Percy Jackson: The Firstborn

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: God of Trash?

Damon looked at the reaction between Rhea and Poseidon, but honestly, he did not have time for this. Every time he turned around, someone had a problem weighing on them and no idea how to face it.

”Good. Since you are both here, as you can see, I took Mother out of that island,” Damon said calmly. ”I do not understand how all of you could leave her there for so long, but I will not completely blame you for Zeus’s decisions. After all, I am just as guilty as you.”

Rhea tightened her hand slightly around his, but said nothing.

”She will live here in Olympus,” Damon continued, looking between Hades and Poseidon. ”I am sure neither of you has a problem with that.”

Both gods shook their heads.

Hades, being more informed about what was really happening, understood the sense behind what his brother was doing. Rhea would be safer here, close to the center of the pantheon, and no longer isolated on an island where anyone with enough knowledge could find her sooner or later. Although that was the logical way to look at it, Hades knew Damon was not doing it only for strategy. He was doing it mostly out of love for Rhea.

For his part, Poseidon did not dare say too much. He moved his gaze away from Rhea’s eyes, while the titaness allowed her eldest son to handle everything for now. She preferred to speak with her children later, if she had the chance and if they wanted to, of course.

Damon nodded at the approval of the two gods. ”Good. Poseidon, I am glad to see you back. I hope your recovery was fruitful,” the redhead said again.

”There were no problems,” the god of the sea answered, somewhat nervously.

Damon moved away from Rhea’s side and approached the god, placing a hand on his shoulder. ”Look me in the eyes, brother.”

Poseidon raised his gaze. ”I am sorry for beating you so badly,” Damon said seriously. ”But I hope you understand why I did it.”

Poseidon lowered his head slightly as a sign of respect and acceptance toward his brother. ”I understand perfectly, brother. And I am grateful that you decided to give me a second chance.”

Damon watched him in silence for a few seconds, with a penetrating gaze that made Poseidon feel more uncomfortable than he wanted to admit.

”I hope you learn from it,” Damon finally said. ”I am very disappointed in you right now. I taught you much better inside Kronos’s stomach, so seeing your actions has made me wonder how you could reach this point. There were moments where I could barely recognize you.”

Poseidon was invaded by a heavy sadness after hearing those words. Disappointing Damon hurt more than he expected. After all, he was not only his older brother. He had also been the one who trained him and cared for him during a time when none of them had anything. But at the same time, Poseidon understood that it was all his fault. He could not blame Zeus for every decision he himself had made.

The god of the sea did not have much time to think about it, because Damon spoke again.

”Good. What matters most now is that you are back among us, and I expect you to prove your worth as god of the sea. I also expect you to learn how crucial your domain is. Start by cleaning the sea,” Damon said firmly. ”You have the power to do it. There is no reason marine life should continue suffering because of something as mundane as human trash.”

Poseidon, a little surprised by the order, nodded instantly. ”Of course, brother. I will work on it with the sea gods and maritime spirits.” Damon placed his hand on Poseidon’s head and ruffled his hair, a gesture so sudden that the god of the sea froze for a second.

”This is your test,” Damon said. ”Show me that I can trust you.”

Poseidon straightened, mentally promising himself not to disappoint his brother again.

”Damon,” Hades said, entering the conversation. ”While Poseidon can clean the sea, he cannot control all humans and their waste. Eventually, it will return to the same state.”

”Yes, I have already thought about that,” Damon replied. ”I plan to speak with Hygieia about this matter. She seems to be the goddess most related to cleanliness and hygiene in this pantheon.” The redhead made a small pause, thoughtful. ”Although I also think I should form some domain related to trash or pollution and give it to some minor god to supervise.”

Hades nodded slowly. That, without a doubt, would be a good idea. It was not one of the greatest domains or anything, but it would certainly be useful for the pantheon. After all, they could not guarantee everything for humans; if they did, they would have to intervene far too many times. If there was someone supervising, they would not even need to intervene too much as long as they did it through humans and their companies. The god of the underworld thought to himself, recognizing the brilliant idea.

