Chapter 116: A nice offer

So first, Percy has some kind of super healing. Since Hel is a goddess with domains connected to the death Percy gained a few. Most important, Death rejects him, what does this mean? Percy will have more trouble with dying, in fact. Most things that would kill a human won't kill him. He is still mortal but it will take a lot more to kill him. Imagine it like the wolverine healing , except with enough damage Percy will die.

Second, Hel travel. Since Hel is underneath all the nine worlds Percy can teleport by using Helheim as a shortcut. However, this will drain Percy from his power and also only works in Norse Territories. Meaning Percy can't teleport to Camp Half-blood.

So now to the Good stuff.

Whenever Percy access this part of Hel's blessing he becomes a bit darker and slightly more evil. (because it's fun)

Percy can open portals to Helheim, Percy also gained a new title. Deathking, meaning he has control over the death, but only the ones who died cowardly or in their sleep.

So that's it for now, maybe I forgot a few powers and add them later.

...

(Third POV)

There was no sound in this place, or atleast nothing except the screams coming from the fields of punishments and the constant murmuring of the lost souls.

An endless amount of souls wandered through the fields, the black grass underneath their feet was trampled and looked as lifeless as the lost souls wandering around.

The dead were like machines, wandering around aimlessly, trying to remember who they were. Sometimes they tried to speak but only their voices sound like chatter, like bats twitter-ing.

They were not threatening or scary , just sad and depressing.

A girl sat with her back against a black poplar trees, pondering about her afterlife.

The african american girl was playing with her cinnamon brown locks, she curled her locks around her fingers, mindlessly, while her golden eyes were locked into the distance.

She was staring at the large black castle in the distance, her father's. Somewhere to her right she could see Elysium, the Isles of the Blest glittered like emeralds in a sparkling blue lake. White sails cut across water and the souls of great heroes based on the beaches in perpetual bliss.

A warm wind blew through Asphodel, but it wasn't a nice breeze It was sticky and greasy, making Asphodel feel like an undead swamp.

The thing that startled her was the fact she heard a sound, footsteps. The sound of footsteps were not uncommon here but this one was different. It had an actual pattern. Something the lost souls of Asphodel did not make.

She pulled her gaze away from her father's castle and immediately noticed that the souls around her had departed and were for once silent. Instead of murmuring and wandering around they had formed a circle around her and a newcomer.

He wore a brown cloak that hide his body, he was slightly bigger than her but that was all she could see.

"Hazel Levesque," the cloaked figure said, sounding surprisingly young, "Still in Asphodel I see."

Hazel winced, she had not expected to speak to someone in years. In fact she had expected to be alone in Asphodel for eternity, yet here stood someone who knew her name.

Hazel opened her mouth to say something but than she realized she had no idea what to say, which wasn't strange considering she hadn't spoken to someone for decades.

After a few minutes she finally managed to say, "Who are you?"

The cloaked figure chuckled, "Who am I? A better question is, who are you?"

Hazel was silent for a second, "You know who I am. Right?"

"Hazel Levesque," the figure said, "The girl who delayed Gaia's rise for decades."

Hazel silently flinched as her suspicions were confirmed, "Who are you."

The cloaked figure ignored her question and said, "Evil is rising again." he said on with dark tone, "And I got a question for you Hazel,"

Hazel stepped back as her heart stalled.

She had hoped her dead would put that monster in Alaska, also known as Gaia, back into her slumber. She had given everything to stop the earthmother, everything and more.

"Who's side are you on?" The cloaked figure asked, "Are you willing to fight again?"

"Fight?" Hazel asked, sounding scared, "What do you mean? WHO ARE YOU!" she finally cried out.

The cloaked figure chuckled, "You've been stuck in the Asphodel for years Hazel More then 5 decades. When you left the world it was in war. Now it's in war again, I need your help."

Hazel blinked, her mind rapidly considering everything the cloaked figure said She had no idea how the war had ended, had Hitler won? Was the cloaked figure implying world war 3 was about to start?

Hazel's mind still tried to wrap around the fact that the world didn't stop spinning after the day she died, people were still living their normal lives. Hazel's death hadn't meant anything in the grant scale. People had probably already forgotten her, or atleast. She thought they did.

The only one who would've remember her was Sammy, but he probably died decades ago.

And her father, but her father never spoke to her after she died and ended up in Asphodel, she saw his palace in the distance and she had tried to reach it but she couldn't leave Asphodel.

"You want my help?" Hazel managed.

"Yes," The mysterious figure said, "You've been gone for a while. I need you back in the land of the living."

"You want to bring me back to live?" Hazel muttered, she felt her knees buckle and had the urge to puke even though she hadn't eaten anything since she died.

"Yes," The cloaked figure said, "I'm here to give you a second chance. I can bring you back."

Hazel didn't doubt it for a second, the way this man controlled the ghost and had managed to sneak into the underworld was enough proof.

"What's the catch," Hazel asked, trying not to sound too desperate. She wanted to get back to the world, escape this place. But she knew it had a price. Everything had. "You want something from me."

The figure sighed, "Yes. I need you to help me first. You will face death and tragedy. But in the end you may create a new life for yourself."

Death and tragedy, Hazel wasn't new to that kind of stuff. Her entire life was a tragedy.

"So are you in?" the figure asked.

Hazel wanted to scream yes, but she restrained herself. "What about my mother?"

The cloaked figure shook his head, "I can not bring her back. Only you."

"Why not?" Hazel spat.

