It was dark and, perhaps, for the first time, it was cold. A place where no warmth could penetrate, where the heavy recesses of oblivion threatened to consume all that remained. He couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Couldn't think. Only drift about a limitless void he had no control over, where the cool embrace of death walked beside him like a long-time companion.

Pain radiated through his entire being, to the point where he questioned whether he had a body at all or if he were just a husk designed to absorb suffering and all that came with it. For most, himself included, it was probably easier to just let go and admit defeat, to let the darkness take hold and free him from his own mortal flesh. Hours. Days. Weeks. Years. How long would he have to endure the hardships and agony? Would it ever go away? Would he ever be allowed to experience some peace and comfort that wasn't fleeting? In such a catatonic state, he couldn't answer those questions, already doing his utmost to keep from departing the world of the living. He could only hope that he could hold out long enough.

Eventually, his prayers were answered. The roaring pain ebbed after what felt like decades, an indescribable warmth flooding over Chion Pagos' very core.

With the weight of mountains lifted from his own chest, he finally relaxed, allowing himself to truly fall into unconsciousness.

Ba-Doom! Ba-Doom! Ba-Doom!

It was like a drum, a very loud one. A banging that repeated in steady rhythms every second. His heartbeat. Chion hadn't heard it properly until that very moment, even back when he was sitting upon Zeus' Fist and training to tap into his magic, his own inner workings being heavily muted. Now, with everything else shut off, it was all he could hear and feel, the pumping of his own blood through his vessel, a powerful flow that refused to be silenced by anything or anyone. Within that beating, and even beyond it, Chion could feel that elusive power he had struggled to grasp before. A power that churned and rumbled, barely contained within him, like a blizzard that devoured everything in its path.

Chion truly wondered how such massive amounts of magic could fit into his measly demeanor.

Unlike before, where he had had trouble extracting even the slightest bit of it, the youth was able to interact with every part of the swirling sphere of snow and ice. He wrapped as many figurative hands around the chaotic orb as he could, fighting to subdue it, to bring it under his control. Though he had just finished fighting for his own life, he wasted no time in battling with himself in an attempt to harness the very power he had been born with. It struggled and lashed out, refusing to be restrained and ordered around, but Chion ignored its cries and slammed it with even more hands. One of them was going to succeed in its endeavors and the youth wasn't going to let it be his own magic, something that was already a part of him.

After a fierce clash of wills and a constant back and forth war, Chion emerged victorious. The riled up magical power still existed within his space but it was no longer rampaging as it pleased. Instead, it was slow and gentle, like a fresh and joyous coat of snow.

Letting out a figurative breath of relief, the young man fell asleep for the first time.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

When he finally came to, his consciousness breaking the surface once again, he felt like a whole different being. An aching one that couldn't move properly, but like another entity regardless.

With heavy eyelids, Chion introduced his neon blue hues to the world, glowing briefly yet gently the moment they were fully open. Like always, he assessed what he could of the surrounding situation, as well as his own.

(("Im.....back at the infirmary?")) The youth felt like his head was spinning as he tried to recall what he could. Memories came flooding back, including his fight with the giant scorpions. (("Did I....get poisoned?"))

Running any sort of diagnostics on the incident was far too taxing in that given moment, so Chion just let it rest. His brain felt like it weighed a ton, and his body felt even heavier than that, unable to move a single inch despite the commands he was making towards his various appendages. Instead of wondering about his battle and what had transpired, he instead focused on the person who was currently passed out by his bedside, a young blonde girl with a blue hoodie. He had no clue how long she had been there. Heck, he wasn't even sure how long HE had been there, but just having her there was a genuine comfort after a long eternity of genuine discomfort.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Closing his eyes, Chion went back to sleep.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

He woke up again some hours later to find his beside companion gone, but his ability to move having been restored to some degree. Slightly disappointed but quite understanding about the situation, Chion attempted to sit up, or at least shift into a comfortable position.

He felt heavy, as if gravity had increased threefold over his already weakened frame. Nevertheless, he pushed through it and wiggled himself into a sitting position. It was around midday, or at least that was the youths main guess, judging by the way the sun poured in through the windows. If Chion had to make some assumptions, he'd say that most of the campers were probably at lunch or doing some sort of activity, hence why there was very little activity within the infirmary confines. At the moment, he was the only there, which was fine with him since he didn't want anyone watching him struggle to get out of the bed.

"I'm alive. Thats a good start." Chion removed the blanket from his body. "They must've had an antidote prepared."

