The Indomitable Human Spirit

Chapter 1

Pitch black darkness, the furious rushing of wind slapping against his skin, the muggy air that suffocated the lungs, and the feeling of freefall. That was what he awoke to. Blinking in and out of consciousness, the infamous green-eyed demigod gritted his teeth as he tried to reel in his senses that were currently going a-wire.

"You've experienced this before. Calm down." Percy reminded himself. That didn't do much though to his dismay but who could blame him? After all, no one could remain calm if they were currently falling down into Tartarus. Yup, you heard him right. Falling back down to the place he had just escaped from within an inch of his life. The place where not even the Olympians venture. The hell of all hells.

If it wasn't for the sword currently piercing his stomach and the numerous broken bones, he would've laughed at his situation. Just how much did the Fates hate him to send him back to Tartarus for a second time?! He grimaced in pain as he remembered the battle before all of this. He couldn't help but remember the screams of the dying, their agonizing yells for help that never came. The clashing of weapons and the smell of blood-soaked dirt. All of it came back in a rush, causing a vile panic to set in his chest. Gaea's sinister smile filled his head, her last words to him before she fell into an eternal slumber reverberating in his skull.

"Now we'll both be at peace together."

He didn't know what she had meant in that moment but he certainly did now. Even though he had defeated her by shoving Riptide through her chest, she was not going to go down without taking at least one more person with her. Who better than the very person who ended her campaign for domination of the earth, the savior of Olympus. The son of Poseidon cursed himself for not being strong enough to survive the battle. He knew that was a prude thing to say considering demigods like himself rarely got the opportunity to know if the battle was won or not after their death. At least he got the satisfaction of knowing that Olympus was saved. He just hated himself for not at least getting to say goodbye to his friends, his family, and Annabeth.

The thought of her grief when she would find out about his death brought tears to his eyes. He had promised her that he would never leave her side again and yet here he was, on a one-way ticket back to Tartarus. What a boyfriend he was.

"You're still alive right now. You have a chance to survive and see her again!" A small voice said in the back of his mind. He almost listened to it, to be honest. He could still have a chance. All he needed to do was not bleed out from the sword impaled in his chest or the broken bones throughout his body, and survive the incomprehensible height of falling into Tartarus. Yeah right! As if that was gonna happen. The only way he could survive this situation was if the Fates wanted to prolong his suffering. Honestly, he wouldn't put it past them in doing that but he had a feeling his story was coming to an end. His suspension was only confirmed further when he looked down and noticed the deep cavern opening below and the rich red ground of Tartarus that was filled with black shards of glass.

Thankfully, it seemed he was more inclined to fall into the Phlegethon River rather than splattering onto the ground below. So instead of flattening like a pancake with all his insides spilling out, he'll instead drown in the agonizing river of fire. How wonderful! His spine shivered as he remembered just how painful it was to drink that fiery water.

He had a feeling he should be praying right now considering he was about to experience a really painful death but he knew that wouldn't do much good. The Gods had no influence down here which meant no one was going to save him. Instead, he thought of everyone that he had loved. He mentally thanked them for being in his life and apologized for not being able to be with them and to not experience the future with them. Peering down at the river that was only a hundred yards away, he closed his eyes and softly smiled. Yeah, this was a better way to go out rather than screaming bloody murder and praying to Gods who probably couldn't even hear him. It was a mercy to remember his loved ones in his final moments and be able to thank them for all that they've done for him.