Chapter Text
When he was little, Nico liked to find similarities between different religions and folklore. To him, it was fascinating how most mythologies and modern religions agreed on there being a Great Flood that almost wiped everything out, or how prevalent Beauty and the Beast type stories were (With one having Eros as its protagonist, it wasn’t as interesting anymore, though).
One of those constants was snakes. Snakes were always gods, precursors, origins… but a concept that enthralled Nico was that of the World Serpent, giant snakes that could encircle and even swallow the world. In a way, Ophion was one such being, what with him having once coiled around the Cosmic Egg, and having ruled over Olympus before being deposed.
“You can change your size, can’t you?” Percy asked, returning Nico to the present, on a yacht with a 80 feet long and 10 feet wide snake looped around it. “You weren’t that big when you advised Orpheus.”
“I am a god, Perseus Jackson,” the snake’s velvety voice responded, giving that hissing laugh again. “Gods are seldom the same size all the time.”
“I always thought your story was allegorical, you know?” Bianca said, trying to hide the awe Nico knew she felt under a mask of indifference. “The world is created and belongs to the beasts, then Kronos defeats you and throws you into the ocean, bringing about the age of man… you know, that kinda stuff.”
“We live in a world with actual gods and monsters, and you find the fact that the giant, talking snake god is real to be too much?” Nico finally asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, me being thrown off Olympus was indeed the dawn of the Golden Age,” the snake said, unbothered. “Every story that persists is allegorical, because it speaks to human nature or history.”
Nico finally noticed they were moving away from land. Sicily was shrinking until it was almost gone from sight at an alarming speed. Ophion was moving the yacht west, judging by the position of the Sun.
“We’re nearing the strait of Gibraltar,” Percy announced suddenly. “It doesn’t feel like we’re moving that fast but… our speed is about… 500 knots.”
“Yes, you’ll be reaching your destination in… 9 hours, give or take,” Ophion told them. “Just enough time for us to have a good talk, don’t you think?”
“What does the Original King of Olympus want with us?” Elia asked from behind them. She still looked pale and weakened, holding the wall to remain uptight, but her eyes seemed brighter, more alive. “We’re already on our way to prevent the Cycle of Death from reaching its ultimate conclusion, it’s not like we need more encouragement.”
The god’s amber eyes softened, in a way. Like any other snake, Ophion had no eyebrows or eyelids to denote changes in mood, but there was something in them that seemed… not human, but able to convey emotion.
“But you need help… my brother’s soul can destroy its host, and trust me, the only way to take the soul from its resting place is to have it attach to a host,” he explained. “Because Phanes doesn’t want to be reborn, it will try to annihilate your psyche, and that’s without the task on the Chamber itself.”
“You’re saying that if we’re to succeed, we need to know what taking on the Soul of Phanes will entail,” Nico guessed.
“Else, we could end up like Orpheus, mad, raving and wishing for death,” Percy finished the thought for him.
“Indeed. I’m glad you understand that much” Ophion said, satisfied. “So, which one of you will put their soul on the line to save my brother’s creation?”
Bianca’s brow furrowed in worry. Nico wasn’t sure how much she actually knew about the ritual to bring Phanes back, but he was certain that, for her and the Order, at least, the consequences didn’t matter. Perks of the world being destroyed soon after.
Percy cleared his throat and raised his hand.
“I should—”
“I’ll do it,” Nico interrupted, stepping forward. “We got in this mess because of a request from my father, and it’s me that’s being pitted against Theo. If anyone should harbor the Soul, it’s me.”
Ophion hissed again. Nico couldn’t help but note he had a very easy laugh.
“Well, that’d be step one to housing the Soul… the determination to do it,” he said. “Lucky for you, Orpheus split it in two, so its effects won’t be as… severe when you have the first half.”
Nico closed his eyes and gave a deep breath. He had to be ready for anything here. It wasn’t just about his life, or even the fate of the world.
It was also a chance to save Theo and Bianca from themselves.
“What will happen once I take it in?”
“I instructed Orpheus to separate the Soul into two aspects… Beginning and Ending,” Ophion explained. “I don’t know which one you’ll take on first, but your soul will basically experience all it represents. For the Soul of the End, your being will know what it’s like to take life, to end life, you’ll carry the weight of every death, every murder, every ending in Creation. The Soul of Beginnings is much the same, you feel the responsibility of new life, new beings and objects as if you had birthed them… you'll love everything that will eventually no longer be.”
