Percy Jackson: Son of Hades - Prince of the Underworld

[Third Person's PoV] 

With a smirk, Annabeth tapped her chin, pretending to contemplate. "All I really need now is the blood of a virgin maiden…" She paused dramatically before holding her hand out toward Thalia. "Give me your hand, Thalia."

Thalia recoiled, her brows furrowing in a mix of offense and unease. "Excuse me?"

Annabeth burst out laughing, her playful nature shining through as she stuck her tongue out mischievously. "Relax, I'm kidding."

Thalia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I was about to say…" she muttered. "So, what is the final ingredient? Or do you already have everything you need?"

"Oh, no, I wasn't kidding about the blood of a virgin maiden," Annabeth replied with an exaggerated sigh. "I just didn't want to cut my own hand."

"Seriously?" Thalia deadpanned, staring at her friend in disbelief.

Annabeth let out a dramatic sigh, feigning tragedy. "Yes, as I am, unfortunately, still an untouched maiden," she lamented theatrically, raising an eyebrow toward Lucian with a sly grin.

"You need some serious mental evaluation," Lucian replied, giving her a weird look.

"That's not what I meant— You know what, forget it," Thalia said, also looking at Annabeth strangely.

They both heard Annabeth softly click her tongue and mutter, "Coward," under her breath.

"Just get on with the potion," Lucian ordered, his expression straight.

"I'm going, I'm going," Annabeth grumbled as she began tossing items into the cauldron and stirring. While stirring, she flipped through the pages of a book next to her. "Pages from an occultist book," she muttered, ripping them out and dropping them into the cauldron before continuing to stir.

"Blood of an Empousa…" she said as she grabbed a large vial and poured its contents into the cauldron.

Annabeth stirred the concoction with a wooden spoon, her movements precise. Slowly, the liquid turned a sickly green. She set the spoon aside, reached into her pouch, and retrieved a small dagger. Holding her hand above the cauldron, she pressed the blade into her palm, wincing as crimson droplets fell into the mixture. She clenched her fist over the glowing liquid, letting her blood drip into it until it stopped.

Annabeth flicked her hand, sighing regretfully, then grabbed the spoon and continued stirring, holding her injured hand close to her chest.

The liquid shifted from green to a royal purple. Once the potion was finished, Annabeth stepped aside, grabbed a healing potion, and poured it over her wound, watching as it slowly healed.

She secured the finished potion into a vial, preparing to drink it.

"Remember," Lucian said seriously, "don't listen to the whispers. You have to ignore them until they fade. They'll try to corrupt you. Focus on something that makes you human—or, rather, makes you you."

"How bad is it, honestly?" Annabeth asked nervously.

"I clawed at my own face to make it stop," Lucian replied. His tone made it clear he wasn't joking.

"WHY WOULD YOU TELL ME THAT RIGHT BEFORE I DRINK THIS?!" Annabeth exclaimed, staring at the purple potion in her hand apprehensively.

Lucian shrugged. "You asked, I answered."

Thalia looked horrified, her expression frozen. She had known from Lucian that it would be bad but hadn't expected it to be this bad.

Annabeth approached Lucian and kissed him on the lips. He raised an eyebrow, amused. "What was that for?"

"For good luck and to calm myself down," Annabeth sighed. "Looks like I'll need it."

Standing in the middle of the room, she raised her hands in mock cheer. "Here's to a better tomorrow," she said nervously before gulping the potion in one go, her eyes tightly shut.

"…."

"You're not going to trick me! I'm not letting my guard down!" Annabeth shouted, still with her eyes closed.

"Don't taunt them, you dumbass!" Lucian exclaimed.

"Them?" Thalia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm speaking in general," Lucian replied, rolling his eyes.

"AH!"

Thalia and Lucian snapped their heads toward Annabeth, who was clutching her ears. "Why is it so loud?!" she screamed, her voice straining over an unseen cacophony.

