The gods liked their love stories clean. Simple. Predictable. Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson fit that perfectly. A hero and a strategist. Sea and mind. Battle and balance. It made sense. Until it didn’t. Because the gods remembered something Percy didn’t fully understand. Annabeth had loved someone before him. You. And gods were cruel when they wanted proof.

They didn’t ask Percy if he agreed. They didn’t ask Annabeth if she wanted it. They simply decided. If Percy’s love was real—He would fight you. And win.

The only problem? No one knew where you were. You hadn’t been at camp in a long time. No quests. No sightings. No rumors that could be trusted. You had disappeared so completely it almost felt intentional. Like you had stepped out of the world and refused to come back.

So they came to the one place that still felt like it might hold you. Where it had started. Where Annabeth had first met you.

The place was quiet. Overgrown now. Grass pushing through cracked stone, vines curling around broken edges of what had once been something meaningful. Time had softened it, but not erased it. Annabeth stood still at the edge of it. Her dagger hung loosely in her hand. Not raised. Not ready. Just… there.

Percy stood a few steps ahead, Riptide already uncapped, the bronze blade glinting faintly under the shifting light. He didn’t like this. That much was obvious in the way his shoulders were set too tight. The way his grip on the sword wasn’t confident — just firm enough to hide hesitation.

This wasn’t a monster. This wasn’t some enemy from a prophecy. This was you. Someone Annabeth had loved. Someone who had existed before him. And that thought alone made something twist uncomfortably in his chest.

The wind moved softly through the ruins. Nothing answered. No movement. No sign of you. Just silence stretching longer and longer.

They walked slowly through the place. Weapons drawn. Eyes scanning. Waiting. Because the gods believed something simple—If they stood in the right place long enough… You would come. Because people like you didn’t disappear completely. Not from places that meant something.

Annabeth’s gaze drifted across the space, catching on small details she hadn’t noticed in years. A mark in the stone. A place where something had once been carved. Memories pressed into every inch of it. Her jaw tightened slightly.

Percy glanced at her once. Then back to the empty space ahead. The air felt heavier the longer they stood there. Like something unseen was already watching. Already waiting.