We waited with Atlas at the top of the mountain, as the cool breeze of the heavens swept around us. Before us knelt Artemis, the pride of a goddess, broken under the relentless weight of the sky. Her face was twisted with effort, and I could feel the exhaustion in her movements, yet she endured.

Annabeth, bound behind me, shot me a glare that conveyed anger, pain, and disappointment all at once. It was as if she wanted to force me to come to my senses with just a look. I felt the sting of her gaze deep inside, but I tried to ignore it.

Suddenly, Zoë's voice pierced the silence. "Mistress!" she cried out in desperation. She had seen Artemis.

"It's time," Luke whispered, stepping a little closer to me. His face was calm, but in his eyes was an expectation that weighed heavily on me. "You know what you need to do."

I nodded silently, but my heart clenched.

Artemis laboriously raised her head and called out in a sharp voice, "Stop! This is a trap!"

Zoë ignored the warning, running toward her goddess and tearing at the chains that held her.

"Oh, how touching!" Atlas stepped out from the shadows of the ruins, his voice dripping with mockery.

Percy and Zoë turned, weapons drawn. Percy stood protectively in front of Zoë, but his gaze passed over me and fell on Annabeth.

"Thalia, you don't have to do this! Please!" Percy cried, his voice filled with desperation.

"You don't understand," I hissed back. "You don't understand anything."

"Yes, I do," Percy replied. "I understand that you're disappointed, that the gods have abandoned you. But this? This isn't you, Thalia! You're better than this!"

I wanted to believe him. Somewhere deep inside, I felt his words reach a part of me. But then Luke's voice, soft yet insistent, echoed in my mind: "Show them, Thalia. Show them you're stronger."

Atlas stepped forward, sword in hand. "And you?" he said to Percy, his voice cold and mocking. "A little mortal who thinks he can stand against me? How... amusing."

"Then fight me!" Percy shouted, raising Riptide.

"Fight? Against you?" Atlas laughed. "That's beneath me."

"So, you're a coward too," Percy retorted.

Atlas' face hardened, and before anyone could react, Percy charged at him. It was a desperate attack, and Atlas easily tossed him across the field. Percy slammed into the ground in front of Artemis, groaning in pain.

"Foolish mortal," Atlas sneered. "You're not even worthy to stand against me."

"Maybe I'm not," Percy said. "But she is." And with that, he took the weight of the sky off Artemis.

Zoë reacted in an instant, cutting through Artemis' chains. Suddenly, the goddess was free, and she lunged at Atlas with Zoë by her side.

"Now," Luke said softly to me, as the Orthrys was reassembled and the water basin became real. I knew what he meant, and I knew I had to act.

I raised my hands, and the water in the center of the battlefield began to bubble. The air filled with an ancient energy as I called forth the Ophiotaurus.

"Thalia, no!" Percy's voice was desperate, but I ignored him.

The water began to tremble, and a deep, thunderous roar filled the air. The Ophiotaurus appeared, its form shimmering in the moonlight.

"What are you doing?!" Grover's voice cracked as he suddenly appeared with the Ophiotaurus in the basin.

"Something you would never do," I said quietly. My voice trembled, but I forced myself to stay calm. "I'm ending this war."

Without hesitation, I raised my spear and slit the Ophiotaurus' throat.

The water turned deep red, and for a moment, an eerie silence fell over the battlefield. Artemis' eyes widened in horror, and Zoë screamed, but it was too late.

"NO!" Percy's scream shattered the silence like a thunderclap.

"You don't understand, Percy," I said, my voice almost hollow. "The world as you know it is over."

Luke stepped beside me, smiling. "Well done," he said.

I stood frozen, my gaze fixed on the blood-red water. "I did it," I whispered.

In the distance, I saw Grover freeing Annabeth. She ran toward me, her eyes filled with tears.

"Why?" she screamed, punching me. "Why, Thalia?!"

I couldn't answer her. My mouth opened, but no words came out.

I barely registered as Atlas killed Zoë, as Artemis forced Atlas back under the sky, and together with Percy, Grover, and Annabeth, they fled.

Luke placed his hand on my shoulder. "It's over," he said.

But inside, a storm raged. I looked at the red water and whispered again, "I did it."