Percy Jackson - Beyond the Gods

They decided to camp in the cold night, knowing the junkyard would have to wait until dawn.

The silence of the night was broken only by the sound of the wind which, like a constant presence, whispered among the debris of the ruined house where they had decided to set up camp. Shadows lengthened as dusk gave way to complete darkness. No one was willing to venture into that metallic expanse under the faint moonlight. The junkyard, with its mountains of rusted metal, seemed even more menacing at night, as if waiting to swallow anyone who approached.

Even Ikki, who wanted to defy fate, controlled his emotions, wondering deep down if it was the right thing to do. But he was determined to go through with it, he would use everything at his disposal to change the prophecy.

Zoe, Atalanta, and Phoebe, with speed and precision, began to set up camp. From backpacks that seemed the size of school bags, they began to pull out six sleeping bags and foam mattresses; it was common magic among the Hunters. It was part of who they were. Just like their magical bows and quivers, which appeared on their backs when needed and disappeared when no longer useful. Everything seemed to flow naturally for them, and that was nothing short of impressive.

Meanwhile, Ikki and Grover, aware that they needed wood for a fire, went off to look for something that could be burned.

Trees were rare in that region, and the low-lying vegetation wasn't much help, but after a few minutes of searching, they found some old boards, apparently taken from a house that had collapsed long ago. They carried the boards to where the others were. Thalia, who seemed more concerned with the starry sky than anything else, picked up a piece of wood they had placed on the ground and shot a bolt of pure, precise electricity at it. The impact caused the wood to catch fire immediately.

The gesture was so simple and direct that Ikki almost envied the ease with which she did it. For him, with his demigod ability now suppressed, it would be impossible to do anything like that. His powers were blocked, and he knew he couldn't rely on them for anything while he was in that state. But he felt he wouldn't be in this state for long…

Soon, the fire was lit, casting a warm and cozy light over the small makeshift camp. Even amidst the scene of destruction and desolation, the warmth of the flame provided some relief, a brief solace before whatever awaited them the next morning. They settled around the fire, Grover and Zoe's voices intertwining with the crackling sound of the burning wood.

The sky was suddenly filled with a growing brilliance of stars, the constellations appearing one by one with crystal clarity. Zoe, without looking away, murmured, "The stars have appeared."

It was a simple observation, but the way she spoke about it made the moment seem profound, almost reverent. The absence of city lights allowed the sky to be clear, without the artificial interference that obscured the view in urban areas. The vastness of the universe stretched before them, endless, with distant stars that seemed to shine with an intensity that could only be captured in places where human light did not dare interfere.

Atalanta, with her calm and attentive gaze, observed the sky with a soft smile, as if absorbing the stillness of the universe around her. "No matter how many times I see it, it's still amazing."

Zoe, with slight exasperation, replied, "That's nothing. In the old days, there were more stars. Many constellations have disappeared due to the light of human pollution. If people took better care of the world around them, perhaps they could see the stars as they once were."

Thalia, with a touch of sarcasm, retorted, "You speak as if you weren't human."

Zoe turned to her with a look that mixed amusement and a slight challenge. "I am a Hunter. I care about what happens in the wild places of the world. Can the same be said about you?"

Thalia didn't hesitate to answer. "About you," she corrected, with the precision of someone more than accustomed to such discussions.

Zoe arched an eyebrow, apparently appreciating the answer, but didn't give it much importance. "Ah, the human language, it has no logic. I am a hunter, yes. And frankly, you all..."

Thalia interrupted with a mischievous smile: "Not 'thee'. 'You'!"

"But you use 'you' for the beginning of the sentence." Zoe didn't let herself be easily shaken.

"And for the end," Thalia retorted, as if stating the obvious.

Zoe then threw up her hands in a dramatic gesture of frustration. "I hate this language. It changes too often!"

Grover, on the other hand, was pensive, lying on the ground and looking at the stars with a melancholic gaze. He sighed deeply, as if speaking to himself. "If only Pan were here, he could fix things."

