Apollo wakes up surrounded by his friends and children. He must go face Python alone. The others restock his weapons. Will heals Apollo’s wounds. Meanwhile, Meg has taken command of her foster-siblings, forgiving them their past crimes as they were committed under fear of Nero. Apollo, knowing there is a chance he may not return after a face-off with Python, says goodbye to a tearful Meg and the others. Apollo begins to descend the stairways in Nero’s tower just as he had seen himself sweeping stairwells when he fell to Delphi in his dream (Chapter 9). Soon, the way clouds with mysterious smoke, and the stairs seem never-ending. Apollo ends up in a tunnel beneath Delphi, its floor strewn with carcasses and discarded snake skin. He approaches the gargantuan Python, basking in the glow of the golden power of the Triumvirate. Python seems asleep. Apollo shoots an arrow at its head as it rests on its coiled body.

Apollo misses his mark. Python awakens and laughs at Apollo. Only Apollo stands in the way of Python’s total control of Delphi. Apollo knows that if Python owns Delphi, he will effectively run the world because the Oracles don’t just predict fate, they create destiny.