After saying goodbye to Rachel, Silva began his journey to Mount Tamalpais in California. He didn't have to rush, as the main party would go through Annabeth's house before going after Atlas.
And he needed to reach the place a little later than the others.
Percy and Annabeth's undertaking of the sky was an important moment in both their lives. He believed that holding the sky was one of the reasons why they were stronger than other demigods in the entire series.
The weight of the sky is not fixed, and it changes according to the person who holds it on their shoulders. Plus, the person holding it will never get crushed, as the curse makes sure that the person holding it is pushed to the limit and then some more.
So when Percy and Annabeth got trapped under it, it pushed their body's potential, which allowed them to grow stronger later in their lives.
It might also be one of the factors that allowed them to survive when they fell into Tartarus together in Heroes of Olympus.
Basically, one of the greatest curses in Greek and Roman mythology is one of the best workouts a gym nut could ever ask for.
'Should I try it out? Nah, there's no time to do it,' Silva thought a bit regretfully.
So he needed to reach there a bit later than the others.
But at the same time, his thoughts went back to his own powers and how Apollo had said that his life was his own.
He thought about what he currently knew about his powers.
A) He is an anomaly that can hide from the chains of fate itself. He can include himself in quests that have limits. Like, if the prophecy of a quest says that only five people can go, he can include himself as a sixth member and not violate the prophecy at all.
B) He has an innate ability to bend the words of prophecies and turn them into his own desired outcome as long as he follows the words of the prophecy to the letter.
What made Silva ponder was the second factor of his power over fate. When he had saved Bianca, he had glimpsed the limits of this ability. He felt like he would have paid some kind of price if his actions had not played out perfectly as he had planned. If even one detail had been broken and Bianca had been saved by going against the prophecy, something dangerous would have happened to him.
But what constitutes danger, and what about its degree? Going against a minor prophecy and going against a great prophecy might ask for varying degrees of payment, with the great prophecy taking his life at a minimum.
But all of this is currently made up of speculations and conjectures. Unless he tests it himself, there is no way to know the answer.
Silva then took out the feather he had gotten from the Nephilim he met in the Vatican.
'I guess there is a way I can test it,' he thought to himself as his steps became even more determined.
The rest of the story went according to the book for the party. Silva had already infiltrated Mount Othrys and used his senses to their fullest potential. The mountain was filled with plant life all around, so it was easy for him to use the forests to see what was happening around the mountain.
First, he checked whether there were any more spatial spirits that yeeted him straight to the Vatican like last time. Even if he had the ability to escape them because of the blessing from Hades, he was not going to take any chances. Plus, there was also a good chance that the spirits might push the other demigods to even more dangerous locations.
Finding no similar spirits, Silva began to wait for them while recovering his energy. He also looked into the knowledge of Thousand Zakura, the archery skill given to him as a gift from Karna.
As he concentrated on the skill more and more, the demigods reached Hera's tree and crossed it while Zoe stayed back to fight against Ladon and distract him from attacking the others.
Zoe looked at the dragon and realised that it was not being swayed by her words, but instead was waiting for her to get close so that it could attack without missing its chance. But Zoe did not hesitate, as she knew she had to do it for the others to reach the sky pillar where her Goddess was being kept as a prisoner.
The moment she got close enough to its range, one of her sisters immediately ordered the attack, and suddenly, dozens of heads of Ladon attacked at the same time.
She drew her sword, but she knew she would not escape unscathed from this fight.
But the next moment, lines of pure silver flashed across her eyes as arrows that shone like starlight pierced straight through every head that was targeting her.
"Who!!!" one of the Hesperides screamed as she realised they were not alone with the sister who had betrayed and abandoned them years ago.
Zoe Nightshade was a huntress who had been Artemis's Lieutenant for centuries. The moment those arrows cut down the heads of Ladon, she immediately bolted towards the mountain after Percy and the others. She knew the priority was to save the goddess; everything else could be answered later.
But even then, the corner of her lips curled slightly.
'Those arrows were just like My lady's when she fought in wars.'
"Zoe, you alright?" Percy asked as he saw her running towards them.
"Yes, I am. We need to move quickly," she said as she joined the others.
At the same time, back with the Hesperides and Ladon:
"Demigod, how dare you interfere? You won't be leaving here alive!" the Hesperide said as Ladon had completely awakened by now. All 100 of its heads were completely focused on Silva.
"Let's make a new legend, shall we?" Silva muttered as he prepared for a battle no demigod had ever faced in their lives.
A/N – Hope you like it.