Decipher

"Son of Lightning, beware of vengeance."

"The Fates' revenge; the Ilios shall emergence."

"Tenebours and Night unite, razed while they're torn,"

"Eternal Darkness shall rise; a cosmic power born."

The moment the Great Prophecy was uttered by him, Apollo felt a shift in the river of Destiny. The fates of countless people began to change in a drastic way, unlike anything he had seen before in the absoluteness of fate. Even as the God of Prophecy and Divination, he couldn't tell how many beings were affected by the great prophecy—a trillion, a quadrillion, a quintillion, a septillion?—perhaps it was meant to be that way, since something as powerful as Destiny could never be quantified.

It was not all—the shift in the River of Destiny was immediately concealed before it could be noticed by any gods or goddesses in his universe. How was he certain of this? Destiny made his intentions very clear to him in his own omnipotent way.

The gaze of Destiny faded. And Apollo finally managed to get a grip on reality by suppressing most of his volatile emotions with order authority, entering a semi-rational state. He then turned to face his love. Hecate was frozen in place, her face becoming paler by the second.

Apollo instinctively raised his hand to her cheeks to sooth her while also trying his best not to express his emotions on his face. He didn't want to worry her any more than she was already.

Hecate locked her gaze on him. "Was that a prophecy from…?" She flattered.

Apollo took her hands in his and gently squeezed them. "Yes," he confessed. "It was a great prophecy from Destiny of Endless himself."

"How, though?" Hecate was still in shock. "Weren't we Fate-less?"

"Fate-less, yes." Apollo nodded. "But I made a choice and chose a path. And Destiny responded to it. After all, it was his duty."

Hecate inhaled deeply, attempting to calm herself. "So the prophecy—I mean, the Destiny—is it binding on us?" she asked, though with a quivering voice that told all about her failure to compose herself for him.

Freedom. It was something he and Hecate both Desired. It was one of the few similarities between their very distinctive personalities. And the years Hecate had suffered under the shackles of divinity had made her even more sensitive to fate in general. She would cry herself to sleep on his shoulders, recalling the days before he came into her life.

It had hurt his heart, and he had been trying to help her overcome her fears and demons. They had been working on it for a long time now, and she was slowly coming out of her shadow.

Looking at her now, he could literally feel her slipping back into those shadows. Thank Gaea, he was in a semi-rational state, suppressing most of his emotions, as witnessing her like this without it would have only exacerbated his chaotic heart.

Apollo decided to let her see the fate itself. It was better than continuing to comfort her with words.

He took her quivering hand in his and shared his perception of Destiny with her. A warm sensation spread from their touch into their hearts.

The power of Destiny swirled around them like a tornado from the moment the great prophecy was spoken, without touching or binding them. But it was always there, showing no signs of fading away.

Hecate gradually calmed down as she witnessed the power of Destiny with him. Her quivering hands steadied as she tightened her grip on him. The shadows in her eyes began to fade.

"What does this mean?" She asked, her eyes fixated on the swirling Destiny.

Excellent question! But it's a shame that even he could not give a conclusive answer.

Apollo still revealed his educated guesses. "As I previously stated, I made a choice and chose a path. Destiny is merely guiding us on our path with the prophecy. He even concealed our path from being known by other gods."

"Does this mean he knows how our path will end?" Hecate quickly asked, her grip on him tightening even further.

"He certainly could." Apollo nodded. "He may be aware of all the possible outcomes. However, the result should not be predetermined. Destiny does indeed guide our path, but in the end, we make the decisions."

"Apollo, the prophecy." Hecate whispered, finally turning to look at him. "Will it be a blessing or a curse?"

Apollo stated unequivocally. "For all we know, it could be either. But don't worry, we'll face whatever Destiny has in store for us together."

Hecate nodded and smiled tiredly. Then she tried to let go of his hands, but Apollo drew her into his hug and asked. "Are you fine?"

"I am." Hecate said it, and he could tell she meant it. Then she questioned. "What about you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and frowned. His mind immediately went "uh-oh!"

"Are you suppressing your emotions once again?" Hecate gently pounded his heart. "What were you thinking, you dimwit? Let it all out!"

Apollo sighed and let go of his suppressed emotions. It exploded in his being like a volcanic tide, scorching and scathing his body. He should seriously stop doing this. Like ever again.

Hecate immediately kissed him, noticing his situation. Her cold lips pressed against his warm ones. A wave of coldness swept over him, extinguishing everything, and Apollo returned the kiss fiercely, his hands pulling her closer to him.

They parted after what seemed like an eternity but still rested their foreheads on each other, though Hecate still bore her accusing gaze.

