Chapter 244: Holy Warrior and Rejection
The power beyond the gods was still overflowing between heaven and earth, bringing a certain invisible sense of oppression, and outside Mount Olympus, under the gaze of the King of Gods, the gods were silent.
But that was all. Although they had chosen to stand aside and watch in the previous fight because they had misjudged the situation, the gods were not actually that panicked now when facing the victorious God-King returning.
After all, they made the same choice, and they did not take any further action. So unless the God King intended to rule the world alone, he could not really do anything to them.
What's more, Mother Earth was only defeated, not dead, plus there was the fleeting darkness three days ago... But these are just guesses. Maybe the huge increase in power will change Zeus's character as well, so the gods are just waiting quietly at this moment, waiting for the King of Gods to do next.
Of course, there are some exceptions among the gods, such as the god of destruction Kerr. As a subordinate of Hades, he was only here to witness the banquet where Zeus enthroned the twelve gods, so even though he made the same choice as the gods, he still stood aside very naturally.
There was also the goddess of justice who had just returned to the sacred mountain not long ago. She also did not stand with any gods. She just stayed in the air alone, watching everything calmly.
The goddess seemed to be thinking about something, occasionally looking back in the direction of Mount Olympus. She stroked the hilt of the sword at her waist, with some hesitation and relief in her eyes.
Since she got this sword that symbolizes "justice", she seems to have never really used it once. This divine sword that kills evil has been covered in dust.
When did this start? The goddess couldn't quite remember. Or maybe it had always been like this since the First Age.
This is the world of gods, the world of immortals. After staying here for so long, it seems that even she herself has forgotten what "justice" is. On the contrary, not long ago, Themis saw something in the human tribe.
Perhaps many times, unless there is a "perfect" monarch, "justice" and "law" are actually not interlinked. Sometimes they intersect, but there are also conflicts.
"Your Highness Themis, it's been a long time since we last met."
Without paying attention to the gods immediately, the God King looked at his nominal elder. He smiled, but his question was also very direct.
"Do you have any different opinions on what I just did?"
"As you can see, what happened today was not what I wanted to see, but this is not something I can decide. If possible, I hope you can make a conclusion in the name of the arbitrator, so that more lives can know the whole story and the right and wrong of the matter."
The King of Gods' meaning was very clear. As his first battle since he showed his power, it should naturally be perfect and reasonable. However, Gaia's curse before leaving made him look like a villain, so in this matter, Zeus hoped that Themis would approve of it.
And this was not a lie. After all, in Zeus's opinion, although he had done many things that were difficult to talk about, at least in the case of Gaia, he really did nothing wrong. Even until now, when the God King had some speculations about this, he once again confirmed that he was the innocent party.
After all, Zeus himself knew very well whether he had seen the golden apple tree or not.
"If you are seeking my opinion regarding today's battle, Zeus, I have no opinion on Mother Earth's affairs."
"She failed to produce evidence to prove what you did, and her actions did indeed harm the order of the world, so it is only natural for the world to respond to this."
Without letting her personal opinion of Zeus influence her judgment, Themis gave her answer calmly.
This was actually the common feeling of the gods. They did not quite understand Gaia's hysteria. Before Mother Earth woke up, many of them had foreseen what would happen today. After all, the conflict between her and the God King was almost inevitable. But in the eyes of the gods, this was at most just a dispute about the fate of Crius, the God of Weather.
Perhaps if no agreement can be reached in the end, Gaia will indeed resort to force, but the greater possibility is that Zeus will take another step back and surrender before the primordial god. Apart from this, there should be no other direction of development.
However, when things really happened, the power of the King of Gods certainly surprised the gods, but Gaia's behavior also puzzled the gods.
Crazy, paranoid, and unable to understand, and even unwilling to listen to explanations, the other party directly concluded that Zeus had stolen her sacred tree and the accompanying artifact - of course, they did doubt whether Zeus really stole the golden apple tree, but the fruit tree was easy to understand, but what about the [Aquarius of Life]?
As the companion artifact of the Earth Mother, it will sleep with the owner and will not allow anyone other than the owner to use it. There is really no benefit in stealing such an artifact, except being despised by the gods.
"It is great to hear your fair judgment on this matter. In fact, I still feel puzzled by this. Perhaps Mother Earth has been sleeping for too long."
Nodding with satisfaction, Zeus couldn't help but smile when he got the answer he wanted.
Another matter solved... He gave Themis a smile.
He used to have a headache with his aunt, but now it seems that she is still easy to talk to. So the God King turned around, the matter was resolved, and the next step was to continue the unfinished ceremony.
He was about to say something, but behind him, Themis' voice came again.
"Zeus, what happened with Mother Earth is indeed as you said, but that's not all that happened today. Should you say something to Metis and Athena?"
With a calm expression, the goddess of justice spoke slowly behind the God King.
"… Your Highness Themis, this is my personal matter."
Zeus frowned slightly and faced the goddess' questioning, so he had to face his aunt again. However, he had already prepared for this matter.
"It seems that the regulations of the God's Court do not involve relevant payments. Apart from fulfilling their duties and basic requirements, what the gods do is their own business. As for Athena, the daughter of Metis and I... I will also give her the compensation she deserves. There is no need to say more about this matter."
Zeus never mentioned the right or wrong of Metis's case, and only mentioned the laws of the gods. Yes, he had asked for this when he asked Themis to perfect the laws of the gods. The gods only needed laws concerning the duties, rights and obligations of the gods, rather than trying to restrict all the words and deeds of the gods.
On the one hand, Zeus himself could not accept a law that made him a "criminal". On the other hand, all gods instinctively hated such rules.
They would rather decide the outcome of an event after it happens, rather than setting the criteria for the decision in advance. Therefore, the God King would naturally abide by the "opinions of the gods" when discussing the laws with the Goddess.
According to him, the law is meaningful only when it is recognized by everyone. If a rule that no one likes is forcibly made, it is just violence and power. As a goddess of "justice", she should not do this, and Themis was indeed convinced at that time.
Only now did she begin to understand the problem.
"The laws of the Divine Court... yes, the laws that were previously formulated according to your request are indeed like this."