”It would be useful, though it would be work. The United States is quite a consumerist country, so to speak,” the god of the underworld admitted.

”Yes, I noticed when I arrived, although it is the same in Greece to a certain extent,” the redhead replied.

Poseidon nodded as well, although he still seemed somewhat uncomfortable. After all, this was related to him and the waste in the sea.

”Then I will do it,” a calm voice said.

The three gods blinked twice before turning their gazes toward Rhea.

The titaness watched them as if it were nothing, clearly serious. Damon raised an eyebrow. ”Mother,” Damon said after a moment. ”You do not have to do that.”

”I know,” Rhea replied. ”But I want to. Besides, I remind you that I am the titaness of motherhood and fertility. Although it is not necessarily the same thing, it is still related to sustenance and Mother Nature,” the titaness explained her point of view.

Damon looked at Rhea with an expression that was difficult to read. He did not seem exactly surprised, but he understood what his mother meant. It made sense, knowing how meticulously careful his mother was with many things. In fact, he knew perfectly well that she had the right mentality for the responsibility.

At Damon’s silence, Rhea let out a small smile, tired but sincere. ”I have spent too many years doing nothing, Damon. If I am going to live in Olympus now, I do not want to sit in a room while everyone else does something. Besides, it will keep me busy when I am bored.”

Honestly, the redhead did not like the idea of giving his mother responsibilities right when she was back, but he also understood what she was saying. There were people who did not like being treated like fragile decorative figures.

”Besides,” Rhea continued, ”poor Hygieia... are you planning to give her all those responsibilities? I am sure she will need help. And this goes beyond simply having waste all over the sea.”

Damon let out a low sigh, running a hand through his red hair. ”Fine, fine. You do not have to explain yourself anymore, Mother. I understand the point. I agree. It will be good for you,” the redhead finished, understanding her point.

”Uh, are you sure you want this, Mother?” Poseidon said in a low voice.

Rhea let out a small laugh. ”Poseidon, I remind you that before you were born, I was a titan queen. I have done many things. You do not need to worry.”

Poseidon nodded, coughing lightly to hide his ignorance.

Damon shook his head, proceeding to focus his attention on the god of the sea. ”Good, with that said, Poseidon, you already have your first clear order. Speak with Triton and the nereids. I want to know which areas are the most affected.”

Poseidon straightened at once. ”Understood.”

The moment he gave his confirmation, the god of the sea remembered a small problem. ”Uh, brother, there is a small problem with that,” the god of the sea said, with some discomfort.

Damon raised an eyebrow. ”What is it?”

Poseidon looked to the side, a little uncomfortable. ”Well... you destroyed my trident, remember? It is not that I cannot fulfill my responsibilities, of course, but moving so much water and cleaning such large areas without it will be more complicated for me.”

The room instantly fell silent. Damon blinked. He had forgotten that, although even then, the god let out a small laugh, making Poseidon blink, unsure if he should feel insulted.

”Don’t laugh,” the god of the sea muttered. ”That trident was my main weapon, and a good one at that.”

”Haha, sorry, brother. I get your situation, and yeah, it was a good weapon,” the redhead said with a smile before raising his open palm.

Poseidon barely had time to react before divine energy concentrated in Damon’s palm, slowly forming into matter that gradually took shape. Threads of golden light joined together until they formed a long golden handle. Then the tip appeared, three sharp and elegant blades forming into place.

A beautiful, completely golden trident finished forming in Damon’s hand. Poseidon and the other two observers stared at it in complete shock. Damon held it, moving it from side to side, searching for any defect and finding none before tossing it to Poseidon, whose jaw was on the floor.

Poseidon caught it by instinct. The moment his fingers closed around the handle, he felt the familiar weight of a weapon made perfectly for him. Just as strong as his previous trident.

”Incredible,” the god of the sea murmured.

”Hahah, what can I say? I am impressive,” the redhead said proudly.

Poseidon nodded, still surprised. Sometimes he forgot that his brother was, in fact, also the god of creation. And, well, for his part—

”Thank you, brother,” the god said, very grateful, but Damon did not give him too much time to enjoy it.

