The white marble pillars were adorned with golden roses that came from the personal garden of the goddess Demeter. The sky was bathed in a reddish glow as the sun started to set behind white cirrus clouds. The gods and goddesses of Olympus filled the scene as each and every one of them congratulated the star of that day’s show.

Dressed in a black suit with the only symbolism of being a God’s son hanging around his neck in a chain, the young demigod flashed one smile after another as he cannot contain the feeling of happiness and pure excitement within him. It was his wedding day and he intended to make it absolutely perfect.

The nymphs glided from one person to another, making final stitches to the hand-woven clothes that the goddess Athena had made for every god and goddess attending the special celebration.

From the sidelines, Zitao watched the crowd with a small smile gracing his lips. To his right stood the silent figure of Yixing who was eyeing the guests while fiddling with a single rose in between his fingers.

“I’m excited! It’s my first time attending a wedding!” Zitao exclaimed, hoping to at least get the brunette man beside him in a cheery mood, but his effort was in vain as Yixing continued to stare at the faces of the guests, ignoring his words.

“And hopefully, it won’t be your last.”

Zitao turned around and smiled at the sight of the smaller man that was now standing behind him.

“Kyungsoo-ge!”

The man named Kyungsoo smiled at Zitao before acknowledging Yixing. The three stood side by side as they watched the people get uneasy and excited at the same time. And when the horns sounded on the signal of Hermes’ son, Sehun, the crowd all settled down on their seats as soft music flooded the place. Kyungsoo bid his two companions adieu as he made his way to the front of the altar where Zeus and Poseidon stood. Zitao and Yixing remained where they were, the former too excited to move from his spot as he stared at the groom’s smiling face as he stood in front of the altar.

The crowd gasped and Zitao turned his head to look at the subject of attention. Entering the scene, the bride stunned the crowd with her white-laced bodice gown which trailed behind her in a sea of white cloth and red roses. As she walked down the aisle to the melodious tune of Apollo’s son’s flute, her face covered in a white veil, the dryads showered her with golden petals which complimented her gown and fair skin. Right beside her stood one of the almighty God’s who was out of his commonly used robes and dressed in a suit made from the highest quality of silk.

Zitao found himself smiling as he watched the girl place her hand on the groom’s as they walked towards the altar where the almighty Zeus stood with Kyungsoo a few feet behind.

“He seems happy, doesn’t he?”

Zitao turned, shocked but nonetheless happy, to Yixing who just spoke. He gave a small smile and a hum of approval as his companion also smiled, smelling the sweet fragrance of the rose in his hand before humming to the tune of Apollo’s son’s song.

And Zitao knew right then that nothing could break this perfect moment.

~ξαναγραφεί~

The demigod was far from happy. The feeling was indescribable as he stood side by side with the girl his heart has surrendered to, his hand grasping the other’s smaller one lightly and a satisfied smile gracing his lips as a light tint covered her cheeks with just his simple actions.

She was breathtaking. The moment she walked the aisle, his heart stopped beating and everyone else around him disappeared as her radiant smile and beauty clouded his vision. She was perfect – too perfect for him to have and yet, she was his.

And as they stood in front of one of the three greatest Gods, he couldn’t help but inwardly grin at his victory. He saw his father nod at him in acknowledgement and he was certain that he saw pride and glee in the God’s eyes.

“I do.” The bride answered with a small smile and he immediately claimed her lips, not waiting for the signal to kiss the bride.

The moment their lips parted, the young demigod was greeted with a heart-melting smile from the love of his life, now his wife, and a series of cheers and claps from the crowd who were all looking at them happily. He chuckled and smiled as well, only frowning for a second, as he noticed the two empty seats in front.

“I love you.”

The whisper was soft and he loved the feeling it gave as the words tingled in his ear before he gave a chaste kiss to his bride and faced the crowd with so much pride and happiness in his heart.

He didn’t care about the fact that he was now Ruler of Olympus. He didn’t care that he was now the most powerful. No, all he cared about at the moment was that he was standing next to the only girl who was able to capture his heart and that he finally had everything.

And he never realized that he was about to lose everything in a blink of an eye.

~ ξαναγραφεί~

Zitao was on the verge of losing his sanity.

The reception started out without a hitch and as the couple was giving their messages to their friends and families, a dark cloud covered the sky and the next thing Zitao knew, everyone was engaged in a death match. Everything was perfect earlier, what had led for this scene to erupt?

