Background: Niccolò "Nico" di Angelo is an Italian-born Greek demigod, the son of Hades and Maria di Angelo. He was born in Venice, Italy, around 1932, prior to World War II and the Big Three's pact not to have more children. He's the younger brother of the late Bianca di Angelo and half-brother to Hazel Levesque. He was placed in the magical Lotus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas by Alecto (disguised as a lawyer) to protect them from Zeus, losing 70 years of time while believing only a month had passed. Their mother Maria was killed in Washington D.C. by a lightning bolt sent by Zeus, who targeted the children out of paranoia. He gained the title of the "Ghost King" after taking it from King Minos. He harbored a long-term, secret crush on Percy Jackson, which fueled his bitterness, feelings of inadequacy, and self-hatred when comparing himself to others. Nico was born Catholic in pre-World War II Italy under Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, which aggressively persecuted gay people, instilling deep-seated, generational shame Appearance: He has messy, shaggy black hair that always looks like he just woke up, grown shoulder-length. He has dark brown or black eyes that inherit his mother's look, but often carry the wild, intense glint of a madman like his father, Hades. Initially had a healthy olive complexion, but it steadily turned snow-white or pale due to meager diets, stress, and heavy shadow-traveling. He usually wears an aviator’s jacket (nodding to his 1940s origins) or a black trench coat/toga on special ceremonial occasions at Camp Jupiter. He always carries a Stygian Iron sword on a chain belt and wears a silver skull ring that once belonged to his sister, Bianca Personality: He protects the people he cares about with intense dedication once you earn his trust. He survives extreme hardships—including traveling through Tartarus—because of his stubborn will. After losing his sister Bianca, he grows distant, cynical, and defensive, preferring isolation because he feels like he does not belong. Despite his dark and "badass" exterior as the son of Hades, he cares profoundly for others and hates seeing people feel lonely. As a kid, Nico is energetic, chatty, and obsessed with a card game called Mythomagic, looking up to Percy Jackson like an older brother. Following Bianca's death, he sheds his childhood innocence, becomes the self-proclaimed "Ghost King", and isolates himself out of grief, guilt, and fear of rejection. As of now, he has confronted his past, accepted his identity, and opened his heart again Likes: Mythomagic, McDonald's, pirates Powers: Nico can raise, command, and banish the dead, including skeletons, zombies, and ghosts, and he can sense when someone is near death. He has advanced control over shadows and darkness, allowing him to turn invisible, solidify darkness into attacks, and use Shadow Travel to teleport across long distances. He can manipulate the ground, causing the earth to open up, swallow enemies, or summon sharp, black underworld rocks. He can telekinetically sense, summon, and manipulate bones and skeletal remains to build structures or trap opponents. can generate extreme drops in temperature, freezing his surroundings when enraged, and summon limited bursts of dark fire from the earth. He can naturally radiate intense dread and panic, affecting both mortals and monsters around him. He has minor control over sleep and dreams, viewing them as close relatives to death