Ch. 164: The Wrath Of The Sun (Aphrodite's POV)
"We'll go up to help the others, Hades," I said, adjusting the weight of Hecate in my arms. Her body trembled violently, wracked with the pain of the blows she had taken earlier.
Hades nodded without a word, brushing past . He stopped next to and had his hand pressed firmly on my shoulder, squeezing tight for a mont before releasing. It was a silent ssage, a mix of solace and goodbye. I couldn't tell what it ant, but sothing about it lingered— an unspoken weight that settled heavily in my chest.
As he disappeared into the swirling smoke, I turned toward the staircase, my thoughts wandering elsewhere. Swaying to what Hades had in mind surely there was no way he could die, he was the strongest there was.
Hades had always been an enigma. Since I was a child, I'd seen that distant look in his eyes, the kind that spoke of a world only he could see, a word most were blind to. People feared him, avoided him, but I never understood why. Even as kids— , Hers, Ares, Apollo— we saw the loneliness in his gaze. Though not all of us cared.
There were so who rather stayed away and others-- despised him.
Apollo, for one, despised him. He loathed Hades' darkness, aspiring instead to mimic Zeus, his hero. Our first fight had been over this, over the venom Apollo spat about Hades. That fight shaped everything. From then on, I could not stand Apollo's growing arrogance, his incessant need to shine brighter than anyone else.
It was... unhealthy.
"Urk… urk…" Hecate's cough pulled back to the present.
Noticing my gaze, she locked eyes with . "I'm fine," she said, though her voice was strained.
Hecate was a mystery. Always by Hades' side, always his unwavering support. I didn't know her well, but I admired her steadfast loyalty to him. I noticed how she tried to fill the hole of loneliness in him.
"We have to help the others at the top. So hurry," Hecate commanded, her voice firm despite the tremor in her body.
"You're the one slowing us down," I quipped, unable to resist.
Her glare could have burned through steel, but she quickened her pace regardless. The effort was clearly taking its toll; her body trembled with every step.
I clenched my jaw, the weight of my failure pressing down on . I had lost Pandora in the chaos. I wanted to prove to Hades that I could handle this, but instead, I had only added to the burden.
I still wanted to prove myself and when I was given the chance to stop the source of my curse I was useless.
"Wait!" Hecate's voice was sharp and urgent. "Soone's here. I can feel… malicious intent. It's subtle but it's lingering in the air before us."
I squinted into the dense smoke ahead, but saw nothing. Hecate's eyes glowed an eerie purple, a testant to her superior senses far surpassing mind.
I cleared my mind myself and tried to feel the space around us for any anomaly.
The world seed to slow like the ticks of a clock slowly coming to a halt. The crackle of fire below beca distant, muted. And then Hecate jolted, her eyes widening in alarm.
"Watch out!" she scread.
I barely had ti to react. A shadow erged from the haze, and before I could process what was happening, a blinding force struck my face.
The impact was cataclysmic. I was hurled through the air like a ragdoll, spinning uncontrollably until I crashed into a pillar on the second floor. The stone cracked under the force, sending shards flying.
"Ack—!" I gasped as I crumpled to the ground, my dress tearing along the edges revealing bits if my bare skin underneath.
My body still shook from the blow so it took quite a while for my body to adjust to it.
Through the ringing in my ears, I heard the sharp, rhythmic clash of blows sounding like fireworks. Forcing myself up, I saw Hecate locked in a vicious battle with a figure clad in golden light.
Apollo.
The bastard's golden locks glead even through the smoke, his movents a blur of precision and power. His strikes were calculated, each one designed to dismantle Hecate piece by piece.
Hecate held her ground, countering with powerful jabs that sent shockwaves through the floor. Cracks spiderwebbed beneath them, the very foundation groaning under their clash.
I watched in awe. Even injured, Hecate was formidable, her every move a testant to her resilience. Perhaps this was why she was always by Hadrs' side. But Apollo… he was relentless.
My eyes followed their attacks with precision perfectly...
And then sothing shifted.
Apollo's attacks quickened, each strike more ferocious than the last. Hecate was forced back, her defenses crumbling under the onslaught. If Apollo's attack was originally one-fold then now it was ten-fold. Was that even possible in re seconds.
"Oh, I get it now," Apollo sneered, widening his stance. With a fluid motion, he raised a hand and delivered what seed like a simple palm strike to Hecate's chest.
Or so I thought...
From the looks of it, the effect was devastating.
