"She's not just trapped in the Underworld," said the goddess, with a dark look on her face. "Hades has sealed her in Tartarus."
Shock ran through the group like lightning.
Annabeth stepped forward. "Wait. How was Nyx, a primordial being, captured?"
"Because it was necessary," replied a deep voice.
Everyone turned around.
Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, emerged from the shadows. His face was impassive, but his eyes burned with a dangerous intensity.
"Years ago, Nyx tried to restore the power of the primordials by challenging the balance of the Olympian gods. With Zeus' help, I defeated her and imprisoned her in the deepest abyss of Tartarus."
Lucas felt a shiver run down his spine.
He knew this story. In The Blood of Olympus, Nyx and her children tried to stop Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus. But this... was something bigger.
"Then why does the prophecy say I have to find her?" He said.
Hades glared at him.
"Tartarus is changing."
The silence was heavy.
Lucas felt that the prophecy was beginning to make sense. He hadn't been thrown into that world by chance. The prophecy said that he had to embrace the darkness or be swallowed up by it.
But what does that mean?
"How did we get to Tartarus?"
Nico crossed his arms. "The only direct way in... is by throwing yourself into the Pit of Tartarus."
Lucas felt all eyes turn to him.
His destiny was to descend into hell within hell.
And he believed that this was the easy part of the mission.