Heroes Did Not Like Gods of Light

Helios, the sun god of Ancient Greek mythology, had seen his image and stories develop and change across different cultures and eras.

In Helios's myths, he was usually depicted driving a sun chariot pulled by four flame horses, traveling across the sky from east to west and bringing light to the world.

The four flame horses were:

Pylos—representing the eastern horizon and sunrise.

Eos—representing the noon sun and its most brilliant radiance.

Aethon—representing the western horizon and sunset.

Phlegon—representing the coming of night and the appearance of stars.

These horses not only powered Helios's Sun Chariot in mythology, but also became symbols of the sun and light in culture and art.

In vase paintings, sculptures, and literary works from Ancient Greece, Helios's four horses were often depicted with vivid realism, displaying the artists' deep understanding of natural phenomena and reverence for the gods.

And now,

a handsome god kindly explained what had happened to him, then said:

"Sweet child, you remind me of Hyacinthus, my beloved—the son of the King of Sparta. Like you, he was a beautiful youth!"

!

Thaumas immediately sensed something was wrong. He would rather have goddesses wrapping themselves around his neck than be attacked by a plug!

"Apollo! You frightened the child. Get to the point already!" Athena scolded the absentminded Apollo, reminding him to mind a god's dignity.

Legend had it that

Apollo fell in love with Hyacinthus, the beautiful son of the King of Sparta.

He loved hunting and sports, so Apollo diligently kept him company, carrying fishing nets and leading hunting dogs for the youth like a servant, devoted to staying at his side.

One evening, the lovers played discus on the plains. After Apollo threw the golden discus, Hyacinthus happily ran after it.

But no one expected Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, who also adored Hyacinthus, to use the wind to alter the discus's course, striking the beautiful youth directly in the head and inflicting a fatal wound.

Apollo ran over in terror and seized the poor youth in his arms. He tried to restore the youth's warmth with his own body, but it was already too late.

Hyacinthus's head drooped helplessly against Apollo's chest. Apollo was overcome with grief, his tears spilling over the youth's handsome face.

A delicate flower bloomed from the earth stained red by Hyacinthus's blood. To commemorate their sincere love, Apollo named the flower after Hyacinthus.

It was the common hyacinth. This was the origin of the hyacinth's name, and its floral meaning was sorrow. From then on, Sparta held a grand Hyacinthia every spring.

It was a sad story,

and Thaumas felt melancholy over it.

But that was only if such a sad story did not happen to him. Especially if he might end up as the heroine of it.

With Athena's reminder, Apollo finally came back to his senses and spoke to Thaumas even more gently:

"Child, after Athena told me your story, I did not care much at first. But now, I like you very much.

"But I must ask you for a favor. Would you be willing to agree?"

After hearing that, Thaumas guessed, "Honored Lord Apollo! Do you need me to help you find that shy flame horse, Phlegon?"

Apollo answered him firmly:

"No! How could I let you do something so dangerous? Of course, I want you to marry me!"

"Ah—?"

Thaumas felt as though he had seen a huge, flashing warning sign!

"Smack—!" Athena gave Apollo a heavy slap, then said angrily:

"Apollo, what did you promise me before coming here? Do you no longer want the Authority of the sun?"

"That sort of thing does not matter! What matters most right now is figuring out how to make Thaumas fall in love with me! That is what a god of light should do!" Apollo paid Athena no mind at all, staring intensely at Thaumas.

Hiss~

What a trashy look.

Now he finally understood how beautiful women felt when perverts stared at them.

"Although I respect you, Lord Apollo, I do not like men. Nor do I plan to marry or have children. Therefore, I can only refuse you this time."

Thaumas did not soften his words in the slightest. He rejected him sternly; he did not want anything to do with this.

"You do not like men? No problem, Thaumas. Gods have no gender! It is only because human children believe we ought to have genders that we chose one.

"If you want, I can become whatever type you prefer. If it is for you, I will make a special exception and let you choose for yourself!" Apollo patiently listened, then let out a sigh of relief and answered confidently.

As long as he knew the reason, there was an opening!

The gods of Greece were all alien ships. The forms Thaumas and humans saw now were Mimetic Divine Bodies they had simulated.

They were simulated through the ships' functions. Though their True Body Machine Gods had basically been scrapped and transformed into pure conceptual gods, they could still use these transformation functions.

Just as Hera could take the form of an old woman, and Zeus could become a bull to seduce women—there were countless such examples.

