A Moment of Stars | PJO Chaos

Four

It's not fair.

It's never fair.

Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter are still in shock of the sudden death of the son of Poseidon.

No signs indicated that anything was wrong with him.

The Apollo and Hades/Pluto cabins were still trying to get an autopsy on the dead demigod, but they still couldn't find the source of his state. They looked for pre-existing conditions, heart conditions, stroke, poisoning, even suicide. But they still found nothing.

Then the body disappeared, and more confusion and discord spread throughout the two camps.

Where is Percy Jackson's body?

Questions without answers went on for days before Zeus finally decides to hold an emergency meeting with the Olympians.

On Olympus, Poseidon is not happy.

"This is no normal death brother!" He argues. "I can feel it; the sea is restless over Percy's passing!"

"There's nothing we can do about it Poseidon." Zeus says. "Perseus is dead, yes. Although it may have been one of the campers that poisoned him or—" A bright light flashes into the throne room, and Hades stands in the source's place. The rest of the gods look in confusion of the god of the Underworld's prominent distress.

"He's not in the book." His coal-like eyes are downcast in underlying dread. The gods shift uncomfortably.

"What book, Hades?" Hera asks.

Slowly realizing that he gave none of the Olympians any context, he clears his throat. "After Perseus' unexpected death, Nico and Hazel came to tell me of the occurrence and sensed that something was wrong." Hades explains. "After asking Thanatos, we've found that the young hero's name has been wiped from every record on this Earth."

Poseidon's face goes slack from the news—this was no normal event. "What are you trying to tell us?"

"What I'm saying is, the person 'Perseus Jackson' doesn't exist anymore, brother."

The Olympians explode into an uproar of shock and disbelief. To even think of something powerful enough to wipe one's very existence sends shivers down their spines.

"I believe we may be facing a foe far more powerful than our last." Athena says. The room goes silent as dread builds up in the air.

What are they really up against?

•••

Percy shakily examines his reflection.

He noticed how much weight he lost; his cheeks had sunken in from the lack of food and water he experienced in the Void. The throbbing in his head seemed to gradually grow, forcing him to close his eyes to try to let it subside.

"Why do I look dead?" Percy asks, looking to Chaos in worry and confusion.

"In a way, you are," Chaos leans back in the chair, staring intently at Percy's expression. "but you're also not. Your soul is still fighting to stay alive even after exiting the Void. Over the next few weeks, my medical team predicted that you'll feel fatigued, disassociated from reality, and most likely sore until we figure out how to fully bring you back from the teetering line of 'life' and 'fading'." Percy nods, listening intently to what the creator had to say. He looks back into the mirror; the colour of his eyes unnerving in a way he would have never imagined.

He's literally undead then. A soul of a person trapped in the colorless frame of what's left. His expression darkens at the thought. It wasn't like there was much left either way, but the thought seems to bring the reality of the situation into hand. For all he knew by what Chaos said, he can drop dead any moment.