36 Thief and Miracle

The light of dawn illuminated Delphi, which was bustling with people day or night.

A boy, no more than ten years old, ran through the crowds at breakneck speed. His presence went unnoticed for his figure was imperceptible and his steps were about as silent as they could be. And the chaotic crowds didn't seem to slow the boy down; he zip-zapped in and out of them with such deftness that it was as if he was born with it.

He was none other than Hermes, the new-born God of Speed, Messengers, Roads, and Thieves.

Hermes smiled cheerfully as he gazed around the magnificent palaces and spires of Delphi, taking in everything with awe. It was the first time he'd seen anything so perplexing. This place was far superior compared to the monotonous plains and mountains. He was sick of it by this point. But he'd never say that to his mother.

He now bravely began to make his way towards Delphi's interior, which was forbidden to outsiders. And everyone had already tried to avoid it like the plague, as the stories and legends of Delphi's infinite labyrinth tell of people getting lost and disappearing forever in the paths of the labyrinth.

But did he actually care? No! After all, he was the God of Roads. His domain includes the paths as well.

Hermes' figure began to vibrate violently, and he took a step forward before disappearing in a flash.

By combining his speed, sense, and invisibility, he managed to avoid the sharp eyes of the angels, very frightening angles of the Sun God.

He just ran and ran, through palaces and temples and into the interior of Delphi.

Hermes ground to a standstill, his steps as silent as ever, and turned to face his side.

There was a white path between ivory columns that led to an open room filled with gold and silver musical instruments that hummed with melodies.

Hermes' eyes instantly narrowed at the golden lyre, belonging to the Sun God, completely ignoring the other instruments.

The lyre was stunning, so stunning that it completely drew him in.

He wanted it.

So it will be. He decided, a quirky smile on his lips and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Hermes approached the path slowly and knelt in front of it. And his blue eyes began to glow with road divinity. He marked that room with his powers and established a connection with it.

Then he focused on the short and white path. And in his divine vision, the path ahead of him forked and dived, revealing an infinite number of pathways. Within these seemingly endless paths, the open room filled with instruments had already disappeared in this infinity.

Astonished, Hermes sucked in a cold breath. The tales didn't lie at all. This truly was an infinite labyrinth. How did Apollo do this?

But, he could still sense the faint connection with his mark on the room, and through this, he could find his way. But who knows how many years that is going to take?

But still, this didn't sway his convention. His brain's gears began to turn and creak loudly.

'Yes…' The God of Thieves face-palmed himself, as he finally realised. 'I am a thief, so why am I trying to do this the right way?'

He immediately walked towards the beginning of the path and looked ahead at the infinite paths. He then stopped using his road divinity, and his blue eyes dimmed.

The "infinite" paths merged into a single path, and at the end, the open room appeared, holding the gleaming and beautiful lyre. Everything had returned to normal. But the "infinite" distance between them remained, hidden and concealed.

Hermes extended his hand toward the open space, bolstering his connection to it and imbuing it with divinity.

Once he felt it was enough, he took a deep breath, squeezed his fingers into his palm, while exerting his thief divinity.

With his thief divinity, he can obviously steal, but not just objects. He can steal much more, even something abstract like the distance between two points in space, and thus teleport from one point to another in an instant.

Hermes was about to do exactly that. He was attempting to steal the distance between himself and the room in order to teleport directly to it. However, he was unsure whether he could steal this "infinite" distance between them. After all, there are limits to everything, including his powers.

But this may very well be his first challenge in his life, and he didn't want to cower from it. The rational part of his mind was instantly consumed by a rush of excitement.

Hermes finally took the first step down the path. Then, he immediately stole the distance between them.

Drenched in dark golden light, the space around him shimmered and cracked like glass. Each shattered glass shard reflected a path. There were an endless number of them, shimmering and gleaming in sharp and clear light.

It all came together to form a golden tree made of glass shards that seemed to cover the entire world. A shard of glass reflecting his path towards the open room with a lyre dimmed and disintegrated away in ashes.

Immediately, the world spun before his eyes, before Hermes found himself in the open room, standing in front of the beautiful lyre.

He was well aware that he had done it. He'd teleported into the room after stealing an "infinite" distance on that path.

But he didn't have time to be ecstatic or wonder about the golden glass tree since Apollo, the Sun God, would have noticed him by now.

Hermes grabbed the beautiful lyre and slammed his legs into the ground, shattering it. As he entered his speed mode, his figure began to vibrate.

He didn't hold back, using all of his strength, knowing that every minute would count from then on.

Hermes dashed forward with all his might, his form becoming intangible with heavy vibrations. With each of his steps, time seemed to slow down.

But then, he suddenly snapped his wide eyes to his side and saw a brown-haired man starting at him with a slight smile. The man's golden eyes followed his running figure, unaffected by the flow of time.

The brown-haired man appeared in front of him, catching him by the shoulders with a speed that even he, the God of Speed, couldn't reflect.

With that, time resumed its usual flow.

The brown-haired man lighted him up in the air as if he were a toy. "Well, look what we've got here, an imp."

A what?

