Back to the Way I Was

Chapter 1

Percy's POV

It's been six years since Percy shut himself out from Olympus, from camp, from his friends and family, including his mother. After what happened, he didn't have any intention in going back to his old life. Now, he had a new life, which had its ups and downs.

The worst thing Percy had suffered was the constant nightmares and flashbacks about Annabeth. Even after death, Annabeth had haunted him in his dreams and visions. He'd have flashing images of the bloody Riptide, her corpse lying motionless next to him and those grey eyes that showed so much pain, Percy wanted nothing more than to replace her in her place.

After the incident, Percy shut himself away from the Greek world, even though monsters were always after him. In six years of his journey alone, he'd discovered many things, many things that even the gods, titans or even Gaia herself haven't seen yet.

It was on that day, his life changed again.

Percy was in a tent that he'd made for himself. It was supposed to be a temporary place for him to sleep, but it end up being his home. His only source of food and water was a stream of river nearby. Percy would've never eaten seafood unless he had to. He'd always search for any other animals around before eating any sea creature.

He sat down on a log as he started a camp fire. He had gotten better at it after learning that damp wood won't light up. After the fire had started, Percy sat down to enjoy the warmth and comfort that was radiated from the fire.

Percy sighed as his thoughts drifted back to his moments with Thalia. He wondered where Thalia is right now and what is she doing. Same goes for Nico and all of his other friends. Six years had passed, and there's not a single day that Percy didn't miss his friends and family. It was hard not to reveal himself to everyone, but Percy couldn't bear to face them after what happened with Annabeth. He didn't know if they would hate him or forgive him.

In the years, he'd learn so many things that were even hidden from the eyes of the gods. For example, Percy met a strange boy called Carter Kane and he was some sort of magician. At first, Percy thought he was going to pull a rabbit out of a hat, but apparently, that's not what Carter meant by 'magician'. Gods from the Egyptian and Norse mythologies were real, but some kind of Ancient Law had prevented the three powers from meeting or even discovering each other's existence. Percy managed to discover them and got accepted, but he knew he couldn't stay long. He didn't belong in their world just as much as they didn't belong in his. He'd learn to conceal himself from the gods, but his scent was still just as strong towards monsters or pretty much anyone who could smell him.

Then, he learned about the dragons. In a far, mystical place called Hawaii (yes, Percy has been to Hawaii. It's the Labyrinth's fault, long story), he'd met an entrance in one of the volcanoes called Mauna Loa. As Percy trudged deeper into the cave, he stumbled into a cavern filled with some kind of dragon people. They called themselves Draconians. The Draconians were dragons that had morphed into humans so they wouldn't take so much space in hiding. Percy had never seen them in their true form, but after a few close calls with their flaming breaths, Percy believed them. After learning some things about them and following their ways, the Draconians called him a Youngling, which stands for a young dragon.

Because that Percy didn't have the strength of a dragon, they gave Percy a sword. It was massive and broad, about the size of a surfing board. The hilt was wrapped in leather while the blade was Dragon Scales, melted down and shaped into a blade. Percy could wield it just fine and it proved useful against the hard skin of a drakon.

The reason he'd accepted the sword was because he didn't have anything to defend himself with. His sword, Riptide . . . it brought bad memories.

Percy was disrupted out of his thoughts when he smelled something in the air. Yeah, during his time with the Draconians, all of his senses and physical abilities increased incredibly. The last six years he'd spent alone hadn't gone to a complete waste. He trained and improved himself greatly, training slightly with the Egyptians and Norse people. His training with the Draconians weren't finished yet, but since he's not a dragon, it's technically finished since that's all his human body could learn.