He sighed. "I'm already risking a lot bringing you back. The only reason the Fates haven't intervered yet is the fact you have a destiny to complete. Along with the fact I'm the deathking your father is Pluto it's a close call. I can't risk to much."

Hazel glanced at her father's castle, she knew her father was Pluto. This man just referred to himself as the deathking. Did it meant he was her father in disguise?

"I'm not your father," The cloaked figure said, guessing her train of thought.

"Who are you?"

"If you accept my offer I'll tell you. You can refuse my offer and stay here." The figure said.

Hazel quickly considered her options, stay here in the underworld. Or get another chance at living?

"I accept." She finally said. "Can I now see your face and know your name?"

The cloaked figure chuckled, "That seems fair."

He raised his hand and snapped his finger, the black coat dissolved into white fog, slowly turning transparent and after a few seconds it was no longer there.

Hazel expected an old man with dark old looks, or a guy in a suit.

Instead she saw a young man, no a boy standing in front of her.

He had jet black hair swept to one side. Strangely one ghost white streak in it, which stood out a bit. His eyes were strange, like really strange.

They were multicolored and it was hard to determine which color they resembled, it was almost like they continuously changed. They had a sparkle in them that made Hazel think this boy had good sense of humor, that along with a snarky smile he looked like a trouble maker.

But there was something else too, it was like there was another layer was added to his eyes. A layer he Hazel could only see if she focused on it.

His eyes were on fire, ghost white fire was burning around his eyes and a flint of cruelty was present. Like she was staring into the eyes of the devil, which conflicted with his normal eyes.

He was handsome, definitely.

He wore a orange shirt with a black jacket over it, jeans and reeboks, but the strangest thing was the fact that there was a ghost white fireball floating in both his hands.

He was handsome with his lean but athletic looks but there was also had something else, something dangerous.

"I am Percy Jackson," The boy said and offered his hand, the fireball in his hands disappeared and the other one, in his free hand, turned brighter.

Reluctantly Hazel shook his hands, "Who?" she asked concerned.

"Percy Jackson," He repeated, "I'm a demigod. Just like you."

Hazel blinked, "You are a demigod? There are other demigods?"

Percy nodded, "Yes. There are other demigods. You are a Roman Demigod. I am a Greek Demigod."

Hazel blinked again, along with the news that there were other demigods in the world she also heard that there were Greek Demigods and Roman demigods. What did that even mean?

Percy sighed, "Look Katie will explain it along the way."

"Who's Katie? And where are we going?" Hazel asked.

She heard a cough behind her and turned around, leaning against the black poplar trees stood a girl.

Hazel couldn't really see how she looked like, the color of her skin blended in with the black grass and tree, like a chameleon.

The girl stepped forward and her camouflage dropped, now Hazel could see she had blond hair and soft green eyes. She smiled and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Katie Gardener. Daughter of Demeter."

Hazel frowned, "Wait, you just-the tree...your skin."

"Chlorocamouflage," Katie said, "My mother is Demeter. Goddess of plants. It's one of the few powers I have."

Hesitantly she shook her hand, "Hi I am Hazel levesque."

Katie nodded, "Yes. I've heard it from Percy."

She turned to Percy, then glanced nervously at the ghost surrounding him, "Can we go?"

Percy shrugged, "Yes. As soon as Hazel makes a path to the surface."

Hazel glanced at Percy, then at Katie. "I'm supposed to do what?"

"Make a tunnel to the surface," Percy said casually, "You're a daughter of Pluto. You should be able to do it. Then we can enter the maze."

"What's the Maze?" Hazel asked confused.

"Percy, you're going to fast." Katie said accusingly while Percy just shrugged.

Katie gently took Hazel's hand and guided her through the fields of Asphodel while Percy kept the ghost away.

During the next hour Katie explained Hazel everything, and everything was crazy.

Apparently Percy was some kind of super demigod with a lot of power, with a mission to save the world. Katie was also a demigod and a friend of Percy, currently they were on a mission and they needed Hazel to navigate through the maze. An ancient labyrinth that grows and lives on it own, Percy believed Hazel had the power to navigate it.

But Katie also told Hazel about the two demigod camps, Romans and Greeks.

Something Hazel must never talk about or the gods (who were living in New York) would prevent her from sharing that information.

To summarize al this new knowledge, It was completely crazy.

Finally they had reached the edge of Asphodel, a cave black obsidian wall rose up that seemed to stretch towards the ceiling of the cavern.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Hazel asked.

"Place your hand against the wall," Percy said, "Try to form a tunnel."

When he said that Hazel noticed Percy's appearance had changed, the white streak in his hair had disappeared and the flames in his eyes were gone. Just like the white fireballs in his hands.

Hazel shook her head and placed her hand upon the cold obsidian wall.

Hazel closed her eyes and focused on the wall in front of her, she tried to send her desire to reach the surface through her hands and straight into the wall.

She heard the wall in front of her shift and crumble. She opened her eyes and she gasped.

A big tunnel had formed inside the wall.

"Wow." Haze whispered with awe, "I made a tunnel."

"Nice," Katie complimented, "Ready to get back to the world of the living?"

Hazel slowly nodded, "Yes. Let's do it."

She took a step inside the tunnel she had created and descended into the darkness.

"You were kind of cruel," Katie said when she and Percy were alone.

"I needed to know if she could do it." Percy replied.

"By scaring the shit out of here?" Katie raised her eyebrow.

"The game is changing," Percy whispered, "And I rather see her scared and prepared than seeing her die."

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