The Veil of Worlds

Chapter 13: Crossing the Threshold

The portal spat them out into a new realm, one that felt far more ominous than any they had encountered before. The air was thick with a sense of impending doom, laced with the tang of power. They were standing at the edge of a vast chasm that seemed to stretch on forever, its depths veiled in swirling mist.

"Okay, this is different," Percy muttered, glancing around warily. His grip tightened on Riptide.

Annabeth took a cautious step forward, her sharp eyes scanning the landscape. "We're beyond the reach of the familiar now. This isn't just Sumerian, Norse, or Egyptian territory anymore. We're stepping into the heart of something older, something... deeper."

"The primordial void," Carter whispered, recognizing the feeling from the Duat. "Where chaos and creation meet. A realm beyond all gods and powers."

Jason felt the hairs on his neck rise as he felt the crackling energy in the air. "Setne's drawing us closer to where it all began, before the gods even had form."

Sadie sighed, leaning on her staff. "Great, because it wasn't terrifying enough fighting a shadow monster in a collapsing temple. Now we have to face whatever was around before the gods."

The chasm yawned wider before them, and from the mist, figures began to emerge—some familiar, others terrifyingly new. They weren't gods as they knew them. These beings were raw, chaotic, and primal, barely contained within their shifting forms.

"These must be the formless ones," Annabeth whispered. "The entities that existed before order was imposed."

A sudden laugh echoed through the mist, sending a chill down their spines. Setne's unmistakable voice cut through the void. "Ah, you've made it! I wasn't sure you'd survive that little warm-up. But here we are, ready for the main event."

Setne's figure materialized from the mist, his appearance more twisted than before, infused with the raw, unstable power of the ancient pantheons. He was cloaked in shadow, his eyes glowing with malice as he floated just beyond the chasm.

"You can feel it, can't you?" Setne taunted. "The end is near. The balance of power is shifting, and I'm at the center of it all."

"Cut the villain monologue, Setne," Percy called out, stepping forward, his voice steady despite the growing dread in the air. "You're not going to win."

Setne grinned, his face twisted into something inhuman. "Oh, I've already won, Jackson. You just haven't realized it yet."

Behind Setne, the mist began to swirl faster, and for a brief moment, the group saw something that made their blood run cold—massive, cosmic shapes shifting in the void, too vast and too ancient to comprehend. They were not gods. They were before the gods. They were the creators and the destroyers, the endless cycles of time and space.

Setne spread his arms wide, as if embracing the power. "The gods are just pawns in a much bigger game, and I've finally figured out how to play it. With the power of these primordial forces, I'll tear down the barriers between pantheons, between realms. I'll remake the world in my image."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Magnus said, stepping up beside Percy, his sword gleaming with divine energy.

Annabeth's mind raced, trying to formulate a plan. They were in uncharted territory now, facing forces beyond even the gods' control. But if Setne was using the power of these primordial entities, there had to be a way to disrupt his connection to them.

"We need to destabilize him," she said quickly, turning to Carter and Sadie. "You've seen how chaotic forces work in the Duat. We need to counterbalance the raw power he's tapping into. If we can sever his link to the primordial forces, we might be able to stop him."