MTL NOVEL Chapter 13: Chapter 13: The Forge and the Flame
### Chapter 13: The Forge and the Flame
The grand hall of Olympus reverberated with the echoes of Apollo's resounding refusal, his giant form towering over the assembly like a golden colossus, his golden curls cascading over his shoulders in a shimmering cascade of sunlight. His crystallized jewel-blue eyes gleamed with an unshakable resolve, his golden-blue toga clinging to his twelve-pack frame, the white gloves of Purity a stark contrast to the raw power emanating from his thirty-five domains. Beside him, Artemis sat with her silver hair pooling around her crescent throne, her sharp silver eyes glinting with a smug satisfaction at her brother's defiance. The air was thick with tension—Aphrodite's humiliated retreat to her pearl-and-coral throne, the gods' murmurs of shock and lust, and Zeus's forced laughter masking a paranoia that gnawed at his storm-wrought soul.
But Zeus wasn't done scheming. His gray eyes sparked with a cunning light, his massive hands flexing as he rose again, thunder rolling through the hall to reclaim control. His devilish smile returned, sharper now, as he pivoted from Apollo's rejection to a new gambit. "Very well," he boomed, his voice a tempest of authority. "Apollo's choice stands—no marriage to Aphrodite. But love and beauty must find a match! I propose another union—Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, to Hephaestus, God of the Forge! A pairing of craft and desire, fire and passion—let it strengthen Olympus!"
The hall erupted anew. Hephaestus, still lingering near the edge of the chamber from delivering the twins' weapons, froze mid-step, his hammer clattering to the marble floor. His rugged, soot-stained face twisted in disbelief, his dark eyes darting from Zeus to Aphrodite, who sat stunned, her violet eyes widening. The other gods reacted with a mix of amusement and incredulity—Poseidon barked a laugh, Ares growled in protest, Dionysus hiccupped through a grin, and Hera's emerald eyes glinted with a malicious delight at the chaos unfolding.
Aphrodite rose, her honeyed gold hair whipping as she spun toward Zeus, her voice trembling with indignation. "Hephaestus? The blacksmith? You'd bind me to *him*—a limping, soot-covered craftsman—when I could have any god in this hall?"
Hephaestus grunted, his crooked smile fading as he limped forward, his bronze brace creaking. "Don't sound so thrilled, lady. I'm no prize, but I don't beg for scraps either. If Zeus wills it, I'll take it—but I'm not chasing you."
Zeus clapped his hands, thunder silencing their protests. "It's decided! Hephaestus's skill, Aphrodite's allure—a union of opposites to balance the pantheon. Sit, both of you—Olympus decrees it!"
Aphrodite's face flushed with fury, but she sank back into her throne, her violet eyes smoldering. Hephaestus shrugged, returning to his spot, his hammer retrieved with a muttered curse. Zeus's smirk widened, his paranoia momentarily soothed—*Bind her to Hephaestus, keep her occupied, weaken Apollo's defiance with a new distraction. Perfect.*
---
But Apollo wasn't silent. His giant form shifted, his golden curls swaying as he leaned forward, his jewel-blue eyes narrowing at Zeus. His voice boomed, a symphony of Sound and Justice that cut through the hall like a blade. "Why, Father? Why pair her with Hephaestus—our half-brother, the blacksmith? You think that's a match? It's a mockery—a clash that won't hold, a union that feels wrong in every thread of Fate I see."
The gods turned to him, their murmurs stilled by the weight of his words. Artemis smirked beside him, her silver eyes glinting with agreement, while Aphrodite glared, her beauty marred by the sting of his earlier rejection now doubled by this critique. Zeus's smirk faltered, his gray eyes sparking, but Apollo pressed on, his domain of Prophecy flaring as he stood, his twelve-pack flexing beneath his toga, his presence a towering rebuke.
"Look at her," he said, his gaze sweeping Aphrodite up and down with a detached scrutiny, his voice laced with Knowledge and Truth. "She's a cheater—pleasure over loyalty, passion over duty. You think she'll stay with Hephaestus? She won't. She'll choose her whims over him every time—day and night, she'll chase what pleases her, not what binds her. Pairing her with him isn't balance—it's a spark waiting to ignite chaos. She's not built for fidelity; she's built for ruin."
