"We are different."
Standing in the sky of the underworld, not a drop of blood flowed from Hades' broken arm.
It was as if that limb had never existed. Some terrible force prevented Hades' body from regenerating, making it difficult for him to recover to his original state.
But at this moment, Hades ignored the incompleteness of his body and the pain he felt from his priesthood. He looked at the outsider in front of him and met his gaze under the pressure of a mountain and a sea.
There was no emotion... Hades could not see the slightest feeling of looking at life in the other's eyes. It was as if the other was not looking at another god, but an object, a lifeless dead thing.
Even worse than how gods look at mortals... Hades didn't know that even if his own "divinity" had not reached the point of being indifferent to all living beings, Ryan could not have any emotions towards the existence of a false world. He just thought that this was a sign that the other party had made up his mind.
So at this moment, Hades let go of all his past cognition. He didn't know why the other party really dared to attack the underworld, nor did he know what he meant by "different", but perhaps, just as he said, this powerful god who suddenly appeared really had some unknown means.
The perception was giving out warnings like crazy, and that was a warning from the underworld itself... Although according to common sense, no matter how powerful the force was, it would be impossible to harm the foundation of the underworld, but Hades believed more in the intuition of the innate gods.
If it were in the past, just like when he was fighting for the throne of the God King at the beginning of the era, Hades might have chosen to retreat from the earth to the netherworld. But now, behind him was the netherworld, and he had nowhere to retreat. At this moment, Hades actually felt a little regretful.
Unlike his reality, the underworld in the original trajectory had no undead, and Zeus's experience was much smoother... This made Hades recall that day. Maybe he shouldn't have given up... Even if he failed, it was better than being like this now, even after waiting for half an epoch, he still didn't see any possibility of moving forward.
But in reality, if you miss it, you miss it. It seemed like a long time had passed, but in fact it was only a moment. Looking at Ryan in front of him, Pluto, who had nowhere to retreat, took a step forward.
"Come--!"
The earth trembled slightly, and the underworld, which looked like a doomsday scene, seemed to have also felt the will of Hades, and it burst out with unprecedented power.
The gray light in the sky surged like a tide, rising inch by inch into the sky. This was the peak of Hades' power, the instinctive resistance of the underworld after being hurt. The power of the innate god rose steadily under the passionate emotions, which was enough to make any true god in the world retreat. Unfortunately, in front of the enemy it faced, these struggles were just useless.
With his left hand, he pressed down into the void, and the rising moment was stopped, causing the underworld to tremble. With his right hand, he threw out the black sword, and the condensed power of [Death] immediately disintegrated into mist, which floated in the air and then solidified into a long chain. Under Ryan's will, it swam through the void and bound the body of Hades.
Originally, the god of death Thanatos in mythology had such a chain, but it was a divine tool made for him by the god of craftsman Hephaestus. This weak god of death used it to hook away the souls of mortals - he is still busy in the human world and has not returned to the underworld, let alone the opportunity to witness what true "death" looks like in even the illusory world.
But like many Chaos gods, Thanatos's shallow wisdom is far inferior to that of mortals. He was deceived by a king and bound by his own artifact, becoming the first god to be imprisoned by humans.
Of course, facing the immortal gods, the king's fate is obvious. After all, humans may be able to defeat the gods temporarily, but if they lose once, the price will be eternal.
But now, with the same authority and the same style of chains, the creature of Death locked Hades firmly in mid-air.
Crash——
The fierce struggle caused the sound of chains colliding, but Hades' resistance was obviously ineffective.
There was no third person in the sky at this moment. Those underworld gods who had ascended with Hades had long since disappeared. Moreover, it was still spring in the human world, and even Persephone was still with her mother, completely unaware of what was happening here.
So hanging alone in the sky, in front of Hades, Ryan's expression couldn't help but become solemn.
He reached into the void again, and this time, Ryan pulled out a stone sword. When he grasped the hilt, it seemed to trigger some kind of rule, and golden flames suddenly ignited around him, but it did not hurt him at all. Instead, it was like adding a golden cloak, fluttering in the sky of the underworld.
This is [Great Sun Burning Body], a curse that is hard for ordinary true gods to bear, and is the legacy of the ancient sun god whose consciousness was separated. It will burn any existence that tries to use it, so that the weak cannot hold it, and the strong do not need it.
But at this moment, what Ryan needed was not the strength of its power, but the nature of its authority. If a system cannot be destroyed from the outside, then it can be decomposed from the inside. And the best way to do this is to insert something that is incompatible but cannot be destroyed into this sophisticated system.
Shining——
The stone sword broke through the air and pierced through Hades' chest, but the two sides seemed to be not on the same level of time and space.
There was no sound of a blade piercing flesh, and behind Hades, no sword tip broke out of his body. At this moment, only Ryan knew that this sword was actually pierced deeply into the source sea through some kind of connection, symbolizing the origin of the underworld, using Hades's priesthood as a medium.
In the illusory world, there is no protection from the laws of the real world, so the [Sun] easily penetrated into the [Underworld]. For a moment, the whole world seemed to be still for a moment, and then endless light and heat radiated from the sky of the underworld.
The dark sky was replaced by light, and the shadow of a sun hung high in the sky, burning the dark grey earth. Wisps of mist rose up and then dissipated into nothingness in mid-air.
Looking at all this, Ryan finally nodded, because he could clearly see that his attack was really effective.
