Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

In the Pluto Palace, Persephone and Hades sat opposite each other.

She knew why Pluto looked up, and she was not very interested in it. Because like other gods on earth, the seed goddess did not like the dead souls that exuded death.

As for why Hades was so concerned about this, it was easy to understand. The more powerful a life is during life, the stronger its power will be after death, and the faith generated by such a life is often particularly amazing.

What determines the purity of faith is piety, but what determines how much is the strength of life itself. For the innate gods with immortal essence, whether the faith is pure or not does not have much impact, so what the gods really care about is actually just the number.

Perhaps for the other gods of Olympus, they will not care too much about those few powerful individuals. After all, today's human beings are still in a state of barbaric growth. If there is no winter brought by Demeter, I am afraid that the number of mortals will still be growing.

So instead of focusing on those strong people, it is better to work more on the number. Faith is difficult to force, and the life span of mortals is very limited. Only casting a wide net is the hard truth, but Hades is different.

The life span of the undead depends on the soul. The stronger the soul, the longer it will last. Perhaps without the blood of the gods, the few legends in the history of the fourth generation of mankind can only live two or three times longer than ordinary people, but the existence of the same level among the undead can easily survive for thousands of years, which makes the strength of individual power very cost-effective.

And Hades has long been fed up with those undead who like to worship the moon. These skeletons and souls seem to have a natural liking for the existence that gives them new life. So whenever there is some possibility, Hades is more willing to cultivate those special and powerful existences separately, use his own divine power to create a similar environment, and give them new life.

This really effectively avoids a lot of trouble. The only bad thing is that this thing itself is not easy. In the absence of corresponding authority, even if the goddess of the moon has not banned the birth of ownerless magic from the source, Hades still needs to use tens of millions of times more power to do the same thing.

But if it was just a few, Hades felt it was acceptable. After all, he only needed to pay attention to those subordinates who were worthy of his attention. As for the others, the dead were different from the living. These beings who had died once not only did not have so many desires, but Hades did not rely on worship to gain faith.

Over the years, he had verified his conjecture. As Hades, the awe of these lives born in the underworld for his power and the rules established under the power itself was a kind of faith in him. So Hades would personally go to the ground once he had a chance.

But this time, facing Persephone's inquiry, Hades just shook his head.

"It is indeed a powerful breath, but it is not a mortal, so I have to see it myself."

"And... it seems to have something to do with you."

Recalling the fleeting breath just now, Hades was a little unsure. It was a feeling of being stained with the breath of the gods, and even that breath was very familiar.

That was Demeter... Thinking of this, as if he had finally made a decision, he looked at the goddess beside him.

After so many years, he has been able to determine that the other party may not be the most perfect choice, but it must be what he needs. In this case, there is no need to hesitate.

"Per... Although the arrival of the cold season is indeed a good thing, the gods will not endure it forever."

"One day, they will not be able to tolerate the reduction of humans, and then at the request of your mother, they will unite to put pressure on me to let you return to the human world."

"But I don't want to go back."

Persephone said lightly, looking on the table and eating another fruit.

"I can explain it to my mother, she will understand me."

"Maybe... But whether she understands you or not, Zeus will definitely not understand me."

Shaking his head, Hades did not have much hope for this.

Pluto saw what the king of gods did to Demeter. Obviously, even if he did not jump up and down like Poseidon, and even came to the desolate underground, Zeus still could not say that he was very confident in him.

Maybe it was just a subconscious check and balance by the God King, or maybe he really saw something. In short, Zeus's behavior has vaguely expressed his attitude, so this time Hades simply acted first and then asked the God King to fulfill his promise. Otherwise, he dared to guarantee that something strange would definitely happen in the middle, and it seemed to be "unrelated" to the master of Mount Olympus.

Thinking of this, Hades also wanted to laugh. Zeus is indeed the "guardian of the oath" - he will do as many words as the oath contains. And in the part outside the oath, he will do more in the opposite direction.

But maybe it is such a person who can sit in the position of king for a longer time - if he is not the God King, but a human.

"God King Zeus, it's disgusting."

Picking up a handkerchief and wiping her wet fingers, Persephone raised her head. Her eyes passed through the wall of the temple and looked down at the vast underworld from a higher angle.

As a god on earth, she didn't really like the dark underworld. But the difference from that time is that now there is no mother who forces her to stay in the small valley.

She can stay in this vast world freely, even if it is a bit monotonous now - although reason tells Persephone that this is a decision made by Demeter to protect her, and she can understand her mother's behavior, but it is a torture to let a girl who is full of curiosity about everything live alone in a secluded valley for a hundred years.

Moreover, in her opinion, perhaps her mother has a better way to protect her, rather than hiding in a corner and deceiving herself.

