In the battle between Hell and Abyss, there is actually no real victory in a short period of time.
After all, for both sides of the war, what they really want to do is to completely devour the other side and then become the "only one" again, which is not something that can be done easily. In this case, once the collision of the two sides' forces begins, it will probably be difficult to stop, even if the demons that invaded the Nine Hells died. Unless one side's interface is completely destroyed, this war will never end.
Therefore, what the Serpent of the Courtyard meant by "ending the war in one battle" was not to end the war itself, but to allow it to proceed in a way that was more in line with the interests of the Nine Hells. After all, for the weaker party, the most important thing was to control its intensity and scale.
Just like now, when the power of the entire Tartarus is pressing on the nine-layer interface, Moya, who temporarily bears His power, is personally on the scene, which brings unparalleled pressure to Hell.
Even if they can repel the enemy this time, if they don't find another outlet for the conflict between the two worlds, the pressure from the abyss will only continue and will not retreat because of the death or injury of the demon god.
If you defend for too long, you will lose. With the size of the Abyss, He can lose many times, but if the Nine Hells lose once, it will be enough to seriously damage its vitality. If it loses twice in a row, I am afraid it will be on the verge of destruction.
Therefore, from the very beginning, the key point of this battle has never been to completely destroy the invaders, but how to use Tartarus's confused thinking to lower the battlefield between the two sides to a lower level.
Pulling it into an abyss may result in countless losses, but hell is also a field where one can lose many times... and then accumulate little by little there, play the role of reason, summarize experience, bring forth something new, and ultimately reverse the situation between the two sides.
"I hope so. It's not easy to resist the pressure of Tartarus with all my strength, and I don't want something like today to happen again."
The deep voice sounded again, but disappeared without waiting for a reply. However, the Serpent of the Courtyard was not surprised by this. After all, at this moment, the pressure Asmodeus faced was much stronger than him.
But He has never been idle. Even when He was speaking just now, strands of power were constantly emanating from His body, quietly disappearing into the void around Him along some kind of connection.
The amount is not much, only a little bit each time, reflected in the space-time bubble that is still constantly appearing and disappearing in the distance, that is, its position has changed slightly, and it seems to be closer to the giant snake's body.
However, such a huge amount, even if it is just a "little bit", can definitely be reflected in reality to a degree that can be noticed. If Moya's mind was not distracted by other things, even if she had not been so focused before, she would not have failed to notice the changes here.
However, there is no "if" in reality. For the Demon Mother today, she not only has more important things to do, but she also believes very much in the power that comes from the abyss.
With the help of Tartarus's supreme power, Moya thought that she had completely anchored the space and time around the giant snake. It might be able to break free by force, but it would never be able to bypass this blockade without her knowing. At least with the space and time attainments that the ancient snake had shown before, "He" could not do this.
"So she is still too naive... But it is also true. After all, in terms of 'mental age', she is indeed very young."
Although he is one of the earliest Titan gods in the world, his knowledge may not be as good as that of the new gods of the Third Epoch. This is the bad thing about sleeping too long. Shaking his head slightly, the Ring Garden Serpent continued to focus on the current matter.
Around him, the overflow of power continued, and they "drifted" into the deep space and time bit by bit in an extremely natural form. However, at this moment, any manipulation of these powers would cause the abyss power that locked around the ancient snake to react accordingly, but he did not need to do anything.
Because there is a "beacon" in the Nine Hells. It's like there is some kind of instinctive attraction, and these scattered forces slowly and steadily spread there spontaneously.
Everything went smoothly, and except for the fact that it took a little longer, there were no other unexpected events. However, after a while, the Ring Garden Snake suddenly turned its head slightly and looked in one direction in the abyss.
Although it's a bit far away, it seems like someone is approaching in that direction?
No, he wasn't approaching, he was just spying here in some way. It wasn't his own ability, but some characteristic of the abyss.
Tartarus's digestion of external forces was still so "rough". Although he had already made the Fire Nation a part of himself and even used it to breed a demon god, there were still some forces that had not been completely assimilated. Now, they had a certain resonance, allowing certain images to be transmitted.
"A god from the outside world?... I don't know what they are doing here in the abyss at this time."
After observing for a while, the ancient snake no longer paid attention to these things.
As mentioned before, when the demons were born one after another, many loopholes in the abyss were improved. Therefore, as the incarnation of the three layers of hell, the Atrium Serpent could no longer watch every corner of Tartarus at will. Therefore, although he sensed the newcomer, he was not very sure of the other party's identity.
But no matter who he was, he couldn't affect the outcome of the battle between the two worlds. So at this moment, the ancient snake didn't care about his feelings.
If he escaped in time, he would be lucky. If he stayed there until the dispute between the two worlds was over...
Hell might not do anything to him. After all, even if they win temporarily, the Nine Hells will not enter the area still shrouded by the power of the abyss for the sake of a god of unknown origin. But the demons are different.
Whether he can get out by then, only God knows.
…
Far away from the center of the abyss, in the chaotic void, levels are dotted in it like stars.
Some are big, some are small, and they glow with different colors. It's like they correspond to the sky, a "starry sky" under the world.
"The abyss is such a magical place."
"Before today, I didn't know there was such a world outside of this world."
Standing in the dark red world, Helios felt a little emotional.
After a long journey, the Sun God once again found that his previous understanding of this place was somewhat wrong. Inside Tartarus, those overlapping levels were not only arranged according to the spatial concept of "up" and "down", but even on the same horizontal plane, there seemed to be more than one interface.
At this moment, he was in another plane surrounded by flames. This was the seventh plane he had seen after searching along the direction of the noise, and it was also the one with the weakest power.
Yes, although the interfaces on the same "horizon" seem to have similar characteristics, such as they are all covered with lava and flames, their strength varies. Except for the most powerful layer in the "center" that Helios saw for the first time, the strength of the layers on the periphery is not only much inferior, but there is no regularity at all.
Some of them are stronger, some are weaker, and they are completely randomly derived. So in order to more accurately describe his position, the Sun God simply marked this place with a serial number.
Because he was in the 303rd level of the abyss from 'up' to 'down', and this was the seventh level he had encountered, so he directly named this place Abyss Plane 303-7.
At this moment, Helios was inside it. He had no intention of moving forward because the closer he got, the more sounds he heard faintly from there, and the more the sun god felt something was not right.
What is this place? It is the core of the world inside the body of the primordial god Tartarus. Any "sound" that can be transmitted here must be the result of divine power.
The noise coming from the other side did not seem to be made by one person no matter how you looked at it. Helios even had a feeling that it seemed like a battle.
There is a battle in the abyss... This is not an interesting thing. So the sun chose to come here temporarily to settle down, and by the way, use the existence of the 303-7th layer of the abyss to hide its tracks.
He planned to stay here for a while, preferably until the noise in the distance stopped temporarily, and then approach stealthily to see what was happening there.
