42 Battle of the Gods

Millions of light arrows the size of mountains whizzed through the air, filling the collapsed expanse.

All of it was aimed at Quetzalcoatl. The arrows continued to multiply and divide, filling her entire field of vision like a golden shimmering curtain, and extinguishing any hope for her escape or retreat.

Quetzalcoatl narrowed her eyes and accelerated, propelling herself through the air. There were gasps of surprise and shock as she went on offence rather than defence in the face of such an attack.

She charged fearlessly towards the volley of arrows, her sword pointing ahead. Like the petals of a blossoming lotus, embers of golden flames graced her figure.

Her speed accelerated, her fiery figure transforming into a golden flash, almost like a golden shooting star.

The golden shooting star and the arrow curtain collided in the air, and everything fell silent for a moment, like the calm before a storm, before a twinkle of light erupted, shattering the space like glass.

BOOM!

Massive explosions filled the air as millions of golden arrows exploded all at once, as if triggered by Apollo himself to thwart Quetzalcoatl's charge. For the audience, it appeared as if a million suns had risen in the arena, making the night as bright as the day.

Through the ensuing explosion, under gawking eyes, Quetzalcoatl shot out, unaffected and unharmed, her figure bathed in golden flames. Her sword was still pointing forward, covered in light shards.

She yelled at the top of her lungs. Air and fire exploded beneath her legs, thrusting her forward with such force and speed that she shattered the fabric of space.

She dashed towards the cracked ground, towards Phoebus Apollo, who had already drawn his bow at her, his legs heavily stamped on the ruptured ground.

The world seemed to hold its breath. Apollo and Quetzalcoatl squared off. Their sword and arrow were pointing at each other. Milions of the sun danced in the sky, illuminating their calm and crazed smile.

As the fire of Quetzalcoatl filled Apollo's vision, he loosened the bowstring. Their figures were erupting in light and flames, metres apart.

Suddenly, his golden eyes turned white, and he vanished in silence.

Quetzalcoatl's eyes instantly narrowed in alarm.

"No..." she griped. All of her senses and instincts were screaming in danger. She raised her golden shield to her left side and dove into the air, allowing her instincts to take control of her body.

However, it was too late; a flash of light was already inches away. And Apollo appeared in front of her, his bow empty, his figure streaked with light flickers. His lips were adorned with a gentle smile.

That is an arrow. Quetzalcoatl realised.

'How can be...' She finally thought, but sadly, she was cut short.

The arrow of light pierced Quetzalcoatl's abdomen, shattering her armour and defences like fragile glass and propelling her to the opposite end of the arena. Her sword and shield flew away from her grasp, heading in opposite directions.

Quetzalcoatl whizzed across the arena with an arrow impaled in her abdomen, retaining the terrifying momentum and stabbing into the cracked ground on the floor.

BOOM!

The crash obliterated a 200-mile wide area in an instant, resulting in a massive explosion that could make a super volcano eruption look like firecrackers.

It thrashed rocks, debris, and magma into Earth's atmosphere, casting a shadow over Europa, Africa, and Northern America. The stars and moon disappeared in the night, and eternal darkness engulfed half of the world.

And the entire arena was cracked even more, with fissures spearding across its surface like slithering snakes.

A massive shockwave erupted, sinking into amphitheatre and shaking it to its foundations. The Gods and Goddesses frantically grabbed their seats in the midst of the terrifying rumbling.

However, the shaking of the amphitheatre and explosion debris in the atmosphere vanished in the next second, erased out of existence by a pale hand.

The Gods and Goddesses turned their attention immediately to the arena, their minds still reeling from the shock.

"How did he…?" Brunhilde muttered as her gaze was drawn to the fading explosion clouds.

Apollo simply vanished and reappeared on Quetzalcoatl's side, firing his arrow at her. Everything happened in one swift motion that could not be described as simple teleportation, but it should have been.

Speed.

However, how fast he was to actually achieve this feat? Could he have really reached...