Therefore, Persephone hates Zeus, who caused all this, but she is not particularly close to the mother who has only seen a few times. She feels like her own divine position, just a "seed", buried in the cracks of rocks and rubble.

So she did not tell Demeter about her whereabouts before, and watched the other party bring disaster to the world, because she wanted to disgust Zeus and also hoped to force this goddess who obviously holds extraordinary power.

She is also the daughter of Kronos. The six brothers and sisters are obviously true gods with powerful divine power, but Demeter is so timid. Didn't she know that the weaker you are, the more you need to expose your thorns, so that others will at least be cautious when picking fruits?

Fortunately, as she disappeared, her mother finally remembered her authority and knew how to protect her by threatening rather than escaping... At this moment, Persephone felt that her approach was still right.

Some people's personalities are like this. You have to force her into a corner before she knows how to let others see her threat. There is no doubt that her mother is such a person. If she did this as soon as she was forcibly possessed by Zeus, the gods would have known to give her more respect, even if it was just superficial.

But thinking of this, the goddess looked at Hades again.

Demeter did make the gods recognize her again. After all, she had such authority, but she had never mustered up the courage before, but Persephone did not.

She was really weak in divine power, and no matter how fierce she was, the result would not be any different. So the only person she could count on was actually the guy who captured her.

"So think of a way, Hades, aren't you the King of the Underworld?"

"Zeus is just your brother. As a brother, can you only be servile and begging for mercy in front of him?"

Looking at her future husband, Persephone said sarcastically.

And in front of her, listening to the goddess' words, Hades was not angry. Or rather, he never got angry about these insignificant things.

"If it was just for a moment of pleasure, Per, then I would not have given up competing with Zeus for the position of the King of Gods. Besides, now, the power he has shown has made me a little unclear."

Shaking his head, his expression was a little inexplicable, and Hades drank the wine in the cup again.

The resurrected dead will more or less remember some things in their lifetime, so the craftsmanship of the human world has also been circulated in the underworld. Even with the arrival of Persephone, even the problem of raw materials has been solved.

The goddess opened a garden in the Field of Truth, and used her own power to grow various crops on the ground there. Whether it is the fruits or drinks they are eating now, the materials are all planted by her personally.

"But Pearl, I don't envy him, because I know that there is no power that comes out of thin air in this world."

"The throne of the king of gods looks very tempting. My grandfather, my father, and even the current Zeus, all gained supreme power because of it, but who knows what the price is?"

"Heh."

With a sneer, Persephone turned a deaf ear to Hades' words.

"When he pays the price, you may have been trained to be obedient?"

"Everyone can talk about the truth, Hades, but the result is that Uranus did whatever he wanted for an era, and in front of Kronos, you didn't even dare to speak loudly."

"Tell me your plan... or do you want to tell me that you took great pains to bring me to the underworld just to let me play here for a hundred years, and then send me back to Olympus obediently?"

Not confused, perhaps in some aspects of sensitivity, Persephone did inherit her father's characteristics.

As she said, since Hades dared to bring her down, he should have a way to let her stay.

"...You're right, Persephone, I can indeed let you stay here - but not forever."

After a moment of silence, since he had made up his mind, there was no need to hesitate. These years of getting along have made Hades know his future queen more clearly. Although she never knew how to be polite when talking to him, she really did things in a measured way.

Perhaps, as she said herself, the impoliteness of her words was just to cover up her inner uneasiness...So facing Persephone's gaze, Hades' face finally became serious. Silently, half of the power of the underworld that belonged to him was mobilized by him and gathered towards his palm.

The gray and black air mixed together. As the intersection of the power of the four original gods, the power of the underworld inevitably stained the characteristics of each of them. Heavy, mysterious, and with some distorted order or rules in the shadows. Twelve crystal clear fruits gradually emerged in Hades' palm, and because of their appearance, Hades' face was even a little pale.

"As you can see, Pearl, I have spent the last hundred years getting to know you. But now, I think you might actually be my Queen."

"So just like Zeus and Hera, I am willing to share my authority with you - but only if you are willing to bear the price."

"cost?"

Staring at the fruit in Hades' palm, Persephone raised her eyebrows.

She just asked casually, not even paying much attention. After all, in her opinion, there was no price that would be more annoying to her than returning to Olympus without any strength. In comparison, even the unknown fruit in front of her was more attractive to her.

She has never seen such a plant before. It seems that it is not naturally occurring, but a manifestation of some kind of authority... But it doesn't matter. As the seed goddess, as long as she eats one, from today on, the underworld will be full of this new plant. of plants.

