Chapter 8 - The Sun will bring Change

(Apollo POV)

Two years have passed.

My body had grown, and now I looked 16 years old. I had defined muscles, without it being anything exaggerated. My golden hair grew even longer, reaching the middle of my back. And with my intense golden eyes, I beheld the destruction around me.

On the ground, there were arrows, swords, claymores, and incandescent spears. The craters in the ground were the decoration, and the destroyed trees were an added charm.

In this place that looked like a small war field, there was a crimson-red liquid oozing out of my wounds and dripping onto the ground.

It is a little disappointing that the blood of the gods is not golden like in the myths, but still like in the myths, the blood of the Greek gods was still called ichor, being quite sacred and having unique aspects.

But ignoring my great disappointment at the color of the blood, I looked at the figure in front of me.

In front of me was a beautiful woman with black hair that reached down to her back. She had purple eyes that were like the most precious amethyst in existence. On her body she wore a black shirt, and short shorts, in addition she also wore a black cape.

This beautiful woman is Hecate, the Goddess of Magic.

On Hecate's beautiful body, there were countless cuts, bruises, and burns.

Even though I was in a much worse situation than her, I couldn't help but be proud that during these two years, I could finally now somewhat match her in terms of power.

"It was a beautiful draw, with a very balanced sparring between us." Hecate said in her stoic voice, but I could hear a tone of pride in her voice.

"If you gave it your all, using all your spells, I think a draw would be the last thing that would happen."

Even though I said that I was equal to her in terms of power, it was noticeable that in our fights, Hecate only used magic and swordsmanship, but I knew that she had other tricks up her sleeve, especially considering her other divine authorities.

"But that doesn't change the fact that it's a draw, so shut up and accept that fact." Hecate said with a slight smile on the corner of her lips as she walked towards me.

"Yes, ma'am." I said, jokingly as I waved my hand making the swords, spears, Claymores, and golden arrows stuck in the ground disappear.

All of these weapons were made by [Solar Construction].

And the next moment I raised my hand towards the sun.

"[Pure Solar Force]." With my word, and along with my divine power, two pillars of sunlight fell on me and Hecate.

The very moment we were bathed in sunlight, our wound instantly began to regenerate.

Even the ground below us, bathed in sunlight, began to grow green grass with beautiful flowers blooming.

[Pure Solar Force] is a technique in which I use the energy of the sun's beneficial nature to heal, strengthen, and flourish any living being.

This technique used a good amount of divine power, but I could sustain it with my large amount of divine power.

10 seconds later, Hecate and I were fully healed.

"Your control over your divine power doesn't even compare to what it used to be, being incomparably better now."

Hecate looked with interest at her body, where the [Pure Solar Force] had not left the slightest scratch on her.

I crossed my arms, pouting.

"If in two years I hadn't had any improvement, I wouldn't be able to call myself Phoebus Apollo."

"There's your proud side." Hecate gave a soft laugh, which quickly disappeared as if it were a mere illusion.

"But I have to admit I'm surprised at the level you've reached."

Suppressing the smile that threatened to form on my lips, I looked gratefully at Hecate.

"Thank you, Hecate."

"What are you thanking me for?" Hecate asked, cutely tilting her face to the side.

"For the simple fact that you helped me on my path for 2 years, in a way that I don't even know how to truly thank you."

Hearing my words, even with her stoic face Hecate was a little embarrassed.

"... You do not have to thank me." Hecate wasn't very good with this kind of talk.

The sign of this was the shy smile on her lips.

I placed my fingers under my chin.

"You look really cute with that smile."

The moment I said that, the next thing I felt was her staff hitting my head.

"I'm... not cute." Her face was stoic, but let's just say the red revealed a beautiful shade of shame.

I think I can understand Persephone now. I have to stop going out with her or I'm going to end up getting into her habit of teasing others.

"By the way, have you decided on that serpent matter?" Hecate asked, changing the subject a little.

"Yes." I replied, with a serious expression.

"When do you intend to leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Hmm! I think at your level you can beat Python, but don't underestimate her for a second."

"I won't underestimate her, as Python, in addition to being Gaia's creation, is also much older than me, having many years of experience."

Underestimating Python would be really stupid of me, and to be honest, I don't feel like making a mistake like that.

"Good." Hecate said, slamming her staff on the ground, causing a purple circle to form beneath her.

"Tomorrow… before you leave, wait for me on the shore of the island."

Before I can respond with a simple "ok," Hecate disappears in a purple flash.

I scratched my head, she's not one to say goodbye, is she?

I thought, looking at the sun that was starting to set.

It's better to use today as a rest, to be more prepared for tomorrow.

Not to mention that even if my mother knew and my sister suspected my plans, I still needed to tell two goddesses.

But it's much better to leave it until tomorrow.