Her eyes widened at that. And, as if to confirm her suspicions, her lady, Hela, responded to her question.

"He achieved the speed of light." She spoke solemnly. "That's exactly how he did it."

"But, he is so young?" Brunhilde was taken aback. Achieving light speed is an insurmountable feat in the realm of the gods. Even light gods and goddesses struggle to attain that speed. Only a select few, a number that can be counted on one hand, have accomplished this.

But Apollo....

"When we start comparing gods, age loses its meaning." Hela chuckled, her solemn gaze fixed on the shattered arena. "Isn't it?"

"Yes, milady." Brunhilde immediately nodded, recalling her lady's age as well as her mighty power. But she couldn't believe there were others like her lady in the divine realms, monsters since their birth.

"Focus." Hela pointed at the arena. "The battle is far from over. Quetzalcoatl won't go down that easily."

Brunhilde turned to face the crumbling arena, which was engulfed in dust and smoke.

Phoebus Apollo floated through the air, which was filled with millions of dimming suns formed by arrow explosions. He motioned with his hand. The dust and smoke cleared, revealing Quetzalcoatl, who had been impaled on the ground by his light arrow.

Her abdomen was split open, and golden, scorching blood poured out, bathing her figure. Her eyes were becoming dim, and her body trembled in pain.

Apollo looked at her indifferently, raising and clenching his hand. The millions of fading suns immediately materialised, brightening and brightening. They then fused into an abnormally large sun, the size of Earth. It covered the entire sky of the arena, dyeing everything in palettes of white and gold.

He waved his hand down at Quetzalcoatl, and the scorching sun teleported from the sky to wrecked Quetzalcoatl, emitting infinite scorching and blazing light.

It was about to implode, taking her down for good and putting an end to this battle.

Quetzalcoatl coughed, golden blood dripping from her lips. Her vision gradually filled with a golden and fiery ball of light.

She raised her arm and caught the impaled arrow, uttering in a pained tone. "Peace.."

A gentle divine aura emitted from her, shrouding the scorching sun and the entire arena.

Everything immediately calmed down. The scorching sun dimmed and faded away, extinguished by the gentle aura of peace.

Quetzalcoatl tightened her grip on the arrow and yanked it out of her abdomen, ascending into the air, blood splashing.

Suddenly, Apollo appeared above her, his bow drawn toward her ascending figure, and their fierce eyes met.

In mid-air, Apollo and Quetzalcoatl clashed again.

Quetzalcoatl immediately declared, her hands pointing at him. She completely disregarded her defence.

"I, Quetzalcoatl, the God of Peace and Tranquillity, command you to seize the battle…"

"Speaking is prohibited here." Apollo uttered his law calmly, releasing his string, and an arrow whizzed at her, aiming at her wrecked abdomen.

Quetzalcoatl had lost her voice, but her eyes were still calm as she faced the approaching light arrow. The air in front of her shimmered and materialised, forming a thin, murky layer.

Speaking was forbidden in the arena, but that didn't mean Quetzalcoatl couldn't complete her declaration in other ways. In the layer of air, words took shape, morphing out of the air within a fraction of a second.

"I, Quetzalcoatl, the God of Peace and Tranquillity, command you, Apollo, to seize the battle and surrender to me at once."

The reality in the arena then changed, revealing a world similar to Earth. The sky, the sun, the seas, the continents, and even humans were present. The world would have been nearly identical to Earth if not for the notable difference.

The world was far too calm and stable. The flowers burst forth in kaleidoscopic splendour. The pigeons took to the sky, spreading their wings. The animals were happily jumping around the meadows. The humans had a perpetual smile on their faces, which was overflowing with joy.

It appeared as if there had never been conflict, strife, war, or even a battle in this world.

And this world engulfed Apollo, enveloping him in a peaceful aura.

"Surrender, little brother, Surrender."

With her voice, his will and convention for battle wavered, as peace filled his heart and mind, purging all thought of violence.

Under the shimmering white, gentle light of peace, Quetzalcoatl floated in the centre of the world, her body healing and her wounds closing.