Zoe, who always had an answer ready, was quiet for a moment before replying in a sad but understanding tone. "Perhaps he still can. What we have to do now is continue and do what is necessary. For Pan, for nature, for the world."

Grover, his eyes still turned to the sky, murmured, as if finding solace in his own thoughts. "Maybe it was the coffee..."

Phoebe, who was beside them, replied with a resigned smile, "I don't think coffee is the problem."

While they talked, Ikki stared into the fire, watching the flames dance, but his mind was elsewhere. The prophecy haunted his thoughts like a persistent shadow. "One shall be lost in the land without rain." This indicated that someone would die in that junkyard.

The mere idea disgusted him. Fate. Prophecy. He hated those words. Fate had already taken everything from him—his mother, his old life, his peace. He wouldn't accept anything else being ripped from his hands.

But instead of sinking into these dark thoughts as he had done throughout this year, he decided to speak.

"I was thinking about this mission…" When he started to speak, everyone looked in his direction, he was crouching near the fire with his arms crossed while staring at the flames: "This whole mission is a trap…"

"What do you mean, Ikki?" Grover asked, confused.

"Think about it. Artemis is missing. Olympus is on alert. They send a group of demigods to find her and, conveniently, we find out that the so-called General and Luke are behind it, there's a prophecy warning that someone will die in this junkyard. And here we are…"

"If you think about it, one will be lost in the land without rain, remember? Well, we're exactly in the place where one of us will have to die…"

Silence fell over the group. The flames of the campfire crackled softly, casting dancing shadows on the faces of the demigods and hunters.

Zoe frowned, her eyes sharp as if trying to decipher his intentions, she spoke: "Being 'lost' doesn't mean we're going to die. Fate works that way, sometimes prophecies have other meanings…"

"Fate can go to hell," Ikki retorted.

Phoebe looked at Ikki with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. Her look was that of someone who saw a fool speaking nonsense, but at the same time, something in her seemed to want to understand the logic behind what he was saying. As a daughter of Apollo, the god of prophecies, she had an almost innate respect for fate. For her, prophecies were not something to be fought against, but rather a compass, a warning that could guide them and perhaps even save them.

"You don't believe in prophecies?"

"I believe they exist. But believe they are right? Not at all…" Ikki said calmly while keeping his eyes on the bonfire, the flames seemed to reflect on his past. His foolish infatuation and rejection, his dead mother and his inability to bring her back due to her fate being cut short.

"You speak as if fate were your enemy." Phoebe said, narrowing her eyes: "As if a prophecy were a sentence and not guidance…"

Ikki raised his eyes to her, his expression calm.

"And isn't it?"

Phoebe crossed her arms.

"Prophecies exist to warn us, to prepare us for what is to come. They're not an unavoidable curse."

Ikki let out a humorless laugh.

"Oh, of course. Because every prophecy that's ever been given has always helped heroes, right?"

Phoebe opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated. She wanted to retort, but deep down she knew it wasn't that simple.

"My problem with prophecies…" Ikki continued, his voice low, but charged with emotion: "Is that they never come to say that everything will be alright. They speak of death, of sacrifices, of tragedies. They're the script of a play where we always end up bleeding…"

The silence that followed was heavy.

Thalia looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Zoe maintained her impassive expression, but Ikki knew that she also had her suspicions about fate. Grover, on the other hand, seemed divided, as if he understood both sides of the argument.

Phoebe finally sighed and shook her head.

"You can try to fight a prophecy, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to change what's already been written."

Ikki smirked.

"And what if I want to rip out that page and rewrite history?"

Phoebe stared at him for a long moment before murmuring more to herself than to him: "Then you'll end up learning the hard way how fate deals with those who try to defy it..."

Thalia frowned.

"What if they are inescapable?"

