Ares placed the sleeping Mobius on the throne of blood and fire. As he turned, blood crystals rustled from the seams of his armor.
Apollo's golden arrow vibrated on the divine throne. When the God of War's boot heel crushed the laurel branches at the threshold, the seven-stringed lyre suddenly let out a sharp tremor.
"You've brought a thread from the veil of Lady Nyx, the Goddess of Fate." Apollo's fingertips brushed the strings, and the melodious music condensed into swirling notes in the air. "That daimon… or rather, our new brother?"
The War God's cloak ignited with a pale blue flame the moment he stepped into the temple. "You foresaw the emergence of healing power." Ares curled his fingers into a fist, bronze armor rubbing against the flesh of his palm, sparking. "But you didn't tell me that healing power would carry the aura of prophecy."
The iridescent glass of the temple dome suddenly dimmed, and dust motes of light fell from Apollo's hair. As he rose, wisps of solar flame appeared beneath his feet: "When the blood of war is poured upon the seed of healing, what blossoms will be the god-slaying rose—this is the prophecy inscribed on the thirty-six thousandth line of the Delphic stone wall."
The seventh string of Apollo's lyre suddenly snapped, and the golden string wrapped around the War God's bleeding wrist: "Do you know what this means?"
The vision of Ragnarok flowed through Apollo's eyes. "When the healer glimpses the threads of fate, the twilight bell of Olympus will ring three hundred sunrises early, and the position of the God-King will change hands."
"Isn't that what you want?" Ares caressed his battle armor, which was stained brown.
"But the mighty eagle and the beautiful peacock never want to step down from that lonely mountaintop." The notes lingering around Apollo's lyre paused for a moment.
Cracks appeared in the floor beneath the War God's feet. "Is that so?"
.....
Mobius opened his eyes. Beneath him was the War God's throne. "Sleep? I haven't fallen asleep in hundreds of years."
The residual warmth of the firefly fragments on his hand remained. "Was it His Highness Ares? What does sleep have to do with war? Why was he able to make me sleep?"
Mobius had many thoughts, but he didn't suspect Ares of plotting against him. After all, he was just a small daimon at first, and his greatest value was being a child of Zeus.
And there were at least eight thousand, if not a hundred thousand, beings like Zeus's children in the world. Even if one were missing, Zeus wouldn't care, and might even feel a little pleased.
Mobius stood up, and the attending nymphs respectfully stepped forward. "Esteemed Lord Mobius, Master of Healing."
"We are the nymphs who serve you." The leading nymph, with emerald green curly hair and golden eyes, spoke first. "I am Alira."
"This is my first sister, Talasea." Alira pointed to the nymph with straight blue hair on her left.
She then pointed to the nymph on her right. "This is my second sister, Chrysopha."
"We were arranged by His Highness Ares to serve Your Highness, and we hope Your Highness is pleased," Alira said respectfully.
In the distance, for some unknown reason, the scent of white truffle, which was out of place with the entire War Temple, was lit.
A hint of softness flashed in Mobius's eyes, and an inscrutable smile played on his lips. "No need. You can go tend to His Highness Ares's warhorses. I'll take care of things here myself."
Mobius was not accustomed to being served, as some things could only be done by oneself, because only one truly understood oneself!
Soon, Mobius walked out of the War Temple and coincidentally met Ares, who was coming from outside.
"Your Highness Ares, how did I fall into a deep sleep?" Mobius asked with a smile, as if asking a simple question.
"Ah?" A trace of awkwardness flashed across Ares's face. He scratched his head and said uneasily, "This, because I had to do some things. After all, these things are like a space bubble about to explode."
"Does it have anything to do with me? Is it a prophecy or something else?" Mobius recalled the prophecy he saw yesterday, after which he began to fall into a state of sleep.
Ares was silent for a moment, and after a long time, he uttered two words: "Prophecy."
"Is it a prophecy related to His Highness Zeus?" Mobius asked.
"Yes."
Mobius vaguely understood. It was probably the curse of the second-generation God-King, Cronus, on the current Zeus, coupled with the widespread rumors among some gods, that Zeus would be overthrown by his youngest child, which was widely circulated.
Presumably, Ares was referring to this matter.
Mobius nodded and said, "Then, Your Highness Ares, I probably know what it is. Don't worry, this so-called prophecy will not have much to do with me. At least for now, although it's related, it won't be later."
Ares's eyes widened. What did he mean? Did Mobius know about this? That's right, yesterday, a strong aura of prophecy erupted from him.
So he must know about this.
"Your Highness Ares, although I am the subject of this prophecy, someone else will eventually replace me," Mobius said softly.
Mobius thought that although he was currently Zeus's last child, Hephaestus, the god of fire, had not yet returned to Olympus, Athena had not yet been born from Zeus's head, the god of thieves and patron of commerce had not yet appeared, and there wasn't even a trace of the mother of Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, one of the last twelve Olympian gods.
What was he worried about? The subject of the prophecy would not be him, and never would be him, because Zeus's children would continue to appear, and no one would be the last subject, until Zeus's power was overthrown, until Zeus could no longer conceive his own children.
Ares nodded in satisfaction, then showed a look of remorse, saying, "As expected of my subordinate god, to know and even avoid such a thing. I somewhat regret interrupting your prophetic power yesterday."
Mobius heard Ares say that. "Your Highness Ares, then why did you interrupt me from gaining the power of prophecy?"
"Logically, if I possessed the power of prophecy, it should be of great benefit to you, providing you with more useful advantages." Mobius didn't feel much distress about losing the so-called power of prophecy.
It was uncertain whether this prophetic power was real or fake.
As for his ability, he did not possess the ability to prophesy, but he could know things from the past and the future.
However, the future could only be taken as a reference, because when he became who he was, this predetermined fate was changed, unless the Goddess of Fixed Numbers appeared.
But if the Goddess of Fixed Numbers existed, then he couldn't have transmigrated and gained healing power.