[Third Person's PoV]
A bit earlier…
Lucian, along with the other campers, watched the battle that occurred. They saw Sally Jackson and Percy Jackson both carry Grover to the top of the hill.
They saw Sally run away from Grover but eventually get caught by the Minotaur.
Lucian put a hand on both Thalia and Annabeth a second before they moved.
"What are you doing?" Thalia asked.
"I saw you guys running towards her just now. I'm stopping you two from doing it. Don't interfere."
"Right, that foresight of yours… but she's going to die if we don't do anything and just stand here watching," Thalia said.
"I'm with Thalia on this," Annabeth agreed.
"Just don't interfere," Lucian said with a tone that brooked no questions.
They were confused and watched as the Minotaur squeezed Sally's neck. They watched in horror as she turned into golden sand. That horror turned into confusion.
"Wait, how?" Thalia asked.
"She was on the verge of life and death… someone took her before she could really die," Annabeth immediately inferred.
She immediately connected the dots and turned towards Lucian, "It was your father, wasn't it?"
Lucian just smiled at her and gave her a nod.
"Okay, but why would you allow your father to take her?" Thalia asked curiously.
"Because she would be safer in his hands than anywhere else right now," Lucian replied.
"Okay, but why would she need to be safe in the first place?" Thalia asked curiously as they watched Percy shout in anger and charge towards the Minotaur.
Annabeth had a hand on her chin as she tried to guess, "He's the one you told us about not long ago. He's one of the suspects of who stole the master bolt along with you-know-what."
Lucian just patted her wet hair as they watched Percy fighting the Minotaur.
Luke, who was watching nearby, was leaning against a tree as he said, "He's doing quite well for someone who hasn't had any formal training."
"You can tell as well, right?" Lucian asked with a smirk.
"Seriously?" Clarisse, who was near Luke, asked.
Lucian rolled his eyes as he said, "You're a warrior as well. You should be able to tell at first glance if someone is trained or not. I mean, look at his skinny frame and tell me if he has training."
Just then, the Minotaur threw its head back, causing Percy to hit his head on the ground.
"I suppose you have a point," Clarisse said with a scoff as she watched him fall down. "But shouldn't we go up there and help him?"
"There's no need; he can take care of himself," Lucian said as his eyes glowed red, which always sent a shiver down anyone who had the chance to see it.
Everyone watched how Percy jumped onto the Minotaur's extended arms, swung over to its neck, and ripped off its horn from the side. He let out a scream filled with all his anger and impaled the horn in the Minotaur's forehead.
The Minotaur let out a reluctant moo as it began turning into golden dust.
"He got lucky," Clarisse said, seeing Percy defeating the Minotaur.
"It wasn't luck," both Lucian and Luke said at the same time.
Lucian shadow-stepped and appeared crouched down towards Percy as he was slowly losing consciousness.
Lucian smirked as he let out a playful whistle, moving his wet hair from his face. "Talk about something else, managing to take down a Minotaur without any training. You have skills, kid– ah, he fell unconscious… Talk about anticlimactic– hmm? What's this?"
Lucian muttered as he looked at something slipping out of Percy's pocket and falling to the ground.
It was a card with an image of a future Percy sitting on a throne with a trident, the words: Ocean, at the bottom.
"Son of a bitch. I'm going to literally kill myself if I ever interact with my future self." Lucian muttered with an unamused grunt.
"What's wrong?" Thalia asked as she carried Grover in a princess carry.
Lucian just flipped the card in her direction, causing her to widen her eyes in surprise.
"Well, I'll be damned," Thalia muttered as Lucian put the card in his pocket.
Lucian used his magic to lift Percy and the Minotaur horn from the ground. Both Thalia and Lucian then began walking downhill to where everyone else was.
"Let's take them to Apollo's clinic," Lucian sighed.
Thalia nodded. As they were walking, Lucian stopped and turned towards everyone. "I just want to make something clear, my introduction to the camp was cooler."
Everyone mostly scoffed and rolled their eyes, already used to Lucian's narcissistic tendencies.
"I just wanted to make it clear. I don't want anyone else thinking otherwise."
"Just take them to the clinic to seek medical attention, Lucian," Chiron said.
"Just saying," Lucian said with his arms slightly raised, heading towards the clinic.
---
The next day…
Percy blinked slightly, looking up towards the white marble ceiling in confusion. He grunted in pain as he held his head and tried to sit up from the bed.
"Good morning, princess."
Percy heard a teasing voice. He looked towards the source and saw the boy he had seen last time before losing consciousness.
He saw the boy with black hair and unnatural red eyes sitting on a chair, peeling an apple with a knife, next to his bedside table.
"Where am I? And who are you?"
Lucian saw his lip tremble slightly as he asked, "And my mother…? Was last night real?"
"You sure have a lot of questions, don't you? Well, I can't say I don't understand. Let's answer your questions one by one.
You are in Camp Half-Blood. I am Lucian Blackheart. And you saw what happened to your mother. Yes, last night was real."
Percy leaned his head back on the bed, tears falling down his face as he looked towards the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Lucian reach over and grab a plate. He looked over in confusion as Lucian threw the apple in the air.
He then held the knife and rapidly swung it around the falling apple, landing perfectly in cute slices.
"Here," Lucian said, handing him the plate.
Percy just stared with his mouth slightly agape.
"Are you just going to stare, or are you going to take one…?"
"Ah, no thanks…" He muttered a bit awkwardly.
"I didn't just go through the trouble of peeling you an apple just for you to reject it. Come, take one. You know what they say, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.'"
Percy awkwardly took an apple slice and calmly ate it. "Thanks…"
Lucian stuck a knife into an apple slice and ate one as well. "I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but I know what you're going through."
Percy scoffed. Lucian simply smiled and chuckled hearing him scoff. "You aren't the only one who has lost their mother, you know. I remember when my mother died, I stayed in bed for an entire month without even moving an inch, only getting up to eat…"
Percy just stared at Lucian before looking back up, holding his chest slightly. His voice trembled as he asked, "Does the pain get any lighter?"
Percy looked towards Lucian once more and saw him looking at the place before looking at him with a smile. "No, not even a little bit."
"I think this was the part where you were supposed to say that it gets better…"
"You want me to lie to you?"
"No… Thanks for being honest… So how did you get over it…"
"I didn't. You're not supposed to."
Percy just looked at Lucian with a bit of a surprised look. "But then…"
Lucian scoffed, "When you truly love someone, there wouldn't be a moment that goes by when you don't miss them. The only way to move on is to grow stronger than the constant pain, the pain of them being gone.
Well, I might be weird for this, but I look at that pain as a good thing. It's a constant reminder of her. It shows how much she meant in my life and how much I loved her."
Percy just stared at the ceiling and took a deep breath. "Thank you…"
"Uh huh," Lucian said. "Anyways, I have a question if you don't mind me asking."
Percy just looked at Lucian in confusion.
"Where did you get this?" Lucian asked, pulling out the card.
Percy just looked confused. "Hmm, I actually had that for a while. I found it in my bed a few years ago, actually. Why? Do you know something about it?"
Lucian reached into his pocket and showed him his own, causing Percy's eyes to widen.
Lucian just stared at the back of Percy's card.
"Sequence 9: Adventurer
Sequence 8: Equestrian
Sequence 7: The Mariner
Sequence 6: Crusader
Sequence 5: Admiral
Sequence 4: Earthquaker
Sequence 3: Sea King
Sequence 2: Typhoon Sorcerer
Sequence 1: Leviathan
Sequence 0: Ocean Sovereignty
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