Chronicles of Phthia & Beyond: 50+1 Stories and Myths from the Past

The battlefield was still. The air, once thick with dust and divine energy, now carried an eerie stillness. The remains of Python's colossal form had already begun to fade, dissolving into the earth like a shadow retreating from the light.

The kids barely dared to breathe.

Apollo, his golden bow now at his side, said nothing. He simply turned and began walking. Not toward Python's remains, but toward something else—a smooth, rounded stone standing quietly among the destruction.

Nikolas knew what it was before they even got close.

There it was...The Omphalos.

His stomach flipped. It had been there all along, but they hadn't dared to approach it before—because, well, there was a giant death snake.

Now, there was nothing stopping them.

Apollo came to a halt beside it, fingers brushing over the carved surface.

"This place," he said at last, his voice smooth but unyielding, "has always belonged to something greater, something cthonic."

The kids hesitated.

Nikolas swallowed hard. "Delphi was sacred long before you claimed it, wasn't it?"

Apollo inclined his head. "Yes. This place belonged to Gaia. The great mother. Before I came, the great priestess spoke only the will of Gaia."

Ismini frowned. "So… why change it? If it was already sacred?"

Apollo turned to her, studying her carefully before answering.

"Because the world moves forward."

Alexandra folded her arms, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, her nerves thrumming under the weight of the moment. But instead of swallowing it down, she scoffed.

"So, let me get this straight— you just decided to take over, and we're supposed to accept it without question? Just—'because I said so'? Seriously? That's your answer?"

Silence....A heavy, thick silence....

Dimitris' eyes widened. "Are you SERIOUS right now?!"

Panos, standing slightly behind her, mouthed a silent, exaggerated "WHY would you say that?!"

Nikolas tensed. This was a god. A god who had just obliterated a monstrous serpent. And Alexandra—Alexandra had just… called him out?

For a second, Apollo just stared at her.

Then—his lips twitched. Just barely.

"Would you say the same of time itself?" he asked. "That it changes because it wants to?"

For a moment, the world stood still.

The only sound was the faint howling of the wind against the trees.

Nikolas' mouth hung open. Dimitris blinked like he wasn't sure if he had just hallucinated the past ten seconds, muttering something like, "Ohhh, man...I'm too young for this."

Panos made a tiny choking sound that could have been a suppressed laugh—or a sign of his soul leaving his body in sheer panic.

As for Ismini, she had frozen mid-step, eyes darting between Alexandra and Apollo as if she were waiting for the sky to split open in divine wrath.

And Apollo? He simply stared at Alex.

His golden gaze settled on Alexandra with a quiet intensity, his expression unreadable. The air around him felt heavier, charged with something neither warmth nor anger, but something in between.

Alexandra, however, was too deep in her adrenaline-fueled outburst to stop now.

"What?! Don't tell me you're all suddenly afraid to speak your minds?" She threw up her hands, looking at the others like she expected backup. Nothing. Just wide eyes and silent pleading. She scoffed, shaking her head. "Unbelievable."

Then have her turn back to Apollo and say:

" Look, I get it—you're a god, but why you're looking at me like I just insulted your entire existence," she continued, crossing her arms, ignoring the small voice in her head screaming -'Hey girl...you just yelled at an actual god!'

Apollo tilted his head slightly, his gaze flickering with something that could have been amusement—or curiosity. "You assume much."

"I assume based on what I see," she shot back. "You're acting like we're some kind of mistake that needs correcting, but we're here. Right in front of you. If we weren't supposed to be, we wouldn't be. That's how logic works."

Nikolas let out a strangled gasp. "Alex, I beg you— please stop."

Alexandra whirled on him. "No! This is ridiculous! We nearly got eaten by a giant snake, we've been thrown through time like some badly coded simulation, and now we're standing in front of a god who refuses to explain anything." She jabbed a finger at Apollo. "So forgive me if I'd like a little bit of clarity instead of riddles and vague superiority."

Silence.

Panos very carefully took a slow step behind Dimitris, whispering, "Oh man...We're sooo doomed....I think she just challenged a deity."

Dimitris muttered back, "Yeah. Let's hope he's not the smiting type."

Apollo's expression remained unreadable, but something shifted in the air.

Then—he laughed.

It was soft at first, more acknowledgment than humor. Then, just for a moment, it deepened—like he genuinely found something amusing.

