Percy Jackson: Son of Hades - Prince of the Underworld

[Third Person's PoV]

"Now hold on a second! I still haven't agreed to this, and I'm certainly not giving Nico permission to do something so dangerous. It's one thing to know about it, but diving headfirst into it is entirely another matter," Bianca interjected, glaring.

"I don't need your permission—" Nico began, but Bianca's sharp glare made him flinch.

"Nico, stay out of this. I'm not talking to you," Bianca said fiercely. "You're still a kid; you don't know any better."

Nico opened his mouth to argue, but Bianca turned away from him, directing her gaze toward Lucian. "And you, you should know better. Nico clearly looks up to you for some reason, so you shouldn't be reckless and put him in danger. He's impressionable, and you're not setting a good example," she reprimanded.

However, her irritation grew as she saw Lucian and the others looking at her with amusement. "Do you think this is a joke?" she asked coldly. "I'm being serious here."

Lucian's smile remained. "I know you are. I never said you weren't. I was just thinking that you're a very good sister, that's all."

Bianca scoffed, but before she could respond, Lucian continued, "Do you seriously think I'm offering this option just to put you both in danger?" He raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. This is to make both of you stronger, to give you a better chance at survival. Yes, it's risky, but it would be riskier to leave you as you are—weak. There are dangers in this world that you know nothing about, perhaps even dangers I'm unaware of. This is a way for us to grow stronger, to empower ourselves. Do you think I'd offer you this path if I didn't care about you two? You have to understand, although I might be the strongest demigod, I'm far from being the strongest being. The reason I'm offering this path is to ensure you both survive," Lucian explained patiently.

Bianca stared at Lucian for a while, and Lucian stared back, letting the silence linger.

Bianca narrowed her eyes before sighing. "What the hell am I supposed to say to that?" she asked, rubbing her forehead.

"Does that mean you're going to let me do it?" Nico asked slowly, hesitantly.

"Yes, and I'm going to be joining you. There's no way I'm letting you go through this alone, especially if someone like Luke has something as dangerous as this. And I don't trust Lucian enough yet to not accompany you," Bianca scoffed, giving Lucian another pointed glare.

"Ouch..." Lucian said, placing a hand over his chest in mock offense.

"We've known each other for less than a week. You seriously can't expect me to trust you with my little brother's life, can you?" Bianca scoffed.

"Touché. Very well then, let's get started—" Lucian began, preparing for the ritual.

"Wait a second," Annabeth interjected, gaining their attention. "Could I perhaps perform the ritual and summon the cards?"

"Why?" Lucian asked, looking at her curiously.

"Well, since I'm an Occult Scholar, this is right up my alley. The ritual and everything—it would help with the acting method," Annabeth explained.

"I can't, sorry. It's not because I don't think you're good or that I don't want to help you with the acting method. If I could, I would. But there are some rituals you can't perform as well as I can. The only reason the ritual works is due to three factors that you don't possess or aren't as strong in as I am: my knowledge of potions and monsters' spoils of war, my legacy and abilities as a seer, and most crucially, my blood."

Annabeth placed a hand on her chin, closed her eyes, and nodded in understanding. "I suppose that's fair. I hadn't considered that. For a ritual to work, everything needs to be in order, or else it will fail," she said pensively before stepping back to let Lucian proceed.

Nico and Bianca watched with interest as Lucian set up the ritual. Even Thalia was intrigued, having never seen the ritual before, as her card was delivered to her without Lucian's knowledge.

Lucian carefully placed the books, then cut his wrist, making Nico and Bianca wince as he filled a bowl with his blood. They watched as the blood rose from the bowl, forming a magical circle. He set the candles in place and lit them.

Once everything was ready, Lucian sat in the middle of the magic circle and began chanting in ancient Greek. Though he didn't need to say the words aloud, thanks to his mother's teachings, he found pleasure in doing so.

Dipping two fingers in the remaining blood, he ran them down his forehead. The blood rose from the bowl and flew to the center of his forehead, where he forcefully opened his third eye.

"Awesome..." Nico muttered.

Lucian's eyes snapped open, and he looked around the room, a mysterious smile on his face.

"Lucian?" Thalia called out warily.

"Hey, love," Lucian winked—then, to everyone's shock, raised his fist and punched himself in the face.

"Love?" Thalia asked, clearly weirded out.

Lucian chuckled, rubbing his chin. "This bastard put a curse on himself to punch himself when he chanted. I expected no less from myself," he said proudly.

"Who are you?" Thalia asked suspiciously.

Annabeth, however, was smiling. "I take it you're Future Lucian?"

"What!?" Everyone exclaimed, turning to Annabeth in disbelief.

"Lucian told me about what happened before when he tried this ritual and how his future self sometimes takes over his body," Annabeth explained.

"Smart as always~" Future Lucian smirked.

"It's common sense," Annabeth said with an eye roll. Before Future Lucian could reply, she quickly added, "Hey, I have a question for you. Why did you make a card of Blasphemy for Luke and Percy? I understand Thalia, but why them?"

"Jumping straight to the question, huh? I would expect nothing less from you," Lucian nodded sagely with a smile.

"Cut the nonsense and answer the question," Annabeth said coldly.

Lucian raised an eyebrow. "Now, come on. Why the coldness? I'm still—"

"Let's get one thing straight. You might be a Lucian, but you're not my Lucian," Annabeth retorted with a disdainful scoff.

Lucian smiled again but didn't reply immediately. "It hurts to hear that, I won't deny... Very well, I'll answer your question to the best of my ability."

A heavy silence followed as Lucian's face grew serious. "I was hella bored."

The others looked at Lucian, their eyes and lips twitching slightly, except for Annabeth, who raised an eyebrow. "And the real answer?"

"What are you—" Lucian began, a faint smile on his face, but Annabeth interrupted him again.

"The Lucian I know never does something as major as this without a significant reason, even if it's disguised as a nonsensical one like 'feeling bored,'" Annabeth retorted.

Lucian's smile grew wry before he shook his head, his face turning cold. "There's smart, and then there's too smart. You're too smart for your own good, Annabeth, and I'm not saying that as a compliment. It's also why I won't tell you. You're still too weak to handle the actions and knowledge of a higher being. If I told you, it would either destroy you or… well, I can't say more, as you'd figure it out too quickly," Lucian said with a sigh.

His expression grew serious once more. "The only thing I can tell you is to grow stronger. If you want answers, advance through the sequences, and when you reach the appropriate level, you'll understand. This is why being too smart isn't always good. Knowing something you're not supposed to at the wrong time is no different from gazing upon a god's true divine form," Lucian explained.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I see. At what sequence would I need to be to know?"

"You would need to be an Angel," Lucian said after some thought.

"An Angel?" Bianca asked, taken aback.

Lucian nodded. "There are classifications for the sequences. Sequences 9 to 8 are considered low sequences. Sequences 7 to 5 are mid-sequences. Sequences 4 to 1 are high sequences, often referred to as Demigods, or as I like to call them, True Demigods. Sequences 4 to 3 can also be referred to as Saints, while sequences 2 to 1 are known as Angels. There's also a term, King of Angels, but you don't need to worry about that just yet."

********************************************

+10 advance Chapters on: patreon.com/Shadow_D_Monarch3