As for retreating directly, Helios had never thought about it. To this day, the immortal Chaos gods are still very "reckless" in many cases. This is the abyss, otherwise the sun god may not choose to wait for this time.
However, when Helios actually entered the 303-7th layer of the abyss, his previous plan was instantly overturned. Because the sun god suddenly discovered that the smoke and dust formed by the burning flames here turned into a huge illusion, as if reflecting what was happening somewhere.
It was not an objective perspective, but the subjective vision of a certain life. Helios could even see the non-human arms of the owner of the perspective, and a huge chain sword that was suspected to be a divine artifact.
It seemed to be in a place very similar to the material plane, except that there was no sun or moon there, and it was extremely desolate. And following the perspective of this unknown life, Helios also saw more than one life with very different appearances. Even though they were separated by a long space, he could feel the powerful force transmitted through the illusion.
Each one of them was as powerful as him, or even more powerful than him, and the Sun God had never seen one before... But these were not the reasons that surprised him.
After all, it was just an illusion, and no one knew where it happened or whether it really existed. But when he saw a familiar figure, Helios was completely sure that the place presented in the illusion was still the abyss.
Because he was so familiar with the storm-summoning figure. Although he seemed to have changed a little, it was not so much that the Sun God could not recognize him.
Crius, the god of weather, was imprisoned in the abyss by the king of gods Zeus. At this moment, he was fighting - or besieging - the owner of the perspective.
His divine body was in tatters, and even his recovery was slow. When he was imprisoned in the sun, Helios had seen him being beaten by his father, but even at the most dangerous time, the God of Weather had never been so embarrassed.
"So, because of some wonder of time and space that I don't understand yet, the scene in the distance is reflected here?"
"It seems understandable. After all, the owner of this perspective seems to be emitting this kind of flame of destruction. Perhaps the entire 303-layer abyss has some connection with it."
Helios made a judgment easily and quickly accepted the result. However, he was somewhat glad for his own caution.
"It's unbelievable that a local god was born in the abyss...if this is really a god."
"Perhaps the God of the Abyss is like this. After all, the otherworldly world is different from the real world, so it is understandable that it would become like this. But if you look at it this way - maybe what the Father God said was not a joke, and the Hundred-Armed Giant is really not the descendant of the Heavenly Father?"
A strange thought arose, but was immediately suppressed by Helios.
He was just saying it. After all, the original sea god could give birth to a strange sea god like the 'Father of Monsters'. Under the watchful eye of the former Father in Heaven, Mother Earth should not have given birth to offspring with the irrational Abyss.
But no matter what, today's discovery can shock all the gods in the world. There is actually life in the abyss that they originally regarded as a prison, and they are even besieging the gods imprisoned here.
Helios still didn't know whether he was targeting the God of Weather alone or all the gods in the world equally, but his decision to stop for the time being was undoubtedly the right one.
Perhaps soon, there will be another existence in the material world that is capable of controlling the situation... The good news is that this is something that the God King should be worried about. The bad news is that they have no brains and look desperate when they fight.
"This world is still too mysterious. For example, there was a brief battle with the Goddess of Hearth during the Great Flood, and there are mysterious people who claim to be from Hell... Unfortunately, I have no way to contact these unknown strong men, and I dare not seek refuge with them."
Shaking his head, Helios was certain that the place where the noise came from was probably this battlefield. In that case, there was no need for him to move forward.
Gaia might not be here, and it's too dangerous here. I won't die, but being trapped here is not a fun thing.
Thinking of this, Helios couldn't help but want to retreat...
"Um?"
The Sun God's spirit suddenly perked up, and he suddenly discovered that the situation reflected in the illusion seemed to have undergone some changes.
Although he could not hear any sound or feel any clearer breath, under the siege, Crius clearly showed a look of surprise.
Chapter 276 Sacrifice and [Shura Field]
The second layer of hell, a hidden high place.
The silver mirror hung high in the air, and at this time Mephistopheles could no longer easily touch the artifact.
Its 'weight' became more and more terrifying, and it continued to grow every minute and every second. The dark little snake was circling around, swimming in the space, and strands of gray matter were spontaneously absorbed by it, slowly and steadily increasing its size. Looking at this scene, although the mood was still calm, the devil's body was shaking unconsciously.
This was not out of fear, but an instinctive reaction of life. In a short period of time, he jumped several levels from an ordinary big devil to become the lord of a layer of hell. Although Mephisto's power became stronger, his body had not yet changed.
Just as it takes a long time for a congenital god to recover once his divine body is completely destroyed, condensing a body that is equal to his current strength is not an easy task.
Just like the former God of Weather, the reason why he continued to be active in the world in good condition soon after being transformed was that he took advantage of his "legacy".
After injecting the origin into the first layer of hell, Crius directly formed his current body based on his old divine body. This is why no devil features can be seen in him so far, but instead he is no different from the original one.
The bodies of gods are closely related to their powers. In theory, a god of hell should also possess the characteristics of hell. Even if he doesn't have a pair of horns on his head, at least his eye color should be closer to that of the Lord of the Nine Hells. However, because of this trick, none of the above happened.
However, this probably won't be the case in the future, because Crius's final proof as a Titan god will probably turn to ashes today, and his body, which he will spend a long time reshaping in the future, will inevitably regain the unique "characteristics" of the Nine Hells.
"It's really beautiful, and really terrifying... But if you want to achieve enough results in one move, the more powerful it is, the better."
He sighed softly, at this moment, the place where Mephistopheles stayed was also very significant, because it was near the border between the second and third layers of hell.
This is not a real location, because in theory each layer of hell is below the previous layer. But the special spatial rules of the mythological world are so magical that the conceptual "below" may not be equivalent to the physical one.
Therefore, under the will of the master of the world, although the devil's position was high compared to the battlefield in the distance, the direction he was actually facing was from bottom to top, leading directly to the [Noisy Sky Tunnel].
The reason for choosing such a position was obvious - although Mephisto could not judge how terrible this long-planned attack was, based on the fact that at least one demon was wiped out in one attack, he could roughly estimate it.
So hurting the enemy is one thing, and preventing it from erupting in the Nine Hells is another. What's more, the monarch of the Atrium specifically instructed him to aim the final landing point outside the world... So along this direction, let the main force pour on the four demons, and then go straight up to attack the other two demons who are still sleeping on the first floor, and finally spread the aftermath. This is the most suitable position.
Time passed in silence, with only the occasional roar from afar. The black snake coiled around the silver mirror, becoming more and more refined and complete.
At a certain moment, it seemed to have reached a certain limit. Even though the surrounding gray airflow continued to flow in, it no longer changed.
There is no power that can be accumulated indefinitely. At this moment, Mephisto knew that it was time for him to take action.
"bring it on."
Just like a mortal moving a mountain, as the mirror slightly adjusted its position under the influence of the devil's power, drops of "sweat" flowed down the devil's cheeks.
