Sounds of thunderous hammer clangs rang throughout the cave as Hephaestus worked on a minor project within his cave.
"Sideros. Flames," called out Hephaestus as he tossed a small bit of iron ore to the baby dragon.
Sideros let out a small squeak as it started gnawing on the iron ore with a look of happiness. Feeling a bit exasperated, Hephaestus gave Sideros a wry smile before letting out a sigh.
Perhaps the baby dragon was still too young to help out in the forge.
The head-sized dragon automaton had now grown into a chest-sized baby as many days of consuming raw iron had allowed it to grow exponentially.
Compared to its initially light gray metallic sheen, it had taken on a darker grey appearance as it consumed more iron and coal. Its soft malleable scales had hardened through its repeated bathing in lava.
How the iron dragon was able to survive the extreme temperatures of lava for extended periods was a question Hephaestus could not answer but it was also an irrelevant one.
Life will always find a way.
Hephaestus frowned as a small pain pierced his head but ignored it as it was a common occurrence whenever he said something weird.
As Hephaestus was just about done with his side project, Thetis peeked her head in with a slightly concerned look.
Hephaestus glanced over at Thetis.
"What is it Thetis, do you need me to make you something again?"
Thetis shook her head and put her fingers together in a nervous manner.
"Uh… Eurynome told me to get you. We have some… distinguished guests that came to visit."
"Tell Eurynome that I'll come down later," said Hephaestus as he placed some finishing touches on his work.
"Well… you can't do that cause the guests are here for you."
Hephaestus let out a sigh as he put down the project and his hammer before limping his way out of his forge.
Thetis gave Hephaestus a little pat on the back before leading the way.
As Hephaestus arrived at the reception room, he saw Eurynome speaking in a dignified manner to a handsome man with striking white hair radiating with power. Next to his side was a familiar beautiful woman who was looking at Eurynome with a hint of annoyance and jealousy.
Seeing Hephaestus enter, Eurynome elegantly flashed her heavily adorned arm to the entrance of the cave to reveal Hephaestus's presence.
"Here is the one you seek, Lord Zeus. My adopted son."
The handsome white-haired man stood up with an arrogant smile. "Welcome to the world of gods. Since you are a recently emerged god, I will graciously pardon any breach of etiquette you make today in my presence. My name is Zeus, king of god-"
"I know who you are," said Hephaestus indifferently as he gave a sideways glance at Zeus before ignoring him to look at the beautiful woman at his side.
The beautiful woman had seen Hephaestus walk up and furrowed her brows as a forgotten memory resurfaced at the disabled young man's appearance.
As she slowly started to recognize Hephaestus, her face morphed into shock.
Zeus, who was being ignored, was not at all happy as his anger started filling up the reception room with a tense electrical energy.
"A young god dares to interrupt and ignore me! And you have the audacity to ogle at my wife! Do you need a beating to-"
Hephaestus interrupted Zeus once more to address the beautiful woman.
"Hello Hera, or should I call you Mother?"
Hera, still in shock, whispered a name. "…Hephaestus."
Watching the two gods stare at each other with an unsettling atmosphere, a bunch of questions started appearing in Zeus's mind.
"…"
In the end, he decided to sit back down and drink the ambrosia that Eurynome had served.