𝒯𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒽
"A Recollection of Tragedy"

"Leo! Throw me a bomb!" Shouted Annabeth over the commotion of the battlefield, causing the son of Hephaestus to rummage around his belt and threw a greek fire bomb.

But before she could grab it, she dodged out of the way, barely avoiding a lunging hellhound that was about to rip her to shreds.

She hurriedly rushed to the side, grabbing the bomb that lay motionless on the ground.

The hellhound regained its bearings, opening its jaw and pouncing towards Annabeth, mouth wide and ready to bite her head clean off.

She threw the bomb at the hellhound at dodged out of the way.

The hellhound ate the bomb and swerved to the side.

Not mere seconds later, the beast turned into an inferno of fire that burnt it to a crisp as well as the monsters around it. 

The battlefield was bloody.

The demigod army was stationed near a chokepoint, funneling the monsters into a narrow passageway and battling them there.

The demigod forces were nothing compared to the numbers of the monster army.

But because of their positional advantage, they held their ground surprisingly well.

They were managing to hold the line, but Annabeth didn't know how much more they could take.

Monsters kept pouring in. You cut one down, two more would take its place.

Jason zoomed through the sky, raising his hands in the air and pelting bolt after bolt of lightning onto the incoming monster. Even though his injuries still weren't healed, he was at least able to stand and fight. Or in his case, fly.

Annabeth could feel her heart drop, hearing the distant thump of a cyclops' feet approaching towards her.

She gulped, racking her mind on how to deal with the rampaging monster.

As if on cue, a grizzly bear came barreling in, ramming the Cyclops and pinning it to the ground.

The bear mauled the cyclops to death, scratching the beast till it was nothing but dust.

As the deed was done, the form of the monster slowly shifted and turned back into the form of Frank Zhang, her trusted friend.

Frank held his stomach in pain, feeling the fatigue start to seep in.

"Thanks for the assist!" Annabeth called out through batted breath.

"These monsters have no end." Frank gasped out trying to regain his composure.

Behind the demigod army was a huge wall of stone that had mounted archers that pelted arrow after arrow. 

The volleys would whittle down the monster army from the back, lessening the load that their ground forces had to do.

Along the walls, they had mounted flamethrowers that spewed certain death at the monsters' flying forces.

The only way through the city was through the narrow passageway that they were defending.

Although they had the defensive superiority. Even Annabeth knew that they couldn't hold it for long. They would tire, yet the monsters were uncountable.

Festus roared in the sky, spewing down fiery death on the monster army as their forces seemed to screech and scream in pain.

The demigod forces were formidable. Possibly the strongest it had ever been.

But the outpour of monsters was too much, even for them.

Annabeth winced, feeling a sharp pain in her leg.

She turned to her leg, seeing a small gash that bled.

She gritted her teeth, ripping some cloth from the bottom of her shirt and tying it around the small gash on her leg to stop the bleeding.

She was getting tired.

Everyone was at their wit's end.

Slowly but surely, they were losing ground. Soon, they'd have to retreat to the city for one final stand.

As if to prove her point, Jason crash-landed beside Leo, an arrow embedded in her shoulder.

Leo turned towards them, panic appearing on his face as he rushed forward, pelting balls of fire toward the monsters that even dared to think of attacking the son of Jupiter while he was down.

Jason winced, feeling the pain flare up in his shoulder.

"Annabeth!" Leo called out, earning the daughter of Athena's attention.

She turned to Leo, seeing him covering for the injured Jason who was still lying on the ground, trying to prop himself back up.

She immediately acted, rushing to Jason's aid and sliding beside him.

She examined the arrow, carefully examining the extent of the damage.

She clutched the arrow and yanked it straight out of his shoulder, earning a chorus of screams from Jason.

She hastily grabbed a vial as the sounds of war echoed around her. 

With shaking hands, she opened the vial and poured it over Jason's open wound.

The wound glowed a faint yellow, as the large wound that the arrow caused slowly sealed itself, leaving nothing but a small scar. 

"Looking a bit worse for wear there, but you'll survive." Annabeth tapped his shoulder, helping the injured Jason Grace up to his feet.

Nico jogged up to the rest, his body littered with cuts and bruises.

"Annabeth we must retreat—" he tried to say, right as a monster surged towards him.

He swerved out of the way, readying his sword and decapitating the monster right then and there.

"I'm fucking speaking here!" He gritted his teeth, turning his attention back to Annabeth.

"We need to fall back. We can't hold them much longer," Nico tried to reason. Annabeth gave a small nod of agreement.

"Sound the horn," she said, her voice weak and tired.

"We're retreating to New Olympia. The wall will buy us time for our retreat," she added, earning a chorus of nods from the rest.