But Mephistopheles was unaware of this, and when the last half quarter of an hour passed, he was ready to end it all once and for all.
"It feels really good to have the power of life and death in your hands... Hehe, although you are also born sacred, there is one thing that is no different from me."
With a smile on his face, Mephisto bowed slightly to the silver mirror.
"For example, both I and you will die."
······
Tear——
The huge chain sword cut through Crius' skin, leaving a thick blood mark. But he did not dare to fight, and quickly moved away from the owner of the artifact.
The blood was controlled and did not drip, but continued to remain the same under the control of the divine power. The fighting in hell allowed the experienced former Titan to gain a lot of knowledge, such as how to maintain combat effectiveness as much as possible in a long battle without rest. He even thought that if he had to do it again, he would definitely be in a better state than now.
brush--
Seeing the owner of the chain sword chasing him, Crius continued to dodge. The former weather god, who had been blown up three times, was very experienced in this. He dared to guarantee that although the aura of this demon god burning with destructive magic flames had dropped more obviously than his due to repeated self-explosions, he would definitely do it again if he had the chance.
Kill 800 enemies, lose 3,000 of your own. In the terms of later games, this ability was clearly a "large-scale AOE" damage ability, but it was used as a single-target effect. Crius felt that his opponent was really brainless and avoided it as much as possible.
However, he faced more than one enemy after all. After he dodged the one in front of him, there was another one waiting for him.
Followed by another flash of light, and under another mental interference, the beam of light released from the left head of the three-headed demon hit Crius's left waist directly.
The corrosive force spread instantly, melting a large hole there. If he hadn't immediately cut off the divine flesh and blood at the site of the attack, it would probably have continued to spread on the divine body.
This is another experience of being beaten too many times. Instead of using divine power to fight against that kind of corrosion, it is better to directly sacrifice the car to save the king...
"call--"
He frowned and took a deep breath. The injury on his waist showed no signs of recovery. Crius knew that he was almost reaching his limit.
Too much time has passed, and even with their limited wisdom, these abyss demons have gradually figured out his routine, and as a result he is getting injured more and more frequently.
He scanned the surroundings again, and found that the silver human who had not made any movement since the war began was still nowhere to be found.
Crius gritted his teeth. Sure enough, these humans just couldn't rely on——
"Um?"
Suddenly, the expression of Crius, who is also the lord of hell, changed. It seemed that he had discovered something, and a look of surprise and dissatisfaction appeared on his face.
The kid who was full of lies finally made some movement, that was his aura. Even if it didn't come, it would be fine, but once it came, it was a big movement that made him feel extremely afraid.
So he was preparing his trump card... Feeling the alertness and fear rising in his heart, Crius reluctantly accepted this action.
This is understandable. Compared to using the opponent's weak power to fight the demon god, it would be more appropriate to prepare some other forces. But what he couldn't figure out was why no one told him about this in advance?
"Forget it... no matter what, it's finally your turn now!"
The doubts and puzzles were temporarily suppressed, and he would wait until the battle was over to find out the truth. Crius looked at the equally manic demon and couldn't help but smile happily.
These twisted lives, I can finally -
Buzz!
Before the thought even flashed through his mind, in an instant, an extremely terrifying aura spread out from the edge of the second layer of hell.
Almost all life inside and outside the region felt that strong presence.
At the same time, in the core of the [Atrium], the huge pit that was originally created when the God of Sleep fell has turned into a lake. In the center of it is a small island, and a tall sacred tree is swaying.
When the breath of the second layer of hell rose, this piece of pure land that seemed to be unaffected by the war also changed. A bright light lit up from the branches of the sacred tree Nordrassil. If you look closely, it is three points similar to the power that once carried the god of sleep through the world.
In an instant, two forces at different levels resonated together, intertwined with each other, yet clearly separated. When everything was over, like the head and tail of an arrow, it pointed in a straight line to the demons who were still fighting.
It seemed like a long time had passed, but in fact, it was all done in an instant. When the strong murderous intent locked onto the target, Crius's thoughts had not even finished.
He should have been happy about this. After all, this kind of power was not something the demons in front of him could withstand...if he was not within the range where they were locked together.
""
With his eyes wide open and a flash of astonishment, Crius seemed to want to say something, but when he was ready, the huge "arrow" had already shot out.
In front of it, time and space seemed to be solidified, and the future seemed to be turned upside down... The direction of this divine arrow that pierced the world was aimed at the head in the middle of the three-headed demon. As if foreseeing his own demise, the demon roared to the sky and broke free from the lock of time and space in an instant.
"roar--!!"
That was not its power, but the protection that Tartarus left on the demons, a power that even Moya did not possess. Because even without personality, the instinct of the abyss could still detect the difference between the Demon Mother and her offspring. After all, as a former Titan, she was immortal, but they were not.
So this power was born... As the first generation of demon gods that Tartarus spared no effort to nurture, each of them was so extraordinary. This was not only powerful in terms of strength, but more importantly, they contained the origin and symbol of the abyss in a certain aspect, and were part of His rules.
Even though this "symbol" is different from the power of the Great One and only has meaning in the Abyss, this only further confirms their importance to Tartarus itself.
Therefore, the instinct of the Abyss does not want them to die, just as the world does not want the gods to die. He generously grants power and will bring the demons back to the Abyss when their lives are threatened by higher powers - if this is just the power of the Midgard Serpent, then the protection He grants has taken effect.
But there is no if in reality. With this long-planned "arrow", everything returns to nothingness.
It seemed like several days, but also like less than a second. The concept of time had long become blurred. What seemed like a moment to outsiders was eternity to Crius.
At the end of his sight, he only saw a sacred tree shaking, something terrifying was approaching, and then all existence was erased inch by inch until it was finally his turn.
However, in the last second before he regained consciousness, the former God of Weather still paid attention to the fate of his opponent. However, the result made him curse out loud.
"——So, I'm the only one who didn't even leave a body behind?"
The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately fell into a cold sleep. Everything on the battlefield had nothing to do with him. However, it was conceivable that Crius's sleep would only last for a short while.
Soon, he would wake up again in the Noisy Tunnel. His essence would remain intact, and he might even be able to celebrate the victory of the Nine Hells soon.
…
The first layer of hell, near the portal blasted out by the Demon Mother.
At some point, the young god who was sitting here and quietly playing the flute had disappeared. A few gray feathers were still falling in the empty sky, and only two sleeping demons were left here.
But judging from their appearance, Hypnos had obviously just left not long ago, otherwise, without the support of his power, they would have woken up long ago.
In the sky, the endless storm was still blowing, and some movement could be heard from the two demon gods. The last few gray feathers became a little blurry, as if they would turn into bubbles and dissipate if the wind blew.
But the next moment, all of this came to an end.
——Suddenly
, from the lower level of hell, a certain force came all the way up, sweeping unstoppably.