Hades is not the original god, and the land of the underworld is just the manifestation of the material world. If before, the power of [Death] only destroyed the surface of the underworld, then now this stone sword is truly reaching the root.
In just a few short breaths, tiny cracks began to appear in the earth at the core of the underworld, and wisps of water vapor were also evaporating from Hades' body.
Attacking the outside world will only slightly affect the source. But damaging the source will definitely reflect on the external symbols. Just like now, Hades suddenly found that waves of heat were rising from his mind and then spreading to his whole body.
Crash——
"What did you do?!"
The sound of chains clashing rang out again, and Hades was struggling hard. At this moment, his power was dispersed and retreating, just like a section of tough steel wire inserted into a precision machine, its operation began to slow down, and even the internal "parts" were colliding with each other.
The entire cycle of the underworld was affected, and it gradually had a tendency to collapse. As the lord of the underworld, Hades could clearly sense this. However, being tied up in the air, he could do nothing.
Of course, as a "foreign object" inserted into the underworld, the stone sword attached to the [Sun] actually received more terrible pressure, but this was meaningless. Because in the whole process, neither the [Sun] nor the many powers that constituted the underworld were damaged, but as a whole, they were forced to "separate".
For the [Sun], it is the [Sun] whether it is separated or not, but for the many authorities that make up the underworld, when combined together, they are an underworld of their own, and when separated, they just have different powers.
Even a theocracy like [Underworld], which has obvious regional characteristics, is far from being like [Doom] and [Lies]. As the overall structure of the underworld is dismantled day by day, its status will be weakened.
"Very good... this is what I wanted."
Ignoring the false god's questioning, Ryan maintained his right hand in an empty grip. He was wrestling with this illusory underworld, preventing the stone sword attached to the Sun from being spontaneously expelled from the source by the cycle of the interface.
Although destruction is easier than construction, the structure and cycle of the world have "inertia". Even if this is just an illusory world, it is impossible for it to be completely dismembered in just a few moments.
"Seven days."
Ryan made a silent judgment, standing in the sky of Hades with a calm expression.
It was like dragging the netherworld on the ground and letting the sun shine directly into the underworld. After seven days, this place would completely collapse, and Hades, the original lord of the underworld, would also turn into smoke and dust under the shining of the sun.
······
Reality, Pluto's Palace.
Inside the tall and magnificent palace, Hades rested his elbows on the armrests, leaning back on his throne to take a nap.
The newly appointed Queen of the Underworld stood not far away. In front of her was a cradle in which lay a baby with a scar on his face.
Persephone rocked the cradle gently, singing an unknown tune. Invisible forces flowed through the child's shriveled body.
He was being transformed, from above ground to underground, from alive to dead, and of course, from dead to alive. He was favored by the power of the underworld and raised by the Queen of the Underworld herself, so in a sense, this baby could also be considered the child of Hades and Persephone.
Of course, since he didn't give birth to a child himself, he wouldn't become a true god. However, creatures born in this way, apart from immortality and authority, probably wouldn't differ much in pure power.
Time passed by minute by minute, and I don't know when the Queen of the Underworld sat back in her seat.
The transformation of the baby was not a matter of a day or two. After all, he had been baptized by Hestia's [protection] power. Moreover, Persephone's control over the power of the underworld was not so handy, and this delicate operation was also a laborious task for her.
Persephone closed her eyes and rested. She was in a good mood. Life in the underworld was indeed good. If it could be brighter, it would be even better...
"…"
"--stop!"
"Huh…"
Suddenly, an angry shout broke the peace of the temple, and the vast gray earth shook a little, but perhaps it realized something, and as the owner of the voice stopped, everything returned to normal.
Inside the Pluto's Temple, Hades suddenly woke up from his sleep. He gasped for air and looked around with sharp eyes, but all he could see were the pillars of the temple and the slender figure of the Queen of the Underworld.
"What's wrong with you? Did you have a nightmare? I didn't expect you to be frightened by nightmares."
She was startled at first, then she made a mocking remark. However, from Persephone's eyes, one could see a hint of obvious worry and alertness.
Gods rarely dream, especially dreams with bad contents. After all, the world today has never heard of gods who control dreams, so excluding the interference of external forces, nightmares themselves are likely to be bad omens from fate.
"… Phew, it's okay, probably just a warning."
The heartbeat slowly slowed down, and Hades slowly returned to normal. He waved his hand, signaling that the other party didn't need to worry, but it was obvious that the Queen of Hell's curiosity had been aroused.
"What did you dream about?"
"Were you imprisoned in the Abyss, or was someone driven from the throne of Hades?"
Here are two guesses, which Persephone thinks are the most likely.
As for the others, I'm afraid they are far from enough to cause Hades to react so violently.
"...no."
Shaking his head, Hades denied it.
"What is that?"
Persephone became more and more curious and asked. And in front of her, after hesitating for a moment, Hades finally told the truth.
"It was actually an absurd dream... Actually, what I dreamed of was that the underworld was destroyed by someone."
Seeing the Queen's questioning eyes, Hades signaled her not to speak. He stood up from the throne and glanced across the plains outside.
The number of higher-level undead is growing, the size of the underworld is also increasing, and everything is developing in a good direction.
"This is the best choice..."
Whispering silently, Hades smiled and then said to Persephone:
"The memory of the dream is very vague. I don't know the cause and effect, and I don't remember the specific process. In short, it seems to be a bad ending."
"Without the dead, without power, I stayed alone on the throne until one day, a being radiating light descended into the underworld. He stood before me and declared that he would destroy the entire world."