Her blonde hair had turned white, and her dress had transformed into a white gown embroidered with pigeon engravings. Behind her head was a gentle white halo.

This was her divine form as Goddess of Peace and Tranquillity, where all of her divine essence and power were condensed and revealed. And if any mortal saw her in this divine state, they would be instantly incinerated and destroyed in ashes.

Quetzalcoatl declared. "This is my world; you have no choice but that. Your mighty powers mean naught in front of me, for I am the Peace!"

This was the world of Quetzalcoatl, the world that was bane to all forms of strife and conflict, the world that had never seen war and battle.

The world of peace.

"You are peace, huh?" Apollo cocked his head, his quivering figure becoming more stable. Light bathed his figure, washing away her peaceful influence on him

He declared. "Then..."

"I am the War. The Beautiful Calamity. The Tragic Victory."

His words was the law and order. And the world recognised it, defying Quetzalcoatl's will.

The clear blue sky began to darken. Stormy clouds left their cruel imprints on the sky, turning it black and grey.

BOOM!

A massive bolt of crimson lightning shattered the dark sky, casting a foreboding light on the world of peace.

The aroma of iron and blood, as well as the scorching heat of the blazing fire, galvanised the peaceful world. It invaded men and women's hearts, infecting them with the intent of war, chaos, and madness.

Peace acted immediately, sensing the corruption of war. It attempted to purify everyone's hearts and cleanse the world's soul, but war was faster and mightier than it ever could be.

The war tainted and inflamed humans, infesting their minds with maddening whispers and seething their hearts with the sin of wrath.

Then, trumpets were heard, shattering the calmness of the world.

Mighty armies marched from all over the world, troop by troop, company by company, huddled together with fear, madness, and fervour gleaming in their eyes.

And they confronted each other gallantly and fearlessly, honouring their Lord and Saviour, Phoebus Apollo, the God of War and Victory.

"Charge!"

Rumbles surfaced around the world. Blood splattered, and fire erupted. Red tsunamis surged high and crimson lightning streaks struck down.

The mighty armies clashed, their war horns sounding and blazing. They spread across the globe like a cascading red ocean.

A whirlwind of disorder and violence, a blur of colour and vicious motion all over the world. The soldiers' parched, panting tongues absorbed the dusty air, which mixed with the bitterness of iron. Inside the helmet, blood pounded in their ears, drumming to a ferocious beat.

The roar was barely loud enough to drown out the brave and fearless cries of men and women, the clashing swords of vengeance and blood, and the roars of the shattering sky and raging ocean.

Above the lower scent of sweat was the odour of all-encompassing fear, carried aloft by clashing bodies howling amidst a sea of scarlet liquid that drained from friend and foe alike, soaking the entire world.

This was a glorious tragedy. A beautiful calamity.

This was.....

WAR.

In the midst of it all, Apollo floated, his appearance radically changed. He was dressed in blood-soaked spiked armour. His eyes were red, flaring red, and his hair was long to his hips and crimson-colored.

He is no longer the God of the Sun and Light, but the absolute embodiment of War in this world.

Apollo wielded a sword, a ruby sword drenched in scorching, burning blood. He had stabbed it into the heart of Quetzalcoatl.

He twisted his sword inside her, mercilessly shattering her heart. Then, he kicked her into the crimson world below.

Quetzalcoatl fell into her world, her white gown slowly turning crimson, her white halo fading.

ROAR!

The blood ocean roared and exploded, swallowing Quetzalcoatl and submerging her in the crimson of blood, and madness.

And 'Peace' died, falling bane to 'War'.

BOOM!

Quetzalcoatl's world shattered like glass, revealing the broken arena where Apollo and Quetzalcoatl still faced each other, their figures returned to normal.

Quetzalcoatl, on the other hand, had her hands over her chest, covering the bloody hole visible through the gaps in her fingers, coughing up divine blood. Her body trembled and quivered, like a tree in the middle of a storm. But her eyes remained bright, and she smiled bloodily at Apollo.

