Prologue

Albert Gomes has always been told by others that life was unpredictable, but nothing could have prepared him for what had happened to him just two weeks ago. His entire life had turned upside down, all the things he thought he knew were unraveled in a single day, out of nowhere, unannounced, even now as he overlooked the light of New York City from the airplane window he could barely, barely believe how everything changed.

Just two weeks ago, Albert was living his same old life in his grandparent's house in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Everything changed after the night when he turned fourteen. After a small birthday party which he got to enjoy with his school colleagues, courtesy of his grandma's naggings about celebrating another year, he was really tired and went to sleep late. He didn't like the idea of taking a cold shower at the time and just jumped into his bed to sleep. However, his peace was short-lived, suddenly his eyes opened and his felt like a terrible headache, unlike anything, he ever felt before, he wondered if he was going to have a stroke and die like the old grumpy neighbor that used to live next door had just a year ago, but he didn't.

At that moment he felt like time had slowed down, he blacked out again. It was only the next morning came, when his grandfather knocked on his door and woke him up, he got scolded for not taking a bath before sleeping, but the old man had promised not to tell his grandma about it and just kept it a secret to save him from a day of scolding, winking playfully before leaving him alone again. Albert almost didn't hear what he had said. His eyes were clouded by confusion, as he numbly overlooked his room and slowly the pieces of the puzzle in his mind started to click into place and understanding drew on his face something appeared in his field of vision, he suddenly blurted out in shock: "What the hell?"

Albert was at a loss for what felt like a small eternity starring at the screen-like thing in front of him. The boy wondered about how things had turned out like this, but above everything, his confusion turned to dread and to wonder. At the time he realized that he had felt different, but he wasn't sure as to what exactly had changed. 

"Demigod?" The boy asked quietly out loud, wondering if he had gone mad at thirteen. However, the more he felt like this situation was familiar. "This…this is like the dream, but why?" The more he thought about it the more his heart started to race, his breathing turned frantic, he was panicking as he finally faced the truth, "Was that person… me? Did I die and reincarnate? I don't remember. No! I must still be dreaming!"

The boy heard the voice of his grandfather yelling at someone downstairs and at that moment it woke him up from his stupor. He was still confused, sure, but this was all a dream he thought to himself. Everything would be alright again. Without skipping a bit, Albert quickly and anxiously made his way to the kitchen table, where his grandparents always waited for him to eat breakfast together. 

"What do you mean taking him to the United States?! Call, that bastard right now I need to speak to him myself! Tell him to call his father and explain why he is doing this without a warning at least!" His grandfather aggressively yelled, making Albert stop in his tracks.

Leo, well, his name was Leonardo, his grandfather was really mad. Albert noticed how his grandmother, Lilian, wasn't much better judging by the stern look in her eyes. Once the boy finally looked at the source of their displeasure, his eyes widened in surprise. 

"Uncle Joseph?" He asked in disbelief, he turned to a red-as-a-tomato old man and asked, "Grampa, why are you yelling at Uncle Jason?"

"Albert!" The familiar man who looked ambiguous between his twenties and thirties, exclaimed awkwardly. "I-I.. huh, your father called me last night. He said to come and take you to him." 

Before Albert could even process what the man had said, his grandmother suddenly said with a much somber tone, "Leo, dear. Joseph isn't lying. Gabriel called last night… I wanted you to talk to him, but it was late and you were already sleeping. He said something about taking Albert to a special school, a Boarding School for kids with his needs."

"Father called? Wait, what do you mean by Boarding School?!" Albert exclaimed in surprise, he didn't know how to feel, this was all too sudden. The dream was becoming so much weirder, why would his father take him to America, he had never taken him there before despite the many times he begged him to take him to Disney when he was younger!

"Boarding School?" Leo echoed in surprise, there was something strange in his tone. It didn't go unnoticed how he shared a look of understanding with his wife. 

His grandmother looked apologetic and guilty, before caressing her husband's arm and shooting Jason an apologetic nod, she turned to Albert, looked at him under the oppressive silence in the room, and said, "I am gonna take Grandpa for a walk to catch some fresh air, child. Stay here, we will be back soon."

Albert felt like something was wrong, but he just quietly nodded and waited for them to leave. Once the old couple disappeared from his view he felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing in it in reassurance.

"Everything will be ok, you will be fine there," Jason mumbled, tiredly.

It was only after turning his attention back to his uncle that he noticed things he hadn't before. He had some bandages on his arms, he looked somewhat exhausted. Albert felt like his head was starting to hurt and something weird happened, making him fall on his butt and look at the man in shock. It was as if an illusion had been broken.

