Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

On Mount Olympus, standing among the gods, Athena quietly listened to Zeus' instructions.

The suddenly changed environment, the gods with different auras, all of this was a little beyond the expectations of the goddess of wisdom.

She was just exploring her own memories, but she didn't expect this to happen - especially as Zeus finished speaking, Athena clearly noticed that the gods' eyes seemed to faintly sweep over her.

Or it was not just her, but also Hera and Aphrodite, who just pointed more at her. After noticing this change, Athena seemed to understand something.

Everything was obviously related to what Zeus said before. The "battlefield of the world, the army of the city-state" he mentioned was probably deeply related to her and the other two gods, so that the gods were waiting for their reactions.

As for looking at herself more... The goddess of wisdom had a vague feeling, perhaps because at this moment, she was already the second most powerful being on Mount Olympus after the God King.

It's not that the gods have become weaker, but that I seem to be stronger now. At least compared to before, this familiar yet strange body has a stronger power, almost the pinnacle of the gods...

Thinking quickly in her heart, Athena suppressed her inexplicable thoughts and retracted her divergent thoughts. In any case, no matter whether she is strong now, the king of gods in front of her will only be stronger.

Facing Zeus's instructions, passive response is not desirable, and direct confrontation is not suitable. So according to the information that can be learned at present, the goddess made a simple judgment on the situation.

She decided to give herself more time and deal with the things in front of her for the time being. So after a moment of silence, the goddess raised her head slightly, and under the attention of the gods, Athena broke the silence on the mountain.

"Son of Kronos, Lord of the Gods, Master of the Sky and the Earth - your power is unquestionable, how could the gods think of competing with you?"

"But despite this, I still feel sad for the deaths and injuries of those intelligent beings... They will have to accept a tragic fate, with blood flowing like a river under the high walls and in the wilderness, and all this could have been avoided."

There was some sadness in her tone, and as Athena spoke with compassion, the atmosphere in the field seemed to ease a little. Zeus also smiled at the intersection of the gods' eyes.

Above the sacred mountain, the dark clouds that originally gathered due to the will of the Lord of Ten Thousand Thunders slowly dissipated, symbolizing the change in the mood of its owner. Looking at the most radiant one among the gods, the God King smiled and said:

"Don't be discouraged, Tritogenia (another name for Athena), my most beloved daughter."

"The affairs of the world will have the results they deserve...My words do not mean harsh reprimands. I always have good intentions for you."

It is natural that no one dares to oppose him. After all, everyone knows the power of the God King, so Zeus put away his serious expression.

Since Poseidon started a ridiculous rebellion, the God King often used similar methods to knock these immortal gods. Since his will was once again implemented, this temporary meeting can also end here.

Now, he is going to the world and let this mortal war proceed according to the results he hopes for.

Yes, Zeus banned the gods, but he did not ban himself. He would naturally have selfish motives to announce such an order. However, just when the God King was about to summon his carriage, a stream of light passing through the distant sky suddenly caught his attention.

"Hmm - Hermes, what are you doing here?"

Somewhat surprised, the God King stopped. His eyes looked outside the sacred mountain, and soon, the figure quickly appeared in the perception of the gods.

Athena, standing aside, watched this scene silently - another god she had never seen. Hermes... The goddess silently remembered this name.

After a while, when the stream of light fell to the ground, a young god who looked like a teenager appeared in front of the gods. There was a cynical smile on the corner of his mouth, and he looked like a cunning and clever guy.

His eyes passed over the gods, stopped on the God King, and then gently stroked his chest.

"Respected King of the Gods, my heroic father, as you requested: I obey your instructions to convey the oracle that the gods cannot interfere with to the human world."

He paused, secretly observed the expressions of the gods, and then continued:

"But when I was about to return, your majesty, something unexpected happened in the human city of Troy."

"A strange god attacked the guards guarding the city and ignored your orders. Even in the end, according to the humans present at the time, he claimed that he would come to Olympus, where the gods live, to experience your unparalleled power."

In the original mythology, the wind god was not Zeus's confidant. On the contrary, as the son of the king of gods, Hermes, who was in charge of travel, theft, and eloquence, was the messenger of the gods. And before that, it was he who conveyed Zeus' oracle to the mortals.

Now, he also brought back this unexpected news. And unlike in the past, there was no personal "little opinion" involved. This time, Hermes explained the situation truthfully without any other thoughts.

Openly provoking the God King is not something that no one has done in the past, but they were either special gods like the Queen of Heaven or the Sea King, or they had already received terrible punishment. Hermes did not intend to get involved in this, and when his voice fell, the mountain of gods became quiet again.

Silently, the dark clouds gathered again. The God King was still smiling, but his smile was a little colder.

"A strange god... Hermes, this is not common."

"Your Majesty, perhaps he was born not long ago and does not know your power yet, just like the goddess of beauty in the past - this is completely understandable."

He responded respectfully and winked in the direction of Aphrodite. This incarnation of love and beauty has a close relationship with many gods of Olympus, and Hermes is no exception.

"You are right, my child, I should always be extra tolerant of the offenses of the ignorant."

Nodding gently, Zeus agreed with this statement. But to confirm this, the God King looked at his messenger again.

In front of Hermes, Ryan's virtual image has been reflected by him. A being that has never been seen before, perhaps it is indeed a newly born god.

