Athanasios Perseus Apollyon - The Forgotten Tide

Chapter 23: Interfering with Fate & Rewriting Destiny

The surface world was a place of fire and blood, a realm where the gods played their games with mortal lives, uncaring of the consequences. I had come here with a purpose, guided by a vision that showed me the tragic fates of those entangled in the Trojan War. With Apollo's help, I had made my way to the battlefield, where the carnage of the war was at its peak.

The war had raged for a decade, leaving the once-great city of Troy in ruins. The air was thick with the stench of death and the cries of the dying. I moved silently through the battlefield, my senses heightened, as I sought out those whom I had sworn to save. Apollo's guidance was invaluable, his light leading me through the chaos to the key figures whose lives I would alter forever.

Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors, was the first I found. He was kneeling over the body of Hector, his eyes glazed with the pain of a man who had lost his purpose. The arrow meant to end his life had already been loosed by Paris, guided by Artemis herself, but I intervened, diverting its path with a subtle shift of water and a thread of Inevitability. The arrow veered off course, embedding itself harmlessly in the ground.

Achilles looked up at me, confusion and rage in his eyes. "Who are you? Why have you stopped my fate?"

"I am Percy, god of the Ocean Depths, and your fate was to die here, Achilles," I replied, extending my hand to him. "Come with me, and I will offer you a life free from the gods' machinations, a life where you can be the hero you were meant to be without the shadow of death hanging over you."

For a moment, Achilles hesitated, his pride warring with his desire for a different path. Then, with a resolute nod, he took my hand, and I led him away from the battlefield.

Next was Helen, the woman whose beauty had sparked the war. I found her in the palace of Troy, despondent and filled with regret. Her fate was to be taken back to Greece, where she would live out her days as a symbol of the war's devastation. But I had other plans for her.

"You are not to be a pawn any longer, Helen," I told her as I approached. "Come with me, and I will give you a life where your beauty is a blessing, not a curse. You will be free, away from those who seek to use you for their own ends."

Helen looked at me with a mix of hope and fear. "Why would you do this? Why would you save me?"

"Because no one deserves to be a tool of the gods," I said softly. "You deserve a life of your own, and I can offer that to you."

With tears in her eyes, Helen accepted my offer, and I whisked her away from the doomed city.

Ajax, the mighty warrior driven to madness by the gods, was next. I found him on the edge of the battlefield, his mind unraveling as he struggled against the torment the gods had inflicted upon him. It was a cruel fate, one that I could not bear to leave unaltered.

I approached him cautiously, using my powers to soothe his mind, to bring him back from the brink of madness. "Ajax, you have fought bravely, but the gods have wronged you. I can give you a new life, one where you are free from their torment."

He looked at me with haunted eyes, the madness slowly receding. "I do not want to die like this...not as a madman."

"You won't," I promised. "Come with me, and you will be remembered as the hero you truly are."

With a weary nod, Ajax followed me, and I led him away from the battlefield that had claimed so many lives.

Finally, I sought out to revive Hector, the noble prince of Troy, who had been slain by Achilles. I arrived just in time to prevent his body from being desecrated, using my powers to restore him to life, an act that shocked even the gods who watched.