At the front of it, there seemed to be a hideous head. It was struggling and roaring, the last refuge of the power of the abyss, but as it continued to move forward, the familiar head was also returning to its original appearance at a speed visible to the naked eye.
But no matter what, it did not affect the force's continued forward movement. Even though it was mostly consumed after breaking through the protections left by the abyss on the four demon gods, it still seemed unstoppable.
Buzz——
As if sensing the fatal danger, two invisible forces rose up from the demon god's body at the same time. It seemed to try to stop this attack beyond its specifications, but the oncoming wave only paused for a moment before it pierced through the force that was rejected by hell itself.
The next moment, the "divine arrow" flew across the sky, and the "airflow" it brought brushed past the two demon gods. Even though they were not actually blocking the trajectory of the "divine arrow", the result was only that it looked a little better.
The black shadow seemed to wake up for a moment, then it tore into pieces in an instant, falling towards the outside world along the "arrow force". The demon god wrapped in blue mist was much better, at least it struggled for a while, and then one-third of its body was cut off, and it fell into the void outside of hell.
In a flash, the last two demon gods were killed and one was injured, but there was still no sign of the "arrow" stopping.
It was still moving forward, flying out of hell under the gazes of more than one person. However, as if it was at the end of its strength, its final landing point was not too far away, just flying to the place where the power of the Atrium Snake and Moya intersected before, in the space-time bubble that was constantly polluted and regenerated.
Carrying the essence of the demon god at the tip of the arrow, it fell freely and pierced into the void. Just like a giant axe that split the chaos, the point where it landed was the opening of the sky.
"all the best."
In the void, without paying attention to Moya who was suddenly shocked and angry, the ancient snake nodded slightly. So the next moment, the "sacrifice" rule that was embedded in the interface due to the influence of Zeus some time ago emerged.
The three-headed, eight-armed giant possesses three different powers: one that slowly corrupts everything, one that efficiently destroys everything, and the last one in the middle that can draw the opponent's power from the killing to strengthen itself. (See 3-117)
The sacred tree that grew out of Gungnir's trunk inherited some of its most core abilities, one replaced another, and there was a gain and a loss.
Finally, there is the unique connection between the Abyss and Hell... They fell together in that bubble of time and space, a space that had been created and destroyed for many years between the power of the ancient snake and Moya, or the collision between Hell and the Abyss.
"You should have a nickname."
Some kind of change was happening, and the will of the abyss seemed to be boiling and raging. But the ancient snake was leisurely, because at this point, everything was unstoppable.
So looking at the new layer that was born in the space-time bubble, which seemed to be slow but was actually formed rapidly, and even vaguely belonged to the abyss and hell at the same time, a low voice came from the snake head.
"In a fight to the death, the one who survives will be the king... From today on, you will be called [Shura Field]."
Chapter 277: When a whale falls, all things become
Shura. This is a typical made-up word. In Ryan's brief memory before coming to this world, it refers to a mythical existence in another Eastern civilization.
Sometimes they are regarded as gods, but sometimes they are not; but most of them have no inherent duties and powers, and are naturally warlike and have a strong desire to be alive. Putting such words here is more appropriate.
So when the ancient snake's words came out, just like the world gave the new god a 'true name', this new interface that was constantly absorbing the surrounding space-time bubbles to grow itself was engraved with a name at the source.
"It looks like everything is going well."
In the space and time that slowed down under the influence of some force, Asmodeus's tired voice sounded again.
In the distance, Moya had already reacted. She no longer played like a cat playing with mouse with 'Ryan' and 'Beauty' who fell into her hands, but violently surged her strength and rushed towards the new small world.
She could already feel the violent shock of Tartarus' will, which was the impact of the fall of the demon god. She wanted to recover a little bit now, but looking at Moya's actions, the ancient snake had no intention of stopping her.
Because the fights during this period have confirmed one thing: although the Demon Mother suddenly possesses such powerful power, its limitations are also great.
And soon, this will be reflected.
"Yes, everything went well. Apart from the destruction of the divine body of the 'heroic' Crius, there was no additional loss."
"Hmm... looks just like me."
Asmodeus continued, and this time the ancient snake did not respond.
Because just like he said, his divine body probably won't be able to escape death this time.
In fact, to be honest, even if it is the evil side of Ryan, the Serpent of the Courtyard did not really let the other party pretend to be himself to attract attention out of some kind of bad taste. The fundamental reason is that the other party is irreplaceable.
Both the other party and I have ownership of hell, which makes it easier to operate at the level of fate. The other party's true body is now hell itself, and the external divine body is not that important, so they are closer in various aspects. Of course, the most important point is that since I can't exert any power anyway, I might as well play a role here.
After all, when all the strength was used to resist the pressure of the abyss, the divine body naturally became an empty shell. Although the divine power was still there, the Lord of the Nine Hells did not have the energy to spare for the battle.
Therefore, Asmodeus directly contributed it. Although it probably cannot be recovered, it is not a big problem.
"Although a new interface has been created, it is indeed as expected. The entire world is like a huge ritual. In every battle that takes place within it, the loser will be sacrificed to the winner. This is the effect of the sacrificial rules written into the Abyss and Hell, and it is also the manifestation of the authority represented by the Abyss Demon God."
There was no response, but the sound continued to ring. Because the rules of this new interface seemed reasonable, but there were some problems.
"It will suppress some of the power of the gods, which is also a protection for the stability of its own structure. So in the future, non-god life may be the main body of the struggle there. But in the abyss now, are there any non-gods?"
"some."
The ancient snake said affirmatively, and looked at the place where his attack just now came from, which was also the exit of hell.
There, there was still some flowing light constantly flowing out, which was the remnant of those demons after their death.
Some of them were intercepted and will become part of the Nine Hells' power as spoils in the future, but more escaped, which was the final role played by Tartarus's power. If the life of the demon god cannot be saved, then protecting his own "wealth" is the most important thing.
"At least now I have it."
Speaking again, the ancient snake withdrew its gaze.
The first confrontation between Purgatory and the Abyss has come to an end.
…
"--fraud!"
A sharp sound came from his body, and when the power in hell exploded, Moya instantly realized that he had been deceived.
Although until now she still couldn't figure out what was wrong with the being she captured, the fact was already very clear, it must be a fake.
They had somehow tricked her and played her around, and she was still smug?
Her eyes turned red, blood surging in her body, Moya looked at the world that was taking shape, and she rushed towards it violently.
She wanted to destroy this creation, which was a testimony to her shame. She would strangle this fragile thing in its infancy, even if it cost her something.
However, contrary to Moya's expectations, no one came to stop her. She rushed to the edge of the gradually depleted space-time bubble and crashed into the new world.
boom--
A roar sounded, and the strong vibration made Moya dizzy for a moment.
She was a little surprised that her current strength could be hurt by such a small prototype of the interface. This should be impossible.
But it doesn't matter. With such a blow, it must have already -
"How come?"
Stunned and puzzled, the small prototype of the world in front of Moya did not suffer any serious damage. It was just knocked out of position, and then there was no change.
