Hey.
You don't know me.
And honestly, until five minutes ago, I didn't exist either.
But now that the old Author has been… let's say, *retired* (read: disintegrated by the very character he created), someone had to step up. So here I am. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm not an author; I'm humbly narrating Ikki Phoenix's story for you, with his permission, of course. He knows about me, and he's got his eye on me—and all of you too. Oh? Sorry! I don't mean to scare you or anything; he's a chill guy, you know that…
Nice to meet you. Your new narrator.
And trust me, if you think you've seen weird stuff in stories about demigods, Egyptian magicians, or Greek gods bickering over a throne, this is gonna make those look like second-grade jokes. Because the scene I'm tasked with narrating is, no kidding, one of the most bizarre moments this multiverse has ever witnessed.
Ikki, the one and only—son of Zeus, Pharaoh of the House of Life, destroyer of gods, and now Author-slayer—was standing smack in the middle of Russia.
Or… what was left of it.
Why Russia?
It had vanished during his final, kinda anticlimactic showdown with Cronus. Everywhere you looked, just scorched earth. The famous Red Square? A colossal crater. The buildings? Cosmic dust. The rivers? Evaporated. Even the ghosts were too scared to show up.
The neighboring countries?
Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Lithuania, Finland—gone.
For a moment, the world felt emptier than a cyclops's brain trying to solve Sudoku.
And in the middle of that emptiness?
Ikki.
Calm. Arms crossed. Like it was just… Tuesday.
He looked around. The cloudless sky, the smell of nothing, the silence not even the gods dared break.
And then, without a wand, staff, ancient incantation, or dramatic lightning bolt, he spoke:
"…Nah. I liked it better before."
Seriously. That's it.
Russia?
Back.
Buildings reassembled brick by brick. Cars returned to the asphalt. The kvass vendor on the corner reappeared, wiping down his counter. People went back to their routines—talking, laughing, arguing about the weather. An old lady crossed the street exactly where she'd vanished, grumbling about today's youth.
The Russian president?
Still signing useless decrees.
And nobody, absolutely nobody, noticed that it had been destroyed or rebuilt.
Plus, he decided to tweak a few things in this story to make it better for everyone, giving them the ending they deserved. And just like that, he did it.
.
.
.
.
.
Five years later.
Manhattan woke up in its classic way: angry honks, the smell of fresh coffee mixed with exhaust fumes, and a middle-aged guy yelling at a crosswalk that the end was near.
All normal.
In the heart of the city, in an old building that smelled of stale paint and day-old donuts, sunlight streamed through the windows of a fifth-floor apartment, illuminating a living room with simple furniture, books stacked everywhere, and a few old photos of people who seemed normal… if you ignored the one where the Empire State Building was floating in the background.
It was in this setting that a voice cut through the air like a lightning bolt on a cloudless night:
"Ikki Phoenix!" shouted Sophia Phoenix, in her mid-thirties, her melodious voice sounding more like a battlefield command than a motherly scolding. "If you don't come down those stairs right now, I'll go up there and drag you down by your tie!"
And if you thought she was in pajamas or a kitchen apron, think again. Sophia Phoenix was stunning enough to make anyone forget their own name. Jet-black hair like the darkest night, sky-blue eyes that seemed to hold the reflection of a calm lake, and a face so serene and soft that even Hera would be jealous. Dressed in a flawless formal outfit—tailored black blazer, pencil skirt, stiletto heels—she looked more like a goddess disguised as a CEO than an ordinary mom.
The door at the top of the stairs opened, and Ikki Phoenix appeared.
In his early twenties, the son of Zeus, Pharaoh of the House of Life, destroyer of gods, and the Alpha and Omega. Except now… wearing an absurdly elegant suit. Italian black, burgundy tie, crisp white shirt, and that air of someone who'd just walked out of a meeting with gods.
He descended the stairs calmly, adjusting his tie with two fingers.
"Relax, Mom. I'm here, aren't I?"
Sophia gave him *that* look, the one only demigod moms could master—a mix of relief and menace.
"You're late…"
Ikki smirked, that lazy, slightly insolent smile that made it seem like he knew something the rest of the world didn't, which, to be fair, was almost always true.