Not surprisingly, Themis nodded. Turning around, she looked at the gods around her, and a feeling of enlightenment came to her mind.
She had felt similar emotions when she was walking in the human world, and now, these emotions were solidified.
"Perhaps, my previous choice was indeed wrong. Tens of thousands of years have passed... and I have never truly understood my priesthood."
"Hmm? What are you talking about? What's wrong?"
Zeus narrowed his eyes with a bad premonition. He was not afraid of a confrontation of strength now, as the goddess in front of him was no match for him, but his intuition told him that what Themis was going to do had nothing to do with strength.
"The mistake I'm talking about...is of course choosing to stay in the Divine Court."
With a long sigh of relief, at this moment, Themis completely understood why she had been feeling so awkward all along.
In the past, except for the time when she made laws for the present world, she seemed to have never really fulfilled her duties. The goddess had made efforts for this, but the results were always unsatisfactory. She was like a spectator who upheld the name of "justice", but if you really want to say what she did, then she did nothing.
Once upon a time, Themis never understood why this happened, but now, she has a little idea.
In Chaos World, the purpose of the existence of law is to maintain the order established by a higher being, and this higher being is sometimes the order of the world, and sometimes the king of gods. Therefore, the goddess of law did not refuse Zeus' invitation, because in her opinion, the court of gods is indeed a place suitable for her to perform her duties, so she accepted the position of "judge". Unfortunately, however, she forgot one thing.
If she was just a goddess of law, then it would make no difference to her whether it was the God King or the world. However, in addition to the law, she also presided over fairness and justice.
So this is the source of her discomfort. The laws of the world are indeed fair. At most, He will equally weaken all threatening things. So when Themis made laws, she felt the resonance of the priesthood and the joy from the bottom of her heart. But in comparison, the gods are different. They have never been just. Even the previous gods have swallowed their own children.
This is the most fundamental conflict. If the object of the law itself does not conform to "fairness" and "justice", then the result it brings will not be good no matter what. However, this is also a difficult problem to solve. Unless there is a being who is completely in line with Themis's philosophy, she will have the possibility to execute all her duties at the same time. But this is almost impossible because everyone has a different understanding of fairness and justice.
So at this moment, Themis finally made a decision.
If they can't finish it together, then they can finish it separately. But no matter how they finish it, the Divine Court is not where she should stay. Staying here, the goddess can only sit back and watch more "unfairness" and "unjustice", which can't bring her any meaning. Perhaps the human world is far more suitable for her than here.
Just as Ryan said, she should indeed attract some people who are in line with her ideas and willing to follow her will. And in the past period of time, she has been observing these new humans.
There are bad people among them, and good people too. There are those who disgust the goddess, and there are those who please her. She will select those who meet the requirements, and then divide her power into two parts. One part is guided by the [Golden Scale] to help them judge right and wrong for everything in the world. The other part is guided by the [Sword of Judgment] to judge life and death with pure good and evil.
This artifact of justice can sense the sins committed by living beings. With just a little application of power, Themis can give this power to her believers, allowing them to have the ability to detect evil and a stronger power over the guilty. The goddess even plans to visit the "celestial tribe" who are her neighbors after she has established her kingdom in the spirit world. As a gathering of positive energy, they will definitely be willing to contribute.
At that time, those humans who are chosen will be called [Holy Knights].
"Wait, you mean, you want to leave the Divine Court?"
He didn't know what the goddess was thinking, but when she finished speaking, Zeus's face changed slightly. He had thought about spending more time to persuade the other party, just like every time before, but what the king of gods didn't expect was that Themis actually made such a decision.
He wanted to say something else, but this time, the goddess didn't want to listen.
"You asked for a law that meets your requirements, Zeus, and I gave it to you. And with your current strength, no matter what you do, I seem unable to stop you."
"This is the God Clan... Perhaps the world of the Gods is really not suitable for me. Here, power is more useful than rules."
Themis spoke calmly, taking one last look at Olympus. On this somewhat dilapidated mountain, her temple had been destroyed, and in the future, it would not have to be rebuilt.
Turning around, the goddess took out a black cloth, and the time of an era was once again covered in front of her eyes. Then, for the first time in her life, she drew the golden sword from her waist. (See 1-17/2-7)
The golden sword trembled slightly, as if responding to the power of its master. It seemed to instinctively realize that it finally had value in existence.
"From now on, it will replace my eyes and 'see' the world for me. If the gods agree with your truth, then they don't need my help. But if we meet in the human world..."
"It won't show you mercy!"
The goddess turned into light and disappeared. On Mount Olympus, the king of gods stretched out his hand, but in the end did nothing.
He remembered the flash of darkness not long ago, and another force...
"...Heh, the original gods...it won't be long. Gaia is the first, but she won't be the last--."
He whispered silently, setting another goal for himself in his mind. However, before he finished speaking, Zeus's expression changed slightly.
"...God King, come see me."
The sound reached his ears silently, and he could not detect the source at all. However, Zeus was able to recognize the source by sensing a sudden breath rising from afar.
"The accident is over. Everyone, let's go back to the mountain first."
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and without saying a word, the King of Gods spoke to the gods.
He went first towards the devastated Olympus, while on the other side, an incarnation quietly traveled away.
······
Underground, Hades.
Things on earth have ended, but under the earth, things of today are still going on. Something is about to happen that will once again affect the world, but just like every time in the past, it has a little surprise.
Standing in front of the portal of Tartarus, Gaia found it unbelievable that the abyss of instinct alone had rejected her.
Chapter 245: The Lord of Billions of Demons
Note: In mythology, creatures such as the three-headed dog, the nine-headed snake, and the chimera can all be called demons. So just like the previous [Evil-Slaying Sword] and [Immortal Fire], this is actually a commonly used term in Western fantasy novels.
The following is the text:
…
In the dark underworld, the sound of the river of fire rolling up and down could be heard. The waves formed by the lava would sometimes roll up the bones on the shore, making a hissing sound.
In the ever-expanding underworld, the lavender moonlight remained constant. Under its illumination, a dim yellow glow streaked across the gray plain.
Along the way, the dim light flickered unsteadily. Although it was moving very fast, it gave people a shaky feeling. However, no matter how it shook, it was still flying in the sky, flying straight towards a certain destination.
