A Moment of Stars | PJO Chaos

Twenty-Two

Breathe in.

Saros sits on one of the uncomfortable chairs within the infirmary room. His eyes are trained at the occupant within the bed—the only sign of him being alive are the steady breaths and heart monitor beeping quietly in the corner of the room.

Rigel looked nearly the complete opposite of what he did an hour before. The taut scowl he once sported is now smoothed into a peaceful expression. The only signs that what his rampage actually happened were the bruises that littered his arms after being blasted back by...whatever the Void happened with Percy.

Breathe out.

Saros thinks of himself as a normally level-headed guy. After all, it was one of the main reasons why Chaos chose him as a second-in-command for Elara so many years back. There was a reason he is the head of the medical department and hadn't had a breakdown from the amount of injuries he's seen yet.

Did he enjoy it? Well, not the fact that people are getting hurt, more so that he was able to become a helper in someone's worse moments. He's able to keep a level head because he knows that the situation at hand will eventually get better.

But now? He just watched an unassuming Void-bitten demigod turn into the Prince of Stars and heard a prophecy that might determine the fate of the Universe. How could he possibly keep his cool after that?

He wraps his arms tighter around himself, trying to catch his breath and lower his anxiety levels. He did not sign up for this.

Breathe in.

"No one can know." Chaos told him. "It is too dangerous to even mutter this occurrence out loud. I expect this to stay between you, Elara, and me, Saros." The haunted expression the creator held sent shivers down his spine. Chaos then teleported Percy to a different place before the Lieutenant could even get a good look. Though it didn't take a genius to tell what transpired between the man and creator.

Percy Jackson is the son of Chaos and Order.

Breathe out.

"The Son of Odds." He whispers, the statement coming out more as soft breaths than coherent words. Slowly but surely, things start to line up in his head.

Eternal death amongst the children of gods.

They found Percy at the edge of the Void. The first time seeing the demigod, Saros could've sworn he was a lost cause. It was more like looking at a corpse than an actual person(and unfortunately, Saros has seen plenty). Alas, once they got him onto the spacecraft and Saros was nearly a second away from pronouncing him dead, Percy took a weak, shuddering breath. He isn't sure what happened after that, but from what his officers told him, the sound seemed to trigger a protective instinct within the Lieutenant—it was like watching his own little brother dying on the floor before him.

He hadn't worked that hard to save a person in a long time.

Saros was in Percy's infirmary room long enough to know that there was something different about the kid. Even after being exposed to one of the most dangerous parts of the Universe, the demigod fought. His nearly-dead vitals started up without any long-lasting damage. He grew stronger every day to a point that Saros almost thought that someone else was secretly using magic to bring him back to health. Stars, Percy wasn't even supposed to wake up when he did.

Though seeing all of that made Saros want to protect him even more.

Which is the reason why he recommended Chaos to have him and Elara watch over Percy in the meantime. Although Elara was quite reluctant due to having all of the responsibilities being the Keeper of Order, Saros pulled her aside and insisted that it was a good idea to keep the demigod in their sights—especially after defying all odds of surviving the Void.

He wasn't sure why he wanted to do it so badly, but he's glad he did.

Breathe in.

He blinks out of his thoughts, eyes still blankly trained on the unconscious commander. Rigel hasn't woken up since he fell unconscious during the incident, and whatever spirit had a hold of him is now permanently gone.

Not escaped, but gone.

He doesn't necessarily know what happened in Percy's transition, but the aura coming from the explosion was so powerful that whatever entity that had a hold of Rigel literally ceased to exist. Even Saros felt his own being shift and churn from it, which nearly made his collapse from the wave. It was one of the most terrifying yet captivating moments to see one of his friends go through something like that.

Does Percy consider me as a friend? He thought. They haven't known each other for long, but out of everyone on the planet it seemed like Percy was most comfortable with him. Saros lets out exasperated laugh. Somehow in his twenty-five years of life, he's managed to become friends with the Keeper of Order and Prince of Stars. What are the odds?

Breathe out.

"Saros."

He nearly jumps out of his seat at the sound. Whipping his attention towards the door, his heart only seems to accelerate once he realizes it was Chaos.

The creator looked like he's seen better days to say the least. His suit is wrinkled and hair is even more messy than it usually is. Saros is also pretty sure that those dark spots under his eyes were not there an hour ago. He straightens his posture. "Yes Chaos?"

"He's in the left wing. I need you to retrieve him in another thirty minutes."

Saros can feel goosebumps rise along his entire body. The left wing has been closed off for the past twenty years since the...incident. No one is allowed to step foot there. Even Elara needs direct permission to enter that side of the palace.

The left wing holds the former chambers of Order and the Lost Prince.

Breathe in.

His breaths are slightly ragged now. Hearing those words come from Chaos makes the situation even more real than before. He taps his fingers on the armrest rapidly. "You...you want me to get him?"

Chaos silently nods, still not focused on him. "You and Elara are the only ones aware of the situation. As I said before, we need to keep this quiet for as long as possible. I myself am not truly sure how this has occurred, and it will only put us at a disadvantage if it gets out too quickly."

Saros nods. After the incident on Zibara, any information that is know on Aevum has been nothing more than hushed whispers due to their war-time policies. "So Elara knows too?"

"Being the Keeper of Order has it's qualities." Chaos says. "Anything related to the realm she protects, she will sense it immediately." It made sense. Elara has always known much more than she let on, but she needed to act as if she didn't know enough to protect her own position. Half the information she is aware of can change the course of the Universe.

"I'll make sure to get him then." Saros' voice is barely above a whisper as he turns his direction back to the unconscious commander, but he already knows Chaos can hear him. He doesn't turn back around once the door clicks closed.

Breathe out.

•••••

I bet you weren't expecting Saros' perspective, right? Hopefully it was interesting enough to keep you interested! Next chapter should be even more intense than this one lol
-JK