“Whoa, hold on a sec.” Mike walked to the fridge, grabbed an ice-cold cola, and chugged it down.
“Okay, let me get this straight.” He pulled out a whiteboard, writing ‘Apollo’ on one side and ‘Butterfly’ on the other.
“Apollo’s existential crisis is like a tug-of-war. Leaning towards Apollo makes him weaker. Leaning towards Butterfly makes him stronger?”
Foreskin nodded. “That’s a decent analogy.”
“So, as long as he’s still on the fence, he’s okay?”
“Correct.” Foreskin walked to the whiteboard and added another word: “Unstable.”
“If he leans too much towards Apollo, his power weakens… that’s how his talent works, and it’s also tied to his… well, his *being*.”
If Apollo became too weak, the Supreme Demon God, always lurking in the shadows, would seize the opportunity to strike.
And without a Supreme Being to protect them, humanity would be toast.
“If he leans too much towards Butterfly,” Foreskin continued, “he could also become unstable. Not in terms of power, but… he might lose his desire to protect humanity.”
Mike understood.
If Apollo fully embraced his identity as a butterfly, a being of pure world source, then humans and demons would be equally insignificant, not worth favoring one over the other.
That’s why Foreskin had asked Mike to chat with Apollo regularly, to keep him grounded.
Talk therapy, Supreme Being edition. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Foreskin hadn’t anticipated that Thor’s talk therapy would be *too* effective, pushing Apollo in the ‘wrong’ direction!
Before, they had worried about Apollo leaning too much towards Butterfly.
Now, they were worried about him leaning too much towards Apollo!
Mike nodded, studying the whiteboard. “Only by maintaining balance can Apollo protect humanity *and* remain powerful enough to do so.”
“That’s the theory. And it’s a real pickle.” Foreskin sighed. “My boss assured me that this wasn’t something to worry about.”
“Why?”
“Because before he figures out the answer, he has to throw down with the Supreme Demon God…” Foreskin trailed off, but Mike got the gist.
Apollo’s showdown with the Supreme Demon God had only two possible outcomes.
One: The Supreme Demon God dies, Apollo wins. Problem solved. Apollo has all the time in the world to ponder his existential crisis, humanity is safe, and he can finally retire.
Two: Apollo loses… In which case, the existential crisis becomes moot.
In other words, Apollo wasn’t expecting to figure out the answer to this centuries-old question on his own.
He was going to fight, and he was probably going to die. No time for deep thoughts.
Coupled with the whole “Supreme Beings are destined to die” fate, Mike felt a weight settle on his shoulders.
As long as Apollo lived, this question would haunt him.
He needed an answer, and answers required time.
But the Supreme Demon God wasn’t going to give him time.
“So… and I hate to break this to you,” Foreskin said with a wry smile, “but your rapid growth… it’s not necessarily a good thing for my boss.”
The logic was simple.
The stronger Thor became, the sooner the Supreme Demon God would awaken.
And the first thing the Supreme Demon God would do upon awakening was challenge Apollo to a duel.
Based on past encounters between human and demon Supreme Beings, the odds weren’t in Apollo’s favor.
The faster Thor rose, the sooner the final showdown, and the less time Apollo had. Mike waved a dismissive hand. “That’s not my fault. Blame the Supreme Demon God.” “According to the plan, my boss will likely face the Supreme Demon God in one or two months. And that’s not enough time for him to figure things out,” Foreskin continued. “And as you know, there’s been a slight… complication.”
The “complication” was Shadow Nine’s little escapade in the Supreme Abyssal.
Shadow Nine had deceived both Apollo and Mike.
Once Thor was strong enough to fend for himself, Shadow Nine and Calderon had stormed the Supreme Abyssal, buying Apollo ten years.
Ten years was the limit of Shadow Nine’s ability.
Whether it would be enough… no one knew. But Shadow Nine hadn’t anticipated one thing:
Apollo, after observing Thor for a while, had started having… new thoughts.
“Don’t panic just yet,” Foreskin said reassuringly. “My boss hasn’t figured this out in three hundred years. He’s not going to crack the code in a few days.”
Even another three hundred years might not be enough for Apollo to find the answer.
“Actually, there’s something I didn’t tell you.” Mike rubbed his temples. “Your boss told me that Shadow Nine should be back in about three months.”
Foreskin: ???
“So, that means…”
Both of them were smart, and they both knew Apollo well.
Three months was the timeframe Apollo had given.
Shadow Nine, safe within the Supreme Abyssal, could stay as long as he wanted.
Why three months?
Because Apollo believed he would have his answer by then!
And once he had his answer, he could retrieve his instructor and face the Supreme Demon
God…
The countdown had begun: three months.
“Look on the bright side, we have three months,” Mike said. “I’ll reach level 999 within three
months, and then I can help Apollo. No problem!”
Foreskin sighed.
It was too early to be making such bold claims.
He knew better than Mike what had happened to the previous Supreme Beings.
And without a complete Supreme Mark, Thor wouldn’t be much help in the final showdown.
Mike tapped the whiteboard. “There has to be *something* we can do.”
“There is.” Foreskin nodded. “We wait for news from Shadow Nine, then we talk to Ares. And
if all else fails, we bring in Master Fool…”
They would gather as many people as possible and find a way to help Apollo.
“By the way, where did you get all this historical information?” Mike asked suddenly. “Not that I don’t trust you, but you know Shadow Nine and his… creative history. What if, hypothetically speaking, your information is also fabricated?”
Foreskin chuckled, dispelling Mike’s concerns. “Easy. I have firsthand sources. Guaranteed
authentic!”
“How authentic?”
“Let’s just say…” Foreskin paused, searching for the right words. “I fully funded the first expedition to the Tower of Truth. Does that answer your question?”