Life

Phoebus Apollo was dreaming, dreaming about everything, from the first to last memory of his past life.

He was a bystander who happened to be watching himself. Every detail was vivid and distinct, indistinguishable from reality.

In the dream, time seemed to have lost meaning as he began to walk alongside his past self on the path of life.

His life was fairly ordinary; he had just graduated from college, expecting a bright future, only to be confronted with reality.

He'd gotten a mediocre job with a mediocre wage. The monotonous cycle of his life began here, and things began to worsen.

The cycle of eating, sleeping, and working remained constant and static. It became nerve-wracking at one point.

This truly made him ponder life. How did he end up becoming the very thing he used to despise?

He dreamed as a child of having a great and fulfilling life; earning a lot of money and saving for the future; and then travelling the world. He wanted to live his life to the fullest, full of thrills and adventures. He wished... His dreams go on and on. To put it another way, he despised being mundane and yearned for freedom.

However, his dreams were crushed when he encountered the cruel yet indifferent reality. He went to school and college, having high expectations for his life, until it all came crashing down on him, and he had become the same being he despised the most.

It frequently drove him to breakdowns, but he never gave up completely. There were still things in his life that he treasured.

It was his family. They raised him and were there for him through it all. He didn't want to disappoint or abandon them in the end.

They were his "Anchor".

They were the only things that kept him going in life. His sister was the one he was closest to; she knew everything about him and was ultimately the one who kept encouraging him despite the difficulties.

But, as is always the case, reality is far from fair.

A virus.

A microscopic entity that cannot even be seen with human vision. It appeared insignificant and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things on Earth.

Nonetheless, it harvested a massive amount of life on his planet.

He had been one of them.

As he lay in the hospital bed, drawing his last breath, he chuckled at the irony of the situation.

He looked at his bereaved family, filled with pain and regret for broken promises. Even so, a part of him felt relieved at the prospect of death.

It was complicated. He was a mess both, physically and mentally.

He realised something as he took his last breath. He was never given a chance to begin with.

It wasn't for a lack of intelligence, determination, or wealth.

It's because he lacked power. True power, sufficient to make his dream a reality through his own efforts.

A power that did not exist in his world. Regret filled his heart.

His last hazy memory was seeing his sister scream in agony while clutching his body, which was getting colder by the minute.

He died.

He did, however, make plans for his family before his death. He made certain that all of his savings would be transferred to their account after his death. It will be sufficient to support his sister through college. He can only hope that she will take over his responsibilities and provide a good and satisfying retried life for their parents.

Returning now, He died.

Death was peculiar. There was no heaven or hell, no choirs of baby angels welcoming him to paradise or demons whipping him towards purgatory.

There was nothing but darkness. Eternal Darkness, at that.

Just as he wondered if this was the end of him, a blinding white light illuminated the darkness and engulfed him.

He closed his mental 'eyes' due to the glare of light, but just before he did, he noticed a silhouette of a figure in the middle of the light.

He couldn't see any features of the figure except its mouth, which had a gentle smile.

Well, that was weird..…was his last thought.

Apollo stood alone in the eternal light of his dream, watching his past self fade away. He immediately looked up in the direction where that strange figure appeared.

There was nothing there, except for endless pure light, much to his dismay and little relief.

He can now deduce that the strange figure was most likely connected to his 'reincarnation'. Disappointed because he had many questions, relieved because he truly didn't want to face that entity as there were too many unknown implications and variables, almost all of which are unfavourable for him.

Apollo finally waved his hand at the infinite expanse of light. This was his dream, and he had absolute control over it.

The light faded, revealing the scene of his birth. He looked at his new mother with complexity.

Reincarnation. A vague yet familiar concept that was always asserted in religion, myths and fiction. It was one of the theories about what might happen after death.

He had some faith in it, influenced by his own religion and numerous fictional stories.

But experiencing it was too surreal, especially given his new life.

He had been reborn as Phoebus Apollo, Greek God of the Sun and Light, Son of God King Zeus and Titan of Motherhood Leto.

He had been reborn as a god.

Whatever myths depict the gods as, it is impossible to deny that gods are transcendent beings with unrivalled power.