Everything around him was in flames and complete ruin. Screams and cries rang in his ears as blurry figures ran past him before falling to the ground. Dead bodies mounted on top of each other as the floor was bathed in a pool of blood. Smoke rose in the dark, starless sky, and the pillars of Olympus crumbled to the ground. Thunder and lightning echoed through the dark and death-aired night and the loud patter of rain did nothing to extinguish the flames that charred everything in its way.

In the distance, he could see the carnal glares and hear the evil cackle of the two demigods that were the root and cause of all the carnage around him.

Zitao clambered up to his feet, mindlessly walking around the once majestic kingdom, trying to avoid the stray arrows that flew his way. He felt tears pool at the corner of his eyes as he sees the only calm person still standing in front of the destroyed altar.

Zitao took a step forward towards the man, eyes searching for an answer in the other’s when he stepped on something soft. He retracted his foot to glance at a single violet rose partially crushed under his weight. Zitao picked it up and stared at it for a while before he finds himself whipping his head around like a crazed maniac.

“Yixing! Hyung! Yixi-”

Tears spilled from his eyes as he covered his mouth to muffle his cries. The destruction continued on, but Zitao had his glassy eyes fixated on Yixing’s unmoving body, eyes still open. The brunette male sat against one of the crumbled columns, chest impaled by a golden arrow that belonged to none other than Apollo’s son.

“H-hyung…” Zitao whispered as he kneeled in front of the healer’s corpse while placing the violet rose in his palm. Zitao laughed softly as he covered his eyes to stop the stream of tears from falling.

Life was so ironic.

To his right, he sees the son of Hephaestus let out an ear-piercing scream before turning silent and falling limp to the ground. To his left, the warriors clad in armor continued to fight against the scarred son of Aphrodite whose body was now covered in bruises and wounds, face wet with blood and dirt.

Everything around him was moving slow, so painfully slow that he could see how each sword pierced through flesh and how each body fell lifeless to the ground. Zitao could hear the cries of agony and the pleas of mercy, he could feel the rain’s cold torture, hear the lightning’s murderous roar, and the night’s deadly invitation.

By now, Zitao was a crying mess.

He glanced back at the man in the altar before making his way towards him. Zitao dropped on his knees and glanced up at Kyungsoo with a look that screamed make it stop, but Kyungsoo just gave him a sad smile.

“This was all meant to happen.”

The words made Zitao tremble and pale from the forming realization in his mind.

“What do you m-mean?” Zitao choked.

“Everything was predestined to happen.”

“Y-you knew that t-this w-would happen?!” Zitao stared at the man with a look of disbelief and betrayal etched on his face. He got up, ready to yell all his heartaches to the elder when an ear-piercing cry tore through the night.

Zitao slowly looked down below the altar to see the bride, all radiance and beauty gone with her gown shredded and covered in blood, crying while cradling the lifeless body of her groom – the same man that felt like he had everything in the world. Zitao stared at the face which was smiling so brightly earlier, the face which had shown so much pride and satisfaction, before turning to look at Kyungsoo, unbelievingly.

“Please do something…”

Kyungsoo only shook his head.

“We cannot play with the prophecy, Zitao. This is destiny speaking. We cannot stop what we didn’t even do. It’s time to move on. This will all be just a part of history.”

He wants to scream. He wants to drown the cries and screams by covering his ears and sinking down to the ground. He wants to punch the elder God in the face for the selfish act. He wants to make everything stop. He wants his Olympus back. He wants everything to be the way it used to be.

'The way it used to be…'

Then Zitao knew what he had to do.

Glancing at the pocket watch his mother left him, Zitao knew exactly what he needed to do to make everything better, to restore everything back to the way it was before all the carnage started.

'Turn back time, take back what has been lost.'

He took a last glance at the ruins of Olympus and at the now broken couple before walking past Kyungsoo who looked at him with curiosity and fear.

“Where are you going, Zitao?”

Zitao silently recited a few lines before a portal gleaming in red and black appeared in front of him. He felt Kyungsoo’s hand on his wrist, pulling him away from barrier that separated the past from the future as he tried to enter the portal.

“Zitao, no! You cannot upset the balance of time!” Kyungsoo shouted at him angrily.

Zitao shrugged Kyungsoo’s grip on him and glared.

“I don’t care! I’m going back in time and fixing this with or without your help!”

And with that final statement, Zitao disappeared and Kyungsoo was left crumbling onto the floor and staring at the same spot where the portal disappeared. Kyungsoo gritted his teeth and punched the ground.

“Stupid, you’re doing exactly what I’ve been preventing you from doing.”