Percy Jackson - The Record of The Journey of a Mortal Who Become a God

After a brief discussion, the group of demigods and satyr decided to camp in the woods, a hundred meters from the main road, in a marshy clearing that obviously the local kids used for parties, since the ground was littered with crushed soda cans and fast-food wrappers.

They had taken some food and blankets from the gorgon, but didn't dare start a campfire to avoid drawing more attention.

The Furies and the Gorgon had already provided enough excitement for one day.

They decided to sleep in shifts, Percy volunteered to be the first to stand guard, so he leaned against a tree.

Annabeth curled up under the blankets and was already snoring when her head touched the ground.

Grover ascended with his flying sneakers to the lowest branch of a tree, leaned against the trunk, and gazed at the night sky.

Ikki was casually sitting cross-legged on a branch, his friends didn't even know how he had gotten up there. He rested his chin in one hand while looking at the night sky, seeing the stars partially obscured by clouds. His face was extremely calm, with his long black hair flowing down his back, lightly swaying in the night breeze.

This scene was truly magnificent, like a stunning painting.

"Go ahead and sleep," Percy said to both of them. "I'll wake you if there are any problems…"

"I'm not tired…" Ikki said calmly. Through his [Artificial Divinity], he achieved self-sufficiency, becoming someone without human needs or better yet, someone with a complete absence of them, including the need to eat, drink, relieve waste, sleep or rest, and even breathe and adapt to the temperature conditions around him, being able to fully survive, whether still or not, without the negative effects that such scarcity would normally bring.

He only ate, drank, or slept for the pleasures of change. That had been the case since he developed his ability that gave him sovereignty over his physical body.

Hearing his friend's words, Grover nodded but still did not close his eyes. "That makes me sad, Percy…"

"What? Joining this stupid mission?" Percy asked, looking at the satyr.

"No. That makes me sad." Grover pointed to all that trash on the ground. "And the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr…"

"Oh, right. I guess you'd be an environmentalist…" Percy said stupidly.

Ikki's lips tightened; satyrs had a connection to nature.

The god they believed in was the God of Nature; his friend's ignorance about this showed a glaring lack of sensitivity.

Grover shot a penetrating look at Percy and declared, upset:

"Only a human wouldn't be. Your kind is cluttering the world so quickly that... Well, it doesn't matter. It's pointless to preach to a human. The way things are going, I'll never find Pan…"

"What Pan?" Percy asked, lost.

"Pan!" Grover shouted indignantly. "P-A-N. The great god Pan! You think I want a seeker's license for what?!"

As if the name had power, at that moment, a strange breeze blew through the clearing, momentarily covering the stench of trash and decay. It carried a scent of wild fruits and flowers, and of clean rainwater, things that must have once existed in these woods.

The breeze gently swept Ikki's black hair; feeling the scent of nature, he felt relaxed and serene. He looked up at the partially obscured stars and gave a brief smile that the myriad of races was fortunate not to see.

Percy felt nostalgia for something he had never known and said a bit more interested, "Tell me about the quest…"

Grover looked at Percy and Ikki apprehensively, as if fearing he was just having fun at his expense.

But after a moment, he began to tell.

"The god of the wild places disappeared two thousand years ago. A sailor coming from the coast of Ephesus heard a mysterious voice crying out on the beach: 'Tell them that the great god Pan is dead!' When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's realm ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He was our protector, and also of the wild places of the Earth."

"We don't believe he's dead. Every generation, the bravest satyrs risk their lives to find Pan. They scour the planet, exploring all the wildest places waiting to find the place where he hides and awaken him from his slumber…"

Ikki pondered as he listened to the satyr's words; he vaguely remembered fulfilling his dream in the near future, but he couldn't exactly recall when.

When he thought about it, he remembered what he had discovered over the years.

He realized that his memories of this world had become a painting with paint splattered since he was reborn, as time went on, the paint dripped and the memories faded. All he was sure of about this world was that it was a book he had read once; that freshness was still with him now...

But the rest? He could no longer remember what it was, along with many of his memories of his past life. All he could do about it was accept it; he resigned himself that it was the price for being reborn. No matter how much he increased his intellectual faculties, the memories of his past life would fade over time. But strangely, the terror he initially felt when he realized this did not exist at this point; he noticed that his "identity" didn't seem affected…

And he was resigned to forget his past life; there was nothing valuable there to remember…

"And you want to be a seeker..." Percy stated, pointing out the fact, his words jolted Ikki from his reverie.

