Stories By J

2

Perseus had been running for an hour.

Luckily it wasn't like Tartarus could project his location to all of the monsters, meaning the hounds, despite being far faster than him, couldn't always locate him right away.

Hearing the monsters closing in on him once again, Percy pushed out from the rock he was hiding under, taking off towards a cave he had been eyeing for a while, hoping it had an exit so he wouldn't be trapping himself.

As he sprinted into the cave, Percy quickly found himself in pitch black darkness, unable to even see his own feet or hands.

Feeling the ground in front of him before he stepped, he continued this way for what felt like hours until suddenly, torches along the wall lit up as quick as a firework. The flames continued down the seemingly endless cave, a mix of black and purple flames.

Making his way further into the cave, Percy felt the injuries start to weigh on him.

A few times, a hound got lucky, catching up to him or taking him by surprise in the very advantageous darkness of Tartarus.

The son of Poseidon felt the numbing burn, the constant pain of all the claw marks and scratches he had sustained before being able to end the monster's life.

They would surely leave scars across his body, which Percy would've found awesome if it wasn't for his immediate death in the near future.

Walking deeper and deeper into the cave, Percy didn't think he was going to find anything, ever. Of course, that was when he arrived at a pond.

Suddenly, from far off, probably at the entrance of the cave, Percy heard a loud howl, one that sounded ever so familiar to that of a hound.

Flicking off the cap of Riptide, he let the bronze blade loose, ready to fight to his death amongst the barely lit darkness.

"Touch the water, my love." A voice whispered within his head, making the demigod jump with a startled expression.

"Who are you?" Percy asked out loud. He was concerned about his pursuers, but it had taken him hours to reach this point, he had some time to spare.

"I cannot reveal such information, but I can give you a choice, one that shall change your fate, forever." The voice replied.

The son of Poseidon had no idea who this stranger was, but if they could help him, he'd take anything he could get.

"I control my own fate." Percy responded, to which the voice laughed melodically, their laugh sounding like a peaceful summer day, he didn't know how to describe it any other way. "I suppose, that is true. You've never been one to accept what everyone else believes to be set in stone."

This person seemed to know a lot about him, or at least acted that way.

"Thank you?" He responded, unsure if that was a compliment or an insult.

The voice giggled. "You're welcome." He could somehow feel the warmth behind their smile, through his head which felt really weird...

"So what did you mean, when you said to give me a choice?"

"Your life has been as unfortunate as it gets, no matter how much I care, how I wish to end your suffering, I am now in a position where for you to live, I must offer you a path no one has ever lead."

"I'm flattered that you care about me, Ms, or Mr Stranger, but can you please just tell me how to survive this. I can't die here. I won't."

"This power, this choice I'm offering you. It is derived from the xakoc."