𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐀 | 𝐏𝐉𝐎 𝐗 𝐇𝐏

𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀

THE BLUE LIGHTS IN THE SKY HAD STOPPED. The other campers had gathered in a small park at the edge of the mountain. They were clustered at the guardrail, looking down at Manhattan. The railing was lined with those tourist binoculars, where you could deposit one golden drachma and see the city. Campers were using every single one.

Percy looked down at the city. He could see almost everything from there—the East River and the Hudson River carving the shape of Manhattan, the grid of streets, the lights of skyscrapers, the dark stretch of Central Park in the north. Everything looked normal, but something was wrong.

"I don't . . . hear anything," Annabeth said.

That was the problem.

Even from this height, They should've heard the noise of the city—millions of people bustling around, thousands of cars and machines—the hum of a huge metropolis. You don't think about it when you live in New York, but it's always there. Even in the dead of night, New York is never silent.

But it was now.
"What did they do?" Percy's voice sounded tight and angry. "What did they do to my city?"

He pushed Michael Yew away from the binoculars and took a look. In the streets below, traffic had stopped. Pedestrians were lying on the sidewalks, or curled up in doorways. There was no sign of violence, no wrecks, nothing like that. It was as if all the people in New York had simply decided to stop whatever they were doing and pass out.

"Are they dead?" Silena asked in astonishment.

A line from the prophecy rang in my ears: And see the world in endless sleep. He remembered Grover's story about meeting the god Morpheus in Central Park.

"Not dead," A new voice said. "Morpheus has put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started." they all turned to look at Lilith who was standing there calmly.

She looked different. Not physically, but spiritually.

Her aura had become darker, they could already sense the power suffocating them. Same ones you would feel in the presence of a god.

"Lilith? You're back from fighting Typhon? What happened?" Annabeth hurried to her side to check for injuries, but when she saw the girl was completely unscathed, she backed away.

"I killed him. He's dead." Lilith stated, looking out at the dead city.

"Y-you killed Typhon?" Silena gaped at her.

Lilith sent her a small smile and nodded. "It's a long story."

"Where are the gods? Hermes dropped by earlier and said they were fighting Typhon still." Percy demanded.

"They're healing. Most of them are not in a state to fight. They'll be back, but not here. Mount Othrys is being invaded by Krios. They'll have to deal with that."

"Krios?" Percy furrowed his eyebrows.

"Typhon isn't the only titan awake."

"But it's a trap!" Annabeth protested, "They're attacking Olympus!"

"They know." Lilith nodded, "They're weakened. With them in Olympus, Kronos will kill them much easier. It's a risk to have them here. We're on our own."

Mrs. O'Leary was the only one happy about the sleeping city. Lilith had brought her back from her realm, she was restless.

They found her pigging out at an overturned hot dog stand while the owner was curled up on the sidewalk, sucking his thumb. Argus was waiting for them with his hundred eyes wide open. He didn't say anything. He never does.