Through the flickering divine light, the brown hem of her clothes was clearly visible. There was no doubt that this was Gaia, who had left Mount Olympus not long ago.
Unlike the gods who have always walked in the world, Gaia has experienced a lot of things. She had just experienced the tribulations of the change of eras a few days ago, and when she woke up, she was hit by such a blow. The impact on Gaia can be imagined, so she did not return to the place where she used to live in seclusion, but came to the underworld.
Delphi had nothing left, and the few things left were nothing more than mocking the incompetence of the Earth Mother. However, she also did not return to her original body after a series of failures, because after suffering so many blows, Gaia still chose to leave instead of fighting to the death with the God King, because in her heart, she still had some hope.
Even if everything in the world has abandoned her, abandoned the original foundation of the existence of the world, Chaos is not only in the world. Even if all the life that has grown on her heavy body is against her, on the other side of the world, in the world dominated by chaos, there are other sacred existences. If the intelligent life regards her as nothing, then Gaia will come to the unintelligent; if the existence of order rejects her, then she will choose to embrace chaos.
In the past, among the four original gods born successively by Chaos, only the Abyss had no offspring born directly from the power of the original body. This might be a scene that the world order would be happy to see, but now, Mother Earth is ready to change it herself.
Let the Son of Chaos come to the world... As the incarnation of the other side of the world, it will be like the "king" of the abyss, just like Zeus in the world. Just as chaos is hostile to order, the descendants of Tartarus will inevitably be hostile to the God King, and what Gaia needs to do is to let it come to this world.
As for how to do it, it is not difficult. There are two sun gods, but Helios has never been better than his father Hyperion. The goddess who controls fertility also has two generations, but Hera cannot be better than her in this regard.
"Ahem…"
"Cough cough cough…"
"call--"
Hope rose in his heart, but the fatigue in his body still existed, causing Gaia to stagger a little.
Violent coughing sounds continued to come from the divine light, and even her mind became a little fuzzy. A deep sleepiness swept over Gaia's heart. She knew very well that all these phenomena were signs that her personality was about to collapse.
The shackles of the world were as heavy as the sky, pressing down on Gaia, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. Her increasingly weakened strength made her remaining personality shaky and seemed to be about to completely disintegrate at any time.
Of course, although it looks like this, Gaia is still sure that this kind of thing will not happen. On the one hand, it is because she still has a little bit of strength left, and has not reached the point of being completely exhausted. On the other hand, it is because she is the original god after all, and her body is the support of the material plane.
Even though Gaia's connection with her body was not as close as other primitive gods due to her degree of personification, it still existed. This connection, which was closer than that between the first generation Titans and the symbol of their priesthood, made it impossible for her to completely fall, but it was also because of this that she felt so strongly "sleepy".
Because for her, the so-called "fall from greatness" actually has another more appropriate expression, that is "half eternal sleep".
As the Earth Mother, Gaia cannot be truly weakened to the level of powerful divine power. However, this is not a guarantee that she can do whatever she wants. She will just forcibly stop herself at the moment her status falls, and then transfer this pressure completely to the personification until it is forced to collapse and turn into nothingness.
Once that day comes, Gaia's will will be directly beaten back into her body to sleep forever in order to maintain her own power. But this time, she will no longer be able to choose when to wake up.
Maybe it will be ten thousand years, maybe tens of thousands of years, or maybe she will never wake up from her sleep. It all depends on her recovery and the changes in the laws during this period.
And after such a long time... no one knows what will happen.
"Huh... I still have a chance."
"Zeus...As the Mother of the Earth, my power is never limited to myself!"
Gritting his teeth and forcing himself to stay awake, Gaia continued to fly through the vast underworld.
Gray scenes flashed around her one by one, with occasional bright spots, but she no longer had the energy to pay attention to her surroundings. At this moment, Gaia just followed the intuition and continued to move forward, heading towards her brother who was born after her but never had any thoughts.
As they got closer, the aura of the laws that made the gods of the world feel instinctively disgusted gradually became stronger, until a certain moment, Gaia's semi-conscious mind shook slightly, and she temporarily woke up.
Looking up, yellow light fell to the ground. Gaia looked around, looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar place.
She had been here more than once, but she had never been inside. Not only because of the danger inside, but also because as one of the main bodies of the world, Mother Earth also disliked the chaotic atmosphere of the abyss.
But now, she has no way out. So standing on this black land infected by the power of the abyss, Gaia looked at the invisible portal formed by the overlap of Tartarus and the underworld.
This intersection of the laws connecting the inner and outer worlds releases a twisted and strange force, constantly washing the surrounding space like a tide. Even in the underworld, this place seems very out of place.
The underworld is, after all, orderly, but the abyss is not.
"Oh, I never expected that... In the end, you're the only one who hasn't given up on me..."
Gaia sighed and shook her head, as if she had lifted her spirits. Feeling the vastness of the abyss, Mother Earth opened her arms and began to release her divine power and origin.
Suddenly, strands of bright yellow filaments emerged from Gaia's body. They floated forward and intertwined with the chaotic airflow that emanated from the other side of the world. It was like one was embracing the other, just like at the beginning of creation, when the abyss was born in the underground, and the two were closely connected.
At the same time, following the power of the two entangled together, Gaia decisively conveyed her will.
Even though it lacks reason, the Abyss is still closer to "life" than the world. So He can give birth to offspring, as long as there is a mother body that can bear His power and the infusion of His original power.
"...Come, come... Tartarus, merge with me... I will accept your power and give birth to a new sacredness, and it will also become the bridge for you to touch the real world..."
Using strong negative emotions as a guide and great hatred as an excuse, Gaia, who was driven by her divine power to give birth to all things, tried to arouse Tartarus' desires.
Her power was no longer enough to avenge the gods, but the abyss could certainly do it. Even though Gaia still rejected and hated coming into contact with the power of chaos, and even though she knew that the offspring born in this way would never be as glorious and perfect as the gods, she no longer cared about that.
At this moment, the hatred in Gaia's heart has already overwhelmed them, and she only wants to make those who have failed her pay the price. So now, she only needs to -
"--Um?"
His expression changed, as if he had encountered something incomprehensible. On the black land, Gaia stared at everything in front of him.
