The game of tag between Iskios and Apollo began to spread among the nymphs. And not just among the nymphs, either. Through Apollo's worshippers and the lesser gods under him, the story spread farther. At first it was only whispers from a small forest, but before long it reached human ears, and the ears of other gods as well.
The tale spread in the blink of an eye, until there was hardly anyone in all of Greece who had not heard it. Some pitied Iskios. Others were simply curious to see how things between the two of them would end.
For two whole years, Apollo chased Iskios with desperate persistence, to the point of throwing aside his duties as a god. The exhilaration he felt was even greater than when he had loved Daphne, and that feeling drove him onward. Yet no matter how obsessively he pursued him, Apollo still had not managed to catch him.
Part of it was because his legs were fast, but whenever Apollo tried to find Iskios, he would vanish somewhere and leave behind not even a trace. Apollo used familiars. He mobilized his worshippers to search. Even so, he could not find so much as a shadow.
"Huhuhu...! So this is how you love, Iskios! Good. Excellent!"
Even then, Apollo did not give up. If anything, he only grew more enthusiastic. Smiling to himself, he imagined the days to come. The days he would spend with Iskios...
Playing together while throwing the discus. Placing a crown of flowers on his head. Playing music for him. Watching the stars in the night sky together... and then the moment when the two of them would gaze at each other with burning eyes and press their bodies together.
As Apollo imagined Iskios's face—slender, wanting something more—and the disheveled state he would be in, blood began to drip from Apollo's nose. Apollo smiled at the image in his mind.
"Mufuhuhuhuhuhu!!! Just imagining it makes me feel like I could do anything... huhuhuhu...!!!"
He would be frustrated, then immediately rise again. When Apollo called out for Iskios with renewed fervor, the nymphs watching nearby turned pale and fled.
Of course, this forest was not inhabited only by beasts and nymphs. Beneath the deep shadow under a great tree, one boy was crouching there, watching Apollo's creepy grin with a look of utter disbelief.
That boy Apollo had been chasing for the past two years... was me, Iskios.
"Ugh... that damn homo still hasn't given up..."
I, Iskios, had no choice but to feel sick looking at Apollo, his eyes shining with dangerous intent. Two whole years had passed, and he was still stalking me while throwing away his actual responsibilities.
By now, the game of tag between Apollo and me seemed to have become famous all across Greece. Whenever I slipped into a city to catch my breath, I would hear people talking about it. Honestly, if there were such a thing as historic public nuisance, this would qualify. And to be blunt, it was disgusting.
But I could not honestly say it was disgusting. My opponent was a god. The gods of Greece were, by and large, petty, full of rapists, and pathetic besides... You could not expect anything from them. The moment you started expecting something, you lost. Even so, I did not curse them to their faces or openly scorn them.
I had already read plenty of stories—even in comic books—about what happened in Greek myth when people mocked the gods or grew arrogant before them. Niobe was the classic example.
Yeah. Arrogance really was a terrible thing. Especially in this end-of-days Greece, trying to deceive a god was the kind of road that led straight into the abyss.
"Where are you, Iskios~? My love~!"
"Maybe it's about time I moved..."
After watching Apollo get a certain distance away, I stood up. Staying in this forest any longer was extremely dangerous. I had managed to preserve my body these past two years by running from Apollo and hiding, but settling in one place for too long was asking for disaster.
If I remembered right, there was another forest nearby... and near that forest, a high mountain range. If I went there, I should be able to find a proper place to sleep, and secure food too. Thinking that, I quickly stepped out of the forest—only to freeze in shock at the sound that came from above.
"Lord Apollo! Over there!"
"Damn it...!"
The moment I came out of the forest, a flock of crows was already circling over my head as if they had been waiting for me. The instant they spotted me became the trigger, and Apollo came charging at once to seize me. No, wait—since when do crows talk?
Terrifying!!! Apollo chasing me from behind with that monstrously deep obsession was terrifying. But even more terrifying than that was the thought of losing my chastity to a man... of getting my ass torn open. That fear made my legs move even faster.
Apollo—that damn homo was serious. The look in his eyes said he genuinely meant to screw me. I could tell. I had been born into this end-of-days Greece, where decent men were so rare you could count them on one hand. One of them was Peleus, and another was Teacher Chiron.
