Chapter 7: Order and Music
Apollo laid in the green grass, wisps of white light emanating from his figure and morphing into different animals. They jumped and danced around him to the music of his lyre, which floated high above, its strings thrumming on their own.
His eyes were closed as the music of his lyre echoed, soothing his mind.
He was reflecting, as his mother had instructed. The sun's situation is quite complicated. The sun is claimed by a plethora of gods and goddesses. They frequently clash in order to gain more control over the sun.
There was a freaking arena in the sun specifically for this. The losers in the battles cede some control to the winners.
Amaterasu and Amon Ra are the ones who have the most control over the sun. He didn't get to see Ra during his visits to the sun, only running into Amaterasu once.
He also met the majority of the sun gods and goddesses, though almost all of them avoided him with hostile looks. It was to be expected, since he already had more control over the sun than most of them from his birth. It irked their Godley honor and pride.
He memorized all of their information because they would all be his enemies in the future when he conquers the sun as his crown.
Then there's his order and light authority.
His order authority enables him to influence and create rules of reality, effectively controlling reality to his whim. He knows it's overpowered.
All he had to say was 'No more darkness,' and all forms of darkness in the affected area would be erased from reality. And this was only one of the order's applications.
It also allows him to observe the working rules of the universe. This is how he came up with his conjunctures.
Using his order authority, he observed his mother and sister when they used their divinities. Then he saw how the divinities interacted with reality, how they affected the cosmos' substratum, and how they interacted with concepts.
Peering into the secrets of the cosmos was a truly eye-opening experience. He drew his divinity hypotheses from this. However, because the majority of his observations were only of the divinity of his sister and mother, he needed a lot more data before drawing final conclusions.
He wasn't just helping his aunts during this time. He was still cautious, checking to see if they could detect his intrusion. However, they, like their mother and sister, were unable to detect anything.
He simply attributed the concealment effect to the difference in essence between authority and divinity.
The Conceptual Lordship is the absolute pinnacle of his Order Authority. He used to play a game called Elden Ring in his past life. The Golden Order is omnipresent throughout the game. He didn't think much about it at the time. But now only he realizes the true might of the Golden Order.
The Golden Order pervaded the entire reality of the lands in between. And, utilizing its power of order, it controlled all notions of reality. Life. Death. Space. Time. To put it another way, it became the way of the world.
It had complete control over all of reality of the lands in between until Queen Makira, the Eternal, shattered the elden ring in an act of rebellion against the Greater Will, liberating reality.
The Golden Order was an example of Conceptual Lordship. And if his estimates are correct, he could be able to create something similar in the future. Reality will be nothing more than a toy in his hands.
Overall, his order authority is extremely powerful and flexible. So, why is he not focusing on conquering this concept instead of the sun?
When he first connected with the concept of order, he noticed a terrifying will shrouding the entire concept, claiming it as its own. In his perception, it was literally limitless and infinite. By simply facing the will, he felt his own insignificance.
The will should belong to Master Order, the embodiment of Order, a cosmic entity ruling over all concepts related to Order.
Master Order was now far above his pay grade. He could, however, use his authority to tap into the power of order without attracting the will's attention. However, if he bites off more than he can chew, he is certain the Master Order will notice him and set his sights on him.
The attention of a cosmic entity is the last thing he wants right now. As a result, despite his desire, he decided not to focus on the authority of order.
Finally, there's his light authority. Unlike the concepts of the sun and order, the concept of light was, at least in his mind, mostly empty with only a few divine wills. But, he did not completely trust his findings.
After all, light, as opposed to darkness, should be one of the most fundamental concepts in the cosmos. But, there was also no entity in his knowledge of the Marvel Multiverse that actually embodied the aspect of light.
But, it still shouldn't have been so vacant in his perception. It was almost as if someone had cleared the entire field just prior to his arrival, revealing a clear path.
He felt guided, as if a pair of large hands were pushing him down this path. It sounds ridiculous, but this is exactly how he felt at that precise moment.
He just stood there for a long time, conflicted, watching the vast expanse of light. Despite his reservations and misgivings, he chooses to proceed on the predetermined path.