Everything in front of her seemed to still be mocking the Demon Mother's powerlessness, and waves of rage surged into her heart. This time, Moya seemed to forget that there were enemies around her. She stared at the prototype of the interface and waved her limbs to hit it.
Boom——
The dull sound echoed, but the result was still no harm. However, unlike before, Moya saw clearly the reason why all this happened.
Her originally unrivaled power was wiped out the moment it hit the interface, or more precisely, the power of the abyss that was temporarily bestowed on her in order to destroy hell disappeared out of thin air.
This is not because of anything else, but because of the ownership of this new world. This is not an independent realm like the abyss and hell, but an existence like the nine levels in purgatory and the multi-layered structure in the abyss.
It was not born by itself, but was constructed by two opposing but co-originating worlds. It does not completely belong to either world, so the rules of both worlds are reflected here. But the result is that it can also be regarded as part of the abyss.
When the gods of the present world destroyed the present world, they at least only suffered a weakening of their power. However, Moya was not the "king" of the abyss. Her seemingly powerful power only existed when facing hell. Even the demons that were born later were not affected by her power.
This was reflected as early as the beginning. When Moya had just regained consciousness, he subconsciously attacked other demons in fear and anger, but the result was obvious. They were not actually hurt.
This power does not belong to her, and it is not even as stable as the authority of the God King. She is just a user, not an owner.
brush--
Moya stood there in a daze for a moment, not knowing what to do, but the world would not stop for her.
The sound of something moving came from the entrance of hell, and in a blink of an eye, streams of light gushed out from it.
That was the source of the demon god that had not been intercepted. Under the protection of the power of the abyss, it spilled out and fell like raindrops. The giant snake that was originally guarding the door opened its mouth wide, and a terrifying suction force came from inside.
"--stop!"
boom--
Failure was inevitable, and Moya had already sensed the Abyss' disappointment in her. It was conceivable that after the first collision between the two worlds, the temporary power imposed on her would never return.
Perhaps by that time, Tartarus will use his own unique way to choose the true "king" in the abyss - or a "prince" who does not have such great ruling power, but this has nothing to do with Moya.
So she tried to salvage something for herself at this last moment, even if it was not of much use.
So another battle broke out here, but everyone knew that it would not last long and was just the final aftermath of this dispute.
…
303–7th level of the Abyss, near a volcanic crater.
The sun god Helios was standing here, looking into the distance at the place where the image was originally reflected by the flames.
With the death of the Fire Shadow Demon God, the mysterious connection was also cut off. But the arrow that broke through the air was still imprinted in Helios' heart even through the image.
Of course, the so-called "arrow" has always been a metaphor, and it actually has no connection or similarity to a real arrow. But in any case, the power contained in it is real.
"...There is actually a force in the abyss that is hostile to Him, and Crius has joined it. Is this really the Chaos world that I am familiar with?"
After a long moment, the Sun God whispered silently, then turned and left without hesitation.
This place was too scary. If there were only a few demons, he could not defeat them but he could still run away. After all, they did not look very smart. He was afraid of Crius before because he could not run faster than him and he might be blocked in the abyss by him.
But if he were to face a life or object that released such terrifying power, he probably wouldn't even have a chance to run.
Leaving the 303-7th layer of the abyss, Helios flew quickly in the direction he came from. He couldn't tell the direction in the abyss in the past, and now he still couldn't tell up, down, left, and right, but the layers of interfaces in the void were the best signposts.
However, not long after the sun god set off, he suddenly turned back, and there, thousands of streams of light were falling like raindrops.
"That is..."
The light spots were moving very fast, as if they were affected by the power of the abyss. Helios did not dare to touch them. He just watched these colorful light spots pass by him and then disappear into the distant void.
With only a few exceptions, they seemed to be attracted by something and fell directly into the level that Helios had just left. As soon as they entered, they underwent various changes.
The power on the surface of the light spot faded, and the contents inside were revealed. They were the remains of the demon god. There were broken phosphorus armor burning with flames, eyeballs knocked off wings, and pieces of flesh that were still wriggling.
Then, right before Helios' eyes, they burst out with unprecedented life force in the short time they touched the ground, and turned into various different lives.
There are eyeballs floating in the air, emitting a strong spiritual aura, nerves and tentacles floating around, there are hideous monsters with flames burning all over their bodies, which look extremely similar to the destroyed fire demon, and there are shadows crawling on the ground, affecting the surrounding environment as they gather and disperse.
When a whale dies, all things come to life. Although there is no such saying in Chaos' world, similar thoughts still arise in Helios' heart.
The gods of the world are immortal, so he has never seen the death of a god-level being. But now it seems that their fall is just the beginning, and from the corpses of those ancient lives, a brand new race will be born.
They will become the future masters of the abyss, and this dead and empty world will be filled with new life.
"hiss--"
"Um?"
His expression changed slightly, and Helios turned around suddenly.
In the distance, at a location he marked as level 303-6, a giant worm was hissing at him across the barrier of the interface.
And the moment he saw it, a name similar to the real name of a real god sounded in the heart of the Sun God.
[Earthshaker Worm] is a new god born from the remnants of the demon god absorbing part of the power of the abyss. However, compared to the fallen ancestor, it not only no longer controls "life and change", but its power only touches the lower limit of the true god.
However, Helios had an intuition that the power of the second-generation abyss gods might have weakened a lot at the beginning, but they no longer seemed to be as irrational as the first generation. At least from the eyes of this newly born being, the sun god seemed to see fear and threat.
This is something that the demons in previous images did not have. To them, there seemed to be only destruction and killing.
"Oh, this is too outrageous... Am I witnessing the 'change of eras' that belongs to the otherworldly world?"
Although the power of life before him posed no threat to him, when he thought about the vast levels of abyss he had seen along the way, a chill surged from the heart of the Sun God.
I hope they stay in the abyss forever and never come out... With this thought in mind, Helios did not stop. He immediately turned into golden light and fled back to where he came from. This place was not suitable for him to exist at all.
Chapter 278 The Last Snow and the Sound
In the world, heavy snow was everywhere.
It was February, and the ground was still covered with frost.
The rotation of the twelve zodiac constellations just reaches the center of the twelfth zodiacal plane. If it were in the distant future, perhaps it would have another better-sounding name - Pisces.
Of course, whether it will still have the same name in this life is hard to guess. At least now, it is just an ordinary star field.
The cold wind is still howling. It is said that "everything will turn into the opposite when it reaches its extreme". This is a well-known truth, but often only truly wise people can see through the fog and peek into where the so-called "extreme point" is.
There is undoubtedly no such existence in the world at this moment. They cannot see through the struggle between the gods reflected behind the natural changes, so the bloodshed and disputes have a tendency to intensify. Many hatreds are formed at this time, and many cities are destroyed as a result.
