Chapter 1660 The Second Ascension. I

1660 The Second Ascension. I

"Not so fast." Athena stopped him, "What will we do with Apollo and Poseidon?"

Zeus turned around with the same expression and shared his opinion. "Let them be. I doubt either of them would take advantage of our involvement to conquer our territories."

Demeter added, "Plus, Apollo is unreliable, and having him with us is worse than not. Poseidon has just conquered an entire domain and will use everything in his power to reinforce and defend it from us before the arrival of the next Celestial Ceremony."

"If everyone feels like this, then so be it." Athena left one last remark with a stern tone, "Spread out your scouts and be ready to make a move at first notice. We have to catch him before he builds enough resources for more wishes."

Everyone gave head nods in approval and took off, returning to their territories at last. The only difference between their current search and before was the seriousness of it.

Now, even when they didn't trust each other, this time, none of them had plans to stay in their territories after discovering Felix's location.

It wasn't needed to be said but after the decision was made, anyone who broke the unspoken truce would get ganged up upon.

***

Meanwhile, in the dual city of darkness and light, Apollo was seen reclined leisurely on a grand, fluffy circular bed. The bed, an opulent centerpiece in his lavishly decorated chamber, was like a cloud of luxury, its softness and comfort befitting a deity of his stature.

Surrounding Apollo were several gorgeous women, each embodying an ethereal beauty that seemed to blur the lines between reality and divine fantasy.

They were semi-naked, their attire a delicate array of silks and gossamer that accentuated their celestial forms. These gorgeous attendants were engrossed in their tasks, dedicated to ensuring Apollo's comfort and pleasure.

Some of the women gently massaged Apollo's shoulders and arms, their skilled hands working to soothe any tension in his muscles.

Others among the attendants fed Apollo with an assortment of fruits, each piece a heavenly delight bursting with flavor...Apollo accepted these offerings with a relaxed demeanor, savoring the taste of each fruit as if it were a rare delicacy.

All the while, Apollo was engaged in playing his lyre...The score he played was the same one he had performed during the recent battle, a composition that had resonated with the tumult and majesty of the celestial conflict.

The music flowed from his fingers with a natural ease, the melodies weaving through the air, filling the chamber with a hauntingly beautiful sound.

As he played, his eyes occasionally closed in contemplation, lost in the memories of the battle and the emotions it had evoked.

When he reached the harrowing part of the score where he lost control, his fingers seemed incapable of playing the same notes.

He struggled and struggled but to no avail.

'Ahh, you had to ruin it too.' Apollo sighed in frustration as he placed the lyre to the side. 'Why did you even come out? What did you see?'

His left eye suddenly turned pitch-black and an eerie low voice resounded in his ears, resembling a whisper of the grim reaper.

'He can help us...He can achieve our dream...'

'You still refuse to let that go? What do you mean by our dream?' Apollo scoffed in irritation, 'It's your dream...I am pleasantly happy with my current life.'

The eerie voice released a harrowing crackle that could freeze anyone's soul in fear. Then, he said, 'I am the beginning and you are the end...You can keep me trapped down there for all you want, a day will come when nothing but darkness remains, whether you want to be part of it or not...It will come.'

'Just leave me alone, you are insanity itself.'

Apollo waved his hand in irritation, shaking off the voice from his mind. His attempt seemed to have worked as his eye reverted to normal again.

"Is everything alright, my lord?" One of the beautiful maidens massaging his shoulders asked with a soft voice.

"Hearing your voice made everything alright again," Apollo said with a faint charming smirk as he pulled the girl into his arms, causing her to let out an embarrassed yelp.

Then, he started doing some naughty things to her with his graceful well-trained fingers, making her release some not-too-PG voices.

Soon, multiple giggles and moans began to echo in the chamber...

While Apollo was having his 'fun', his mind was still weirdly on Felix, his image refusing to leave his mind.

