'Their' Arrival

The last flecks of twilight reflected on a rising amphitheatre shrouded in the orange clouds of the infinite sky.

A divine woman, her hair brown and her eyes grey, strode out of the amphitheatre. She took out a bone-white horn and looked down at the world beneath her feet.

Then, she took a deep breath and blew it.

It was heard throughout the divine realms of the gods, filling their hearts and minds with zeal and fervour.

The battle of Apollo and Quetzalcoatl is nigh.

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Nyx, the Queen of Night, threw a dark and starry blanket over the world, heralding the advent of night. And, into the black heavens, upon this eternal night, came the grace of the silver moon.

An amphitheatre floated in the sky of the Atlantic Ocean, in amongst the silvery clouds, lighted by the cascading argent light of the moon.

It was enormous and vast, bigger than any place one could imagine and as beautiful as any jewel, its arches twinkling like diamonds in the night.

It was the amphitheatre of the sun, crafted by the rugged yet divine hands of Hephaestus, God of Forges and Fire. The rumours and whispers within the divine realms had it that the God of Forges crafted his amphitheatre within the sun, using the solar plasma as the material and the solar gases as the agent.

Every arch and section of the theatre was immaculate, as if its creator, Hephaestus, was obsessed with pursuing perfection and flawlessness.

This is the divine arena built for the battle of the gods.

Hephaestus named it Illios, the Scorching Sun.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Light streaks erupted from Illios' arches into the sky, exploding into millions of colourful, bright specks in the dark heavens.

The theatre was loaded with kaleidoscopic specks of light, illuminating the gods who arrived in their own unique ways. A cacophony of music and melodies cascaded through the air, carrying tranquillity and serenity.

The roads leading to the theatre were lined with stalls and counters manned by a variety of mythical races, ranging from otherworldly elves to bickering ghosts. This fight was a huge business opportunity, so much so that even grumpy dwarfs didn't want to pass it up.

The stalls were filled with everything imaginable, from a potion that could grant immortality to the core of a star. And the gods swarmed the counter, bartering for their desires.

The amphitheatre's outer area was bustling and teeming, but despite the gathering of so many gods and mythical races, there was no sign of chaos or disorder.

Two divine women floated on the east and west sides of the amphitheatre, their eyes covered in golden and white clothes, their right hand holding an inverse scale and their other hand a sword, their figures emitting an authoritative and strict aura.

They were Themis, the Titaness of Order, and Anastasia, the Judgement Angel. They were assigned by the Olympian Pantheon to maintain absolute order for the event. They tamed chaos and disorder while demonstrating the Olympian Pantheon's power to all gods.

Hephaestus had sought assistance from his pantheon since an event of this magnitude could not be hosted solely by himself.

Zeus, the King of the Gods, gave his blessing. And many gods and titans immediately volunteered, lifting the load of duty from Hephaestus' shoulders.

The unity of the Olympus in the face of the world was always unrivalled and unquestionable. Despite their hatred and differences, they would not hesitate to put it all aside and band together if the time called for it.

After all, above all, they were the Olympians.

However, the hosting of Olympus was not well received by some gods from other pantheons, with some even daring questioning the match's fairness. But it was all silenced by Themis, the Titaness of Order, who vowed to uphold impartiality under the Ancient Order.

And immediately following that, there was another announcement from Hephaestus. The God of Forges, he was, demanded metals in exchange for admission to his amphitheatre.

With their announcements, the divine battle was finalized, and the gods arrived with fervour and zeal to witness it.

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The golden arch sparkled soothingly, illuminating the long rows of gods and goddesses. There were twenty rows, and at the end of each was a minor Olympian god who collected admission fees from other pantheons' gods before admitting them to the amphitheatre.

Hephaestus sat in a chair at the end of the centre row, holding a parchment with the names of the gods and goddesses written on it. A black bag was nearby, filled with gleaming divine metals.

"Names," he muttered, his gaze fixed on the parchment.

"Dream and Death." A serene voice said.

Hephaestus finally gazed at strange beings with peculiar names. It was a pale woman and a thin man. But, despite their obvious oddity, he quickly returned his focus to the parchment, paying little attention to them.

It was as if he, like everyone else, subconsciously ignored their differences and weirdness.

Their names were automatically engraved on the parchment once Hephaestus tapped his rugged finger on it. Then, he opened his mouth to demand payment.

But Death cut him off by snapping her fingers. And four adamantine bars were added to the collection of Hephaestus.

"Does that suffice, Hephaestus?" She asked.

Hephaestus examined the bars with narrowed eyes before nodding contentedly. "It is more than sufficient. You may enter. Follow the trail and it will lead to your honoured seats."

Death and Dream entered into the golden arch, and a yellow trail immediately appeared, leading them into a secluded path away from the busting and teeming common entrance.

They followed it, which led to the stairs that wound up to two seats at the highest point of the arena, with a 360-degree view of the entire amphitheatre.

The Amphitheatre was crowded with gods and goddesses arriving in groups, excited for the battle.

"Tell me again, sister." Dream inquired, his face expressionless. "Why are we here?"

"To watch the battle," Death rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

"You mean to witness their act of barbarism in the name of battle?" Dream remarked indifferently.

Death sighed as she dragged her brother to their renowned seats. "First, let's take our seats."