He desperately needs to build up his strength in order to face the looming threats and wars and protect everything he cares about. And this was the only option he had right now.
Nevertheless, he fucking hates this feeling being subtlety manipulated. But there was nothing he could do without enough power.
But whoever it was, it didn't matter. He will defy whatever plans they have for him and confront them in the end.
Of course, there is also another possibility; he may be just overthinking the entire situation...
Apollo focused his attention on his progress with the concept of light, which calmed his emotions.
Unlike the concept of the sun, light is literally limitless and infinite. He has already begun to spread his will and authority into the concept of light in the last one and a half years. The conquering process was actually very much more difficult than he expected.
When confronted with his invasion, the concept of light, like everything else in existence, passively resisted. Each time, he had to sharpen his will, like a sword, destroying and tearing through the walls of resistance. Then the process repeated again and again.
In the end, he made significant progress in the light. He can now immediately manipulate the concept of light to his liking within a range of nearly several nearby star systems. He has the ability to make the light feel blazing hotter, instantly incinerating planets and stars, or icy cold, freezing even the space and time illuminated by the light. His imagination is his only limit. He can also fire light beams so powerful that they disintegrate everything in their path. He can even make it impossible for darkness and night to exist....
Overall, he is quite powerful. His all-out assault should have an impact on part of the Milky Way.
Despite becoming so powerful, he did not relent in his efforts, as there were beings far stronger than him even in the pantheons of gods, let alone the multiverse.
Apollo lay, still deep in thought, bathing in the ethereal moonlight, surrounded by leaping luminescent animals.
"Apollo." A hesitant voice rang from the front, his eyelids shot open, and he sat up with his hand on the ground, looking at Hecate, Goddess of Magic.
The peaceful music stopped, and the light beings broke apart and faded away into light particles, leaving an unsettling silence in the air.
Hecate flinched slightly at his narrowed gaze, but she quickly gathered herself and extended a wooden cup to him.
"I apologise for disturbing you." She said, "However, your mother sent this to you."
Apollo took the wooden cup filled with ambrosia, his restless heart calming and a sigh escaping his lips.
"Your music was great." Hecate smiled as she approached him and sat next to him.
"It's a pity.." She bowed her head.
"Do you still want to hear it?" Between drinks, Apollo asked, side-eying Hecate.
"Will you play for me?" Hecate jerked her head up at him, surprise written all over her face.
Apollo smiled and responded with his actions. He placed his ambrosia on the green ground and raised his hand, light erupting and morphing into a lyre, falling into his palm.
"What is this instrument?" Hecate immediately asked at the sight of the lyre, as if she had been holding back that question for a long time.
"Lyre." Apollo said this with a straight face, shamelessly. "It is my invention."
The starry gleam in her eyes increased as she peered curiously at the new musical instrument.
"It's amazing." Hecate remarked with a slight smile, before asking curiously. "Where did you get the inspiration?"
"Dream." Apollo blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, developing on it, putting on a reminiscent smile. "It's a magical place, you know, where idle fantasy turns fornication and memories feign meaning."
"Dream…" Hecate repeated under her breath, her smile fading, and a look of solemnity appearing in her eyes. Then it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
'Dream...' Apollo captured her solemnity despite her best efforts. 'Is there a problem with dream? Nightmare?'
He temporarily ignored his doubts and focused on Hecate.
Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, was one of the most powerful deities in Greek mythology and other related fiction. With her sheer power, her counterpart in the DC Multiverse even terrified the presence.
As long as she finds her own path in magic, her future potential should be limitless.
Apollo's eyes gleamed slightly as he looked at her. If he could get her on his side.
"Play, Apollo." Hecate asked gently, pulling him out of his thoughts, with a raised brow.
Apollo's fingers went to the strings. But, he suddenly looked up and asked. "Do you know how to play?"
Hecate nodded, feeling slightly startled at his sudden question. "Mother often brings a lot of strange instruments from the cosmos after her journey with the Queen of Night. She teaches me when she feels like it..." She drawled, noticing a glimmer of expectation in his eyes, shifting her, fidgeting her fingers. "Yeah, I know somewhat."
