[Third Person Pov]
"Hahaha!" Lucian's laughter erupted like thunder, rolling throughout the chamber with arrogant bravado as he threw his head back. The echoes ricocheted across the obsidian walls, drowning the tension in a wave of mockery. "You want to pass your verdict onto me? Hahaha… how utterly amusing. I can't help but laugh."
Minos slammed both hands onto the stone table and pushed himself halfway to his feet. "You think this is funny? We have the authority to send you straight to the gates of Tar—"
He was cut off.
Lucian's foot shot forward in a blur—crack—and planted itself firmly on Minos' face, slamming him back into his seat.
The entire chamber froze.
"Wh—What are you doing?" Thomas Jefferson sputtered, staring at Lucian in disbelief. Even in the underworld, where all manner of sins were judged, this—this sheer audacity—bordered on sacrilege.
Lucian stood with his hands deep in his pockets, his posture relaxed, almost lazy. His hair lifted in a supernatural breeze, strands swaying like flames as a radiant brilliance seeped from his very soul. He tilted his head just enough to peer down at Minos beneath his heel.
"I'm merely doing," he said casually, "what anyone would do when confronted by the opinion of an ant." His foot ground down harder, twisting slowly. "Stepping on it."
Minos growled, but Lucian only chuckled, rotating his heel over the judge's stunned expression with deliberate insult. "The strongest are the ones who pass judgment. Verdicts only matter when delivered by those at the pinnacle of existence. The weight of a decree..." His smile sharpened. "...can only be upheld by the worthy."
A faint shimmer crawled across Lucian's skin. His outline flickered, becoming translucent under a rising glow. He could feel it—his soul pulling free, becoming lighter, brighter, more alive than it ever had been. His smirk widened. Removing his hands from his pockets, he lifted them high.
"So here's my decree to you all."
Lucian extended both middle fingers.
Then he jumped back from the judges' table, tilted his head far enough to catch sight of Hades lounging in the shadows, and winked before dissolving into a cascade of golden particles.
Hades snorted—a genuine sound of amusement—and crossed his arms. The judges of the underworld were far from entertained. Their expressions twisted from shock into sharp, venomous loathing.
"Bring your boy back here, Hades!!" Minos roared, slamming his fist down so hard the stone splintered. "He must be punished for this insolence! I'll make sure he suffers through the deepest horrors Tartarus can offer!"
Hades pushed himself off the wall with lazy grace, shrugging without even attempting to hide his satisfaction. "There's nothing I can do. Lucian is no longer anywhere in the underworld." He stretched, spine popping, then added, "He's back in the land of the living. Which, unfortunately for you, places him far outside our jurisdiction. If you want to pass judgment on him again…" He spread his hands in mock helplessness. "You'll just have to wait until he dies again."
With hands tucked into his pockets in a perfect mimicry of Lucian's earlier stance, Hades began strolling toward the exit. He lifted one hand lazily in farewell, not bothering to look back.
"And by the looks of it," he said with a chuckle as the heavy stone doors swung shut behind him, "that won't be happening anytime soon."
---
Above, in the world of the living…
Deep beneath the soil where Lucian's body had been buried, the earth began to hum. His pale skin slowly regained color, a faint warmth blooming beneath its surface. The black veins that had snaked up his neck and along his jaw receded like shadows fleeing the dawn. The corrosive miasma that had once gnawed at his flesh evaporated as Brightheart Form and the Golden Fleece synchronized, their divine energies weaving together in perfect harmony.
The two forces amplified each other—light feeding light—purging him from within.
Lucian's heart lay silent in his chest. For a moment, all was still.
… … … Badump … …
… Badump …
Badump
The Golden Fleece's rejuvenating power seeped into his chest, reawakening what had been dormant. Each beat grew stronger, fuller, more alive.
Then—gasp.
Lucian's eyes snapped open, twin gleams of radiant light piercing the darkness beneath the earth.
His Curse Armor encased him like a cocoon, tightly wound around his form. He inhaled a ragged, wheezing breath as power surged through his body. The surrounding earth responded instantly—shifting, rumbling—its energy drawn into the armor, then into his skin, as he absorbed the 5th Sequence potion:
The Earth Sentinel.
Time became meaningless as he remained sealed within the armor. The ground trembled ever harder. Cracks began to spiderweb around the hardened shell. From within those fractures, threads of blinding light seeped out, growing brighter with each passing heartbeat.
