[Third Person Pov]
"Now what?" Thalia questioned as she leaned casually against Lucian's back, her arms crossed and her posture relaxed.
"Now what, what?" Lucian asked, glancing over his shoulder at her with a puzzled expression.
"Now that Nico has advanced to his Seventh Sequence potion," Thalia clarified, rolling her eyes as if the answer should have been painfully obvious, "what's next? What do you have in mind now?"
"Hm… that's actually a good question," Lucian replied thoughtfully. He let out a slow sigh as he mentally sorted through the plans he had already made and the complications that now awaited him. "I do have a few things planned, but some of them are going to take me a few days to properly accomplish."
"Well?" Annabeth chimed in, her curiosity piqued as she straightened slightly. "Are you going to share those plans with the rest of us, or are we just supposed to guess what your schedule looks like?"
"For starters," Lucian began, rubbing his temple, "I wanted to see if I could treat those abominations Luke created using my potions." He paused, then shook his head with another sigh. "But those plans have been interrupted—by Nico, of all people."
"Huh? By me?" Nico asked, pointing at himself incredulously. "What did I do? I didn't do anything wrong!"
"You advanced," Lucian replied calmly, "and in doing so you gained the skill Spiritual First Aid. That's what you did." His expression turned serious as he continued, clearly choosing his words carefully. "Healing spiritual injuries is far more difficult than you might think. They aren't like flesh wounds that can be mended in a matter of seconds."
He let the weight of his words settle before continuing. "A soul that sustains irreversible damage can eventually collapse entirely. When that happens, it leads to the destruction of the soul itself—complete oblivion. And trust me, that fate is far worse than death."
"Woah…" Nico muttered, his earlier confidence faltering as the gravity of the situation finally sank in.
"Exactly," Lucian said, nodding. "That's why I want you to become familiar with that skill as soon as possible. If mastered properly, it could provide invaluable aid and healing to countless people. That's the real reason I'm delaying everything else."
Nico straightened up and gave a sharp salute. "You can count on me! I'll master that skill lickety-split!"
"You don't just master potion-granted skills like that," Lucian replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he explained further. "As you digest the potion, the skills gradually grow stronger. Once the potion is fully digested and the skill reaches its peak, the only way to improve it further is by advancing through the sequences themselves."
Nico nodded firmly. "Then don't worry—I'll make sure to finish digesting the potion as fast as I can."
Lucian chuckled softly and patted Nico's head in an affectionate gesture before continuing, "That aside, there's also the matter of Luke's spy."
"So you want me to bring him here now?" Bianca asked, sounding ready to finally be done with the assignment Lucian had given her.
"No," Lucian said immediately, shaking his head. "We can't act on him yet—it's too risky. We just returned, and if he suddenly disappears afterward, we'll become the prime suspects." His eyes narrowed slightly. "I also want to see if Luke contacts him. That will tell us whether Luke survived his battle with Thalia."
He looked directly at Bianca. "When the timing is perfect, I'll let you know. That's when you bring him to me."
Bianca let out a quiet sigh but nodded in acceptance, trusting Lucian's judgment despite her impatience.
Lucian ran a hand down his face before speaking again, exhaustion faintly evident in his expression. "I've also been meaning to visit the Church," he admitted. "I've been putting it off for far too long, but I think it's finally time for me to become more active there and properly help Beatrice and Edna. After all," he added with a resigned sigh, "the Church is dedicated to me. I really shouldn't be neglecting it the way I have."
He raised his fourth finger, only now realizing he had already listed three priorities. "Next are my spells. Now that I've unlocked—or rather, discovered—positive energy, I want to start creating blessings." His eyes gleamed faintly with interest as his thoughts raced ahead. "And not just blessings. I want to develop proper spells for every type of magic I possess. That's going to require a serious time investment, because I highly doubt I'll be able to pull all of that off in one sitting."
Lucian then raised his fifth finger.
The reaction was immediate.
"There's more?!" everyone shouted at once.
"Yeah," Lucian replied without shame. "I also wanted to help Percy finish digesting his potion. The speed—or lack thereof—at which he's progressing is honestly starting to get on my nerves."
The tension broke instantly as laughter spread through the group.
Thalia stepped forward, grinning as she volunteered, "I'll take that task off your hands. It'll probably help me digest my Cyclone Rider sequence faster too, so we'll be helping each other out."
"Oh my god, thank you," Lucian groaned dramatically, slumping back as if a massive weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. "I could kiss you right now."
"I ain't gonna stop you," Thalia replied with an inviting smirk.
"Can you two seriously not do that while we're standing right here?" Bianca said flatly, her disturbed expression making her discomfort painfully obvious.
Lucian rolled his eyes, completely ignoring her as he continued, "Aside from all that, I also need to make sure Scylla is getting properly acquainted with Medusa and settling in well at the mansion."
"Huh?" Annabeth questioned immediately, her irritation barely concealed. "Do you really have to go out of your way to do that?"
"Even if I didn't want to, I'd still have to," Lucian replied calmly. "I plan on making her a member of my Coven. It would be incredibly irresponsible of me to just pick her up, dump her with Medusa, and then completely forget about her without checking in." He leaned back with a tired sigh, brushing his hair away from his face. "That's not how I handle people under my care."
After a brief pause, Lucian slapped his hands against his thighs and pushed himself to his feet. "There are probably plenty more things I need to do or already have planned, but the ones I've mentioned are going to be my top priorities for now."
"Well, since it looks like I'm not needed anymore," Bianca said coolly, "I'm going to go do my own thing." With that, she turned and exited the basement.
Nico followed after her, resting his hands behind his head as he walked. "I honestly really want to test out my new powers and see how they actually work."
Soon, only Thalia, Lucian, and Annabeth remained in the basement.
The three of them stood there in awkward silence, simply staring at one another.
"So…" Lucian finally said after a long moment, rubbing the back of his neck. "Crazy weather we're having, huh?"
Annabeth snickered, rolling her eyes, while Thalia merely snorted and shook her head.
Thalia turned and began heading toward the stairs. "Let's just get out of here, you doofus."
"Agreed," Annabeth replied without complaint.
Lucian followed right behind them, mentally preparing himself to finally tackle the long list of responsibilities waiting ahead.
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