Percy Jackson: The Firstborn

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Okami

The very next day, Damon was back at it, training with his weapon until he heard something behind him.

”A very peculiar weapon,” a woman’s voice said.

Damon didn’t recognize it. Instinct took over. He spun, driving the edge of his blade up to the woman’s throat.

She didn’t flinch, not even when cold steel kissed her skin.

When Damon looked at her properly, he froze.

She was breathtaking—an impossibly beautiful woman with an air of nobility that made the air around her feel... cleaner. Her hair was long, straight, and black as coal, tied in a ponytail that let a thick strand fall all the way to her waist. A large golden crown rested on her head, enhancing her natural beauty, while her bangs framed a delicate face. Her skin was pale and flawless, untouched by a single mark.

Her eyes were as dark as her hair, yet held a faint glow, like embers hidden beneath obsidian. She had a small nose, full lips, and wore a strange long dress—red and white—with golden decorations. The fabric dragged behind her, whispering along the ground. She was barefoot, her small feet unprotected from any sharp stone that could’ve been scattered along her path... yet she walked as if she felt nothing.

But Damon wasn’t only shocked by her beauty.

He remembered his mother’s lessons—how she had described the faces of those he might cross paths with, so he would know them the moment he saw them.

And this woman... had never been mentioned.

How in Tartarus did she get behind me without me noticing? Damon thought, his eyes flicking around the training yard as if expecting someone else to step out.

Seeing him search, the woman spoke calmly.

”There’s no one here,” she said, meeting his gaze without fear. ”Just you and me.”

Damon’s grip tightened. He pushed the blade closer.

A thin line of blood appeared at her throat—enough to make it clear he wasn’t joking.

”Who are you?” Damon asked.

”Where did you get a katana?” the woman replied, avoiding his question as she lifted one finger and gently pushed the blade away from her neck. ”As far as I know, there shouldn’t be any in this world.”

Damon paused.

Katana? This world?

He relaxed a fraction, letting her move the weapon aside, but his suspicion only sharpened.

”Don’t dodge my question,” Damon said, alert for any sudden movement.

”I’m not answering anything while you’re holding a katana to my throat,” she said plainly. Then she pressed, ”Where did you get it?”

”I’ll tell you where I got it if you tell me who you are,” Damon replied. He didn’t sense a threat from her... but he still didn’t lower his guard.

The woman stared at him for a beat, then sighed like he was making this harder than it needed to be.

”Amaterasu,” she said.

Damon raised an eyebrow. The reaction seemed to disappoint her.

”My name is Amaterasu Okami,” she added.

”A strange name,” Damon admitted, a small smile tugging at his mouth, ”but... it’s pretty.”

To his surprise, color rose faintly to her cheeks.

”Damon,” he said, offering his free hand. ”My name is Damon. Nice to meet you, Amaterasu.”

Amaterasu accepted the handshake without hesitation.

”The pleasure is mine, Damon.” She returned his smile—subtle, confident. ”Now... how did you get a katana? And one so strong...”

”I forged it alongside the cyclopes,” Damon said. ”I freed them from Tartarus. Even they didn’t know what kind of weapon it was, so, from what you’re saying... It’s called a katana.”

Amaterasu’s brows drew together.

”In my world, it’s one of the main weapons, used by both gods and humans.” Her voice carried genuine confusion. ”But there shouldn’t be any in this one.”

”So you really are from another pantheon... like the Norse, the Egyptians?”

Amaterasu watched his face for a moment, as if deciding how much truth he could handle at once.

”Yes,” she said. ”I come from the Shinto pantheon. I’m surprised you even know that,” she said. ”The Titans don’t exactly advertise that other realms exist.”

She paused, giving him time to process.

Another pantheon... So it’s true. They’ve been watching us, Damon thought.

”Well, yeah, my mother told us a lot about the different pantheons and factions. I find it fascinating the idea that there are other worlds and places to explore besides the Greek pantheon,” said Damon

Amaterasu’s eyes narrowed with interest, the faint glow in them sharpening.

”Your mother was wise,” she said. ”Most people in this realm would call that knowledge dangerous.”

Her gaze flicked to Damon’s katana again.

”And fascination is fine,” she added calmly, ”as long as it doesn’t turn into arrogance. The world beyond Greece doesn’t tolerate it.”

Then her voice softened—not weaker, just... absolute.

”Calm as sunrise,” she said, almost to herself. ”I am the Goddess of the Sun. Queen of my pantheon.”

Damon’s breath caught.

Damon stared at her crown, then her eyes. A queen... from another pantheon. Standing in front of me.