In front of her, the place where Tartarus and Hades overlapped still existed, and indescribable power surrounded it. Gaia's origin was still entangled with the breath of the abyss. But at this moment, Mother Earth clearly felt that the power she had extended seemed to fall into the air, and no matter what kind of breath she released, the other party did not respond at all.
No, not only was there no response. There was even a faint feeling of rejection. It was as if the Abyss thought Gaia was some kind of threat and therefore refused to allow her to approach.
"Why? This feeling... How is this possible? This is impossible!"
"You are obviously just acting on instinct, how could you reject me?!"
Gaia lost her composure again as she spoke each word. Feeling the sense of alienation coming from the abyss, she couldn't help but feel it was ridiculous. Just after a nap, the world seemed to have changed. Now even the abyss that had remained the same for thousands of years was no longer the same as before.
Reproduction of life is an instinctive desire of the world, and Tartarus should be no exception. In the past, it was fine that the Abyss did not have the ability to actively reproduce life, but now that I have taken the initiative to give Him the opportunity, why would He refuse?
Unless, He has achieved His goal through another means. With the first one, Gaia's existence loses its meaning.
"No, no... maybe it just doesn't work outside... I should go in and take a look!"
The hope that had been ignited seemed to be shattered. Gaia gritted her teeth as she looked at this distorted space. The abyss was a place that even she did not dare to go deep into. It could even weaken the connection between the original god and her own body. But now that things had come to this, she could only go in and take a look.
So he took a step forward, and the world changed accordingly, and Gaia's figure became blurred. A certain transfer of time and space was taking place, but just when the transfer was about to be completed, an accident happened again.
Bang--
With a muffled sound, the originally ethereal body solidified into substance, as if it had hit something. Gaia reappeared in the original place and even took several steps back.
"Cough cough cough…"
The violent coughing sound came again, but Gaia just looked at the void in front of him in disbelief.
"You refuse me entry? Why, why on earth is that?"
Questions were raised one after another, but the abyss obviously would not respond. Facing the closed domain, the hope that had just risen in Gaia's heart was shattered again.
······
The lavender moonlight shines on the underworld, bringing some vitality to this gray land.
No one knew that at the entrance to the abyss, something happened that seemed ordinary but went against the original trajectory of fate.
Tartarus rejected Gaia and even directly shut her out, which was actually something that even Ryan had not expected. Because in his opinion, the birth of Typhon was destined, which involved the fate of the collision between the two worlds, so just like the replacement of the God King, the King of All Monsters must come to the world, which is also the ending that cannot be changed in any way at the present time.
However, whether or not one can understand it, or what the deeper reasons are behind it, the fact is that this is indeed the case. When Tartarus's core gave birth to his own life, He no longer yearned for new life; when another interface was opened up in his body, He instinctively began to reject any powerful existence that tried to enter His body.
And Gaia, no matter how weak she is, cannot change her essence as a primordial god.
"ah--!"
A sharp cry shook the entire underworld, echoing in the endless ashes. Countless low-level undead souls were instantly reduced to ashes, and in the Field of Truth, the Pluto Palace, which had just returned to peace, began to shake again, causing Hades, who was inside, to change his expression again and again.
He has not had a good time these past two days. The earth was shaking and the underground was also affected. He had to try his best to stabilize the core of the underworld and hope that the war on the ground would end soon.
But unexpectedly, Gaia came to Hades again after the end. This made Hades a little worried. After all, who could figure out what the Earth Mother was thinking? What if she suffered a loss at the hands of Zeus and wanted to take revenge on Hades?
It was hard to say for sure, but in any case, Hades could only wait for the result. No matter how weak Gaia's power was, it was still beyond his reach.
At the same time, the sharp voice of the Earth Mother also attracted the attention of other gods. Erebus and Lion, who had already returned to the surface, looked here and then looked away. The former thought it was just another impotent rage of Gaia, while the latter thought it was just a prelude to the birth of Typhon.
So half a day passed, when the underworld finally returned to peace, when Gaia calmed down, she was still standing alone at the entrance of the abyss, and no one paid attention to her behavior.
Lying on her back on the ground, the last hope of Mother Earth was extinguished. The gods of the world abandoned her, the primordial gods ignored her, and even the abyss, which only had instincts, resisted her entry in an almost impossible situation. At this moment, Gaia didn't know what the meaning of her existence was.
Extreme loneliness and despair, and the resulting desire for destruction. She wanted to destroy everything in the world and let everything feel her pain, but she sadly discovered that only in this matter could she attract the world's attention.
As long as she really dared to do so, the laws of the world would naturally respond to her with the same fierce response. She was not a complete greatness that merged with the original body, which meant that her existence itself was not that important.
She has even gradually come to realize that perhaps the best Earth Mother for the world is her, who is on the verge of collapse and sleeping forever in her body.
'...Come...'
"Why, why don't you just die? Why do you exist in this world? Why is everything against me..."
At first, she was still gritting her teeth, but then her voice gradually became lower. Gaia hoped that something could tell her the answer, but no one responded to her.
"..."
At this moment, she even had nowhere to go. Her own offspring, the sky, the sea, and the mountains all withdrew from this world, and all of this seemed to be hinting at something.
'...Come...'
Lying on the ground exhausted, he felt sleepy in waves. When the spirit that he had forced himself to hold on to calm down, what greeted Gaia was even deeper oppression from the world.
She once again released her power in the underworld. Even though it was not much, it was like adding insult to injury for the Earth Mother who was already in a bad state. Her thoughts began to become confused. At this moment, Gaia even felt that she was hallucinating. Something was waving at her and calling her to come.
'...Come...'
'...Come...'
"...Come!"
"who!"
Gaia suddenly woke up and "opened" her eyes, but she was shocked to find that she was no longer in the underworld.
A ray of light hung in the sky, and the dark red earth seemed to be soaked in blood. In the middle of that sky and earth, chains extended from the void and were tied to an indescribable scarlet giant shadow. The "arm" she had just seen was actually one of its branches.
Life... perfection... unity... all these vague concepts were understood by Gaia. Looking at the giant tree from afar, she seemed to be looking at some absolute truth.
"W-where is this...how could I--no!"
