14 Hope

Apollo, Artemis, and Leto ascended slowly on marble steps made of sheening ivory, coiled up to the whirl of the clouds.

"Are you sure about this?" Leto inquired, her eyes fixated on her son.

"I am." Apollo gave a firm nod. He fixed his gaze on his mother. He could see threads of fate around her through his fate perception, but they were illusory and waning, as if they could vanish at any moment. The situation of his sister's fate was similar. But except for the two of them, everyone and everything else was normal.

'So my existence is weakening the fate of those close to me.' He reached a conclusion. Even though he was not entirely certain of the cause for the time being, this revelation filled him with immense relief. He also got a hunch that it was for this reason that Earth Mother was willing to support him and even bet on him.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in a second, while he focused on his mother, still nodding.

"Delphi is the most important sacred site in the world..." Leto said, her worry evident in her words.

"I get it, mother." Apollo interrupted, grabbing her hand. "I shall face whatever comes my way. It is now mine. I will shoulder the burden."

Leto smiled, a relief-filled smile.

'You will be the God that everyone aspires to be, my son, A True God.'

"What are your plans for Delphi?" Artemis spoke out, her eyes flashing. The seriousness in the air instantly vanished with her curious words.

"I am planning on creating a religion." Apollo revealed, his head was held high.

"Religion?" Leto was taken aback. "I assumed you were just going to take over."

"No, mother," Apollo proclaimed. "I am renovating the whole thing. From now on, the Delphi only conveys the will of Phoebus Apollo. The fates have no hold there anymore."

Leto's face became sombre at his audacious and daring comments. But she trusted her son. He will not make such audacious statements unless he has complete faith to back them up.

"But there are no mortals in Europa," Artemis replied emphatically.

"There will be," Apollo answered matter-of-factly.

"How do you know?" Artemis inquired, her gaze fixed on him. "You also just said fate doesn't have any hold. So, is it yet another of your little secrets?"

"Dreams," Apollo stated gravely.

"Dreams, sister," he said again, drawing close, his voice heavy and low. There was a distinct tinge of mystery and the unknown in the air.

"I believe you, brother!" Artemis spoke hastily, pushing him away from her face, and she took a step ahead of them. A laugh came from behind her, breaking the silence.

"You should also try the religion." Apollo yelled, his hand near his mouth.

Artemis came to a halt in the steps and waited for them to approach her before speaking, continuing the ascension with them.

"Let's see that once your alleged 'Dream' comes true." She groaned.

Apollo looked at his mother, who was smiling and shaking her head at their antics.

He asked after some silence. "Did they actually leave like that?"

Leto's smile faded as she nodded. "Yes, they were summoned by their 'superiors'. But Demeter and Hestia will be here, son. "

"What do you think of them?" she suddenly asked, looking at them.

"Nothing much really." Apollo said bluntly. "Demeter seemed truly kind and, honestly, I couldn't even see through Hestia."

Leto narrowed her eyes as she turned to face Artemis.

"I don't really care, Mother," Artemis murmured, twirling her hair.

Leto was unsurprised by their statements, nodding contentedly.

"But," Apollo stated abruptly, capturing their attention. "Hecate was different."

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Leto said, pulling something from her gown and passing it to him. "Hecate requested me to give you this as a token of her apologies for leaving."

It was a magic wand.

Apollo stared at the wand in silence for much too long, causing both Leto and Artemis to raise their brows at him.

"He likes her." Artemis declared, a smirk adorning her lips.

"She is a good girl, Apollo." Leto patted his shoulder.

"Please." Apollo sighed exasperatedly, "I think she is just talented. Is it so wrong now that one can't just appreciate?"

"Oh, you sure are going to appreciate her." Artemis jested. Apollo glared. Ignoring him, she continued, "Mother, go and take our aunt. I think she will be as happy as us."

"So, if we are on this topic." Apollo stepped in between them.

He grabbed Artemis' shoulder and forced her to stand with him. From shoulder to shoulder They were both about the same height.

"We should also find someone suited for Artemis, Mother. She deserved to be as happy as I am." He stated that with such sincerely that it made Artemis' skin crawl. "After all, we are twins. I can't just leave her hanging alone."

Artemis shoved him aside, breaking free from his grip, and sent him a violent, burning gaze with her silver eyes. Her look was so fierce that Apollo imagined they had morphed into laser eyes. But all he did was stare back at her, so here they were having a glaring battle in the middle of the celestial stairway.

"Enough, you both." Leto stepped between them, interrupting their little glaring contest. Then, she said solemnly to both of them, "It is always your wish in the end."

Artemis snorted, looking away. Leto continued. "But Apollo, if you really come to like Hecate, just tell me. She is a really good girl."

"I will, mother." Apollo nodded, his voice low.

"Now, come on, we can't make them wait." Leto finally said, grabbing both of their hands, "Especially your father, he expects punctuality from everyone else. So let's speed up."

They began to accelerate their ascent. They are unable to teleport since Olympus bans it. Apollo suddenly asked, his eyes with curiosity, as they neared the end. "Mother, if the second fallen is the elder god, who is the first fallen?"

Artemis' ears suddenly perked up.

Leto hesitated for a moment after seeing their curiosity. The words of Demeter rang out loudly in her head, breaking the spell. She finally sighed, saying in a low voice, almost a whisper.

"The first fallen is the Lightbringer, the most beloved Archangel of God Almighty."

