'1 Corinthians 13:4-8'
Julius, who was forced to attend to some bible studies before by his father, recalled immediately the words behind the quoted biblical verse from the First Epistle of the Corinthians. His father insisted on him doing it because 'Julius, as I said, we have Greek blood in our line. That epistle is significant to the Greeks, so we must learn what our ancestors before have learned so we can pass on that knowledge.' Alexandros Andreas is that much of a sucker for anything Greek.
The First Epistle to the Corinthians, usually referred to as First Corinthians or 1 Corinthians, is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author named Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in Corinth. [1 Cor.1:1–2] Scholars believe that Sosthenes was the amanuensis who wrote down the text of the letter at Paul's direction. It addresses various issues that had arisen in the Christian community at Corinth and it is composed in a form of Koine Greek.
Koine Greek, meaning, Hellenistic, or Biblical Greek. With those hours of drilling those biblical knowledge, even if Julius wishes to forget it, he just can't. The words from that famous verse rang instantly on his mind.
**
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
(4) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (5) It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (6) Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
(8) Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away
**
But why is this overly used 'Love' quote here, in this 'Quest of Ages' by Julius of Boboston?
"What's a bible verse doing here?!" Julius and Rexis loudly said in unison.
Tobias' eyes fluttered open, and Sayo soon banged the door to their room open.
"What the hell?" She demanded them answers, and then she realized they were looking at the book, probably to determine where they will go next. Doesn't matter to her, she's ready to leave this era and proceed to the next one.
"Tell me, what's in there?" The two didn't need to reply to her because she eagerly got in between them and read the glowing text out loud.
'1 Corinthians 13:4-8'
Sayo: "Hmmm….that's a bible verse, alright. But it's pretty straightforward. It's obvious that we should be going in Corinth."
Julius: "Thanks, Captain Obvious!"
He got a glare from Sayo, so he modified his reply.
Julius: "I mean to say, yeah, sounds like Corinth is really the next destination, but doesn't it puzzle you why a biblical reference was used here?"
Sayo: "Does it really matter, though?"
Julius: "Er – no – not really."
Sayo: "Then it's settled then, we should go to Corinth."
Tobias: "We – we're going to Corinth?"
All of them turned their heads to the groggy boy who just woke up from his two-day slumber.
Rexis: "Oi, Tobias. Good thing you're up too. Yeah, sounds like it."
For a while, Tobias felt glad that they are going to Corinth, thinking that perhaps they can pay a visit to the Oracle so that he can see Phemonoe, the Pythia. However, his mood went down when he remembered Sayo's words – that they leapt from one timeline to another. Most probably, Phemonoe is no longer the Conduit of Delphi. He quickly masked his disappointment and asked another question.
Tobias: "So the book didn't give us any difficult time to figure things out?"
Julius: "I mean, yeah – that's about right. However, I'm still curious about what myth we are about to get our hands on to."
Rexis: "Let's figure it out along the way. For now, let's get ready for our next destination."
And soon enough, the party of four prepared themselves for the coming quest ahead of them. Two days later, Rexis, Sayo and Julius donned on their freshly washed and mended Modern Day clothes, while Tobias wore another chiton given to him by the good Samaritan who hired their services for the harvest season and took them in. They each got themselves a chlamys from the generous Samaritan (Sayo took one also, but she only stored it in the inventory since she's wearing the chlamys given by Athena). They figured they should wrap themselves around these cloaks to blend into the crowd and not stand out because of their clothing.
They also stocked up on food and other provisions – like herbs and stuff gathered around by Tobias, so that they can properly fend for themselves in case the quest will be long. Julius introduced to Tobias and Sayo about the 'Inventory System' he created using his space powers, and it was where they put all of these potentially useful things.
They bid goodbye to the good Samaritan, and went to the Temple of Demeter, where they decided to open up the portal to their next destination. "Right, grab on. Here we go." Julius said. "Take us to Corinth."
He's never really been to the city-state proper of Corinth, but he remembered seeing it from above, when he went on a ride with Apollo towards the Oracle (Mt. Parnassus, the location of Delphi, is found in the Gulf of Corinth). So he tried his best to imagine going into that place. Even if he can't create a very clear imagery of the town, at least, he knows that that's where he is headed.
Then, they all felt the familiar pull of the book, and they found themselves spinning around a limbo, before they landed on an abandoned highway of the ancient city-state of Corinth.
The same as before, they landed on a stacking fashion, with Julius in the bottom-most part of the stack. Sayo went down first, followed by Tobias, Rexis, and finally, Julius can breathe properly.
Julius: "Okay. Can someone ask around if this is indeed Corinth?"
Tobias was quick on his feet to look for the nearest person to ask their current location. "Hello, mister. Is this place the City of Corinth?" The other three overheard him say.
"Ah, yes, young boy. My, my, aren't you still too young to pursue her?" the stranger replied.
Tobias was puzzled by the man's question, so he asked. "What do you mean by that, mister?"
"Ahahaha, young ones. Though I must admit, even my son too, was enticed by that beautiful daughter of the King. My, my, isn't she indeed too lovely for this world?"
Julius' ears perked up from what he heard, and his mind processed it so quickly that he finally realized which myth it is that they were about to rehash. Rexis and Sayo appeared to have figured it out as well. Why not? It's one of the most famous myths out there.
"Pardon me, you must be mistaken. But, still, thanks for your time, mister." Tobias bowed a little to show gratitude.
"And best of luck to you too, boy." And the man went off. When Tobias faced the trio, they all had a knowing look on their faces.
"I take it you figured out something?" Asked the youngest from the group.
Sayo: "Yeah."
Rexis: "This is too dramatic."
Julius: "Goat love story."
Tobias: "Goat?"
Julius: "Yeah, GOAT love story – the Greatest of All Time, well, in this timeline, at least."
Tobias still looked lost, 'Whose goat has a love story?' but whatever, at least, they got another clue about what myth this quest is about.
--
Eleusis
*
The good Samaritan who took in the party of four morphed back into her original form. She was a young woman, about the same age as the eldest from the group she adopted. She went upstairs and took out the recording device she attached around the wall where the four usually talk.
She went to the secret meeting place of her group, and used the tech they brought in from their era to facilitate the recordings. She listened to them, and found out the next destination of the party of the Son of Time. She concluded that it was Corinth, but she needs to figure out which precise timeline they went so that their group can follow. Then, she listened once more to it, and finally, it dawned into her. "I see."
She's smart enough to figure out why the bible reference of '1 Corinthians 13:4-8' was the hot topic of discussion between the four. She then contacted her peers telepathically. 'I found out where they are headed. Meet me in the hideout, stat.'
Melissa is the Mythos of Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory. She can create illusions to manipulate the mind, and at the same time, connect to those persons whom she engraved in her memory. She used this ability to disguise as a good Samaritan who took in the group. She was really tempted to just get Kairo Julius Andreas out and be done with it, but his companions are wary, especially the Japanese-looking girl, whom she knows that she can't take down easily, knowing that she went up against their leader before.
Soon enough, three of her companions arrived in the hideout – Adam, Carl, and the one who just arrived two days ago, Isaac. It was lucky that by the time he got out of the Underworld, she finally was able to communicate with him and tell him their current location.
"Where are they?" Adam coldly asked, the scar below his right eye made him look even more forbidding.
"To Corinth. Timeline of the greatest love story in Greek Mythology."
Adam raised a brow, then lifted the Book Portal and flipped through its pages, until he arrived finally in the story which Melissa was referring to.
"Eros and Psyche. Quite the drama."