Jackson's POV

"Look..." Irene's soft voice shakes me awake, her figure pointing at an eye poking its way through the creak in the door.

"Quite the era..." His monstrous tone bellows before closing the door behind him.

"Wait!" I yell, running towards it and ripping it open. I frantically look up and down but can't catch a glimpse of whatever it was, "How long was he staring at us?" I ask Irene.

"Uh...maybe a few seconds? I immediately woke you up when I spotted it" She comes into the hallway, examining the walls with curiosity.

I watch and stare at her as she slides her fingers across some black lines, "What are you doing?"

"There were no footsteps when he was leaving, so what are these?" She flicks the wall to aim my attention at it, a sludge like texture that's sort of...pulsating?

"I-" I get interrupted by a crashing thud. We look between each other before rushing to the cause of the sound.

-

As we come to the town centre, Percy and Adam come into view with a large wave well above their heads. "I'm glad I wasn't alone then" Percy states.

"What do you mean?" I ask

"Mr sleepy here couldn't hear that at all!" He sarcastically expresses before catching a glimpse of the floor. "Woah" He eyes a large footprint, only a singular one pressed deep within the stone.

"Seen anything like it?" He asks me.

"No, not from straight memory." I respond

Adam scratches the back of his neck a little bit, clearly still half asleep, "Maybe Chris came out?" He groggily suggests.

"His feet aren't that big, Adam." Percy sighs before making his way towards the front gates of the village.

"Wait where are you going!?" Adam dramatically tries reaching for him as Percy swerves out of the way.

"To see Chris? C'mon" He calls us over with a hand motion, sliding the door open with enthusiasm.

I follow him as Irene walks beside me, clearly unbeknownst to the other two. "So is this going to become a regular thing now?" Percy asks.

Me and Irene look towards him with confusion, "What is?" I tilt my head a bit.

"Not you, her" He looks directly at her to my surprise.

She looks stunned at his eyeline sitting directly on top of her, releasing a soft laughter as she chuckles to herself, "I guess it is, know what changed?" She questions.

He slows down a bit to walk beside her, "I'm not too sure yet...but if I were to guess..." He pauses a bit, gradually sliding his hand to his stomach before continuing, "I don't think it's a literal thing of me being able to see you, but rather Fenrir being able to see you" he flashes his eyes, showing a brighter hue than what we're used to.

Adam interrupts us, turning and walking backwards to talk to us, "You know you guys look like complete lunatics, talking to a space in the air, right?" He tries looking at Irene, clearly uneased by his perception of nothing being there.

"And you're in love with this lunatic, so who's the crazier one?" Percy sly remarks before jokingly hiding behind Irene.

"Oh is this how we're doing things now?" he pauses, waiting for us to catch up to him before trying to pounce on Percy, engaging in a cat and mouse circle around me.

I sigh knowing that they both won't give up without some type of interference, "I'm sorry" I mumble before tripping Percy into the mud.

"JAC-" He tries to scream but Adam jumps onto his back, holding his mouth shut and forcibly wrapping him up in his arms to carry. He wipes his face off before continuing through Irene and I's laughter, "You fake bitch" he snarls at me with hate.

I just shrug, smugly smiling as Adam carries him off towards the tunnel. "Wait!" Percy suddenly screams before throwing himself out of Adam's arms. Viewing the space darkened with his heterochromatic eyes. The previously lit torches, all extinguished out of our view.

"What's that smell?" Adam holds his nose with an obvious tense.

"What's wrong?" I ask, not seeing or smelling what they're talking about.

"Do you seriously not smell that Jackson? It's so thick"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I can't at all, I've not exactly got an enhanced sense of smell like you." I scratch my head, squinting to try and see something, anything at all. "What is it Percy?"

"The red clouds from before, but..." He looks ahead as if following something.

"But what?" I impatiently ask.

"They're swirling away from something at the centre" He makes his way forward in a hypnotic like state, but Adam grabs his arm.

Adam looks at him with worry before talking, "Shouldn't we be going the other way if that's the case?"

"Chris is in there" He answers, letting Adam hold on still but continuing his advancement.

The further we go in, the more my nose begins to pick up an eerie scent, something similar to blood and yet far from it. "Hear that?" Irene asks me, stepping ahead of everyone to listen closer. "It sounds like a ringing of sorts" She sticks up her arm before leaning against the wall, trying to spot something.

"Fe-" A voice hums from inside the darkness of the cave.

"Huh?" I sound out.

"Fenrir" He states more clearly, his green eyes lighting up in the dark, pointing directly towards Percy.

"Percy!" Irene calls out, scaring him a bit as he stands frozen at Chris' lowering eyes.

"ADAM MOVE HIM!" I scream at him, forcing him to dive for Percy, throwing each other into the other side of the wall.

An intense burst of green flames rush past us, sliding across the floor and scattering cinders onto the torches, luckily relighting some of them around us. "Chris...?" Percy says with confusion, completely nonchalant to his own bleeding head as Chris stands in front of us. His figure huffing and puffing as his body inhales deeply.

