The Trial's Judges
Those figures were not the gods themselves, but manifestations created by the Trial itself to represent their authority without pulling them away from their own realms.
Hades remained seated with an indifferent expression, though for a brief moment his gaze settled on Miraak. Then it swept across the battlefield to the drakkar, pausing briefly on Bianca, who was looking back at him with a confused expression, as though trying to figure out who that man was—someone who felt strangely familiar and, at the same time, completely unknown.
But Hades looked away again, fixing his gaze on Luke and Thalia.
As though he were trying to avoid Bianca's face.
Hel was even more indifferent than Hades. Her face remained completely cold, without the slightest trace of emotion. The presence of three Underworld gods at the same time caused the very atmosphere to turn icy, as though the souls of everyone present were being judged and, little by little, torn away to be sent to the realm of the dead.
The third was Osiris, the Egyptian god of the Underworld. He stood with his sceptre resting against the ground while his gaze slowly swept across the battlefield with a calm expression. At last, his eyes came to rest upon Luke and Thalia.
"Once again, Olympus' disputes demand the intervention of other realms."
Hades barely turned his eyes toward him.
"It wasn't my decision," he said, casually raising one hand, as though the manifestation standing before them had nothing to do with the god it represented.
Osiris remained silent for a few moments before replying.
"It never is."
Hel briefly met Miraak's gaze.
No words were exchanged.
Only the slightest nod before she turned her attention back to the Trial.
"Let us proceed. The Underworld cannot remain unattended," Hades said, clearly irritated at having been dragged into this nonsense when he had far too many matters to attend to in his own realm.
Osiris nodded and slightly raised his sceptre.
The chains surrounding the area began glowing with a dark radiance as they moved gently, as though they possessed a life of their own.
The entire mountain fell silent.
Osiris spoke once more.
"Champion Luke Castellan... has slain Champion Thalia Grace."
The moment he uttered those words, he frowned slightly.
"Two champions from the Greek faction?" he asked.
"A scheme devised by my father and my brother," Hades replied simply.
That was enough for Osiris to accept it with the faintest hint of disdain before returning to his usual calm.
"As decreed by the rules written since the creation of the Trial... the champion who slays another champion..."
"...shall surrender their soul to the patron god of the fallen champion."
The chains wrapped around Luke's body suddenly tightened before passing through his back. Yet they did not pierce his physical body. Instead, they passed completely through it.
Then they began to pull.
Little by little, they drew out a figure identical to Luke, though completely translucent. His eyes remained cold, devoid of all emotion, as though he were trapped in some kind of trance.
Then...
The sky roared.
A colossal bolt of lightning tore through the clouds.
For an instant, the entire mountain was bathed in light.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon Mount Tamalpais.
Even Atlas slightly raised his head.
"Zeus..."
Artemis immediately lowered hers, still bearing the sky upon her shoulders.
The demigods felt their legs tremble from pure instinct.
The voice of the King of Olympus echoed across the heavens.
"The Trial has concluded."
He spoke with absolute certainty, in an arrogant tone, as though the outcome had already been decided.
The black chains cast Luke's soul before Zeus. He looked down upon it with open disdain, though he did not seem inclined to destroy it immediately.
He was waiting for the final verdict.
Then his gaze shifted toward Miraak, a satisfied smile spreading across his face, as though he were already convinced he was the true victor, even while his own daughter lay dead only a few metres away.
Hades shot his brother a look of undisguised contempt.
Hel didn't even bother looking at him.
Osiris, meanwhile, merely gave him a completely neutral glance before continuing with his duty.
He was about to pronounce the next verdict...
But Zeus interrupted him.
"Since two champions have fallen, no further confrontations are possible," he declared calmly.
"I declare a draw."
The moment they heard those words, Grover and the others aboard the drakkar remembered Chiron's warning. There were supposed to be no draws, because if one were ever declared, every hero would be completely destroyed.
Grover immediately turned pale.
Annabeth, who was still trying to come to terms with Thalia's death, widened her eyes as she realised she could lose Percy as well.
"No... Percy," she whispered in panic, looking toward Miraak as though he were her only hope.
But Miraak remained completely calm, standing with his arms crossed.
Osiris did not respond to Zeus's declaration.
Instead, he slightly moved his sceptre, and the chains reacted.
Percy only managed to see black runes appear beneath his feet before several dark chains wrapped around him like a cocoon.
Before he could react...
He vanished.
…
When he opened his eyes again...
He was already standing before the three judges.
He quickly looked around.
Luke and Thalia's bodies.
Luke's soul suspended before Zeus.
His master, Miraak.
Atlas, who seemed unsure whether to leave or remain where he was.
And above all, Zeus, who was watching him with a smile that was far too malicious, even for the God of the Sky.
Zeus spoke again.
"Proceed."
Osiris frowned at the way Zeus seemed to be giving them orders. Even Hades showed an expression of displeasure.
Only Hel opened her mouth to speak.
"Request denied."
The entire mountain fell completely silent.
"What?" Zeus asked with an irritated frown.
"The request has been denied," Hel repeated in the same tone. Her way of speaking remained just as brief as ever.
Hades continued, knowing his brother's temperament perfectly well.
"A draw may only be declared when no champion has achieved victory in any ongoing trial."
Percy's eyes widened slightly.
Victory in an ongoing trial?
His mind immediately returned to Hel's words.
"Find the Ophiotaurus and claim what belongs to death."
That was the ongoing trial.
He knew he had completed part of the task, but he had never truly finished it. The second part had remained unfinished, and only now did he realise what it had actually meant.
Fortunately, the judges clarified it a moment later.
"The beast known as the Ophiotaurus has been found alive, and that which belongs to death has been claimed," Hel said calmly.
"W-wait... Miss Hel... My Lady. I don't remember claiming what belongs to death," Percy said, confused.
"You did," Hel replied simply, as always, without offering much of an explanation.
This time, Hades spoke.
"What belongs to death, Perseus Jackson?"
Percy remained silent.
Hades continued.
"Not gold."
"Not weapons."
"Not bodies."
He paused briefly.
"Death claims only one thing."
"...Life."
Percy's eyes widened slightly.
Hades shifted his gaze toward Bianca.
"You reclaimed from the hands of death a life that already belonged to it."
"Bianca di Angelo."
"In doing so, you claimed what death had already claimed."
Percy felt his heart skip a beat.
Bianca...
Osiris slightly raised his sceptre.
"With that clarification, the first trial is hereby declared complete."
"Impossible," Zeus muttered, frowning. "The trials were designed to be virtually impossible."
Osiris continued in the same calm tone.
"The Trials were not created to reward strength. They were created to overcome the impossible."
Hades gave a slight nod.
"Every champion was meant to face a condition no mortal could easily fulfil. The fact that you tried to twist it to your own advantage does not make it impossible. You simply should have made sure that it truly was," he added with open disdain toward his brother, as though he were thoroughly enjoying the way such an obvious scheme had just blown up in his face.
Hel spoke once more.
"There are no rival champions capable of continuing the Trial."
Osiris and Hades slowly lifted their heads and looked toward Percy.
Then, all three judges spoke in unison.
"The winner is Perseus Jackson."