“What is this? How am I standing here? …And by the way, where is this place?”
I immediately fell into a deep sleep due to Artemis’s command.
First, my knees buckled, then my upper body collapsed as I closed my eyes.
Anyone would naturally wake up lying down, but surprisingly…
I am standing right now.
In the middle of a vast, desolate space resembling an endless universe.
“What the… Artemis! Artemis!”
As fear began creeping up at the strangeness of the place and solitude, I desperately called out her name.
The boundless space seemed to absorb my cries, making them futile.
At a loss for what to do and overwhelmed by anxiety, I looked up.
Among the twinkling stars, a transparent crystal spun and lightly touched my nose.
Then, the crystal began to glow softly, emanating moonlight.
[Arc. Were you startled by the unfamiliar place?]
As if my nose was a switch, Artemis’s voice started flowing out,
“Artemis! Where am I? Why did you bring me here?”
[Unfortunately, I handed you the seventh task unilaterally. But now that I’ve heard your sincerity, this task cannot be postponed.]
She spoke only what she wanted, her tone overlapping with mine.
Though her usual speech pattern was far from it, this oddly formal tone left me speechless as I stared intensely at the crystal.
After some time, the crystal’s tone hardened once more.
It seemed this crystal worked like a recording device.
[The method for completing the seventh task is simple. There is no success or failure; you merely have to witness all the truths.]
“Truth? What kind of truths? Are you hiding something from me?”
I questioned despite knowing it was a recorded voice, the frustration and curiosity overwhelming me like a tsunami.
It also conveyed my strong wish to directly face and talk with Artemis instead of relying on this crystal trinket.
[Arc, the truths you will see are of me from 100 years ago.]
[But don’t worry. Since it’s sharing my memories and emotions into your dream, you won’t be visible to anyone.]
“Whatever you’re hiding, tell me straight. How can you hide by fearing or finding it too hard to speak? I’m ready to accept everything. So, Artemis, please come with me—”
[The moment you grasp this crystal, the journey to the past begins. Farewell.]
That was it; her unilateral announcement ended abruptly.
The crystal, softly glowing with moonlight, then lost its light and fell helplessly like a falling leaf.
And it stopped at my feet after spinning.
…
So, to summarize, this space, I, and everything here are just elements of a dream, right?
Artemis is intervening in the dreams of the real me who is asleep?
If it’s that hard to talk directly, why resort to this way instead?
“Tch! There’s no choice, huh.”
After all, I don’t have any other options.
Since the task was forcefully embedded in my mind through her command, there is no way but to undertake it.
Alright.
I’ll see if this dream—similar to a lucid dream—ends as a good one,
or as a nightmare.
And by the way, Artemis.
Once I complete this task, you’d better be ready for whatever reward I’ll ask for.
With that resolution, I stretched my left arm, where the mission’s tattoo was engraved, and picked up the crystal.
PAHHH!!
“Aaaargh!”
The crystal emitted moonlight again, instantly filling the vast space of the universe.
When the brilliance faded and I opened my eyes, I was back in a familiar location,
the courtyard in front of the Artemis Temple.
A place so common and comfortable to me, like home.
I immediately lowered my head to check my body.
I expected to be in some ghostly translucent state, but there was nothing unusual.
Only when I saw the priestesses walking by, acting as if I didn’t exist, did I finally feel reassured.
“Still, I should confirm, right?”
I have to verify that this place is indeed 100 years ago.
Maya’s heating room dormitory obviously wasn’t there, and the old dormitory I currently use here still appeared quite intact.
Looking at the calendar inside the temple office, it was undeniably set to 100 years ago.
“Absolutely 100 years ago… Is this really possible…?”
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!”
Just as I began questioning the reality of the past within the dream, an overly familiar and joyful dolphin’s supersonic screech resonated.
Nine times out of ten, this signaled the clichéd goddess teasing her priestesses trope!
“Feels good, though my PTSD is kicking in. Still, I’m curious about the Artemis of 100 years ago.”
Normally, I’d stay behind a wall or a pillar, sneaking a peek, but now,
I’m invincible.
It’s probably fine to consider myself invisible.
“Anyway, let’s hurry. Can’t miss any good scenes.”
The source of the screams was in front of the temple gate.
Exiting the hall and looking down the stairs, I saw Artemis from 100 years ago and a priestess.
Her physical appearance was still the same—adorable with a hint of elegance like a little sister—but her actions were exactly the opposite.
