Apollo trying to heal his lovers and children past the point of their death. Apollo resting glowing fingers on their blood-slick temples and kissing their charred flesh to knit the skin back together. Even though all hope is lost, even though the god of healing should be the first to recognise the signs of death.
Thanatos no longer comes to collect the archer god’s dead. Hermes has to crouch down to where his brother cowers over the corpse and give him words of comfort and dry his tears and pry his hands away from the limp body. He promises that he will bring his darlings to Elysium and that they will be fine and free of pain. And still every time his big brother cries and begs for him to let their soul remain in the body he can hold, begs Hermes to finally let him cross the border to the underworld himself. And every time Hermes listens and embraces him and let’s Apollo bury his face in the crook of his neck knowing exactly that he won’t bring his loves back and would never let his beloved brother leave this earth.
— Ovid’s Metamorphosis
