Chapter 165: The Dark Prince of Luxury

[Third Person's PoV] 

Percy began walking toward the river without an ounce of hesitation. As the water reached his shoulders, he remained completely dry while continuing to submerge.

He walked down the riverbed with no obstructions, no pressure—a true testament to being the son of Poseidon.

Although he still subconsciously tried to hold his breath, an instinct everyone has when underwater.

"Breathe, Percy… you are safe under your father's domain," his mother's voice said softly.

Percy cautiously took a breath and realized she was right—he could breathe perfectly fine underwater. "Where are you!?" he called out.

In front of him, a woman began to form, appearing like a ghost made of water. Percy stood there, stunned. The water spirit not only sounded like his mother, but she looked like her too.

"Mom!" Percy exclaimed, happy to see her.

"I'm afraid not," she said gently. "This is only the form I've taken to make you comfortable communicating with me."

Percy's face fell upon hearing that it wasn't his mother. The water spirit smiled kindly at him. "I'm here to tell you that your mother's fate isn't as hopeless as you think. You must go to Santa Monica—it's your father's will. You need to go there before heading to the Underworld."

Percy's expression grew even more sour at the mention of his father. He hadn't forgotten what he had learned from Medusa. "And why should I listen to him at all?" he asked bitterly.

"Please, Percy, I can't stay here long. The river is too foul for my presence. Just know that your father loves you dearly… that sword you carry is a gift he left in Chiron's care for you."

Percy gripped his weapons tightly, unconvinced by her words, given what he knew about his father.

The water spirit moved closer, cupping Percy's face like a mother would. "Percy, you must go to Santa Monica… and do not trust the gifts."

Before Percy could say anything else, the spirit dissolved into the water, leaving him alone, staring at his weapons, with the words caught in his throat.

...

"Wait, you have an eidetic memory… why do you want to take pictures?" Lucian asked, looking at Annabeth in confusion.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You're still on that? I'm a historian. It doesn't matter if I remember everything. What's important is preserving a physical image or record of what happened so others can see it. What good does it do if only I can recall it?"

Lucian's eyes widened in realization. 'The Acting Method, that's right—that's what she was doing.'

But as Annabeth finished speaking, she gave Lucian a shocked look.

Lucian smirked at her expression. "You did it, didn't you?"

Annabeth nodded, almost laughing at the absurdity. She had just fully absorbed the Historian Potion and realized what being a historian truly meant.

"Did what?" Clarisse asked, confused by their interaction.

"She solved a riddle that's been bugging her for a while," Lucian said, quickly making up a believable lie.

"Seriously?" Clarisse asked, unimpressed.

"Yup," Lucian nodded.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him before scoffing. 'What kind of lie was that!? No one would believe that nonsense. Me, stuck on a riddle? Come on, Lucian, the first thing you taught me was to make the lie believable,' she communicated with just a look.

Lucian caught her glare and rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Grover nodded. "That sounds like Annabeth…"

"WHAT?!" Annabeth screeched, glaring at Grover, offended.

Before anyone could react further, Percy began walking out of the water, his trident and sword back in place.

"So, what was the message, fishbrain?" Clarisse asked, still leaning against a boulder.

Percy ignored her jab. "Before going to the Underworld, my father wants me to go to Santa Monica for some reason. The water spirit said not to trust some gifts, whatever that means."

"Shall we get going, then?" Thalia asked, looking around.

"Honestly, I'm pretty tired and hungry," Percy admitted, holding his stomach.

"McDonald's is right across the street. We could grab some food before we leave," Lucian suggested.

"Do we even have enough money for that? There are six of us, after all. Would we be able to afford it if we pooled our cash?" Percy asked, searching his pockets.

"Oh… my… Lord…" Lucian said dramatically, clasping his hands together in mock prayer while looking up at the sky. "I cannot believe you just asked ME that."

"Me? Out of everyone here! Annabeth, this fool just asked me if I can afford something. He doesn't realize whose presence he's standing in front of right now."

"And that's not even the worst part!" Lucian continued, raising his hands to the heavens. "He asked me if I can afford McDonald's!"

Percy glanced around at the others, completely lost and wondering what button he had pressed.

Annabeth tried to keep a straight face, but memories of their first meeting flashed in her mind, and a large smile spread across her face. She let herself go and joined Lucian's theatrics.

"I would be offended by his offer of simply pooling the cash together!" she exclaimed, trying to stifle her laughter.

"I AM offended!" Lucian exclaimed back, sounding genuinely offended.

"He clearly has no idea who your father is!" Annabeth said in mock exasperation.

The two of them started circling each other. "That's right! He has no idea… who my daddy is!" Lucian said, putting on a random accent.

The others exchanged glances before looking back at Lucian and Annabeth.

"Annabeth, my lovely maiden, would you kindly enlighten this fine gentleman about whom he's in the presence of?" Lucian said, adopting a posh accent.

"Why, certainly, good sir!" she said, giving him a mock bow.

She cleared her throat as a red mist swirled around Lucian. A top hat appeared on his head, along with a monocle and a three-piece suit. He crossed his legs and leaned on a cane while Annabeth began her speech.

"You are standing before Lucian Blackheart, the son of Hades, the Prince of the Underworld! One of Lord Hades' many epithets is 'The Rich One,' earned due to the fact that much of the world's wealth is buried underground in his domain! As a prince of the Underworld, Lucian has a certain claim to those riches, earning him the nickname: The Dark Prince of Luxury! Bow before his presence!" Annabeth finished with jazz hands for emphasis.

By then, the others had already turned away, heading toward McDonald's. Percy, hands in his pockets, shouted back, "Since you wanna brag, you're paying!"

Annabeth stood with her hands on her hips, pouting. "Some people just don't appreciate good showmanship these days..."

Lucian, now back in his normal clothes, looked at her in amusement. "Black Prince of Luxury?"

Annabeth smiled at him. "I literally just came up with it on the spot. You like it?"

"I fucking love it!" he said, throwing an arm over her shoulders as they walked toward the others.

Annabeth laughed, leaning into him as they strolled along.

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