DA : Chapter 61: Breaking III

She stood around 5 ft' 7, her hair the same reddish-brown it had been as her fur cascading down her body to her shapely rear. Her olive toned skin shivering slightly in the sudden chill of a breeze that swept over her.

Her modesty being kept only by her own hair falling over her modest sized breasts and crotch. She felt some color come to her cheeks when she noticed Percy's eyes giving her entire body a quick scan before returning to her face and had to suppress the urge to try to cover her chest with her arms.

...

Never before had she been self-conscious in the rare occasions she took her human form and was seen by mortals lost in the woods but in front of Percy, she suddenly felt shy.

A little part of her mind cursed for not being as well-endowed as other goddess but she wasn't vain enough to use her divine power or even the Mist to alter her appearance either. Still, she tried to stand tall as Percy got a little closer and looked down at her, his flaming black eyes boring into her pale yellow ones.

"I do believe a reintroduction is in order," Percy said as he waved his hand and the shadows around her formed a thick black cloak warming her up quickly much to her surprise.

"Hello, I'm Percy Jackson, Primordial of Night, Shadows, Darkness, and Cold." Her mouth felt unhinged as he said that and judging by his fanged grin he found her face amusing. "Also I'm the king of the new Protogenoi Council and … Lord of Wolves."

Suddenly her instincts fell into place and it made sense. Her pack's behavior, the change she felt coming, and her own reactions to his presence. He was her superior, her alpha, and now a being of power above any god or titan. He was everything she'd wanted, both as a wolf and a goddess.

Powerful and fierce yet she could still see that gentleness and care he held for those dear to him within his eyes. It also didn't hurt that both his forms were exemplary specimens that could probably make her—

"Lupa," Percy said snapping a finger in her face to break her out of her thoughts. She gave a blush of embarrassment, both for having to be called to attention and knowing exactly where her thoughts had been headed. "So what do you say?" he asked.

"Umm … can you repeat the question?" she said sheepishly making him sigh even as a small smile tugged at his lips.

"I asked, would you like to join me?" he repeated.

"In your war?" she asked feeling a little uneasy at the thought.

"You don't need to fight if you don't want to," Percy replied reassuringly. "But you can come with me and leave the Olympians for good to choose for yourself what you want to do. You're a wolf and I won't allow one of our own to be enslaved by the gods anymore."

"Really … I can just join?" she asked with a bit of hope coming through in her voice.

"Yes," he replied giving her a warm smile and offering her a hand.

She stared at it for some time, her thoughts racing. Could she do it? To be free from the burden placed on her and turn her back on the gods? New Rome had barely recovered from the loss of Jason but then again, Percy said they wouldn't attack them.

Could she be selfish for the first time in millennia and be with … him? She took a shaky breath, her heart racing before she made her decision…

...

( Nico POV )

The son of Hades slowly made his way through the extensive tunnels within the mountain, his pace calm as he thought on what had been discussed with the council but a day or so ago.

Rhea had been literally humming with her power of Earth and Nature, saturating the air and ground with vitality that already made the local wildlife and forest of the mountain to grow and spread. She'd also been sculpting the sides of the massive mountain, making most of the sides and back facing away from the path into sheer cliffs.

Nico felt pity for whatever poor sod would try to sneak into their new home any time in the future. While Rhea was handling that, Phoebe had taken to slowly bringing in some of their new residents and even setting up some temples for them.

Hercules had looked like he'd had the mother of all hangovers while being beaten by an old lady with a stick all night after he was the first to renounce his ties to the 'West', essentially making him a wild god while retaining his strength but not the domain.

It mattered little considering what would come soon but he'd looked better that morning with his new temple. Along with Hercules, other gods and titans had been brought in, setting up their temples and taking up residence in the second district.

He briefly wondered where Damasen would live considering his size but hey, there was more than enough free space in each district to add new buildings.

As for Thalia, Jason, and Andromeda each were off on their own tasks though Andromeda's may be the more important of those. 'I hope she doesn't have to deal with too much of a mess,' he thought with a slight shake of his head before returning his attention to the tunnels around him. Even now he could see the slight twitches of the darkness around him and feel the hint of cold permeating the air.

The ground itself also seemed to hum under his step while the crystals lining the ceiling of the tunnels softly glowed with crystals containing Greek fire.

He walked on for another half hour or so, instinctually knowing which path to take as he descended further before arriving to a large cavern.

It was around the size of an airplane hangar with the same crystals intermixed with stalagmites along the ceiling. However, unlike the tunnels, the majority of the cavern's floor was a lake with a dirt path leading up to a plot of land in the center.

The waters surround it weren't regular though, oh no, instead the churning green waters gave a nearly angry hiss around him with the emotion of hatred dissipating thickly through the air.

"Like my little lake?" asked a feminine voice drawing Nico's attention.

Nico took in the familiar sight of Styx as she stood near one of the edges of the plot of land, lazily playing with the lethal waters with her foot while looking at him in amusement.

"The hissing sound is interesting," he commented as he walked along the narrow path towards her and being mindful of the waters.

He already knew how painful a bath in those waters was thanks to Percy and felt no need to experience it himself. He soon arrived at her side and waited for her to pay full attention to him, her normally mischievous eyes looking at him with a steely glint to them. It didn't take long for her to remove her foot from the waters and glance back to the edge of the plot of land they stood on.

"So … feeling nervous?" she asked softly as she looked back at him.

"Yes," he said with a faint nod before walking past her. "But there is no helping it, I need a link to the mortal plain before I fully rise to the council."

"But isn't it a little too soon for using your manifestation of power to such an extent?" she asked "I mean, you can create passages leading directly to the fields of Tartarus but you are a lot farther right now."

"That's true considering I've only opened a few doors between two locations in the Pit or from my father's palace in the time I've had it but I really don't have the time to spar at the moment. Just trust me … I can do this," he said while looking at her firmly.

"If you're sure," Styx said with a sigh before moving to stand beside him. "Ready when you are."

He gave her an appreciative node before reaching into his shirt and pulling out his new pendant. The black and purple chains felt warm to the touch as he looked at the ruby held at the end, the jewel glowing with power.

He then looked back at the plot of land and focused on his jewel within his hand, the rock humming in response. Sweat started to trickle off his brow as the entire cavern began to shake as the heat rose significantly.

'Shit, this is harder than I thought it would be,' he mentally griped as he grit his teeth and forced more of his power through his pendant.

The ground began to steam and crack along the end of the little island. He felt a sharp spark of pain in his head as the drain on his energy grew nearly making him drop to a knee but then he felt Styx place her hand on his shoulder and her power flood into him.

He gasped at the rush, both in relief and pain even as the cracks burst as a metal gate began to rise. He momentarily glanced down to the pendant in his hand and noted the slight green tint surrounding the ruby but paid it little mind as he refocused on the rising gate.

For nearly an hour he stood still, Styx feeding him strength as the metal gate rose at an agonizingly slow rate until it finally finished and he did drop to a knee panting.

He took a moment to catch his breath before looking at the sight, after glancing at Styx since she gasped at it as well. The gate he'd summoned stood at nearly five meters in height and three across, made of a black brimstone with cracks glowing in purple.

He could make out a door nearly the same size of the actual frame with glows of red and purple hidden behind it but what really caught his attention was the very top-center of the door.

There was an ornately carved skull with a crown, the eye sockets glowing an ominous crimson while the crown was alight with Hellfire and judging from the line down the center, it also opened with the gate.

He then took in the carvings on the door, depicting all manner of horrors and tortures that Tartarus had personally delivered upon the worst of existence banished to the deepest recesses of his realm.

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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.

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