"Nothing is inescapable." Ikki said, his voice charged with an emotion difficult to understand: "The prophecy can say whatever it wants. But if it's like I said and someone has to perish in this place, I won't let anyone die."

The fire flickered, casting dancing shadows over his face. Even in the unsteady light of the flames, his appearance was almost supernatural. His black hair, dark as the moonless night, discreetly reflected the glow of the fire, each strand seeming to absorb and at the same time reject the light. His eyes, a blue so deep and vibrant that they made sapphires look dull, sparkled with an icy intensity, as if they contained within them an ocean of repressed feelings.

The structure of his face was perfect, almost unreal. The angles were defined, sculpted as if the gods themselves had taken extra time in creating him. There was an inhuman beauty about him, something that caused a mixture of fascination and discomfort. He was beautiful in a way that defied explanation, as if his very existence were a mistake in the normal patterns of the world.

And for an instant, even though he had made his "presence" natural to be an almost normal boy in terms of appearance through his [Presence Manipulation], his gestures, tone of voice, the emotion in his eyes, everything had broken that limit, a tiny sliver that was enough for his true appearance to come to the surface.

Zoe Nightshade, always so controlled, felt her gaze linger on him longer than it should. There was something about him that challenged her aversion to men. He wasn't just strong—he was perfect. His blue eyes sparkled like icy blades under the glow of the bonfire, and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't ignore the shiver that went up her spine as she saw him speak with such certainty, as if he himself were a decree against fate.

Atalanta also found herself staring, feeling an unexpected warmth in her cheeks. Her heart raced for a reason she refused to admit. It wasn't just his beauty, it wasn't just his sculpted face or flawless body—it was the way he carried himself. Strong, determined, almost cruel in his confidence, and yet, there was something about him that made her want to stay close, as if she were before a king whom she could never defy without getting burned.

Phoebe, who always saw prophecies as a divine and unquestionable guide, felt a strange sensation of vertigo. The son of Zeus spoke as if he could defy even fate, and for some reason, she almost believed him. Her heart skipped uncomfortably as she realized how much his bright eyes seemed to hypnotize her. She forced herself to look away, but her body seemed to react on its own, drawn by a force she didn't understand.

Thalia caught herself looking at him, and it irritated her. From the beginning, she had felt a strange mix of emotions towards Ikki. Deep down, there was envy—not because he was a son of Zeus like her, but because of the way he seemed perfect.

But throughout the mission, that envy was giving way to something even more dangerous.

The firelight danced on his skin, enhancing every feature of his divine face—the piercing blue eyes, the well-defined lips, the outline of his sculpted jawline. His body was a masterpiece, but it was his presence that disarmed her. Even when he spoke about something as dark as the death that could await them in the junkyard, his voice carried an unshakeable certainty, a strength that made Thalia feel… protected.

And that scared her.

She refused to be another silly girl falling for someone's charm, especially a guy like him. But her heart didn't seem to care about her stubbornness. It beat faster every time Ikki spoke, every time he looked in her direction without noticing the storm he caused within her chest. It was unbearable. And, at the same time, addictive.

When he spoke, when his gaze narrowed as if challenging even the gods, something inside her wanted to follow him.

Not out of envy. Not out of pride.

But because, for the first time, Thalia felt like she could completely trust someone.

And that realization left her breathless.

And Grover? The satyr was always the most sensitive among them. He felt it. It wasn't just the firmness in Ikki's words, but something much deeper. An almost divine aura that carried with it an implicit promise: as long as he was there, as long as he fought, nothing would happen to them.

For a moment, just a moment, they believed that everything would be alright, but they all knew that soon things would get serious again. The junkyard was waiting, and with it, the challenge, the danger, and perhaps the prophecy that hung over their heads.

After this brief conversation which went from scenery to something serious, they remained silent for a while, before talking a bit more and settling into their sleeping bags.