"Does anyone recognize him?"

The God King asked, and the gods shook their heads. Seeing this, Zeus narrowed his eyes and said with a smile:

"Since no one recognizes him, it may be as Hermes said-in this case, I will wait here for a while."

"He wants to see my power, so I will give him this opportunity. As the king of the gods, this is also the generosity I should have."

After living for a long time, there will always be some strange beings to provoke him, whether it is mortals or gods. So after a brief anger, Zeus calmed down instead, and regarded this more as a fun and an opportunity to show his strength again.

Therefore, Zeus, who was immersed in his thoughts, did not notice the flash of astonishment in Athena's eyes after seeing the image of the strange god.

The goddess recognized his existence, that was the person who had given her the artifact, but it was not this that really surprised her.

Because just now, the image materialized by Hermes seemed to nod to her.

······

Underworld, Narcissus Plain.

Walking on the gray land, Ryan casually observed the surrounding environment.

Before, he had already looked at the surrounding situation one by one. Unlike the underworld in reality, the underworld under this fate track has neither the dead souls coming and going nor the traces of the original gods.

Places like the abyss and the land of eternal night do exist, but they only exist. They are like an empty shell, and Ryan did not feel the slightest consciousness in them.

Just as he thought before, there is no trace of the second great divine power in this world. I don’t know whether the meager power of creation is not enough to do this, or simply did not do so.

But this made Ryan more certain. Fake is fake, even Zeus in this fake world, his power is probably more in the ‘setting’. After all, although everything is equal to the power of creation, it is not enough to transform such a huge energy with only a piece of memory carrying information.

"And these souls are simply replicas."

The eyes swept around one by one. The underworld in this original destiny is much more lively than the real one.

Perhaps because of the war in the human world, the souls of the dead came to the underworld one after another. The densely packed figures were ferried to the other side after paying silver coins (opoles), and then walked forward for a distance to be judged by three judges of the underworld in a tall palace.

Different from the reality that the spirit world uses the ability and achievements of the soul in life as the judgment standard, these three judges who were once famous humans in their lives and were promoted after death use "good" and "evil" to determine the fate of mortal souls.

Those lives with alternating "good" and "evil" will be left here, in a place called Narcissus Plain, full of golden spike flowers. They feed on it, and then gradually lose their memories of life and the traces of their existence while wandering.

Those souls whose "evil" far outweighs their "good" will be sent to a place close to Tartarus to be punished. The gods built a huge prison there to imprison these guilty people.

As for those whose "good" far outweighs their "evil", they can continue to move forward and enjoy an eternal and happy life in the Paradise of Elysee built by the gods, until their souls exhaust their last energy and dissipate in the world.

As for how to judge the "good" and "evil" of human beings in their lifetime, it is obvious. Those who worship God and believe in God are undoubtedly the most "good", and vice versa, the most "evil". There is also a strong subjective color in other judgment criteria.

But this is normal. The judges and paradises set up by God are naturally prepared for the pious. It doesn't seem so strange to decide "good" and "evil" according to faith.

"Hmm - so for the people who already exist in this world, she will merge with her original self after entering?"

With a change of expression, Ryan bypassed the judges and came to the Garden of Truth. However, this was the scene on Mount Olympus where Hermes evolved his image. Following this invisible connection, he directly "saw" everything that happened there.

It is undoubtedly very obvious that there is a real thing suddenly in a "false" scene. However, what really makes Ryan feel a little interesting is that in this way, can Athena also be regarded as "seeing the future"?

Although it is only the original future... He watched the goddess cleverly find a reason, temporarily left the gods, and went straight to his palace. And it is almost conceivable that the first thing Athena will watch is the "history" under this fate trajectory.

What happened in the past, what role did she play in it, why this world is so similar to the original, but there are so many differences - as long as she sees it, this doubt will almost certainly appear in Athena's mind, and then try to explore the reasons.

"It's just that it's the third era now, the original trajectory, just look at it."

Retracting his attention, Ryan put his mind back to the underworld.

In front of him, I don't know when there was an extra figure. The master of the underworld has discovered him, or rather, he discovered him the first time he stepped here without concealment. But it was not until Ryan walked here that Hades had to come to him.

Because although he did not detect the breath of this unknown god, Hades had already been alerted. So if possible, he did not want to come to face Ryan.

"Strange god, why are you here?"

He spoke cautiously. No matter what, since the other party had come to the door, Hades could not turn a blind eye.

"I came for destruction."

Ryan responded sincerely.

"Destruction... Is there any mortal who provokes you? Do you want to punish him forever?"

Hades asked with a frown.

If that's the case, it's not a big deal. He was just wondering why this god came directly to the Garden of Truth.

In the past, the gods of Olympus had similar needs but never informed him. They just took him away or did something, and did not take him seriously at all.

"If that's the case, then I agree."

"No, you misunderstood."

Ryan shook his head gently and looked at Hades.

"I mean all."

"All souls? That's probably not a good idea."

Hades' tone was a little surprised, and this time, he refused.

It's not that no gods come here occasionally to ask for some mortal souls, but all, that's too much.

"Of course not all souls."

With a smile on his face, Ryan slowly corrected:

"I said all... I mean the whole world."