“A mortal shouldn’t feel that much, it would destroy them,” Elia said, shaking her head. “The complete soul would break anyone.”
“Orpheus didn’t break at first,” Percy pointed out, pensive. “But I think it’s because… he was already broken, after failing to bring back his wife.”
“Perhaps,” Ophion said noncommittally. “Maybe Orpheus’s own experiences created some resilience in him. When I found him, he had already changed. He had given up on his endeavor to remake the world… and cursed by the gift of Prophecy.”
“Then it really has to be me,” Nico muttered. “Orpheus was trapped in his despair, and both Theo and I are proxies of despair… we’re the only ones able to do this.”
“There’s still the matter of the chamber itself,” Bianca added. “What keeps the Soul locked is no walk in the park.”
They all looked at her with suspicion, but his sister just shrugged and refused to elaborate.
Nico turned towards Ophion.
“How does the chamber work?” he asked him. “How does it protect the Soul?”
Ophion’s unblinking eyes looked straight at him. His bifurcated tongue came out for an instant before retreating.
“I can’t say for sure,” the snake said simply. Nico’s mouth hung open from the anticlimactic answer. “I only asked Orpheus to create locks to the chambers that would deter any Cycler.”
“But every lock has a key,” Bianca murmured, voice distant. “The Soul has to be able to be used, it’s a rule of the world Phanes made himself.”
“Theo told you that?” Percy asked. Bianca just nodded. “Then he probably has an idea of how it works.”
Percy glanced at him, lips in a thin line. Nico knew what that meant.
If Bianca hadn't told already, then as soon as Theo realized they knew about the Chambers, he'd be going for them himself.
With almost eight hours on the clock to reach South America, they all decided to leave Ophion to his boat towing and go to sleep. Recover as much energy from their trip to Hyperborea as possible.
Nico, meanwhile, sat on the kitchen isle, unable to sleep. The sketchbook Rachel had given him and his father’s latest letter were before him, almost mocking him.
It would be stupid to not study the sketchbook more closely. It was now obvious Rachel had seen glimpses of this whole thing and had drawn it for him. If he could understand the ones that had already happened, he would have hints towards the future, too. However, the last time he had opened it, it had felt… wrong, unsettling.
It was unlike any prophecy he had heard or been part of. The most disturbing part of those had been the mummy uttering them, and even when he was a kid, he had found her cool in an edgy way rather than worrying.
No, looking at those drawings felt like he could lose himself in them, like the future in them was set in stone and he’d be better off not looking at them until they came to pass. They felt absolute, inevitable.
It wasn’t pleasant to look at them.
On the other hand, he was sure his father had some words of wisdom to give him, something that could help him now that he had more context on the situation. However, it was his father, giving him a letter again in such a short time. For some reason (a ridiculous, childish reason), he was hesitant to open it. Feeling like a lost child needing his father’s help over and over again was a step backwards for him.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” Percy’s voice startled him, almost making him fall off the chair. The son of Poseidon raised his arms in surrender with a disarming smile. “Sorry, it’s just… I’m full of nervous energy, for some reason.”
“Don’t worry, me too… I tend to not sleep that much unless I’m tired from using my powers,” he said softly. “It’s not a very good habit, I know.”
Percy hummed in acknowledgement and went to sit beside him. Nico dragged his chair a bit to make space for him.
“Still haven’t opened the letter?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you and your dad were okay.”
“We are, but…” Nico struggled to find the right words. “It feels like I shouldn’t need it, like I shouldn’t rely so much on my father.”
“We’re on a mission to stop the end of the world, I think it’s fine to accept any kind of help,” Percy said, raising an eyebrow. “You already said you know he cares.”
“It’s not about him, not really,” he mumbled, embarrassed. “It’s me. I feel like I should be better than this, I shouldn’t depend on anyone.”
Percy stayed quiet for a while, then just sighed and pulled up a chair, sitting beside him.
“Is this about thinking everybody will leave you?” he asked seriously. “Or about Will?”
He frowned.
“What does Will have to do with anything?”
