A bright light, that was what filled Robin Hoods mind after his death. It was odd to him, he had thought that there would be nothing but darkness, maybe he was being granted access to heaven? Was it the pearly gates he saw?
Preposterous, he? A thief and murderer to be invited to heaven. Sure all his crimes were for the sake of others, and he rarely kept what he stole, and regretted all lives he took, but still.
And yet, that bright light. And what was that sound, music?
Robin Hood was confused, and kept his eyes closed, maybe it was just the last visions of his hopes before he truly died. Yes, that had to be it. So Robin kept his eyes closed for a little longer.
"Alright I'm done waiting"
Or at least until a foot met his stomach, causing him to jolt up and wide awake. To which he saw the figure of a man looking down on him. Light seemed to beam off him, he had shining, golden hair and a look of annoyance on his face, of which Robin admitted in his mind looked flawless.
"There we go, that's more like it." A smile instantly appeared on the mans face.
Robin checked his surroundings, he seemed to be sitting on a cloud, the sky above him a perfect blue, and there wasn't a single thing in sight besides him and the man.
"Who are you, and where are we?" Robin asked.
"Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense." The man spoke to himself and brought a hand to his mouth as if he hadn't even entertained the possibility of those questions.
"Well, lets start with the second question shall we? Might be more fun" He started, "Where we are is purgatory. You humans have a different definition of it in your world but this is where souls go when they die, waiting to be placed into a suitable afterlife. Simply put, a waiting room."
Thoughts traversed through Robins head rapidly. Firstly, he was in purgatory, secondly, it was different to what he was taught it was.
"So then, are you an angel whose here to judge my soul? I'll save you the time, I'm not worthy of heaven."
The man before Robin chuckled, before letting out to a full blown laugh. "Oh, no no no, I'm not a mere angel. Think higher." He gave a devious smile.
"Uhm, Archangel?"
The mans face immediately lost any and all joy. "No."
"I don't know, Seraph?"
"Welp I'm cutting it there." The man waved his hands in a horizontal movement. "I'm actually a god." He smirked.
Now it was Robin Hoods turn to be disappointed.
"I'm not going to refute the possibility, but you seem a little," Robin gestured to the man, "I wanna say young? To be the whole, created the earth in seven days guy." He deadpanned.
"Not that god, A god." The apparent god said to him. "The names Apollo, god of archery, music, and light."
Robins eyes widened, that, actually made some sense to him. "Wait" he started, "If that's the case, why are you here talking to me? And weren't you guys like majorly petty? Why do you not go show yourselves to humanity and be worshipped again?"
Apollo smiled at the questions, THOSE, he had planned for. "Well you see that was mostly because of me and my old man Zeus, we saw our worship die out over time, and we thought that with it, we should take ourselves out of the limelight ourselves. What's the point of worship if it comes from a place of desperation and not faith after all." Apollo shrugged.
"Now then, the reason I'm talking to you is to offer you, an opportunity." He smiled at Robin, in fact, Robin was slightly disturbed by how joyous his face seemed to be and how animated he was.
"What kind of opportunity?"
Apollo waved his hand once more and in the trail appeared, a screen? It showed people huddled together in dark alleyways, and homes bigger than the biggest castles that Robin had ever seen.
"To be honest? I wasn't very truthful with you earlier." Apollo said. "Your soul is unique, powerful, and remembered. The prince of thieves, Robin Hood."
"I'm, remembered?" Robin Hood muttered in shock.
"Oh yes, quite fondly as a hero of those who aren't on the top of the totem pole so to say. But anyways," Apollo stated. It gave Robin a sense of comfort, knowing that despite he end his message still held on.
"Your soul has been frozen, so to speak, until a point where the gods could need it. We do it with every human that we find to be extraordinary." Apollo said.
Robin thought over what he said, until it clicked, "Wait, so you mean-"
"It has been almost 800 years since you were executed, humanity has progressed to the year 2024." Apollo said, without the assumed usual wonder in his voice.
"Unfortunately, the living conditions for many have barely surpassed those of the commonfolk from when you lived. And the people with money still rule over all, and get away with whatever they want. So that's why I'm offering you the chance to be resurrected, and continue your crusade to help those in need."
"What type of chance?" Robin asked, from what he deduced, Apollo was genuine in his voice that he detested the state of whatever the current point in humanity was.
"There will be a tournament that I was selected to take part in with fifteen other gods. It's called the Requiem. The winning god gets the ability to make any decree they want." Apollo said.
Robin tilted his head in confusion, "So what part do I play?"
"Most gods would never allow themself to kill gods or be killed by other gods, not even for such a prize, it's too risky for such a fragile peace we have between each other. Therefore the idea was proposed for each god to pick a human to be there champion, and I have selected you to be mine."
Now, Robin had a tinge of anger coursing through him. "So you're telling me, that just because the gods don't want to dirty themselves, so they have humans fight to the death as glorified entertainment? Just so a god can win a prize?"
Apollo seemed shocked, "Oh, no, no no no, I would never allow myself to take part if that were all. You see the human gets a reward as well. Firstly, to be revived in the modern era as their physical peak. Secondly, they'll be granted any wish they desire in their heart, no matter what it entails."
'No matter what.' Those were the words that stuck out the most to Robin.
"But each chosen human would be considered a good person, correct?"
"I don't know, this is actually our first attempt at such an event." Apollo said.
Robin was quiet for a moment, contemplating the scenario. If he could help it, he'd rather not kill another person, especially one who was cemented in history if their actions were good. On the other hand if they weren't, and someone with selfish or evil intentions won, and got ahold of the wish.
Robin combed both his hands through his hair before meeting the gods gaze. "Do you know the other gods or humans taking part?"
Apollo looked down, "No, we were asked to keep them secret, and each god was approached privately to be asked for their entry."
Robin Hood let out a sigh, and looked, "Fine then," he said, "I'll fight for you."