"Yes, the price. The God King is the gathering of the laws of this world, so Hera can share the authority of Zeus, because including me, we are all part of this world, but the underworld is different."

Nodding slightly, Pluto continued to explain:

"Your origin is not naturally one with the underworld, which makes it impossible for me to directly make you the queen of the underworld. So Pearl, if you want to share my authority, you must first actively become a part of the underworld. "

"At that time, your power will be, like mine, closely related to the strength of the underworld. Of course, you are not like me. The symbol of my priesthood is inherently part of the underworld, just like I am staying here. Therefore, I You can freely travel to every corner of the world, but if you make such a choice, you will have to be pulled by the laws of the interface from now on.”

"At that time, no matter who tries to stop you, they can't stop you from returning to the embrace of Hades at the corresponding time - not even you."

"I see."

Thoughtful, Persephone only thought briefly and understood what Hades meant.

"Then your goal is achieved. When my authority becomes part of the underworld, no matter where I am, the interface itself will change, right?"

Hades didn't say anything about this, but his attitude said it all.

"Okay, how many can I eat?"

Looking at the fruit in Hades' palm again, Persephone asked again.

"At most half, this is the limit you can bear - but I hope you understand that before eating it, you can still freely decide whether you are on the ground or underground. After all, I will not restrict your behavior. But - "

"No buts."

Interrupting Hades' words, Persephone took six fruits from his hand and swallowed them in one gulp.

"Seeds also need a place to germinate. I think this place is pretty good."

After the fruit entered her stomach, she didn't feel anything at first. However, soon, the goddess felt that she had come into contact with something majestic. She was being wrapped, swallowed, and fused by the other person, and in the process, she also felt a powerful force flowing into her body, gradually being held in her hands.

This influence is mutual. Just because of the difference in size, Hades has less changes, and Persephone has more changes. However, this is just right. After all, Hades is not the earth. A small amount of changes is a good thing, but too much can be harmful. Not necessarily.

Change continues, and the interaction of laws never ends. As time passed, until a certain moment, the entire underworld suddenly trembled slightly.

Something has been completely changed, but nothing seems to have happened. Only Hades, as the King of Hades, could clearly feel that a weak life force was born underground in the Garden of Truth.

Just like an ungerminated seed, although it is very small, it is tenacious and pure. And the moment it appeared, the entire cycle of the underworld instantly increased by more than one step, and even after the surge, it was still slowly increasing. At the same time, the laws of this world seemed to be happy with this, and His power also tilted down.

Gaia noticed this change, but now she had no time to pay attention to it. Other primitive gods also noticed this scene, but after feeling the familiar aura of the present world, they all withdrew their gaze.

Such direct feedback from the law has basically proven that this is a part of destiny. Perhaps its process can be changed, but the result has never been changed. It is like the birth of the sun and the moon and the replacement of the gods and kings. This is the node of the world's self-improvement, and it is also something that is destined to happen.

At the same time, on Mount Olympus, the God King seemed to have noticed something. However, he could not find the source of the problem because he was only incarnate. After searching for a while to no avail, he had to put down the inexplicable feeling for the time being and summon the Wind God.

Demeter's matter has been going on for a long time. As the God King, it is difficult for him to come forward, so he can only let his loyal ministers contact him on his behalf.

I believe that he doesn't need to say it directly, as long as he adopts an indifferent attitude, he will understand what he means.

…

"This is the power of the underworld..."

In the Palace of Hades, Persephone opened her eyes after eating six fruits.

At some point, her blond hair turned gray and her eyes turned pure black. A faint gray mist surged around her, congratulating the goddess on her new life.

"Now, am I the Queen of Hades?"

Stretching and feeling her new state, Persephone felt more relaxed than ever before. The cold feeling coming from the depths of her soul was not only not uncomfortable, but made her feel warm.

So she turned around and stared at Hades for a long time. After a while, she suddenly asked:

"So Hades, since I am your Queen of the Underworld, do you need me to give birth to a prince for you?"

"God does not need an heir."

Silently refusing, Hades clenched his hands, and the remaining six fruits returned to his body.

The matter that had been on his mind for a long time was finally completed, and Hades did not forget the other thing he had just planned to do.

"I'm going to see the dead man who gave me a strange breath. Do you want to go with me?"

"You are so boring."

It was a bit disappointing, but for hundreds of years, Persephone had realized that there might be many reasons why the monarch of the underworld wanted to find the Queen of the Underworld, but that definitely did not include the same reasons as Zeus.

So for Hades' reaction, the goddess just waved her hand indifferently, then she turned around and looked at the back of the temple with some interest.

There was a familiar breath there. It was also the valley where she found herself hiding that brought Hades driving a bronze chariot.

