"I feel that the answer is up to you, young ones. This lesson will not be an easy one to learn, there are no shortcuts to the end result and you must be willing to put time and energy into what you wish to achieve. If you truly wish to stop The Consortium you must tackle this matter full-heartedly. With that being said, are you truly prepared to begin?"
Apollo's words sunk deep and it felt as if my heart had dropped, but I swallowed my anxiety and Olivia and I answered him head-on.
"Yeah, let's do this."
"Very well then young ladies. The first part of learning the ways of divine combat are mastering Divine Energy itself."
We both nodded and as he continued on with his explanation, I realized that death had left to go somewhere.
"In order to access this power, you must become emotionally aware and embrace it, letting it fuel your ambitions. Once you have done this you can convert your stamina variable to tangible energy known as divine energy which can be used both offensively and defensively. An easy way to go about this is to think of something that makes you happy or angry and let that very idea empower you. It's the most simple part of this exercise. You must come to terms with your most vivid memory attached to that same strong emotion."
This shouldn't be hard, after all, he did say it was the simplest part of our training.
"Okay, I think I understand"
I closed my eyes as the memories began flooding my mind. My brother, my mom, my dad...even though we were poor, we were happy. I love them all deeply and it pains my heart to remember that I can never see them again. I thought about Wildcard and how she broke down at the thought of this cruel world run by the consortium and then I remembered Noah. A stream of tears tumbled down my cheek before I realized my body began illuminating an aura of a blue tint.
"I-"
Opening my eyes again & sniffling up to the snot that runs from my nose, I held out both of my hands in front of me, staring at them and in the center of my palm formed a suspended glob of energy. It floated above my hand and as I moved my palm, it followed, but I noticed something strange. It had sort of a reflection upon it, not of me but my past and what I've been through, up until now. I could see it all: love, happiness, and life, all of the qualities that make me who I am. I had to accept my past, knowing I can't change things, I had no choice. I had wiped away my tears and looked over at Olivia who still had her eyes closed. I felt something.
"Olivia?"
She didn't respond. I stared at Olivia and my body began to get warm as I got visions, memories from her mind and what I saw, it was hell. Fire, fire everywhere. Thousands of bodies burning, the smell of blood flooding the air. There were children crying, babies dying and people begging for their lives as a figure dressed in black massacred them all. They were ruthless, evil, standing on mountains of bodies as they laughed at the despair of others. It all felt so real as if I was actually there, but then the figure stopped. Turning towards me, I could see the front but not enough to distinguish the person. A slow pace, which turned into a walk, then a run before a full-on sprint, they came dashing towards me. I couldn't breathe, it felt as if I was being suffocated and the figure was inches in front of me before I quickly snatched my head away, cutting off my stare from Olivia.
"Hyuuuh"
Trying to catch my breath I realized it really was just a vision, but then I looked back over at her and in her hands, I could tell she'd unlocked her divine energy, but unlike my own, hers was of a fiery red. Olivia had opened her eyes, noticing not only that she unlocked her divine energy, but that I was staring as well.
"Umm Amelia?"
"Oh sorry about that, there was something in your hair."
I was surprised that Apollo hadn't seen what I had seen and honestly it was nightmare fuel.
[Apollo looked at both of his students, realizing that both of the girls had completed the first part of their training relatively easy.]
"Congratulations my pupils, you have completed the first section of mastering the ways of divine combat. The following part is molding your divine energy to be used for offensive and defensive purposes. Most would say that this is the most difficult step of the process but it could be the last depending on the wielder."
"What exactly does that mean"
"A misuse of your energy could result in a chain reaction somewhere in the endless line of macrocosms whether it be a person randomly dying or a 100-year storm on a distant planet."
Both Olivia and I swallowed out spit out of anxiety as Apollo continued to explain.
"The chances of this happening are very minuscule so I'm allowing you to make mistakes seeing as the chances of a butterfly effect are one out of one hundred trillion."