Percy looked apologetic for mentioning him, but he didn’t back down.
“You told me Will said you had stopped improving when he left,” he stated simply. “Now you’re talking about taking steps backwards by relying on Hades… on the Underworld.”
“I don’t—”
“Will may have loved you, but he saw you as a project,” he continued. “Someone to fix, to improve, and that was just wrong.”
“I… I know that,” he murmured. Well, it had taken him some time, but he knew that now. That had to count for something.
“Yeah, but knowing and actually moving past it are different things,” Percy pointed out. “I’m not saying improving yourself is wrong but… you being a child of the Underworld was never something to fix. It’s part of you, it makes you unique.”
Yes, Nico also knew that, but sometimes it was difficult to believe it when the only person willing to stay for so long saw it as a negative.
“Unique isn’t necessarily a good thing,” he said back, though he was smiling slightly. “It’s the reason so few people want to be around me.”
“You’re one of a kind, Nico,” Percy said honestly. “That’s a good thing in my book. Being you, that’s more than enough.”
Nico knew he was blushing, but he didn’t hide away this time. He just smiled gratefully at the son of Poseidon.
Feeling bold, he scooted his chair closer and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Percy’s eyes widened before a huge grin lit up his face.
“Thank you, Percy,” Nico said. “You know, you should follow your own advice.”
The grin fell as he blinked bemusedly.
“What do you mean?”
“About moving past what happened to you, even if you already know it was wrong.”
“Yeah, I try to do that,” Percy said, still confused. Nico rolled his eyes.
“You’re smart, and kind, and important to others,” he listed. “Never let anyone tell you you’re stupid, or cruel, or just a distraction again, even if it’s someone you care for.”
Percy stayed quiet, eyes wide as he processed what Nico had said.
He opened the letter, and let his father’s elegant ink strokes do the talking for the next couple of minutes.
“Zagreus…” Nico muttered. “I mean, I knew about his connection to Phanes, but… how does this help?”
His father, after a short paragraph about being glad he was alive and well (sort of, he had to read between the lines a lot), had written to him about Zagreus and Dionysus, how both of them were believed by the Orphic cult to be incarnations of Phanes, and that one of them would eventually replace Zeus as King of the gods.
“As you can probably guess, this never happened,” his father wrote. “Zagreus became the god of Rebirth, and Dionysus took on wine, harvests and madness. Even Zeus, paranoid as he is, dismisses this as the ravings of a man driven mad by grief.”
“Still, you said it was Zagreus that asked you to look into Ike and, by extension, the Order,” Percy pointed out, yawning. “His connection to Phanes can’t be a coincidence.”
Nico thought back to what his brother told him while he was in the Underworld.
“What happened to Ike happened to Zagreus, too.” He said suddenly. “He used to be a son of Zeus and Gaea, but after he was killed, his soul couldn’t be brought back into his body, for some reason. He was empty until dad and Persephone breathed a new soul into him.”
Percy seemed pensive for a while.
“If Ophion was worried enough about Orpheus to try to intervene, his ideas about Zagreus and Mr. D couldn’t be that crazy,” he said finally. “So, there’s indeed something to the fact that Zagreus, and now Ike, were soulless husks.”
“Zagreus is a god, though, Ike is just a mortal baby,” Nico said. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but… the Order also didn’t care enough to get him back. They never chased us or bothered us… maybe the important thing is just… them existing, not necessarily doing anything with them.”
“Ike being born is important in this plan, just like Zagreus probably was when he was born,” Percy agreed. “But as to how they could stop the soul meant for him, that's still… oh.”
The son of Poseidon stopped talking as he came to the same conclusion Nico had back before he knew Ivy, the Archissa of the Order of Rebirth, was actually Bianca. He nodded.
The soul that was meant to be Ike’s had been barred from drinking from the Lethe to go back to the world of the living. Such a thing could only be done by Hades or one of his children… or in this case, someone that had all the powers of a child of Hades, because she had been his daughter in a previous life.
They both turned to look at Bianca, sleeping peacefully on the couch.
“She’s the reason Ike was born without a soul,” Nico confirmed grimly. “Even if she undoes what she did to that soul, it won’t be able to enter Ike anymore.”
He reached for the sketchbook. Giving a deep breath, he opened it again.
