The Curse of Chaos

The Aftermath

Percy hung his legs off the edge of the floating mountain carelessly, holding back heart wrenching sobs, opting for crying silently into his hands. Hot tears seared down his skin, stinging torturously against his ice-cold body. He prayed ceaselessly to every god out there - to anyone out there. He didn't want it to be true. His gut twisted horribly. All those looks finally made sense. Everything did. He couldn't stop the string of curses that left his mouth, nor could he stop the aura of despair and pain he emitted.

His anger dissipated into burning pain. He was so frustrated, he felt so betrayed that the anger wasn't anger anymore. It had turned into a pure, unadulterated rage. But behind the anger there's always someone in pain. He felt hollow. Empty. Like a shell of what he used to be. He was no longer the rocks that stood strong. He was the sailors who had died in the shipwreck, unable to survive through the storm.

———

Apollo felt a soul praying to him, desperately reaching out. He stumbled on his walk around Olympus. The whole of Olympus radiated pain, anger, hurt and despair. He felt as if he was about to fall into this chasm of loneliness - this abyss of pain and wouldn't be able to leave. Apollo shook his head violently to get rid of the effects. These weren't his emotions. He tracked the source of the pain - one of his skills as the god of healing. Broken hearts couldn't be healed with medicine, but that didn't mean they didn't need care. He gasped as he saw who it was that was swaying the foundations of Olympus.

———

Percy was brought back to reality by the sudden feeling of cold rain on his skin. The skies were pouring down on Olympus, as if feeding off Percy's pain. Percy sat there for a while, slowly taking control of himself. The rain had soaked through his clothes, and luckily washed away the tear stains from his cheeks. He smiled a sad smile as he watched water drip from his hair from in front of his eyes. He wished he could be like that. Just drop and leave everything behind. He stayed there until the weather worsened, and Percy's chest bubbled with a feeling of hysteria. He knew instantly that he was in denial. And he couldn't even stop the giggle that left him. He started laughing. A crazed laugh escaped his mouth and before long he was vibrating with silent laughter, his throat not making any sound but his body convulsing with the vibrations of the laughter. Disbelief graced his features.

"I guess I drew the short straw this time." He smiled, shaking his head. The rain got harder, and harder until it wasn't rain at all. Hard stones of ice pelted down on Percy, and he sat back down, dangerously close to the edge. The hail stones got sharper and bigger. One hit his arm and pierced through his skin, leaving a scratch mark. The physical pain grounded him, making him realise he needed to find shelter before he became human spaghetti. Less than a second later, an umbrella was opened above his head, covering both him and a figure.

"Get up. We need to get somewhere safe. Soon."

Percy recognised the god as Apollo, and a part of him relaxed. His eyelids grew heavy and he felt like it took a lot more energy to move than it usually did. He guessed that the adrenaline had finally worn off. Figures, he thought, I had been going on for hours.

That's all it took for his to fall down against the God of the Sun, unconscious and drained.

———

Apollo's temple, Olympus

The first thing that Percy noticed when he woke up was that it was dusk. The suns rays were dimming, falling gracefully onto the bed. A bed that wasn't his. He shot up like a bullet, before noticing a sleeping Apollo sitting in the armchair. The room had an undertone of gold so Percy gathered that it must have been Apollo's. A pang of guilt bubbled in his chest, looking at Apollo sleeping uncomfortably and how Apollo must have had to bring him here and take care of him. He vacantly noticed that his clothes had changed, but pushed that thought aside.