A Moment of Stars | PJO Chaos

Three

Galaxy.

That's honestly the only word that Percy could think to describe the floors and walls. Shooting stars, planets, meteors, and nebulae float aimlessly in the expanse of the room's interior. It was like nothing Percy had ever seen before.

What is this place? He tries to clear the fog out of his head and looks up to see two people. They both wore the same uniform: dark grey dress pants, a dress shirt, tie, sash around the waist along with weird buckles around their left forearm and right leg. The only difference we're the colors. The guy has orange as the girl has purple.

Percy looks at their faces. The guy has bright blonde hair and eyes the shade of cobalt and sky. The girl's hair reaches her back, and glasses sitting in front of her bright violet eyes. They both look startled at the demigod laying in bed.

"You weren't supposed to wake up for days!" The guy exclaims, throwing his arms in exasperation. "Dude, what the..." the baffled look on him is priceless.

Percy is even more confused. "What?"

The girl quickly jumps into action, her bright violet eyes pierce into his very soul. "Stay right there, we'll go get him!" She grabs into the guys arm and drag him out of the room.

"Who?" Everything is happening too fast, and Percy is still groggy from sleep. He slowly sat up, groaning at the pops and aches in his joints. He notices that he's in a plain white shirt and black basketball shorts.

The walls and floor were a bit disorienting, so he decides to close his eyes to soothe his lingering headache. Images of the most recent events flash through his mind. Arena. Pain. Black trees, white sky. Dead. Dissolving...

Within seconds, the door opens, and Percy opens his eyes. His mouth opens in another wave of shock. A man in a suit a few inches taller than him walks in.

The very 'clack' of his dress shoes demand respect as he straightens his blue tie. The man's hair is as dark as a blackhole, making it look like a void in the area around him. His eyes are the same pattern as the walls: pure intergalactic beauty that one can easily get lost in. His teeth shine like stars and his very aura makes Percy want to drop to his knees.

"Hello Perseus!" The man beams. The greeting is a stark contrast from his presence. Percy almost leans back in utter shock. If he didn't know what the man looks like, he would've assumed he was someone's father or something. The warmth of the man's voice almost completely drowns his headache out; it reminds the demigod of a warm embrace.

"Um, hi?" Percy raise his hand to wave. Great job Percy, you just made it awkward.

To his surprise, the man lets out a whole-boisterous laugh at Percy's response. His eyes crinkle at the corners and he fully steps into the room.

"Alright, lets get introductions over with." He says. "I am Chaos, and you're currently resting in the infirmary of my central kingdom, the Aevum Galaxy."

Aevum Galaxy?

"I'm not on Earth then...?" Percy almost winces at his stupid question, but Chaos simply shakes his head.

"No," He says. "Earth is in the Via Lactea Galaxy, which is quite a long distance away."

Percy just nods, trying to process everything. He wasn't even in the same galaxy as home, and the name Chaos rings in his head. Where has he heard that name from? He goes through his glossary of names and powers.

Then it clicks.

"Wait, so you're Chaos." He starts to understand. "As in the 'Creator-of-the-Universe' Chaos?"

Chaos grins. "Yup, that's me. Though no need to worry, I'm not planning to kill you or anything." A chuckle emits from the entity's chest.

Wouldn't that be easier? Percy pushes the thought away. Now is not the time to let his thoughts get the best of him. He thinks about everyone he left at home, but then abruptly stops. Something was off, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "What happened to me?"

Chaos' smile slowly fades; he makes his way to the seat next to Percy's bed with a heavy sigh. "You were banished by an entity to The Void: a place much worse than the Greeks' Tartarus." Percy almost nods in agreement. Tartarus was bad, yes, but the place, The Void, gave him a sense of pain and emptiness he never wants to feel again. "The Void is usually only for Primordials and gods like myself, and any entity weaker than that would be dead within seconds of entering. You, a demigod, somehow managed to hold out for three days in that wretched place."

Chaos takes another breath. "The Void never lets one leave without taking something away, hence the reason why I need to inform you of a few things." Alarm and goosebumps prick at Percy's skin. Chaos' tone is dark and sorrowful, and Percy can't help but check for things in his mind that may have been destroyed. He can recall his memories, so no amnesia(thank gods). But there was still something wrong with them. A feeling...

He was missing something—a very important part of him.

Chaos bows his head in defeat. "I'm sorry Perseus, but as a result being thrown into Void..." the creator of the universe trails off, hesitant to finish his last few words.

"What is it?" Percy bounces his knee in annoyance. "Just tell me Chaos; no hiding things."

Chaos' galaxy eyes pierce into Percy's. Hesitance filling them to the brim. "I'd rather show you to explain." A large mirror suddenly appears in front of him; he sucks in a sharp breath.

The first thing Percy noticed were his eyes.

An inky greyish-black color writhes within them, whatever green that filled the iris is now non-existent in the murkish mix of grey, black, and white.

It terrified him. He was a black and white image in the world of color and vibrancy. His skin is pale as paper and his hair inky and matted, as if he hadn't washed in weeks. His heart beats in his chest harshly, trying to escape from its bony prison. A sense of emptiness overwhelms him, as if he had lost the very fabric of his identity.

He can hear Chaos shift in his seat, but he pays no mind. He is far too immersed in the reflection of what he used to call his own.

"W-what....?" Percy's voice is breathless and confused. He looked dead, to say the least.

"The first step to fading is losing oneself." Chaos states. "In your case, we caught you right when the physical effects began to eat away at your actual being. You took a very close brush with eternal death, Perseus."

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