“Rachel’s sketchbook?” Percy asked curiously. He just nodded. “You said you couldn’t make sense of anything in it.”
“Back then I didn’t know about Phanes, or the Order, or their plans, maybe now I will understand more,” he said, flipping the page.
The Cosmic Egg, Half-Blood hill with Percy’s figure appearing on it, the streets of Apolloniates and even the palace back in Thule. It was all out of order, but all the stuff he had been doing had an equivalent drawing in the sketchbook.
“There are… six drawings I don’t recognize,” he told Percy, who was looking over his shoulder. “Maybe we can use them to find out what’s coming.”
The first one, a cave with an ornate door. Rachel had scribbled ‘Chamber’ on the top right corner.
“An obvious one,” Percy noted, but then frowned. “There’s someone in there.”
Nico saw what Percy meant. A shadow that looked eerily human, but not quite, using the darkness of the cave to remain hidden.
Not wanting to dwell on it, he flipped the page. The Alchemic signs making some sort of abstract drawing, with the word ‘Symbols representing the Cycle.’
“It’s… I think it’s Ophion and the Egg,” he said. “And the Olympians’ symbols are all around them, but the rest… it’s alchemy. The ancient science trying to turn elements into gold.”
“Ophion, the Egg, the gods, and the elements, they all have to be changed. The prime matter to the new world,” Percy said, interpreting the drawing so well Nico couldn’t help but stare, astonished. “…Or at least that’s my guess.”
Nico shook his head.
“No, no, I agree, it’s just… you’re brilliant, Percy.”
The son of Poseidon blushed a bit, but didn’t say anything.
The third and fourth drawings didn’t seem to tell them much. It was an underground River with ‘blood’ written above it on one, while the other depicted some ruins with the word ‘Hypocaustum’ underneath.
“See, this is why I hate prophecies,” Percy said, frustrated. “They only become obvious after they already happen.”
“We still better keep an eye out for these places, they might give us an edge over Theo.”
It was the last two drawings that made him bit his lip in worry. The fifth drawing had hands (Theo’s hands? Nico’s? Maybe Phanes’s?) wrapped around the Cosmic Egg, with a strange, almost ethereal white surrounding it made from chalk. Rachel hadn’t written anything near it, so she had been just as clueless as they were.
As for the last drawing he didn’t recognize…
It was definitely Phanes’s face, with his crown and his purple eyes staring into his soul. This one had an actual phrase, however.
“Like a genie, he’s awaiting a wish. He’ll turn lies into truths, and desires into change… it’s only a matter of who asks for it.”
Nico didn’t sleep that well. When he woke up, The Siren was still traveling through the ocean. He decided to make himself useful and make some breakfast.
He wondered what else he could ask Ophion, while he still was around. He had already made it clear he knew very little about the Chambers of the Soul, but he had still been around since the beginning of creation. It felt like a waste not to ask any more questions.
The eggs sizzled as he thought it over. He had a million questions not that long ago, and now, none of them came to mind.
Well, except for one, but he wasn’t sure if the snake could really answer it.
“Sunny side up?” Bianca asked sleepily as she approached.
“Good morning,” he said awkwardly. Percy finding out what she had done to Ike last night made him even more aware of what it all meant. In just a few days, that baby had become someone he cared about, to think his own sister had so callously denied him a life felt… “Hypocritical…”
“What was that?” his sister asked, now more awake.
He couldn’t react with anger. He couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him.
“Last night, Percy figured out that…” he hesitated, not sure how not to sound judgmental. “He discovered why that soul that set us on this quest couldn’t be reborn correctly.”
Bianca’s expression filled with guilt.
“Oh,” she said, staring at the floor. “It’s… more complicated than you think.”
“No, I get it,” he told her, frowning. “It’s just one soul, one life that’s ruined, for a chance at bettering everything. The world will end if you succeed, the infant will not survive long either way.”
Nico had thought about his sister’s thought process the whole night. He had tried to find a way that made it, if not justified, at least understandable.
He had succeeded. He could understand where Bianca was coming from. It just happened to be a point of view he couldn’t share or even accept.
“I do what needs to be done,” she said simply. “I’m not going to lie to you and say that this was a good or moral thing. It was cruel, disgusting, and yes, maybe even hypocritical on my part, considering I also wanted a new chance at life.”
