[2680] A Rock Inside a Fire, complete short story (part ii)

Second and final part of my complete short story :D

Pretty much the same deal as last time with only an extra question I'll add to the rest I've listed again here.

1. Is the writing too flowery?
2. Is it boring?
3. Should Xanthus die? Either within the narrative or being cut out of the story.
4. How might you rate it out of 10 based with the ever reliable unit of vibes?

Gracias!

part ii

More as a favour to me than anything else, feedback considering the story as a whole would be the most helpful - but you do you. Either way, I'll leave part i here as well as the doc with both parts together.

Mythic context:

!In Ancient Greece, Semele is a mortal woman who becomes a priestess to Zeus, the king of the gods. One day, spying her bathing in a river, Zeus flies down and begins a secret affair. When his wife, Hera, discovers this, she disguises herself as a crone and tricks Semele into asking Zeus to reveal his true form. As this true form is a literal embodiment of his raw power, Semele (now pregnant with the god Dionysus) promptly explodes.!<

Critiques:

[1375] The Oracle

[1104] Recalibration

[1277] In Search of An Empty Sky (draft 3)