● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

HER HANDS WERE STAINED WITH RED. pouring down her fingers and wrist. the knife's hilt was still in her grasp, the blade still impaled through skin.

her mind went numb. only a scream echoed.

the moment she stabbed him, he let out a guttural scream. one that quietened her thoughts. his eyes glowed like lava. the throne room shook. an aura of energy surrounded luke, growing brighter and brighter. if someone hadn't put a hand over her eyes, andromeda wasn't sure she would have pertained her eyesight.

it was silent for a long time. her hands shivered on the hilt of the knife.

for a moment, a victorious sensation filled andromeda. she had done it. she had killed kronos. she saved her people. she avenged her fallen friends. bianca, zoe, beckendorf, ethan. their sacrifices weren't in vain.

for a moment, she felt exhilirated. the war was over, and neither her nor percy were dead. annabeth was okay. nico, evander, jasmine, grover. they were all still alive. there was still things to live for.

for a moment, it all felt right.

until it didn't.

until she looked down, and saw flickering blue eyes stare back at her.

luke.

andromeda pulled off the hand in a hurry, and she saw luke sprawled at the hearth, his blood tainting her skin. on the floor around him was a blackened circle of ash. kronos's scythe had liquefied into molten metal and was trickling into the coals of the hearth, which now glowed.

"no," andromeda looked down at her own hands, shaking her head as she looked into his eyes. "please tell me i didn't. . ."

luke's breath rattled. "it's okay. . .right thing,"

her eyes felt heavy with tears. "i didn't mean to luke. . .i promise i didn't mean to,"

"good . . . blade," he croaked, he gazed at annabeth. "you knew. i almost killed you, but you knew . . ."

"shhh." her voice trembled. "you were a hero at the end, luke. you'll go to elysium."

he shook his head weakly. "think. . .rebirth. try for three times. isles of the blest."

blood still poured from his body, and andromeda let out a sob as she tried to stop it with nothing but her hands. the hands that had stabbed him. "i'm sorry, luke. . .i'm so sorry,"

he held up his charred hand. annabeth touched his fingertips.

"did you . . ." luke coughed and his lips glistened red. "did you love me?"

annabeth wiped her tears away. "you were like a brother to me, luke," she said softly. "that's how i loved you."

he nodded, as if he'd expected it. he winced in pain.

"i -— i can heal you," andromeda insisted, feeling another stream of tears pour down her face.

he shook his head. "tired. . .no magic,"

andromeda shook her head. "you won't die. i can't let you die. i — i can't have killed you,"

"we can get ambrosia," grover suggested. "we can —"

"grover," luke gulped. "you're the bravest satyr i ever knew. but no. there's no healing. . ."

another cough.

andromeda furiously looked around for something. anything that would help. but deep down, she knew he would go. and that she would be the one that reaped his soul.

he pushed off her hand, wiping the blood off her fingers. "you're strong," he told her. "use the strength to let me go. . ."

she couldn't. how could she when she had just gotten him back from kronos's clutches. this was the first time in years she was talking to luke like he was her brother. she felt nine years old again, crying as she cleaned luke's wounds from his quest and begged him to stay alive.

she looked at her bloody hands. how could she let him go? especially this way? after murdering him? it felt cruel. her hands shivered, they felt so cold and icy. droplets of tears fell on them, clearing away the blood in streaks.

luke looked at percy, gripping his sleeve. "ethan. me. all the unclaimed. don't let it. . .don't let it happen again."

his eyes were angry, but pleading too.

"i won't," percy assured. "i promise."

luke nodded, and she saw the life leave his blue eyes.

andromeda sobbed on his body, looking down at the blood pouring from him, the blood on the knife, and the blood on her hands. she looked into the hearth, and the timing could not be more cruel. she saw all the times they had sat surrounding the campfire, the time she had dressed his wounds, the time they had won calture the flag. now she was hunching over his dead body.

dead because she killed him.

she saved olympus, wow.

but she killed him.

"i didn't mean to," she mumbled to herself. "i swear on the river styx. . .i didn't mean to. . ."

but then she remembered how she felt after silena's death. all that rage and anger. it was against luke, not kronos. so she didn't know if she did mean to or not, and that only made her sob harder. she did want to make luke pay, but not with his life. not like this.

the gods came just then, clad in their full war regalia, thundering into the throne room and expecting a battle.

what they found was three children and a satyr standing over the body of a broken half-blood, in the dim warm light of the hearth. blood on one's hands matching that of the victim's.

"percy," poseidon called, awe in his voice. "what. . .what is this?"

she could feel all their eyes on her. the savior had saved them, and now she was here, crouching broken and damaged as her mind picked her apart.

"we need a shroud," percy announced, his voice cracking. "a shroud for the son of hermes."

● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

andromeda didn't know who moved her from there, but now she found herself standing before a burning white-and-green shroud. her eyes unfocused, either from simple numbness, or the excessive amount of tears she had shed.

she had watched as the fates carried luke's body to the shroud. she had watched hermes kiss his son's forehead and bless him, she had watched the fates pull out the cut string of luke's life. and now she was watching his shroud burn. she kept watching as the fates carried out luke's burnt shroud, and she kept watching even after. her eyes were fixated on the spot where she remembered driving the knife into his body. her hands were still red with spilt blood.

"i killed him." she said out loud for the first time, just to see how it would feel to admit it.

and gods did it hurt.

"i stabbed him." she continued, her voice hollow of the plethora of things she was feeling inside.

someone stepped in front of her, she could only vaguely make out a head of raven hair. too many tears had build up a wall that kept her from seeing anything.

the person said something, but the sound seemed to be coming from light years away.

"i murdered him."

she felt someone close her eyes, she the tears spilled out. her eyeballs burned behind the lids, the image of luke's lifeless eyes flickering behind them. the sight of silena's face strewn with poison. the sight of annabeth bloodied and bruised before her.

the exhaustion finally caught up to her. all that combat and magic, being on the constant brink of mental breakdown, all the unhealed wounds, both physical and emotional. her knees buckled in exhaustion.

someone's arms caught her fall, but they had gripped her already wounded shoulder, and their fingertips dug into the wound, making her wince in pain.

"oh gods," they cursed, and andromeda recognized percy's voice through the haze of pain. "andy, i'm sorry."

she could feel her control slip on her body. "it's okay,"

and then her vision tunneled, slowly fading to black.

● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

andromeda's conscience was awake in her dream. sitting on a bench under a starry sky. the moon was full atop her, and a polecat circled her feet. all around her, everything else was doused in darkness. it felt serene, to bathe in solely the light of the full moon.

the dark coaxed away her thoughts. it calmed her mind. her body felt relaxed in the covers of the night. she could feel her magic flood back into her.

the polecat clinbed up into her lap, giving a satisfactory purr. she petted it as it coiled in comfort on her body. and her arms were clean of any blood. no sign of the murderer she had become.

a figure stepped out of the darkness. a woman with blonde hair tumbling over her shoulder is waves. she was wearing an off-shoulder purple sweater with a pair of black jeans and a deep red handbag.

"mom," andromeda recognized.

hecate smiled brilliantly. "hello my daughter, i see you've worn yourself out again." she calmly sat beside andromeda placing her handbag between them.

"you do not look like you just lost a war, mother," andromeda gave her an up-and-down. she didn't realize how risky her statement was, but fortunately, hecate was in a good mood.

"i suppose," she shrugged. "david copperfield shows do manage to uplift me,"

"you just went to a magic show?" andromeda asked.

"so?" hecate raised an eyebrow. "he is one of my favourite offspring."

andromeda pursed her lips, resolving to silence.

"i see gale has taken a liking to you," hecate looked at the polecat. "she was not intent on attending the show, sadly."

andromeda petted gale, her gaze falling on her clean hands again.

and she remembered everything. it seemed to hit her in the face, all the death and doom and despair.

"you had to do it, my girl," hecate consoled. "it was your fate."

andromeda shook her head, her hands shivering as she petted gale. "my fate was to save olympus, not kill my brother."

"sometimes, in the pursuit of choosing to do what is right, we must do what is difficult."

"i didn't choose to kill him, mom," she snapped. "it was. . .it was an impulse."

"but you wanted to," hecate reasoned. "our impulses are only what our thoughts tell us to do. you have awaited the moment you get to avenge your fallen friends, your broken bond. you have always wanted to kill him."

she shook her head. "i hated luke. but i didn't want him dead. especially not with his blood on my hands."

the glow of the moon faded a little.

"what's happening?" andromeda asked.

"you are awaking," hecate said. "and you will leave me soon."

gale streatched on her lap, then jumped onto hecate's, making herself comfortable on the jeans.

"remember this, my daughter. you said it yourself: one life lost is better than many."

"but i didn't want to be the one to take it," she scowled.