“Last time, you let Theo take the blame,” he stated. “But I know you, Bianca. You aren’t a mindless follower; you won’t do anything if you don’t believe in it.”
Not even joining Artemis had changed that. It was the reason she had died. She refused to heed warnings despite technically being the goddess’s servant.
“I feel awful about it, but it won’t change anything,” she told him. “I wouldn’t change anything, either… Nico, have you ever hated yourself so much to wish you were erased?”
He stared at her, confused. What did that have to do with anything?
“I… are you trying to dance around using the word death?” he said, his mind clinging to the one part he understood. “Because not only am I seventeen, I am a son of Hades. You can stop the self-censoring, Bianca.”
“I’m not doing that.” She sighed. Nico passed her a plate with her breakfast. “As you said, Hades is our dad… was, in my case, dying would not be the end of us. I mean, if you have ever wanted to not exist, to erase yourself.”
“No, I don’t think I have,” he answered. “There have been times where I wished… I could be with you, with mamma, but that meant dying, not erasure.”
Bianca nodded and took a bite of the eggs. She chewed slowly, probably thinking of the best way to explain herself.
“In the Order of Rebirth, everyone wants something out of the new world that will come,” she said seriously. “Theophilus wants a world with no despair, Tia wants a world where monsters can thrive. Tom wants a world where parenthood means something… The only exceptions are Rowan and me.”
“You don’t want anything out of completing the Cycle of Death?” he asked, tilting his head. “Why go through all that trouble, then?”
“Because completing the Cycle means I’m no longer around. The prime materials that make up my soul, my consciousness, it will all finally become something new, unburdened by the past.”
She sounded so wistful, so desperate. Nico’s chest ached seeing his sister like that.
“I’m tired, Nico. I have these feelings, these memories in me, that feel foreign,” she continued. “I’m not Bianca, but I’m not Ivy either. I’m just a mix of memories, of two lives, and neither of them feel truly mine.”
“And your solution is to ruin it for everyone else?” He wasn’t angry, not anymore. He was just resigned. Resigned to the fact his sister refused to be saved. “You weren’t even 13. You act like you lived a full life as Bianca.”
“Around two thirds of my memories are hers. They overwhelm me, make me feel like I’m an intruder in my own body,” she explained. “But… there’s meaning to be found in this suffering.”
“What does that even mean?” Nico asked, frustrated.
“If I succeed, I’ll be erased, not only that, but Theo will achieve his goal. So will Tia, and Tom, and Serafina, and so many others that I have grown to love,” she said. “So, it is selfish, extremely so, but it also will help many people I care about.”
“You really haven’t changed.”
They both turned to see Percy, rubbing his eyes as he sat on the kitchen isle next to Bianca.
“You knew me for all of a week,” she pointed out.
“And at the end of that week, you were okay with dying if it meant you could make it up to Nico for joining the Hunt, even if it put the quest in danger,” he shot back. He gave Nico a tired smile. “Pass me some milk and cereal, please?”
The son of Hades nodded and opened the cupboard for a bowl.
“I’m also making pancakes, if you want some,” he offered. “I’m sure Elia bought blue food dye back in Greenland.”
It had been Percy’s request, and they really hadn’t used the thing much, since The Siren didn’t come with the equipment to bake, and Nico refused to dye the rice or pasta they ate.
“How domestic,” Bianca snarked, but Nico just ignored her.
“You’re just mad you’re single,” Percy said back, making Nico stop in his tracks for a few seconds before smiling to himself.
So, he liked Percy and Percy liked him back. Stop the presses. He refused to be ashamed anymore. He was tired of it. All his life had been marked by shame. Shame over who his father was, his feelings for boys and men, and even for not being acceptable to a son of Apollo.
“I wonder if our sleep schedule will be affected by moving this fast to another time zone,” Elia said in lieu of a greeting as she sat next to Percy. “Oh, and pancakes for me too, please.”
“Coming up,” Nico called, making Percy snicker as he proceeded to explain the concept of jet lag to Elia. Nico flashed him a smile.
If there was no need for shame, then… what was stopping him from doing something about it?