On Joseph's head now stood a pair of horns, horns, like those of a goat his lower body was just as goaty too, hooves and everything! There were now more scars on his arms, contracting to his brown skin, some of them looked old, and others looked like they had been made just a moment ago. Suddenly, the weird screen he had seen before in his room appeared again, along with a mechanical voice echoing into his mind.

[Skill [Eyes of Truth (Level 01)] Acquired!]

He felt the word leaving his lips before he could do anything about it, "Satyr?"

Joseph looked worried as he watched the boy fall on the floor, but the moment he moved to help the boy up, he was caught off guard after hearing that word. The familiar kind man turned serious, but he unusually gently asked, "How do you know that word? Maybe…you can already see through the Mist?! The reports never mentioned you seeing through the Mist."

"The Mist?" Albert asked in confusion, but it was short-lived. He recalled the weird dream he had and a strange look appeared on his face, he felt helpless. Everything made sense now. He suddenly thought about Joseph's scars. "Did the monsters hurt you? Did they come for me? You're taking me away because they found me? Wait, are Grandpa and Grandma in danger too?"

Joseph looked at the boy and shifted in discomfort. The more the boy spoke the more certain he was that the reports he received about the boy's status were wrong. This wasn't the first time he had seen this demigod child, his mission was to check on him from time to time. An unusual mission, since normally children like Albert are to be taken immediately to the Camp, but for a reason he didn't know, the mortal father said he would take the boy to a safe place, but he wasn't willing to let go of his newborn son. He just informed the Camp that the boy would be sent to Brazil in South America, far away and out of reach from the monsters to be raised by his grandparents and live a normal life.

"How much do you know, Albie?" Joseph gently asked he expected to be bombarded by questions about his appearance or what was happening, but the boy was worried about something else. 

Albert, the young boy, looked worried, but determined for some reason. The boy just answered, with a single word "Enough."

Joseph felt like this child had changed, he looked like he matured too quickly, making him wonder if this was because of an unreported encounter with a monster. The satyr wasn't sure why, but he felt like he could be a bit more honest with the child, "I arrived yesterday night, but before I could come to talk to your family I intercepted an attack. A monster. I got hurt, but thankfully it didn't get to you… I know you must be feeling confused and overwhelmed but-"

"When do we leave, Uncle Joseph?" Albert interrupted him, staring at him with a firm gaze as he clenched his fists. He seemed hesitant for a moment before asking, "Do Gramps and Grandma know the truth? Do they know about me too?"

Once again, Joseph was surprised by the young demigod. He shook his head and said, "They don't, but I suspect your father had been preparing them for a moment like this with the elaborate excuse of the Boarding School." He made a pause, before sighing and adding, "We have a flight to New York in a few hours, you should pack it up, but don't bring too much."

"I understand, sir!" Albert said, before sprinting to his room to pack, but he suddenly stopped and turned back to the satyr in his living room, "Uncle, please, make sure that they are safe while I pack. I will be as quick as possible!"

Joseph sighed as the watched the boy running to the second floor. He couldn't help but pity and admire the child the more he thought about what he had just witnessed. However, the satyr was still intrigued by Albert's first reaction to seeing his true form, he was surprised back then, but for some reason, the boy knew what he was. No, he also knew what his mission was, and also about the monsters. He once again sighed heavily, "Looks like this year at Camp things are gonna get interesting. I should probably report what happened to Chiron today, he would know what to do."

Now, the demigod and satyr duo finally and safely arrived in New York City. Albert knew that they were supposed to immediately head to Long Island where Camp Half-Blood was located. Joseph had explained that although Gabriel, his father, had insisted that they should meet him first, it was just too dangerous as of now. The monsters were supposed to be more active in North America for a reason he didn't care to explain, only saying that he would eventually understand in Camp, going there before Albert had minimal training was a dangerous gamble not only for the kid but also for his mortal father. 

Albert couldn't hide his disappointment, it had been months since he had seen his father because of his work in the United States where he would only travel back to Brazil on special occasions and holidays, but was always against Albert coming here. Now he understood why his father was so against it. 

It had taken Albert hours and hours to come to terms that his life, the life he had been used to live was over. According to what he understood, for some reason, this was his life now and he had this weird game-like system too and he was a demigod of an unknown god or goddess, heading to a Camp where there were others like him. However, what he hadn't told anyone, not even Joseph, was that just the night before he had a weird dream that wasn't really just a dream. He had learned about the future, what he had assumed was the future, from the memories of someone he assumed was a past life of him.

Albert had of course considered asking questions to see if the answers given to him would fit with what he knew, but he chose against it. He felt like he could trust his uncle Joseph, but the truth, he realized, was different. Joseph wasn't his father's college friend who occasionally visited their home in Rio and brought him wooden sculptures of cool animals. Joseph was a who-knows-how-old satyr sent to take care of a demigod child. There was also now the knowledge of the gods being real, he honestly wasn't sure if they could hear what he said, but faced with this risk he made the internal choice to keep the things he knew to himself. 

