In the past, the gods were unaware of what Hades had done, but now they fully understood. Hades had forged the Underworld with the World Tree at its core, using it to manage the cycle of life and death. This sparked Poseidon's curiosity. If Hades could achieve such feats, shouldn't he also be capable of similar accomplishments? Although he didn't possess a divine artifact like the World Tree, Poseidon had his own ideas.
With this motivation, Poseidon decided to conduct research. Success would be ideal, but even failure would provide valuable experience for future attempts.
"Lord Poseidon!"
Nereus approached, bowing respectfully as he reported, "The entire ocean realm has been cleared, and all Titans have been dealt with. However, there are still many strange and chaotic barriers above the sea..."
Poseidon raised his hand and calmly said, "Do not touch these barriers. After the Titan War ends, the five of you brothers will search through them one by one and retrieve everything inside."
"Understood!"
Nereus knew what this meant. The ocean realm was vast, larger in theory than the surface world. However, in reality, the heavens, the ocean realm, the Underworld, and the surface world were the original four realms. The Underworld was simply the divine body of Tartarus, giving it a strange and unique nature. This did not mean that the Underworld corresponded to the position of the dead.
The Underworld, Netherworld, and Tartarus were different entities. The Underworld was transformed from the divine body of an Ancient God and served as one of the four realms representing the dead during the time of Uranus and Cronus. The Netherworld, prepared for Hades, was the true representation of the realm of the dead. Hades had already absorbed 99% of the Netherworld, leaving it behind to fulfill its role. Tartarus, however, was not a gift from the mythical world; it was a natural emergence, born from the world's destruction, housing a seven-headed, ten-horned dragon.
This place had a peculiarity; even gods like Cronus could encounter problems if they entered. However, Hades, being unique, entered without issue, which was crucial to everything. The Underworld, surface world, heavens, and ocean realm were the four realms, with the surface world being the largest. But how much smaller were the other three realms compared to the surface world? It's hard to say. If the surface world was a 10, the Netherworld was a 9, the heavens were an 8, and the ocean realm was a 9.9.
The ocean realm was vast, only slightly smaller than the surface world, and, like the surface world, filled with countless divine objects and resources nurtured by the Earth Goddess. The ocean realm had numerous islands and underwater ruins, many of which were sealed or protected by powerful barriers. Even ordinary Chief Gods of Titans couldn't break through these seals.
This was the unique nature of the ocean realm. Poseidon had to wait until after the Titan War to explore these mysteries. It highlighted how many resources Zeus had acquired from the Netherworld and ocean realm. Despite this, Zeus had failed to achieve the status of an Ancient God, forcing him to leave the throne to Apollo and seek other opportunities.
This reflected poorly on Zeus, especially when compared to his father, the unbeatable Titan King, who reached the level of an Ancient God with seemingly fewer resources.
Poseidon murmured, "Zeus, you are indeed a failure."
How did Poseidon know all this? It was a mystery. However, it wasn't unusual for a God-King to foresee their future, especially in a mythical world encompassing infinite multiverses. Finding anything within such a vast multiverse, including your future corpse, wasn't difficult.
"Lord Poseidon," Nereus continued respectfully, "You are aware that the children of Oceanus and Tethys have come forward, willing to serve and follow you."
For the Greek pantheon, the idea of vengeance for slain fathers was laughable. Unlike Gaia, who cherished all her children, even the Cyclops and Hecatoncheires, giving them divine weapons, the rest didn't share such bonds. Cronus achieving the status of an Ancient God and Gaia's constant slumber were linked.
As for Erebus and Nyx, they were a unique case. The children of Oceanus and Tethys submitting to Poseidon was expected. In the ocean realm, they managed everything.
3000 river gods.
3000 ocean goddesses.
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