His current life was more interesting than his old one…

"It's my lifelong dream." Grover had sad eyes when he spoke. "My father was a seeker. And my uncle Ferdinand… the statue you saw over there…"

"Oh, right, sorry…" Percy apologized, a bit embarrassed.

Grover shook his head and spoke dreamily. "Uncle Ferdinand knew the risks. My father too. But I will succeed. I will be the first seeker to return alive… The first in two thousand years."

They fell silent, and then Percy asked. "Do you really think that? I mean, do you really think you'll be the first Satyr in two thousand years to find Pan?"

"I need to believe that, Percy. Every seeker believes that. It's the only thing that keeps us from becoming desperate when we look at what humans have done to the world. I have to believe that Pan can still be awakened…"

Ikki, who had been silent, said to Grover, his calm, gentle words penetrating deep into his heart.

"To achieve great accomplishments, we must not only act but also dream; not only plan but also believe. Therefore, Grover, believe in your dream and don't give up… Because sometimes, all a dream needs to come true is someone who believes it can come true."

Grover was very moved by his words; he nodded gratefully at Ikki. "Thank you, Ikki."

Percy, who had been listening to their conversation, looked at the orange mist of the half-obscured sky, trying to understand Ikki's words and Grover's action in pursuing a dream that seemed so impossible.

There was silence for a time that was not necessarily long. Then, Percy asked, "How are we going to get into the Underworld? I mean, what chances do we have against a god?..."

Ikki seemed to be contemplating Percy's words. What were his chances of defeating one of the Big Three? Did he have the confidence for that…

Although his friends wouldn't believe him if he were to say so, he chose silence.

"I don't know." Grover admitted a bit worriedly: "But before, at the gorgon's house, when you were rummaging through her office, Annabeth talked to us…"

"Oh, I forgot. Annabeth always has a whole plan mapped out…" Percy said, rolling his eyes with evident sarcasm in his voice.

"Don't be so hard on her, Percy. Annabeth had a tough life, but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me…" Grover said, not finishing his words. His voice trembled, and he interrupted himself.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked abruptly. "Forgave what?"

"That has to do with Thalia, right? Your last mission was to take care of her, and Annabeth was involved in that, wasn't she?..." Ikki said calmly, looking at the satyr who had his head down and looked depressed.

"I don't want to talk about it," Grover said, he looked like he would cry at any moment; the tremor in his lower lip suggested that.

He calmed down a bit and said, "But as I was saying, back at the gorgon's house, Annabeth and I thought there was something strange about this mission. Something that isn't what it seems…"

"Oh, newsflash. I'm being accused of stealing a lightning bolt that Hades took…" Percy said casually.

Grover shook his head; he told the two boys about Annabeth's and his suspicions regarding the mission, laying several facts on the table.

One thing was certain; this mission had something wrong with it.

"That doesn't make sense…" Percy commented after hearing everything.

"I know. But if we misunderstood something about this mission, and we only have nine days to find the Master Bolt..." Grover said, looking at Percy as if waiting for answers, but found none.

After a brief moment of silence, Percy sighed and spoke sincerely: "Guys, I haven't been honest with you. I don't care about the Master Bolt. I agreed to go to the Underworld to bring my mom back..."

Ikki looked at Percy calmly and said, "I already knew that; after all, how long have we been friends? You have my full support. Rest assured! We will save your mom..."

That was one of his plans to go to the underworld. Taking advantage of all this involvement in the theft of the weapon belonging to Zeus and such, he would retrieve his friend's mother's soul and find a way to bring her back to life.

Grover played a soft note on his flute. "Just like Ikki, I also knew, Percy. But are you sure that's the only reason?"

"I'm not doing this to help my dad. He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him..." Percy said brusquely.

From his branch, Grover looked down intently. "Look, Percy. I'm not as smart as Annabeth. I'm not as brave as you. And I'm definitely not as strong as Ikki. But I'm very good at reading emotions. You're happy because your dad is alive. You feel good about the fact that he acknowledged you as his son, and part of you wants him to be proud..."

"Really? Well, maybe the emotions of satyrs work differently than human emotions. Because you're wrong. I don't care what he thinks..." Percy said with a scowl on his face.