After he had told us that I felt relieved so Olivia and I continued with our training, but this wasn't easy as he had told us. Essentially what our task was, was to use both of our hands or any part of our body to shape it into either a weapon or some sort of shield and once you become emotionally disconnected with your divine energy, it would combust and damage your body. Both Olivia and I practiced these techniques for what seemed like forever.
[Through the passing of 180 days the girls followed the same regimen Apollo had set for them and for this amount of time, they were only to sleep with nature, eat her fruit and practice techniques that were being taught to them. Apollo taught the girls many skills but there was one they quite didn't have done.]
"I did it!"
Apollo and I both glanced over at Olivia and what we saw was stunning. She had molded her divine energy so firmly it began to change color. She was holding out both of her hands as if she was asking for something and in the center sat her divine energy which took the form of a multi-colored flame, it looked magnificent.
"Olivia, how'd you do it."
"I'm unsure actually. I just tried influencing it with my hybrid abilities to gain better control and now I think I can-"
[Slowly removing her hands from under her newfound power, Olivia grabbed the blazing glob of energy and to her surprise, it wasn't hot. Holding on with a firm grip, the girl stretched the energy, pulling and bending it into shape until it resembled that of a sword]
As I watched Olivia do this I was in awe and couldn't believe she had outdone me.
"Congrats Olivia, I guess you're actually more serious about this than I thought."
"Thanks, Amy. I appreciate it, but I want to see you try."
"I HAVE been trying, but it's the same results. Whenever I touch it, it shrinks and vanishes. Maybe I'm not cut out for this. Dammit."
Covered with scratches and bruises from my past failed attempts, I tried once more.
"Okay..here goes."
I had released my divine energy once again, making it tangible so that I could shape it, but then I thought about what Olivia said about applying your ability to it to make it easier and so I applied a bit of my ice. My divine energy begun to get colder but unsurprisingly shrank and seemingly disappeared which caused my body to take heavy damage from my failure.
"ugghh! Damn it all. Apollo, what if I can't master this thing before facing the consortium.
The God closed his eyes and sighed at me.
"Miss Clementine, I believe soon you'll be able to master divine energy and if not that simply means that it isn't what the stars have set for you."
"I guess you're right, you've been doing all you can and I feel we've overstayed our welcome. We should be headed back, even if I haven't mastered it."
"Very well then ladies. I have prepared a high-level teleportation ritual and have put the markings on your cloth, whenever you're ready to leave, the ritual will do the rest."
Both Olivia and I bowed at our old teacher, thanking him for his time. At this moment I had suddenly remembered I had to say goodbye to death whom conveniently came to bid us farewell. As the goddess finished walking towards me before stopping, she held out her hand as if she wanted a handshake.
"Is this..."
She nodded
I reached out my hand, slowly gliding through the air as I touched the cold yet beautiful hand of death.
"I-I'm not dead."
"Yes young one, you have overcome death and not even I can kill you now. Always remember that as long as you do not fear death itself, you shall never die."
I nodded and walked back over to Olivia as we prepared for our departure. I looked over at her and she looked back.
"Olivia aren't you forgetting our stuff."
"Apollo was nice enough to transport them to our place with a ritual or at least I think."
"Well, I guess it'll have to do."
We both gave a final wave to the gods as they waved back to us, smiling.
"Cya guys! We won't forget what you taught us!"
A bright aura of white light began to surround me and Olivia before everything went black. It was like a blink, and when I opened my eyes again, we were back in London.
"Feels good to be back, right Olivia?...Olivia?"
I tapped on he shoulder and waved my hand in her face but she didn't say a thing and seem to have her attention taken by something else she was staring at in the distance, but then she started blinking again.
"What..the hell..is that?!"
After pointing her finger, she turned my head in the general direction of her finger in an upward motion and I stared with an indescribable emotion, shaken by what I was looking at.
"What the hell is that!?"
The ground shook with every thump, buildings we're felled, thousands of bodies laid upon the ground in front of such a sight. I remembered what Apollo had told me back then and it stuck with me in my gut.
"Its the butterfly effect."