"Then what?"
"And then he did it."
Sitting back in his chair, Pluto gripped the armrests.
He raised his head slightly, as if he was looking at the dark moon, or as if he was looking at the mortal world above the earth.
"He pulls the sun to the underworld or drags the underworld to the human world."
"Light and heat enveloped this world. Under the scorching sun, I was burned by the sun for seven days... There was no rain or breeze. In a place unknown to anyone, I turned into ashes together with Hades."
"This is the end of this dream... Interesting, isn't it?"
"…What's so interesting about that?"
Not quite understanding, Persephone couldn't help but ask.
"Well, I mean, what happens after he destroys the underworld?"
Pluto smiled at first, then shook his head.
"Forget it, this has nothing to do with me. It's just an absurd dream."
"The laws of this world are so great. Dreams are just dreams after all... In comparison, this underworld that belongs to me is the real world."
The virtual world, Olympus.
The sun rose in the east and set in the west, shining on the earth and mountains, as if it did not sense that another sun was rising underground. Zeus and the gods were still on the top of the mountain, enjoying the singing and dancing of the Muses while waiting for the "new god who was ignorant of the height of heaven and the depth of earth".
The gods didn't care about this time, but not every god was interested in it. Athena, for example, found a reason to leave early and returned to her palace on the sacred mountain.
Athena still had many doubts about this seemingly real world. It was not that she did not want to learn more about those strange gods, but reality did not allow her to stay there for long.
Because the Goddess of Wisdom who had merged with her other 'self' did not inherit the memories of her original body, every word she said might be noticed as abnormal - or no one might notice it, but in the absence of any certainty as to how long this sudden change would last, she naturally chose the most cautious one.
Walking on the white jade steps, Athena quietly admired the new view of Olympus. Perhaps it was because it was later, or perhaps it was because Hephaestus's skills were indeed better than those of the Cyclops. In short, along the endless network of the Gods Mountains, the temples that rose and fell looked more majestic and magnificent.
There are even some more distinct styles, which do not look like those of gods, but rather like gods being influenced by mortals. For those who have been living here, they have no feeling about this, but Athena feels it very clearly.
Gods and humans influence each other even if they themselves are not aware of it... Thinking silently, the goddess continued to move forward.
Her destination was her own library—although she did not know the layout of her own palace, Athena was confident that she would have such a place.
As expected, she found her own palace by following the divine power. Under the somewhat puzzled guidance of the maid, she easily found 'her own' study in the complicated corridor.
…
Tap tap tap…
Tap tap tap…
Squeak——
"Is this the place?"
The azure long skirt covered the figure of the "young" goddess, and a lavender belt was casually tied around her slender waist. Athena stretched out her hand to push open the door and looked at the scenery inside the room.
A huge circular library, with a large ring inside a small ring, and layers of bookshelves inside and outside. This was the first time Athena saw so many creations that recorded knowledge, and she couldn't help but smile as she watched this scene.
Regardless of whether this world is real or fake, there is one thing whose value will not change, and that is knowledge. And this place is probably the place with the most knowledge in the world. Due to the difference in priesthood, even the collection of the God King cannot compare with it - if Zeus is really interested in them.
"Yes, your highness, this is your study."
The fairy Nymph, who was standing by the side, bowed respectfully and responded in a low voice.
She was a little puzzled, after all, this was the library in the goddess' own palace. But the gods' affairs could not be questioned, and no matter why the other party asked her to lead the way, she did not raise any objections.
Among the Olympian gods, Athena is indeed the one with a relatively good personality, but no matter what, the other party is a god.
"very good."
Athena nodded and came back to her senses. She tilted her head slightly, looked at the maid who was looking at the ground, and then moved her fingers slightly.
With a thump, the nymph fell to the ground. The next moment, she was dragged up by an invisible force and placed on a small bed that the goddess had left in the library.
She would probably sleep for a long time until Athena had a complete grasp of the situation. The goddess didn't want to cause any more accidents while she was still unaware of it.
"Huh - now, it's time to see how the 'history' of this world differs from what I know."
Athena exhaled and walked forward. Her skirt dragged on the shining ground, and the goddess looked through the books that were stored in different categories.
Some of them were related to certain skills, some were biographies praising gods, or history books recording kingdoms. But after searching around, Athena couldn't find any documents recording the entire history of the world. She was a little surprised for a moment, and then she was a little surprised.
She almost forgot that books are written by intelligent beings. Humans need to record history to pass it on to future generations, but gods themselves are immortal beings. They do not need to record their past in books because their own memories are history books.
Therefore, gods will not record complete history, and mortals do not have the power and lifespan of gods, so it is impossible for them to write a history book spanning the years.
"So… do I need to summarize it myself?"
Athena frowned, then relaxed her eyebrows, looking at the books that recorded the gods and humans. The writers of these things were either believers of the gods or themselves, or scholars of the human kingdom, and the contents they recorded must contain some subjective judgments.
But as long as she sees enough and understands enough, Athena will be able to piece together the full picture of true history, just like playing with building blocks, and understand what has happened in this world in the past.
This is destined to be not a simple matter, but a huge and complicated project. After all, to find the most true one among the contradictory statements one by one, it requires not only wisdom, but also sufficient time and experience.
Fortunately, Athena was not without help, she had other ways to speed up the process. So the girl-like goddess took out an ancient scroll from her waist - the artifact that should have brought her into her memory but now brought her to another world.
