Demeter, Goddess of Harvest.

It would be an understatement to say that what happened next was awkward.

Reunions can go either way, depending on the circumstances. And this one went horribly wrong in every way possible.

The 'Guests' were: Demeter, Goddess of Harvest; Hestia, Goddess of Hearth; Asteria, Titan of Falling Stars and Divination; and finally, Hecate, Goddess of Magic.

Demeter was the brightest and fussiest woman, with overprotective maternal instincts. He quickly discovered this when she pressed him and Artemis into her large bosoms and almost suffocated them with her love.

Damn. It was all he could think of at the time. Though he still saw through most of the pretences in her words, her underlying concern was actually real.

Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, eventually saved them by apprehending her sister before greeting them. She was a breath-taking woman in a brown gown, and her eyes were the most poignant of all, filled with fire. Her mere presence made him feel warm, a warmth that could only be felt at home.

Then there was Asteria, his mother's sister, with her daughter, Hecate. She was the Titan of Falling Stars and Divination, serving the Queen of Night, Nyx. She was also the one responsible for the previous grand vision. She appeared to be a gentle and caring woman.

But she was totally nervous about meeting us. It was to be expected after her whole fiasco with his mother's situation.

Apollo greeted her warmly and consoled her. She hugged him, crying while apologizing through her whimpers.

Soon, Artemis joined him in his efforts to console the 'poor woman.' They gave her an understanding look, at least on the surface, while Hestia and Demeter stood aside and let them have this 'emotional' reunion, and Hecate, his cousin, who had been looking at him with big curious eyes, was taken aback by the sudden situation.

To be honest, he didn't trust any of them. This was a cruel and callous world. This was reality. This is not fiction anymore.

Asteria stopped crying and smiled after seeing no rejection in their eyes, but her rising hope was immediately shattered with the arrival of their mother on shore.

Leto, his mother, welcomed Hestia and Demeter, who reassured her by saying, 'Olympus has not abandoned you.' Then, unlike him and his sister, she completely ignored Asteria, making the situation awkward and tense.

His mother, on the other hand, didn't seem to care about her sister's plight. Then she invited everyone to their house, while instructing him and his sister to carry the net with the fishes.

As one might expect, Asteria still followed them to the shrine, seemingly with a renewed resolve to repair what she had permanently broken...

______________

In the dark heavens, the silvery glow of the stars gleamed brightly, blanketing a wooden house with a hearth. Leto and Hestia sat around it, preparing food for the night, while Artemis and Hecate rested nearby, assisting with the works.

Meanwhile, Apollo and Demeter approached them, carrying a basket full of vegetables and other ingredients, through the lush forest.

"Apollo…" Demeter cracked a broad smile. "I heard what happened."

"What?" Perplexed, Apollo questioned. But then it dawned on him.

"Ah, Amaterasu..."

"She is indeed a real bitch." Demeter scoffed.

Then, she looked at him and continued soothingly. "You did nothing wrong by responding to her in that situation. Regardless, it is still extremely reckless. So, don't do such things again without enough strength to back it up."

Apollo nodded in solemnity.

"And your father, he even proudly laughed after hearing the news from Helios," Demeter continued, chuckling. "He called up a banquet of gods to celebrate."

He didn't know how to feel about having Zeus as his father, honestly. But, one thing was for sure, he wasn't even going to give that man a shadow of doubt, hoping that he was different from his fictional and mythological counterparts, after all that had already happened.

He wasn't actually hating his father for the horrible things he did in Greek mythology. Honestly, he could care less about that.

However, he abandoned his mother at her most desperate moment. Nothing can deny that fact. And it was more than enough.

"So…" Apollo drawled. "I am kind of famous now?"

That would really explain why a star-eyed girl often shoots him glances from near the bonfire.

"Apollo, fame is a double-edged sword," Demeter warned. "You would do well to remember that."

Apollo nodded briskly before finally finding a chance to ask his question. "What happened between our pantheon and the Shinto pantheon?"

"Oh, that..." Demeter murmured, grasping the basket's handles tightly, a look of hesitation on her face. But she sighed, yielding to his curiosity. "Your father wanted to say it to you himself. But it doesn't matter if you've heard it before," she said, as Apollo's ears perked up.

She began with a sombre glint in her eyes. "The war of the Titans and Gods reached its heights. However, no side was able to establish an absolute advantage over the other. Your father was a heavy hitter on our side, destroying planets in fights with our father. While your uncles, Hades and Poseidon, were up against Hyperion and Atlas. Thunder and Time. Light and darkness. Ocean and power. They battled and raged, destroying star systems one by one. The Milky Way spiralled into complete disarray. And the anarchy spread to everything, including other pantheons."

In the meanwhile, she tossed him a shiny apple and began eating another. Apollo held it in his palm, biting it and listening intently.

"You see, before the war, the council of godheads convened in the omnipotentence city and established a non-interference agreement with our pantheon."

"However, when the pandemonium engulfed everything, many hearts began to shift. Greed and fear penetrated their minds, poisoning them with aggressive thoughts. However, the sky fathers of each pantheon intervened quickly, silencing those few, with the exception of the Shinto pantheon. Amaterasu just had assumed the mantle from her father, Izanagi, becoming the universe's first 'sky mother'."

Demeter's voice became heavy, and her eyes became hazy. "She was pretty lax in ruling at first and didn't have a lot of control over her pantheon."

"It was the cause of everything. The Shinto god of wisdom defied her command and joined the Titans' side. He wasn't actually that powerful, so we did what we do best: we arrogantly underestimated him."

Tears welled up in the evergreen eyes of Demeter.