"This is still the underworld... I haven't moved at all."
With a shock, Mother Earth's scattered consciousness became clearer. She looked around intently, and this time, Gaia quickly noticed something was wrong.
Whether it was the dark red earth or the huge and holy tree, they were all fake, or more precisely, they were all reflections from a distant space. The only thing that was real was that branch.
It was a translucent red branch, and its crystal leaves looked like the most perfect work of art, or in other words, its existence itself was the synonym of "perfect life".
It defines the ultimate of life. Looking at it, the content that I understood from the [Life Aquarius] in the past is so insignificant. In front of Gaia, this branch has been shaking slightly, and a certain power, although small, but of unimaginable essence, emanates from it. It is this power that has affected the perception of Mother Earth before.
Obviously, from the perspective of 'quantity', it is not as strong as the weakest true god, but with its supreme essence, it temporarily confused the judgment of the original gods. Even if Gaia is in a very bad state, this is enough to shock people. However, for the Earth Mother at this moment, while watching the strange scene in front of her with vigilance, she actually felt inexplicably happy.
"what do you?"
"Why did you come to see me...?"
Speaking softly, anyway, this strange existence hidden behind the scenes was the only one who responded to Gaia at this moment. So out of some subtle psychology, she actually developed a little liking for him.
"..."
"..."
'...look...'
"..."
It seemed that it could not express its meaning clearly. As the branches swayed slightly, no further information was transmitted. Only a flash of light and shadow slowly appeared in front of Mother Earth.
It was a somewhat strange world. In a "vibrant" realm, there was a giant tree that symbolized life and eternity, and all spirits lived and worked in peace and harmony. But everything did not last long. One day, the stability was finally broken. Some kind of power from the outside world penetrated into this world, suppressed the power of the giant tree, and began to devour and plunder the entire interface. Soon after, another of its minions came to this world and saw the beauty of this place and the specialness of the giant tree.
The black figure was so powerful and confident that he simply attacked the giant tree, and the giant tree was forced to fight back. During the fight, because of carelessness at the beginning, a branch pierced into the black-clothed man's hand, and then turned into power and stayed in it.
Lights and shadows flickered, and scenes flashed by quickly. Another figure arrived, and he joined forces with the previous black shadow to fight the enemy, but the giant tree still did not lose. But the victory or defeat at the world level ultimately belongs to the world. The giant tree did not lose to the outsider, but was eventually sealed up as the interface power collapsed. From then on, the image of him disappeared, and in the constantly flashing scenes, only the broken branch remained.
As the light and shadows flowed, this unexpectedly unsealed power seemed to have experienced a lot. As time passed, after being expelled several times without success, the power of this branch finally attached itself to a mass of flesh and blood. Finally, the black shadow, who had been hurt by this, took them out one day and handed them over to a figure that Gaia was familiar with.
That was her former servant, and one of the leaders of the nymphs beside the Earth Mother. But that figure was no longer as weak as before, but exuded a powerful aura. Behind her, the tall golden apple tree swayed gracefully.
"…"
"…"
"…"
The video ended, and everything became clear. The boundless chill penetrated into his bones, but this time, Gaia did not make a fuss.
After calming down, she has become much more sober. Gaia knows that such behavior is nothing more than a meaningless release of emotions and will only make people laugh at her.
But with the end of light and shadow, this ancient Earth Mother Goddess figured out many things and solved many doubts.
Chaos used his power to suppress the fragments outside the realm, and Erebus and Lion arrived one after another, as well as... his former maid, Moanda.
Perhaps Zeus was not the mastermind - he was just an accomplice of the Lord of Darkness, and even Ryan was involved. It was his power that caused Moanda to occupy the golden apple tree as a body in some way. But according to the description of light and shadow, the annoying spiritual master was probably not the final winner. He was set up by Erebus and Zeus. So at the end of the "film", the fruit tree and the artifact belonged to his brother who was hidden in the dark, Zeus got the golden apple and the friendship of another primitive god, while Ryan, who also participated in all this, got nothing.
This also explains why Ryan suddenly attacked the gods a few days ago, and why Erebus protected them. Gaia, who was blinded by anger before, had not thought about it carefully, but now, she felt that she finally saw the truth.
Like her, Ryan was also dissatisfied with the actions of the God King and the Dark Lord. However, he was not as impulsive as herself, but chose a suitable time to retaliate, and even chose to give up temporarily after being blocked at the first time. Perhaps for the original god, this is the most reasonable behavior. The eternal god should not care about the temporary victory or defeat - but Gaia also knows that if she can keep calm, she will not end up like this.
It is easy to change the country, but it is difficult to change one's nature. Some things cannot be changed just by knowing them. But now that everything is clear, Mother Earth has turned her gaze away.
"The underground world? This should belong to me!"
She spoke in a low voice, carrying a monstrous hatred. Now, Gaia just wanted to go there immediately, capture the elf who betrayed her master, and let her feel eternal pain. However, she had just taken half a step, and seemed to think of something, and the Earth Mother couldn't help but stop.
Erebus... Gaia, who had calmed down a little, finally recalled the gap between the two. She knew that, unlike Zeus, even if she didn't remember the suppression of the law, she had no chance of winning against the Lord of Darkness. No matter how much she spared, no matter how madly she fought, in the face of absolute power, she would never be able to defeat her brother.
So, she needs help.
"What about you? What is your purpose and what do you want to do?"
Turning around and looking at the branches swaying in the void, Gaia suppressed the emotions in his heart.
An existence sealed by Chaos, an existence that can tie with two great divine powers even under the suppression of the world, a sacred tree that dominates an interface, no matter what, He is definitely not a harmless thing.
Even his cunning brother had suffered a loss because of this. The Dark Lord, who had never come into contact with power of this level, had no idea that he had indeed expelled the power, which was like a thorn in the flesh, bit by bit, but it was not actually destroyed, but was hiding in secret.
This almost [immortal] nature... Gaia couldn't think of anything that could correspond to it for a moment. There was only one thing that could be equated with it.
That is the source of the immortality of the gods. Although Gaia felt that the degree of [immortality] of the branch in front of him was far from that high, the two sides were vaguely similar.
If it's power of this level...the Lord of Darkness and Zeus are no more than this.