"you had a choice between what was easy, and what was right."

the glow of the moon dimmed, and andromeda had to squint to look at hecate.

only her deep purple eyes were visible as she said: "and you chose what was right."

then there was complete darkness. andromeda blinked against it, her eyes straining with effort. the slowly, as she blinked, white florescents flickered between closed eyelids.

she squinted as she opened them fullly, the light already imprintng blind spots onto her eyeballs. she put up a block of mana with a wave of her hand to shield her eyes. and she saw that somebody had washed her hands clean of blood, her shoulder had also been healed. her exhaustion had melted away. she stared at her hands, unable to get the image of herself holding an impaled knife that pierced luke.

she thought about what hecate had said. that she chose right. and andromeda did feel it in her heart. that killing luke was the right thing to have done. it saved the world. but it was hard to accept that. that she had saved the world but failed to save her brother.

she thought of how pained luke's voice sounded when he spoke through his body. how much the fusion of their consciences must've pained him. and how much kronos assuming his true from would hurt him. how his body would've disintegrated into nothing.

and then she understood.

she did save luke. from kronos.

and suddenly every line of both prophecies made sense.

a half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds.

referring to percy, who turned sixteen just today.

and see the world in endless sleep

morpheus's sleep spell, endless until kronos broke it.

the hero's soul cursed blade shall reap.
a single choice shall end his days.
olympus to preserve or raze.

andromeda should've seen it coming. if the prophecy was already talking about one person, why would it mention the same person with another name?

no. the hero in this line referred to luke. the cursed blade being annabeth's knife, cursed because luke broke his promise.

then percy's choice. the choice of the chosen half-blood would end the hero's life.

you are not the hero she remembered rachel saying. percy was the hero, but the hero in these two lines was luke.

even her own prophecy made sense.

a child of the shunned shall initiate the course.

she had set off the chain of events when she dueled ethan in the underworld, which provided him with the dagger.

take a life by will or force.

she had taken luke's life through his will of giving up himself. she didn't want to think what would've happened in the or force scenario.

a gift used as a tool to pierce

this could apply to both ethan stabbing her with her own dagger; a gift from luke. or her stabbing luke using annabeth's knife; also a gift from luke.

save the one who bears the curse

the achilles curse. this could apply to when andromeda took a knife for percy, but also when she saved luke by taking his life and saving him from the fate kronos would bestow on him.

she found the contrast ironic. how she saved one person by taking a knife for them, and the other person by taking their life.

name glorified and honorable,

she would be known as the savior of olympus for generations to come.

but the cost shall be unreasonable.

well, all but one line made sense.

she couldn't find it in herself to care about it right now.

because right now, she had to go and find ot if she even had anything to lose.

● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

she entered the palace of the gods as they sat in their thrones. zeus was making a speech about their valor and bravery and blah blah blah when she entered.

she found percy, annabeth and grover facing the gods.

the sight of them made her smile, reminding her that she had a lot to lose indeed. but she wouldn't ever allow anyone to take them from her.

percy spotted her first, and his eyes gleamed, his face stretching into a grin, as did annabeth and grover's.

"what did i miss?"

"annabeth told hera to politely fuck off," percy informed.

andromeda crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at her blonde friend. "did you?"

annabeth shrugged. "miss majesty needed to know that we actually did save olympus."

"an no one's trying to kill us," percy offered.

andromeda nodded with an amused frown. "first time in a while,"

they cracked up, but grover nudged them because hera was giving them a dirty look. andromeda rolled her eyes off-handedly, and hera's grip tightened on her throne.

stay mad andromeda wanted to say. but she figured she hadn't escaped death to be trampled over by a cow or something.

"as for my brothers," zeus boomed, "we are thankful" -— he cleared his throat like the words were hard to get out —"erm, thankful for the aid of hades."

the lord of the dead nodded, a rightful smug look on his face, he patted his son nico on the shoulders, and nico looked happier than she'd ever seen him. she was tempted to go hug him again.

"and, of course," zeus continued, though he looked like he wa just larning sound out the big words, "we must. . .um . . .thank
poseidon."

"i'm sorry, brother," poseidon said. "what was that?"

that response felt like a very percy thing to say. andromeda smiled at the resemblance.

"we must thank poseidon," zeus growled. "without whom. . .it would've been difficult -—"

"difficult?" poseidon asked innocently, and andromeda struggled to contain her laughter.

"impossible," zeus said. "impossible to defeat typhon."

the gods murmured agreement and pounded their weapons in approval.

"which leaves us," zeus said, "only the matter of thanking our young demigod heroes, who defended olympus so well -— even if there are a few dents in my throne."

he called thalia forward first, and promised her help in filling the hunters' ranks.

artemis smiled. "you have done well, my lieutenant. you have made me proud, and all those hunters who perished in my service will never be forgotten. they will achieve elysium, i am sure."

she glared pointedly at hades.

he shrugged. "probably."

artemis glared at him some more.

"okay," hades grumbled. "i'll streamline their application process."

thalia beamed with pride. "thank you, my lady." she bowed to the gods, despite being supported by crutches, and then limped over to stand by artemis's side.

"tyson, son of poseidon!" zeus called. tyson looked nervous, but he went to stand in the middle of the council, and zeus grunted.