A booming horn echoed throughout the valley as the demigod forces retreated back to the safety of their wall. 

They gave up their biggest advantage yet. Their defensive positions.

Once the walls fall, the only thing that separated them was large patches of land, and the broken remains of the demigod forces.

No more funneling the monsters into a small chokepoint.

Just a straight battle for their lives.

As Annabeth retreated back to New Olympia, she turned her sights onto the faint silhouette of the Empire State Building. She hoped the gods were doing far better than they were.

---{+}---

The gods stood silent, standing by one another and donning their battle regalia.

Their postures showed anxiousness and nervousness.

The whole of Mount Olympus was silent.

Everyone—save for the Olympians—were all evacuated from the dwelling of the gods.

All that was left from the lively Mount Olympus was the Olympians, ready to take their stand.

They watched Mount Táfos from their throne room, observing the land in deathly silence.

A large boom echoed throughout the earth that shook even the foundations of Mount Olympus.

The top of Mount Táfos was shattered dust like it was nothing, releasing the evil that was sealed within it for hundreds upon thousands of years.

They watched with batted breath as dark smoke clouds left the mountain and traveled towards Mount Olympus at frightening speeds.

"So..." A sinister voice echoed throughout the throne room.

A black shadowy silhouette with deep crimson eyes walked through the entrance of the throne room, gallivanting through like he had no care in the world.

"This is where you young blood are hiding," his voice held a deep evil that would shake anyone to their core.

"Are you the ones intending to stop me?" He asked, crossing his arms disappointedly.

The Olympians clutched their weapons in anxious anticipation, either because of fear, or force of habit.

Azonath sighed and waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Let's get this over with."

Zeus gripped the master bolt in his hand and hurled powerful lightning towards the monster king.

Azonath tilted his head as the bolt of lightning passed beside him, obliterating the marble ground behind him.

Ares and Athena were the first to follow up, rushing the primordial in a combined effort.

The two gods were like a well-oiled machine, chaining attack after attack towards the king of demons, not letting him up even for one second.

Yet the king of demons was more than prepared for them.

He ducked and weaved with such expertise that even Ares and Athena were impressed.

He coiled his arms as dark miasma gathered at his fingertips, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Athena clutched her spear and went in for a thrust.

Azonath smiled, moving out of the way and grabbing the spear with his hands.

He recoiled his corruption-charged hand and punched Athena straight to the chest, sending her flying to a nearby column.

Dark tendrils wrapped around her, trapping her around the column.

Azonath clicked his tongue. "You need to work on your skills with the spear."

"You got to understand," he shook his head, "that when you've faced the people I have. This starts to become child's play."

"And you!" Azonath smirked, turning around and grabbing Ares by the neck right as the god of War was about to strike.

"You need to control your rage," Azonath grinned, smashing the god of War's head through the marble ground, knocking out the Olympian like it was nothing.

This seemed to snap the rest of the Olympians from their shock-induced stupor.

The rest of the Olympians circled Azonath, intending to jump him all at once.

Azonath laughed.

"You think this is enough to stop me?" He spread out his arms in a mocking gesture.

The twin gods readied their bows and sent volley after volley toward the king of monsters.

Azonath disappeared in a puff of corruption and miasma, causing the Olympians to look around warily.

The demon king appeared behind Apollo and grabbed him by the wrist and flung him across the room at frightening speeds.

The sun god collided with the wall of the throne room, knocking the powerful deity out cold.

Hermes with his blinding speed came rushing towards the demon, intending to blitz him with speed unparalleled.

But Azonath merely stomped his feet as the ground beneath them turned a violent crimson.

The ground of the throne room seemed to move like water, wrapping around Hermes' legs and locking him in place.

The god struggled, trying to break free.

Artemis readied her bow and notched her most powerful arrow, fueled by her own magic.

Azonath grabbed the arrow midflight, giving a sigh of relief as the energy from the arrow was absorbed onto him.

The silver light of the arrow turned a dark red as the energy floated towards him.

Azonath smiled, his dark red eyes locked onto the arrow.

He clutched the projectile and stabbed Hermes in the side, causing him to scream in pain.

"That all you got?" He mocked.

The first demon raised his hands in the air and pounded them onto the ground, causing a large shockwave of dark energy to ripple around the throne room, knocking the lesser-powered Olympians straight out.

Artemis was the first to get to her feet, readying her arrows and firing like her life depended on it.

The demon king coiled his hand and slashed at the air.

A slash of dark energy traveled towards the arrows, slashing the volley like it was paper and hitting Artemis in the shoulder, creating a large bleeding gash that incapacitated her instantly.

Azonath grunted as an inferno of fire collided with his back and caused him to kneel forward from the shock.

Hephaestus channeled his power and sent a torrent of flames toward him, channeling his everything to stop the first demon.