The losers lost their lives or died quietly in hunger and cold. The winners were not happy either, because as long as the natural disaster was not over, they would continue to "win".
So resentment began to accumulate, and curses of disaster began to spread...When facing a crisis, people always need a way to vent, and coincidentally, they just happen to have someone to vent to.
Of course, that was not the goddess of agriculture. After all, in the eyes of humans, Demeter was the only god willing to help them personally. In human history, there was an existence that was very important. She brought disaster to the world and destroyed an era of mankind.
She is Pandora, an ominous woman. The name originally meant "a woman with all talents", but now it is more understood as "the source of all disasters".
…
In the north of the continent, on a path outside an unnamed valley.
A few jackdaws circled in the sky, making dry cries. The dead trees that had long lost their branches and leaves swayed in the wind, as if they would collapse at any moment.
Wearing a soft hat on his head and holding a wooden stick stained with three parts of blood in his hand, a young man walked in front of him under the flying snow, and behind him, an extremely beautiful woman followed closely.
The cold wind blew into the valley, creating a unique echo, accompanying the gentle footsteps of the two people. They seemed to have walked a long way, but they did not seem tired at all.
"Are you still thinking about those people you met before?"
The stick poked the ground. Although Epimetheus did not need to use it to determine whether the road under the snow was smooth, he still used it as if he needed it.
Along the way, he has become accustomed to pretending to be an ordinary mortal, which has saved him a lot of trouble.
"I just don't understand...why they're looking at me like that."
Pandora followed behind with a pale face, still as beautiful as ever. It was a pity that in the cold north, no one could appreciate her charming style.
"I didn't do anything. This natural disaster has nothing to do with me, but why..."
The sound became smaller and smaller, gradually becoming imperceptible, and Pandora seemed to remember that day again.
After seeing his men being killed easily one by one by Epimetheus, the young captain of the guard showed no fear at all. He still charged at the being in front of him, but was nailed to the ground by the wooden stick of the man in front of him.
But until the last moment of his life, he still looked in the direction of Pandora with hatred in his eyes.
They called her a 'witch', meaning a woman who possessed extraordinary powers like a monster and would bring disaster to mankind. But Pandora knew very well that apart from the blessings of the gods that she could not even actively invoke, she was just an ordinary human being, and she could not even beat the young man with extraordinary martial arts skills.
If a girl like her could cause a snowstorm that affected the whole world, it would really sound like a joke.
"Why deceive yourself... You know exactly why this is happening."
"Although you are deliberately endowed with a strong curiosity, it does not mean that you are really that stupid - you are different from God."
Epimetheus smiled faintly, not knowing who he was talking about.
"After all, if a god is stupid now, then he will probably be the same in the past and in the future. Few of them can learn from experience, and even if more time passes, it seems that nothing has changed."
"But you are a human being. You don't have an innate divine position, so you won't be affected by it. You are not like other mortals who only have a few decades to live. So you don't have to put on such an attitude - I have seen all the changes you have undergone along the way."
There was no response, but Pandora's expression calmed down as she followed the man.
Yes, just as he said. Maybe when I first opened the magic jar, I did feel sad and desperate about the resentment and misunderstanding of human beings, but not now.
It was a simple truth that a long time could smooth out everything. What was a short time for God was long enough for her. Compared to the misunderstanding of humans, what really haunted her was the captain's bravery without fear of death.
He possessed courage that most gods and humans did not have... and yet he died so easily in front of him.
"In fact, in comparison, I really want to know - why did you reveal your name?"
Not knowing what the woman behind him was thinking, Epimetheus asked casually:
"You should know that when your deeds spread, and when the bodies of those humans are discovered, your reputation as a natural disaster will be confirmed."
"Then... the beliefs that linger around you but cannot be absorbed by you will increase, making you unable to rest day and night."
"It was not intentional," Pandora did not answer, but corrected: "I just forgot my reputation among humans for a moment."
"Okay, I forgot for a moment."
Nodding, Epimetheus remained silent.
The two continued forward.
I walked for a long time in the narrow valley, until the front finally became much wider. There was no wind and snow here, and the white frost falling from the sky seemed to have encountered an invisible barrier, and the place just one step away still looked full of vitality.
Epimetheus stopped here, looked around, and then waved his hand gently.
"Just stay here for now."
"...good."
Nodding, Epimetheus continued walking inside.
Behind him, Pandora held the magic jar that had accompanied her for many years and watched his back go away.
…
After crossing a stream that was only a few steps wide and passing a small area that looked like farmland, soon an exquisite wooden house appeared at the end of the sight.
In front of the cabin there is a stone table, a few chairs, and a small flower bed surrounded by a wooden fence.
Everything seemed very pastoral, even the only middle-aged man sitting there.
Compared to what I remembered, the figure looked a lot older, but his expression seemed quite relaxed.
"Father, it seems that you have been doing well recently under the protection of Mother Earth's power."
Epimetheus stepped forward and called out the identity of the person in front of him.
Iapetus is one of the least visible Titan gods. The deepest impression he left on the world is probably that he gave birth to Prometheus and his brothers.
Of course, all of his children are now considered enemies of the Olympus God Court.
"It's nothing good or bad. I just want to find a place to live quietly. I don't want much, so I'm easily satisfied."
Resting with his eyes closed on a simple recliner, Iapetus did not seem very enthusiastic about his long-lost son.
"That's good. I thought you would feel lonely since mother left here too."
Epimetheus smiled and found a chair to sit down.
"Near this valley, I saw a few special human tribes. They used the flesh and blood of wild animals to sacrifice to gods - some gods I have never heard of, and claimed that 'all things have spirits'."
"They seem to think that the object of their worship is a tree, a stone, or some powerful beast. I didn't care much about it until I found out that those things actually have consciousness and can absorb faith."
"Do you know what this is about?"
Epimetheus asked casually, not actually expecting any answer.
Although this happened not far from here, he was sure that his old father would not be interested in it.
Or to be more precise, like him, we should stay away from this phenomenon that we don't know why it happened, especially when humans can't exert much power.
"I don't know," Iapetus responded, as expected. "If you're interested in them, you can stay around for a while."
So the topic ended there, and Epimetheus obviously had no intention of causing himself any additional trouble.
However, the conversation started, and the father and son who had not seen each other for a long time began to talk about some useful or useless things. They talked about the past, Atlas who was holding up the sky, and Prometheus who was taken to the East China Sea.
Epimetheus did most of the talking, with Iapetus only giving occasional responses.
It was not until the sun was setting that the latecomer inadvertently asked a question.
"I remember... you once made a prophecy and saw the sun falling into the East China Sea?"
"That was not a prophecy I made," Iapetus said calmly, shaking his head, "It was fate that came to me."
"Whatever it is, Father, I'm just curious..."
"In your understanding, how does fate work? Or, in other words, can the person who controls fate really control it?"
Raising his head slightly, Iapetus looked at his son.
Just like before, the latecomer seemed to lack the confidence and intelligence of his brother. Even now, he still felt that way.