"doesn't miss many meals, does he?" zeus muttered. "tyson, for your bravery in the war, and for leading the cyclopes, you are appointed a general in the armies of olympus. you shall henceforth lead your brethren into war whenever required by the gods. and you shall have a new. . .um. . .what kind of weapon would you like? a sword? an axe?"

"stick!" tyson said, showing his broken club.

"very well," zeus said. "we will grant you a new, er, stick. the best stick that may be found."

"hooray!" tyson cried, and all the cyclopes cheered and pounded him on the back as he rejoined them. andromeda found it impossible to not smile at their excitement.

"grover underwood of the satyrs!" dionysus called.

grover came forward nervously.

"oh, stop chewing your shirt," dionysus chided. "honestly, i'm not going to blast you. for your bravery and sacrifice, blah, blah, blah, and since we have an unfortunate vacancy, the gods have seen fit to name you a member of the council of cloven elders."

grover collapsed on the spot.

"oh, wonderful," dionysus sighed, as several naiads came forward to help. "well, when he wakes up, someone tell him that he will no longer be an outcast, and that all satyrs, naiads, and other spirits of nature will henceforth treat him as a lord of the wild, with all rights, privileges, and honors, blah, blah, blah. now please, drag him off before he wakes up and starts groveling."

the nature spirits carried him away.

athena called, "annabeth chase, my own daughter."

annabeth walked forward and knelt at her mother's feet.

athena smiled. "you, my daughter, have exceeded all expectations. you have used your wits, your strength, and your courage to defend this city, and our seat of power. it has come to our attention that olympus is. . .well, trashed. the titan lord did much damage that will have to be repaired. we could rebuild it by magic, of course, and make it just as it was. but the gods feel that the city could be improved. we will take this as an opportunity. and you, my daughter, will design these improvements."

annabeth looked up, stunned. "my. . .my lady?"

athena smiled wryly. "you are an architect, are you not? you have studied the techniques of daedalus himself. who better to redesign olympus and make it a monument that will last for another eon?"

"you mean. . .i can design whatever i want?"

"as your heart desires," the goddess said. "make us a city for the ages."

"as long as you have plenty of statues of me," apollo added.

"and me," aphrodite agreed.

"hey, and me!" ares said. "big statues with huge wicked swords and —"

"all right!" athena interrupted. "she gets the point. rise, my daughter, official architect of olympus."

annabeth rose in a trance and walked back. "i'll. . .i'll have to start planning. . .drafting paper, and, um, pencils —"

"andromeda evans!" zeus called.

andromeda gulped and walked forward, her hands contracted in tight fists. she bowed before them, steeling herself.

"this city's architecture was more than just blocks of buildings, i'm sure you know." zeus informed.

"millennias of magic and power resided in every crevice," artemis continued.

"and they continue to roam the city," athena nodded. "buried under rubble, disguised in air. their form has changed as the influence of kronos."

"dark magic circles our city," poseidon agreed. "even with kronos gone, his aura was powerful enough to wound our magical domain. this magic is unstable. irregular. evil. it does not belong on olympus. it is born from desparity and hopelessness, loss and struggle."

"and dude," apollo interjected. "you can't have that with nice looking statues, very bad combo. it's like. . .we would have a nice mansion, but there would be bad music all around us."

"we call upon you to restore our city," zeus went on.

her heart nearly dropped. "me?"

"your mother, hecate," athena said. "she worked with the titans, but her loyalty was to you. she has reached out to us telling us to not punish you for her actions. we are trusting you with our home."

andromeda couldn't believe it.

"rid the city of this looming darkness," zeus ordered. "and once it is rebuilt, you will reinstate it's magic."

it felt too surreal to accept. but she found her words.

"um, sure."

she was half convinced she had hallucinated it. but she could tell this was really happening by the expression on her friends' faces.

"you'll do great," percy said with a proud smile.

annabeth caught andromeda's hand. "that means we get to work together! i build, and you magic! how —"

"percy jackson!" poseidon announced, echoing around the chamber.

everything was silent except for the crackle of the hearth fire. everyone's eyes were on percy as he walked into the middle of the throne room. first he bowed to zeus, then knelt at poseidon's feet.

"rise, my son,"

percy heeded.

"a great hero must be rewarded," poseidon said. "is there anyone here who would deny that my son is deserving?"

andromeda would've called it a miracle. the gods never agreed on anything, but not a single one protested.

"the council agrees," zeus said. "percy jackson, you will have one gift from the gods."

percy hesitated. "any gift?"

zeus nodded grimly. "i know what you will ask. the greatest gift of all. yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. the gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero in many centuries, but, perseus iackson — if you wish it — you shall be made a god. immortal. undying. you shall serve as your father's lieutenant for all time."

● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

update schedule?? we don't know her. bear with me guys, only three chapters left.