With that thought, I walked to where our house was on the island.

Tomorrow will be quite a day.

••• ••• •••

(3rd POV)

Delphi!

The most sacred place on earth, it was a place that was connected to Mother Earth, in other words: Gaia herself.

In this sacred land, there was the grand Mount Parnassus.

Perched on the magnificent Mount Parnassus was the massive structure of a temple and further down the mount were several residential buildings surrounding the temple.

The closer to the temple, the more noble the residents of those residences were.

The houses seemed perfect on the mountain, even looking like a society in formation, as there were even men selling their products and young people buying.

Going up the mountain there was a large stone staircase that led to the temple that stood at the top of Mount Parnassus.

Inside the temple there was a figure kneeling before a statue.

The figure was a beautiful woman with ankle-length wavy blonde hair, braided back by a black bow, with bangs hanging from her forehead (mostly hanging on the right side) and chest-length locks of hair that fell to each side.

And her beautiful eyes were covered by a black blindfold, she had full, pink lips and a voluptuous body.

She wears white robes with blue outlines and gold decorations on her hips.

This beautiful woman had no name but is known and called the Sword Maiden.

(Sword Maiden Image)

The Sword Maiden was kneeling before a statue. It is difficult to discern which figure is depicted, but the idol certainly had a voluptuous female figure.

This beautiful woman kneeling before the statue is the highest authority in Delphi, practically a religious leader.

While the Sword Maiden was kneeling before the statue of a voluptuous woman, suddenly a voice soft like a mother's but at the same time with a tone of authority was emitted from the statue.

"Tomorrow a young god of my lineage will come to Delphi."

Silence dominated the place, as it had been a long time since her Goddess manifested herself in Delphi, but the Sword Maiden quickly placed her hand over the other, in a praying position.

"I will heed your instructions, Lady Gaia, mother of the earth." Her expression was serene and devout.

"The young God called Phoebus Apollo, who rules the sun and light, will have a conflict like my creation, Python, the guardian of Delphi."

Sword Maiden frowned a little. Even though most Delphi residents disliked Python, she was still useful to the island, serving as a guardian, as well as being the creation of Gaia and even being considered the daughter of Mother Earth.

Even though Python became Hera's puppy after the Titanomachy, known as the War of the Titans. She was still useful to Delphi.

Gaia's voice, ignoring her maiden's concern, continues to say:

"Their conflict will be something where only one of them will come out alive, so none of the Delphi citizens should meddle in this conflict."

A heavy silence fell over the place, but Gaia's next word caused Sword's beautiful features to transform into surprise, shock with a large hint of astonishment.

"The winner of this conflict will be the Patron and owner of Delphi."

Sword Maiden didn't know how to react to this news. Basically, Gaia was saying that she would abandon Delphi completely.

"Lady Gaia, but...

Before the Sword Maiden can ask or try to understand, the statue of Gaia begins to crack.

Cracking sounds could be heard not only from the statue but also from several idols in the temple.

And with a powerful crack all the idols of Mother Earth were destroyed, representing that Gaia was no longer in Delphi.

Sword Maiden stood there in shock, she couldn't believe that Gaia just abandoned Delphi.

Seconds passed with the Sword Maiden in a state of shock, but in the next moment, the Sword Maiden got up from the ground, recovering a little from this unfortunate event.

"What will become of Delphi now?" Her melodious voice resounded throughout the temple.

As high priestess, she would have to serve whoever was the next Patron of Delphi, but the only thing she could do was hope and pray for the best of Delphi.

With a sigh, she begins to clean the sacred granite of the Gaia statue.

Meanwhile, walking along the Delphi road from her house, there was a young woman.

She was 18 years old and had long pink hair that fell down her back. Her eyes were a soft gold. And on her body, she wore a white dress, which gave off a feeling of purity and nobility.

This beautiful lady possessed a dreamy look, almost as if she was out of touch with reality.

She walks along the road to Delphi with no prior destination. Suddenly, she stopped and looked at the sun.

"Hehehe!" She gave a cute laugh and started walking again as if nothing had happened.

The citizens of Delphi looked at her and shrugged. This girl's behavior was already normal for them.

Furthermore, she was from an influential family in Delphi.

This noble lady's name is Pythia.

Its name was derived from Pytho, which was the ancient name of Delphi. Which was now known only as Delphi after the Titan War.

Pythia would occasionally stop and tilt her head to the side as she looked at the sun.

She could feel that the sun would make a change in Delphi.

Pythia since childhood had a great sensitivity to events, but two years and a few months ago, she felt that her abilities had increased even more with the birth of the God of sun and light.

"Hmmm! Tomorrow will be an important day." Pythia put her fingers to her lips and smiled.

So she continued walking with a silly smile on her face, waiting for the change that the sun would bring tomorrow.