For some reason, she was angrily rubbing her hands on her clothes, seemingly having touched something unpleasant.
Glaring at the priestess each time she wiped her hands.
The priestess, who only held a letter in hand, fidgeted and didn’t know what to do.
It wasn’t initially clear what was going on from just this scene.
“Hey!! Didn’t I tell you to disinfect hands that touched cockroaches?!”
“I-I’m sorry, my lady Artemis. It was too urgent, just please forgive me this one time…”
“Eh… tch, fine! Ah, I’m so irritated. Read that cockroach’s letter.”
“Y-Yes, yes!”
As I pondered what reading a cockroach meant, the priestess, teary-eyed, hastily opened the letter she was holding.
She alternately glanced at Artemis’s face and the letter, and once Artemis glared at her, the priestess quickly began reading.
“O…Oh, my lovely and cute moon sister. Long time no see, me is too very sad—”
“Isn’t that an incorrect reading?!?”
“H-Huh! Y-yes, Yes!”
……
I now understood what the cockroach reference meant.
It was a word referring to Apollo.
Based on how much Artemis despised her brother, even his letters were categorized as cockroaches and treated with disdain.
Poor Apollo…
Just how long has he been disliked by his own sister?
Still,
Comparing it to now, the English mixture seems to have significantly decreased 100 years later.
Perhaps Apollo made some kind of advancement?
“Hurry up!!”
“Y-Yes! W-When the fierce north wind and the cool snow cover our world and make us distant, the gentle spring arriving every year will bring me like a swallow—”
“What a load of nonsense! Summarize it, summarize!!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Anyway, Artemis’s impatience is commendable.
For her, who dislikes uselessness both then and now, those letter contents might be viewed like flower petals on food, right?
Still, seeing a glimpse of Apollo’s love for his younger sister warmed a corner of my heart.
As the priestess shrank under the fiery fury of Artemis,
out of frustration, I approached and stood behind the priestess to start reading Apollo’s letter first.
This letter was clearly the starting point of everything.
“…”
Excluding the sections where the sibling missed each other, summarizing,
Apollo is instructing Artemis to come immediately to the Delphi Temple, where he will bestow a prophecy upon her.
Apollo, the Sun God, is also the God of Oracles, because he conquered a dragon that could foresee the future, inheriting its power and taking control of the Delphi Temple.
Afterward, the Delphi Temple became the center of the world, with numerous kings and people visiting to borrow Apollo’s prophetic power.
Currently, since the governance has shifted from kings to divine rule, gods, instead of kings, directly govern the cities.
However, this world’s people still rely on his prophecies with 100% accuracy out of fear.
Why do they fear?
Because the oracle’s prophecies are fundamentally too obscure!
“What?! Come to the Delphi Temple? I’ve never had an oracle revealed to me till now?”
“Well, that I’m not quite certain about… but it’s the Delphi Oracle.”
“Is that cockroach just messing with me to see me?”
“Umm, it’s not exactly… The word Delphi is used, and the tone seems quite urgent and serious.”
“Are you saying anything with the word Delphi must be trusted?”
“…Because it’s Delphi.”
Artemis, clearly unwilling to go, was firing off a series of evasive questions despite her own stern words.
Though usually quivering under Artemis’s scolding, this priestess stood her ground this time, answering back firmly.
For the citizens of this world, the name of Delphi carries an absolute trust.
“Tch! Go, ready the gifts.”
Even the Olympian Goddess Artemis seems equally affected by this fact,
her face contorting in annoyance as she ordered other priestesses to prepare gifts for her visit to the Delphi Temple.
Of course, she should’ve washed her body at the Castalian Spring before receiving an oracle, but unfortunately, Artemis, the Goddess of Purity, is exempt.
Likewise, Hestia and Athena, the virgin goddesses, are also exempt.
And me?
Since I’m from the future in this dream, skipping it should be okay, right?
“I will be back, so guard the temple well.”
“Take care, Lady Artemis.”
Artemis, bid farewell by the priestesses, set out alone towards the Delphi Temple,
and I trailed behind her, turning into a ridiculous pairing of a goddess and a ghost.
Walking without rest, we quickly reached the Delphi Temple, where Apollo, wearing his signature laurel wreath, awaited us at the entrance.
“Welcome~ my lovely sister!!”
Apollo, spotting his younger sister.
He ran, his tunic flapping, his shoulders fully exposed, arms wide open.
Alright, Apollo.
Tell me.
What oracle prophecy are you about to reveal?