To Annabeth, it was as if a million voices resounded at once, making her head throb uncontrollably. "Ahhhhhh! My head is going to explode—I can't concentrate!" she screamed.

"Annabeth, remember—" Thalia began, her voice filled with worry, but Annabeth couldn't hear her. She collapsed to her knees, gripping her hair tightly and clawing at her scalp, chunks of hair coming out. Tears streamed down her face.

"Lucian, do something!" Thalia screeched, but Lucian remained still, his expression unreadable.

Annabeth felt nauseous, swallowing the bile rising in her throat. She bit her lip so hard that blood dripped down her chin. Her bloodshot eyes snapped open, crazed. She forced herself to push through the overwhelming voices, focusing on one thought: 

"It's Lucian," she gritted out. "The thing that makes me who I am… It's—Lucian." She pushed his image to the forefront of her mind. Her teeth creaked under the pressure she applied.

Thalia glanced at Lucian and noticed something unusual. Blood dripped from his arm where his hand rested, his grip too tight. His nonchalant demeanor was a facade.

'I see… It's not that he doesn't want to intervene—it's that he can't,' Thalia realized, sighing as she reached for his hand.

Slowly, the voices in Annabeth's mind began to fade—from a million, to a hundred thousand, to ten thousand, until there were none.

Annabeth exhaled deeply and closed her eyes. A refreshing sensation, like cool mint, washed over her. Her body felt renewed as she transcended from Sequence 7 to Sequence 6.

She lay on the ground, her eyes closed, basking in the relief and power coursing through her. Annabeth had successfully advanced from a Sequence 7: Historian to a Sequence 6: Occult Scholar.

…

Annabeth sat cross-legged on the ground, absently flapping her thighs and muttering awkwardly, "So… that was something else, huh, guys?"

She glanced at Lucian with concern. "Was it that bad for you?"

"Worse," Lucian replied, smiling like he was recalling a fond memory. "I didn't know what I was doing or supposed to do, so it actually lasted longer. I started transforming into a monster. Pretty sure I almost died at one point, but hey, guess I'll never know."

Both Annabeth and Thalia stared at him with a mix of concern and unease.

Lucian turned to Annabeth. "Alright, your turn. Share with the class. What abilities did you gain?"

Annabeth closed her eyes briefly before reopening them with a raised eyebrow. "Now this is interesting… Some of them didn't just get strengthened; it actually evolved." She then began listing her enhanced and new abilities.

…

(Strengthen: Warding → Arcane Warding:

Wards created by the user become more versatile and resilient, capable of defending against multiple forms of attack (physical, magical, and spiritual) and lasting longer under duress.

Knowledge Sharing → Psychic Link: Create a telepathic connection between you and others, allowing for shared thoughts, emotions, and knowledge.)

Equivalent Exchange: Perform Alchemy using the principle of equivalent exchange. The user can transmute materials by understanding their composition and sacrificing something of equal value, allowing for the creation, repair, or destruction of objects. This ability is limited by the user's knowledge of the materials involved and the availability of suitable resources.

Ritual Architect: Mastery over the art of creating complex rituals for a variety of purposes, such as summoning, healing, banishment, or creating magical pacts. These rituals may require specific conditions, materials, or celestial alignments to perform.

Mystic Insight: A deep sensitivity to magical forces, enabling the user to detect hidden wards, trace the use of rituals or alchemy, and identify the properties of enchanted objects or areas.

Astral Projection: Astral Projection: Project your spirit into the astral plane, allowing you to explore the world in an intangible form.

Pact Binding: Create magical contracts that bind individuals/creatures to their words. If either the user or the individual/Creature fail to keep their words, they will face the consequences as stated by the contract. If said contract doesn't have a consequence of breaking it, the effects will be chosen at random. 

…

"…"

"…"

"Annabeth, what the actual fuck?" Thalia and Lucian said simultaneously, staring at her in disbelief.

Annabeth beamed with excitement. "I know, right?! All that pain was so totally worth it!"

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