Chapter 23

Tartarus, Unknown Location

Percy's POV (3rd)

"So when were you planning on telling me that there's an actual, non mythological, species living down in Tartarus?" Percy had asked this question for what seemed liked the millionth time and he wasn't sure if he was still curious about it, or just doing it for the fun of annoying Iapetus.

Iapetus let out a long sigh, obviously annoyed with Perseus' persistence and never ending curiousity. "If you ask me one more question before we get to the fortress, I'll hang you over the abyss of Chaos." Percy crosses his arms and let out an undignified humph, "well excuse me for wondering what exactly is fueling my future nightmares."

Bob stopped at the door leading into the ancient fortress and turned around to face Perseus, he was about to speak when an ethereal golden light appeared infront of them. The light grew brighter and brighter until neither Bob nor Perseus could see. Suddenly, the light dissapeared and in its place was Nēram sipping a cup of tea in a lawn chair.

"I heard someone's curiousity has peaked and a certain Titan was doing nothing to help it." Nēram took a long sip of his seemingly bottomless cup and let out a sigh of satisfaction, " Ahh. The Portuguese always did know how to make the best tea, it's unfortunate that the British popularized their own recipe and this one was soon forgotten. Where was I? Oh yes! you wish to know about The Horde."

Iapetus steppes forward, "With all due respect Nēram, I don't think Perseus is ready to learn about the creatures." Nēram waved Bob's concerns off, "Nonsense my friend. Perseus here is more than ready, and as you can see by his current location, he's already seen most of the horrors of his known world, what's adding a few more nightmarish creatures that will fuel his spiraling descent to insanity going to do? Now as I was saying, you wish to know about The Horde, is that correct?" Percy gave a small, tentative nod, slightly worried of what the outcome of this could be.

"Amazing!" Suddenly two more lawn chairs appeared infront of Perseus and Iapetus, one much bigger than the other to fit Iapetus' large frame. "Now get comfortable, we will probably be here for a while." Nēram's tea cup suddenly vanished and was soon replaced by a Minute Made Apple Juice, "Don't judge me, I have refined tastes." Nēram took a minute long sip that should've drained the small box, "Mortals always have made some of the greatest foods and beverages around. What were we talking about again?

"The Horde, Nēram"

"That was it! The Horde. What was The Horde again? Ah yes, The Horde is an ancient species created by the Protgenoi Nyx and Erebus. However these weren't any mere creation out of darkness, no these creatures were special. These were among the first created, and by result, the most horrifying and disgusting. For some reason however, they weren't immortal, in fact they were the complete opposite; they were completely mortal. And so, Nyx did the only thing a rational mother that just discovered her children can reproduce without being bound by the ancient laws would: she bred them over and over again until she was able to amass a large army of genetically perfect creatures."

"She let this army loose upon the denizens of the underworld, killing anything and everything in sight, sending many monsters to the void with their large numbers and sharp talons. They swarmed their enemies, the monsters intelligent enough had escaped into the deep depths of Tartarus, hiding in caves and crevices, never to see the light of day - or whatever passes for light down here. Many of the most ancient beasts were killed by these creatures, some of which neither Gods nor Titans have ever heard about, the few that managed to survive joined the rest of their ancient kin in hiding.

"Most of the other Protogenoi were relatively annoyed that their creations were being slaughtered, so they asked Nyx to take them out of the underworld; which she did. Nyx sent them straight to the surface, destroying ecosystems and extincting species left and right until Kronos and his Titan brethren put a stop to them. No matter how great their numbers were, the power of time stopped them dead in their tracks - you can't kill someone if you can't move."

Percy took a second to let the information sink in. He wasn't sure he fully understood even half of it, nor did he understand why Nēram was telling him any of this, or even why the old man decided to show up now at all times. Throughout this train wreck of a thought process one thing kept picking at his mind, "Didn't you say The Horde were hiding in the deep depths of Tartarus, why are they here?"

Nēram's carefree expression turn sour, "Well that brings me to why I came here in the first place. The Horde has amassed their numbers, as the war continues and both sides weaken, they will rise from the pit and kill everything in their path. Mortals, demigods, monsters, it doesn't matter to them; if it breathes, it will die. Their bloodlust and never ending hunger for flesh and destruction is insatiable, they will stop at nothing to taste blood again. The last person that was able to put a stop to them was the former Lord of Time, Kronos, and now, it must be you Perseus."

Perseus was taken back by Nēram's statement, "You want me to go up against billions of monsters by myself. To go into the depths of Tartarus and face monsters forgotten to time, monsters older than the gods themselves, with little training in my powers over time. Are you crazy?"

"Do not doubt yourself Perseus, your skills and abilities have shaped you into the the single deadliest being in the universe. You are a demigod, you can go anywhere, fight anything and challenge anyone; you are not bound by the ancient laws. You are the greatest warrior this world has ever seen. You alone can turn mountains to dust; mountains that have stood for longer than the lives of your gods. You can bend the light, and, in turn, the power of the sun to your will. The unbridled power of the sea courses through your veins and the flow of time answers your beck and call. You are the only being, immortal or mortal, who is capable of doing this."