"Actually…" he said, pointing a thumb at the old round clock on the living room wall, "I'm not late. It's still seven in the morning."
Sophia narrowed her eyes. She could've sworn it was already eight; they had to leave early for Percy's wedding. "Seven?"
"Yup. And the wedding starts at ten. That gives me…" He pretended to count on his fingers. "Three hours to look even more amazing than I already do. And maybe hit up Starbucks."
Sophia crossed her arms, a gesture that, in her case, felt more like summoning celestial authority than a simple frustrated-mom move.
"You think you'll have time to hit a coffee shop without causing a line of girls asking for selfies and coffees with your name on the cup?"
"Look, if it's just that, I'll probably get the coffee for free."
Ikki teased softly.
Inspired by his mother's career, he'd graduated high school with top grades, became a writer, and published his first bestseller at seventeen while still in school. He recorded an album at eighteen, and by nineteen, he was listed as one of the world's most influential people. Now, at twenty, he'd racked up literary awards, platinum records, and magazine covers. And as if that weren't enough, he'd also written, directed, and starred in several critically acclaimed, audience-loved blockbuster films. All this, of course, on top of the small detail of possessing a beauty that seemed hand-drawn by bored gods. Notably, he no longer toned down his appearance to blend in as he once did.
The lines at coffee shops were inevitable. Not because of the coffee. Because of him.
Sophia huffed and pointed at the couch with a gesture so commanding it could've turned a satyr into a goat out of sheer fright.
"You're going to sit, eat something, and tell me exactly what you plan to do today before heading to your best friend's wedding."
Ikki glanced around the room as if expecting an emergency exit to magically appear between the bookshelf and the photo frame of Poseidon making a goofy face at an Olympian barbecue.
"Plan to… not steal the show."
Sophia raised an eyebrow. "You really think you can go to Percy Jackson's wedding in that suit, with that face, and *not* be the center of attention?"
Ikki replied with the serenity of someone who'd once argued with Time and won:
"If I don't smile too much, maybe no one will notice."
From upstairs, a muffled voice, probably from the guest room, rang out:
"YOU'LL STEAL THE SHOW ANYWAY, YOU IRRITATINGLY GORGEOUS KID!"
It was Nico. Or Jason. Or Leo. Or Walt and Carter. Maybe all of them. They'd arrived the day before and were crashing in the apartment like a chaotic demigod frat house (which, basically, was true).
Sophia sighed, exhausted. "Just… go eat something. And try not to blow up any buildings until the cake's cut."
Ikki was already grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl, taking a casual bite, and replying with his mouth full:
"Got it. Explosions only after the toast."
Meanwhile, the stairs creaked. One by one, with the kind of weight only a group of twenty-something demigods carried: a mix of absurd power, emotional trauma, and an ego disguised as inside jokes.
The first to appear was Leo Valdez, adjusting his tie knot like it was a crown of thorns. The black suit looked freshly ironed, but his messy hair and mischievous grin revealed he'd just woken up, probably dreaming of some dangerous invention involving lava and coffee makers. He stopped mid-stair, raised an eyebrow at Ikki, and let out:
"You realize you look like an Armani ad model who beat Hades with sheer charisma?"
Right behind him, Jason Grace emerged with the gravity of a Roman commander fresh off the battlefield. The dark gray suit fit perfectly on his broad shoulders, and he adjusted his reading glasses like he was still reviewing wedding tactics in 'war mode.' Seeing Ikki, he frowned slightly.
"You're really wearing that burgundy tie? You know you're gonna outshine Percy."
Nico di Angelo appeared like a shadow between them, his black suit as dark as night itself, tie loose around his neck as if formality were a personal insult. He crossed his arms, leaning on the railing, and shot a look that could kill a monster with existential depression.
"You all know that, no matter what we wear, no one's looking at anything else once Ikki walks in."
Walt Stone came next, calm, with a relaxed posture of someone who'd faced death and won with a friendly smile. The dark beige suit complemented his brown skin and warm eyes. He gave Jason and Leo a pat on the back as he passed and looked at Ikki with a grin.
"You ready to be hated by 90% of the guests for not being single?"
