Percy's POV
The fog sits soundly along the sand, nothing but my soft cries filling the area. "Are you not going to stand?" Her voice calls to me once more. "Who's there?" rubbing my tears away in disgust at my own look knowing I'm covered in cuts and bruises.
"A friend you could say, or just someone who I do hope you found fondness in" She makes her self known, with the fog swaying back and forth. A light green streak lighting up a path under her free flowing clothes.
"Cliodhna?" I stand up and reach for her but the already dead tree in front of me simply breaks into dust.
"Quite the power you've grown to I see"
"I don't-"
"When a god is reincarnating they tend to absorb the life around them to speed up the process, I know of a garden that can help you. One that blooms from the withers of it's own life, the cycle of a phoenix you could call it."
"Please help me" My voice cracking with the emotion I have left, without responding she simply extends her hand to me.
"But won't I hurt you?"
"There's people even Fenrir had considered a friend, I previously said I remain neutral which is true. But I have favourites amongst them."
"Why would you...consider him a friend" I slightly become weary of her actions and flinch back a bit
"If you want the short version, he was bound and had nothing. Nothing but me to talk to anyway." She loses her patience and grabs my arm to lift me up, making me gasp a little at her cold dead hand. Locking onto her eyes, still carrying that look of transparency but she mentions my curious look this time.
"Did you want to ask why my eyes take this appearance?" Pointing toward them and laughing a little to herself as I continue following her through the fog. "The realms you're all familiar with are: The Heavens, The Underworld and this current plain you refer to as Axel, being the world we are standing on right now. But have you ever considered that there were more realms out there?"
"No I haven't" I simply respond
"Well along with your eye colours dictating the hierarchy of a race, the sclera of an eye refers to what place you reside in. Heaven means a pure white eye, lacking even a coloured pupil. Underworld colours the eye a pitch black but visible pupil, all differentiating in colours depending on their bloodline unlike your wolf hierarchy. This plain you call home colours the eye one like the average human, a simple white with any ranging colour to any species."
"So...if yours is white then why are you down here?" My question making her strike me on the head softly in annoyance
"Have you not being paying attention at all? The very being inside you is why the worlds are broken and the laws have changed, I for one left on my own accord but I never found an interest in Heaven. Everything is perfect and serene, not to mentio-" She cuts herself off in surprise. "Here it is!"
A thick green layer of grass forming into a path, completely ignoring the natural sand surrounding it and forming it's own land. "Um" I go to ask her about the occurrence but she suspects as much, "It's a cursed zone, one of the more soothing you could say." She responds with a little smug tone in her voice as if she's plotting something
Upon my foot touching the grass it decays immediately, making me feel bad for interrupting the peace in it. "I'm sorry" I murmur to myself in pity but to my surprise the moment I lift my foot it restored life to itself.
"Why?"
"You ask too many questions, shut up and follow" Once again she grabs my arm and pulls me along with the floor, decaying and reviving each time I move. I take the chance to glance around seeing the sight I can only describe as primordial plant life truly in it's prime, flourishing and existing with it's own time. Trees and plants of all different species tangling around each other, some even moving on with their mind on their own and eating...a leg.
Stolen story; please report.
"Clio. Is this place even safe?"
"As I said, this place is soothing isn't it?" She happily sways back and forth. I presume she'd be skipping if she had legs, nothing but a ghastly body that still catches me off guard for it's hollowness. "Yeah...soothing alright." We come up to an opening of the lush biome, the trees leaning with motion as if waving.
"Don't touch the flowers, just a word of advise."
"I saw enough back there, trust me that's the last thing I want"
"You learn fast, now let me inform you of this zone. Humans can't get in, you saw a demonstration of why earlier on. Not to mention these lovely decorations still hanging out." She points my face towards a spike filled terrain, nothing but fresh human bodies sitting there and hanging off the nature made kebabs.
"Hel-" A body calls out, only to be snapped up by an oversized fly trap...a fly trap.