"What?" Apollo looked startled, his eyes wide, and his normally languid demeanour disintegrated. He spoke out again, as if to be sure. "Do you mean the ruler of all of infinite hell?"

"Yes." Leto nodded, taken aback by his reaction. Her eyes narrowed in alarm and caution. "How do you know that? Anything involving 'Him' is incredibly dangerous."

"Dreams." Apollo stated thus, his expression retuned to languid, and his surging golden eyes subsided, reverting to absolute tranquilly. "Dreams do convey a lot these days, mother."

But Leto simply stared at his son, obviously unconvinced.

"We've arrived." Artemis spoke up, interrupting them and forcing them to look ahead.

There it was, the heavenly abode of gods, perched upon the highest clouds of the infinite sky.

From the top of the clouds rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled towering palaces—a city of mansions—all with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. Roads wound crazily up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the clouds. Precariously perched gardens bloomed with olive trees and rosebushes. An open-air market filled with colourful tents; a stone amphitheatre built on one side of the mountain; a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other.

It was Olympus.

"Be careful, my son." Leto finally said, sighing. Then, she dragged them to the colossal golden gates bathed in light, heading into the sacred realm of the gods.

_______________________

The journey into Olympus was a daze for Apollo. The Olympus was magnificent and otherworldly in each and every sense. He and Artemis passed numerous teenagers, minor gods and goddesses who stood on the periphery, giving them a look that was equal parts inquisitive and wary. Wood nymphs whose brown eyes literally shine like stars at the sight of him. They were following him and Artemis as they climbed to the main palace. As fire lamps blazed brighter, illuminating their golden walkway loaded with flowers, the entire Olympus appeared joyful and jubilant. The nine muses tuned their instruments and played ethereal music that resonated throughout Olympus.

It was truly magnificent, unlike anything he had ever witnessed in his former life. It definitely lived up to its title as the dwelling of the gods.

But Apollo was too distracted to appreciate any of this. He only gave them a polite smile, which he quickly regretted. Many nymphs, naiads, minor gods, and goddesses flushed and threw tonnes of flowers at him.

He was still in his thoughts, though he ignored their blatant attempts.

Lucifer Morningstar. Samael. The Light Bringer.

There was a Lucifer in the Marvel Multiverse, but obviously, he did not rule over all of infinite hell. One person did, excluding the mythological version.

It was Lucifer Morningstar from the DC Multiverse.

This would explain quite a bit. In the legend of the Earth Mother, the hooded figure with a book could be Destiny, the oldest of endless...The first murder on Earth should be Cain, the son of Adam and Eve.

In this case, is the supreme being of this multiverse One Above All or Presence? But, when you think about it, does it really matter? After all, they are all-powerful entities that are independent of everything. They could, for all he knows, be one and the same.

So, finally, is this DC × Marvel?

Apollo shook his head at the horrifying thought. If it had been that way, the differences should have been obvious. Except for the previously mentioned information, he found nothing. Or he could have simply been looking in the wrong places.

The unknown clawed its way back into his heart. He hated it. He loathed it. Assuming this was to be true for a second, it changes everything. Especially the beings that are aiming for his head.

Fates. They went by various names throughout the marvel, but they mostly worked for those who sat above shadows, who were leeches draining energy from each ragnarok of Asgard.

The cycle of life and death persisted until Thor, after becoming rune king, broke it. The fates of the Marvel Multiverse were indeed formidable, but they paled in comparison to their counterparts in the DC Multiverse.

In the DC Multiverse, the fates have too many different names and aspects. They were the Kindly Ones; the Hecateae; the Erinyes; the three witches; the Norns; the Moirai. Even the three furies in DC were an aspect of them.

The Kindly Ones have the most power over fate, second only to the Destiny of Endless. Their strength is derived directly from cosmic laws, and they are an integral component of the cosmos itself.

But what made them so terrifying in his perception?

It's because they indirectly killed the Dream of Endless! He was an Outerversal being! Yet, he was forced to fall by their wretched hands. Regardless of the fact that the actual process is significantly more complicated, there was a lot of tinkering with cosmic rules.

But the truth remains the same: they indirectly killed Morpheus, the Dream of the Endless.

And they are now his enemies.

His throat and heart tightened, his polite smile faded, and his sparkling eyes dimmed slightly.

"Brother?" Artemis elbowed him, her silver eyes filled with concern.

"Artemis," Apollo said, as he took her hands in his. As the flowers and music engulfed them, he dragged her to the end of the golden road.

It was agonising. It was terrifying. It was excruciating.

For a brief period during his realisation, an infinite number of harrowing and horrible thoughts invaded his mind, nearly sinking his heart into the abyss of despair.

He didn't, however, give up hope. There is still Delphi.

But still…

His thoughts were racing through all of the information on them, desperately looking for a solution of his own. After all, in the end, it was he who was going to confront the Fates with his authority.

Wait, the power of fate comes from the cosmic rules. They are an integral part of reality. They are also constrained by it.

"Apollo." Helios greeted as his sister Selene embraced Artemis.

However, Apollo's mind was teeming with chaotic thoughts, despite his placid demeanour, which concealed his true situation.

Cosmic rules…my order authority…the conceptual lordship…the golden order….

As his golden eyes brightened and a dazzling smile grabbed his lips, a ludicrous and frightening plan formed in his mind.

There is still hope.