, he's confused, and most of all: he's pissed.
How does a demigod like him get into situations like these? It hurts his head to even think about it. Not even the most unfortunate demigod he knew was forced into things like intergalactic genocides by unidentified foes.
He wants to go home. To find rest on his own bed at the Poseidon Cabin. He wants to teach the kids swordplay and babysit Estelle on the weekends. To hang with Piper, Jason, and Nico and Will even if he's in the worst mood.
He wants Annabeth.
Flashes of her smile fills his mind. The image of the picture frame he cherished so much makes Percy sigh in defeat. He misses her so much.
If he died outside of the Milky Way, would his soul find its way back to her? He doesn't know, but it's a guarantee he wouldn't want to find out. Shaking himself from his depressed mental train, he looks up.
Elara sits silently at the other side of the underground cavern area, still staring into space as if she were deep into thought. Percy watches as she tucks her knees under her chin and let her wings curl around her like a protective blanket.
He knows there's more to the story of her "death," but he doesn't want to ask questions to trigger anything. It's as if she's a completely different person from the strict commander she'd been. Without the slight stone scowl etched into her face, it's obvious she's his age, if not younger. Her crown of curls are ruffled and disordered from its usual state, and her uniform has tears at the knees and is completely torn at the arms like his own.
The silence progresses, but they still make no move to do anything. The only sound that echoed throughout the cavern was the lake, which lapped at the edge of the dry ground.
He looks around to reassess their surroundings. Golden feathers are still scattered here and there, and it seems that one of their wrist bands were activated, so one of the backpacks' contents are spread throughout the area.
He silently gets up and taps his wristband. The black backpack appears in his hands, and he starts to pick up the objects and place them into it. A glint catches his eyes, and he turns to see what it is.
It was Elara's sword at the very edge of the water and land—it's golden aura drawing him in like a mother's embrace.
Thinking nothing of it, he makes his way towards the blade. He'll dry it off and give it to the commander to put away. He crouched down in front of it; warmth spreads throughout his body as he reaches towards it.
"Wait—PERSEUS, NO!" Elara's shrill scream of terror pierces his ears as his hand wraps around the pitch black hilt of the golden sword.
"Wha—" he turns to ask what was wrong.
Then it happened.
Golden light flashes through Percy's vision as he stumbles forward, the sword still gripped in his hands. A searing pain cuts through his mind like sharpened glass as he crumbles to his knees.
He can't let the sword go, it's as if it were glued to his hands. The warmth he felt before turns into scalding heat that shoots through his very soul. Elara's scream fades into nothingness as he falls into another world.
The golden light slowly fades away, and Percy is facing a woman in a small room.
He can't make out any real features other than a golden hue in her eyes, and the unmistakable gesture of a smile. His body instinctually moves closer, trying to get a better view of her.
"...little star, aren't you?" Blurred conversations fill his head. A baby's giggle responds to the half sentence, but he can't see any child in the room. Only him and the blurred woman remain constant.
The closer he got, the warmer the feeling in his chest was, but the image just gets more blurry. There's a bittersweet sensation taking over him, but he doesn't know why. Whether he knew why or not, he wanted more.
No, he needed more.
"I got you." Her voice echoes. It was a phrase so familiar, yet too far away to decipher. The feeling of floating endlessly into the Void fills his chest with an unimaginable want and pain.
In the midst of blackness, he sees stars.
Everything falls apart. He's falling apart.
The universe weeps for the death of the stars as it consumes itself.
For the first time since birth, the universe finds the end in the new beginning.
"Eternal Death among the children of gods," a whisper whirls around him, the words barely caught by his dying mind.
"Every ending is beautiful."
Percy gasps, his eyes flying open as he finds himself flat on his back. The sound of metal against stone pierces his hearing.
He groans as pins and needles seize his body, making it painful to move. The images never leave his mind, making him dizzy with mental displacement.
Once his vision clears, Elara's golden eyes stare with frustration. He tilts his vision to see that the sword is across the cave—as if it were thrown in haste. "Are you stupid?!"
Percy blinks more of the blurriness out of his vision. "What?"
"You could have—no, should have died!" She almost yells. "What in your right mind told you to pick up Empyrean?!"
"It was just sitting there by the water!" Percy tries to explain himself. "I was going to give it to you, but...what the Hades was that?"
Elara's expression turns from anger to exasperation. "Empyrean is a sword of the Origins, Perseus. Order's original sword. I don't think you know how close you were to dissolving." He frowns when he sees the frightened glint in her eyes. It's clear that him touching the sword left her even more shaken than she already was. The air is already heavy around her, she gives him a dark look. "You should be dead after that, Percy."
"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot." Percy groans, wincing as he sits up. "Look, I'm not sure what type of security system your magical sword has, but I had no idea about any of that, okay? I'm alive, and I'd like to say that's a good thing."
She stares at him for a few seconds before sighing and averting her sharp gaze. "Yes, but don't pull a stunt like that again. That could have ended with a bit more red than I'd like." With that, she quickly stands up to retrieve the golden blade, letting it disappear into whatever pocket dimension she keeps it in.
Percy remains laying back on his elbows, his heart pounding in his chest as the rest of his body tries to stop the tremor in his bones. Whatever he saw, they weren't simply scattered images of his dying breath. It reminded him of the prophecies he'd get back at camp; something more than a destroyed planet is happening, and they need to figure it out quickly.
"Every ending is beautiful..." he mutters. The statement is short, but everything about it sends shivers through his entire body.
Elara whips her head in his direction, her eyes widen instantly, as if catching what he said. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"The 'every ending is beautiful'. Where'd you get that from?"
"Uh, your sword?" He frowns, not quite processing why she's so frazzled. "It said something about it. Do you know what it means?"
Elara curses and quickly pulls something out of her pocket. A holographic screen forms in front of her as she types furiously at what looks like a document. Her muttering didn't make the situation any less tense. "How in Void's name did I miss that? End. Holy Chaos..."
Percy sighs, stumbling to his feet as he questions her. "Can you please explain what it means?"
"You know the story of the Origins?"
"The what?"
Elara lets out an exaggerated sigh. "I sometimes forget that the Via Lactea galaxy doesn't associate with the outside galaxies. Anyways, you know Chaos and Order? Well, there are two other entities of the original set. Those two are Void and End. Chaos and End came from the Void, while Order is suspected to come from the Beginning itself. I think End is the entity we've been encountering." Percy opens his mouth to ask questions, but she interrupts him, still semi-rambling.
"It makes sense doesn't it? 'Every ending is beautiful', 'a world with absence is a world without imperfections', how did we miss that? Maybe he was even the one that tried killing you."
Percy nods, his mind going to his visions and whatever happened on the surface. Even for him, the aura of the situation was too powerful to be some type of local antagonist. This is an all-out war brewing. "So if this is him..." Elara's expression darkens, a look of uneasiness seems to be a reoccurring theme between the two.
"I don't know what End has planned exactly, but I can guarantee it involves the death of the universe."
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*Unedited*
End is on the rise, y'all.
Ngl Interitus may be my favorite weapon design in this story besides Empyrean lol
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