"That doesn't change the fact I have no idea how to utilize these powers, I could do all the things you say, but I don't have the training to do so."

Nēram took a sip of his juice box and stood up from his chair, which would be a lot more imtimidating if he wasn't an old man - or if he wasn't drinking a juice box. "That is why I will be taking over your training."

—

Throne Room of the Gods, Mount Olympus

3rd POV

Zeus threw his master bolt into the sky, silencing all of the gods in attendance and signaling the start of a council meeting. "I have called you here today to discuss any news of the upcoming war and to share information between ourselves. Artemis and Apollo what have you seen from your chariots in the sky."

Apollo was quick to speak up, he was always trying to one up his sister, no matter the situation. "Well father, I have seen monsters gathering in large groups but they never stay out of the open for long, always hiding among the mortals in large cities, often hiding in the sewers and other places I cannot see or hit with an arrow. As for the monsters in the actual city, I am not able to harm them without alarming the mortals.

Zeus thought this over, "Ouranos seems to be more cunning than our past enemies, he is using the mortals as shields for his armies. Very well, thank you Apollo, if you are given an opportunity, rain death upon the masses. If that is all you can return to your duties." Apollo bowed his head, stuck his tongue out at his 'little' sister and flashed out of the room, narrowly avoiding an arrow to the crotch.

Artemis spoke up, an annoyed expression etched on her face, "My hunters are encountering more and more monsters every time we face them, however, we haven't encountered anything deadlier than the common earthborn. If you allow me, I would like to return my Hunt, monster attacks have been frequent without Perseus there to ward them off while I'm gone."

At the mention of his lost son, a small earthquake shook the room, everyone turned to Poseidon, who seemed to be having a hard time holding his temper. Poseidon muttered his apologies and motioned for them to continue. Zeus decided it was best not to mention Poseidon's rage lest he provoke another earthquake. "Thank you Artemis, you may be dismissed."

Zeus waited until Artemis had left completely until he continued the meeting. "Hera what can you tell us about the citizens of New Rome. Have they all been accounted for?"

Hera started to glow brightly until her form changed into the one of Juno, "The citizens of New Rome have all been relocated to a small, out of the way, town in Oregon and are all accounted for. We have provided them with the necessary currency to survive for years to come. They will be safe and out of any danger up there; if any monster does come close, Terminus will be there to defend them." Juno glowed golden again until her form settled on Hera. "That is good. Poseidon, do you have news on the situation under the sea?"

Poseidon took a deep breath and tried to appear calm before speaking, however the seemingly permanent frown never left his face. "The enemy I will be facing is currently unknown, but there is definitely someone pulling strings from the depths of the oceans. Sea monsters are rising once again, the Kracken has escaped its prison and has dissapeared."

As Poseidon spoke, his anger continued to grow, obviously the lack of knowledge going into this war does nothing but agitate the sea god further than he already was. Zeus thought it was best to send Poseidon off before all of Olympus is destroyed by an earthquake, "Thank you brother, you may return to your kingdom, I'm sure you have preparations you must make." Poseidon gave a stiff nod before dissapearing in a sea breeze.

"Onto the next order of business, Hades, what news do you have of the monsters in Tartarus?"

Hades straightened in his throne, "From what I can tell, the monsters in the pit are amassing in order to try and escape in large groups."

None of this was news to Zeus, but there was one thing he was still corncered of, "And what of Typhon?"

Hades was quick to calm Zeus's nerves, "There is nothing to fear brother, Typhon is still trapped deep in the depths of Tartarus; no sane being will go down there willingly."

Zeus visibly relaxed, the very thought of fighting the storm giant again worried the lightning god, "Now if nobody has anything else to add," Zeus looked around for confirmation, "I call this meeting to a close."

—

Tartarus

(?) Later

As Percy trained with Nēram, he soon realized how hopelessly useless he was with his new powers. He excelled in his training in destruction, that came as second nature due to his natural affinity with earthquakes, but time and light on the other hand were completely foreign to Perseus.

Percy had learned to reverse the flow of time, which was a lot harder to do than simply speeding it up or slowing it down. Think of it as a running current, then, take that current and push it the opposite way it's coming from, then amplify that by a hundred times and you have reversing time. Percy worked hard on his control over time, constantly speeding up and reversing the erosion process of rocks and boulders; turning them to dust only to bring them back to their full, rocky glory. For practical combat purposes, he began to throw his knives at monsters hundreds of meters away, speeding the velocity of the knife with his power over time, the knife would puncture straight through whatever poor monster's skull it hit and fly hundreds of meters. Nēram would then have him reverse the flow of time and call the knife straight back to my hand; it was a slow process, but each time Percy did it he was getting faster and faster.

