The king of the night sat atop the Primera Gate, watching as the sun continued its descent past the horizon, the dusk slowly becoming night as he felt his senses expanding. The echoes of footfalls, whispers, and movement reaching his physical ears just as whispers of prayers were added to those already just in the back of his mind. They'd only increased as more of the masses began to believe once more in the divine, especially those who pictured his form in their minds, whether in awe or fear.
However, shaking his head of those concerns, his gaze was then attracted up and towards the dark moon.
To most it was practically invisible, a barren rock formed into a sphere of all-consuming darkness in the sky, but not to him. He could see it clearly and though he had not claimed it or attached the celestial body to himself, his power kept it locked in place ever since he defeated Artemis.
And it was because of his grip on it that he felt a foreign pull on it.
It was comparatively small thing, a tiny tendril of power trying to breach past his own and connect to the 'core' of the moon, the lingering traces of power, connections, and Domain left to the floating satellite. Every attempt was unsuccessful so far but with every attempt, his temper grew as he became surer of who and what it was.
Selene had apparently made her choice and allegiance.
Ever since Jason made first contact with the her, the titaness had moved east, in the general direction of the Black Sea going by what his wolves tracked, before she had all but disappeared from their collective senses. At the time they were too preoccupied to think much on it and simply assumed that she'd joined Helios wherever he was hiding. Later finding the teleportation marble given to her tossed in a ditch in Turkey had only cemented their thoughts to forget about the titaness for the time being.
Now the titaness had been brought to his attention again and whenever he tried tracing the power it kept leading him to bodies of water before he lost track of it. That meant either Pontus or Thalassa were personally shielding the titaness. A slight growl rumbled from his chest as he tried again but failed and the attempt to connect to the moon stopped yet again.
However, before he could get too agitated, he felt a shift in the shadows beside him. He glanced to his side just as Hestia stepped out of them, her crimson gaze finding his.
"It's time then," he stated more than asked before sighing as he turned to her, his thoughts on Selene and what to do about her placed aside for now.
"Yes," Hestia answered simply as she took his hand in hers.
Without another word both were swallowed in darkness for all of 3 seconds before emerging again, this time in a—sadly—familiar hospital room. The beeps of the heart monitor and dull hum of the oxygen mask filled the silence as both looked upon the dying godling.
He could feel Hestia's grip tightening on his hand as the sight brought a stinging pain to his chest.
Cloelia looked almost emaciated, her skin was flaky and dry as it clung to her body, her hair having lost any color. The skin on the right shoulder of her body wasn't spared, the skin looking like it was made of spent coal as the light-blue veins trailed along the arm. Both primordial could only look on for nearly a minute before a clearing throat drew their attention.
They glanced back to see Will coming in through the door, his face sober as he stepped around them and approached the child. Without a word he moved, expertly removing all the connections and IVs attached to Cloelia even as Percy noted the tight expression and the faintest simmer of the god's power kept restrained. Will prided himself on his medical knowhow and dedication to care for his patients, immortal or not. To be unable to help the godling leaving his care stung him like nothing else but he knew this was the only shot, and so when done, he stepped aside.
Taking a steading breath Percy gently pulled his hand from Hestia's grip before getting closer to the child and leaning down to pick her up. As his hand got to her side, they became shadow, seamlessly slipping under her form without disturbing her in the slightest. Once his arms were in place they started to return to physical form as he gently lifted her.
'She's so light. It's like she isn't even there,' he thought as he picked her up in a princess carry. With the precious cargo secure he stepped back as Hestia came to his side and placed her hand on his shoulder before he looked to Will. The divine doctor looked back, his gaze somber as he glanced between him and the child in his arms before giving Percy a steady nod.
Returning the gesture, Percy closed his eyes as the shadows came to envelop him, Cloelia, and Hestia. The shadow-travel was a little longer than usual as Percy made sure to make it as smooth as possible before they again appeared, this time in the halls of the Primordial temple. It was quiet save for the flames of the torches illuminating them as the pair walked in the direction of the Primordial Offices.
As they entered the hall of said offices, both paused for a moment as one of the doors opened. The one opening was made of an unknown wood marked by the ashen color, an ethereal green web of sorts being the symbol on it as Phoebe stepped out. The primordial looked a little out of it as she stepped into the torch-light, hand massaging at her temple.
"Phoebe," Hestia greeted as the pair made to pass her and head for Hestia's office.
"Hestia, Perseus," Phoebe returned as she noticed the royal pair before her gaze fell onto Cloelia.
The primordial seemed to pause for a moment before flinching as her eyes briefly flashed green.
"Please excuse me," the primordial said as she walked past them before Percy could ask if she was alright.
Both looked back to watch as she walked off and turned down a different hall before sharing a glance and decided on checking on that later but for now, they needed to focus on the task at hand. They swiftly made their way to Hestia's office door, the redwood opening silently to them as they stepped in as a warm breeze passed over them.
Percy took a deep breath as the door closed behind them, the warmth of Hestia's surrounding presence soothing him. Then the pair continued to walk, taking the few steps down from the entryway and into the fields of tall grass and rolling hills with one sole mountain far beyond that made up her office. In front of them was a large temple modeled after the times of Ancient Greece, with tall marble pillars but no actual walls.
They walked into the temple and approached a large hearth with a marble basin and burning with bright flames of gold. And before the hearth was Athena who turned to face them. Percy's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the changed goddess.
Her rosy skin was radiant with life, her tell-tale blonde hair had gone to a bright, strawberry blonde that fell in soft waves past her shoulders, her once grey eyes now a simmering amber with narrowed pupils holding familiar flames within them. Dressed in a simple, cream gown and a golden rope tied around her slim waist, the goddess looked back at Percy for only a moment before her eyes lowered to the godling in his arms.
He watched the way her shoulders tensed and her gaze narrowed, the flames within her eyes churning as Hestia stepped past him and approached Athena. Placing her hand on Athena's shoulder, she got the goddess' attention.
"We're going to help her, just you wait," came Hestia's soft voice before the primordial turned to face the large hearth.
With a wave of her hand a marble slab appeared before her, floating effortlessly as the primordial stepped aside and looked at them both.
Percy shared a glance with Athena before both stepped up to the slab of marble and got on each side. Percy then started to gently set Cloelia down, his arms dissipating into pure shadow as he slipped them out from under her. With the godling in place both Percy and Athena looked to Hestia as she asked, "Are you two ready?"
Again, Percy glanced at Athena, seeing the way her eyes held a renewed strength and determination as she met his gaze.
"I am."
"Me too," he replied as his left hand reached for Cloelia's right, gently picking up the ashen limb and turning it palm up.
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