28 Ascension

Apollo sighed. An accident occurred, a terrible accident.

Leto, the Titan of Motherhood, his mother, began her path to power with boundless curiosity and convention. She didn't rush into giving immaterial or illusory things life since she knew better. She started from the roots up.

She retrieved chunks of ivory and carved animals, birds, and fish before attempting to bring them to life. And she was successful.

This was simple for her as she had already accomplished it. Still, she went at it repeatedly, unwaveringly practising. She was on the verge of turning the Sacred Delphi into an animal sanctuary.

They were everywhere, and the fact that his mother's animals were more powerful than their natural counterparts didn't help matters. It was all mayhem for a few days, until Artemis made her hunters drive away the animals from Delphi into the embrace of Mother Earth. Oh, the poor humans in the wild...

Coming back, his mother stepped up, having decided that her practise and perseverance were sufficient. She was thrilled as she saw her progress.

So, inspired by him, his mother attempted to bring humans to life in a mural on an ivory pillar within Delphi.

She imbued the mural with divine power. Then, the Murphy law kicked in, with its guns blazing. Everything that could go wrong went immediately wrong.

The humans in the murals begin to come to life, their figures gradually becoming corporeal and blossoming into actuality.

There were, obviously, complications. His mother underestimated the difficulty of giving immaterial objects life. The act of giving life to material and immaterial things is analogous to the difference between a chasm and an abyss.

Thus, the humans from the murals couldn't survive the transition to the real world. His mother's divinity was insufficient to accomplish this feat, which could be regarded as a literal miracle.

His mother tried desperately to prevent the inevitable fate of humans in murals, but it was already too late.

But, at this precise moment, the Earth Mother's remnant power in Delphi acted instinctively, as if resonating with his mother's power and perceiving the predicament. It attempted to save their lives but lacked restraint. It contained only one instinct: save! save! save!

And, things went horribly wrong. The remnant power obviously didn't care if they remained as humans or as separated. It simply infiltrated and began modifying the humans.

The semi-consciousness and illusory bodies of those humans were merged, but it wasn't enough. They were still unable to make the transition.

Meanwhile, his mother was doing everything she could to stop it. But it was meaningless. Everything was already out of her control the moment Earth Mother's remnant power acted.

After observing the failure and the cause, the remnant power amended its strategy, overcoming the difficulties and choosing the next best choice since its power is insufficient to provide the humans in the murals corporeal bodies.

It smashed the humans in the mural into the ivory pillar on which the artwork was engraved, granting them life in a horrifying way.

There was the new life, blooming with vitality under the terrified screams of his mother and hunters of his sister, which managed to finally startle him and his sister, who were so intent on strengthening their authorities and divinities.

The life was a gigantic ivory pillar carved with human eyes, hands, mouths, and faces. A few tens of legs protruded from the end. Its consciousness was something born from the merging of human minds, causing each of its faces to exhibit distinct expressions; sad, happy, angry, fearful, digust...

It was an Eldritch Abomination in each and every sense, permanently terrorising his mother and the hunters of his sister.

Finally, he and his sister arrived and obliterated the abomination from existence.

He then went to his mother for a long talk, lamenting his previous vagueness in his advice.

He advised his terrified mother, calming her. He urged her to create and adhere to self-rules for her divinity.

Life should always be restricted; otherwise, his mother may open the Pandora box before Pandora herself.

The terrifying possibilities of what could be created and given life exacerbated him to truly understand the ultimate force known as life.

Leto, his mother, quickly followed his instructions because, having witnessed everything first-hand, she, too, could see the same possibilities.

She devised rules for herself in a way that didn't restrict her path.

His mother was now fixated on control and creating only semi-conscious lives. She temporarily abandoned the concept of humans in order to concentrate on a much simpler life.

Apollo sighed and massaged his temples. Then he centred on the ethereal pool in front of him, trying to keep his flying thoughts at bay.

He was in a large hall with a large pool of clear water in the centre, emitting a gentle and warm light.

Apollo crouched on the ground, his dark-golden eyes glowing as he examined the pool.

This was the pool of ascension. He created it by manifesting his authority in the form of water in order to bestow power on his subordinates.

But this was different from typical godly blessings because it provided far more, so much so that it wouldn't be a stretch to call the process an evolution into a higher entity comparable to gods.

He examined the pool one last time while waiting.

Creak!

Cynthia walked into the hall, followed by two priests, one priestess, and the muses, as the door to the hall was opened. They approached him as he stood up and looked at them.