Aphrodite's fists clenched, her violet eyes blazing, but Apollo's words flowed unchecked, his Prophecy weaving visions he didn't name but painted in vivid strokes. "I see it—her future, her path. She'll start a war, Father—a war that'll shake the world, mortals and gods alike caught in the blaze. It'll begin with her—a beauty too wild to tame, a heart too fickle to hold. She'll ensnare a warrior, bold and brash, his blood hot with battle lust, and they'll defy her vows without a second thought. She'll tempt a trickster, swift and sly, who'll weave lies to cover her tracks. A sea-lord will fall too, his pride drowning in her gaze, dragging his waves into the fray. Even a drunken reveler will stumble into her bed, his chaos amplifying hers."
The hall grew deathly quiet, the gods' lustful clamor replaced by a creeping unease. Apollo's voice deepened, his golden curls glinting as he paced before his throne, his toga shimmering with Radiance and Divinity. "This war—she'll spark it over something petty, a prize or a slight, a fleeting fancy she can't let go. Cities will burn—walls of stone crumbling to ash, rivers choked with blood, fields trampled under armies too vast to count. Heroes will rise, their names sung for ages, but they'll fall too, their bodies piling high for her whims. Ships will sail, hundreds strong, their hulls groaning under the weight of warriors driven mad by her allure. A king will lose his mind, a prince his life, a wife her honor—all because she can't resist the thrill of betrayal."
He stopped, his jewel-blue eyes locking onto Zeus, his twelve-pack rippling as he straightened to his full giant height. "And Hephaestus? She'll humiliate him—cheat on him with every god who catches her eye, leaving him to hammer out his rage in that forge while she laughs. She'll turn his fire to shame, his craft to a joke. This marriage won't strengthen Olympus—it'll fracture it. You're blind if you think otherwise, Father."
---
Zeus's face darkened, his smirk vanishing as thunder rumbled overhead, his paranoia surging like a storm breaking loose. *He sees it all,* he thought, his massive hands cracking the throne's arms further. *Prophecy, Fate, War—he's not just defying me, he's predicting my ruin. This war he speaks of—her war—could it topple me too? And he stands there, golden and bold, refusing my will again.*
His mind churned, the myths of his rise flashing before him—Cronus's blood, the Titans' chains, the sickle's edge. *He's too strong—thirty-five domains, and he won't bend. Artemis backs him, her arrows ready. Should I strike? End them now—twins and temptress—before they drag me down?*
But outwardly, he forced a laugh, loud and hollow, masking the dread. "Ha! Apollo, always the seer—spinning tales of doom! It's just a marriage, boy—no war's coming from it. Hephaestus'll keep her in line, eh?"
Hephaestus grunted, his dark eyes glinting with skepticism. "Keep her? I'll forge her a cage if I have to, but I'm not fool enough to think she'll stay in it."
Hera leaned closer to Zeus, her emerald eyes gleaming with malicious glee. "He's right, you know," she whispered, her voice a venomous thread. "She's a wildfire—you've just handed her a torch. And Apollo—he's defying you again, seeing through your schemes. How long before he turns that sight on you?"
Zeus growled, his grip splintering the throne's edge. "Silence, Hera. They're mine—I'll handle them."
"Will you?" she taunted, her peacock feathers rustling. "You're slipping, husband."
---
Aphrodite's fury boiled over, her violet eyes flashing as she rose again, her honeyed hair whipping like a storm. "You insolent sun-god!" she spat, her voice trembling with Love turned to wrath. "You reject me, slander me, predict my ruin? I'll show you—I'll make Olympus bend to me, and you'll regret crossing me!"
Apollo met her gaze, his jewel-blue eyes calm yet piercing, his golden curls glinting as he shrugged. "Do what you will, Aphrodite. I've seen your path—go walk it. Just don't expect me to follow."
Artemis smirked, her silver hair shimmering as she leaned toward him, her voice a low purr of Hunt and Chastity. "She's a mess, brother—just like I said. Ugly inside and out. Let her burn herself out with Hephaestus."
Apollo's lips twitched, his domain of Harmony threading through his reply. "Aye, sister. She's no threat to us—Father's the one to watch now."
The system chimed:
"Objective updated: Navigate divine alliances amid escalating tensions. Faith nodes: 295. Influence radius: 1,150 miles. Threat detected: Zeus's paranoia critical, Aphrodite's enmity confirmed."
Apollo adjusted his toga, his twelve-pack rippling with quiet strength, his golden curls gleaming as he surveyed the hall—Zeus's faltering control, Aphrodite's rage, Hephaestus's resignation. "Let them tangle," he murmured to Artemis. "We'll rise above it—sun and moon, untouchable."
The hall simmered with chaos, Zeus's paranoia a hidden thunderhead, Aphrodite's wrath a brewing flame, but the twins sat supreme—giants of power and foresight, their thrones a fortress against the storm. Olympus trembled, and their legend grew ever brighter.