"Woahh!!" Percy yelped as the ground beneath them bucked violently. Dirt rippled, pebbles bounced, and the trees shook as though a titan were stirring beneath the roots.
All around the clearing, everyone staggered.
"An—An earthquake?!" Clarisse shouted, pulling her spear and stabbing it into the ground.
Annabeth laughed breathlessly while clinging to Thalia, both girls swaying as the shaking intensified. "No—this isn't natural! It's Lucian!!"
Markus and Tyson went down like bowling pins, landing on their butts with matching "oofs." Scylla and Bianca threw their arms around a nearby tree, hugging it desperately as leaves rained from above.
Thalia pointed with wide, incredulous eyes. "Uh—guys? Are those… Lucian's shadow soldiers?!"
Everyone turned—and froze.
Golurk. Asura. Murder. Beatrice. Edna.
All of them emerging from the treeline, elegantly dressed in tailored black suits, crisp ties, polished shoes… looking like a supernatural jazz ensemble about to play a late-night gig.
And indeed—they were carrying instruments.
A keyboard. A double bass. A saxophone. Drums. Even a vintage microphone stand.
The group began setting everything up with eerie professionalism, ignoring the earthquake entirely. Asura stepped forward last. He held his massive hands together, palms cupped, then gently opened them.
Inside his palm stood Jefferson, the treasure-seeking mouse—wearing a perfectly fitted suit, a tiny tie, and a stylish little fedora tilted at a daring angle.
"Woah!!" Nico yelped as the light beneath the burial mound surged brighter. He stumbled backward and hit the ground beside Percy.
Jefferson hopped onto the tall barstool placed before the mic. He gripped the microphone with both paws, cleared his throat, and—against all logic—began to sing in a deep, velvety, astonishingly smooth voice as the band behind him eased into slow jazz.
(Song: Feeling Good – Michael Bublé)
"Birds flying high… you know how I feel~"
Everyone in the clearing sat there in complete shock, mouths open, the earth still trembling beneath them.
More beams of golden light pierced through the burial mound.
"Sun in the sky… you know how I feel~"
Cracks spread across the ground like glowing spiderwebs, but Jefferson didn't miss a single note.
"Breeze driftin' on by… you know how I feel~"
The mound reached its limit. With a thunderous sound, it erupted, shooting light and dirt into the air.
"It's a new dawn~"
A golden figure began to rise from the crater, head bowed, the Golden Fleece draped regally over his shoulders, radiant and alive.
"It's a new day~"
Lucian lifted his head, eyes glowing, arms opening as he hovered above the earth like a resurrected demigod.
"It's a new life for meee… and I'm feeling…"
He ran a slow hand through his snow-white hair, brushing it back, eyes sliding shut in bliss.
"Good~… I'm feeling good~"
The jazz behind him swelled. Lucian, bathing in the golden light, trailed his hands down his own body as if reacquainting himself with existence.
He leaned forward, drifting downward until his bare feet touched the grass and flowers that had grown wild and vibrant around his burial site.
"Fish in the sea, you know how I feel…
River runnin' free, you know how I feel…
Blossom on a tree… you know how I feel~"
Wherever Lucian stepped, the grass blossomed brighter, flowers bursting into bloom in brilliant color. He inhaled deeply, chest rising, then exhaled with a serene smile—alive from head to toe.
"It's a new dawn~"
Lucian swept one arm to the side—and a wave of flowers erupted like a blooming tidal surge, carpeting the entire clearing in a breathtaking sea of color.
"It's a new day~"
He swept the other arm, and from the cracks in the earth lava roared upward, spilling like molten gold and igniting the surrounding grass in controlled, swirling flames.
"It's a new life… for me~"
Standing in the center of light, fire, and flowers, Lucian spread his arms toward the group—every single one of them staring at him with slack jawed disbelief.
"And I'm feeling good~"
Lucian grinned—a wide, mischievous, victorious smile.
"I'm baaaaack!"
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Ps. MERRY CHRISTMAS!! HO HO HO 🎄 🎁 🎅
This is my gift to you, a Christmas miracle. Now before anything I have an announcement to make, it's been brought to my attention that ever since I start writing I have never really taken some time off, and I've been writing for years now, like around 3 years or so, so I've been forced to take a week long break for myself by my patreon chat! Isn't that great! Now if you want anyone to blame be sure to put all your blame on them and not me 😉😘
Anyways once again MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎅 🎄 I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY YOUR PRESENTS