Apollo sighed and acknowledged. "I promise I won't try that again…"

"You better." Hecate chastised. "What were you thinking, seriously?"

Apollo kissed her gently and continued. "Ever."

Hecate's anger melted under his kiss and promise.

Apollo pointed at the swirling Destiny around them. "Come on, let's decipher the great prophecy and see what destiny has in store for us." He allowed a smirk to form on his heavy lips.

Hecate nodded and stepped out of his embrace. She then dragged him into their bedroom, and they sat at their dining table facing each other instead of near each other, as they had always used to.

The Goddess of Magic waved her hands in the air. And the words of the great prophecy began to take shape out of the magic above their table with a thrum of magic.

They stared at the prophecy. Nobody said anything, and the time passed in silence.

Hecate decided to break it. "The first part of the first line: Son of lightning." She fixed her gaze on Apollo. "The meaning is pretty obvious."

"Well, I am not only the son of Zeus." Apollo said. "There's Hermes, Hepathaus, Ares, and tens more I could think of off the top of my head."

"Apollo." Hecate grumbled.

"Fine." Apollo's hands were in the air. "Sorry for trying to lighten the mood."

Hecate focused her attention back on the prophecy. "The second part: beware of…." She faltered, her hands clutching the edges of her dark gown tightly.

"Vengeance." Apollo finished for her.

Vengeance is a heavy and terrifying concept, rendered even more so when it involves fate. It is such a primal notion that it has the potential to override all rules and concepts in the right circumstances.

A terrifying guess formed in his mind. Hecate and Apollo exchanged glances, their eyes shimmering in the same light.

Hecate took his hand. "I shouldn't say this after we've already started down this path. But if our guess is even remotely true, then..."

"Hecate." Apollo intervened. He knew she wanted to reconsider after all this. The dreadful fact is that he understood where she was coming from. Vengeance was just that terrifying.

But he clutched her hand tightly. "We are not turning back."

Hecate did not try to persuade him any further; instead, she stated unequivocally. "Then we will find a way to deal with vengeance."

Apollo smiled as her optimism infected him, but his heavy eyes betrayed him. If only it were that simple. Vengeance…..

He said, putting a stop to his thoughts. "We should concentrate on the remaining prophecy first, Hecate, and leave that until we have a complete picture."

Hecate nodded, accepting his explanation. But, judging by her slumped shoulders, he suspected she also didn't want to delve into vengeance any further right now.

Apollo snapped his fingers, and two cups of green tea appeared on the table. He grabbed one cup and passed the other to Hecate. (It's an excellent remedy for stress and tension.)

Hecate drank her tea, gazing at the words of prophecy thrumming in the air. "The second line—the Fates' revenge; the Ilios shall emergence."

"It is related to my sun authority." In between sips, Apollo deciphered. "Fate's revenge should lead to the emergence of Ilios, the True Sun."

"Your sun authority." Hecate inquired, puzzled. "I understand the distinction between divinity and authority. But what does that have to do with the emergence of Ilios?"

"My bad." Apollo scratched the back of his neck. "I should have been more specific."

He had just told her the basics of authority—that it was the evolution of divinity. Even that explanation would not do authority a justice, as even the primordials, who control a primal force of the universe, have only divinity. It's simply a higher level of the same thing, a better version of the same object. And it still has similar restrictions and limitations of its own.

But authority is a different story altogether. It essentially grants him the first claim to the concepts of reality without any restrictions. He may not have complete control over the concepts, but his ownership is always present. This is the situation for his sun and light authorities, but it is slightly more complicated for his order authority since it involves cosmic power.

"My authorities," Apollo said as he leaned forward in his chair. "grant me a first claim over the concepts of reality."

"To put things into perspective, my sun authority allows me to seize complete control of the sun, overriding the divinities and wills of other sun gods and goddesses in the sun."

"By doing so, I will immediately ascend to become the primordial of sun, and my power will grow to the universal level."

Apollo spread his hands. Oh, how he wished it wasn't night, since he could have willed the sun to shine brightly on him.

"I am Ilios, the embodiment of the Sun."

"Wait—" Hecate raised her hand, trying to process his words. "Let me get this straight."

"You could become a primordial anytime you want?"

"Yes." Apollo glanced at the night sky, rubbing his chin. "Even right now," he turned back to her. "If I really want to, that is."

Hecate bit her lower lip. "That's so..." she flattered, her eyes filled with guilt over what she intended to say.

That's so unfair. Apollo finished for her in his mind.

Hecate took a deep breath. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have said…"

"It is fine, Hecate." Apollo shook his head. "Life was never fair, was it?"

"What truly matters is that we fight back against whatever it throws at us, no matter how hopeless and despairing it may appear."