Cynthia greeted him with a bow. "My lord," she asserted.

The priests and priestess followed her immediately, nervously and expectantly bowing to him.

"Our Musagetes." The Nine Muses also bowed lightly, their eyes wide with excitement.

Apollo nodded, then looked at Cynthia, who motioned to the four priests.

"Milord, they are the best candidates. I chose them based on your specifications and expectations."

She handed him a slate that contained all of their information. He gave it a quick glance before returning his attention to her.

Cynthia took the hint and nodded. Then, she walked towards the three of them, introducing.

"He's Castor," she stated, motioning to a silver-haired man. "He has been a priest and protector of Delphi for nearly a century."

Castor said. "It is an honour, your excellency."

"This is Anastasia, the recorder and sage of Delphi," Cynthia said as she addressed a woman with long green hair.

Anastasia smiled, lifting her skirt hem and crossing her feet. "Your eminence."

"This is Nicholas, the famous Delphian prophet," she said as she introduced the man with long black hair.

Nicholas greeted him with a bow of the head. "Your excellency."

Cynthia finally gestured towards the muses while continuing. "The Nine Muses, Milord."

Apollo nodded to their greeting, but his expression became indifferent. Everyone in the hall noticed a change; the air itself became heavy and oppressive. The muses immediately lost their smiles, seeing him like this, while the priests and priestes looked down. Only Cynthia remained calm, her gaze fixed on him.

Apollo addressed them all, his voice loud and clear. "I assume Cynthia has explained the purpose of your summons."

They immediately acknowledged it with a nod.

Apollo began by gesturing towards the pool. "Then, let's begin. This is the pool of ascension. It will bestow my blessings on you."

Anastasia raised her arm. Apollo raised his brows and looked at her. "Yes."

"The pool of 'ascension'?" Anastasia asked with a questioning look.

"It represents exactly what the name suggests." Apollo elaborated. "My blessings are different. I'm not just giving you some flashy power that will be worthless in the war of the gods. I am blessing you with something more, something beyond."

Everyone listened intently and solemnly as Apollo motioned them to follow him to the pool with his hands.

Apollo continued, his gaze settled on the glistening pool. "I'm going to grant you evolution. It will burn the last vestiges of your mortality. You will truly break free from your mortal coil and ascend to higher beings."

Cynthia looked at Apollo, her curiosity and excitement overcoming her. Her voice trembled as she inquired. "Milord, higher beings? Is it possible to become a god through ascension?"

While the priests and priestess were still processing Apollo's remarks, the nine muses glanced at him with wide eyes. A mortal ascending to become a god. This is a feat that can only be accomplished with the power of skyfathers.

"No." Apollo simply stated, shattering the fantasies of priests and priestesses. "But..." he drawled, rekindling their hope.

"It'll be something similar," he said, waving his hand. Light exploded. A projection of a humanoid with wings materialised in front of them.

"You shall be reborn as an Angel."

Silence reigned. The muses didn't raise any questions for Apollo. They could tell it wasn't aimed at them because, after all, they were gods.

And Angel. Everyone has heard the term in some form or another. But they were unsure exactly what it meant.

Castor inquired, inhaling deeply. "May I ask, your Excellency, what precisely is an angel?"

Apollo replied patiently. "Angel. An angel is a servant of God. They are the bearers of 'His' power, will, and authority. They are 'His' representative as well as 'His' retribution."

"We will become your angels." Anastasia inferred their fate immediately, her voice slightly shaky.

"So.." Nicholas, who had been silent, spoke forward, daring to say the words Anastasia had avoided. "We will become your slaves."

"Nicholas..." Cynthia glared.

Apollo raised his hand, stopping her. Then, he walked forward, only stopping in front of Nicholas, his figure towering over him.

Nicholas stood his ground, raising his head and looking into the golden eyes of the god.

Apollo smiled, as if amused by his audacity. He then declared, looking up. "No, Nicholas. You will not be slaves. I am not God Almighty. I am Phoebus Apollo. And I honour free will."

He looked at each of them. "You may turn around and leave Delphi, swearing not to reveal what occurred within these walls in my name."

"Or you can ascend to become my angel, and all I demand in return is your loyalty."

"There can be no doubt, regret, or hesitation since there will be no turning back. Your decision will follow you for eternity to come."

Apollo looked down at Nicholas, his words majestic and indifferent, a tone of detachment evident in his voice.

"So, what is your choice?"