"This has been nice, but I was almost just killed in my own head. I'm cool with not being killed in real life too thanks." I step back with my hands up in a peaceful gesture.
"Stop!"
"Huh?" Halting my backpedalling in response to the female voice.
"You almost stepped on this." She runs over to a plant under my foot, one coloured a red and black that I haven't seen before.
"I'd of had to kill you if you stepped on this" She laughs to her self sinisterly, picking up the flower and placing it deeper into the zone. "I thought you said humans weren't allowed here?".
"They aren't" Clio informs me, both of us intrigued by this girl we follow her to an area we didn't notice. Her red dress and sun hat nearly getting taken off by the warm tropical winds. A pomegranate tree overflowing with life casts a shadow on the area she now sits under, the previously man eating plants coming into her hands like a puppy wanting to be pet.
"You're confused, aren't you Cliodhna?" She questions, her smile glowing brighter as she tends to her garden more.
"I don't understand."
"Want a pomegranate?" She picks one off the tree, splitting it open and placing 6 seeds in her mouth.
"Why are you here?" Clio appears to have caught onto her hint but still leaving me stunned with confusion.
"That Crescent bitch really forced all of us to reincarnate out of our worlds, Hades never let me out of the underworld and this body kept tending to my garden here. Eating the fruits and plants I grew, my spirit slowly but surely took over her. I'll give it back once I'm done of course, but right now I'm just enjoying myself if you don't mind." She takes off the hat, twirling around as her light red hair unravels itself around her body, flowers blooming over it as if responding to her emotions.
"Vessel of Fenrir, I believe I have something you need." She extends her arm to me, handing a bracelet made from rock into my hands.
"Do you not want anything in exchange?" I ask her, interested by her motives.
"Oh sure, when you end the world. Leave my garden alone." Her tone becoming darker with a shake of the surrounding nature twitching to her command.
"Wait what..."
"You're a ticking timer, and you're not ticking up darling." She laughs while continuing to water plants
"Who even are you?"
"A simple Queen, one that's currently thumb deep in exploring this world's nature. Do you need anything else?"
"If the young one is going to die anyway then it doesn't hurt to introduce yourself, Persephone"
"Ah so you do remember. That bracelet I just gave you was carved from a rock in the underworld, it stops the natural current of...power? I guess you could say, and right now you're nothing but a walking leech for life. You all never earned your gifts, let me say that much. Nothing but a bunch of mortals who happened to breed like livestock with the blood of us gods, you're nothing." She quickly comments, making my head feel a sharp pain from the reminder. 'You're nothing'.
"I brought him here because I believe you have something that could help both him, and us."
"I already gave him the bracelet, what more do you want from me?"
"The mirror"
"Not following, move along and stop filling my head with your words." She completely brushes away Clio and takes a bite out of some fruit.
"The. Mirror." Cliodhna fills the air with one of animosity. "I happen to like this boy, and don't you believe we should finally end this cycle of death?"
"No clue what you're referring to, and did you seriously just tell a goddess to the underworld to stop death? We aren't bad people, but our sole job is to let nature do it's course as souls screech their way into our river of Styx, or whatever souls do best"
I can't help but acknowledge her point, but Cliodhna clearly thinks otherwise. The sound of smoke pops into my ears as Clio's hand forms that green blade I once saw when she was fighting Thomas. Flying towards Persephone, "I wouldn't continue if I were you..." She stops her advancement towards the Goddess who continues to ignore the threat of death.
"This zone was made up of my very spirit, this body is nothing but a container for me at the moment. Even you would struggle to survive against me...unless that one were to join in of course." She gives me a little side eye, causing a little pain in me at the thought of even using my gifts at the moment...gift is a funny thing to call this lingering death inside me. "I see why you call it a curse now." I comment to Clio which makes her subside the previous anger, "Nothing but the power of primal beings, unfit for this world to handle. That is anything but a gift.