The temple air hung heavy with tension as Aphrodite finished her tale. Her voice trembled on the last words, and her radiant features, usually so composed, were etched with guilt. Silence followed her confession, oppressive and thick. Zafron stood rooted to the spot, staring at her as if she'd just struck him.
It took a moment for the weight of her words to sink in.
"So... this is how it all began," Zafron muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. His voice cracked slightly, his mind racing through the implications of what he'd just heard. He was astonished, appalled even, at the sheer madness of it all—the siege of Olympus, the birth of the XY virus, the punishment of limbo. Each revelation added another piece to a puzzle he hadn't realized he was solving.