The stars shone brightly in the clear sky, without the slightest presence of clouds, but the cold air made everyone huddle in their foam mattresses. Artemis' hunters, with their sharp skills and unwavering resistance, seemed to settle in without haste, closing their eyes quickly after the long journey. Phoebe, Atalanta, and Zoe lay close to each other, the shadows of the surrounding trees lengthening as the wind blew gently, but they were still close to the fire.

Thalia decided to arrange her sleeping bag near them as well, while Grover lay down next to Ikki in a nearby sleeping bag.

Ikki was still there, crouched around the fire, watching the flames with a distant look, as if his thoughts were somewhere far away.

"You can sleep, everyone. I'll keep watch tonight," he said calmly, without taking his eyes off the fire.

Thalia, who was settling into her sleeping bag next to the other hunters, looked at him for a moment, her gaze somewhat surprised. He hadn't slept since the mission began, a spark of concern flickered in her chest, but she didn't say anything.

"Are you going to stay awake the whole time?" Phoebe asked, still adjusting the makeshift pillow with the cover of her backpack.

Ikki nodded, without looking away from the flames. "Yes. I will. It'll be better this way."

Silence hung over the group as the others settled in.

Atalanta, who was almost asleep, murmured a soft "Thank you" before closing her eyes.

The night advanced slowly. The hunters seemed comfortable in their sleeping bags, the soft sound of their breathing mingling with the wind passing through the trees and dry bushes around them. But Ikki, still crouched around the fire, didn't move. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were always alert, scanning the horizon for anything.

Slowly each of them fell asleep.

Thalia, who was already lying in her sleeping bag, couldn't completely disconnect. Something about Ikki made her uneasy, and she couldn't deny it any longer. But, for now, she chose to remain silent, feeling strangely safe, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

With that, the sound of the crackling fire and the soft rustling of the wind in the trees filled the ensuing silence, and finally, everyone managed to fall asleep.

Except for Ikki, he continued to sit there, like a solitary figure by the fire, his eyes fixed on the horizon, ever alert, ready to act at the slightest sign of threat. And despite being surrounded by the vastness of the night, he didn't seem to care. He was there, and that was enough for all of them.

Ikki remained silent, watching the flames of the bonfire twisting and crackling in the darkness of the night.

It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, he was somewhere else, seeking to become a God to bring his mother back to life, before receiving the mission to take Bianca and Nico to his uncle Hades' demigod camp. If it weren't for that, perhaps, it would take even longer on his journey and he wouldn't return to the demigod home so soon - but a part of him was grateful for that.

Despite the strangeness and the changes, it was good to return to what little normalcy still existed in his life. He was there, with no idea what the future might hold. Now, he was on a journey to rescue Artemis, the woman he couldn't forget, but also the woman who had cruelly rejected him more than two years ago, when he gave her his heart without reservation.

And just a few hours ago he was riding a wild boar bigger than an elephant.

Insert another complete life turnaround.

It was almost ironic how fate seemed to play with him. But he couldn't let those feelings dominate him.

But it wasn't just Artemis that occupied his mind. There was also Luke, the man who had caused him more pain than any other. He remembered when Luke disappeared, someone he sought to kill on his journey to bring his mother back to life.

Now, Luke was back. The same Luke who had betrayed everyone who was by his side, joining monsters and demigods to follow a dark path. It was he who caused his mother's death, which made him lose himself in his own quest, in his own pain. The memory of the times he had to face Luke's followers, the monsters he killed and the demigods who joined his cause, brought him a slight relief.

At the same time, that feeling of revenge felt empty. What he really wanted, what he truly sought, couldn't be found in simple victories or in confrontations with the minions of the man he hated most in this world.

A sigh escaped his lips, before he sat down on the ground, tired of crouching.

He took a deep breath, feeling the cold breeze on his face. Outside, the world seemed to be completely silent, as if waiting for something. He didn't know what the future held, but he knew he couldn't go back, he would destroy what the prophecies dictated.

Fate, that son of a bitch.