But Azonath took it all like it was nothing.

He slowly stood up, raising his hand in front of the torrent of fire and blocking it with his palm.

Azonath slowly approached Hephaestus, as the god of the forge backed up and channeled his everything on the inferno of flames.

"You're out of your depth kid." Azonath ducked and kicked Hephaestus in the knees, causing an audible crack to echo through the throne room.

Hephaestus screamed, falling to the ground with a thud.

"I've felt far hotter flames than yours."

He turned back to the remaining gods. The final three. The strongest of the Olympians.

Azonath could feel himself smirk, or at least, what would be considered a smirk for his shadowy form.

Azonath could feel himself smirk, goading the remaining gods to try, at least give beating him a fair attempt.

The three mightiest gods circled around the first demon, their steps labored and anxious. One misstep and it was over for them.

The three brothers shared a look and gave a nod.

Zeus struck first and true, sending a powerful bolt of lightning towards the king of demons.

Azonath dodged out of the way, rolling to the ground and recovering back in an instant.

Poseidon followed up, surging forward with his trident and engaging in a straight one one-on-one with the primordial.

The god of the sea thrust with his mighty trident, causing ripples of water to form at the edge of his trident.

He chained slash after slash, thrust after thrust.

But Azonath was more experienced than Poseidon could've anticipated.

The king of monsters weaved through the attacks, seamlessly going from one attack to another and blocking some attacks with his own corrupted magic.

Azonath stepped back as Poseidon raised his trident and slashed downward, cracking the floor below them.

The powerful demon reeled in a kick and sent Poseidon barreling backward.

While this was all happening, Zeus made sure to provide cover fire for the god of the seas, raining bolt after bolt, preventing Azonath from finishing the job.

Hades cloaked himself in shadows, blending into the background and waiting to strike at the most opportune time.

As Azonath raised his hand to absorb a lightning bolt that was thrown at him, shadows slowly crept from the ground and entangled the primordial right on the spot.

The shadows restrained crept up the primordial's body and restrained his arms and legs, locking him in place.

The god of the Underworld appeared in an instant, clutching his bident and slashing at the primordial like an ambush predator.

With strength unparalleled, the first demon broke free from his bonds and blocked the bident with his bare hands.

Hades clutched his bident, trying to overpower the primordial, as the two pushed against the bident. A battle for dominance.

Zeus and Poseidon shared a look, nodding to themselves.

Zeus gathered his hands together and charged up all his power for his strongest bolt of lightning yet.

Poseidon whirled his trident in the air, a whirling glow of blue charging up a powerful jet of water so powerful that it could cut through stone.

The elder gods unleashed their torrent of attacks, with Zeus sending forth a beam of electricity, and Poseidon launching a torrent of high-pressurized water.

Azonath turned to them lazily, extending his hand in the air as an equally powerful boom of corruption and miasma gathered in his arms and met the attacks head-on.

Even with the combined power of the gods, the primordial seemed to be unfazed.

And for a while, it was at a stalemate.

Azonath held Hades' bident on his left, preventing the god from cutting him up right then and there.

And held the most powerful attacks of Poseidon and Zeus on his right, channeling his own torrent of magic to meet theirs head-on.

The primordial-turned-demon swiped his hands in the air, the same beam that the two gods sent towards him turning into a deep shade of red and violet.

The two gods widened their eyes, as their attacks imploded onto them, blasting them into the walls of the throne room.

Azonath turned towards Hades, clutching the god of the Underworld's arms and throwing him violently towards the other two gods.

Hades gritted his teeth, disappearing with the shadows and reappearing above Azonath for a counterattack.

Azonath smirked.

He raised his hands in the air as eldritch tentacles erupted from the ground of the throne room and wrapped around Hades' waist and pounded him back onto the ground violently.

Zeus shook his head, rage filling his eyes.

The god of lightning rushed Azonath with speed that it would make anyone blink twice.

His fists crackled dangerously with electricity. One touch was enough to kill.

Zeus coiled his fist, intending to knock the primordial out with a supercharged punch

Boom

Zeus could only watch in horror as Azonath blocked Zeus' punch with his own hand.

The electricity in his hand crackled violently, trying to lash out towards Azonath.

The primordials' eyes turned a violent red as corruption and miasma gathered at his fingertips.

Zeus could feel his heart drop as the corruption spread from Azonath's arms and onto his electricity-filled ones. Snuffing out his power like it was nothing.

Corruption engulfed his hand as pain so unimaginable flared through his whole left arm.

Azonath twisted the gods' arm, breaking it right then and there, causing Zeus to scream in more pain.

The first demon grabbed Zeus by the chin and slammed him straight onto the ground, causing the god to cough up blood.