"I underestimated you, little brother. You just keep bringing me surprises again and again."

She didn't expect that Apollo, as God of Order, had reached the stage where he could make the world follow his order.

She initially intended to trap him in her world and compel him to surrender. But he completely turned the tables on her, destroying her peaceful world with war.

And he keeps giving her one surprise after another, without breaking a sweat since the beginning of the battle, while she was wrecked and collapsing.

Quetzalcoatl wiped her blood-splattered lips. Nonetheless, her determination to fight did not waver in the least. If she were to rest, she would do so valiantly in her fight, rather than surrendering in her weakness.

"Let's end it all in a single strike," Apollo said lightly as he looked at her collapsing figure.

"I couldn't have asked for anything more." Quetzalcoatl smiled, raised her hands in the air.

There was a glimmer, then a blaze, then an inferno, then a scorching ball of fiery flames in between her hands.

She brought the ball towards her broken chest and it fused into herself, instantly healing her.

Her figure then erupted into golden flames. As embers covered her entire body like a coat of flames, her dress disintegrated. A pair of feiry bird wings sprouted from her back, illuminating the arena.

For a brief moment, it appeared as if the sun had descended on the arena.

This was Quetzalcoatl's divine form as the Goddess of the Sun.

With a shattering, Quetzalcoatl flew towards the outer space, her legs emitting blazing fire.

In the infinite starry space, she turned back towards Earth, her leg aiming at Apollo, and then she plummeted forth. Her flames boomed, illuminating the entire solar system and nearby star system in the luminescence of the sun.

In the arena, Apollo gazed at the night sky, his figure changing violently as well.

From his back, four fiery wings emerged, composed of golden and white feathers, burning brilliantly in the flames of the sun. A blazing sun symbol adorned his glabella, while a divine halo adorned his back. His wavy brown hair and iris had both turned white.

This was his divine form as the God of Light.

Apollo inhaled deeply and yanked the bowstring to its breaking point, causing the bow in his grasp to quiver in anguish. A metallic screech rang out across the solar system.

Apollo pressed his feet firmly against the cracked ground, erupting streaks of pure white. The entire arena trembled, as if it couldn't take any more of his power. The cracks spread, slithering into the amphitheatre and jolting the Gods and Goddesses out of their stunned stupor.

Between the pulled bow and string, a burst of pure white flames erupted, morphing into an arrow that gleamed with golden light as it hardened, surging and seething with raw power.

He yanked so hard on the string that it appeared to be about to snap. In great pain, the golden bow screeched.

"Soupernóva," Apollo said as he let go of the cord, his gaze fixed on Quetzalcoatl.

A white projectile flew at the speed of light through space, splintering the night sky into broken black shards.

Quetzalcoatl descended, her feet exploding with seething, scorching flames.

ROAR!

Quetzalcoatl's flames raged, shattering and melting everything in their path. For this was a sun-kindred flame, capable of burning the immortal gods, a flame...

Quetzalcoatl proclaimed. "Apollo, witness the power of my primordial fire."

"I will burn everything away and become the falling star that will destroy heaven and earth itself."

The arrow of Apollo and the fire of Quetzalcoatl approached each other ever so close in the collapsing sky.

The heavens and the earth immediately trembled and quivered under their confrontation, as if they were about to collapse under the mighty ripples of power unleashed from them.

Chaos erupted in the Amphitheatre, as Gods and Goddesses shouted in panic and fear, but their voices were drowned out in roars of flames and a blaze of light.

The Skyfathers rose from their seats, pressing their hands against the amphitheatre, strengthening it with all of their might.

"Ultimo Tope…"

"PATADA!" Quetzalcoatl roared, her fiery feet kicking at the light arrow.

And they collided. For a moment, everything went silent, everything lost its meaning, everything faded away.

Then, a scorching and inconvincible brilliance exploded.

From the swirling Milky Way, a column of brilliance arose, so enormous and bright that it was seen throughout the Galactic Supercluster.