"Probably not, that's my answer."
After looking for a while without giving a reason, Iapetus said calmly.
"...I see."
Epimetheus continued to chat with his father for a while, smiling, until the sun completely set, and then he said goodbye.
The silver moon had not yet risen into the sky, and he walked back to the valley entrance step by step, where Pandora was still waiting for him.
Passing through the boundary between warmth and cold wind, the late awakener looked at the direction of the sunset. Now the person sitting on the golden chariot was not Helios, but Apollo who needed to use all his strength to control the chariot.
Compared to the voyeur who inherited Hyperion's title of "the one looking down from above", this temporary Apollo probably doesn't have the time to look around.
"I'm leaving."
After saying hello, Epimetheus walked back the way he came.
"Let's go around the world and build a church."
"Is it for you? We seem to be considered guilty by Olympus?"
"Of course it's not an aboveboard establishment. Use your brain."
Shaking his head, Epimetheus said
"And this isn't for my church, this is for you... and your jar, of course."
······
brush--
Hades, the entrance to the abyss.
The space moved for a while, and then a golden light flashed. The next moment, Helios appeared there in a somewhat embarrassed state.
However, he didn't have any injuries on his body. Obviously, although he had just encountered some minor trouble, it was not enough to really hurt him.
"Phew - it seems my guess has come true."
"Dozens, or even hundreds - I feel like if this continues, there will be more gods in this abyss than in the outside world. Is this really reasonable?"
Helios let out a long sigh and near the exit, he met a life that had just been born from the body of the Death Demon.
However, unlike the Earth-shaking Worm he encountered before, he was unable to see the specific process of this one's birth, so he was unable to understand its title that sounded like the true name of a god.
Helios only saw a huge figure silently appearing behind a barrier that he marked as the 003rd layer of the abyss. The spherical body was suspended in the air. In the center of the head and body was a huge single eye, and below it was a bloody mouth full of bayonet-like teeth. But the most eye-catching thing was the 10 twisted flesh stems on the sphere, each with a small eye at the end, and each eye was staring at him intently.
Then he experienced the feeling of 'killing you with my eyes', and a beam of dissociation light shone out from the pupil of that eyeball, directly hitting him, an outsider who was incompatible with the abyss.
"From now on... there will be no future. I will never come to this damn place again."
After returning to the real world, Helios finally felt much safer. He couldn't help but relax, but then he became a little worried.
"So where is Mother Earth? She won't fall asleep again, will she?"
If this is true, then there is nothing the Sun God can do.
The sleeping primitive god is difficult to be awakened by external objects, at least he does not have the ability to do so.
"So what do you want from me?"
"Of course I—"
He turned his head suddenly, but he saw nothing. He didn't think it was an illusion, someone was indeed talking to him just now.
"Dear Mother Earth, may I ask..."
"It's me."
The next moment after the voice came again, a reddish-brown light spot appeared in front of Helios. Then the light spot expanded and turned into a vortex.
"Whatever you want me to do, come here first. And I also want to know what you encountered in the abyss."
Helios should have been happy to hear that unquestionable voice. He didn't find Gaia, but Gaia came to him. But for some reason, he felt inexplicably nervous.
Looking at the slowly rotating vortex...it was like he was looking into another abyss.
Chapter 279 [Corona]
The hesitation was only for a moment, and then the thought was eliminated from Helios' mind.
Although the innate intuition of the gods is indeed sharp, it is not surprising that the sun god would have such a feeling.
He is now more or less a member of the Olympian pantheon, and the conflict between Gaia and Zeus is well known.
Strictly speaking, the two sides are still enemies. Perhaps this is the source of the warning... Suppressing the uneasiness in his heart, Helios stepped into the reddish-brown halo.
With a flash of light, his figure disappeared from the spot.
…
With a feeling of space changing, his eyes darkened and then regained light, and Helios found himself in a giant underground cave.
The ground was a little slippery, and it felt a little uncomfortable to step on it. Although he didn't know his exact location, Helios could still judge that he was no longer in the underworld through the subtle changes in the laws of the environment.
He had probably returned to the ground—or somewhere close to it. But what surprised him was that he never remembered Gaia holding the divine power in the space realm.
Except for the previous king of gods, Kronos, no other known gods have ever held similar authority, so even the divine arts created by the gods do not have similar abilities.
"No matter what, she is also an original deity. Even if she loses face in front of Zeus, she will always have some hidden tricks."
The thought flashed through Helios' mind, and he looked towards the center of the cave.
There, Mother Earth was facing him sideways.
There were a few red spots on the brown dress, and the wrinkles at the corners of the eyes were clearly visible. But what surprised the Sun God was that compared to the Gaia he had seen outside Mount Olympus, the one in front of him seemed to be in much better condition.
At least the exposed skin was more radiant, and even the hair was no longer so dry and yellow. If this was not a state deliberately disguised by the Earth Mother, then the opponent's strength was probably greatly improved.
"Greetings, dear Mother of the Gods."
Helios felt a little worried at the unexpected scene in front of him.
His previous thoughts were based on Gaia's deep hatred for Zeus, but his own strength was far from enough... However, the Apollo did not stop his actions. He took a few steps forward and saluted with his hand on his chest.
"You look much better, which is good to see."
"Greetings... That's not something the gods of Olympus would do to me."
Turning slightly, Gaia looked at the Sun God in front of him, and her voice was not enthusiastic.
"But I have never considered myself a god of Olympus. Compared to the present, I miss the era of the Titans more. Everyone knows that the new pantheon is composed of Zeus's family. And I am not from the same family as them."
Without hiding anything, Helios expressed his meaning very directly, and he believed that Mother Earth could see it.
And this is indeed the case. The reason why Gaia called the sun god over was not only because she was interested in his experience in the abyss, but also because the other party was looking for her, and it did not seem that he was instructed by Zeus.
Even with Gaia's good judgment, she could guess that the enemy of Olympus might not be so obedient when he came to her alone.
"What did you encounter in the abyss?"
Instead of talking about the God-King first, Gaia mentioned the existence of Tartarus.
Although Mother Earth no longer needed Him, she still felt resentful about the Abyss's rejection. Something must have happened inside her irrational brother, and the embarrassment of the Sun God when he left was the best proof.
"That's a long story... It may be hard to believe, but in fact, I saw life native to the abyss there."
With a flickering look in his eyes, Helios said truthfully,
"They were numerous and hostile to outsiders. I didn't want to have a conflict with them there, so I just withdrew."
"life?"
After repeating the sentence, Gaia seemed to understand the Abyss's previous reaction.
If He already had life through some unknown means, then He no longer needed Himself... As for His refusal to enter, that is not surprising.
Perhaps He saw Gaia as a threat and therefore refused to let her in. However, since there was someone who knew the details in front of her, Mother Earth still gave the order without hesitation.
"Tell me more specifically, what did you see inside? And did you see Crius?"