"..."
'...you...'
"..."
'...born...'
"..."
The branches swayed again, and some vague thoughts came out of them, but Gaia easily understood what they meant.
He needs her and her power, and the reason why He chooses to appear before Mother Earth is precisely because of Gaia's previous hatred for the heavens and the earth, and the authority she displayed when facing Tartarus.
The divine right of [fertility]... This is the only thing He wants Gaia to do. He does not need to provide power, but only to be the mother, the most authentic and original god in the Chaos world, and let Gaia give birth to the mother tree and her offspring, and then give this life an identity to walk in the world.
This new life was born with only two missions - to leave more "traces" on Chaos for the mother tree, and to obey the orders of the Earth Mother and help her accomplish some things - such as her desired revenge on the God King and the world.
"...So, you want me to betray the laws of this world and invite an outsider like you to invade?"
After a short silence, Gaia looked at the branches in front of him, as if he was talking to Him, or as if he was talking to himself.
"Of course you can, but you haven't given me enough."
Lightly clenching his fist, Gaia once again sensed the opponent's power. It was very strong and corrosive, but in any case, it was impossible for it to corrupt a primitive god while the laws of the world were still intact.
Although Gaia was increasingly disgusted by the order of the world, she would not allow the consciousness of Mother Earth to be infected by other things. So she finally made up her mind, thinking of her powerlessness in the face of Zeus and the pressure of the law that still weighed on her.
"Mother... Tree... Yeah, I'll call you that."
"I can agree to your request, but if it has it, I should have it too."
"You must also leave a portion of the power you gave it to me."
...
Silently, in the corners of the underworld, the remnants of foreign lands reached an agreement with Chaos, the mother earth, and thus a seed of new life began to grow in the depths of the earth.
It carries the fate of Typhon, but it is more than that. In this increasingly unpredictable world, it will surely leave more traces on the world and change the direction of destiny.
[The Lord of Billions of Demons], some people in later generations called it this; others believed that it was a symbol of depravity, the source of many [evil things] in ancient times, and the beginning of many disasters in the material world. But in any case, as the son of the [Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood], there is one point that is recognized by later mystic scholars.
The end of the ancient Third Archaic Era is closely related to it, and in that lost history, it must have been an indispensable existence.
Chapter 246 Mingta and Advice
The center of the underworld, the garden of truth.
Unlike the edge where Gaia is now, even the underworld, which has always been desolate, is inevitably a little different at its core.
The tall Pluto Palace was built here, and there were many strange buildings built around it. Their existence was like a decoration, making the gray interface look more lively.
But that was a few days ago. Now, this place that suffered an unexpected disaster does not look so intact.
"Hua La La—"
"--Bang!"
With a loud bang, Hades' mouth twitched slightly. He looked at the wall that collapsed just because he supported it, and his pale face was inevitably a little dark.
This was not an isolated case, similar situations were everywhere. Facing this sudden disaster, Pluto didn't know what to say.
This was not the first time. Previously, because of the Dark Moon Goddess, the newly built temple had been destroyed once, and now, not long after, it was destroyed again.
Except for the main hall where he lived, which was still intact, the huge Garden of Truth was in a mess. Even though Hades never cared much about these superficial works, he was still a little angry.
But he could only do so. After all, it was Zeus and Gaia who caused all this, and judging from the situation in the previous battle, neither of them was someone he could afford to offend now.
Helplessly, Hades could only admit that he was unlucky. He once again glanced around, then waved his hand, and along with an invisible wave, some information was also transmitted.
Soon, a warrior in armor came from afar, knelt on one knee, and expressed his loyalty to his lord.
Although he was a warrior, the negative energy around him and the faintly burning soul flames all indicated that he was a ghost. This was also one of Hades' achievements in recent years, a being resurrected from the remains of a bronze man.
And the most important thing is that the one in front of him is a little special. He is one of the few beings with strong life energy before his death, so he lived a little longer in the flood. For such a "high-quality element", Hades naturally couldn't help but act in advance when the other party was on the verge of death and turned him into a dead life manually.
The other party did not disappoint Hades. In just a hundred years, he became a rare and powerful existence among the dead. And most importantly, he was loyal to Hades.
So Pluto naturally took him in as his close minister, and even expected him to learn more and become his right-hand man.
"Evans, what are the casualties?"
"And during the turmoil just now... Never mind, let's not worry about this."
Shaking his head, Pluto's question went straight to the point without saying anything extra.
Although it has not been long, and although there are not enough of these intelligent higher-level undead, let alone any devout faith, Hades has gradually realized the benefits of the power of faith.
Moreover, as a true god who holds half of the authority of the underworld, he keenly noticed that as the number of lives increased, the power of the underworld itself seemed to increase.
It's just that there is some difference between the undead and the living, and there is no true god with similar authority in the underworld to sort out these changes, so at present, this change is not drastic.
But no matter what, it was good to be able to move forward steadily. As a god who had reached the pinnacle of his priesthood not long after appearing in the world, Hades still felt intoxicated by this slowly increasing feeling. Then, the continued existence of the higher undead was also placed in his heart.
But this kind of thing cannot be rushed, Pluto can only wait for time to give the result - provided that no one creates trouble for him every other day.
"Your Majesty, apart from the collapse of most of the recently constructed buildings, there are no obvious signs of casualties, but..."
After a moment of silence, the warrior called Evans continued,
"The power contained in the previous voice can directly affect the stability of the soul fire. For the high-level undead who have awakened their wisdom, they can just endure it. But for those who are not yet conscious, it is a little difficult to resist."
"…"
Having understood the implication of Evans' words, Hades felt heartbroken again for his own unexpected misfortune.
Among the bronze human corpses collected from the earth before, only less than 100,000 now have relatively stable thinking, and even recalled some of their body's memories before death. The rest have not yet completed this step.
Now, with the Earth Mother's shout, their soul fire collapsed, forcing Hades' plan to be postponed again. At this moment, Hades, who had never disliked Gaia, couldn't help but feel a little annoyed with his grandmother.
If Zeus provokes you, just go find him. Why do you have to come and harm my underworld?
"...I understand. You can go and arrange the reconstruction first."