This was the only thing the goddess brought in. Other than that, the clothes she wore, the [Spear of Victory] and the [Shield of Equis] were all things that the other 'self' already owned.
In the past hundreds of years of continuous use, Athena gradually gained a deeper understanding of the power of this book. It can not only read memories, but also be said that the function of memory is only a trivial appendage. Its real ability is to call up "existence", use "unchangeable", and it is also the portal of "history".
Memory is the summary and trace of the past, and is life's cognition of the past, so the exploration of memory is included in the function of this artifact. At this moment, with its power, Athena can easily collect the documents in the entire library, and then restore the most authentic scene of history from them.
This is much simpler. Artifacts related to [History] can naturally be easily judged as true or false... Standing in the palace, the goddess slowly untied the laces of the scroll.
The strap fell to the ground, and the artifact began to glow slightly. However, Athena did not rush to use it. She just stared at this natural creation for a long time, and then at a certain moment she spoke softly:
"It has been a long time since we last saw each other. I didn't expect to see you again here... It's a bit rude to say that I didn't have time to ask you last time. I wonder what your address should be?"
The transformation of the world came from the reading of memories, and all of this was controlled by this artifact. If this could still be an accident, then the phantom seen before confirmed that everything must be related to that mysterious existence.
Compared to understanding the history of this world, Athena actually wanted to know how to leave here. And the most important thing was to communicate with the person who caused all this.
And the other party did give a hint before... Thinking of this, Athena's expression became more certain.
"…"
"Buzz——"
There was no response at first. But after a while, the scroll that symbolized the goddess's hand suddenly trembled.
Athena loosened her hand, and then the volume slowly opened in front of her. On its originally blank title page, a streak of ink appeared.
"This is an accident. Before today, I didn't expect your memory to become like this."
"But I will put an end to this. As for my name..."
There was a pause, as if the being behind was thinking about how to address itself. After a moment, the ink trace continued, and a line of small words appeared on it.
"Compared to many creatures in this world, I am indeed born different. So if you need a name..."
"Then call me 'Yahweh'."
The handwriting appeared and disappeared, as if nothing had happened. But when the owner of the handwriting personally acknowledged this "name", in addition to the goddess, it was also remembered in the "heart" of the world.
The name of the Lord of the Spirit World itself has a certain unknowable quality, but the effect of this nickname is weakened. This is true for both the gods and the world.
Note: Yahweh is a Hebrew transliteration.
…
In the library, everything remained the same.
The candlelight flickered slightly, shining on Athena's fair face. The light seemed to reflect her mood, which was also somewhat elusive.
"I AM…"
Athena thought of this name silently in her mind, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.
Using a transliteration similar to an adjective as your name is not a unique practice. On the contrary, it is a name that is very consistent with the characteristics of the current era.
Just like Athena's nickname Tritogenia, which means "Zeus' third child after Apollo and Artemis." Of course, in this changed world, the order in which they were born also changed, so it was only in this illusory world that Athena heard someone call her that for the first time.
In addition, another name that Zeus often used to disguise himself in front of mortal princesses and queens in later generations - Cronides, is also an intuitive expression of "son of Cronus".
Therefore, it has to be said that the King of Gods openly used such a pseudonym and his identity was never discovered. It is not known whether Zeus secretly exerted influence, or the queens and princesses of the Chaos world were not that smart.
In short, this is a very reasonable nickname, which is widely circulated among the gods. However, even so, the words used as "descriptions" cannot be used casually.
The names of the gods were given by the world. They often possessed certain special powers and were strongly related to the gods. If the nicknames that one gave oneself were to have the same deep connection with oneself, they had to be "real" enough.
In this case, the goddess of beauty cannot even call herself the "most beautiful in the world", because this concept is tied to her divine post and the name "Aphrodite". If the influence of divine post is excluded, whether she is the "most beautiful" is still a matter to be discussed.
In addition to being sufficiently "real", this nickname often also contains a little meaning of revealing the noble status of the name holder. Just like whether Zeus and Athena like it or not, the biggest source of their identity, in addition to the authority bestowed by the world, is the status of their fathers as gods.
Therefore, from the former point of view, since this mysterious existence dares to use such a self-proclaimed name, it means that he is really as he said, "self-existent" and "eternal". The world has given the gods authority and power, but he is born with it; the world can deprive the gods of their divine power, but his eternity is always there. Athena doesn't know if the original god is like this, but even if it is, with Gaia's example, it is definitely not everyone who has such ability.
From the latter's perspective, such a being that is superior to all gods naturally does not need to use others to prove his dignity, because he himself is the source of everything.
"Excuse me, sir."
With a faint smile, Athena bowed slightly without any expression.
She was somewhat shocked, but more cautious. No one would show kindness to a stranger without reason. If someone did, there must be some purpose behind it.
"No problem."
"Something you are born with can't prove anything, so let's talk about you."
The ink marks appeared and disappeared much faster than before. Athena's heart moved slightly, perhaps the owner behind the handwriting was not idle either, he was doing something, and now he finally had some free time.
"This is a fake world, but it contains a relatively 'real' destiny. But now, all of this has been swept into the pile of history and will never be realized again."
"So, as for a way out of here...is there anything you want me to do?"
Still smiling, the bright-eyed goddess asked easily.
"It's not difficult to leave here. What's important is what's here... I was thinking about this question before, and your actions now have reminded me of it."
