The Tree of Golden Apples.
In mythology, this grand tree was brought back from the west coast by Gaia during the wedding of Zeus and Hera. In truth, the golden apple tree was a gift from the God of Chaos to his daughter, Gaia. The most famous story involving the golden apple revolves around the Trojan War, sparked by the rivalry between the three goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite; instigated by Eris, the goddess of strife.
However, many gods remain unaware of the tree's most significant attribute, its ability to absorb divine power. This is the true core of the golden apple.
Yet, no one has ever attempted to take away the golden apple. It has mostly served as a decoration, with Eris being the one to possess it.
Unfortunately for her, the divine power of this goddess of strife renders it meaningless for a weaker god to absorb its energy, and powerful gods are unlikely to qualify for such an endeavor.
For Hades, though, the situation was entirely different.
With Perseus sealed in a cycle of sealing and destruction, and after expending nearly 60% of the divine power stored in the magic star, acquiring the golden apple would justify the losses. It would not be a waste of time.
Hades approached the golden apple tree, gazing up at the towering giant, where apples gleamed like pure gold.
"Golden apples."
"Troublesome journey."
Reflecting on the situation, Hades mused that it would have been easier to take a golden apple using his invisibility cloth. Yet, he had not anticipated such tribulations. Still, the potential rewards were immense.
He raised his hand, gathering divine power to collect the golden apples one by one. Hades' divine sense swept over the tree, confirming a total of 999 golden apples; an extraordinary number.
However, as Hades aimed to collect all of them, he found that after gathering 108, he could not take any more. After pondering the situation, he quickly understood what was at play. Accepting this, Hades turned to leave, and with the blessing of his invisibility cloth, his figure vanished without a trace.
As Hades departed, the magic star released its seal, allowing Perseus to escape. But by then, Hades had already vanished, leaving Perseus to roar in frustration.
"Roar!!!"
With fury burning in his eyes, Perseus left as well. Even though he had failed his mission, he needed to report back.
Just then, an ethereal figure appeared, its gender indistinguishable. It glanced quietly at the golden apple tree, a look of nostalgia passing over its face. With a wave of its hand, the golden apple tree faded into the ether.
On the other side, after randomly selecting a location, Hades returned to the underworld, ignoring the sealed Heaven and Earth Serpent in Yellow Spring Biliangzaka, and headed directly to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
"That breath."
Hades hesitated, murmuring thoughtfully, "Gaia's breath."
Indeed, in Hades' perception, the figure that had confronted him must have been Gaia. No one else could have done such a thing. It felt similar to the dread brought by the Outer Gods that Hades had encountered, an unsettling sensation of resistance.
Yet for Hades, acquiring just 108 golden apples was sufficient to realize his plans.
With a wave of his hand, a multitude of golden apples materialized before him. Hades directed his power, merging each apple into the magic star.
Golden apples!
Magic star!
The two would be perfectly integrated, allowing the magic star to inherit the properties of the golden apple. However, this was only the beginning. Hades needed to prepare many other elements to complete his plan.
It would take hundreds of years to perfect this integration. Hades whispered softly, "The plan is now in its preliminary stages. The next step, no matter what, is to confront Father God; otherwise, it will be nearly impossible to progress."
He felt a slight headache, realizing that his true path forward was blocked.
To put it simply, the laws he wielded were not complete. As the natural ruler of the underworld, Hades needed to reclaim his authority, which was currently held by Cronus, the Titan king. Reclaiming it would not be easy; it seemed almost impossible.
Thus, Hades had to venture into the underworld. Only by regaining this authority could he truly advance. Even with the power of the magic star, which could match that of a Titan God, it remained an exercise in futility. Facing the Titan King was not just a matter of raw power; it was a chasm of difference that required true authority to bridge.
Both Hades and Zeus needed to reclaim their powers; Hades his authority as the King of the Underworld, Zeus his as the Emperor of Heaven, and Poseidon his as the Sea Emperor.
Only when all three broke their limits would they have a chance to defeat Cronus. Of course, given Cronus' nature, he could easily conceal such power from them.
But he would not do so; otherwise, he would cease to be the Titan God King.