”But listen to me carefully, Poseidon,” the redhead said, his tone becoming more serious again. ”I do not want you to depend on that. The trident is a tool, nothing more. When we received our weapons, we needed them because we still were not strong enough on our own. They helped us channel our power, our domains, and above all, they helped us survive against the titans.”

”But keep in mind that your domain does not come from the trident. You are the god of the sea, not the trident. The sea should obey you because you are Poseidon, god of the sea.”

Poseidon tightened his grip slightly around the weapon. He did not like hearing it, but he knew Damon was right. He still remembered how easily the god had manipulated the air with only movements of his hands or a thought. If he could reach that point, then without a doubt, he would not need to depend on his trident.

”Remember: I also have a weapon,” Damon continued. ”And even then, I did not use it to defeat you. That does not mean I do not need it or that it is not important. It means I do not need to draw it for every enemy in front of me. The stronger you become, the stronger your weapon will become with you, but at the same time, you will not need it all the time, especially when it comes to channeling and manipulating your domain.”

Hades remained silent, listening carefully to his brother’s words. Damon noticed and turned his head slightly toward him. ”And the same goes for you, Hades.”

Hades nodded. ”You do not have to worry, brother. I do not have that problem.”

”I know,” Damon replied. ”I only say it because if tomorrow you find yourself fighting another god and you depend too much on an object to use your domain, then you will be vulnerable the moment someone destroys your weapon. Your weapons are tools. Use them, improve them, make them evolve with you, but never forget that the domain comes from you.”

The two gods nodded, understanding what their older brother meant. That simple explanation made it clear how stagnant the pantheon was if most gods depended too much on their weapons, bows, swords, or symbols of power to use domains that should come from themselves.

”I will keep it in mind, brother,” Poseidon said, looking at the trident in his hand. ”I will try not to depend on it so much and start training my domain as I should.”

Damon nodded with a small smile. ”That is right, Poseidon. Your domain is immensely crucial. Remember that even Kronos once had to release Oceanus out of fear of the sea. If you truly trained, you could do things that many gods cannot even imagine. You could sink cities, change currents, destroy entire coastlines, or even drown humanity under the water if you wanted.”

Poseidon fell silent at those words.

”Obviously, I am not telling you to do that,” Damon added, letting out a small laugh. ”I am telling you to understand what you are. The sea is not a simple domain to show off. It is one of the greatest forces in the world, and you are its god. Do not allow anyone to underestimate it. And more importantly, do not waste it yourself.”

Rhea stayed to the side, listening to the conversation between the three with a small smile. Truly, Damon would be a good father. Even now, he treated Poseidon as if he were his son, correcting him and giving him a chance to improve, while at the same time making sure he did not forget his mistakes.

It was strange to see him that way. But at the same time, it was impossible to deny that, from the beginning, Damon had been crucial in guiding his younger siblings with the little he knew. Even now, after so much time, that part of him was still there. That was why, seeing him speak to Poseidon like that, Rhea felt great pride toward Damon.

Damon seemed to notice her gaze, but he said nothing about it. He only gave Poseidon one last pat on the shoulder before stepping away, ending the conversation for now.

Damon took Rhea’s hand again, ready to leave the room, but before taking the first step, he stopped as if he had remembered something else. His eyes returned to Poseidon.

”One more thing.”

The god of the sea tensed slightly. ”Yes?”

”When the hell are you planning to claim Percy as your son?” The question caught the god of the sea by surprise, and Rhea looked between them with slight confusion, clearly not knowing all the details. Poseidon, for his part, took a few seconds to answer.

”I was planning to do it soon,” Poseidon finally admitted, somewhat nervous. ”In fact, I wanted to do it during the capture the flag game.” Damon tilted his head slightly to the side. ”During what?”

Poseidon blinked. ”The capture the flag game.”

Damon slowly frowned.”What the hell is the capture the flag game?”

>>>>>>

Don’t do this sht ever again, son, you know better > Damon to Poseidon hahahaha

Stones would be much appreciated; other than that, thank you so much for the support so far.

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P@treon: Brotato up to Chapter 122