But looking into Apollo's eyes,

they were still so trashy!

Aside from being a little more handsome, a little stronger, a little smarter, and a tiny bit more capable, what else was good about him?

Fine, Thaumas could not keep praising him anymore.

He was a little embarrassed...

Right, he needed to think about how to refuse these gods. He absolutely would not do that kind of thing with a god!

Absolutely not! The goddesses were no exception! Who knew whether they had hobbies like growing one out and playing with it...

"Absolutely not, Lord Apollo. What I seek is fidelity in love. As a follower of Hera, Queen of Heaven, I will not accept such varied love!

"I demand that both my partner and I be equally pure and chaste!"

Thaumas's words were vicious. Though he used no profanity, everyone knew that Apollo, the most handsome god in all Greece, had countless lovers.

He was calling Apollo dirty.

Upon hearing this,

tears welled in Apollo's eyes. Clutching his chest, he said painfully to Thaumas:

"Could it be that we truly have no fate together? Child, this makes me sad."

"Enough, Apollo. If this continues, I really will get angry." Athena spoke quietly. She had not even voiced her own feelings, feelings so embarrassing they shamed wisdom itself...

"Then, child, I, Apollo, will not give up. I will find another way." Apollo spoke.

No, please stop thinking about me. He only wanted a normal wife. What had he done wrong?

"Child, please help me with something. If you can bring back that flame horse, you may use both my bow and my sword." Apollo spoke sadly, his face full of extreme reluctance, as well as open sorrow and regret.

Then, as if he had made some sort of decision, Apollo took out one of his most famous weapons: a silver bow.

This silver bow had been specially made at the request of his father, Zeus, to demonstrate his ability and status as the god of archery.

The silver bow was described as a powerful and beautiful weapon, symbolizing Apollo's strength and grace.

This bow was second only to Artemis's. After all, Artemis's true body was a bow-shaped sniper-type interstellar fighter craft, so her combat power was obvious.

Artemis's Noble Phantasm, [ShootingStarOrtygia] (Thou Art the Golden That Pierces the Stars), was an arrow of divine punishment with immensely destructive power.

Apollo's bow was only slightly inferior to Artemis's.

He infused Thaumas's Bracelet with his Authority, granting Thaumas the right to use the bow.

At the same time, once Thaumas brought back Phlegon, Apollo's arrows and golden sword would also be bestowed upon Thaumas!

"This silver bow is the aid I grant you. Once you bring back that flame horse, the golden sword will be yours as well! You shall be the hero Apollo favors!" Apollo said seriously.

Of all things, these were the Noble Phantasms Thaumas wanted least!

"Please forgive my refusal, honored Lord Apollo. I cannot accept your goodwill!" Thaumas answered.

"No, Thaumas. This is a god's gift. You are not allowed to refuse!" Athena said.

"Mm, that is right!

"This is Apollo's gift to a hero! It is also the commission I give you. Beautiful and adorable child! Please! Help me bring back that flame horse! Otherwise, the world will fall into eternal darkness!" Apollo said gently.

"Then, very well! Great god of light, Apollo, I will bring Phlegon back and deliver him to you.

"That way, the sun can rise again, and light will return to the world!"

Thus, Thaumas accepted this commission from the god of light, though he himself did not particularly want to accept Apollo's favor.

Then, unless it became necessary, he would not use this power!

Hopefully, he would not need the power bestowed by the god of light.

After everything had been settled, the griffin named Griffin finally flew down from the sky.

It did not really understand what Thaumas and the others were doing. Humans and griffins really were different—such strange creatures, saying so many complicated things it could not understand.

Just like how humans had to distinguish between men and women, Griffins, as a Phantasmal Species, could be male or female as they pleased. Things like males and females did not matter.

However, its instincts told it that it only needed to quietly leave, not get involved, not try to say anything, and simply wait in silence for everything to end.

It still trusted its instincts that much.

P.S.:

Just to clarify, this is not BL. I wrote it this way because if it really were Apollo, I think he would do something like this.

The previous chapter was a double release; this chapter was posted normally.

Also, the promised extra chapters are coming later.

Thanks to the two bros who sent monthly tickets. One extra chapter for each, plus one for successfully signing the contract—they were all posted today.

The extra chapter for donations will be tomorrow. I cannot write anymore today.

Damn bees invaded my study. The firefighters are helping out now. Today's update was typed on my phone, and a computer really is much easier to use!