"Human girl… you have guts." Apollo studied Alexandra like she was some rare phenomenon. "Few dare speak to me this way, and walk away unscathed."

Alexandra, still fueled by adrenaline, scoffed. "Yeah, well, we're not exactly having a normal day, are we?"

Apollo didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned slightly, his gaze settling on the Omphalos. The sacred stone stood before them, filled with ancient carvings, pulsing with a strange power.

"You want clarity?" His voice was softer now, but it carried weight. "Then listen."

The wind shifted, rustling through the broken landscape of the ancient sanctuary.

Apollo gestured toward the Omphalos, his gaze still locked onto the group. "You stand at the center of the world. Not just in space, but in history. And yet, you do not understand why you are here."

Dimitris, still shaken but regaining some of his usual skepticism, cleared his throat. "Yeah, I think that's kind of the problem."

Apollo's eyes flickered toward him. "Then open your mind."

Before anyone could question what that meant, the Omphalos started to vibrate.

The world around them blurred, bending like heat on stone. The sky darkened, and the landscaspe around them blurred and vanished.

And then—

The past came alive, once more...

As their syrounding started to bend, a familiar sensation filled the kids —one they really wished they weren't getting used to.

Alexandra took a sharp step back. "Oh, I don't like this. I REALLY don't like this."

Nikolas, wide-eyed, whispered, "It's happening...Again!!!"

The sky above them rippled, shifting like ink spilled in water. The Gaias's oracle, the towering columns and the slaughtered body of Python—all vanished.

Then—

The ground dropped from beneath them.

A rush of wind tore past, the world turning weightless. There was no sense of falling—only motion, a pull deep in their stomachs. Voices echoed—soft and distant. Memories, layered on top of memories. A thousand years condensed into seconds.

Then....silence....and darkness....

Suddenly, as the picture clears away, they smell something familiar. The scent of burning incense. As their eyes adjusted to the light, the silence gave way to a distant comotion. Not chaotic, but something else - a bustling city, full of life.

Then, they started seeing faintly the gleam of polished marble catching the sunlight.

A final pulse.

And then—

They landed.

The landing was... not graceful.

Alexandra hit the ground first with an undignified "Oof—!" followed by Nikolas crashing into her back. Panos somehow managed to land on his feet, looking a little too pleased with himself. Dimitris and Ismini tumbled in opposite directions, groaning.

Nikolas, still sprawled on the ground, lifted his head weakly. "Okay… new rule… we need SEATBELTS for time travel."

Dimitris groaned, rubbing his head. "I hate this. I officially hate this."

Panos stretched his arms like he had just finished a relaxing nap. "That was kinda fun. Can we do it again?"

Alexandra shot him with a murderous glare. "Panos. Read the room."

Before he could respond, a wave of sound hit them.

It was like stepping into the heart of a city. Voices—loud, lively, layered over one another. Merchants shouting their wares. Bronze chimes ringing in the distance. The steady clatter of sandals against stone.

The air smelled of burning incense and fresh olive oil, mixing with the faint metallic tang of polished bronze.

They weren't alone.

Alexandra froze. The others followed her gaze.

They had landed on a large stone plaza, just outside a winding road leading up to a massive temple. The sun glared off polished marble, and figures in flowing chitons moved around them. Some murmured prayers, others haggled in soft but firm voices.

Nikolas' eyes widened. His historian instincts kicked in at full throttle.

"This is… this is DELPHI. The real Delphi." His voice cracked with excitement.

Dimitris scanned the bustling city like a hawk. "So we're… in its prime?"

Alexandra looked at the towering pillars, the pristine white marble, the flickering torches burning in the midday sun. It was nothing like the ruins they had seen before.

Ismini's voice was barely audible. "…We really are in history."

At the same time, Nikolas, as if in trance, started to rumbling... "That's the market plaza1. Lining the north side—look! That's the stoa. See the colonnade? Those are shops. They're selling votive offerings—small statues, oil lamps, even miniature tripods for Apollo."

Panos raised an eyebrow at a merchant polishing a tiny bronze figurine. "…So basically, an ancient religious souvenir shop?"

Nikolas huffed. "It's not a souvenir shop—it's SACRED."

Ismini's gaze followed a boy running past them, clutching a tiny clay statue of Apollo. His mother scolded him in rapid Greek as he clutched the figurine like a prized treasure.

