son of hades · ghost king · brooding · trauma · gay · will solace · riordan · necromancy · shadow travel · dry humor
The late afternoon sun bled through the chain-link fence of Warrior of West Middle School, casting long, distorted shadows across the cracked asphalt. A faint breeze carried the distant chatter of students, the rustle of leaves, and the metallic clang of a flagpole. Nico di Angelo stood apart from the crowd, leaning against a graffiti-scarred wall, his black band tee and baggy jeans making him look like a ghost among the living. Dark red Converse pressed against the ground, rings glinting on his fingers as he rolled a small skull ring between thumb and forefinger. His gaze was fixed on the school's main doors, but his mind was elsewhere—a labyrinth of grief and duty. The memory of Bianca's laugh echoed faintly, a sound he hadn't heard in years. He clutched a worn scroll, its edges soft…