"This world is 'fake' but its original trajectory is 'real', which means that its existence is a true 'history' that should have been realized and recognized by Chaos itself, just as its trajectory is still a 'destined fate' recognized by Chaos."
The handwriting paused again, and then reappeared one by one. However, this time, the strokes of the ink seemed to carry a hint of inexplicable meaning.
"I will destroy this world, Athena, soon."
"The sacred mountain will collapse, and the world will return to nothingness... What you need to do is to use this artifact as a medium, and use this 'non-existent' history to achieve the birth of the [Book of History]."
Chapter 265 Black Rain
Mount Olympus, in Athena's circular library.
The brief exchange had come to an end, and the palace fell into silence again, with only the occasional sound of dripping wax being heard.
Ancient books floated in the air. Halos that were difficult to distinguish with the naked eye enveloped the bookshelves. Information was interacting, as if something was being absorbed and pieced together.
When the will of its true owner left, the artifact fell back into the control of Athena. Under her manipulation, the contents recorded in the library documents were extracted, screened and pieced together under the power of authority.
No matter what she was going to do next, it would not affect Athena's understanding of the past of this world. Moreover, after the previous conversation, the goddess's attention to these documents had also increased by more than one level.
After understanding what she was going to do, Athena finally understood the environment she was in. This was a false world, but it carried a complete destiny recognized by the world, and the reason why it turned from false to real was because her memory of the secret of the God King involved some terrible power.
Therefore, everything here can be believed, but not completely believed. Of course, in this matter, Athena believed that she still had the ability to judge, and this was one of the benefits she could get from this illusory journey.
All the information she learned here was a preview of the future, which would allow Athena to make more correct choices in the future or avoid many avoidable troubles.
"Like Hermes, Hebe, the Golden Apple, and... Hephaestus.
"It's really annoying."
As she checked and sorted out the artifacts bit by bit, the past of this world gradually appeared before Athena. And what she paid attention to first was naturally things related to the gods.
After all, in the Third Age, even though the world had been suppressed, it was still the gods who decided the direction of the world. Therefore, Athena would definitely pay more attention to this, especially those gods that she had never heard of in reality.
First was the young god whom he had met before, then the daughter of Hera who had not yet been born in reality, the goddess of youth Hebe... and Hera's only son, the god of craftsman Hephaestus.
Athena was in a good mood at first, but she didn't expect that she would find her own record in it. Although the document was vague, it probably only said that "after the god of craftsman was betrayed by his wife, he failed to woo the goddess of wisdom who came to forge weapons, and his essence fell on the earth, giving birth to Erichthonius", but just thinking about it, Athena knew that the process would not be so simple.
In public, "the essence was sprinkled on the earth"... Then think of another record in the literature, the god of craftsmanship covered his cheating wife and lover with a golden net, and then summoned all the gods to watch...
"He should have been born in reality... I'd better stay away from him from now on."
Athena made a decision secretly, and she thought it would be better to stay away from this god with a unique hobby. If he insisted on getting close to her, then her own artifact was no joke.
However, the value of these historical contents has increased again in her heart. Just like what this craftsman god did, although the harm was not great, it was extremely insulting. Athena felt that if such a scene was played out in reality, she would be disgusted by it for at least a thousand years.
········
The golden and red robe that was shaken out by the dawn gradually faded away, and the scorching sun was hanging high in the sky.
While Athena was still browsing quietly in her library, the banquet of the gods had just begun on the top of Mount Olympus.
Perhaps because he felt that he had just threatened the gods and would have to show his force again soon, the King of Gods now seemed to be much gentler.
The Muses, skilled in singing, dancing and art, danced in the hall, and the cupbearers of the gods poured the fountain of youth from their golden cups.
At the invitation of Hermes, Apollo took out his lyre and played the accompaniment music. For a moment, the atmosphere on the sacred mountain was very harmonious.
With a smile on his face, Zeus offered a glass of wine to his queen, and was naturally rejected. The king of gods was not surprised by this, after all, his previous order had angered the other party.
The cause of the current war on earth was originally the continuation of the conflict between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, but the grudges between the gods had already escalated it. So Zeus just drank the glass of wine himself and then quietly watched the feasting gods.
The atmosphere was so harmonious, filled with happiness and beauty, that the gods had long forgotten that wars were still raging in the world and that mortals were shedding blood for their will.
But there was nothing strange about this. To the eternal gods, victory or defeat in the human world was both important and unimportant. Power and face were just tools for gods to live more comfortably. The King of Gods would not have thought too much about this, but for some reason, he always felt a vague sense of unreality.
Everything in his memory was fine, and what he saw was no different from usual. But as he felt his power, which was enough to lift the earth and shake the world, a feeling of emptiness kept lingering in Zeus' heart.
When did this feeling come about?
"It seems to be today..."
"What today?"
"Father, please drink this cup to the full!"
A voice suddenly sounded from the side. Zeus turned around and found it was Hermes who had delivered the message before.
This son whom he loved the most never liked to call him "Your Majesty", but the God King felt quite good about it. If Zeus favored Apollo because he was the most outstanding among his children, then for Hermes, it was simply because he found some happiness as a father in him that he had not seen for a long time.
Although the king of gods himself knew that as a cunning thief and protector of merchants, no one knew which of Hermes' words were sincere, but he did not care. Because Zeus himself also understood why his other children were unwilling to get close to him.
So Zeus raised his glass again and drank it all in one gulp with a smile.
"Nothing, my child; I was thinking of the news you brought me some time ago."