Azonath shook his head.

"Such a waste of space," he chided, looking around at the battered and beaten Olympians.

"This world was such an amazing place. It used to be the place where the strongest rule!" He proclaimed, looking around at the previously pristine throne room.

"Now it's populated by pathetic weaklings!" He kicked Zeus in the chest, causing the god to cough up more blood.

Azonath kneeled beside Zeus, grabbing the god by his hair and lifting him up.

"You had your fun, but I'm taking it from here," Azonath smiled.

He extended his hand, the form of his hand shifting and turning into that of a small dagger.

He held the dagger to Zeus' throat, ready to deal the final blow.

Azonath could feel himself stop, seeing the slight glint of gold in the corner of his vision.

He raised his hands in the air, ready to block another pathetic attack from the Olympians.

But he was surprised when the attack sent him flying towards a nearby column, knocking the wind right out of him.

Azonath chuckled through exasperated breaths.

The first demon stood up, a small smirk evident on his face.

"I was wondering when you'd come."

---{+}---

Percy ran a thoughtful hand across the broken stone table that he remembered oh so dearly.

He could feel the memories come back to him. A memory of a time when it was simpler. A time when he was happy.

He felt a heavy sigh escape his lips, taking a small seat on the stone chair that he always took.

Around him were the stone chairs of his friends. His family.

They used to dine here. They would laugh and party, and have the best of times.

His golden eyes stared at the stone chairs.

They were eroded with time.

The backrest of the stone chairs were badly damaged, ground to dust like it was nothing.

His ears piqued, hearing the sounds of clanging metal in the distance.

He shook his head.

There was nothing left for him now.

He died the moment they did.

"We can't hold them off for much longer!" He heard the demigods shout in the distance.

He closed his eyes, trying to shut them out.

This wasn't his responsibility.

He doubted he even had the power to stand up against Azonath.

He wasn't the man that he used to be.

The Ancients may have won the initial battle, but in the end, Azonath played the long game and won the war.

There was nothing left of the Ancients.

There was nothing left to stop the King of Demons

"Help!" He could hear the demigods scream in the distance.

Percy's conviction faltered.

He could feel the walls he built up crumbling.

Could he really let this world die?

The world he worked so hard to protect.

Could he really stand idly by and watch the world crumble to dust?

The world he'd sacrificed so much for.

The tears he shed, the blood that was spent.

Could he really just observe?

He could feel the voice of his friends nag at his mind.

He could hear Levina chide him for being so selfish.

He could hear Ignis making fun of him for his fall from grace.

He could hear Neptis telling him to get up and do what was right.

And Celeste.

He could feel his hand quiver.

"Is this really the Midas I know?" She would probably say.

"The Midas I know would brave the hardships, no matter the cost!" Levina would add.

"He was immovable as a mountain," Neptis would add.

"The strongest of the Ancients, not afraid to save his family," Ignis would reply.

Celeste would then chuckle and put a knowing hand on his cheek.

Percy could feel a labored sigh escape.

"MY Midas would never let these hardships consume him." Celeste would kiss him on the cheek.

He opened his eyes, returning back to the real world.

He stood up, taking in a deep and labored breath.

He slowly removed the ring from his finger. The same ring that was gifted to him by the Ancients for his birthday. One of the last few tokens that he had of them.

One of the last memories of their time together.

Percy clutched the ring in his hand.

It seemed heavier.

He could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He could feel the breath escape his lungs as he slowly clutched the ring with both his hands. Holding it as if it would crumble to dust.

He knew what he had to do.

He steeled his courage and strengthened his resolution.

His eyes turned to the ring in his hand.

And he destroyed it.

The destruction sent a boom that echoed throughout the valley, immediately disintegrating any monster that was in the vicinity.

No matter how big or small the monster, it was turned to dust by the sudden boom of the power of the Ancient.

Energy and power erupted from the ring in droves.

The energy floated in the air aimlessly until it channeled itself back to Percy.

He could feel his previous strength returning.

The power that he had lost.

The power that he gave up, just so he could die quicker.

His form radiated with such power that it would make anyone kneel from the weight of it all.

He could feel a pang of hurt spread across his chest, seeing the broken ring lying on the grassy hill.

His form disappeared in a burst of golden light.

The hill returned to what it once was, peaceful and serene; with a broken ring lying lifeless along the flowerbed.

Word Count
3610
Words

A/N

Chapter is an hour late. That's my bad lmfao. I forgot to schedule the upload, and thus forgot about it.

Anyways, it's already chapter ten. To think this book already reached double digits. The end is right around the corner.

There's only around about three chapters left, and I can't wait to upload those.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed reading~ Hope everyone has a wonderful day, and I'll see you all next week. Hopefully on time lmao.