"As you wish, I will tell you the truth."
Nodding slightly, Helios immediately narrated what he had seen and heard.
There are many layers, strange lives existing in those interfaces, and various manifestations that are very different from the outside world. Everything does not seem to be describing the abyss, but another material interface. Of course, in the end, Helios regretfully expressed that he had never seen the existence of the God of Weather.
After all, the abyss is too vast, and it is difficult to find a specific god without guidance, and he did not go there to find the other party. Gaia did not doubt this, she just asked casually.
Now the conflict between her and Zeus was no longer about Crius or the golden apple tree whose mastermind was someone else. Compared with them, Zeus himself was the existence she could not tolerate the most.
He used his dignity to establish the authority of the king of gods, so as long as he was still the lord of the gods, Gaia would have trouble sleeping and eating. Therefore, at the end of Helios's story, Gaia looked at the child of Hyperion.
Compared to his father, Helios was far less violent and fiery, like a stone with its edges smoothed out that anyone could hold in their hands.
But now he has taken the initiative to come to the door, which may prove that he has some little thoughts of his own? But before that, Gaia still needs to figure out what the conflict between him and Zeus is, and why he still wants to resist the other party after seeing the power of the king of gods.
He couldn't possibly notice his recent changes, and even Gaia himself was surprised by it. So in Helios' eyes, he was not as good as Zeus.
Gaia asked the question with doubts in her heart, and in front of her, the sun god also gave an answer that needed no questioning.
"Because the person driving the sun chariot now is not me... Mother Earth, this is the first time it has happened, and I hope it will be the last time."
"So that's why you came to ask for my help since you are about to be replaced by Zeus' son?"
Gaia had not realized it before, until the other party reminded her, she suddenly realized that although Helios was right in front of her, the movement of the sun was still going on as usual.
For the gods, the infringement of authority is the most unbearable thing for them, so it is not surprising that the other party would make such a choice... But in front of Helios, Gaia just sneered.
"Light is always with the sun, so it is possible that it could be replaced by the son of Zeus, but you may have found the wrong person. I am no match for Zeus, so I naturally cannot help you. And you want my help, so what can impress me?"
"I..."
Helios was speechless for a moment, but then he said,
"I can do something for you. After all, there must be some things that you can't handle by yourself. Given the current relationship between you and Olympus, it may be difficult to find other helpers."
"Just like the Moon Goddess in the underworld and the Goddess of Life who joined Olympus, they are the mediators of the other two primordial gods in this world, and I can also be your—"
"I don't need a subordinate who betrayed my father and two monarchs. Although there is no possibility of reconciliation between Olympus and me, I don't need a 'messenger' like you who has ulterior motives."
Gaia interrupted coldly and rejected him again without mercy. She meant this sentence sincerely, and in front of her, Helios wanted to explain himself several times, but he didn't say it in the end.
He knew that his three betrayals were all for a reason. Hyperion locked him in the sun, fearing that the child would compete with him for the ownership of the sun; although Kronos did not do anything to him later, in the beginning, in order to prevent the birth of another starry sky master, he forced Helios to agree to forge the sun chariot.
As for Zeus, he now directly threatened Helios' authority, but the sun god knew that even if he explained, Gaia would probably ignore him.
Because as Mother Earth said, the most crucial problem is that he is of no use to Gaia.
Helios originally thought that even if it was to make things difficult for Zeus, the willful Earth Mother would agree to help him, but now it was obviously not what he thought… He felt a little heavy-hearted, but the sun god still forced a smile and said goodbye to Gaia.
"In that case, then, dear Mother Earth, please allow me to take my leave."
Turning back to where he came from, Helios was already thinking of other ways. No matter what, he couldn't just sit there and wait for death... However, one foot had already stepped over the reddish-brown circle of light, and at this moment, the voice of the Earth Mother came from behind again.
"etc."
"Um?"
Turning around in confusion, Helios didn't know what Gaia wanted to say. Facing the sun god's puzzled gaze, Gaia said lightly:
"I will not help you...Helios, but perhaps you can help yourself."
"I have my own things to do now, and I don't have time to care about what's happening on earth. Zeus will pay the price for his arrogance, but it won't be today. But if you have the power that Zeus fears, then his son won't be a threat to your position."
"But I don't have that power."
He spoke slowly, but listening to Gaia's words, a sense of expectation rose in Helios' heart. The Earth Mother would not say such a thing for no reason. Now that she said...
"You can have it."
Gaia did not disappoint Helios, she just smiled, and the next moment some kind of covering power was removed by her.
In an instant, everything in front of the Sun God changed drastically. He was no longer in a cave, but a cocoon of flesh and blood; the slippery ground under his feet was not stone, but an egg full of vitality.
Through the transparent membrane, Helios could see a life with hundreds of heads swimming in it. Everything seemed so strange... But after his trip to the abyss, his acceptance of these things had already risen to more than one level. And in all these changes, only Gaia itself remained unchanged.
She was still wearing the brown dress, but the red spots had turned into crystal branches that penetrated into the body. They glowed faintly and pulsated like blood vessels, as if they were continuously sending something into the body of the Earth Mother. Every time they entered a part, Gaia felt a little heavier.
"Not now, but you can have it if you're willing to accept it."
In front of the sun god, Gaia broke off a branch from her body that looked like red crystal and threw it towards Helios.
Even after leaving her body, the branch seemed to still be alive. Strands of tiny tendrils hung down from it, swaying in the air, as if searching for something.
"It is poison to mortals, but to gods, it is a tonic."
Not lying, Gaia really thought so.
The power from the outer gods was indeed highly polluting and corrosive, and even had an impact on the owner's mind. But under the protection of the laws of the world, it did not affect Gaia's sanity at all.
No matter what, she is the cornerstone of the present world, the original primordial god. As long as the present world itself is fine, she will be fine too - I think the same should be true for Helios.
"Plant it into your body, using yourself as a medium, and let its power strengthen the sun."
"Hyperion is the original sun, but you are not, because the sun was born with him, but you were born from the sun. But if you can give the sun a new concept, then perhaps you can gain the same authority as him... At that time, no one can replace you."
"…"
After a moment's silence, Helios' expression changed.
"What will I pay? If I allow this thing to parasitize my divine body, I'm afraid I won't be able to get rid of it."
"Yes, but your promise was never guaranteed."
This was Gaia's first experience of commanding others instead of being commanded, and she felt pretty good about it, so she talked a little more.
"I only ask you to do one thing... When my offspring attacks Olympus, you must join him and make Zeus pay the price."
"And when that day comes, perhaps when he loses his throne, you can try to become a god-king, just like your father once wanted to do."
In Gaia's mind, she is now the partner of the [Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood], and the other party's intelligence is obviously not high, and is even restricted. So naturally, everything He has in this world will be managed by herself.
She had had enough of the three generations of God-Kings, and it would be nice if a God-King could be born under her control.