"W-What did you say?" Aeteos asked, shocked.

"How do you know that name?" Marnes followed up.

’Me and my fucking mouth...’ I couldn’t help thinking. I didn’t know how to progress this line of dialogue, but fortunately, I didn’t have to.

"Ahahahahaha! Oh guys you should see the looks on your faces! Apollo we totally got them!" Rhapso said before running to my side.

"Rhapso?" Phoebe said, seeking clarity.

"Hahaha! Oh Apollo, should you tell them or should I! Oh no, I’ll tell them, it will be funnier. So, On the way here. Apollo asked me for ways to break the ice with you guys. I said sure. Marnes and Aeteos are creations of Vulcan, but freak them out and call Vulcan by the name he had in his first marriage. Hephaestus. It would shock them to the core. And I was right! Oh you should see the look on your helmet! Priceless!"

The twins looked at each other for a moment, taking in what Rhapso just said before.

"Hahaha!" They then both proceeded to slam the back of my armour with serious force as they laughed.

"Oh that was a good prank. I literally thought ’By the gods! How does this human know that name? It’s been struck from all history! Rhapso, you little deviant!" Aeteos laughed out

"Oh and that fake out! ’Oh, am I thinking out loud? Crap I am.’ Priceless. I totally believed you were dumb enough to say your most inner thoughts aloud. We are going to get along splendid Apollo." Marnes followed.

Aeteos then slapped my armour once more. "Be careful though, young Sentinel. We are quite the free spirits, but others in our order might take offence in using the abandoned name of a god. So only use Vulcan going forward if you would be so kind?"

"Oh, And don’t let Rhapso wrap you around her finger. She is a delinquent." Marnes followed, also slapping again.

I looked at Rhapso then at the two brothers and let out a fake laugh. "Heh- Yeah, I will be more mindful going forward. Sorry about that.

"Enough banter." Phoebe declared before looking over everyone. "Apollo, it took you a few days to get here, so I assume you require sustenance? We have some provisions here. Help yourself and be ready to move out in an hour."

"As for you two." She turned to the twins. "Time to focus up, begin your meditation."

The duo thrummed their chests with their fist. "Yes, leader." They declared before speeding away to the other side of the camp.

Phoebe then looked at Nerissa and Rhapso silently for a moment before looking back at me. "Oh, and one more thing Apollo, if that is ok?"

I waved a gesture for her to go ahead.

"Is... Is your Sapphire here?"

I shook my head. "No, sorry. Nerissa asked me to leave her behind. I could summon her? But it would take her a day give or take to run here."

"Oh..." I could feel the dejection in Phoebe’s voice before she composed herself. "No, that is ok, by the time your pet will have arrived, we will be done here. See to your needs. I shall see to my own now."

Phoebe then walked away and once out of earshot, Nerissa and I in unison turned to Rhapso.

"Did I do good Apollo? I had to think quickly. Fortunately, in this case, I am seen as a ’brat’ amongst the older Nymphs so they assumed I was playing a prank. But if you want to remain on the sly going forward. I would advise not thinking your ancient thoughts aloud. Um Sorry, I spoke about it even though you said not to."

I patted Rhapso on the top of her helmet. "No, you did good. I was just surprised. You saved my backside there with your quick thinking. As I would not have been able to come up with an excuse. So thank you."

"Hehe, I live to serve, Apollo." She said in a way that gave me goosebumps so I quickly changed the subject.

"So... Food. Where?"

...

Nerissa watched as Apollo filled his face without a care in the world. She realised a smile was on her lips as she watched him. However she didn’t try to suppress it.

Apollo knew something she actually didn’t know until after the incident. Hephaestus. He changed his name after his wife had an affair with the betrayer. He wanted to start again. But that also got her thinking.

Apollo clearly knew the gods by intimate names. So he was definitely one. That part was now without debate after his confirmation... Just which one was he? Of course she hoped deeply that it was her goddess, Apollo. Somehow... But even if he wasn’t her. That wouldn’t diminish her loyalty to him. She already began to feel loyal to Apollo before she figured out about his reincarnation.

It was a different feeling compared to her creator goddess. That relationship was faithful devotion. Her relation with Apollo was... Different.

It was earned. Through trust, mutual respect and friendship. It had foundations. Now on top of the most recent changes... It was perhaps even more intimate than what she had with her goddess...

She gasped at herself for such heretical thoughts, but if this Apollo was her... Was it heretical?

Her gaze then watched as Apollo inhaled a sustenance ration with over four thousand calories in an instant before ripping open another with no decorum. Her Goddess would never have been caught eating like that...

He then swallowed the next one and she was caught off guard by what he said.

...

"Oh! So I know you were being upfront and honest with me earlier, but I don’t think it was cool of you to blab Skaja’s secret like that. She didn’t give consent. I knew she was hiding something, it was obvious, even to me, but you shouldn’t have told me about Artemis. Because now I have a million questions I want to ask you about that entire ordeal, but it’s not your place to answer them." I said and reached out for the delicious chocolate flavoured brick in Rhapso’s hand before inhaling it like the nine others before it.

"Sorry Apollo, I know how you value privacy, I should have known that means you value others as well. It’s just with the... You know what happened. I got carried away. It won’t happen again." Nerissa said, lowering her head.

"Hey!" I snapped. "Don’t start getting all subservient to me now. I told you, we are keeping the status quo. Especially considering that both of you can kick my ass if you tried."

"*Gasp!*" Rhapso suddenly exclaimed from the side before turning to me. "Thats right isn’t it! You have made Nerissa go through two blooms via proxy! Can you do it to me too? I am literally the weakest combatant physically out of the Praetorians. If I suddenly get a mega boost in power I can kick everyone’s ass and laugh at them! Oh please! I will do anything, like performing the rites of marriage!"

I turned my attention to Rhapso, curious. "Yeah, you mentioned those rites earlier. What are they?"

Rhapso removed her helmet and brushed her blonde hair backwards as she smiled at me. "So! All us Nymphs, the females anyway. Are virgins. For some reason we never bothered asking, the gods didn’t like used goods around them, so upon being created, we get this sort of seal on our privates.

They function normally and everything, but say for instance, you got super horny earlier and decided us giving you the ol’ suck wasn’t enough and tried to stick it into our downstairs regions, our Psionics would lash out violently and yeah... You wouldn’t have that monster anymore."

I shuddered at the thought before Rhapso continued.

"But there is a way to get around this. Dalliances were rare in the ancient days, apparently, and there were instances of Nymphs falling in love with, we used to call the common folk mortals back in the day.

When they fell in love with a mortal, they would have to gain permission from their goddess to perform the rites of marriage to ceremonially unbind them from the gods service and into the loving embrace of their partner. Once the rites conclude, the Nymph and their mortal share a connection of the Psionic existence, or the soul, and that one mortal now has the ability to dip their ’finger’ into the ’honey pot.’

Or that’s what Maia told me anyway. But without the gods around, we don’t have to perform the blessing part and can just choose to go through with the rites. Though it’s never happened since all the gods disappeared."

I was about to ask some follow up questions as this subject interested me as it sounded like another form of Psionic bondage and I was quite familiar with that, but Rhapso then got even closer to me before, her beautiful face looking up at me, her white eyes glistening.

"Have you asked because you are interested? Because as soon as we get off this world, I am willing to go through with them!"

I suddenly felt a dangerous aura radiate from the other side of the table so I did the sensible thing. I picked up another brick and shoved it into my mouth and began to mime that I couldn’t speak.