"How do you do that?" Hecate gave a small smile and then answered her own question. "Always having the right words for every situation."

"You extol me, my love." Apollo answered. "I just know you with all my heart."

Hecate's smile deepened at this. She took her half-empty cup of soothing tea near her and drank it.

Apollo looked at the prophecy. "Let's continue."

Hecate nodded. She repeated the second line. "Fates' revenge; the Ilios shall emergence."

She then turned to face him. "I now understand everything."

"You will eventually ascend to become the Primordial God of the Sun, and all Sun Gods and Goddesses will lose their divinity. This was why you were so insistent about starting the war of the gods."

"I was under the impression that you intended to kill all sun gods and goddesses in the war and absorb their divinities..."

"That is the path I intended for my sister." Apollo acknowledged. "And you are right. One way or another, war is unavoidable."

"I could have ascended in the past, but it would have resulted in chaos that I couldn't control or deal with."

"I maybe able to suppress all the gods in the war with my primordial power, but if other primordials decide to put aside their differences and besiege me, neither I nor the universe could possibly survive it."

"That's why I'm waiting for the right moment."

Hecate finally deciphered after hearing him. "The second line of prophecy implies that your right moment will arrive with the Fates' revenge."

"The revenge of fates most likely could involve your father too."

"So everything converges on your eventual confrontation with your father." She went on, looking at him for confirmation.

"And Ilios will be born."

"Perhaps." Apollo was sceptical. "Perhaps not."

"A prophecy could have numerous interpretations and undertones." He paused. "If you ask me personally, the right time for me to ascend to the Primordial of the Sun is not during the battle with my father."

"That is a recipe for disaster and chaos."

He can already imagine Izanami and Izanagi bursting onto the battlefield to demand justice for their daughter.

Yeah, it is definitely a recipe for disaster and chaos.

"So?" Hecate pressed her lips together with a frown. "When is the best time for you?"

"The right time," Apollo said, "could perhaps come after I become the God-King of Olympus."

"Apollo." Hecate took a deep breath and then chastised him. "Stop trying to be so cautious. Sometimes plans don't always work, and you need to make the difficult decision on the spot. There can be no hesitation since your life depends on it."

"Don't ever forget that your father is also very strong and has the protection of the Fates."

"I know." Apollo gently stroked her hands. "If the need arises, I will not hesitate to ascend."

Hecate added with firmness. "We'll deal with the consequences together."

Apollo merely nodded, trying his best to restrain his pessimism from destroying the optimism of his love.

He turned to the prophecy and uttered the last two lines together.

"Tenebours and Night unite, razed while they're torn,"

"Eternal Darkness shall rise; a cosmic power born."

"Tenebrous is another title of Erebus." Hecate spoke, her dark eyes gleaming with magic. "Night obviously is Aunt." She gave the two lines another glance and looked at him with relief.

"The final lines shouldn't be about you, Apollo." She paused, deciding not to tempt fate. "At least not directly."

Apollo examined the prophecy. "How is the relationship between Erebus and Nyx?"

Hecate wasn't surprised by his question, though she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I am not certain."

"Aunt never spoke about it. But I could tell their marriage wasn't out of love. Even all the children they had together turned out to be just pure concepts of the world, not actual living beings."

"Some had a slight conscience, such as the Evils, but others, such as Hemera and Aiether, did not even have that."

"They are now separated?" Apollo frowned.

"Yes." Hecate nodded. "For quite some time."

"Well," Apollo drummed his fingers on the table. "Let's consult Nyx on the remaining prophecy, as it is better if we get the full picture of their situation before we finalise our guesses."

Hecate concurred and then looked up at the night sky. "Give me a few seconds, and I'll call Aunt..."

"No." Apollo stopped her.

"What?" Hecate stared at him.

"I believe we've reached our daily quota of depressing subjects." Apollo said. "And I want to resume what we just passed."

"Remember, the night is still young?"

Hecate glared at Apollo. "Are you seriously suggesting we still have sex?"

"No." Apollo wryly smiled. "The prophecy snuffed out my growing libido." He took a breather. "What I want is a good night's sleep with you after all the things that happened."

Hecate looked at him for a moment, then nodded. As tiredness washed over her, her tensed shoulders slumped. "Come on, then." She extended her hand to him, and he caught it. They made their way to their bed.

As they entered their bed, Apollo finally suggested. "We shall meet with Nyx after I get approvals for my Hope project. Don't worry, it won't take long."

"Whatever you say.." Hecate hummed and opened her arms to him.

But Apollo snorted and dragged her into his arms instead. Hecate merely pouted as she let him snuggle her into his embrace.

They closed their eyes and entered the realm of Morpheus together.