The Heart of a Titan?!

Was Nereus crazy?!

He was asking him to physically cut out the heart of one of the immortal races that could challenge the Olympians?! The Olympians could lift mountains and create canyons on a whim! This...this was beyond suicidal. This was just stupid. Even his father who wasn't an Olympian, created the Strait of Gibraltar or 'Pillars of Hercules' when he pushed apart two mountains. However, he was an anomaly, given his abnormal strength. Abnormal even for a god.

"And this is supposed to be a cakewalk?!", Athos muttered, rubbing his temples.

"When you compare obscenely difficult to straight-up impossible....yeah", Nereus nodded, somberly. "But wait! There's more!", the god added, as though enjoying Athos' mood drop lower and lower.

"Please don't."

"The demigod's blood you use must be of a Fated one"

"A what?"

" A Fated one"

"I heard you. What IS a 'Fated one'?"

"The one who is chosen by Fate"

"I would never have thought of that!", Athos sarcastically facepalmed.

"They don't call me clever for nothing. I cannot explain it to you in any other way, demigod. The one chosen by Fate shall free you from your mortal constraints. At least partially. If you weren't Herakles' son, your body would never be able to handle the partial ascension. I can't tell you who the Fated one is though, for that information escapes me. Things related to the Fates always do", Nereus shrugged, looking a little miffed.

Athos' eyebrows rose and he was about to retort before he heard a burst of wind at his back. Nereus looked behind him and his eyes twinkled with amusement at what he saw.

"Seems the lady couldn't wait any longer", Nereus chuckled.

Athos frowned and turned around, coming face to face with a....horse.

It was tall and muscled, Six feet tall. It had a beautiful, lustrous caramel coat, akin to melted sugar, and an abyssal black mane and tail. Its equine head was titled sideways, while its deep, brown eyes looked him up and down, unimpressed.

"Long time no see, Grand-nephew...erm..broth-, Nevermind. You look just as uppity as before, Arion. Ever tried toning down that overblown pride?", Nereus greeted the horse.

'Arion?', Athos repeated to himself.

The Immortal superhorse that could run faster than sound itself? The one who runs like the wind over land and sea? He didn't know whether to shake hoofs or prepare to fight.

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The horse before him was the son of Poseidon and Demeter. Why was their son a horse you ask? Well, it involves attempted wooing, rejection and a chase that ended in....nonconsensual sex....in horse form. One of the many reasons Demeter hates the three 'Elder Gods'.

Arion neighed haughtily and stamped his foot on the ground.

"Fuck you too!", Nereus replied, crossing his arms.

Well, that confirms the horse's identity. Arion isn't the most family-friendly horse. He seemed to never be able to complete a sentence without exhibiting a surprising amount of profanity, which particularly bothered Percy, as he was the only one who could understand what Arion was saying due to his lineage. Poseidon created horses after all, but Arion...really shouldn't be here. He was caught by the Amazons and held captive until Hazel freed him about a decade from now. There was even a prophecy about a courageous female warrior taming Arion. But prophecies were nothing to Athos; holding as much value as mere words.

Arion neighed again and Nereus raised his eyebrows slightly before turning to Athos.

"He wants you to get on his back. Be careful though, he does not seem pleased about it Probably forced into this job by his mom. He'll try to mess with you a little bit."

Arion neighed for the third time, the perpetual annoyance in his voice raising a little.

"No. You are not a good horse. Now quiet!", Nereus grunted.

Athos nodded at Nereus and turned to Arion, who snorted and tried to trot away, but a random blade of grass on the sidewalk wrapped around his leg.

Athos ignored the horse's antics and jumped onto its unwilling back, making sure to position himself a bit more forward than usual. He rested his legs along the crease between the barrel and the shoulder muscles to have a secure position without excessive gripping. Arion whinnied in indignation as a dangerous glint appeared in its eye. Seeing that, he knew his ride would be anything but pleasant.

"Demigod. I am not sending you to your death, although it indeed can lead to that if you are not careful. I never thought you'd get the cornucopia either, but you did in a week. If anybody can do it, it's you", Nereus encouraged, while Athos stared at him in disbelief. Since when had the sea deity become so concerned with his life?

"You owe me. Remember that. And food won't cut it this time!", the god added.

'Oh, that's why'

The god raised a hand and spread his fingers in an open palm.

"Farewell, Fatebreaker", he whispered, before Arion shot forward with a sonic boom.

***

Athos' ears popped and a loud roar sounded. It was Arion ripping through the sound barrier.

The surroundings flashed past him so fast that they melted into a blur and a few seconds went by in confused shock before he realised he was slipping off the horse.

He grit his teeth and tightened his grip on Arion, but the immortal horse responded by blasting forward with greater speed. Athos did not relent, refusing to fall off and clenching harder. Yet another roar sounded and the horse increased its speed once more. This continued for a long time, with Athos trying his best to hold on and Arion attempting to throw him off with equal, if not greater effort. A battle for dominance between a mortal and an immortal.

Athos clenched his jaw and his eyes shown with resolve. He was the Son of Herakles! He would not let an animal, god or not, get the best of him. He shifted to the red oni Half-mask, and continued squeezing harder, until the horse brayed in pain and gave up, choosing to run at a slower, more sustainable speed.

"Good horse", he grinned as he felt the wind play with his messy hair. He never thought he would enjoy horse riding this much.

They zipped past ships and boats as they crossed the ocean while Arion left a trail of steam in his wake. He didn't know whether it was an hour or a day, but it'd been a while. He was enjoying himself too much to care.

Eventually, he spotted some land and Arion slowed to subsonic, allowing him to get a better view of his surroundings. It looked akin to a wasteland. Scorched Earth and burnt trees. Dried ponds and decomposed bodies.

Just what was this place?

He jumped off Arion and patted him on the snout, looking around warily. What happened here? He blinked his eyes in confusion, finding it a lot harder to concentrate.

"Huh?", he mumbled, before the world suddenly flipped upside down.