Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

Mount Olympus, in Athena's circular library.

The brief exchange had come to an end, and the palace fell into silence again, with only the occasional sound of wax dripping.

The ancient books floated in the air, and a halo that was difficult to distinguish with the naked eye enveloped the bookshelves. Information was interacting, as if something was being absorbed and spliced.

When the will of its true owner left, the artifact fell back into Athena's control. At this moment, under her control, the contents recorded in the library documents were extracted, screened and pieced together under the power of authority.

No matter what she was going to do next, it would not affect Athena's understanding of the past of this world first. Moreover, after the previous conversation, the goddess's attention to these documents had also increased by more than one level.

After understanding what she was going to do, Athena finally understood the environment she was in. This is a false world, but it carries a complete and world-recognized destiny, and the reason why it turned from false to real is because her memory of the secret of the God King involved some terrible power.

Therefore, everything here can be believed, but not completely believed. Of course, in this matter, Athena believes that she still has the ability to judge, and this is one of the benefits of her virtual trip.

All the information she learned here is a preview of the future, which can allow Athena to make more correct choices in the future, or avoid many avoidable troubles.

"For example, Hermes, Hebe, the golden apple, and... Hephaestus.

"It's really annoying. "

A little by little, as the artifacts were sorted out, the past of this world gradually appeared in front of Athena. And what she paid attention to first, of course, was the things related to the gods.

After all, in the Third Age, even if the present world has been suppressed, it is the gods who have decided the direction of this world so far. Therefore, Athena will definitely pay more attention to this, especially those gods that she has never heard of in reality.

First, the young god she met before, and then the daughter of Hera who has not been born in reality, the goddess of youth Hebe... and Hera's only son, the god of craftsman Hephaestus.

At first, Athena was in a good mood, but what she didn't expect was that as she read, she actually found her own records in it. Although the document is vague, it probably only wrote that 'the god of craftsman was After his wife betrayed him, he failed to woo the goddess of wisdom who came to forge weapons, and his essence fell on the earth, giving birth to Erichthonius. But just thinking about it, Athena knew that the process would not be so simple.

"Sprinkling the essence on the earth" in public... Think about another record in the literature, the god of craftsman covered his cheating wife and lover with a golden net, and then summoned the gods to watch...

"He should have been born in reality... I'd better stay away from him in the future."

Making a decision secretly, Athena thought it would be better to stay away from this god with a unique hobby. If he insists on coming to her, then her own artifact is no joke.

However, the value of these historical contents has risen again in her heart. Just like what this god of craftsman did, although It was not very harmful, but it was extremely insulting. Athena felt that if such a scene happened in reality, she would be disgusted for at least a thousand years.

········

The golden red robe that Dawn had shaken off gradually faded away, and the scorching sun was hanging high in the sky.

While Athena was still browsing quietly in her library, the banquet of the gods had just begun on the top of Mount Olympus.

Perhaps because he felt that he had just threatened the gods and would show his force again soon, the king of gods now seemed to be much gentler.

The Muses, who were good at singing, dancing and art, danced in the hall, and the cupbearers of the gods poured out the fountain of youth from their golden cups.

At the invitation of Hermes, Apollo took out his lyre and played the accompaniment music. For a time, the atmosphere on the mountain was very harmonious.

With a smile on his face, Zeus toasted his queen with a glass of wine, and then was naturally rejected. The king of gods was not surprised by this, after all, his previous order had angered the other party.

The cause of the current war in the world is the continuation of the conflict between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, but the grudges between the gods have escalated it. So Zeus just drank the glass of wine himself, and then quietly watched the feasting gods.

The atmosphere was so harmonious, filled with happiness and beauty. The gods had long forgotten that there was still a war in the world, and mortals were bleeding for their will.

But there was nothing strange about this. For the eternal gods, the victory or defeat in the world was important and unimportant. Whether it was strength or face, for the gods, they were just tools to make their lives more comfortable. The king of gods would not think too much about it, but for some reason, he always felt a vague sense of unreality.

Everything in the memory was fine, and what he saw in front of him was no different from usual. But feeling his power that could lift the earth and shake the world, a feeling of emptiness lingered in Zeus' heart.

When did this feeling come about?

"It seems like it was today..."

"What today?"

"Father, please drink this cup!"

A voice suddenly sounded from the side, and Zeus turned around. It turned out to be Hermes who had sent the message before.

This favorite son of his never liked to call him "Your Majesty", but the God King felt pretty good about it. If Zeus favored Apollo because he was the best among his children, then for Hermes, it was simply because he found some happiness as a father in him.

Although the God King himself knew that as a cunning thief and the protector of merchants, no one knew which of Hermes' words were sincere, but he didn't care. Because Zeus himself also understood why his other children didn't want to get close to him.

So he raised the glass again and drank it all with a smile.

"Nothing, my child, I just thought of the news you brought not long ago."

"Since this era, fewer and fewer true gods have been born in the world, and only as the God King, my descendants are often exceptions. It is also a very rare thing to be able to give birth to a new god."

"Although it is indeed rare, all this is your credit, Father God."