After breakfast, they all went to the upper deck. Nico could see Ophion’s head on the water, pulling the boat forward at an impressive speed. A speed that should have peeled his skin off, made his ears pop, or something, but he only felt a gentle breeze around him.
“We’re right in the middle of the Caribbean,” Percy informed them. “We should be reaching land in about 30 minutes.”
Lycoris bleated and turned around, returning below deck, probably to chew on some paper to pass the time. As a living shadow, she didn’t really need to eat. It was just a learned habit, but Nico thought it made her look cuter, so he never dissuaded her.
“It’s always fascinating to find demigods with such abilities,” Ophion said, his giant snake head surfacing from the water once more. “Orpheus was interesting too. It’s really a shame we had to meet in such a way. I would have loved to hear him sing a different kind of song.”
“I… I actually wanted to ask you about that,” Nico said, hating his timid tone. “How did Orpheus… find out about the Cycle? And what did he think of the world as he died?”
If Orpheus, so deep in despair and misanthropy after Eurydice died, could change his mind, maybe Theo could be convinced, too.
Ophion seemed to guess his thoughts, because his eyes filled with pity.
“Orpheus found out in the Underworld,” he told him. “In there, he found a Fragment of the Cosmic Egg, and he kept it as a memento of what he lost. As he asked the Fragment for answers, it plagued him with nightmares. Information on Phanes, on how to change the world, how to bring him back… and he took that chance.”
“A world where lovers are never torn apart,” Percy said softly. “But in the end, he… he got tired of trying.”
Ophion nodded.
“Indeed.” His eyes turned to Percy, his tone grim. “It’s not the price being too high that stopped him, or at least, I don’t think so. He still hated the world that separated him from his love, even at the end. He just realized that he wouldn’t enjoy this better world if he succeeded.”
Nico bit his lip. So, in the end, Orpheus hadn’t seen the error of his ways, he hadn’t reformed. He had just realized the full consequences of his actions. It wouldn’t be the same for Theo. He knew fully well what creating a new world meant, and he had accepted it long ago.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said vacantly. Percy placed his arm around his shoulders in support. He shot him a weak smile. “I thought… never mind what I thought.”
“It’s nice to think about a better world, a world where you can change someone by just finding that one convincing argument… but we don’t live in that world,” Bianca told him. “A better world like that is possible… it just requires destroying the old one.”
“So, that's where the Order's motto comes from,” Elia said, crossing her arms. “Well, it's something we refuse to let happen,”
“I could be wrong about Orpheus,” Ophion spoke up, probably trying to be helpful. “But that’ll require you asking him.”
Nico shrugged and gestured around.
“I would if I could, but we’re cursed,” he explained. “We can’t contact the Underworld, or be contacted by them.”
Percy’s eyes widened as he realized something.
“We aren't supposed to be able to contact Ophion, either.” He squeezed Nico, shaking him lightly. “But he showed up.”
Nico blinked.
Yes, Eurynome had said before that Ophion couldn’t reach them because he had contacted Percy before the curse had gone into effect. How was he…?
“When we fought Rowan yesterday, he undid the isolation curse!” he exclaimed suddenly. “I thought it was just the part of the curse that kept us from getting close to him, but he… he undid it completely!”
He could summon Orpheus as soon as they got on land. They could Iris message Camp, talk to his father…
Monsters could smell them again, his new phone was a hazard, and Poseidon could probably feel him traveling the Ocean. He grimaced.
“Nothing is perfect,” Percy said, probably having reached the same conclusion as him. “That’s the world we live in, but we still must find a way forward in that world.”
A way forward. Nico gave a decisive nod at that.
This world was by no means perfect, but it was theirs, and he would protect it. There were things and people he loved in it, and he still had tons of things that he wanted and needed to do in it.
Such as…
“Percy… when we get to land, I was thinking… would you mind coming with me to grab something for lunch?” he asked tentatively. “We can pick some sacrifice for Orpheus while we’re at it.”
Percy grinned.
“Sure,” he answered. “Got tired of cooking?”
“Not exactly…” he sighed. “I was thinking… just us two, having lunch… like, you know, a date.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Bianca fake gaggling, Elia rolling her eyes, and he swore he heard Lycoris’s unique bleating laugh below deck.
But nothing mattered next to Percy’s excited expression as he nodded enthusiastically.