They took their seats in the box, away from everyone's eyes. Two cups of divine wine appeared on their side, serving them with a flash of light.

Death retrieved them, chuckling. "Dream, don't be so dismissive. Everything has a beauty, but not everyone sees it."

She handed him a glass of wine. "Rather than always being locked up in that depressing castle of yours, Dream, you should open your eyes to the world once in a while."

"You of all people, should know it better. I was merely performing my duties, sister." Dream said, accepting the wine. "And you are wrong. My knowledge of reality is unrivalled in the multiverse, but my opinion on their method of battle still remains unchanged for all that matters."

Death breathed a long sigh. "Well, let's at least watch it for Apollo then."

"Apollo…" Dream whispered, drinking his wine. His starry eyes observed the gods who entered with the announcement of their names.

Death sipped her wine, her dark eyes darting to the dark sky, catching sight of something.

The dark sky suddenly lit up with light, blazing light.

In the glare of the light, the gods and goddesses closed their eyes. It was too bright, exuding a terrifying divine aura that suffocated everything and everyone. Such power can only mean the arrival of.....

Themis declared, her voice booming. "Amaterasu Omikami. The Sky Mother of the Shinto Pantheon. The Celestial Goddess of Sun."

Amaterasu emerged, bathed in unbounded light, her kimono dress swaying and flickering brilliantly.

She ignored the shocked and frightened gods, descending to the honoured seats within the amphitheatre's highest boxes.

Amaterasu landed to the left of Death and Dream on another box. However, she didn't take the seat, instead conjuring a magnificent golden chair from sunlight and sitting on it flamboyantly.

The bright sky dimmed and the divine aura faded, but before the gods could exhale a sigh of relief, dark and vengeful clouds began to imprint their mark on the dimming sky, dyeing it black from beyond the horizon.

Themis declared, while maintaining order within the arena.

"Zeus. The Sky Father of the Olympian Pantheon. The Lord of the Sky."

"Hera. The Queen of Olympus. The Goddess of Marriage."

Boom!

A bolt of white lightning shattered the dark and ominous sky, revealing Zeus, the King of Gods, and Hera, the Queen of the Gods, hand in hand.

They descended to their privileged seats, exchanging glares with Amaterasu, raising the level of tension in the arena to record-breaking heights. Under the mighty auras of Zeus and Amaterasu, the Gods and Goddesses cowered and shivered in their seats.

In the end, Zeus simply snorted, which rang like thunder in everyone's ears, before descending to his honoured seats with Hera.

The Gods and Goddesses slumped in their seats, but before their panic could drain away, a blinding beam of kaleidoscopic light landed in the centre of the amphitheatre.

Themis declared. "Hela Odinsdottir. The Crown Princess of Asgard. The Goddess of Death."

Hela emerged from the kaleidoscopic beam, clad in green armour and accompanied by a blonde-haired valkyrie.

Her appearance was met with absolute silence. The mighty Gods and Goddesses had actual fear in their eyes when looking at the Goddess of Death.

Hela smirked, relishing all the fear in the air. Then, she walked into the amphitheatre, her every step thundering with power, followed by the Valkyrie.

She suddenly stopped and looked to her side, right at Death, as if she could see her. Death raised her glass and nodded kindly to her.

Hela's smile faded and her face turned pale before returning to normal. The Crown Princess of Asgard looked around, as if to check if anybody noticed her change. Only the blonde Valkyrie was looking at her with concern, while the others were looking away and down.

"My lady..." The blonde Valkyrie called.

"Come on, Brunnhilde." Hela interrupted, walking forward towards their seats while not daring to look at her side again.

Brunnhilde strode with her, keeping up with her hasty steps.

With their departure, the fear in the air faded, but the Gods and Goddesses remained on the edge of their seats, looking up at the sky, anticipating.

And the sky didn't disappoint. A blue lightning bolt erupted from the horizon and slashed down on the amphitheatre. And the world went blue.

Themis declared, her voice booming through the expanse of the blue. "Indra. The Sky Father of the Hindu Pantheon. The God of Lightning and Storm."

The blue light faded, revealing Indra, clad in golden armour and bathed in lightning streaks. Then, he too, ascended to the honoured seat without sparing a glance at anyone.

The Gods and Goddesses in the amphitheatre held their breath, their eyes still fixed on the sky. The darkness of night, on the other hand, patched up the broken sky.

Soon, everyone felt it in the air subconsciously. That was all. The night shrouded the arena in peace and tranquillity, with millions of stars glinting brilliantly.

Dream sipped his last sip of wine in the middle box. His starry eyes darted over to the other boxes, sensing the rising tensions in the air.

Then he said, "Apollo is going to wreck havoc on our home."

Death crossed her legs, making herself more at ease in her seat. "War cannot be avoided, Dream. The fates would not remain silent even if Apollo took a different path. The horns will be blown one way or another."

"We shall intervene, sister, if the situation gets out of hand." Dream decided, after a moment of silence in thought.

Death nodded, and they returned their attention to the arena with the rest of the audience.

A blinding beam of light descended into the centre of the arena, revealing a divine woman with long brown hair.

"Greetings everyone! I am Athena, the Olympian Goddess of Wisdom and Reason, and I will be your host for tonight."