Percy fall into Tartarus Alone

Chapter 5

Percy Pov:

Exhausted and breathless, I collapsed by the banks of the Phlegethon, the infamous river of fire. The scorching flames danced before my eyes, casting an eerie glow on the surrounding landscape. In an act of desperation, I reached out and cupped my hands, drawing a small amount of the fiery water from the river's edge.

Bringing the scalding liquid to my parched lips, I braced myself for the awaited taste. It was as if a kilogram of ghost chili peppers had been dissolved into a glass of water, creating unparalleled heat. The fiery essence burned my tongue and throat, leaving me gasping for air. My taste buds, overwhelmed by the intense sensation, seemed to retreat into a state of temporary insensitivity.

As the scalding liquid coursed through my veins, an electrifying surge of energy jolted my entire body. A crimson mist began to emanate from my pores as if my very essence had transformed into molten lava. Though the physical pain was undeniable, it was tempered by an overwhelming surge of strength and vitality.

A roar sounded beside me as I saw a snake-like creature, maybe a basilisk, crawling toward me. Soon, the creature's features became clearer, and I could see it was a 50-meter-long snake with the maw of a lion, moving toward me.

I picked up my Pentadent in my hand and started running towards the lion-snake thing. Before it lunged towards me, I rolled to the right and plunged the Pentadent into its skin. The Pentadent slid along the scales of the snake. I rolled back, narrowly missing the snake's fangs. Its mouth smelled like a horrid combination of the most vile scents I had ever smelled, and I remembered the smell—Gabe. Using my leg as a spring after my last turn, I jumped over the snake hybrid. I landed on its mane, gripping it tightly, and plunged the bottom of the Pentadent into its eye, aiming towards its mouth. The harpoon-like end exited from the bottom of its jaw. I pulled the Pentadent with all my might by summoning the shadows in the crevices of the rocks around me, giving me a boost.

The snake started thrashing instantly, likely feeling the pain of the Pentadent plunged into its jaw. After writhing in pain for a few minutes, the snake hybrid stopped, and its body disintegrated into golden powder. The golden powder then moved towards the Pentadent and vanished inside the Pentadent. 

walking forwards across the river I staggered over the rough and pointy terrain and, on instinct, swung my Pentadent behind, decapitating a 15-foot-tall Cyclops carrying a club, slicing through its torso. The same thing happened to the golden powder absorbed by the Pentadent after the Cyclops disintegrated into golden powder.

I started moving alongside the river, avoiding the sharp points on the surface of Tartarus. Soon, a humongous lake appeared in front of me, with five rivers flowing out, each with varying colors: the black water of the River Styx, the red lava of Phlegethon, the gray of Cocytus, and the white of Lethe and Archeon, each river with its different properties. It seemed like the properties of the rivers were muted here. Why? Maybe they counterbalanced each other, or maybe not. I didn't know.

Let's move with Archeon, as Archeon's exit from the mortal world is in Epirus. After traveling alongside Archeon, the sound of misery entered my ears.

Voices slowly became unbearable, pleading for mercy. "Help!" they groaned. "It was an accident!" "The pain!" their voices wailed. "Make it stop!"

My head was flooded with images of all the monsters I had killed over the years. "That wasn't murder," I protested. "I was defending myself!" The river changed course through my mind, showing me Zoë Nightshade, who had been slain on Mount Tamalpais because I had come to rescue Annabeth and Artemis from the Titans. I saw Nico's sister, Bianca di Angelo, dying in the collapse of the metal giant Talos because I had given the idea. Michael Yew and Silena Beauregard... who had died in the Battle of Manhattan. "You could have prevented it," the River told me. "You should have seen a better way." "You murdered them!" the river cried. "Jump in and share their punishment!"

I shook my head. Their time was then. Everything that has been born will die, whether it's mortal or immortal. Only time remains. As the god of Life, I knew this very well, whether the ichor flowed through my veins or not. It's my duty. Life and death are an endless cycle revolving around the function of the cosmos.

Turning my head to the left, where a cacophony of voices erupted, I saw a horde of monsters ranging from Dracaena to Hellhounds of the Fields of Punishment, Nameon lions, Hydra's, Drakons, and Titans defeated in the Second Titan War—30-meter-tall Hyperion, Krios, and around 20-meter-tall Kampe.

All the monsters were in their actual size, guarding a humongous elevator door chained with two Stygian iron chains.

"Your test for the god of Night starts now, Perseus," someone whispered in my ear, chilling my bones like ice. Slowly, I remembered the same voice from my past—it was Lady Night. I bowed towards my right, seeing the House of the Night in all its glory, built with the obsidian metal of Tartarus, capable of absorbing any sort of light. It stood at the center of the cosmos, just above the chaos, where nothingness was abruptly present. Anything that came near the chaos would be wiped out without hesitation.

I turned towards my left, I bent back on my legs for the strength to jump a 40-feet-long distance over the river. I then jumped over the river, where the wailing spirits emerged from the river, trying to grab me and pull me inside. I rolled over the surface of the bank.

"First things first, cut the chain holding the doors of death, then anything else," I thought to myself.

I moved sideways along the bank of the River Archeon, searching for any direct way to the doors of death. Twisting my Pentadent in my grip, I pointed it from the River Archeon towards the hordes of monsters. The grayish water wanted to rush towards the cliff like a snake made of water, and it started moving towards the monsters, ready to engulf them whole.

I swung the Pentadent forward, giving the water from the River Acheron a burst of power, and I rushed towards the delta of the water, avoiding the drops of water from the river.

Reaching far, I could see the monsters crying out in agony, and many of them burst into dust.

I had distracted them, and now I had to sneak. I rushed towards the chained doors of death, decapitating any monsters within my reach with my Pentadent and Riptide, reducing their numbers rapidly.

Kampe was flying with the help of her leathery wings. Soon, she would detect me first due to my demigod scent and the domain of life. Right now, I was a shining beacon in the desolated place of the dead, like I had put a neon sign on my head saying, "I am here, eat me."

While Hyperion and Krios both brandish their broad sword and look toward the chaos caused by the river Archeon.

I silently started ducking, rolling, and diving escaping from the monster's clutches and moving towards the door. When I saw Hyperion's finger constantly clicking the up button. I rushed towards the door as an inky vapor started to cover me obscuring Me from naked vision of titans and monsters.f

Krios barks an order from the horde of 20-foot-tall cyclops "—you will hold the door otherwise it will take you anywhere from the destination. Now move fast I think our stepfather is angry." I swung The Pentadent concentrating on controlling the water from Archeon to killing more monsters. Sweat started dripping from my brows even from the power-up of the darkness and life.

I drop the concentration on the river Archeon. and swing the Pentadent onto one stygian iron chain holding the door on its right side. Shattering it completely and then rushing towards the other from the back and again shattering the chain.

As soon as the second chain shatters the door vanishes without a trace. leaving me in the middle of the monster-infested desolate land with two of the strongest titans of all time.