Chapter 113

[Third Person's PoV] 

Time: In a far future

Location: Shadow Realm

A young man, appearing no older than 20 years old, sat upon a dark, imposing throne. His perfectly smooth black hair matched the shadowy atmosphere around him, and his face possessed a rare beauty that captivated anyone who gazed upon it. As he slowly opened his eyes, they gleamed with a deep, dark red hue.

The door to his throne room creaked open, casting light into his dim domain. A woman, appearing no older than he, approached. She had long, flowing blonde hair that cascaded down to the hem of her toga. Her eyes shimmered with a silver luster as she sensually ascended the steps towards the throne, eventually reaching the person seated upon it.

Placing both hands on the throne's armrests, she leaned in with a sultry smile. 

"So tell me," she said in a tone dripping with power, "how did it feel inhabiting your younger self, eh Lucy?"

All she received in response was a scoff as he wrapped his hands around her waist and seated her on his lap.

"Weak, for one," he replied, grasping her face and drawing her into a kiss, which she didn't resist.

After they parted, she giggled. "Who would have thought that the great lord of Paradoxes would ever feel weak?"

"Har har, very funny," he retorted sarcastically.

A nostalgic smile played on his lips. "But it does bring back good memories."

Seeing a glint in his eyes as he reminisced, she sighed. "I know that look. What are you planning?"

"Oh, whatever do you mean, my lovely Ruin? I'm not planning anything."

"Paradox," she warned, using his divine name.

Hearing this, he chuckled. "I was just thinking about the past... I rose to power rather easily. It was kind of boring in a way."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, because you almost didn't die nearly a hundred times against our surprise guest."

"Oh please, you and I both know I was nowhere near close to dying."

"So what are you planning, then?"

"Nothing much. Just adjusting the difficulty of the past a little bit, throwing some people a bone here and there. I mean, remember my fight with Kronos? That was the most anticlimactic battle I ever had. It will always be one of my greatest disappointments."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, 'throw a bone'?"

He gestured to the side, and from the shadows beside the throne, an endless void appeared. Three cards floated into his hands, and then the void closed.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the cards in disbelief. "Doing this is really going to mess with time. They didn't have these... Who knows what unprecedented changes it could bring. And I can't believe you learned to make some of your own. This is crazy. You even made one for Guppy."

The three cards depicted people she intimately knew, individuals she had grown up with. She gazed at the first card. It showed Luke, holding a golden sword with eyes gleaming like gold, adorned in Spartan armor. At the bottom of the card was a single word: Redemption.

(Image)

The second card depicted Thalia, with her short dark hair, holding a spear and shield amidst a thunderstorm. Her card was labeled: Tempest.

(Image)

Lastly, there was a picture of someone their younger self had not yet encountered but would become great friends with in the future. He had dark hair and green eyes, depicted at the bottom of the sea, wielding a trident. It was Percy Jackson, and his card bore the word: Ocean.

(Image)

"I really hope you know what you're doing."

"Babe, what's with the loss of confidence? You said it yourself, I'm the Lord of Paradoxes. I can change the past without it affecting the future… Though that's mostly for us; the others are still going to experience a few changes."

Seeing how relaxed he was about everything, she decided to tease him. "I mean, what if time slips from your hands and it leads to a different future where I fall in love with per–"

She didn't get to finish as she felt his hands gripping her throat, which caused her to smile as she looked into his cold expression. "Don't you ever, and I mean ever, make such a joke like that in front of me again. Do I make myself clear?" He said as his grip tightened.

All she had was a satisfied smile. "Sorry, sorry, but I just love it when you become possessive of me," she said as she kissed him.

He scoffed before standing up and putting her to the side. "Look at what you did. Now I have to personally see this through to make sure nothing goes too wrong."

She only giggled as she followed him down the steps. "It's been a while since I've seen you use your authority properly."

"Just stand close to me so you won't get affected."

He then closed his eyes, and as he opened them, they gained a brighter glow while a third one appeared on his forehead. The area around them began to shift; red smoke started to spin around them. The smoke grew until it turned into a cyclone with them in the middle.

He closed two of his eyes while the third one remained open as he examined everything that was going on. He was peering into the past, watching the streams of time.

He took one of the cards and made it float up and fly towards the tornado of smoke, causing it to disappear once it made contact, when Luke's face appeared in the smoke. The scene repeated two more times with Thalia and Percy, each card going through the streams of time.

"Whoa, do they look young… well, Thalia is still the same, but the others are so adorable," she said in a gushing tone. She then grabbed his arms. "Come on, show me your younger self. You were absolutely the cutest."

He simply rolled his eyes as the scene around them shifted. In the fog, they saw a younger Lucian and Annabeth walking around, each brainstorming ideas.

---

Back to the present:

Thalia was seen in the gym, wearing a sports bra with black shorts and black fingerless gloves, her hair tied back into a tiny ponytail.

She was moving around the punching bag, hitting it with strong force that reverberated throughout the room.

After she was done, she went and picked up a white towel to wipe her sweat. As she picked it up, she felt something escape from it and hit the floor.

As she cleaned her face, she looked at the floor in confusion only to find a black card with her image. "What?" she mumbled. 'Is this one of Lucian's pranks?' she thought.

As she picked it up, she stood and held her head as information started going inside her head. When the pain vanished, she was able to collect her thoughts. "This… This is simply insane."

---

Luke opened his eyes and rose up from his bed, holding his face, causing him to sigh. "Seriously… If I do this, I'll be making a lot of enemies."

Luke saw something shining in his peripherals. When he looked at his nightstand, he saw a card. "Is that me?" He couldn't help but ask as he reached out and took hold of the card, and when he made contact, information was thrust into his mind.

"..."

"HAHAHAHA!" He couldn't help but laugh as he held his mouth. "I'm not sure if I'm being manipulated, but if this is true, I won't really need his help. I'll be strong on my own to take care of them."

---

A boy around 10 years old with dark hair and green eyes was seen in his room, peeking out the door to see his stepfather gambling away his mother's hard-earned money. He sighed and closed the door before turning towards his bed, where he found an item he hadn't seen before.

Confused, he went and picked it up. Like the others, a headache came. "Reminder to not pick up random things I see laying around."

He then examined the card. "Is that supposed to be me or something? Why am I holding a trident? Seriously, what the hell is going on?"