Apollo extended his hand, another lyre appeared in a flash of light. But, this one was silver, matching her irises.
"Play with me." He offered it to her.
Hecate looked at the silver lyre in a daze, though her hands had already moved to accept it instinctively.
Finally, she held the arm of the lyre tightly, looking at him with obvious doubt written all over her face.
"You will know." Apollo smiled, "I will begin first. Then, you follow. Trust me on this. I warn you, though, my music is somewhat special."
Still, Hecate nodded, her eyes trailing his fingers, her doubts and questions disappearing.
Apollo began by strumming the cords of his lyre while exerting his orderly authority on reality.
The haunting tunes filled the bright and calm forest. It was the Moonlight Sonata, composed by the God of Music, Beethoven.
Music filled the air, like waves crashing into the fabric of reality. With the low tunes, the reality around them shimmered and twisted. It appeared as if reality itself began to echo with melody, dancing to Apollo's will.
Hecate closed her eyes and instinctively reached for her lyre, following Apollo. The ethereal, chaotic, and sombre music had a sense of order to it. It gently guided her mind, her hand, her fingers, and she lightly strummed.
They played together under the golden sheen of the sunlight.
The tunes rang in disarray at first, then in unison, creating a grand and solemn melodic line. Their eyes were closed, their thoughts were fixed, and their fingers trailed. Music rushed into the fabric of reality like a tsunami, twisting and eventually altering it.
With a thunderous metaphysical BOOM! Everything around Hecate and Apollo was thrown into oblivion, stranding them in the endless void. They continued playing, unaffected by anything.
The haunting melodies suddenly turned high. In response, the limitless nothingness was shattered, and infinite illumination exploded from inside, engulfing them. Still, they played, unmoved and unconcerned.
They kept playing, losing track of time and becoming completely immersed in the moment. It seemed to last forever, but it also seemed to last only a fraction of a second.
Apollo finished with a heavy strum on the last string, opening his bright eyes, and Hecate followed, finishing breathlessly.
"Thi-is…" Her eyes were wide at her hands, "How did you pull that off?"
Apollo answered straightforwardly. "It's my divinity." He paused, drawing her full attention to his logical response, which finally calmed her down.
Hecate asked, her eyes gleaming. "Music divinity?"
Apollo just smiled, not satisfying her curiosity.
"Fine." Hecate pouted, seeing his silence.
"Who is that ambrosia for?" Apollo finally inquired, finally finding another wooden cup near Hecate on the grass.
"Oh…." Hecate jolted to her feet, grabbing the cup.
She quickly turned and inquired urgently. "How much time has elapsed?"
"Just 30 minutes." Apollo answered, causing her shoulders to sag in relief.
"Who is it for?" He continued, asking.
"My mother." Hecate said, relief filling her eyes. "Aunt asked me to give it to her."
"I understand." Apollo said. "Tell your mother not to worry that much. Everything will be fine in the end."
Hecate nodded briskly while Apollo chuckled and waved at her. "Now, go and give it to her. She may really need that now."
She gave the silver lyre to him. "Here, and thank you for the music. It is one of the best pieces I have ever heard, despite everything."
"Keep it." Apollo returned the silver lyre.
"Really?" Hecate asked loudly, as if to confirm that what she had heard was right.
"Yes." Apollo said. "Consider it as a token of our song."
"Our song.." Hecate smiled, tightly holding onto the silver lyre, before nodding one last time and taking off into the forest.
Apollo looked at the fading figure of Hecate, his hands trailing towards the strings again, as though he wanted to continue playing.
But, just then, a shout startled him. "I forgot again! Apollo, your aunt is calling you for dinner. Lady Demeter and Lady Hestia also have something important to say to you and Artemis."
Apollo looked at the rustling trees, smiling and shaking his head, while suppressing the strange feelings in his heart.
Under the moonlight, he got up with his lyre and ambrosia in hand, and began walking towards his home….
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone