God of the Hadal Seas

Chapter VII

We stood in silence for a long time, to the point where our party started getting twitchy. The Hesperides just watched, analyzing Bianca, Annabeth, and Theo swiftly, before lingering on Zoë. Their focus remained on me for the rest of that time.

"So...how is this gonna go down?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Why are you here, Perseus Damocles? Our father has stated numerous times that you remain neutral in this second titanomachy. Have you chosen your side with Olympus?" One of them questioned, tilting her head at me.

"My presence here, alongside this quest, is by the order of the Moirai through the Oracle of Delphi. I recognize their power, and fear the consequences of disobeying fate's guides," I answered, glaring at them. "Do not insinuate that my involvement here is anything but that," I warned.

"Let us pass, sisters. We do not wish to cause trouble for the garden," Zoë announced, stepping up to them. "We see no sister, only a traitor returned for punishment. You will not make it past Ladon," the same one retorted, glaring hatefully at Zoë.

"Go ahead, wake him. I need to see where his loyalty lies," I fired back, stepping up to Zoë protectively. They shared worried glances between each other, apprehensive to awake the dragon. "You always were too afraid. Ladon! Wake!" Zoë announced, her voice loudly echoing around the garden.

A few heads snorted, others groaned. Reptilian eyes opened, the heads tiredly lifting and coiling away to turn towards us. The 4 Hesperides scrambled away fearfully, indescribably hissing their fears at us as they disappeared into the shrubbery.

"Hope you know what you're doing," Theo stated, bunching up. "Me too," she mumbled, shooing us to the sides. "Nu uh, I'm distracting the snake. You lead them away," I retorted, shoving her into the group so she couldn't argue back.

I quickly started stalking towards the dragon, who was still coiled around the tree protectively.

"Hello there," I greeted quietly, staring into the eyes of one of the heads. "What do you want?" He hissed, 3 of his heads building up some venom preemptively.

"My name is Perseus Damocles, Son of Poseidon and Persephone. I am the King God of Monsters, Disasters, Chivalry, the Tide, the Wilderness, and the Underworld. By accordance of, uh...of monarchical law, I must determine which monarch your loyalty is sided with, given your species being classified as a monster!" I announced, stopping when I was 3 meters from his maws.

He glared down at me, unmoving. After 3 minutes of silence, a few of his heads began to snicker.

"You hold your ground nicely, Lord Perseus Damocles. You feared my decision, because of my father, yes? Well, I understand some of my siblings have sided with you despite the relation. You can count me as one of those few," he explained, smiling at me with all 100 heads.

"Thank you, Ladon," I returned, bowing curtly with respect. He bowed his heads with reply. I waved my hand, forcing Ladon to painlessly deform and relocate to one of my sanctuaries in the American-Pacific. I then stepped towards the grand apple tree, placing my hand on the trunk.

The ground rumbled, as the tree began reversing. Leaves and branches collapsed in on themselves. Golden apples de-blossomed, returning into the twigs. The trunk shrunk towards the ground, and I could feel the roots shrivel back towards the surface.

In a matter of a few minutes, the giant tree of golden apples returned to 5 golden teardrops on the ground. I immediately crouched to pick them up, summoning a leather pouch which I stuffed the seeds into before dismissing the bag.

I turned towards the swirling storm at the peak of the mountain, and began running up the slopes to get back to the quest.

The peak of the mountain was just another open field, without all of the accessories brought by the garden. Black stones were slowly growing from the ground, beginning the construction of Mount Othrys, and the palace of the Titans.