Carter Kane, of course, showed up last, as always slightly late, with a book tucked under his arm because not even a ceremony with gods present stopped him from reviewing ancient magic or some Egyptian note no one there would understand without a dictionary. His navy-blue suit was too serious, but his presence softened everything. He let out a resigned sigh.
"I dreamed last night that the wedding got invaded by suit-wearing cyclopes. And Ikki accidentally married someone instead of Percy. So, if something like that happens… just wanna say, 'I told you so.'"
The room fell silent for a second.
Until Leo whistled, eyeing his friends:
"Anyone else notice that if we showed up like this anywhere else, they'd think it's a special-edition demigod model runway?"
Ikki took a final bite of the apple and tossed the core into the trash with surgical precision.
"We're not models. We're the last line of defense. Just with style."
Nico rolled his eyes. "Humble as ever."
Sophia appeared at the kitchen door with a tray of pancakes, like a general leading a breakfast battalion. She eyed the group with a mix of maternal pride and mild despair.
"All of you. Sit. Eat. And please, just for today… try not to destroy the reception hall before the bouquet toss."
Leo raised his hand. "What about *after* the bouquet?"
"Leo."
"Fine, fine. I'm sitting. But only because those pancakes smell better than hot ambrosia."
And so, as if nothing were more important than breakfast, the table filled up. With chatter, laughter, teasing, and, of course, pancakes.
After twenty minutes of pancakes, laughter, and at least three threats from Nico to summon a shadow just to drown Leo in his own syrup, the group was finally ready to go.
The black stretch limousine sat on the street like a luxurious serpent, gleaming under Manhattan's morning sun as the demigods packed their elegance and egos into the back with more difficulty than seemed physically possible.
"This is ridiculous," Nico grumbled, slouched in the leather seat, head against the window. "We could've gotten there in five seconds. Literally."
"Not literally," Carter muttered, flipping through his book even as the car moved. "More like seven seconds. If you account for energy alignment and conjunction points—"
"Carter," Walt interrupted, smiling with the patience of someone who'd heard this a thousand times, "no one cares about conjunction points before nine a.m."
Ikki was sprawled comfortably by the window, one arm draped casually, the other fiddling with his wristwatch like he was counting the universe's heartbeats. Still in his impeccable suit, of course, but he'd ditched the jacket and rolled up his sleeves, because apparently, he could do that and still look like a living Greek statue.
"All this for a normal wedding," he commented with a half-smile, "as if anything about Percy Jackson could be normal."
"You're the last person in the universe who gets to talk about normal," Jason said, adjusting his tie like it was strangling him. "You literally floated down the stairs last night to grab water."
"I was thirsty," Ikki replied matter-of-factly. "And gravity was too busy staring at my suit."
Leo snorted, laughing, sprawled in the back like he owned the car (he didn't—probably tried to). "The only gravity affecting this guy is emotional. And even that, he ignores."
At that moment, Sophia, seated up front with the driver, turned slightly, not losing her commanding tone or CEO-Olympian charm.
"It was Sally's request," she said firmly. "She wants her son to have a wedding like any other mortal. No sand portals, no fire wings, no pegasus tornadoes. Just family, friends."
"So we're really taking a limo to Long Island for this?" Nico asked, shooting a bored look at the window. "It's gonna take over an hour."
"Sally wanted a grand entrance. Not explosive—triumphant. Elegant. Classic. Normal," Sophia explained, her stern glare capable of silencing a titan. "Which, coming from you lot, is asking a lot."
"With all due respect to Ms. Sally," Leo said, propping his feet on the seat in front, only to be kicked by Jason, "this is the most *not* normal group ever assembled outside Olympus. The wedding's already doomed to be glorious chaos."
"But no powers," Sophia reinforced, as if wielding an invisible judge's gavel. "Got it?"
A chorus of grumbles echoed through the limo.
"Great," she said, turning back. "And try not to turn into anything shiny until after dessert."
As the limousine glided across the bridge toward Long Island, the demigods, each in their own way, grappled with the absurd idea of being… normal. For a few hours.