Grover pulled his feet up onto the branch. "Alright, Percy. Whatever."

"How about I take the first watch, huh? You two can sleep a bit..." suggested the satyr, pulling the flute from his pocket.

Percy wanted to protest, but Grover began to play Mozart, soft and sweet. He grumbled a bit and went over to where the blankets were, next to Annabeth.

"You can sleep too, Ikki... You were the only one who tried the hardest among us, taking down the Kindly Ones and Medusa."

"I'm not sleepy..." Ikki said with a small smile on his lips. He looked at Annabeth and saw that she was shivering from the cold. Jumping down from the branch and landing softly in front of her, he took off his jacket and gently covered the girl.

Annabeth snuggled into his jacket comfortably.

Ikki couldn't help but smile a little at how cute it looked. Turning his attention back to Grover, who seemed to be trying to find something somewhere, he spoke calmly.

"I'll take watch."

"Are you sure?..." Grover asked, a bit concerned for his friend who had exerted himself too much not to have a good rest.

"Yes..." Ikki said, jumping back onto the branch like a cat.

"Alright..." Grover said as he prepared to sleep. He was really sleepy and felt completely safe sleeping with Ikki keeping watch.

It didn't take long for Grover to fall asleep.

Ikki lay lazily on the branch. He closed his eyes and focused on his studies of the soul in his mind. Ever since he evolved and gained an understanding of the beauty of life and death, he had been trying to create a script for necromantic abilities, something he had always liked since his past life.

With the help of his 'source,' capable of generating all kinds of energy, his understanding of the complexity of the outcome he wanted to achieve, and his creativity, he created what he called [Script of Death] in homage to one of the stories he had read in his past life and still remembered, his powers were basically the same...

The secrets of each secret art were passing through his mind. There were four secret arts in the [Script of Death]; "The Soul of Death," "Death Record," "Seal of Death," and "Chapter of Death."

[The Soul of Death] allows the user to create three separate souls that can be hidden. As long as any of them exist, the user cannot be killed, even if their body and soul are destroyed or they are erased from existence. However, the Souls of Death do not grant eternal life; they only protect the user from being killed; the user can still die of old age. A problem he had already solved...

That is, the only way to destroy him permanently would be to find the three souls of death and destroy them.

This was a very powerful secret art and was the easiest to practice. But he would have to think of places to hide his three souls of death, so for now, he opted not to create them yet.

[The Death Record] was much more terrifying. Since it forms a white flower with eighteen petals inside the user's mind, and each time the user dies, one of the flower's petals would be activated. He would be resurrected instantly and gain several benefits. This secret art was heavily based on Buddhist concepts about rebirth, and to pay homage, he placed a lotus as a formula; this was his most complex and powerful work to date...

With this secret art, dying was beneficial for him since every three deaths, he could achieve a "miracle," which was the condition he placed within the 'formula' to make it so powerful.

Ikki decided to start practicing this secret art. He concentrated and followed the instructions contained within it.

With the channeling of the secret art's incantation, his consciousness traveled to the innermost part of his mind: the sea of consciousness, the core that connected the mind and soul of a person. He quickly continued to channel the secret art of [Script of Death], and in an instant, a white flower appeared floating in his sea of consciousness.

It took a few minutes in total to be completely refined. After finishing, eighteen petals floated in his sea of consciousness; all of them looked gloomy and made of paper.

With this, he no longer needed to fear death and could eagerly seek it without worries. Since it was something good for him...

After practicing one of the secret arts, he immediately moved on to the next, the [Seal of Death]. In an instant, a strange seal appeared on his chest, tattooed on his skin.

When the [Seal of Death] is successfully created on the user's body, any injury they suffer will turn into [Death Energy] and will be stored within that seal. The larger and more fatal the injury, the more [Death Energy] is generated and stored. It also makes the user's body more resistant to what injured them, and if injured multiple times by the same thing, they become immune to it.

Ikki smiled slightly and slowly opened his eyes.

He raised his hand, and a gray apple of energy flowed through it; this was the [Death Energy] when used to execute the [Chapter of Death]. He could reanimate anything that had died in the area and control it at his will.

The good thing was that he didn't need to practice the [Chapter of Death], as he had automatically cultivated it by creating the seal on his body.

Waving his hand and dissipating the [Death Energy], Ikki put his hands behind his head and lay back.

He looked up at the night sky and got lost in thought.