Heracles...? Mmm... to be honest, that guy was a problem too. He couldn't control his temper, and his conduct really was exactly what you'd expect from Zeus's son...
"Wait for me! My love, Iskios!!!"
"Stop!!! Chasing!!! MeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—!!!!!"
Anyway... this was no time to be thinking about other things. I saw Apollo charging after me and nearly died of fright as I sprinted full speed toward the next forest. I was absolutely never going to get caught...! Never!!!
I will never be caught.
Before I knew it, two years had passed since this miserable game of tag with Apollo began. Two years, and I still had not given up, and I still had not been caught.
For two years, I had to hear that cringe-inducing song he sang while calling to mind my face at least three times a day, and I was hunted not only by Apollo but by his followers and his familiars too. My mind had been shaken so badly I barely recognized myself anymore. I spat out curses I never would have used before, and vented my anger on empty trees and ponds just to keep myself under control.
But... while being chased, I always thought the same thing. How long was this pointless game of tag going to continue? Why did I have to suffer like this because of Apollo? Why did I have to waste my life like this because of that damn homo bastard? Why did humans have to be tormented this badly by gods?
In my previous life, I had never been this full of negative thoughts, or this consumed by hatred for someone beyond all reason. Back when I was in Teacher Chiron's classroom, I could at least avoid people and had time to calm my mind, so it was better. But Apollo was sticky. He kept clinging and clinging.
I truly hated the gods. I hated the gods who caused natural disasters and used humans however they pleased. But... I was human. Even if I was half divine, all I could do was run from them.
Still... if, if only... instead of being afraid, I had actively thought, "How can I drag the gods down from their thrones?" and "How can I change this rotten world?"... then maybe the future might have turned out differently.
Even so, if something like that were really possible, then there was something I would absolutely want to do. Drag the gods down from their thrones, and make a better world meant only for people... I did want that. But it was too unrealistic, so I pushed the thought aside.
...It was almost time for the sun to rise. Soon Apollo would start singing that unbearable song of his again. Well then... let's struggle and run for dear life again today.
End-of-days Greece can wear down even a good person.
The game of tag between Iskios and Apollo had become a very famous story even among the gods on Olympus. Apollo had now spent two years throwing aside his duties in order to chase Iskios.
As Zeus drank nectar and looked down upon the earth, a visitor came to him. She was a woman with long black hair veiling the area around her eyes—the goddess of the full moon, Selene. As Selene came before Zeus for the first time in a long while, Zeus could already guess why she had come.
"Selene. I have a rough idea why you're here. It's because of your son, isn't it?"
"Yes, Lord Zeus..."
Selene, usually timid and weak in asserting herself, was making a request of Zeus for the first time in a long while, after once asking for eternal sleep and youth for Endymion. In truth, Zeus had been sincerely waiting for her to bring up this matter.
For two years, Apollo had been roaming all across Greece trying to find Iskios, throwing away even his divine obligations and mobilizing both his worshippers and his own attendants. To the gods, two years was a short span of time, but to humans, that short span was enormous.
Zeus found this situation troublesome, a headache caused by Apollo's childish outrage. It was one thing for Apollo to fall for Selene's son, but Apollo had gone so far that he was neglecting his duties as a god because of it, and something had to be done. On top of that, Helios, who drove the sun chariot, had all but lost his will as a sun god after the death of his son Phaethon.
"Hmm..."
Zeus sank into deep thought. Even if he stopped Apollo, that would only be a temporary measure. It would never be a fundamental solution. With a single order from him, restraining Apollo would be easy.
But that would not be enough. The moment the punishment he imposed ended, Apollo would simply start targeting Iskios again whenever he found an opening. So Zeus decided this could not continue, and called for Hermes.
"Did you call for me, Father?"
"Yes, Hermes. Sorry, but I need you to summon the other Twelve Olympians for an emergency assembly."
"Ah... because of Brother Apollo, right? Got it!"
Receiving Zeus's command, Hermes immediately took to the sky and left Olympus. He did not like gathering the Twelve Olympians over something like this, but if things continued, Apollo would completely forget the duties he owed as a god.
Besides, Selene was a beauty, and Zeus was a man who absolutely never refused a request from a pretty girl or a beautiful woman.