Hermes blinked, finally recovering from the shock.

The brown-haired man, who was mostly likely Apollo, seemed to notice his confusion and emphasised it with a grin. "An imp."

Then, he eyed him up and down with scrutinising eyes, "You are a God of Speed? Yet, you are this slow."

Apollo said sharply. "Pathetic."

Hermes literally saw his entire world crumble in front of his eyes.

"Yo-ou" he spat, his face bright red. "Yo-ou"

Apollo ignored his struggle, taking the precious lyre from him and placing it back in its place with the other instruments.

Then Apollo gave him a smile, a very, very evil smile. His heart was filled with dread, and he began to struggle desperately in his grip.

But, before he could use his divinity, Apollo said kindly. "So, imp, let me show you what real speed is."

The Sun God patted his hands on his back at breakneck speed, giving him no time to react.

Then, Hermes felt his crumbled world spin and swirl in chaotic light.

Soon, a blinding shooting star appeared in the sky of Europa, splitting the entire sky with a roar that sounded more like a terrified scream to the gods.

______________

Apollo smiled as he watched the thief vanish into the blue sky with a twinkle. He simply sent the thief back to his house, into his worried mother's embrace.

'However, his abilities are truly fascinating,' he pondered. 'He literally stole the distance. What else is he capable of stealing? Time? Life? Death? And can he store it?'

Suddenly, a chuckle sounded. Somebody was behind him and he didn't notice at all.

Apollo turned immediately, his spear appearing in his hands. For a brief moment, the sun and the world shone brightly.

In front of him stood a pale woman. She was dressed in a goth gown, holding a black umbrella and a sigel of life on her chest.

"Hello there." She smiled.

Apollo looked at the pale woman. She was Death of the Endless, the absolute embodiment of Death and Life in the infinite multiverse.

And he wasn't that surprised by her visit. He'd just caused a multiversal disaster and had already met Dream, her brother.

"Hello, Death." Apollo said calmly. "It's an honour to have you in my home."

He waved his hand, and a flash of light formed a burning door. He then motioned for Death to follow him.

Death nodded and they entered the burning door into a massive hall with a dome that was supported by colossal pillars.

And numerous paintings and sculptures were hung and stood across the walls. A silver long table with 22 chairs was at the centre of it all, illuminated by the gliding light of the sun that shone through the strained dome.

This was a room that he specially built for gatherings and meetings within his home in Delos.

Under the guidance of Apollo, Death took her seat in a chair. And behind her chair, a symbol of her sigil formed, gleaming in light.

Apollo took his seat opposite to her. Behind his chair, a blazing sun emerged. The entire room then brightened before dimming into cups of ambrosia that flew into their hands.

Death accepted it, looking around. "It's a magnificent realm, you have?"

"You flatter me, Death," said Apollo to the multiversal cosmic entity.

Death smiled, drinking the wine. There was a brief moment of silence before Apollo broke it, putting his cup of divine nectar away since he was not in the mood to drink it. It would be a lie to say he was not nervous about facing literal death. It doesn't matter if she was portrayed as kind and caring; at the end of the day, she was the Death, the Ultimate End of all things.

"So.." He shifted in his seat. "Are you here because of the chaos caused by my choice?"

Death raised her dark brows in surprise and stated bluntly. "No, Phoebus Apollo, I was just curious about you. So, I wanted to meet you."

Apollo didn't know how to feel about that.

She eyed him, putting away her cup. "But, it looks like someone beat me to it."

"It's your brother, Dream." Apollo said. "He showed me the chaos and the destruction that it caused."

"Oh…" Death seemed to have inferred something from his words. Then, she said. "My brother means well, Apollo, despite his ways."

"I figured." Apollo smiled and nodded. "He made me see the truth."

"How do you feel about that?" Death asked, as if she knew what that truth was.

"I don't regret it." Apollo repeated, looking at his hands. "I don't regret anything."

"It's good that you have come to terms with it." Death said, but seeing him fixated on his hands, she said soothingly. "Don't worry about the chaos; it's already chained and thrown into infinite hell."

Apollo took a deep breath. "If I may inquire, how did this occur? I understand that I undid a fixed point in time, but how did my actions in my universe affect the rest of the multiverse?"

For a brief moment, Death remained silent, as if contemplating this. She finally revealed it solemnly.

She pointed to the ground. "This universe is different from the rest of the multiverse."

"Is this the prime universe?" Apollo asked, putting forward his guess.

"No." Death shook her head. "That is the universe 616 at the centre of the multiverse. This universe, however, is home to both you and me."

"Your home?" Apollo inquired, confused.

"Let me tell you a story." Death said.

She extended her hand. A shadowy orb appeared.

She indicated the orb. "The archangels of God Almighty, Samael, Michael, and Gabriel, descended on the void at the beginning of creation. They combined their powers that God bestowed on them and initiated the big bang."

The orb exploded with blinding and inconceivable brilliance, eclipsing everything in existence.

Apollo closed his eyes, unable to witness it even with all of his power, as golden blood trickled down his cheeks.

It was a miracle, a miracle of creation.