"What..." Percy unwraps himself from Adam's grasp, reaching out for Chris. His back, legs and neck covered in scars and fresh wounds that are already healing back up.

"Saint what have you done!?" I call out to the blade.

Chris turns around slowly, his eyes widening as he recognises Percy now. "Sorr-" he tries to speak, immediately losing the light in his eyes as he relaxes for a second, completely dropping the strength he had in his body and dropping to the floor.

"Saint!" I yell out once more.

Waiting as the blade struggles to get out of Chris' intense grasp. Releasing a black smoke that wraps around itself before reforming Saint's gaseous body. "I did nothing more than what he wanted"

"And what exactly did he ask for?" I demand as Percy runs to Chris' body.

"The scratches and scrapes on my body mark the memories of countless fights, all I did was show him one, a memory."

"What the hell did you make him fight to where he's so torn up?"

"The blood of Anubis, a sad gift of healing. He lost countless times, suffering those very wounds that were fresh up until a few hours ago, healing practically immediately, even those scars too will eventually fade."

"What. Did. You. Make. Him. Fight?" I demand once again as we attempt to lift Chris' body.

"A memory...something I admit was beyond him but nonetheless he has to succeed. He will succeed." He pridefully states while watching us try to lift him.

"Here" Irene grabs hold, heavily lifting off a lot of weight from us as we carry him out.

"Where exactly are we taking him?" Adam grunts.

"To the underworld, he's fine physically but I can't imagine where his mind is right now." Percy explains.

"And I?" Saint asks.

"You'll remain beside him for the time being, much like how Aegis follows Nimue." I state while we leave the cave. He doesn't respond, he simply returns into the sword, floating just beside us like I suggested.

-

Yue's POV

"Yue" A small voice whispers in my ear.

"Yueeeee" She whispers louder.

"Yue!" She shakes me awake, feeling a little discombobulated with my surroundings I get a little scared, looking beside me and seeing Athena laying beside me and realising where I am.

"Yue c'mon!" The little girl beside my bed tugs on the sheets.

"Melanie?" I question with a bit of excitement, attempting to catch her in my arms but they go through her. "Wait how are you doing this? Where are you?" I stand up quickly when she doesn't immediately respond.

"Here!" She cheers, leading me out of the room.

I look back and forth after opening the door, unsure of the way she's going. "Yueeee" She hums down the corridor. My bare feet slap against the marble as I chase the voice echoing through the halls. "I'm hereeee" she chimes. Barely catching a glimpse of her as she fades through the front doors.

"Where are you going?" I laugh in the game of tag, stepping out into the front where I lose her again.

"Here!" She jumps in the air with her arms waving for my attention, making her way towards the door when a realisation sits in my stomach that makes it sink a little.

"Melanie why are you in there?" I speed up, ignoring the partially rough ground against the bottom of my feet and running towards the door.

I go to run through, pausing a second as a wall of black flashes through my eyes, it didn't last long enough for me to examine it but it was slow enough to where I know what I saw. "Hereee" She cheers, running through the serpentine maze.

"Melanie wait!" I try to stop her but she keeps moving forward.

"Come here Yue!" She guides me, her little feet pitter-pattering similar to mine against the cold ground. "I'm right here" I hear her voice turn into the open entrance from where we got Aegis.

Losing her again I spin around while glancing up at the golden aurora. "Melanie?" I ask a little louder.

Her voice distorts a little this time while speaking, "I'm right here..." I turn behind me to view the castle, Nimue's strained efforts in carrying something in her arms.

I try to smile at her but something inside me feels like a sudden void, glancing at my hands, I feel my aura light up through my hands, visibly shining into my eyes.

'Black' My wolf Galene acknowledges.

'Calm down Yue' She reassures me.

"I am calm, why wouldn't I be calm?" My voice shudders as the black aura around me fades in and out. "I'm always the calm one." I feel myself breathing heavier as I approach Nimue.

"She's fine?" I ask with a smile.

"She got hurt a little inside the castle, I'm so sorry. Something inside there attacked us" She speaks with honesty as my hand brushes past her. Fading my vision to white as a projection fills me, the castle's walls shaking and breaking away, the walls on the inside decorated in blood with a head rolling to the side-lines. Blacked out figures lying on the floor, seemingly begging for their lives. And...a smile, I can't tell who's it is...but they're dangerous.

"Yue!?" Nimue shakes me a little, bringing me back with a sigh of relief before helping to place Melanie against my back so we can take her back to the palace.

"What were you doing in there?" I ask.

"Aegis wanted me to collect something"

"What was it?"

"This" She holds out an iridescent shard, twirling it between her fingers before placing it back into her pocket.

I glance back in front of me, looking at my hands once again as the black briefly takes over. "Nimue, don't take my mate away from my safety again."

She hesitates a little before placing her head down, "I'm sorry Yue."