Epilogue

Third-person POV

The sound of chanting filled the air, the Ancient Greek words gave the dark night an even gloomier feel. Fog seemed to cling onto the lone figure in the clearing, yet it also seemed to be repelled by him at the same time. The bugs stopped chirping and the air got colder, a menacing feel could be felt throughout the whole clearing.

Mist seeped out of the ground like it had a mind of their own. The fog gravitated towards each other and formed humanoid shapes, surrounding the still-chanting figure. The smoky figures seemed to look at a pit in front of the only solid person in the clearing. They wanted to bolt towards it but the presence of the man was the only thing stopping them from doing so.

The chanting got louder and the multiple figures in the trees grew restless. The words resonating from the man made them want to hide and yet, they also made the figures want to respond to his every command.

All of a sudden, the chanting stopped, allowing the floating figures some rest. The man raised his hands and took a shaky breath as he tried to keep the figures at bay.

'Percy Jackson, come forth.' a confident voice rang through the clearing.

A spirit floated out of the trees, glowing brighter than all the others. Nico di Angelo watched warily and gripped his Stygian Iron sword harder as the shining white spirit knelt down in front of the pit and took a drink from the dirt-infested Coke. When the figure finally stood, Nico's breath hitched.

'Percy,' Nico breathed 'You're here.'

'You summoned me, did you not?' Percy said chuckling.

The ghostly form of Percy Jackson smiled at his awestruck cousin. Percy looked exactly as he did before his death. His familiar unruly black hair swayed to an imaginary breeze. Despite being deathly pale all over, Nico could still see his usual sea-green eyes, albeit a little faded. His signature smirk plastered his face and his hands shoved deep in his jean pockets as he waited for Nico to say something.

'Percy...' Nico started but the words got stuck in his throat. He had more or less accepted his cousin's death but seeing Percy  in front of him tore everything he had built to the ground. All the days Nico spent trying to get over his death, gone in a few seconds.

'So, why have you broken the rules to speak to me?' Percy asked still smiling 'I don't want you to get in trouble, you know.'

That seemed to snap Nico out of his wayward thoughts. He looked around at the other spirits but to his surprise, they kept their distance. Nico didn't know whether it was because of their fear for him or whether it was because they knew the importance of Percy Jackson's spirit.

'I just-I just wanted to see you,' Nico whispered but in the silent night air, every word was audible 'I-I didn't get to say goodbye.'

Percy looked at his cousin with a sad smile, 'Thanks. So how is everyone? How's...Thalia? And the rest of the Seven? And-'

'Everyone's...fine,' Nico interrupted his friend 'You know, people are still recovering from the battle with Nyx. It's been three months but...we'll be fine.'

'And how are you specifically,' Percy asked softly 'You're not beating yourself up for my death, are you?'

Nico winced and that was all the confirmation Percy needed.

'Nico, you can't blame yourself,' Percy said to Nico, who was looking down 'You can't change Fate. It was the prophecy and you know nobody can defy a prophecy.'

'I know but,' Nico protested 'It-It still doesn't make it any easier.'

'I know, man. I know,' Percy said smiling 'I want you to know that I'm fine with death. I accepted my death and now I need you, and everyone else, to accept it too.'

Nico looked up from the ground, 'I-I know. It's just going to take some time.'

'You have all the time in the world.' Percy stated.

'So how are you enjoying Elysium?' Nico said, changing the subject 'How is-how is everyone else?'

Percy's smile brightened, 'Oh man. It was great seeing Annabeth again. And everyone too, of course. Bianca is still on her second life. Luke opted for rebirth two years ago.'

Nico smiled at the mention of his sister, 'And what was everyone like when you showed up?'

'Oh, they went wild,' Percy shivered 'Dude, they were screaming at me saying it wasn't my time yet. Everyone was surprised to find out I was, you know, dead. They thought I would have lived longer.'

Nico muttered something about how Percy should have lived longer but turned back to his cousin, 'That's good. It's good that you have company.'

'Yeah.' Percy said before the duo descended into an awkward silence.

'Hey, Nico?' Percy asked, eliciting a hum from the mentioned demigod.

'How's-how's my mum? And Paul and Estelle?' Percy asked uncertainly.

'You know, they cried, they mourned,' Nico sighed 'Zeus invited into camp for your funeral. Your mum and Paul were happy but they would prefer it if you weren't actually dead.'

Percy nodded sadly, 'And Estelle? Is she well?'

'Yeah, last time I saw her,' Nico said 'But she doesn't really understand everything yet. She still doesn't know...that she'll never see you again.'

'I made a promise to her too,' Percy said dejectedly 'I guess that's another promise I broke.'

'Hey man, don't do that,' Nico said, trying to cheer his friend up 'Look, I'll visit them occasionally. I'll play with Estelle and-and I'll keep them company. At least until Estelle finds out.'

Percy's eyes shone with gratitude, 'That means a lot to me, Nico. Thank you.'

All Nico could do was smile. It was the least he could do after everything Percy had done for him.

The spirits around them started becoming agitated, floating around violently. Nico started chanting in Ancient Greek again and the spirits settled down after a while.

'I guess I need to get going, huh?' Percy said as he looked around.

'Y-yeah.' Nico stuttered out. It was getting harder to keep the dead in the world of the living the longer they were here.

'It's good seeing you, Nico,' Percy said as his form started fading away 'Tell everyone I said hi. And remind Will it's not his fault.'

'Percy-'

'I'll see you again,' Percy shouted, his voice already being lost in the non-existent wind 'Just not too soon. Tell everyone that.'

'I will.' Nico promised as Percy gave him one last smile before disappearing along with the other spirits.

The forest lost the eerie feeling in the air as it returned back to normal. The bugs that seemed to have disappeared during the ritual came back, bringing the peaceful chirping along with them. The clouds parted away to reveal the beautiful silver rays of the full moon, the constellations shining brightly in the night sky. Nico stood there in the middle of the clearing, a seven-foot pit filled with Happy Meals and Coke in front of him.

He reached up to touch his face where a lone tear escaped his eye. He didn't even realise he had been crying. He was so focused on seeing his dead cousin again, he tuned out everything around him. He looked around the clearing, the moonlight illuminating it beautifully and despite the pit in the middle of it all, it was peaceful to the demigod. Looking around, Nico somehow felt relaxed, like everything was going to be okay.

Nico di Angelo smiled.

Final word count (excluding Author Notes): 85957

A/N: Didn't expect this did you? 

So this is the official end to this fanfic. Feel free to share it with any other fanfic-loving friends out there. 

I know I said this multiple times already but thank you all for the support you have given me. It made writing this fanfic much more enjoyable.

I have two ideas for possible fanfics right now and I will let you guys decide which one you want to see first. I won't say what I have planned though. Just the titles I have in mind.

So the first one is 'Perished'. It would be about around the same length as this fanfic, maybe shorter. Would possibly take half a year.

The next one is called 'Do-over'. It would be a lot longer, maybe 60-ish chapters and it would take the whole of 2021. Maybe.

You can vote which one you guys want to see on my profile next and I'll make sure to make it enjoyable.

Peace out, Sacai2005.