At first, Persephone was actually a little grateful to her, but then it gradually disappeared. Because whenever she was alone with Hades, the nymph seemed to always show her presence, and even when she was alone, she often said something that annoyed the goddess.

For example, she was the best candidate for Hades' wife, and she had done so many things for Hades, and Persephone had better not fantasize about it. Or she laughed at her life experience and past, and other things, as if the nymph had forgotten that no matter how bad she was, she was a born immortal god, and she was just dust that was never taken seriously by the gods.

Before, Persephone was not easy to deal with her. After all, although the goddess' words were never polite, she was still very clear about her identity. However, now, the situation is different.

So the goddess stretched out her hand and gently grabbed, and the water nymph named Mingta fell into her hands.

"Wait, Persephone, what are you going to do?"

As if she didn't expect that she would be caught, Mingta's voice was a little flustered, but soon became firm again.

She didn't believe that the other party dared to do anything to her. No matter what, she had worked for Hades for so many years, so she immediately explained:

"Your Majesty, I don't want to eavesdrop on your conversation, I just came to give you..."

The voice stopped abruptly. The power in his hand was just a fluctuating, and the annoying voice of the nymph disappeared.

Persephone then clenched her five fingers, intending to completely wipe out this guy who had no self-awareness, but at this time, a pale hand grabbed her wrist.

"What's wrong, can you not bear it - if so, why didn't you stop me from killing her just now?"

Without turning around, the Queen of Hades was very sure that Hades had just had enough time to stop her actions. However, the next moment, Hades' response made her laugh.

"You have to learn to be thrifty, Pearl, from now on, the underworld also has a part of you."

Letting go of his hand, Hades just pointed casually, and Minta's body gradually blurred. Soon, only a mint grass was left in the original place.

Of course, there was no such plant as "mint" in this world before. It was only created by Hades. I believe that the special aroma of this plant can alert people who use it in the future.

"Also, Pearl, since you killed her, from today on, the things that were originally her responsibility will be handed over to you."

If there was really no one available, how could Hades tolerate this maid who often acted on her own. Fortunately, it seems that his queen of the underworld should be a very capable guy.

As soon as the voice fell, Hades' body turned into light and flew to the ground. He had been delayed for a long time. Behind Hades, Persephone looked at his back for a while, then turned around, picked up the mint grass with a smile, and gently raised it.

The next moment, thousands of grass seeds fell in all directions. Looking at this scene, as if remembering something, the goddess used her authority to materialize the nameless fruit that she had eaten before.

"If you want, call it pomegranate."

She spoke softly, and on that day, there were two more plants in the world, and the underworld had a queen who held power. The king of the underworld finally reached the limit of the true god. The next step was the natural chasm that was almost impossible to cross in the normal way.

As for the dead water fairy... except for the two gods present, no one remembered her name, just like the mint grass that spread all over the world in the future.

······

Outside the world.

Tartarus.

Hundreds of years in the outside world, but here, tens of thousands of years have passed in a hurry.

In the chaotic time and space, everything is so jumping, but since the beginning of the Third Age, several changes have changed here, causing strange changes in the abyss that originally had no order.

Layer after layer of space gradually extended, dividing the interface that was mixed as one, and even if you observe its spatial structure, it is similar to the three divisions of the Nine Hells. But in comparison, the environment here is more severe, and the division of levels is also irregular.

However, there is one thing that the Nine Hells cannot compare to, and that is the number of levels. Under the huge size of Tartarus, thousands of large and small levels have emerged.

Under His unique rules, no one knows how many interfaces exist here, because the chaotic instinct of the abyss may have never paid attention to it. And in this case, even if the first-level interface born in the chaos is far less powerful than the Nine Hells, this simple increase in magnitude cannot significantly enhance the circulation in the world like the Nine Hells, but in such a huge In front of the pile of numbers, He still showed another kind of beauty.

In any case, compared to the complete Abyss, the Nine Hells are still much weaker. After all, as the main part of the world, Tartarus still has power that even the current Ryan cannot match. Hell wants to catch up. This gap may be difficult to achieve even in an era.

Of course, there is no life in these new levels, because now there are only seven in the entire abyss that can truly be called life.

And at the very bottom of these tens of millions of layers of interfaces, at the very bottom of the world, in the chaotic void, six towering figures with different figures are suspended there. In front of them, an indescribable giant was floating and sinking, and it seemed that there were finally some signs of waking up.

She originally wanted to sleep for a while, but the changes in the underworld alerted all the primitive gods, and naturally also alerted the abyss. As the beginning of life in the abyss, she was also affected. Therefore, the consciousness that had been dormant for an era gradually became active, and with it, the power of Tartarus surged.