Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Since the stars were pacified, Helios had been driving his Sun Chariot across the sky, and the world gradually calmed down.

Yet in the eyes of a few keen individuals, an invisible storm was brewing.

The Divine King had subdued the stars, and then he visited his uncle, Ourea, the King of Mountains. In a situation that was half negotiation and half coercion, with Mount Othrys at its center, more than one-fourth of the land came under the Divine King’s control.

Of course, as a price, Cronus had stepped forward to warn the Ocean Deity Sovereign. Regardless of what had happened before, if he were to incite disputes with the Ancient Sea Gods again, or allow the Oceanides to encroach upon the domain of the Mountain Gods, then the Divine King would make a “just” decision.

Oceanus remained silent in response, but his deities truly became more restrained than before, which made Ourea believe that the territory he was forced to surrender still had its value.

However, at some point, a rumor began to circulate among the Chaotic Gods.

The Divine King, influenced by the will of the world, was about to sire a child of his own. But as in the Prophecy and the curse of the Heavenly Father, just as it had happened before, Cronus would be overthrown by his progeny.

For a while, the world became eerily quiet. At the center of the earth, on that highest peak, the attention of all deities converged.

Everyone wanted to know what choice Cronus would make in the face of the curse and Prophecy.

Would he, like the Heavenly Father, resort to violence, fighting destiny with force, or would he seek a milder approach, trying to circumvent the problem in a more roundabout way?

At Mount Othrys, in the Divine King’s bedchamber.

The omen of divine birth had already begun to show. Ripples spread across the Source Sea, manifesting in the form of Law chains that covered the Mount of the Gods from top to bottom.

However, contrary to what the gods had imagined, standing at the gates of the palace, Cronus, feeling the increasingly intense fluctuations of the Laws around him, felt no nervousness or anger.

On the contrary, he was very relaxed, even finding the time to pour himself a cup of nectar and casually observe the many attentive gazes, both overt and covert.

Of course, he also had to deal with his sister, who stood by his side.

Centuries had passed, and with the efforts of the Goddess of Law, the disasters once wrought by the God of Sun had been mostly quelled. The blessings from the stars also took effect on the Divine King. Now, Cronus had truly reached the pinnacle of Great Divine Power.

But it was only upon reaching this point that he finally understood how terrifying Great Divine Power could be. The barrier before him was like an abyss, not just impossible to cross, but he couldn’t even fathom its depth.

It was so profound that even infusing the enhancement from nearly one-third of the land into it wouldn’t stir up the slightest ripple.

“As you can see, Themis, I am not worried about the first child Rhea is bearing for me,” Cronus said, discerning the subtle gazes coming from every direction.

“In fact, I have previously determined through certain means that this first child about to be born is a goddess, not an existence that could potentially threaten me.”

“So you need not be so guarded. I won’t do anything to a new god that poses no threat.”

While he spoke in this manner, in his heart, Cronus merely planned to delay dealing with it.

After all, back when he had wielded the sword, his siblings had stood by his side. Naturally, he would not make the same mistake a second time.

“If that is the case, I apologize to you, but I still wish to stay and witness the final outcome,” Themis responded succinctly, unapologetic about her possible mistake.

As the Goddess of Justice, if she had misunderstood the situation, it was only right for her to offer an apology.

“There’s no need for that, but if possible, please let me stay among the stars a while longer,”

Cronus shook his head and replied,

“I estimate it will take at least several hundred years before everything returns to its original state. Until then, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you.”

“I understand.”

Having received an answer, Themis spoke no more and instead looked towards the direction of the sleeping chamber.

The fluctuations of the laws surrounding them grew more intense, and those subtle gazes became increasingly dense, but none of this concerned the Goddess of Justice. Right now, she only wanted to wait for Queen Rhea to give birth to her progeny and then return to the stars.

It was not only because the chaotic starfields made her instinctively uncomfortable but also because she did not fancy the gods’ struggles for power and profit.

If she were to use her alternate title, “Sword of Judgment,” known as the “Sword of Vanquishing Evil,” to sense, most of the deities of Chaos would provoke some reaction from the Divine Artifact, one by one.

Hum—

Time ticked away, and the chains of law extending from the Mount of the Gods became clearer and clearer. All of these signs indicated that the deity about to be born possessed a very strong divine position.

But where this godhood would come from was unclear — perhaps a new concept would be born in the world, or maybe an ancient god would split their position.

Time gradually moved into the evening. The Moon rose high, and all was silence.

At a certain moment, a red light was born from the highest reaches of the sky. It stretched down to the earth, reflecting in rivers and lakes. Simultaneously, the laws proclaimed the birth of a new deity to all living beings.

Hestia, the goddess of fire and guardianship!

The appearance of the new deity caused a momentary stillness in the laws, but they did not stop; instead, they grew even more vehement. The red light gradually faded, replaced by shades of green and yellow interweave.

The new phenomenon spanned an even broader scope than what had enshrouded them before – the oceans, the Underworld, and all plants swiftly matured under an invisible force, bearing bountiful fruits.

“Does it have to do with plants? What a bother,” Cronus said, his expression turning grave as he perceived what was happening.

The advent of Hestia was merely the prelude; her divine position was not as strong as imagined due to the incompleteness of “fire.” “Guardianship,” although powerful, was still somewhat lacking compared to the deities that would follow.

However, the strength of the divine position was secondary. The fact that the second deity was associated with “plants” meant that it would once again divide the divine authority of Mother Earth.

Due to the Titans imprisoned in the Abyss, Cronus already had a somewhat delicate relationship with Gaia, and he did not know what choice Mother Earth would make when the new deity was born.

However, the birth of a god was not influenced by his thoughts, and the aura of all things sprouting grew stronger. Even within the temple, Cronus sensed the presence of an accompanying Divine Artifact.

Shortly after, along with the thundering of the earth, a verdant light streaked across from the East and shot directly into the temple, announcing the true name of the new deity to the world.

Demeter, the goddess of the growth of all things!

Following the birth of the new deity, the tumult of the primordial sea gradually calmed. At the same time, all beings with intermediate divine power and above could sense that the divine position of “plants” had almost completely separated from Mother Earth.

In the past, the true emblem of plants was not Gaia but the Golden Apple Tree that had sprouted from the “Seed of All Things” in the “Life Vase.” Now even the divine position governing the growth and decay of plants had been cleaved by the world, leaving her only with the role of the creator of the plants in the current world.

Plants are closely linked to the earth; they draw nutrients from it and ultimately return to it. With the loss of this power, the force of Mother Earth was bound to slide down further, unavoidably. Even more critically, even the speed of her power’s recovery would be affected.

The gods varied in their response, but they all knew that with the birth of the deities walking upon the earth, the relationship between the two ruling forces had once again deteriorated.