Jason tried to relax, head against the headrest. Walt dozed lightly, a smile on his lips. Nico stayed brooding as always, though his eyes betrayed a spark of curiosity. Leo fiddled with his phone, probably plotting to hijack the wedding DJ's playlist. Carter kept reading. And Ikki…
Ikki gazed at the horizon through the window, as if seeing something beyond the road.
To give some context for the un-narrated time.
A lot happened in those five years. But going back to before them, there was no fight with Cronus or Luke's betrayal. Ikki erased both from the story like a bored writer who found two characters uninteresting and scrubbed them out. The Greek world still believed Cronus was in pieces in Tartarus, not bothering anyone.
Erasing those two changed a lot. No Luke betrayal, no *Lightning Thief*. In fact, it was Ares who stole Zeus's Master Bolt, so Ikki's first year as a camper stayed mostly the same. But after that, he didn't vanish for a year to find a way to revive his mom, since she never died here. Though during his time away from camp, he still discovered the Egyptian world and saved it from Set, destroying him along with the Red Pyramid. He returned to camp for his second year and joined Percy on the *Sea of Monsters* quest, which played out almost like Rick Riordan's book.
After leaving Camp Half-Blood in his second year, he met his Norse grandmother and explored his Norse side, fighting and defeating Thor, adventuring in Hotel Valhalla, taming Fenrir as a pet, and even pestering the World Serpent. It was a great vacation. He went back to school afterward, hanging out normally with his best friend, and together they rescued Bianca and Nico with Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover, saving them from the Manticore. Then Artemis showed up.
One thing that stayed completely the same was his relationship with the Huntress Goddess, which was, at that point, complicated due to her rejection a year prior. He treated her with the same indifference. She still got captured and trapped under the Sky, thinking Ikki's mom was suffering its weight, taking Atlas's place, who planned to escape to help Cronus rise with aid from some entities. In the end, Ikki saved her the same way, destroying the Sky and Atlas, and started dating her afterward, just like before.
Then came the events of saving the world from Apophis. He reunited with Sadie, Carter, Zia, Walt, and Bes (meeting the latter two for the first time), entered the Duat, and unlike last time when he devoured all the gods, he helped resurrect Ra and became his host alongside Set, gaining both their powers and defeating Apophis alone in the Duat, saving his friends and the world.
One thing he erased was that global-scale alteration magic for the Egyptian world, making it so the gods he killed were seen as jerks who locked themselves in the Duat in the eyes of those tied to Egyptian mythology. In other words, the Duat kept functioning normally. But as expected, Sadie and Zia still fell for him, and he became the Pharaoh of the House of Life anyway, as well as part of the Duat's Council of Gods, since to them, he was basically a god in human form. They also knew he was a demigod son of Zeus, which led to the Greek and Egyptian pantheons becoming political allies.
By the way, Set and Ra were cool with him. He didn't want a relationship like Itadori and Sukuna, so it became more like Naruto and Kurama, with everyone seeing them as friends. But that was just him manipulating the narrative to make it happen.
Anyway, having defeated Apophis at that point, the subsequent events of Ra's resurrection and the fight against Apophis in the third book of Riordan's trilogy were erased. The magicians lived normally, and some, like Sadie, Zia, Walt, and Carter, even visited Camp Half-Blood with him. They returned with him for his fourth summer at camp, which was the most normal of all.
It's worth noting that the Ancient Laws barring gods from seeing their kids were gone, so it was common to see Poseidon fishing with Percy, Zeus visiting Ikki or Thalia (who still joined the Hunters, but due to Ikki's secret relationship with Artemis, they kept coming back), Apollo jamming on guitar by the campfire after dinner, Demeter checking on her kids and helping with the camp's crops, Aphrodite visiting her kids to help with hairstyles or romance (her positive change stuck), Hades dropping by to see Bianca and Nico, Hermes checking on his kids, Ares teaching combat in the arena, and even Dionysus enjoying his role as camp director, freed from restrictions and able to be with his wife and drink his wine.
Camp Half-Blood had cabins for all Greek gods, even the minor ones, and that summer was the closest thing to a chaotic Greek-style family reunion, with the added bonus of Egyptian magicians.