'How can he be the solution to that lunatic's goal?' He murmured in his mind, having a strong feeling that his relationship with Felix was about to get a bit more complicated than he anticipated.

***

A couple of minutes later...

Deep within the bowels of a colossal volcano, Felix and his people transformed the rugged and fiery underground into a sprawling base.

The massive cave that they sculpted out was awe-inspiring in its scale. Towering walls of solid rock, hardened by centuries of volcanic activity, enclosed a vast expanse that buzzed with the activity of Felix's followers.

The air was warm and thick, filled with the earthy scent of minerals and the faint, sulfuric aroma of the volcano.

Lava rivers snaked through the cave, their molten paths casting an eerie, reddish glow that illuminated the cavernous space.

The remaining behemoths were left to feed above the surface of the wasteland...With the eternal kingdom's miraculous recovery rate, the world eaters were having a feast.

Right now, Felix was sitting in a mediation position on a standardized void throne while he had only one clone be responsible for the acceleration of the void creatures' creation.

He couldn't afford to have any more clones as his soul was pretty damaged after losing multiple of them and it was best to wait until it recovered.

"Lord Hades, I hope you watched," Felix spoke to himself with a faint smile.

While Felix wasn't aiming to get revenge for Lord Hades' sake directly, it still felt good to return some of the favor shown to him by Lord Hades.

Unfortunately, Lord Hades didn't bother to respond to him.

"Leave him be." Elder Kraken chuckled, "His only reaction to your victory was cracking a faint smile for less than a millisecond. Then, he returned to his expressionless face."

"That's fine by me." Felix smiled.

Knowing Lord Hade's personality wasn't the type to show emotions on almost anything, Felix wasn't too bothered by the lack of communication.

For now, he had other problems.

"What should I do with this now?" Felix murmured with a hand on his chin as he eyed the massive fiery core in the sky of Asna's core space.

The core was unlike Lilith or Asna...It was like a bubbling star with plasma waves and solar flares.

He comprehended that the next step was to test out the ascension possibility, but at the same time, this was unprecedented and no one could tell what would happen if he committed.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows...Just because the first ascension went smoothly, it didn't mean the second one would be the same.

"It all depends on the universe, really." Lady Sphinx remarked, "If there is a loophole as we theorized, then nothing bad will happen, if not, I doubt it will even respond to you."

"Seems like it." Felix nodded.

He comprehended that unlike the origin realm or other breakthroughs, he had no control over the ascension process.

The universe was the one starting it before as Felix was merely attempting to enter the origin realm.

"I think it's best to switch my consciousness to one of Hydra Tails before I do it." Felix inquired for feedback, "It might help make the universe choose me as the next candidate easier."

"Try it, you have nothing to lose."

Felix bestowed a head nod and started the process straightaway, understanding that if the unigins were truly intelligent, they would not give him any more space or freedom to grow.

Thus, he had to be quick and start the process before they intensified their hunting attempts.

Soon, Felix summoned the seven hydra tails and then switched his focus to the wrathful dragon tail, allowing him to start seeing and feeling reality from its perspective.

Then, without an ounce of hesitation, he commenced the ascension by requesting the core to be moved into the dragon's heart, which was connected with the wrathful hydra tail.

The moment Hephaestus' core settled in nicely within the dragon's heart, the universe seemed to take notice almost immediately!

Felix immediately felt a surge of intense power coursing through him...The wrathful hydra tail and the dragon's heart underwent the most dramatic changes!

He could feel the dragon's heart pulsating fiercely, transforming into something extraordinary.

"It's... changing," Felix muttered, feeling the heart morph into a piece of cracked flesh, with rivulets of lava-like energy flowing through the fissures!

The sensation was both exhilarating and overwhelming.

"It's really happening..."

Lord Shiva commentated with slightly widened eyes...The rest of the tenants shared the same reaction as him, understanding that this was going to change everything!

"Even without a consciousness, how can the universe allow this..." Lord Loki noted with a startled tone, "This goes against its entire order and rules!"