Percy's training over light however was a bit more complex - seeing as there was no actual light down in Tartarus. Instead, Nēram summoned some giant lamps with what looked like miniature suns inside them - where the old man had gotten them from, Perseus would never know - the only difference was that these suns were a multitude of colors. There were red suns, blue suns, yellow suns and so many more colors that you could make a Dr. Seuss book. Percy practiced day and... day? He couldn't tell with the all of the suns and no moons. He harnessed the power of the light, bending it, molding it, shaping it, forging it, and so much more. Seeing as the light was a direct detachment of the sun, Percy realized that he had some control over the great star and its horrifying, destructive ways. Perseus started sending tendrils of scorching sunlight straight at monsters, incinerating them to crisps before they even knew they were reforming. Percy was pretty sure he was violating multiple articles of the Geneva Convention in doing this, but as Nēram put it, "If they don't know you're doing it, then it's not illegal."

Percy's entire mind was set to one thing: to become stronger. He knew what was at stake if he failed. The world would either be brought down in flurry of lightning or ripped to shreds by creatures from the depths of Tartarus. Everyone he ever knew and loved would die: his friends, Thalia, the hunters who had become the little sisters he always wanted, his ever so loyal wolf Zoë, his Mom, his sister Estelle, whom he never even got to know; they would all be forced to an early, painful death at the hands of his enemies.

These thoughts pushed Percy to his limits and beyond, Percy didn't sleep and he hardly ate, the only thing he did was train. When he did sleep he wasn't getting rest, merely just closing his eyes and waking up seconds later. When he ate there was no flavor to his food, no matter what culinary delights Nēram summoned, everything just tasted grey. Percy found himself often staring into his shield, a lone tear falling from his eyes, but there was nothing more than that. He couldn't cry if he was to save the world, he couldn't weep for all he's lost, and all that could be, he couldn't mourn for the few years of peace he had. He wasn't supposed to cry, he was a hero, he was indomitable, he was the greatest warrior to ever live, but he was also so incredibly homesick; he missed his friends and family, he'd even take Annabeth for company at this point - seeing that Bob had left when Nēram started to take over.

To fight his homesickness, he drowned himself in his training, pushing his body to its breaking point, honing his skills and abilities to that of a true Lord of Time. He trained for what seemed like days on end, his powers over light had grown to rival Hyperion and under the tutalege of Nēram and the plethora of monsters to practice his abilities on, Percy's strength over time could give Kronos a run for his money. According to Nēram, his powers would only grow with real practice, a practice that could be found as he slaughtered his enemies that awaited him further in the pit. Then he'd make his way to the surface and end the war once and for all.

Percy trained for so long he lost track of how long he's been down here. His mind was on complete autopilot: Train, train, sleep, train, eat, train, repeat. It felt like decades had passed at some points, while at others it felt like mere seconds. On the rare occasion when he would ask Nēram about it, he would dodge the question. It didn't help that Percy's own internal clock as a Lord of Time was going haywire; it felt as if time was being constantly slowed down but sped up at the same time. Speaking of Nēram, Perseus would sometimes ponder who the old man really was before he would fall asleep, he began to have his suspicions but he never gave it any real thought, he simply pushed the thought out of his mind and continued his training.

Currently, Percy was making his way to the Jagged Peaks: a large set of mountains that run the length of the Pit. This would be the final test conducted by Nēram to determine if he was ready to fight the horde alone. Percy and Nēram stopped infront of the large mountain range. Nēram summoned a walking cane and a Lay Z Boy recliner for himself, "Now Perseus, do you see that mountain right there?" Nēram gestured wildy infront of him with his cane. Percy gave Nēram a rare smirk, "How could I not? It's literally right infront of us."

Nēram frowned and whacked Percy upside the head with his cane, which did little to actually harm the demigod's invulnerable body, "Don't get sassy with me, boy. Now, destroy it." Percy wasted no time in trying, he had trained his skills to perfection, even if he didn't know exactly how long he trained, he knew it would be enough.

Percy uncapped Riptide and drank in the sight of his beloved blade; it has seen him through so much pain and suffering, the blade has put an end to more monsters in a day than most demigods would see in their entire life. Percy took a deep breath and channeled his powers over destruction and earthquakes into his sword, and with a shout he planted the blade hilt deep into the mountain; the giant chunk of volcanic black rock shook and shuddered for a few seconds then promptly collapsed into a large pile of dust. "Well done Perseus, and now the next."

Nēram was about to summon some more of his Sun-In-A-Jar contraptions before Percy stopped him. He would do this himself. Out stretching his palm, Percy summoned a large sphere of pure white light. The sphere continued to grow to the size of a garbage truck until Perseus stopped it. Exerting his will, Percy commanded the light to form tendrils, each burning as hot as a supernova. With one command, hundreds of these tendrils slammed down upon the mountain, leaving nothing - not even dust - behind. "Impressive Perseus, very impressive, onto the next one. I will not grant you a break, The Horde definitely won't."

Percy, out of breath and panting, gave Nēram a weak nod. He faced the third mountain and summoned Time's March to his hand, he didn't need it to help him channel his power over time, but in his current condition, it'd definitely help. Percy gripped the spear in both hands and held it out infront of him, and with one, earth shattering slam, he unleashed the power of time. The mountain started to erode, each passing second meters of it were being trimmed further down. The large mountain grew shorter and shorter until it flattened out into a hill, the hill continued to shrink until the grand piece of rock was nothing but a small lump in the ground.

Nēram watched all of this with a small smile on his face, "You are ready