Lucas stood up with difficulty. The ground beneath his feet was sticky, as if he were stepping on something alive. The air of Tartarus was heavy, suffocating, charged with the smell of death and destruction.
In front of him, Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Will were already standing, watching the dark horizon.
Something giant was moving in the purple mist, its silhouette distorted by the chaos in the place.
"This can't be happening..." muttered Annabeth.
Lucas swallowed. "What is it?"
Percy pointed at the silhouette. "This place... it shouldn't be like this. We came here once, and even though it was a nightmare, we've never seen anything like it."
"Something is growing here," Nico added in a somber voice. "And I have a very bad feeling about what it is."
Before anyone could reply, a crash echoed through Tartarus, as if the world itself was roaring in pain.
And then they saw it.
In the middle of the mist, a colossal figure appeared before them. Its body seemed to be made of liquid shadows and black flames. Its eyes were like narrow slits in the void.
Lucas felt a chill run down his spine.
He knew that figure.
Because he had read about it.
"It's Erebos," he whispered.
Everyone turned to him.
"Erebos?" repeated Annabeth. "Are you sure?"
Lucas agreed. "Yes... Erebos, the Primordial of Darkness himself. The being who rules Tartarus together with Nyx. In the myths, he was always in the shadow of the gods, forgotten... but that doesn't make sense. He shouldn't have a physical body."
Percy takes a deep breath. "Well, he looks pretty real to me."
Erebos moved an arm and the mist around him took shape.
Thousands of dark creatures emerged from the ground, their eyes glowing with primitive energy. They were no ordinary monsters. They were living shadows, fragments of the darkness of Tartarus itself.
"If he's awakening..." began Nico, his voice laden with tension, "then Nyx wasn't the only one imprisoned."
Lucas looked at Erebos and felt something strange inside him.
A connection.
As if the Primordial himself was waiting for him.
And then Erebos spoke.
"My son... you have finally come home."