"Under your governance, the gods are restrained, the immortals no longer wreak havoc on the earth like in the previous two eras, and the mortal city-states are becoming more and more prosperous."

Hermes smiled and stroked his chest with his right hand.

"Maybe this is the world's praise for your achievements, or it may be a recognition of your achievements."

"Hahahaha...you always talk like this."

Laughing out loud at his son's compliment, the God King had forgotten the previous sense of unreality.

Yes, as Hermes said, the world today is no longer the previous two eras. The gods are in awe in front of the God Court, and he is the master of the sky and the earth, the king of all kings in the world.

"Tell me, what are you doing here? You can't just come here to compliment me."

Zeus asked after a pause.

He had already made up his mind that as long as it wasn't something too much, he would agree to Hermes' request... But unexpectedly, the young god didn't ask for any benefits.

"Actually, it's still for your business... Father, I only conveyed half of the will of the world, and returned to the sacred mountain because of an accident. Now, I should continue to complete my mission."

"Humans have a different concept of time than us," Hermes smiled as he bent down again: "If we delay for a few more days, no one knows if there will be another accident."

"...Well, you're right."

After thinking for a moment, Zeus had to admit that Hermes was right. So he waved his hand, indicating that the other party could leave on his own.

"Then go ahead, but it's a pity. If you take too long, you won't have the chance to witness the new god bowing to me."

"No, Father God. Your power is as strong as your character. I think I can see your supreme power even if I am far away in the human world."

"May your kingship last forever, the king of the gods."

Leaving the last sentence, the small wings of the flying shoes under Hermes' feet flickered slightly, and he immediately turned into a stream of light and left the sacred mountain.

The gods just took a look at this and no longer paid much attention to it. After all, as the messenger of the king of gods, the other party always came and went in a hurry.

So Hermes went away all the way, but when he turned his back to the sacred mountain farther and farther, a touch of relief suddenly flashed in the eyes of the young god.

"I don't know what will happen here in a few days... Let's hide in the human world first."

"Anyway, I'm not a good fighter. In any case, one more or one less won't make a difference."

The thought flashed through his mind, and after finding a direction, Hermes flew there quickly.

No one knows how terrified Hermes was when he found that he couldn't control the shadow of the 'new god' after summoning it. Just like a mortal seeing the puppet in front of his bed suddenly come to life and 'smile' at him, at that moment, the young god's cold sweat had soaked his clothes.

Looking back at Olympus, for some reason, the majestic mountain of God had become a little blurry.

Shaking his head, Hermes stopped thinking and sped up again.

"Stay for a month... No, stay for a full year. By then, no matter what it is, it should be over."

Gritting his teeth, the god who dared to steal Apollo's cattle just after birth thought to himself. Soon, there was only a flash of his light above the sky.

...

The last episode ended, and on the top of Mount Olympus, the gods were unaware of everything. The sun rose in the east and set in the west, and soon, seven days passed in a hurry.

Nothing changed, and no one cared about these few short days. Until this day, when the gods were still drinking happily, a violent vibration suddenly came from the underground.

The mountains shook, the sea churned, and the cups at the banquet fell to the ground. The gods looked outside the mountain in confusion, and then their eyes focused on the king of gods at the top. This violent noise seemed to come from the underworld, and Hades did not come to the mountain of gods.

This made them curious. No one knew what the always honest king of the underworld was doing. However, when they looked up, the gods only saw Zeus's surprised face.

"Your Majesty, what happened?"

A god asked, and Zeus observed for a while, then spoke uncertainly.

"Is it the law of the underworld... invading the earth?"

"What?"

Someone exclaimed, but then someone else questioned.

"Your Majesty, this is probably unlikely. Even if Hades is the Lord of the Underworld, he can't do such a thing."

Yes, just like Zeus can't let the laws of the world invade the abyss, Hades theoretically can't do such a thing as self-destruction. But the God King, who was at the top and observed for a moment, nodded affirmatively.

"I don't know, but that's the fact."

"The origin of the underworld seems to be rioting, they are flowing in all directions, if this goes on--"

Just now he was still explaining, but the next moment, Zeus suddenly stopped talking, because he didn't need to say more.

Silently, the sky darkened. The black rain drifted down, from east to west, from south to north, from the ocean or land, and even between the stars, endless rain flowed from the 'high' place, which was a manifestation of the conflict of laws.

The rain contains the power of the underworld, which is changing the environment of the present world... or, when the origin of the underworld is integrated into the present world, this is a change that will happen.

The gods don't know that this is a manifestation of the collapse of the underworld. With the collapse of its own structure, the laws that constitute it will not disappear. They just try to integrate into the world on the ground, and the black rain is the external manifestation.

However, what really made Zeus stop talking was not because of this, but the movement transmitted from the source sea accompanied by the black rain.

Hades is dead, and his final warning.

"It seems to be..."

After listening for a long time, Zeus, who stood up from the throne unconsciously, finally "heard" that voice.

Despair, dead silence, liberation, and the final warning of his brother:

"It is an outsider... destruction..."

"He... has come!"