Chapter 261: Third and Fourth

[Third Person's PoV] 

Lucian walked down toward the basement of his cabin, where he found Annabeth putting the finishing touches on her latest creation.

She paused and turned as he entered. "Oh, you're here—and right on time, too. I'm almost done. Can you go and get Thalia?"

"Thalia? Why? Why do you need Thalia?" Lucian asked, raising an eyebrow and giving her a puzzled look.

"I've finished preparing the third one, and I'm almost done with the fourth," Annabeth said. "And for that, I'm going to need Thalia."

"Nope," Lucian replied flatly, shaking his head.

Annabeth's grin widened as she leaned forward, chuckling to herself. She set down what she was working on and walked over with her arms outstretched, wrapping them around Lucian's torso.

Looking up at him with a teasing expression and curling one leg up behind her, she asked, "Are you perhaps jealous?"

"No…" Lucian answered in a flat tone, showing no emotion.

"By the gods, you're so adorable," Annabeth said, rubbing her face against his chest. Then she looked up again and added playfully, "Just so we're clear—for the fourth one, you're going to be part of it too. I need all three of you."

"…I see… I'll go get Thalia, then," Lucian replied with a small, fleeting smile.

Annabeth let out a light laugh, her eyes softening as she looked up at him. Her grin curved into a mischievous smile. "I could add Percy too. He might be useful. I could use him."

"Sure," Lucian said nonchalantly.

"Eh?" Annabeth blinked, caught off guard by his easy agreement. Before she could question it, Lucian continued.

"If you want to send him to an early grave, that is." His expression shifted into one of disdain.

Annabeth burst into a fit of chiming giggles. Rising onto her tiptoes, she gave Lucian a quick peck on the lips—then another, and another.

With her hands pressed against his chest, she said, "Wow… I absolutely go crazy when you show how possessive you can be."

Lucian rolled his eyes. "I'm going to get Thalia now."

Annabeth gave him one last kiss, lingering longer than necessary. "Yeah, you go do that."

Nox and Lucerna, shielding their eyes, floated down from Lucian's shoulders toward Annabeth as Lucian sank into his shadows and vanished.

A few minutes later, he returned—this time with Thalia. Lucian stared at her in disbelief.

"What the hell did you do to Nico to make him cry like that? I've never seen someone sobbing out of happiness just because I took you away. What's the opposite of grieving? Because that's what he was doing—celebrating your departure."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Your brother's just a coward."

"He has no fear, though! What did you do to him, Thalia?" Lucian asked, completely baffled. What kind of monster could instill fear in a fearless kid?

"Oh, you two are here—great," Annabeth said, tossing them an empty core—the same type used for Lucerna and Nox.

"Just one?" Lucian asked as Thalia caught it one-handed.

"Yeah. The fourth one. Number three is special—he won't need one," Annabeth replied.

"So what do we fill it with?" Thalia asked, twirling the orb in her hand. "Lightning? My lightning and Lucian's magnetism?"

"Oh no—Mist," Annabeth said. "It's more useful than lightning. More versatile, too. I could make lightning with the right weapon—that's easy. But controlling the Mist? That takes either being a child of the Big Three or a daughter of the goddess of magic. I'm neither. So I figured, why not borrow the skill?"

"That's actually smart," Lucian nodded. "The Mist has helped me in a lot of ways. It's definitely one of my most useful abilities."

"I'm not as good with it as Lucian, but I really should develop it more," Thalia said thoughtfully. "And combining it with my wind manipulation might enhance its potential."

She held the orb between them. Lucian took hold of it, and they both closed their eyes.

A hazy mist began to swirl and envelop the room. But before it could fully take over, it was siphoned into the orb. The core glowed brighter and brighter until it turned a radiant violet.

Once it was full and couldn't absorb any more, Thalia casually tossed it to Annabeth. Her shadow rose and caught it in a dark tendril, gently placing it in her hand.

Annabeth walked over and set it down in the middle of a magic circle. On closer inspection, Lucian noticed that the circle had changed. New shapes and inscriptions now decorated the floor, humming with arcane energy.

Lucian's eyebrows furrowed as he tilted his head to study the inscriptions. While observing, he asked, "And what exactly is this third one you mentioned? And why doesn't the fourth one have a body?"

"That's because the fourth one is going to create its own body," Annabeth replied, stepping off to the side where she couldn't be seen.

"As for the third one…" she grunted as she returned, waddling in with a bucket gripped tightly in both hands. With every step, a sloshing noise echoed from within the container.

She let out a sigh of relief as she set it down inside the magic circle, right beside the mist-filled core.

Lucian leaned over to peek inside, and a radiant golden-bronze shimmer reflected out, making him blink a bit surprised as he can already make out what Annabeth was planning to do. "Is that...?"

"The Celestial Bronze I told you to get me?" Annabeth grinned proudly. "Yup! That's good ol' number three—living. Liquid. Metal~" she sang, emphasizing each 'L' and 'M' with a playful twist of her tongue.

She chuckled before continuing, "I don't know if you've noticed, but each one follows a party system. Nox is my Rogue-Assassin. Lucerna's my Warrior-Healer. Number Three here is going to be my Tank-Scout, and Number Four will be my Mage-Support."

"Alright, that's honestly impressive…" Thalia said, genuinely surprised by the level of thought Annabeth had put into it. If it were up to her, she probably would've just made them all walking weapons.

Lucian looked equally impressed and gave Annabeth a respectful nod. Then his expression turned puzzled. "Wait… are you planning to create both of them at the same time?"

"Yup!" Annabeth replied with a pop of her lips. "If I do one at a time, I'll probably pass out after the fourth. So I figured, I might as well knock myself out in one go and get it over with!"

Lucian stared at her, exasperated, he ran his hand by his face and asked. "Annabeth… how can you be both incredibly smart and unbelievably stupid at the same time?"

"Oh, that's easy," she said with a bright smile, flashing him a peace sign. "I learned that from you!"

"HA!" Thalia burst out laughing.

Lucian stared at Annabeth with a flat, half-lidded expression, blinking at her with an unimpressed look in his eyes.

Annabeth giggled at his look and waved it off. "Sorry, sorry—but come on, you know it's kinda true."

"That's why it's so funny!" Thalia said, laughing harder and slapping Lucian's back repeatedly.

"I hate you both," Lucian muttered under his breath.

Thalia and Annabeth exchanged mischievous grins. "We love you too~" they sang in unison.

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