Meeting Aggie

24.

Apollo walked closely behind me with an orange orb in his right palm. It felt like we were walking forever. Couldn't we have just jumped down?

"Absolutely not. That's reckless, considering you don't know how far down you're jumping," Isidore said.

Apollo hummed in agreement with her.

"Tell her, Izzy. Because if I can't see in this, who knows where she would've landed."

"Shut up." I snapped at both of them.

Apollo rolled his eyes as we kept walking down. The slight light we saw of Nyx's orb vanished within the time it took us to follow after her.

Apollo's breath hitched. "Something feels off."

I sniffed around and looked at him. "I don't smell anything. Are you sure?"

Apollo's eyes widened as a dark shadow hand pulled him into the dark down the stairs, knocking loose his orb so it went out. I reached out for him too late.

"Apollo!" I called out into the abyss of the dark staircase.

Dread gripped me, its icy tendrils creeping up my spine, but I refused to succumb to its paralyzing grip. I knew deep down that this was another trial orchestrated by Nyx, a sinister test designed to push me to my limits.

"Boo!" Apollo whispered in my ear.

I slapped his arm and shoved him.

"Wish you could've seen the priceless look on your face," Apollo teased.

"You're really an idiot for a god. How did you even do that?"

"I can manipulate the dark into any shape. Cool, right?"

"Shame you can't see in it, huh? Sounds like a pretty useless ability if you can only see them in light."

"Yep. That's all I can do with it..."

Apollo pursed his lips then re-formed his orange orb. We continued down and began to see a doorway with a light emanating from the room.

Isidore sighed in relief. "About time."

We entered the dimly lit room, our orbs fading away. The cold touch of stone greeted our footsteps, while mysterious symbols and runes adorned some of the engraved stones.

The room, seemingly unremarkable at first glance, held an air of intrigue and whispered tales. Moving forward, we approached Nyx, who stood at the heart of the chamber.

"Finally decided to join me, did you?" Her voice resonated cutting through the ambient silence.

I side-eyed Apollo, who shrugged. In the middle of the room was a crystal ball, and in it were swirls of unusual colors.

Nyx stood next to the crystal, beckoning me forward. "Put your hand on the crystal ball, please."

I walked up to the crystal ball and placed my hand in the center. The orb turned green, white, and pink. Colors representing my birth forms.

The crystal ball pulsated with a blinding, radiant gold light, its energy surging through the room. In a voice that reverberated with ancient power, it spoke the words we had all been waiting for.

"Agatha Youngblood. Your aptitude level, from mortal to goddess, is..."

Apollo's impatience grew as the ball fell silent, demanding an answer. The anticipation crackled in the air, tension mounting with each passing moment.

Finally, unable to contain his frustration, Apollo's voice boomed with anger, "Come on, now! Spit it out! I want to know what level she is!"

With an otherworldly grace, the ball floated effortlessly into the air, its once golden hue now transformed into an ominous shade of crimson. Instinctively, I took a step back, a sense of foreboding gripping my heart.