2 Birth (2/2)

Delos.

It has been thirty days and thirty nights since the birth of the Goddess of the Moon. The ethereal silver moon had long since faded, replaced by a fiery and scorching golden sun. It illuminated the island in a glaring glow.

Leto's screams, which had been echoing throughout the day and night, finally died away, bringing an unusual sense of peace with them.

Artemis held her brother in the shade of trees, relief washing over her soul and mind.

Thirty days. Her mother was in excruciating pain and agony the entire time she was giving birth to her brother.

Her figure quivered as the dark memories flashed through her mind, unknowingly casting a huge shadow over her heart.

Artemis finally made up her mind, 'I shall never go through this is in my life. Ever.'

She sighed and looked down at her cute brother, who wasn't crying like her, but rather looking at her with his golden eyes, filled with utter confusion.

"Hello, brother..." She poked his nose lightly, causing his eyes to widen in amazement and fear.

Artemis laughed, her heart melting at the bundle of cuteness that was her brother.

"Artemis, give him to me." Leto spoke up in a shaky voice, but her eyes were still as vibrant as ever.

"Mother, please accept my brother and your son." Artemis complied, giving her brother to her pale and haggard mother.

Leto took her son, her thin arms trembling, a sigh of relief escaping her lips at his healthy state.

At the same time, she was struck by the stunned expression. She was not surprised, as gods have divine wisdom from their birth.

Nonetheless, she could tell her son was still unique.

On the other hand, the baby in her arms was filled with numerous thoughts.

'Didn't I die?'

'My body feels different...'

'And, what was that strange figure in the light?'

'Oh my God! There is a giant holding me.'

Feeling utterly ludicrous, he tried to move his head, which was successful, his gaze falling onto his rather tiny hand and body.

'Oh…' He thought, 'I have become a baby..'

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the 'giantess,' who was most likely his new mother.

She kissed him on the forehead with her parched lips before declaring him for the world with a smile.

"Phoebus Apollo. You are Phoebus Apollo."

Apollo flew out of her embrace and floated in front of her and her daughter. In a matter of seconds, he transformed from a baby to a boy.

The gargantuan sun in the outer space emitted a blinding light which illuminated the entire solar system in a fraction of a second, defying material and physical laws.

The blinding light instantly converged into a staggering column of light which shot towards Delos, Earth.

It descended on Apollo, bathing his figure in an infinite amount of pure light. A symbol of blazing sun graced his glabellae, heralding the birth of the God of the Sun and Light.

Apollo had short, brown hair and chiselled features. His golden eyes gleamed and surged like the burning sun in the sky. The sunlight gathered, morphing into a red-chiton robe that covered his naked body.

He realised he had just grown from a baby to a boy in a matter of seconds, which should have broken his cognition and stuffed his brain with chaotic thoughts. But his thinking was calmer than it had ever been in his life, or lives.

Under this unusually rational state, he immediately assessed his current situation in light of everything that had occurred, and the realisation hit him gradually but steadily.

He looked at the woman and the girl next to him, who reminded him of characters from Greek mythology. His name kept coming back to him.

"Phoebus Apollo," Apollo said, dazed and stunned. He looked at them, who were looking at him with obvious affection and warmth. Countless thoughts and doubts flashed through his mind before settling down.

"Mother. Sister." Finally, he put on a smile and embraced them.

_________________________

In a garden of forking ways, distinct from space and time, where the potential becomes the actuality.

Destiny, the embodiment of destiny and the oldest of the endless, strode through the garden.

He held a book. The book was heavy. It was bound to leather, made from the hide of a beast that never existed.

It contains everything that was happening, everything that had happened, everything that will happen, and everything that was forgotten.

The histories and the dreams and the triumphs are in it.

The meaning of the pattern of each leopard was written in it, along with the truths of shapes of clouds and the secrets that the wind whispers when there was no one to hear.

Everything is in it from the beginning of time to the end.

It is chained to him, whether for protection, or to prevent him from escaping from it, or indicate that the destiny and the book are one and the same.

Desnity didn't take any paths in his garden.

He has no path of his own. He makes no decision, picks no branching ways; his way laid out, drawn and defined, from the beginning to the end of everything.

Destiny abruptly came to a halt, his blind eyes drawn to a nearby path that began forking and dividing on its own. It started to impact and spread, altering the paths of his entire maze. It was like a plague infesting his garden, spreading slowly and steadily.

It was the first time Destiny felt uncertainty and change. The paths were altered to show a completely unfamiliar ways, which are not recorded in his book.

And, when he opened his book, he noticed that the engraved words across the pages were changing and altering, with some pages becoming completely blank.

The words of his sibling flashed through his mind.

'There are things not in your book. There are paths that outside this garden. You would do well to remember that.'

Destiny finally focused on the source of the change. It was easy to find as it was the most notable of all.

He looked at the page depicting the birth of a god, at the declaration of his mother, at the name of the source.

'Phoebus Apollo. You are Phoebus Apollo.'

He looked up at the bright sky, where a young golden sun hung high, illuminating the changing paths with pure light.

Destiny watched at the sun in silence for a few moments before continuing on his walk without interfering with the change and uncertainty.

He didn't rectify the change as there were greater powers at work here. He also knew that even if he decided to interfere with the source, the greater powers would not stop him in any way.

But, in the end, Destiny decided otherwise.

He knew that many people would not take the same approach as him, and that some might even criticise him for it.

He, however, was indifferent.

Unknown. Uncertainty. Change. Today was a day of discovery for him.

And he didn't hate it.

Destiny continued to walk along the changing paths, holding the book in silence.

And, inside the book was the Multiverse.