At the end of that summer, Ikki's dad, Zeus, even showed up for some father-son time on his birthday. Zeus was dating Ikki's mom and still busy with godly duties, so it was rare to see him. Hera, meanwhile, was single and on the prowl. She wasn't Queen of the Gods anymore—well, Zeus kept her as such out of guilt for everything he'd done, but that was it. Rumor had it she was almost a second Aphrodite before meeting Ikki…
After his fourth summer, Ikki got caught up in an Asgard adventure because of Thor, went to the House of Life to do his Pharaoh duties, hung out with friends, and then visited the Aztec gods for a surprisingly fun adventure. He returned to school in weeks, studying again with Percy and Annabeth, who'd started living full-time with her dad.
And so that school year passed. By his fifth summer, relationship issues cropped up. Though he could literally erase all problems with a thought, he didn't, trying to live as a "three-dimensional human," so problems were inevitable. Dating the Huntress Goddess came with consequences. The Hunters weren't much of an issue after getting to know him and seeing their lady happy, but the real drama came from girls who had feelings for him and wouldn't give up. That summer was full of unnecessary drama.
After the summer, he traveled the world, having the kind of fun only an omniscient, omnipresent being could—nothing truly novel. He returned to school and had a normal school year.
When the events of the *Heroes of Olympus* series, the sequel to *Percy Jackson and the Olympians*, would've started with Gaia's rise, things went very differently. For starters, Ikki was the leader of Camp Half-Blood, and there was no Percy-Jason swap between camps. His dad called him and explained the situation.
When the Greek gods were adopted by Rome, they gained another aspect. They weren't entirely one or the other, able to exist in multiple places at once. Some Roman gods, like Terminus and Bellona, were purely Roman. A god like Mithras shows how Roman mythology interacted and merged with other religions as the empire expanded. As a result of Rome's new take on them, their Roman forms differed greatly from their originals. They're described as far more militaristic and duty-bound than their Greek forms, becoming warriors and often hostile. They're skilled in combat and seem to care more about honor, fitting Roman culture.
Some gods' behavior differs so much in their Roman form that, instead of a distinct aspect, they become a separate personality. This is clear with Mars, a dedicated strategist who dislikes unnecessary bloodshed, unlike his true Greek form, Ares, who loves combat and violence. Their status and importance can also shift. For example, Pluto was more tied to wealth than his Greek form, primarily a death god. Mars became more important due to Rome's love for war, respected to the point where only Jupiter outranked him. Meanwhile, gods could lose respect in their Roman aspects. Poseidon, as Neptune, was less revered since Romans feared the sea.
After hearing his dad's explanation, Ikki chose to be swapped with Jason and live at Camp Jupiter. He was taken there by Diana, Artemis's counterpart, whom he'd already met over the years. In truth, Artemis had explained everything before Zeus did, and Diana was part of their relationship. Anyway, moving past his weird throuple, because it was like dating twins.
Remember when I said Gaia's rise happened differently from Riordan's books? Well, it didn't happen at all. First, Ikki won over the Romans with his charisma and strength, and eventually, the two camps merged, with Greeks and Romans living together in Long Island. Even the Greek and Roman gods, who could exist separately since they could be in multiple places, coexisted at the new Camp Half-Blood.
A lot happened in the meantime, but during this period, Ikki graduated high school with a cool ceremony, started college, and led a normal life with two hot girlfriends and a complicated love life.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when his half-brother called him.
"Thinking about the speech?" Jason asked, half-asleep.
Ikki gave a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
"Thinking that… after everything—gods, battles—Percy still chose love."
Jason blinked. "You getting philosophical or just trying to impress at the toast?"
"A bit of both."
The limousine turned onto a side road leading to a private beach. The Long Island sea sparkled in the distance under the sun, the sky clear as if the gods had, for once, left Earth in peace just for this day.
Leo leaned forward, chin resting on his fists.
"Okay, I'll admit. This is pretty."
"At least until you try sneaking fireworks into the cake," Nico muttered.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Sophia said, stepping out of the car with her supernatural elegance. "Now go. Put on your most human smiles. Because today, you're just guests. And Percy Jackson deserves that."
The beach was decorated with charming simplicity: white flowers, a wooden arch altar, neatly arranged chairs, and the sound of waves in the background creating a natural symphony.
And for a moment, it really did feel… normal.