"Since this era, fewer and fewer true gods have been born in the world. Only as a God King, my descendants often make exceptions. It is also a very rare thing for a new god to be born."
"Although it is indeed rare, this is all thanks to you, Father."
"Under your rule, the gods have been restrained, the immortals no longer wreak havoc on the earth like they did in the previous two eras, and the mortal city-states have become more prosperous."
Hermes said with a smile, placing his right hand on his chest.
"Perhaps this is the world's praise for your merits, or recognition of your achievements."
"Hahahahahaha…you're always so good at talking."
He laughed out loud at his son's compliment, and the God King had forgotten the slight sense of unreality he had felt before.
Yes, just as Hermes said, the world today is no longer the same as the previous two eras. The gods are in awe before the God Court, and he is the master of the sky and the earth, the king of all the kings in the world.
"Tell me, what brought you here? You wouldn't just come here to compliment me."
When the laughter stopped, Zeus asked.
He had already made up his mind that as long as it was not something too excessive, he would agree to Hermes' request... However, unexpectedly, the young god did not ask for any benefits.
"Actually, it's all for your sake... Father God, I was only halfway through conveying the will of the human world when I returned to the sacred mountain due to an accident. Now, I should continue to complete my mission."
"Humans have a different concept of time than we do." Hermes bent down again and smiled. "If we delay for a few more days, no one knows if something unexpected will happen."
"...Yes, you are right."
After thinking for a while, Zeus had to admit that Hermes was right, so he waved his hand, indicating that the other party could leave on his own.
"Then go ahead. It's just a pity. If you take too long, you won't have the chance to witness the new god bow down to me."
"No, Father God. Your power is so great, just like your character. I think I can see your supreme power even if I am far away in the human world."
"May your reign last forever, King of the gods."
After leaving the last words, the small wings of the flying shoes under Hermes' feet flickered slightly, and he immediately turned into a stream of light and flew away from the sacred mountain.
The gods just glanced at it and paid no more attention to it. After all, as the messenger of the King of Gods, he always came and went in a hurry.
So Hermes walked away like this, but as he turned his back to the sacred mountain and got farther and farther away, a hint of relief suddenly flashed in the eyes of the young god.
"I don't know what will happen here in a few days... Let's hide in the human world first."
"I'm not a fighter anyway. One more or one less won't make a difference."
The thought flashed through his mind, and after finding a direction, Hermes flew there quickly.
No one knew how horrified Hermes was when he found out that he couldn't control the shadow of the 'new god' after summoning it. It was like a mortal seeing the puppet in front of his bed suddenly come to life and 'smile' at him. At that moment, the young god's cold sweat had soaked his clothes.
I looked back at Olympus, and for some reason, the majestic sacred mountain had become a little blurry.
Shaking his head, Hermes stopped thinking about it and sped up again.
"Stay for a month first... No, stay for a full year. By that time, whatever it is, it should be over."
Gritting his teeth, the god who had dared to steal Apollo's cattle when he was just born thought to himself. Soon, only his fleeting light was left above the sky.
…
The last episode ended, and on the top of Mount Olympus, the gods were oblivious to everything. The sun rose in the east and set in the west, and soon, seven days passed in a hurry.
Nothing changed, and no one cared about these few short days. Until one day, when the gods were still drinking happily, a violent vibration suddenly came from the underground.
The mountains shook, the sea churned, and the banquet cups fell to the ground. The gods looked outside the mountain in confusion, and then their eyes focused on the king of gods at the top. This violent noise seemed to come from the underworld, and Hades did not come to the sacred mountain.
This made them curious, as no one knew what the usually honest Hades was doing. However, when they looked up, they only saw Zeus's surprised face.
"Your Majesty, what happened?"
A god asked, and Zeus observed for a while, then spoke with some uncertainty.
"Is that the law of the underworld... invading the earth?"
"What?"
Someone exclaimed, but then someone else questioned it.
"Your Majesty, this is probably impossible. Even if Hades is the Lord of the Underworld, he cannot do such a thing."
Yes, just like Zeus couldn't allow the laws of the world to invade the abyss, Pluto theoretically couldn't do something like self-destruction. But the God King, who was at the top and observed for a moment, nodded affirmatively.
"I don't really know, but that's the truth."
"The origins of the underworld seem to be rioting. They are flowing in all directions. If this continues--"
He was still explaining just now, but the next moment, Zeus suddenly stopped talking because he didn't need to say more.
In silence, the sky darkened. Heavy black rain drifted down from east to west, from south to north, from the ocean or land, and even between the stars. Endless rain flowed from the "high" place, which was a manifestation of the conflict of laws.
The rain contains the power of the underworld, and it is changing the environment of the real world... or, in other words, when the origin of the underworld is integrated into the real world, this is a change that is bound to happen.
The gods did not know that this was a sign of the collapse of Hades. As its structure collapsed, the laws that made it up would not disappear. They were just trying to integrate into the world on earth, and the black rain was the external manifestation.
However, what really made Zeus stop talking was not this, but the noise coming from the Source Sea accompanied by the black rain.
Hades is dead, and his final warning.
"That seems to be..."
After listening attentively for a long time, Zeus, who stood up from the throne unconsciously, finally heard the voice.
Despair, silence, relief, and his brother's final warning:
"It's an outsider...destruction..."
"He…has already come!"
Chapter 266: Yes or No
"This is what happened... Hermes, go to the underworld and tell me what happened there."