Opening and closing his hand, moving his legs, and even breathing in deeply, the youth gave himself a thorough checkup, searching for any noteable wounds or injuries. Surprisingly, other than a lot of stiffness and some scuffed motor functions, he wasn't able to locate anything wrong with himself. If anything, the only problems he had in that moment was the lack of food residing in his gut, his stomach bellowing its objections the moment he had properly sat up. It was as if he had been asleep for weeks or even months with how aggressive his body was rejecting him. He also had to go to the bathroom pretty badly.

Hobbling out of bed, Chion carefully took some time to get used to his own body weight. His legs were like pieces of wet paper, most likely from the poison. If he hadn't been prepared for it, he probably would have been kissing the tiled floor.

Once he was somewhat stable, he maneuvered himself towards the bathroom with great difficulty.

It took him a few minutes, but he managed to relieve himself and wash his hands before shuffling his way back towards the bed. Aside from the stiffness, he was actually feeling pretty comfy, more in tune with his own body than he had been before the fight with the scorpion. Whether that be because of the sweat pants and white t-shirt he was wearing or due to his subjugation of the vortex within him. He had no idea.

In regards to the icy blizzard near his own heart, Chion could still feel it, now being able to reach out and grab it whenever he so chose. Controlling the power was a bit different but now? He only needed to will it forward.

Opening his hand up, palm towards the ceiling, the youth willed some of it outwards in the direction of his choosing. Like clockwork, as if he had been doing it his whole life, a miniature cyclone of magical energy appeared above his hand, snow and ice dancing within his grasp. It was still very volatile and difficult to regulate properly, requiring the youths full focus to activate, but with the proper training and data obtained from future expirements, Chion would be able to use it as he saw fit and assure his own safety against any beings that came across his path. Save for gods, but no one was asking him to fight an entity like that.

Cutting off the flow of energy, Chion let out a breath of cool air, something that STILL occasionally happened even with the full control of magic.

(("Am I stuck with icy breath forever?")) The youth frowned slightly. (("I guess it's better than something rotten and foul. Still, maybe with better control I can-"))

OOPH!!

It felt like got tackled by a star quarterback, the full force of 90 pounds hitting him square in the chest, causing his vision to temporarily blur and his breath to momentarily escape him. Chion wasn't sure what was going on but he knew it wasn't any sort of threat. Didn't mean he felt any better about it, though, as Annabeth released the youth from her steel like grasp. For someone who was both shorter and weighed less than he himself did, she hit like a freight train running at full speed. Her left hook was even worse as she immediately punched him in the shoulder shortly afterwards.

"You're an an idiot." Annabeth looked simultaneously relieved and angry. Even with him having just woke up, she wasn't showing him a lick of mercy. "Fighting a giant scorpion alone without help?! Do you have death wish?!"

"Starting to feel like death has a thing for me." Chion rubbed the front of his chest where Annabeth had tackle hugged him. "Also, can't you go a bit easier on me? I nearly coughed out my spleen with that act."

"Don't be a moron and I won't have to." The blonde crossed her arms over her chest. "Always taking risks. Learn to take better care of yourself."

"It was kinda hard in that situation," Chion responded. "There wasn't much else I can realistically do other than maybe run away-"

"Then you run and live to fight another day. That's how demigods like us survive. We fight but we pick our battles. You're smart for a walking popsicle stick so you should know better than most." Annabeth glared. "If you almost die like that again, I'll kick your rear into the dirt. There won't be anything left to save when I finish with you!!"

"Yes, ma'am." Chion held back his smile as best he could, finding her threats to be amusing but also heartwarming. It was clear that it at least came from a good place.

"Good." Without losing steam, she turned around and walked towards the exit. "Now stay put while I go and get Chiron. Take a shower if you can. You reek."

As his blonde haired aggressor made her way out the front door, Chion gave himself a quick sniff. He actually didn't smell that bad, more like the scent of firewood. Most likely, the girl was trying to save some face due to her embarrassment and thus had freely taken jabs in hopes of completely changing the subject. He didn't particularly mind it though since it meant that it showed she genuinely cared. Perhaps, he had someone he could actually call a friend, even if he had only just met her. Though, if she was asked about it, Chion was almost positive she would just outright deny it.

Shifting around in his bed, Chion hoisted himself to his feet. He still felt more than a tad bit sluggish and stiff but it wasn't anything a proper shower couldn't fix, the hotter the better.

"The quicker I recover, the sooner I can get back to piecing everything into place." Chion shook his legs out some, getting a good feel for them. "I need to figure out the scope of my powers. What can they do? Whats their limit? How much can I create? Destructive capabilities? Maximum Range? Speed and output? So many things to try and data to collect. When I figure it all out and learn to apply it in battle, I'll have another weapon up my sleeve to keep fate from nipping at heels. For now, let's recuperate and see what we can accomplish."