"How's the wine today?" the youth asked.
"The wine's great, everyone's having a blast," Linley replied.
The youth picked up a jar of wine from the table, tilted his head back, and gulped it down. The blood-red liquid stained his teeth and throat.
"How wonderful," the youth sighed. "Days like this are truly amazing."
Under the dazzling sunlight, the drunken men and women continued to dance. Such peace had lasted for hundreds of years. Since the Peloponnesian Peninsula was conquered by Rome, Greece hadn't seen war.
Though Greece was no longer the center of the world, it had gained safety and peace, and had culturally conquered Rome in return. Compared to the classical period, Greece was still thriving.
The Greek city-states no longer needed to maintain armies. People didn't need to serve as soldiers or practice combat skills; they just enjoyed life. The only downside was that the city-states had lost their independence and had become Roman provinces.
But this wasn't a big deal. Greece was still governed by Greeks, and the city-states were still managed by their original aristocrats. For the Greeks and the Olympian gods, this was nearly the best era.
"If days like this could last forever, wouldn't that be wonderful?" the youth said.
Linley shivered and looked at the youth again, noticing his handsome face with a hint of majesty. The majesty came from his father, and the handsomeness from his mother.
Linley suddenly realized who the youth was. He was Dionysus, the god of wine, son of Zeus and Semele, the princess of Thebes, and the protector of viticulture and theater.
"You, I…" Linley couldn't tell if he was scared or excited.
He had seen many fantastical beings, but this was the first time he had seen a god. He had pretended to be this god's messenger, and theoretically, he should be scared, but the alcohol had made him bolder.
"You're the god of wine?" Linley finally asked.
"Yes, I am your god," the youth smiled. "And you are my apostle."
"I, uh, actually..." Linley stammered, trying to explain.
"You're from another world," the youth said. "I know, occasionally people from other worlds cross over here. I've seen quite a few."
Linley felt a bit disappointed that he wasn't the only one who had crossed over, but then another question came to mind: "Can you send me back?"
"I can't. Maybe my father can, but he's probably too busy at the moment," the youth said.
The father of the god of wine was Zeus, the highest god of the Greek pantheon. If he couldn't send Linley back, then probably no one in all of Greece could.
"Why? What's happening?" Linley asked.
"The demons from the south have come," the youth said. "The ones with wings, carrying crosses."
Wings and crosses—it sounded somewhat familiar. Could it be... Holiness? Historically, the worship of Greek gods had disappeared, replaced by Holiness.
"The world as we know it will be gone forever. Everything we hold dear will be utterly destroyed. These times will vanish forever. Nothing will be left, absolutely nothing..." the youth said.
Linley didn't know what to say.
"Come to my temple tomorrow. I have a very important task for you. Remember to bring the new wine you've brewed," the youth said. "Alright, you've had enough to drink. Get some rest."
Linley drifted into a deep sleep.
The next morning, he woke up in bed, sunlight shining on the earth, lush green grass, centaurs galloping through the vineyard, and cyclopes hard at work. Everything seemed normal, as if nothing had ever happened.
Did everything that happened yesterday really happen? Or was it just a drunken hallucination? Linley had never seen Dionysus before, so how could he know that the young man was the god of wine?
Thalia approached and said, "The temple of Dionysus has received an oracle, and you need to go there immediately."
An oracle? Linley leapt out of bed. Could it be that everything that happened yesterday was real?
In Athens, there is a large temple dedicated to Dionysus. Unlike other temples, it isn't grand and tall; it resembles a tavern. In front of the temple, there's a large vat of wine, surrounded by a crowd of drunken people. It's hard to tell who the priests are, who the believers are, and who are just ordinary people coming in to get drunk.
The temple is overseen by the high priest of Dionysus, Odysseus. He's a tall old man with a huge bulbous nose, his face always flushed from drinking, and his body reeking of alcohol. Ordinary people standing next to him would get intoxicated by the smell alone.
When Linley first arrived, he was brought to this temple. At that time, Linley hadn't yet learned Greek and had no idea what they were saying. He only remembered Odysseus drinking two bottles of beer before letting him go.
After that, Linley studied hard and finally learned enough Greek to get by, but since he had pretended to be a divine messenger, he didn't dare come to the temple again.
"You're here," Odysseus said. "The matter is urgent, so I'll be brief. Yesterday, I received an oracle... follow me."
He led Linley to the back of the temple, where there was a statue of Dionysus that looked exactly like the young man Linley had seen yesterday.
"Where's your wine?" Odysseus asked.
Linley took a beer bottle from his pocket, filled with the wine he had brewed. The original cap had been opened and couldn't be used again, so he had a carpenter make a wooden stopper to seal it.
Odysseus licked his lips, pulled out the stopper, and took a deep sniff. "Not bad at all. Do you have more?"
"There's still some; I brought a barrel outside," Linley said.
Odysseus said, "I really wish I could have a good drink." He poured the wine over the statue of Dionysus, and the blood-red liquid soaked the statue, making it appear as if it had come to life. Odysseus stared at the statue in awe.
"The High Priest, what is the oracle?" Linley couldn't help but ask.
Odysseus snapped out of his trance and said, "The god of wine visited you yesterday, didn't he? The demon from the south has arrived."
"The winged demon?" Linley asked.
"That's right," Odysseus said. "They have corrupted the emperor and the senate, and have killed countless apostles in Rome, even the gods..."
In this era, Greece was a province under Roman rule, but Greek culture had, in turn, influenced Rome. The Olympian gods had also become the official faith of Rome, albeit with Roman names.
Holiness rose, and after Rome had banned it for hundreds of years, it finally embraced Holiness and used its official power to spread it to Greece, turning Greece into a Holiness diocese. That's why Dionysus said the past would never return. He wasn't wrong; at least in Earth's history, the faith in the Greek gods never revived.
"So, what am I supposed to do?" Linley still didn't understand what task Dionysus wanted to give him.
He was just a time traveler without any special abilities, unfamiliar with this mythical Greek society, and felt incapable of doing anything.
"From now on, you are the new god of wine, Dionysus Linley." Odysseus said.