"The dead are endless on earth. It's just a waste of hundreds of years."
Trying his best to act as if nothing had happened, Hades waved his hand, and in front of him, the undead warriors also saluted and left on their own.
Soon, the quiet Garden of Truth became noisy, and a large number of undead creatures began to get busy, clearing the broken buildings and laying the foundation for new ones.
After watching for a while, seeing no other changes, Hades quickly returned to his still intact temple. Sitting on his throne, he couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency in his heart.
Hades had always acted calmly, because referring to the previous two eras, the first one or two thousand years after the God King took office were usually peaceful. According to his plan, this period of time was enough to increase the power of the underworld by a considerable distance, and also allowed him to reach the peak of powerful divine power.
But plans cannot keep up with changes. The power suddenly displayed by Zeus made Hades feel extremely fearful, but also somewhat envious.
Before today, Hades was not afraid of his brother in the underworld. With the blessing of half of the underworld, there was almost nothing that could really threaten him. But with the battle between Zeus and Mother Earth, this unrivaled power simply changed Hades' mind.
He had to do something, and it just so happened that, as the guardian of the oath, Zeus owed him a condition.
"...Mingta, have you found the person I asked you to look for?"
With his eyes flickering, Hades asked the maid beside him.
"Your Majesty, not yet..."
Shaking his head, Mingta responded respectfully.
"No?"
Hades frowned and said nothing. He just thought for a moment and then made a decision.
"Then just put this matter aside for now. I'll find another way."
"What?"
With a cry of surprise, the Water Fairy raised her head slightly. Looking at the gaze of her master, Mingta gritted her teeth and continued:
"Your Majesty, why bother yourself with this? The gods on earth will not like the underworld. I..."
"——That's enough!"
Wow——
With a cold shout, an invisible airflow swept through the temple. Almost instantly, Hades understood why the other party had not completed his explanation.
It turns out that it's not that she can't do it, but that she doesn't want to do it. He knew that this nymph had always had some kind of delusion - such as getting involved in the position of the Queen of the Underworld, but Hades didn't expect that she would dare to neglect the task he had assigned her for this.
Before, Hades didn't care much about her idea, because there were many nymphs with similar delusions in Olympus. But perhaps because of the emptiness of the underworld and her own importance, Mingta not only had an idea, but also tried to put it into action.
Hades originally thought that time would allow her to see the reality clearly, but the reality was just the opposite. Not only did she not give up, she even dared to disobey his orders!
"Recognize your identity, Mingta. You can't do what I want, and you can't bear this power. In the next hundred years, use your identity as a nymph to find the daughter hidden by my sister... This is the last chance."
He spoke lightly, and with a wave of his sleeves, he roughly swept the maid out of the palace. If there was no one else available, he really wanted to wipe out this smart guy directly.
"Go and find it. If you can't find it... then you don't have to come back. Just like you said, life on earth should stay on earth."
"--His Majesty!"
BANG——
The main door of the shrine was tightly closed, separating the inside and outside, and also blocking Mingta's voice. Sitting on his throne, Hades rubbed his brow.
The entire underworld is filled with either local gods whose personalities are as bad as their duties, or silent dead spirits. The only water fairy who can do things always has this or that idea. At this moment, he is more and more eager to have a queen of the underworld.
He didn't care about power or enjoyment, as they could all be shared. He just wanted the underworld to grow stronger. But for some reason, even this small request was always blocked by others.
······
brush--
On the earth, lightning was wandering in the air, sweeping across the vast land. It was the incarnation of the God-King.
Following a deliberately leaked breath, Zeus' figure flashed in the sky. The war had just ended, and there was no landform around Mount Olympus. It was not until a long time later that he could gradually see ridges and depressions, or swamps and forests on the ground.
However, the voice that called him before should still be farther away - of course, Zeus did not rush forward. His incarnation just flew forward at a normal speed, and taking this opportunity, the God King pondered the whole process in his mind.
There are still many doubts about what happened in the past few days. Moreover, unlike Gaia, Zeus is very clear about some of the problems. For example, since he really did not steal the golden apple, then the person who actually did it must be someone else.
Referring to the two fleeting auras not long ago, the collision of darkness and mystery, it is almost clear who the real thief is.
The Dark Lord or the Spirit Lord, they were both suspects, or maybe they did it together. What puzzled Zeus was that it seemed that these two primitive gods had some kind of malice towards him - also unlike Gaia, Zeus could sense Erebus's intention.
He was spying on the essence of his ritual, and was also trying to isolate the gods' blessing on Zeus, the pillar of the kingship. Although judging from the final result, his ritual was very effective and the other party's behavior was a complete failure, the attitude behind it still made the king of gods wary and vigilant.
Of course, Zeus was not too afraid of the other party despite being vigilant. After all, since they had already crossed this boundary, even if there was a gap in strength between the two sides, it would probably not be an instant kill. Just like when many Titans fought against the greatly reduced power of the Father at the end of the First Epoch, even if they were beaten almost without any ability to fight back at the beginning, if they insisted on holding on, it would definitely not be a battle that could be ended in a short time.
Unfortunately, there is no room for a long war in the world today. In this situation, the God King is naturally fearless.
Of course, there was another reason why he was fearless - after all, he was just an incarnation, so no matter what the result was, it would not have any serious consequences.
Lightning flashed, and mountains and rivers were left behind. After a while of thinking, a towering mountain gradually appeared before Zeus's eyes.
And to the God King's surprise, the place in front of him was very familiar to him. In fact, he had been here more than once in the past.
Delphi Plain, Parnassus Mountains. But unlike in the past, now the area within a thousand miles of this mountain range is dead silent.
"Oh, you're telling me straight, you were the one who took the golden apple tree... Well, let me see what you're going to do."
Zeus thought to himself and flew down to the mountain. However, he looked around and found that there was no one there. He had no idea where the original god who had released his aura to lead him was. It was as if he was just playing a joke on him.
"Since you have lured me here, why bother playing such a trick?"
With a calm expression, Zeus simply said in the face of this situation.
"I just wanted to see what's so special about your authority as a God King... But now it seems more like an authority that is both 'omnipotent' and 'omnipotent'."
"And come to think of it, I thought you didn't dare to come see me."