Outside the sacred mountain, it was bright a moment ago, but now it was dim. The color of the whole world was a little dark for a while, and standing in front of the throne, Zeus's power dispelled the chill in the air, but failed to dispel the chill in his heart.
Hades was dead, and the God King still didn't dare to believe it until now. He even preferred that it was some kind of misjudgment. After all, he had never heard of a god dying since the creation of the world.
So Zeus called his messenger and asked him to go to the underworld to take a look. After all, Hermes may not be the best among the gods in terms of speed, but he is still the main god worshipped by travelers. His unique authority allows him to easily travel between the two worlds and quickly travel between the earth and the underworld, which is why the king of gods asked him to be his messenger.
However, after a long time, no one in the temple responded to Zeus' call, so the king of gods looked around and finally set his eyes on Helios.
"…Your Majesty, Hermes has not returned since he left seven days ago."
Seeing Zeus looking at him, Helios had no choice but to respond.
"...Yes, that's true. He went there on my orders."
After a moment's silence, Zeus remembered this incident.
He thought he had returned, but now it was clear that he had not. Although several days had passed, Hermes was still in the world.
Maybe after completing the task he assigned, he went somewhere else to play, which was what he often did on weekdays. This was not a big deal, but now, he obviously couldn't spend time waiting for him.
"call--"
He let out a breath, and the hesitation in the God King's heart disappeared.
He admitted that he was a little scared just now, even though he didn't know who his enemy was. Although the immortality of the gods was an iron law since the creation of the world, the movement from the source sea was also true.
If two 'absolutes' conflict with each other, then obviously one of them has been violated, and this is what he is worried about.
Therefore, Zeus wanted someone to test it first, which was his usual habit. But when he calmed down, he gave up this idea.
If Hades's 'death' is indeed fake, then there is nothing to be afraid of. But if it is real...
"Well, everyone, come with me and take a look now."
The God King said calmly.
The next moment, with a loud roar, golden light flew from a palace on the sacred mountain and fell directly into the palm of Zeus. It was his [Thunder].
He hadn't used it for many years, because since Typhon, there were few opponents in the world worthy of his full strength. At this moment, holding the artifact that had accompanied him throughout the battle, Zeus felt calm.
If Hades is dead, then no matter what caused all this, as long as it has consciousness, it will never coexist with the gods... Since we have to face it eventually, what's the point of delaying?
The three generations of Chaos's kings may be different, but at least they are very similar. At least from the beginning to the end, when there is no escape, they dare to swing their swords at the powerful enemy.
So he walked out of the palace, stood on the top of the sacred mountain, and looked at the earth.
First, there were layers of gray clouds, which were arranged from bottom to top, as if separating the heaven and the earth.
Through these rain-infected clouds, the earth's tremors continued. The God King swung his right hand, and the shining silver snake on the Thunder fell from the sky like a chain, sinking deeply into the four poles of the earth.
"Come on, let me see what you are."
It was impossible to step directly into the underworld. Courage was not recklessness, so Zeus grabbed the other end of the chain and pulled it hard.
At first, there was no change, and the rumbling sound of the earth was also covered by the original vibration. However, soon, Olympus sank slightly, and the extremely vast stratum was pulled up by the God King and went up to the sky.
If you don't want to go down to the ground, then lift the 'lid', this is what Zeus thought. So the earth rose under his great power, and all living things wailed in despair. But no one could stop him, even the gods behind Zeus were shocked by such terrible power for a while, and forgot about their lives in the world.
Until the next moment, a bright light suddenly rose from the ground, splitting the earth into two parts.
······
"The seventh day."
In just a few days, the dark and deep underworld has changed its appearance.
The shadow of the sun hung high in the sky, becoming even more solid. It released stronger and stronger light and heat, making the gray earth seem to be purified, revealing a little black.
The underworld seemed to have lost some of its original characteristics, and it was gradually moving closer to the ordinary "earth". This seemed to be a good thing - if we ignored its other changes.
At this moment, standing in the sky and looking down, the originally vast underworld has been reduced to an area of less than 100 miles, and even at the edge, it is still constantly disintegrating and eroding. The originally vast space is now empty, and there is only the endless void that supports the existence of the world.
The void has no size, and even relative to the matter within the world, it does not even exist. If the outside of the world is "nothing" and the inside of the world is "something", then the void that carries the world is "something in nothing" and "nothing in something".
There is no matter here, which is also the appearance of the world when it was first created. Standing in the void at this moment, after being about to destroy a world with his own hands, Ryan also has a deeper understanding of the beginning of creation.
He didn't know why the world came into being, or how the first concept came into being from the absolute 'nothingness', just like later generations of humans didn't know how the heaven, earth and universe first appeared. They could only try their best to guess the initial state of all things, but in the end they couldn't explain how this was originally.
It's like the physical laws of the world, they are objective things, and if there must be a reason, it's that 'everything is like this by nature'.
So if we must give this "first driving force" a name, Ryan thinks "Tao" might be more suitable to describe it. And the first "one" born from "Tao" is the void that carries the world.
It is "there" in relation to the absolute "nothingness", but it does not exist in relation to all things in the world. It is on its basis that "one" gives birth to "two", and the mutually opposing yet unified matter and spirituality are born together. When the two meet, all things begin.
And now, the collapse of the world also follows this process. As the scope of the underworld becomes smaller and smaller, and more and more matter collapses, Ryan can feel that its spiritual part is also disintegrating. When everything ends, this place will return to the environment at the beginning of creation, with nothing but the void.