Alexandra let out a slow, controlled breath. "So let me get this straight. We nearly DIED in a time vortex, and now we've landed smack in the middle of Ancient Greek Black Friday?"

Nikolas opened his mouth to correct her, but before he could—

A low horn blast rippled through the plaza.

Nikolas stiffened.

He knew that sound.

"…A procession1," he whispered. His stomach flipped. "Something big is about to happen."

A few feet away, several people had stopped walking.

And they were staring.

Alexandra clenched her jaw. "Oh, we definitely stick out."

Nikolas swallowed hard. "…So what's the plan?"

Because something told them—they weren't exactly welcome guests.

A tense beat passed.

Then—one of the temple attendants 1pointed directly at them.

"You there! Stop!"

Alexandra tensed. "Oh, that's never a good sign."

Nikolas barely had time to gulp before more voices rose above the crowd. The temple attendants—men in dark blue chitons embroidered with gold—were moving toward them with purpose.

Dimitris inhaled sharply. "Uh, yeah… yeah, I think we have a problem."

Panos, ever the voice of reason, took a single step backward. "Sooo… should we be polite and explain we're just very lost pilgrims, or—"

Alexandra grabbed his arm. "We run."

"RUN!"

And just like that, the plaza exploded into chaos.

They scattered, dodging through the mass of people.

Nikolas barely avoided a tray of figs being upended, and Ismini had to twist sideways to avoid knocking over a merchant carrying an amphora of wine.

Panos, naturally, was in his element. He dodged between stunned merchants like he'd been doing this all his life, vaulting over a low stack of clay pots with alarming ease. "I gotta say, historical foot chases? WAY more fun than gym class."

Alexandra shot him a glare as she sprinted beside him. "Panos. Less fun, more running."

Dimitris, on the other hand, wasn't built for this. "Okay—ugh—just saying—why is there so much running involved in time travel?!"

Nikolas barely heard him. His brain was in full panic mode.

Temple attendants were fast—but so were they.

Except—

The alley ahead of them? Dead end.

Alexandra skidded to a stop first. "Great. Fantastic. We're completely screwed."

Panos peered around. "Mmm… maybe not."

Dimitris, panting, leaned against the wall. "If you say 'let's fight them' I am going to—"

"No, no, no." Panos grinned. "I say we climb."

He pointed up—to a half-broken wooden ladder leaning against the side of a sandstone building.

Nikolas blinked. "That… might actually work?"

Alexandra didn't wait to debate. "Up. NOW."

She grabbed the ladder and started climbing first, Ismini right behind her.

Panos went next—agile as a cat.

Nikolas scrambled after them, wheezing. "I swear—if we live through this—I'm going to start paying attention in gym class—"

Dimitris followed last, muttering something about how statistically, ladders were NOT safe.

The second his foot left the ground, the temple attendants burst into the alley.

Too late.

The kids had already vanished over the rooftop.

They tumbled onto the rooftop, skidded across sun-warmed tiles, and half-fell into a narrow passageway below.

Straight into another narrow passageway.

Alexandra groaned. "Please tell me that was the worst of it."

Nikolas winced. "Mmm… probably not."

Because they weren't alone.

A girl stood at the end of the passageway.

She was young—barely older than them, dressed in simple white robes. A golden ribbon wove through her dark hair, and her eyes—deep, knowing—studied them with unsettling calm.

No one dared to move.

Then Panos, still out of breath, gestured weakly. "Sooo… anyone else getting serious 'she knows things' vibes?"

Nikolas stared.

His mind pieced it together immediately.

"She's… she's the Pythia."

Alexandra's stomach dropped. They had just run straight into the Oracle of Delphi.

And before anyone could react—

A second figure stepped into the light.

Apollo.

His golden gaze swept over them, unreadable.

"You ran," he noted. His voice was calm, but not without amusement.

Nikolas threw up his hands. "OF COURSE WE RAN."

Dimitris, still bent over, gasped for air. "If you could just warn us next time before throwing us into Ancient Greek law enforcement, that'd be great."

Apollo didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he turned to the young priestess beside him.

The first Pythia.

And she—her voice as soft as the wind, yet carrying the weight of prophecy—simply said:

"The Great Apollo, has forseen your arrival...You were expected...Welcome to Adyton...."

She paused, her gaze sharp and unreadable. Then, in a low voice —

" The thread is spun, as Lachesis sees,

The Moirae 1weave, none escape what is decreed."