The Silver Ring (PJO)

Chapter 34

"Artemis finally found you," Void mused, scanning me head to toe. "The person I was looking for."

"Uh . . . Thanks, I guess?" I said, barely suppressing the urge to shrink away.

We were now in Void's room. Void chose to sit on a couch, while I was on her gigantic bed, which was a respectable three yards away. It was full of crystal chandeliers, couches, and opulent furnishings. I had barely even glanced at them since my mind was still spinning at the sight of Void's form. Void had dragged me here from the dungeon—not even bothering to restrain me since she claimed as long as she was in her "regular" form, I wouldn't hurt her.

And she was right.

I didn't give her full control of me, though. I still tried to run away, and when that didn't work, I dragged my feet on the ground like a child, figuring if I wasn't going to escape, I could at least try to ruin the floor of her castle.

That didn't work either.

"You're probably wondering why I look like Artemis," Void said.

So far, then the only evil thing she had done was drag me to her room—which, in retrospect, wasn't really a crime. So I decided to talk to her openly, and not as though she was my captor. "That would be helpful."

"Truth is," Void said, "she looks like me."

I looked at her in confusion. "So she copied your form or something?"

Void walked towards her open-layout kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. (Just because immortals don't care about mortals, doesn't mean they don't appreciate a good invention.) "I presume you know what happened with your father and Paul, Amphitrite, and your mortal mother?"

"It's pretty confusing, but yes," I said, then suddenly struck with a thought. "Wait . . . Artemis is a tiny part of you?!"

"A significant part of me," Void corrected. She was still standing in the kitchen sipping at the hot coffee, probably because she didn't want to bring a staining liquid into her living space. "I determined what parts of me I needed, and what parts would only slow me down, like the chunk of me that wanted to do good, or help people . . ."

"Er . . . I'm pretty sure those don't impair your judgment," I pointed out.

"Really?" Void asked. "It's much easier to do evil without a moral compass."

"I wouldn't know," I said truthfully. "Am I in trouble?"

Void laughed. "Are you in trouble? Of course, you're in trouble. You're working for my brother!"

"I'm not," I protested weakly. 

Before I could react, Void quickly teleported in front of me. I tried to get some space between us, but she latched onto my arm with her hand, not allowing me to move. I was a very confused mess. My mind yelled at me to move away, knowing that she was the enemy, whereas my body yearned to be close to her. 

"You know the real reason Rosaline wanted you to just get Alina out, and not try to kill me?" Void whispered. My breath hitched when she put a hand on my cheek and stared at me admiringly. I almost melted on the spot at the feeling of her skin on mine. "Chaos conveniently forgot to tell you that I'm as powerful as him. Remember when he told you the only reason I wasn't immediately vanquished was that I don't care about the repercussions of using my powers? That was all a lie." She leaned forward, her plump, red lips almost touching mine. "The secret is, I almost beat him. The only reason why I lost was because of End."

"It's nothing personal. I was made to destroy, while he was made to create. We're always on two opposite sides. Sometimes I'm on the side of good, and he's on the side of bad. Sometimes—like right now—I'm bad, he's good. In the short term, one side wins. But in the long term, it's always a draw. For there to be good in the world, there has to be as much evil, and vice versa."

She leaned back reluctantly, allowing me to breathe normally again. Then, she clasped my hand gently. "You now have two options: Either to become my king and join me, or go back to Chaos. There's no shame in picking one or the other. As I said, you have an infinite amount of time—and it's impossible to always be on one side or the other."

"Have I been born before?" I asked.

"Everybody's been born an innumerable amount of times." As if reading my mind, Void said, "Forget what Hades told you about three rebirths and the Isles of the Blest. Hades doesn't know the secrets of the Universe. Only Chaos, End and I do. If you make it there, only one part of your infinite soul resides there, while the rest goes into rebirth."

"You know what I will choose," I said. "Why are you trying to convince me to switch? And why not take another man as your king?"

Void suddenly touched her forehead to mine. "Chaos has one thing going better for him: His consort is immortal. Meanwhile, it has been foretold that my consort's soul will always take up a partial-immortal form. Perseus Jackson, you hold the soul of my king. I will never take up a man who isn't my only true love.

"You always chose the path of good. I've had the honor of keeping you many times when Chaos was evil, but not even once when it was my turn." A sad smile appeared on her face. "I guess that's a good thing, but that means I only get you for half the time."

"Half the time of infinity is infinite," I reminded her, believing her story. She had too much emotion to be faking the story, and it sounded . . . right to my brain.

"But it comes half as often." she sighed sadly, making my heart wrench in pain.  "I have to go now, my love." She gave me a peck on the lips, making me want more, but then got up. "You have until I come back. " Void crossed the room to the doorway and opened it, then looked back. "Remember, there's no shame in picking one choice over the other." Void walked through the doorframe, but before the door could fully shut, she said, "The windows are the weakest point of the room."

For minutes, I just stared unbelievably at the door Void went through. What the hell just happened?! I thought. I just sat there, not even blinking, as I thought through everything Void said. And then, when I didn't understand, I didn't go through all of it again, as a normal person would.

Instead, I started to try and find a way out. I had to escape from this room since if I teleported around in the castle, a soldier might see me. And who knows if Void told everybody I was working for Chaos.

My mind drifted back to what Void had said. The windows are the weakest part of the room.

Oh no, I thought, staring in horror at the floor-to-ceiling glass wall that gave a stunning view of the beautiful kingdom of Void at nighttime. Please don't tell me I'm going to have to do what I think I'm going to have to do.

Just then, Eon burst into the room, looking livid. Upon seeing me, she yelled out, "Jackson! I'm going to kill you!"

"Please don't," I pleaded.

But when she charged at me recklessly, I had no choice. I jumped through the glass wall, protecting my head with my hand as the impact of my body shattered the glass like a bullet through Jell-O.

Then I started plummeting a hundred stories down.

A/N-Sorry for the short filler chapter. Thank you all for the support that you all have given me, and keep it up! If you have a suggestion, be sure to comment on it. And lastly, if you want me to respond to your comment, make sure you address me clearly, or type (TDG) on the first or last line.