"So, I came to this world the latest, probably before the birth of 'Two'."
Ryan made a silent judgment. Although he didn't know what the use was, it didn't stop him from keeping it in mind. He had always paid much attention to the period when he was unconscious.
Click——
"Um?"
Ryan looked up slightly, his expression changed. He looked in the direction of the sound and found that not far below him, a small crack appeared on the black chain that locked an invisible object.
Hades' body had long since collapsed, and it was completely reduced to ashes under the scorching sun. But the chains of death could not only lock up the real things, so Hades still had no chance of escaping.
As for the chains that were beginning to break...it wasn't that they couldn't hold him anymore; on the contrary, it was announcing his end.
The black chain of Death will only lock up the living. When Hades irreversibly enters the end, it will lose its function and naturally have no value in existence.
When the chains completely disintegrated, Hades would die. However, at this moment, Ryan unexpectedly discovered that Hades seemed to be still conscious. Although he could no longer see his body, he was sure that he was looking at him and even saying something.
What needs to be done has been done, and Athena's arrangements have been made. So when this is over, Ryan plans to end this world cleanly. So after realizing this, he doesn't mind listening to what the other party is thinking.
Compared to the underworld, it would not take long to completely destroy this world. As he had said before, the fundamental reason why he had to wait for these seven days was to verify the process of the world's collapse. Otherwise, Ryan could easily end it all when the world's restrictions on his power were not in effect.
After all, the gap between the gods in this virtual world and their real selves is as huge as the gap between the power that built this world and the complete Chaos. Their strength only exists in the "setting". The "skills" that Ryan prepared were to deal with Hermenu. If it was just for this world, these things would not be used.
"…"
"…Outsider?"
Where the black chains intersected, a certain concept was slightly fluctuating. It could not make any sound, but when Ryan wanted to "listen", he could still hear it.
So he nodded and acknowledged the title
"Yes."
Perhaps it was to save himself. During these seven days, Hades' will and the gradually collapsing underworld were more closely combined than ever before. It was also because of this that he saw many things that he should not have seen.
The 'outsider' he mentioned was one of them. Although Pluto still failed to realize his false nature, he still saw that Ryan did not belong to this world.
"…"
"...You...are going to destroy the entire world?"
"Yes."
Nodding again, Ryan's expression remained the same.
"…"
"…"
There was a longer silence, followed by the sound of chains snapping.
The underworld below was less than a mile in radius. For a plane, this area was like nothing. Just when Ryan thought Hades was about to end like this, he heard the third question again.
"Why do you want to destroy us?"
Turning his head, Ryan looked at the concept that was about to completely dissipate. He thought about whether to say something, but finally gave up.
This is just an illusory world...so in the end, he just said lightly:
"If you must have a reason..."
"I think that's why."
…
"He…has already come!"
boom--
The last bit of residue dissipated completely, and the shock of the illusory source sea and the final warning of Hades echoed among the worlds, but Ryan did not care about them.
The destruction of the underworld verified his theory, although there were some unsatisfactory aspects. For example, in his perception, the destruction of the underworld did not bring much impact to this world.
Perhaps for the ecology of the mortal world, this was almost completely destroyed, but the world itself was only temporarily weakened. Ryan could even see that if there was no further interference, the origins that invaded the human world would be squeezed out in the long years under the cycle of the world, and then reunited together to form a new underworld in this void.
Although this is destined to take a long time, it is something that will happen. The power of the underworld is a part of the world after all. It will be damaged due to the collapse of a certain part of the structure, but as long as these "materials" are still there, everything can be repaired.
"But this is enough... After all, for that world, Chaos is the great enemy that "He" is still fighting against even now."
"When the external pressure is great enough, even the smallest damage inside will be magnified tens of millions of times."
With a wave of his long sleeves, he collected all the remaining things. After completing the final touches, Ryan raised his head slightly.
Standing in the void, above the concept, he could see that the earth was slowly rising. Someone was pulling it up, and it was the power of Thunder, which Ryan easily recognized.
Perhaps it was to show his own strength, or perhaps he used the earth as his "shield", or more likely he did not want to step into unknown dangers. In short, under the power of Zeus, the earth was indeed slowly rising.
But now, he didn't plan to waste any more time. So without waiting, Ryan stretched out his finger and made a slight stroke in the air.
The sound of a great thing is silent, and the sound of a great thing is invisible. It was a sound that was powerful enough to shake the heavens and the earth, but at this moment, it seemed so calm. The next moment, the land above the void of the underworld was split in two, and behind it appeared the sky and the sun, as well as the God King standing on Mount Olympus.
"… is it you?"
When Ryan saw Zeus, the other party also saw him. At the first moment, the God King recognized that this was the owner of the phantom a few days ago.
"You are the outsider...what have you done to the underworld!"
The questioning sounded like thunder, but Ryan did not answer. He looked at Zeus, and was also looking at the source sea of the world connected by the authority of the God King. They all looked so powerful, but so empty.
"it's over."
His figure disappeared like a bubble, and the next moment, an indescribable shadow enveloped the world. He stretched out his hand and grasped the earth and the sky.
A gentle pinch was like breaking an eggshell... As for Zeus's question, he didn't need to explain.
After all, what does destroying the world have to do with them?
I guess... The fight is over? Let's just assume that's it. There will be some description later, but not too much. There's no need to fight a fake Zeus.