The morning after arriving in New York, Albert was sitting beside Joseph in a taxi cab heading to some place where they would go and get Jospeh's car. The boy was righteously in awe of everything about New York City, from all the screens of Times Square to the towering skyscrapers. His dad has always worked here as the CEO of a fairly known jewelry brand, in the still-young North American branch of their family business. He had grown up watching this place in movies and heard about it whenever his grandmother was having one of her Frank Sinatra fangirl days too. 

In all honesty, he almost felt guilty for allowing himself to like this trip too much. Albert had to keep reminding himself that this place, this entire country was infested with Greek monsters, gods, and their underlings too, because according to his memories, everything dangerous was roaming this land. People included of course, but that was the same everywhere. 

"What are you thinking about so hard?" He heard Joseph ask.

Albert felt slightly touched by the satyr's worries but remained fairly guarded. It would be weird if he suddenly was all buddy-buddy with someone who lied to him his entire life, even if well-intended. The boy shrugged and turned his attention to the car window before saying, "I am doing my best to understand it, but I am still very confused, uncle- Wait, should I even keep calling you that? I doubt you went to college with my dad anyway."

Joseph shook his head and sighed as if he expected this moment to come. He huffed and said in a more or less calming tone, "I am fine with being your cool uncle, you know?" There was a pregnant pause, filled with uncertainty, "I did not go to college with Gabriel, but... I was there since the first week after you were born, Albie. I was there on some of your first birthdays, stressing over what to gift to you, and I- I am sorry it had to be this way. I am."

Albert didn't know why the satyr was saying these annoying things so suddenly as he felt the warm tears strolling down his cheeks. He couldn't help but complain, as he cleaned his face, "You are so stupid, old man." The boy took a good look at his uncle's amber eyes before they were just light brown, but ever since he started to see through the Mist they became awfully cool, "You owe me a gift for my birthday yesterday, you know?!" He smiled seeing how relieved the satyr looked after hearing what he said, "Thank you, uncle... Thank you, for being there and taking care of me."

Joseph snorted and rolled his eyes in fake annoyance, "Why are you pretending to be all grown up?! Here here, you arrived. Time to introduce you to my precious baby."

As soon as Albert got out of the taxi and followed Joseph into the big warehouse, there were rolls of storage rooms, as soon as they got to the one, Joseph excitedly took out some keys from his pocket. It didn't take long for Albert to understand why he was so excited about it.

Joseph let out a whistle and puffed his chest in pride before looking all smug at the boy and asking, "So, what do you think?"

In front of him was a black car, some sort of vintage model that was most definitely expensive, but... all in all, Albert didn't look too impressed so he made the grave mistake of asking, "Huh… what is it? It's just a car," Making a pause before excitedly adding, "Wait, does it fly or something? Some godly fly car? Does it get invisible like that one from Wonder Woman, or was it a jet, I don't know. She was also Greek, wasn't she?"

There was deathly silence as soon as he finished. Joseph had this weird vacant blank stare for a while until he shot the boy a withering judgmental glare and turned his face away, before getting into his car, muttering something about kids these days not knowing anything about anything, before he loudly said, "Get in, quickly, or this car might actually fly away without you, brat!" He suddenly added in annoyance, he huffed saying "Just so you know, as your favorite uncle I gotta educate you it seems... This, my boy, is an all-original Impala 67 with some really cool accessories I got from the children of Hephaestus because I am just that cool and popular."

"So it is just a car then... a magical car, just like I said," Albert stated as he got into the car smirking as he looked at the horrified look on Joseph's face. He could swear, that although this man turned out to be someone he knew little about, he was still his stupid uncle who regarded himself as too cool and was all too easy for him to tease. "So… what now? When are we leaving?"

Joseph begrudgingly shook his head in resignation, "I- I kinda got some errands to run in the city that I should've done before, but I was stranded to pick you up in Brazil… and we gotta buy you some gear and new clothes, but we should be able to leave the city, we should get there before lunchtime!"

Albert quietly reliquished to his fate in compliance and hummed in agreement. The truth is that although he was kinda scared about bumping into some ugly mythological monster, but he was also terribly anxious about going to Camp. Whether it was because of his own feelings about going to live somewhere so far away from home or about the weird things he simply knew about the place and the people living there he hadn't made up his mind about it yet. 

However, he was sure about one thing, things were about to change forever for him. He just hoped he would survive it, maybe the system thing would help him out on his journey, maybe he would make friends there, maybe he would get to find out who his godly parent actually was… truth be told, he was excited about this part, even if it terrified him too.