"It's all right, Aunt. You don't..." Apollo calmed her softly.

Demeter smiled. A smile spoke volumes about her sorrow.

"I'll see it through."

Apollo merely nodded with her hands in his.

"The Shinto God of Wisdom, Omoikane, joined hands with the Titan of Intellect, Coues, and besieged me, Hera, Hestia," Demeter said, her voice rising harder with each word.

"We fought valiantly, with triumph just around the horizon. And then 'She' arrived..." She paused, a long pause at that. Apollo patiently waited.

She went on, taking a deep breath. "Omoikane took something out. It looked like crystal tears. All light in the Milky Way was extinguished the minute it appeared in reality, consumed in the cold and silent blackness of death. The only remaining source of illumination was the sun. The realisation finally hit us, filling us with dread. The crystals were tears of Izanami, the Primordial Goddess of Death. There was no escaping at that point. The crystal were crushed. Death came in the form of a pale woman."

"However, she didn't take us." Tears streamed down her cheeks. Plants around her withered away in death. "Instead, our mother. She sacrificed herself to protect us…."

Apollo hugged her immediately, "I am sorry, Aunt."

"It's fine, Apollo." Demeter took a deep breath, whipping her tears away, "We have come to terms with it."

But, Apollo found her hazy eyes told a completely different story, thus he didn't press anymore.

"Let's get going. They will be waiting for us."

Demeter nodded briskly. It looked like she didn't want to continue this either.

They resumed their walk in silence, an unsettling silence.

'Family…' Apollo sighed and raised his hand. The light from his surroundings concentrated above his palm, capturing Demeter's attention. It turned into a crown made of a myriad of flowers. A kaleidoscope of colours.

Apollo passed it to her.

"You didn't have to…" Demeter was holding her palm over her heart, her eyes melting at the crown.

"My gift." Apollo insisted.

Demeter smiled and didn't refuse it anymore, her heart had already overflown with emotion. She bowed lightly in front of him, indicating the obvious.

Apollo softly placed the crown on her head, crowned the Goddess of Harvest herself.

Even he couldn't have predicted that his action had just changed the entire Greek mythology.

Demeter stood up, her hands trailing over the crown made of a kaleidoscope of flowers, a bright smile adorning her lips. The plants bloomed brightly, and wheat grew in front of her. Birds chirped in unison. The night sky became clear as the sun rose from the horizon early, heralding the day. The sunlight then splashed across her, burning her in gold and white platelets.

(Image here)

In this surreal moment, it looked as though the very Earth was celebrating.

"Thank you very much, my dear nephew." She embraced him tightly.

Apollo returned her hug. "We need to pick up the pace. Otherwise, they'd start worrying." He pointed to the sun. He had no intention of having this vision. The Sun just appears like this at key moments, utterly outside of his control. He needs to figure out what's causing this. Now, the entire northern hemisphere will have to wake up to an early day at 11:00 p.m.

Demeter nodded briskly, dragging him towards the cottage.

"Here, Apollo."

"Is that the apple? The one that make mortals immortal."

"Yes, it is. However, for gods, it is just ordinary apples."

"Why does it taste so…so bland? I thought.."

"You thought it would be heavenly. Everything has a cost, Apollo. Immortality too. The mortals must bear the taste of the fruit to ascend. The taste that the mortals experiences will be far worse. It will be akin to poison…."

They moved quickly across the forest in the light of the sun. They eventually made it to the bonfire, which was surrounded by Hestia and others. Under watchful eyes, they passed the baskets to them. Nobody, however, actually spoke up.

Demeter sat on a wooden block as Hestia scooped something from the pot and passed it to them.

"Here." Hestia handed him a cup made of wood, breaking the silence. "Ambrosia."

Apollo eagerly accepted it, ready to imbibe the divine wine.

"Apollo.." A low voice sounded behind him, freezing him. It was his mother. And she sounded really furious.

He immediately turned around and there was his mother, standing before him, her eyes narrowed at him.

"Mother, I can explain..." He immediately said, taking a step back.

"There is no need for an explanation." Leto said sternly, grabbing the ambrosia from him. "There will be no food or drinks for you tonight."

Then she pointed to the plain. "Go back and reflect."

Leto walked to the bone-fire without sparing him another glance.

'Did I just get grounded as a god?' Apollo wondered, looking at his empty hand. He slowly walked towards the nearly plain while feeling surreal.

"You're being too harsh on him, Leto." Hestia said as she watched Apollo walk away in the shadows.

"Perhaps," Leto said as she sat down near Demeter. "However, it's past time he learned a lesson. It's been five days since the white sun. And I, his mother, were the last to learn of such grave news. Amaterasu is a Queen of Gods."

Demeter chimed in, pointing to fading Apollo. "I understand your concerns. But don't just leave him to starve all night. Look how thin and tired he already looks."

Hestia nodded in agreement with her sister's words.

"I wasn't going to," Leto sighed. "You are overly worried about him. Just let him reflect for half an hour. Then I'll send him his favourite ambrosia."

"I'll take it to brother." Artemis enthusiastically volunteered.

"No, you will not. Just focus on the currying the fish," Leto snorted, making her crestfallen.

Ignoring Artemis, she turned to face her nephew.

"Will you go to him, Hecate?"

"Yes." Hecate excitedly nodded, her eyes beaming with joy.

"Not only to him." Leto said, after some hesitation. "But to your mother as well."

Hecate bowed her head, her many worries in her heart dispelled by Leto's words.

Leto eventually turned around and asked Demeter the question that everyone wanted to ask, pointing back at the rising sun. "Now, why did the sun rise early?"