Zeus was startled by the sound and turned around, and Erebus was standing under a lifeless tree.
The other party should have never left, but just concealed his presence. If Gaia was here, he could probably sense the other party's presence through his sense of the earth, but the God King could not do that.
Just as the Lord of Darkness said, the authority of [Royal Power] is closely related to the divine power bestowed by God. He can influence almost any rule, but he is far inferior to the gods who are really good at this. It feels like a worldly rule that has been infinitely weakened.
But the rule of the world is "all strong", so Zeus is "all weak". In a real battle, an absolute advantage is far more useful than "no weaknesses".
"Perhaps it is like this now, but it won't be like this forever. As for whether I dare to come... the ancient god who controls darkness, as the god king who rules the world, there is nothing in this world that I dare not face."
Although it was their first meeting, strength was the best "business card". Looking at the primitive god in front of him, the God King did not argue about the strength of his authority. He just said loudly:
"But Your Highness Erebus, should you give me an explanation for what happened before?"
"Explain, what explanation do you want?"
Zeus's meaning was obvious. He was talking about the Dark Lord's previous attack on the gods. Opposite him, Erebus also stopped smiling.
"Of course, you should have respect for the person you are seeking to cooperate with."
With a slight smile, feeling the implicit pressure that suddenly began to come from all around him, the God King became more confident in his own judgment.
"You wouldn't come to me for no reason. Maybe you need me to do something - or at least you need the living God King to do something."
"In this case, I seek an explanation, shouldn't I?"
The atmosphere froze for a moment, and a certain huge aura became more and more condensed. Zeus calmly looked at the Lord of Darkness. Although he did not want to become an enemy of this primitive god yet, he also knew that he must not fall into an absolute disadvantage before the conversation even started.
Blindly giving in will not bring good results, especially under the premise that one has some ability to have an equal conversation. Calling over when being called has already shown one's attitude. Now, it is the other party's turn to show the least bit of goodwill.
"…"
"...Moanda."
There was a moment of silence, and no one knew what he was thinking. But just when the pressure emanating from all around was about to disintegrate the incarnation of the God-King, Erebus stopped.
He glanced at Zeus, then called his men. With a flash of green light, Moanda appeared beside the Lord of Darkness.
"Who is…?"
Without saying anything arrogant, Zeus expressed his doubts at the right time. The king of gods felt an inexplicable sense of closeness to the strange god in front of him. He seemed to have some kind of connection with this goddess whom he had never met before, which made him feel good about her and almost let down his guard.
Of course, this was just a feeling. In fact, the God King was always on guard.
"Since you want an explanation... then let her be my explanation. Your ritual should also require the participation of someone like her, right?"
With a smile on his face, Erebus continued:
"As for who she is... Heh, wasn't Gaia here just for her? Letting Moanda join your court and become what you call the 'main god' makes it all just right."
"Golden Apple Tree?!"
It was a little hard to believe, but Zeus finally understood the source of this strange feeling.
There is indeed a connection between him and this god named Moanda. The other party is indeed a natural candidate for the main god, because from the perspective of mysticism, Moanda is even the "half mother" of the God King.
The God King once used a golden apple to represent his death, dyed the sacred stone red with his blood, and made it exist for many years in the name of Zeus. In a sense, the sacred stone is the other half of the God King. Although the power in it has been taken away by Apollo, the concept it possesses has not diminished at all.
In this case, as the consciousness of the golden apple tree, the relationship between Moanda and Zeus is naturally self-evident.
However, the accident was only for a moment, and soon, the God King regained his composure. He looked at the Lord of Darkness in front of him, this was not just a simple "explanation".
Although no one knew how the golden apple tree suddenly became a god, it was not an ordinary thing to make it one of the twelve key "pillars".
"If I let her become the chief deity of the Divine Court, how can I guarantee that she won't betray me?"
Zeus naturally expressed his doubts when he asked directly about the essence of the matter. Compared with his own blood relatives, Moanda was obviously an "outsider" who was not trustworthy.
"You can't promise it, and I'm not going to promise it. In fact, this is why her existence is meaningful."
With a light chuckle, Erebus expressed his meaning without disguising it.
Moanda's existence is not a simple "explanation", but a bridge of communication between the two sides. When the relationship between him and Zeus is still good, nothing will happen. But if the relationship changes, the elf may be recalled at any time.
Of course, this was not a fatal threat to the God King. The other party's departure would only cause his power to decline for a period of time, and as long as a new God took over, he could recover.
"…So, what do you need me to do?"
After thinking for a while, he seemed to have tacitly accepted this result. Before there were enough "own people" to fill the vacancies, it would not be a bad idea to use others to fill the vacancies. However, Zeus still seemed a little confused about what the Lord of Darkness wanted him to do.
Giving such a gift right after meeting... In fact, the explanation Zeus wanted before was just a half-hearted apology at most.
"Don't worry. You will know what I want you to do later. If you want to refuse at that time, it will not be too late. Moreover, I will give you corresponding rewards at that time - such as golden apples. Moanda joining your divine court does not mean that the fruits she bears belong to you."
He said with a smile, seeing that the matter had been settled, looking at the God King in front of him, Erebus suddenly looked a little strange.
"So now, has this simple agreement been reached?"
"…I have no reason to refuse."
Zeus nodded. Naturally, he would not refuse such a free benefit. He was even happy to see it happen.
At least one primitive god whose attitude was unclear before suddenly became half his friend. Perhaps when he was an enemy of other primitive gods in the future, he could make him a helper by paying some price.
"Very good, now that the agreement has been reached... then as your senior, let me give you another piece of advice."
"advice?"
Although he was somewhat confused, the God King was still very interested in this.
As a god born at the beginning of creation, perhaps the other party wanted to tell him some ancient secret history to reveal his status, but it didn't matter.
The God King was pleased to see this happen.
"Please go ahead. I am all ears for your warnings."
"Very good, young God King. Since you are willing to accept it, that's great."
He raised his hand slightly, as if he could see what the God King was thinking, but at this moment, Erebus just smiled happily:
"It's nothing special... But Zeus, you have to remember that in Chaos World, some things are isolated cases."
"For example, not every primordial god... is as incompetent as Gaia."