His dream had come true, just like that. It was far too simple, with no cost or deception.

Then the truth dawned on him as his new mother, Leto, told him and Artemis about her perilous journey before arriving in Delos, elaborating on every single detail and name.

He could tell his new mother was using this to teach him about the world for what it truly was: cruel and indifferent. They were gods, so everything was obviously different from human life.

His mother glossed over a location. It was Olympia, the home of the Eternals. They were an evolutionary offshoot of humanity created by a transcendent race known as Celestials.

Then, completely unexpectedly, the realisation hit him. It was as if a frog had finally jumped out of his small and temporary well, staring at the infinite cosmos that lay outside.

This was Marvel. A world full of omnipotent beings and abstract entities. A god could only be considered ordinary in this place.

The realisation didn't make him fall into despair, even though there is already a fat chance that his secrets were known to many cosmic entities.

As there was still hope for his dream. He had a power within him. It wasn't the divinity of gods, but something more, something beyond.

It was the authorities, or, to put it another way, the aspects of reality.

He possessed the Sun, Order, and Light authorities. It was similar to the authority over the night and darkness held by Queen of Night, Nyx.

His authorities, however, are far weaker in comparison to her, who can extinguish every source of light across the entire universe with her authority, ushering in the eternal night.

Though its power was irrelevant, what was important was its potential for growth, which was infinite, unlike the divinities of gods, which should have a limit in the end.

He could already see a path to becoming stronger, even stronger than the cosmic entities, though it would undoubtedly be fraught with peril and danger. But not enough to shake his faith and dream.

As for how he got this information about his authorities and even devise a plan?

The information poured automatically into his mind during his first attempt to use his power, knocking him out cold for several days.

It felt as if someone had pierced his temple and inserted a sharp object directly into his brain, followed by a twist. Yeah, it wasn't a pleasant experience at all.

And, for the path he devised with his divine wisdom, which literally meant his brain's processing power was off the charts. This is also how he recalls every single memory from his previous life.

Apollo stood in the infinite light, still feeling a lump of worry and anxiety in his heart, his mind flashing with the image of the strange figure.

Any power has a cost...

He ignored his troubling thoughts and focused on his mother, Leto, and sister, Artemis.

It was difficult for him to accept his new family while memories of his previous life flashed through his mind and he dreamed of them from time to time.

But he tried to hide behind a mask or act in such a way that no one would notice.

Which, as his now-mother had pointed out, he had clearly failed at. But she didn't question him, instead giving him some space to sort through whatever he was going through, as if what he was going through was a fairly normal phase in her opinion. Gods are truly strange.

Apollo finally sighed, contemplating his new life. His mother and sister's worried expressions lingered in his mind.

He missed his previous family; to say otherwise would be a lie.

But he also realised that he couldn't always wallow in the past, reliving it all in a never-ending dream.

He needs to completely accept his life.

It may appear to be simple, but it took him a long time to muster the courage to stand here, finally witnessing the memory of his death, which he had been avoiding on purpose.

At this point, he knew he needed to let go of his past completely if he was to live his new life and pursue his dream.

For a brief moment in silence, his tumultuous emotions were visible in his surging golden pupils.

All of those emotions eventually gave way to resolve and calmness.

His lips parted, and he spoke peacefully.

"From now on, I am Phoebus Apollo."

Even though he had been using the name for two years, he had never fully accepted it until now.

His body and soul felt lighter, as if the invisible shackles that had always bound him had been completely broken.

A blinding golden sun rose before him, illuminating his entire dream in golden radiance. It caused an invisible tremor that spread outwards, breaking the boundaries of his dreams.

The sun's rays splattered across his figure, dyeing him in pallets of gold.

The sun orb floated above his head before transforming into a golden laurel crown and adorning his head.

Apollo knew there was no turning back.

He took a breather to calm the raging emotions in his heart.

He wasn't a human anymore, but a god!

His name is Phoebus Apollo.

His dream also literally shattered into pieces, jolting him awake.

"Apollo, you've finally woken up. Come with me." A familiar voice called out from behind him. It was his sister. "Hey, that's a gorgeous crown..."