Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 71: Apollo's Press Conference

"You look pale, Daphne," my father asked me as he sat down beside me on the sofa. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, Dad." As fine as I could be bearing in mind the bad omen hanging over my nervousness. What Eros had just told me about Apollo's press conference was unsettling and unclear. I tried my best to hide my angst from my father.

The weather report on TV was about to end. In a matter of seconds, what would soon become the press conference of the century would start.

"Climate change is still wild, as usual. So, get your air conditioning ready for next week's heatwave. Make sure you stay hydrated. And now, it's time for the Great Apollo's press conference from Hotel Poseidon." The iconic music theme from the news broadcast started to sound, only to slowly fade into a new, epic one that seemed tailored for the occasion.

Soon, I saw Hotel Poseidon's luxurious auditorium, a large room in black, white and deep red. The Secretary of State was getting on the stage, approaching a tall table with a slant board and a mike. He aimed a broad smile at the camera when he started talking to the audience with great pride:

"Today is a very special day. We reap the fruits of a long-term project that we enrolled on many years ago. We: my life-long friend, President Leo Storm, myself, and... of course... our most revered Apollo. We are the founders of the company which has developed the marvels you'll see today. I'm proud to introduce a new version of Apollo's person today, as well! He shall introduce you to what the future will look like – today! Please welcome the Great Apollo!"

Loud applause followed suit. Everyone in the auditorium in Hotel Poseidon must've been clapping hard. The Secretary of State stepped aside clapping too.

My mouth was left ajar when I saw a mind-blowingly gorgeous thirty-year-old blond man walk imposingly to the mike. He was approximately 6 feet tall and well-built like an athlete and had the looks of a top model. That square jaw and that slim waist of his reaped quite a few loud sighs from the clone women in the auditorium. Besides that, he was wearing a dark grey suit with Oyster's logo on the right side of his chest. Mrs Nevermore must've been proud.

He was Apollo. The Living God. Only a much younger -and hotter- version of himself. His mesmerising, deep blue eyes were suddenly focused on the camera when the cameraman made a closeup of his person, and I could've sworn that he was piercing my heart with them because I felt a cold pang strike me like lightning.

That was the man who had endorsed chaos during the Prevalence War and taken over the world, who had threatened Eros a few hours ago, who had despised his talents, and who would soon shock me – according to Eros. I swallowed hard.

Apollo tried to keep the audience calm with mild gestures of his hands, waving at them to sit down and relax. He was about to speak.

"Dear members of the audience," he began with a strong voice, full of charisma and assertiveness. His teeth shone like beautiful pearls in his mouth. "I am here today to introduce Myself to you, even though you already know Me, of course." His smile then was wider and more charming.

"I am Apollo, the Living God of clones," he went on in a presidential manner, puffing out his chest a bit with a conscious intake of air. "A clone version of Him, to be precise. My former self was a traditional human, as you already know. He was eighty years old and too tired to go on leading the greatest human community that has ever lived on Earth – the clones. That's the reason why He cloned Himself, enabling Me to come to life. Sadly, however," he said as his tone changed to a more affected one, "He chose to end his life today."

I heard some gasps from the audience.

"I have supported Him in every step of the way," he went on with strength and determination. "Today too. I've helped Him to ease His transition into the afterlife. He wanted you all to know He loves you dearly, and that you're left in good hands, Mine – or His. There is no difference but our age, really. He loved clones so much that these have been His last words: 'to be honest, only a clone should be the God of clones, right?' He's said that before exhaling His last breath. I'm honoured to take the lead instead of Him."