The thought didn’t feel real.

Damon’s mind raced, already leaping ahead.

”Then how can I enter other worlds?”

Amaterasu’s expression tightened slightly.

”That’s a different matter,” she said. ”Entering them is the difficult part. You need the acceptance of the different pantheons to do it.”

”Acceptance?” Damon frowned. ”Then how did you get here? Who allowed you?”

Amaterasu smiled—small, knowing. ”Let’s just say queens don’t knock on doors the way others do.”

Damon didn’t even register this. He was thinking again about the other realms beyond Olympus, powers beyond the Titans, gods not Greek, rules that didn’t bend to Zeus’s lightning. It’s actually real.

Amaterasu frowned.

”Are you even listening to me?”

Damon blinked and snapped back to reality.

”I need the pantheons’ permission to enter them... I can do two things at once, you know?” he said with a teasing tone, laughing when Amaterasu’s face turned into a quiet pout.

He lifted his weapon again and studied its pale blade.

Then he asked the question he hadn’t been able to let go of.

”In your world it’s called a katana, right?” Damon said. ”Do you know how to use it?”

Amaterasu raised her right hand.

From her palm, a katana formed—completely black, as if night itself had been forged into steel. And if Damon looked closely, he could see it: black flames moving calmly within the blade, alive but restrained.

”I’m very proud of my kenjutsu,” Amaterasu said, holding the katana between slender fingers as if the weapon were an extension of her body.

”Kenjutsu?” Damon echoed, confused by the word.

”The art of the sword,” she replied. ”There are many weapons, but the katana is the main one.”

Hope flared in Damon’s chest.

”Could you teach me?” he asked. ”Teach me how to use it.”

Amaterasu didn’t answer immediately. She studied him carefully—measuring him, reading him, like she was deciding whether he was worth her time.

”For what?” she asked at last. ”What do you want to achieve if I teach you to use your katana?”

”My world right now is in a war agains—” Damon started.

”I’m aware,” Amaterasu interrupted, calm but firm. ”You’re fighting the Titans. Why do you think I’m here? All pantheons are aware of this war.”

Her gaze sharpened, and suddenly the air felt heavier.

”Several deities from different pantheons have been present in multiple battles,” she continued. ”The sheer force clashing makes our worlds tremble.”

Damon went still, listening.

”In one of those battles, I saw you using your katana,” Amaterasu said. ”And my curiosity, how you even had one, brought me here.”

She glanced at his blade, not impressed... but not dismissive either.

”It’s not the strongest katana I’ve seen,” she admitted. ”But it’s close. With time... it could stand among the best with mine, and the Shinigami’s.”

A chill slid down Damon’s spine at that name.

Amaterasu’s gaze locked onto him again.

”So I’ll ask once more,” she said, voice steady, heavy with meaning. ”What do you want to achieve with the strength you’ll gain once you learn how to use it?”

Damon looked away for a heartbeat, thoughts crashing like waves.

Then he looked back at her, eyes clear.

”Peace,” he said simply.

Amaterasu didn’t react right away.

Damon continued, honest to the bone.

”I want peace. I don’t want to be trapped in a war for hundreds of years. We’re winning little by little, but if this keeps going... this war could last centuries.”

For the first time, Amaterasu smiled wide—bright enough to make her look even more beautiful than she already was.

”Three years,” she said.

Damon blinked. ”Three years?”

”I’ll teach you for three years,” she repeated. ”I can’t stay in this world for too long—mine could fall into chaos because of my absence.”

She stepped closer—not threatening, but absolute.

”I only ask one thing.”

Damon nodded immediately.

Amaterasu’s smile faded into something sharper, making it clear she wasn’t joking.

”No complaints,” she said. ”You will do everything—everything—I tell you. No arguing. No protesting. One single complaint, and I return to my world.”

Her eyes narrowed, dark and glowing.

”Patience is a gift I don’t have.”

Damon swallowed... and nodded anyway.

Because for the first time since the war began, someone had just offered him a way out of centuries of bloodshed.

”I don’t like being in debt,” Damon said quietly. ”

”Thank you,” Damon said, stepping closer.

Before Amaterasu could react, he pulled her into a quick, genuine hug—simple, but sincere, the kind that made it clear he truly meant it.

The gesture caught Amaterasu off guard.

It wasn’t something she received often—almost never. Most approached her with careful distance, measured words, and eyes that never forgot she was the Queen of the Shinto pantheon. For a moment, her body tensed on instinct...

Then she exhaled.

And returned the embrace.

This could be... very interesting, Amaterasu thought, still held in Damon’s arms.

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