Since the Divine King's succession, the exodus of the gods, three hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three hundred years, as if a shackle was unlocked, the phenomenon of the birth of deities flashed across the world more than once, and Chaos's Origin expanded accordingly.
Upon the seas, after the Heavenly Father slumbered eternally at the supreme height, Mother Earth, along with her second son, the primordial Sea God Pontus, conceived five offspring separately.
They were the friendliness of the sea—Nereus.
The marvel of the sea—Thaumas.
The wrath of the sea—Phorcys.
The danger of the sea—Keto.
The power of the sea—Eurybia.
After the birth of these five ocean deities, Pontus became much more active. He no longer lay alone at the bottom of the sea but often roamed the coastal waters and occasionally set foot on land to meet with Mother Earth.
In terms of power, the birth of his offspring caused a fraction of Pontus's godhood to split. However, as these deities were born, the concept of the sea further expanded. Between the increase and decrease, the primordial Sea God remained a strong Divine Power Level 17.
Similarly upon the seas, the Ocean Deity Sovereign Oceanus and the primeval Water Goddess Thaesis also conceived a host of children. They currently number over a hundred, with most of the divine children being River Gods collectively known as Potamoi. The goddesses represent certain streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, or even the ocean and subterranean water bodies.
The vast majority of them are not true deities but territorial gods like the Crystodes created by Laine, at 'Divine Power Level 0.' Though immortal like deities, their strength is far less than that of True Gods.
Of course, among the Oceanides known as Oceanids, there do exist True Gods. Currently, the most well-known are the eldest Oceanid, the Goddess of Oaths, Styx of the Styx River, and her sister, the Goddess of Renown Clymene.
From then on, the godhood of oaths was bestowed upon the world, and Chaos no longer responded to the oaths of the gods.
However, correspondingly, the cost of swearing an oath to the River Styx became much less than it originally was.
Different from the hustle and bustle of the seas, on land and in The Sky, besides the Mountain God Ourea who alone engendered some unnamed mountain gods, only the eldest daughter of Coeus and Phoebe was born.
Her name was Leto, the Goddess of Nurturing and Nursing. Laine paid certain attention to her, for her future offspring would be renowned in later ages.
But all these matters were unrelated to the Lord of the Spirit Realm. In the past three hundred years, Laine had been ceaselessly drawing and assimilating the Origin Power. The Spirit Realm's expanse had already covered the entire Underworld, and it even began to spread to the surface.
He had thought that such monotonous days would continue for hundreds of years more, but on this day, an unexpected visitor made Laine halt his actions.
Through the projection of the Spirit Realm onto the material realm, the Nether Moon, Laine clearly saw the Titan deity, the Goddess of Justice and Law Themis, standing there.
He gently stroked his palm in front of him, and space and time fluctuated. Under Laine's power, the past and the ever-changing future continuously flickered before his eyes. It didn't take long for him to know the purpose of Themis's visit.
"Liana, go bring her to see me." Laine said softly.
"As you command, Your Highness."
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Since leaving Mount Othrys, Themis had roamed the earth for three hundred years.
This world's Chaos was very similar to that in mythology, but there were also many differences. Not to mention the oceans, the surface area of the land alone was hundreds of times larger than Earth's region around the Mediterranean Sea, although most places appeared wild and perilous.
Moreover, as the Origin of the world rose, the expanse of Chaos continued to grow. By the time of Zeus, no one knew just how vast the earth would become.
However, although the world became bigger, many problems followed. In the process of Themis measuring the land with her legs, she discovered various places of disordered laws more than once.
The world was supposed to be orderly, but in those peculiar places, the rules of everything turned upside down. Water flowed from low to high, spaces where one would endlessly loop upon entering, flames that induced coldness... As the Goddess of Justice and Law, Themis found it difficult to tolerate their existence.
She tried to correct them with the authority of the law, and the result was delightful, as she indeed managed to restore the disordered rules back to normal. But as time passed, the goddess realized she was engaging in a futile effort.
These phenomena represented the inherent chaos of the world's rules, loopholes left behind from the creation of the world, and they were being born and extinguished at every moment. No matter how many she eliminated, there would always be another one waiting for her.
As long as Chaotic Source Force remained within the current laws, this situation was unstoppable.
"I need to create a codex. I want to write the correct order on it, so the world can see what I mean, and then the laws of the current world will solve these problems themselves."
After being inspired by her godhood, Themis went to visit Mother Earth. She had heard that Gaia possessed three magical stone tablets that had existed since the creation of Chaos.
But unfortunately, Mother Earth told her that thousands of years ago, the Oracle Stone Tablets had been staked in a wager and transferred to the current God of Spirituality. Therefore, to fulfill her idea, Themis went to the Underworld, where Laine last appeared in the present world.
However, after half a year of searching throughout the Underworld, Themis still found no trace of Laine. Only the Nether Moon in the sky seemed to be a creation transformed from his works. In the end, she came before the Nether Moon, hoping its master would hear her plea.
"Prince Laine, I have come to visit you and hope that you will meet with me,"
Themis said somewhat helplessly standing before the Nether Moon.
But the next moment, Themis instantly stepped back, watching the space ahead of her warily.
A ripple of space passed, and the aura of Spirituality seeped out. A black-robed girl with wings suddenly appeared before Themis, who had not sensed her presence at all beforehand.
She had never seen her before, but without a doubt, this unknown presence emitted the aura of the Nether Moon. And most crucially, in Themis's perception, the figure was clearly a True God, but she had never felt the fluctuations from the birth of her divinity.
"Lady Themis," the unknown deity spoke. Although the Goddess of Justice didn't recognize the figure, it was evident that she was quite familiar with Themis.
"I have come in response to your request to meet, lady; my master sends for you."
"Master?"
Themis was somewhat surprised in her heart. She had come to visit the God of Spirit, yet this goddess before her was calling Laine her master?
Even the former Heavenly Father, though he enslaved the gods in substance, never had them refer to themselves as slaves.
Because, as acknowledged deities of heaven and earth, embodiments of the Laws of Chaos, to demean another was to demean oneself.
"Please follow me."
Without resolving the Goddess of Justice's confusion, Liana turned around, and a transparent portal appeared before the two of them.
Furrowing her brow but not stepping back, Themis as an immortal deity knew that only Tartarus could contain them in the current Chaos. Clearly, she did not think that this unfamiliar space before her possessed might comparable to the Abyss.
And although not entirely sure, Themis guessed that this unknown space, as well as the goddess who claimed to be a servant, might very well be the aftermath of that day three hundred years ago, a subsequent event of the world's furious upheaval.
Perhaps she would soon know all the reasons.