Chapter 13
The second week since Percy had left the plain had passed, and what was once a difficult journey to survive had now become an endless cycle of battles. Percy had fought so many monsters that he had lost count. Cyclopes, gorgons, harpies – every creature seemed to challenge him, but none of them were truly a threat to him. Not anymore.
He didn't know exactly when it began, but at some point, Percy stopped seeing those fights as challenging. He had grown so accustomed, so adapted, that sometimes he killed a monster without even realizing it. His movements were automatic, efficient. A natural instinct.
"I've changed," he constantly thought, but without giving it much importance. "If I saw myself in the mirror now, I might not even recognize myself."
His eyes, once filled with the innocence and curiosity of a five-year-old child, were different. They had been replaced by a cold, ruthless gaze. It was the look of a warrior, something no child his age should have. But Percy was not an ordinary child. He had been forced to evolve to survive.
During his battles, he noticed that with every new challenge, something inside him changed. Unnecessary emotions were slowly stripped away, replaced by a cold, objective calm. It wasn't the Player's Mind – it was something natural. It was as if his own mind was discarding anything that wasn't useful for survival.
He no longer had time for fears, anxieties, or traumas. All of that was slowly fading. Percy didn't know if he should be afraid of what was happening to him or if he should feel relieved for no longer being trapped by those emotions. Deep down, part of him knew that this was erasing who he truly was, but he also knew that it was keeping him alive.
Percy no longer needed joy, sadness, or anger. What he needed was a clear objective. And he had one: the Blades of Exile. But, more than that, he needed to survive – survive the monsters, survive Cronos, Zeus, the gods… and, above all, survive himself.
And that, he knew, was the hardest part.
He didn't know when this transformation occurred, or how, but the truth was clear: Percy was no longer the same boy who had left his home two weeks ago.
As he walked along a winding trail, already accustomed to the sound of the winds and the rustling of leaves, something unexpected caught his attention. It was a strange sound, almost muffled. A whimper.
Percy stopped instantly. His body automatically went on alert, and he looked around, trying to identify the source of the sound. With slow and cautious steps, he followed the direction from where the whimpers came.
Finally, as he approached a clearing, he found the source of the sounds: a hellhound pup. It wasn't just any pup, but a small creature curled up on itself, with matted black fur and an expression of pain.
The pup was… surprisingly cute, despite its monstrous origin. Percy noticed that the small body was trembling and that there was an ugly gash on its ribs. The wound wasn't bleeding, but the depth of the cut showed that the dog was gravely injured. Percy frowned, hesitating.
"Should I help it?" he wondered, while observing the pup. For a moment, he considered moving on. Hellhounds were monsters, after all. One of them had already tried to kill him before. Why should he help one?
But as he looked at the small animal, his thoughts began to change. The pup was vulnerable, injured… and completely defenseless. The rationality Percy had developed told him to leave it behind, but something else – perhaps the remnant of a humanity he believed was fading – told him otherwise.
"I've lost so much already…" Percy reflected, looking at the small dog. "But maybe… I can help this time."
Decided, he carefully crouched down and picked the pup up in his arms. The small body trembled at the touch, and Percy could feel how weak the dog was. He searched for a place to rest, finally finding a small cave sheltered from the wind. It was the perfect spot to set up camp.
Once he laid the pup on the ground, Percy quickly built a fire. The hellhound watched him, its tired eyes following his movements with a mix of curiosity and distrust. Percy heated some water over the fire and prepared to clean the wound.
"This is going to hurt a bit," Percy murmured, as he grabbed a clean cloth and dipped it in the warm water. As he began cleaning the area around the cut, the pup let out a low whine but didn't resist. It simply accepted the help, though the discomfort was obvious.
Percy worked carefully, washing the cut and bandaging it with the materials he had on hand. The pup remained quiet, although it occasionally looked at Percy as if trying to understand why someone would be caring for it.
After cleaning the wound, Percy heated more water and decided that a bath wouldn't hurt. The small hellhound watched him with a confused expression as Percy gently placed it in an improvised basin. The pup shivered a little at first, distrustful of the water, but soon relaxed, accepting the warmth and comforting sensation.
"He's relaxing…" Percy thought, watching the pup's eyes slowly close, almost as if it was on the verge of sleep.
After drying the pup with a cloth, Percy sat beside the fire, watching it. The hellhound, now clean and treated, seemed much less threatening than before. It slowly approached Percy and, with newfound confidence, curled up in his lap, leaving behind its initial caution.
Percy smiled faintly, a rare expression on his face lately. He pulled a piece of meat from his bag – the meat of a small animal he had hunted earlier – and offered it to the pup. The little dog ate eagerly, devouring every piece, and when it finished, it looked at Percy with a grateful gaze before snuggling even deeper into his lap and falling into a deep sleep.
Percy sighed, looking at the small creature in his arms. He wasn't sure why he helped it, but something inside him felt right. Maybe, amidst all the coldness he had acquired, there was still a spark of compassion.
"I guess I'll keep you," Percy whispered to the pup, as he watched the small body tremble gently in its sleep. "It'll be good to have some company."
And with that, he settled next to the fire, knowing that, for the first time in a long time, he was no longer alone.