Chapter 48

[Third Person's PoV]

"It's pretty empty inside," Thalia commented upon entering.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. It was just made; what do you expect?" Lucian retorted, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know; I just wasn't expecting it to be empty," Thalia said, shrugging her shoulders.

Lucian explained, "The only thing I have in my shadow that could be counted as furniture is that dining table, so this place is going to be empty for a while until I find what I could use." He summoned the dining table and positioned it in the dining room, adding the first piece of furniture to the newly created cabin.

"It's pretty spacious. Are you going to allow other campers to spend the night here?" Luke asked, considering the crowded conditions in the Hermes cabin.

Lucian shrugged as they explored the inside. "I kinda do and I kinda don't. This place could be my little sanctuary or a place for just us, but at the same time, my dad is known as the hospitable one, so I don't think it would be a problem. Plus, there's the fact that I'm the son of Hades, and they might not want to share a space with something related to the Underworld."

Before anyone had a chance to respond, Grover interrupted, "I don't mean to interrupt, but it's time for dinner, and I'm hungry." His stomach growled at the mention of food.

Lucian looked outside through the window. "It is getting pretty dark."

"That's because we spent the entire day building this place," Annabeth explained.

"So what do they even serve in the Dining Pavilion?" Lucian asked, as he had only taken a quick look at the area when Chiron was showing them around.

Grover explained, "The type of food in the Pavilion includes BBQ, grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, and fresh bread that the dryads serve. Oh, and before you eat, you have to offer a tribute to the gods with your food."

"Why do they even want food as tribute? They don't even need to eat?" Luke grumbled.

Grover sighed, "Apparently, the Gods like the smell of burnt food."

When they arrived, they saw campers heading to 12 different tables, each representing the 12 Olympian gods. The campers were not supposed to sit at a table that didn't belong to their godly parents.

Which means usually a child of the big three is supposed to sit by themselves...

When they all had a plate in hand, they paid their tribute, 'Yo Dad, it might not be as good as my food, but it'll do, right?' Lucian thought with a smirk.

"Wait, where are you going to sit if you aren't allowed to sit by the tables since your godly parent doesn't have one?" Annabeth asked with a bit of worry; she didn't want Lucian to sit by himself.

Lucian just smiled at her worry, "Don't worry, I'll just sit next to an awesome aunt of mine."

Luke, Thalia, and Grover looked at Lucian in confusion, while Annabeth had a look of understanding and relief.

"Who is he talking about?" Thalia asked when she saw Annabeth's expression.

Annabeth sighed, "He's talking about Lady Hestia; he has started to call her Aunt."

"Doesn't... that make her my aunt as well?" Thalia asked, "Do you mind if I sit with you, then? I really, really don't want to eat by myself."

Thalia asked with an awkward smile.

"Sure, I don't mind," Hestia's voice sounded close to them, causing Thalia to jump in surprise.

"Holy shit," she couldn't help but cuss.

"No cussing, if you do it again, I won't allow it," Hestia reprimanded her from her seat on the log by the fire.

Luke and Annabeth then started to excuse themselves.

"We'll be on our way then; it's nice to see you again, my lady," Annabeth said, which was followed by Luke.

"It's nice to meet you, but I'm afraid I can't stay long; my food is going to get cold."

Grover, not knowing what to do, just decided to excuse himself as well. "I'll make sure Annabeth gets to know her siblings, Baaah."

"What was that about?" Thalia asked.

"Well, Annabeth is pretty hungry and tired and wants to meet and introduce herself to her cabin members. You know how Luke is with the Gods/Goddess, and Grover is just socially awkward," Lucian explained as he went and sat down next to Hestia.

Meanwhile, Thalia sat next to Lucian, and just as they were about to begin eating, everything went quiet. The once noisy dinner that was filled with talking and laughing came to a halt as nobody said a word.

Lucian and Thalia looked back and saw a corpse heading towards their direction, and it was the Oracle of Delphi.

"Are you serious? I just sat down; give me a break," Lucian sighed.

"A-Are you controlling it?" Thalia nervously asked.

To which he just shook his head, "That is the Oracle of Delphi, and it looks like one of you has a quest," Hestia informed with a sigh of her own.

Everyone was in shock; they couldn't even say a word. It's been years since the last demigod has gotten a quest. Even though the corpse was going towards Thalia and Lucian, everyone unconsciously knew it was walking towards Lucian specifically.

"Sigh, I'm so good-looking that even the dead are walking and making their way towards me," Lucian said, putting his plate aside.

When the corpse stopped in front of him, it opened its mouth, and a prophecy practically spilled out.

"From shadowed lineage, a quest unfurls,

To the City of Magic, where secrets swirl.

A wager claimed, a journey's start,

To train with the mistress of enchantment's art.

Through moonlit alleys and mystic haze,

Ancient secrets weave his magical days.

A pact with shadows, a bet well-earned,

In the City of Magic, where destinies turned."

The corpses stopped talking and simply collapsed, while everyone stared at Lucian in surprise.

Instead of being surprised or anything of that matter, Lucian just started shaking his head and chuckling.

"Hahaha, and here I was wondering when my payment was due."

Both Hestia and Thalia looked at Lucian in confusion; he just smirked, "Didn't you hear, a bet well-earned."

"Well, that seems like a problem for tomorrow me; the me now is hungry," Lucian said, picking up his plate and eating.

The others just continued looking at him in shock; the silence was then interrupted by Chiron, "That's enough staring. Go back to enjoying your food, and someone that has finished their food, go take the Oracle back towards the attic."

"Good gods, a quest!"

"I know, right?"

"Of course, it just had to be a child of the big three."

"I would have thought the daughter of the Sky Father would have gotten the quest first, though."

"Isn't it technically his first day at camp, and he already has a quest? Isn't that kinda outrageous?"

"Do you think it was his father that gave it to him?"

"Didn't you hear the prophecy? Nowhere did it mention having something to do with him."

"You don't know that; prophecies are hard to decipher, remember?"

Multiple whispers soon erupted throughout camp, trying to figure out what the Oracle meant, while Lucian just continued to eat without a care in the world.