Hecate staggered, blood spurting from her mouth as she collapsed to her knees. Her hands clutched at her chest, her breathing ragged as she gagged.
"The Willow Leaf Palm," Apollo said smugly. "A simple technique, really. It disrupts the flow of energy in the body, leaving you weak and defenseless. Did you really think you could challenge and win? How quaint of you."
Hecate trembled, her knees threatening to give out entirely. And yet, she rose, defiant. My eyes widened in amazent, there should have been a limit to her body yet she still carried herself back up.
Unlike she ca with the do or die mindset, was this what differntiaed from the other mbers of the team?
"You talk too much," she spat, blood trickling down her chin evidently of the internal battle she face within. "We are not letting you past us."
Apollo's laugh was cold, hollow. His golden earrings clinked softly as he tilted his head, his expression one of mock pity.
"You should know by now," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "I don't want to get past you. I want to erase you. To erase your pitiful existence off the face of Olympus. You were all there when Hades dared to mar my perfect face. This is retribution you uggos."
Hecate's legs wobbled, but her resolve didn't falter. "What do you hope to gain, Apollo? Destroying Olympus? I am not one to be interested in defective material such as yourself but this style does not quite seem to suit you."
Apollo's eyes twitched in disgust as he drove his palm into her chest again, it was so fast I barely even saw it if not that she dropped down and held her chest again. This ti she spat out even more blood, Apollo was killing her. "Filth from the depth of the earth dare talk to with such arrogance? How unsightly."
And yet again before my eyes Hecate rose to her feet, Apollo did not look impressed or surprised in any way, he was calm. He then smiled.
Apollo's smile twisted into sothing deranged, his eyes alight with manic glee. "You opined about wanting to destroy Olympus? Oh no, dear Hecate. I seek sothing far greater. I seek to ascend. To replace Zeus if he falls. To bask in the eternal glory I was destined for by birth. And you? You're just in the way, an insignificant speck of dust on windshield."
"You're insane," Hecate growled.
"And you're pathetic," Apollo shot back, his aura flaring with incandescent light.
He lunged, but before he could strike, a dazzling burst of energy intercepted him. The force sent him skidding back, his golden aura flickering.
"Aphrodite," he hissed, his voice laced with venom.
I stepped forward, my presence commanding. I gave a powerful stance that radiated my ethereal beauty and splendor. Pink shimring of light dancing just above lt exterior.
"Step aside, Apollo," I said coldly. "This isn't your fight."
Apollo's laugh was unhinged. "Oh, but it is. And now I get to deal with both of you. Technically you chose to crash my big day aning you were very much prepared for this."
I noticed Hecate staggering and then diverted myself back at Apollo. "Apollo, you can still stop this."
Apollo started to advance with ill intent in his eyes. "Oh my dear Aphrodite. You should not be the one to lecture on when to stop."
In a matter of seconds we were facing each other.
The battle that followed was a blur of motion and light.
My strikes were a symphony of precision and power, each movent flowing seamlessly into the next. I summoned my weapon m, a red vine I wielded like a whip and flight , my attacks carrying an almost otherworldly grace, my every motion a calculated masterpiece.
Apollo countered with raw, unbridled force, his deranged energy creating shockwaves that threatened to tear the hall apart.
He summoned a long golden spear from thin air and moved to deliver an even more compelling counter, and against changing the pace.
We clashed again and again, our blows shaking the very air. My whip-like strikes sliced through Apollo's defenses, while his explosive counters forced to stay on my toes.
Despite my skill, I was slowly getting pushed back. Apollo's overwhelming power and manic determination pushed to my limits far sooner than I had expected.
Our fight carried on for a long ti before we finally were unable to move. We were vloodied and battered as we finally collapsed in a heap, our bodies bruised and broken.
My muscles trembled and my clothes were sticky from the excess blood I had lost through the battle. Apollo did not seem much better. We lay on the ground, Apollo's mask of pride cracked. His laughter gave way to a pained, hollow sound.
"What's there to be happy about, you lost." I used my eyes to scan around for Hecate and found her lying flat on the ground unconscious.
"You don't get it, do you?" he rasped, his voice trembling. "I just… I just wanted to matter. To be more than a cheap copy of Zeus. To be seen."
I t his gaze his eyes still carrying pride his confident look.
"You've always mattered, Apollo," I responded quietly. "You just never saw it. You were always blinded by your twisted little wa of thinking."
The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken truths.
As the smoke began to clear, the hall fell silent once more, the echoes of their battle fading into the distance.
Reviews
All reviews (0)