Greek Mythology: The Spiritual Dominator

Zeus's desire to communicate with Hecate was actually not just an idea that was born today. In fact, after he gradually figured out the rules of the birth of faith, he had already planned to have a talk with the goddess of the magic network who controls witchcraft. Today's matter is just an introduction at best.

Of course, the most fundamental reason why it was just a 'talk' rather than a direct announcement of the God King's order for Hecate to obey his order was Zeus's faint fear.

As the God King, he has never been someone who knows how to repay kindness. The fate of Metis is the best proof. If it weren't for Hecate being so special, how could Zeus be so generous to her and even personally promise her the right to be independent outside the Divine Court. All of this was to win over and appease the Goddess of the Magic Network.

As early as the beginning, before the reward banquet after the change of eras, the reward prepared by the God King for Hecate was actually the control of a starry sky - Zeus originally expected the underworld, but after all, the goddess of the magic network had no relationship with the underworld. For related authority, the goddess of the moon and the river of oaths already existed in the underworld, so the god king retreated to the next best thing and chose the vast starry sky.

On the one hand, this can express the meaning of co-ruling the world with the gods. On the other hand, the starry sky is not really under the control of Zeus. Even the presence of the Moon Goddess there is much higher than that of the newly born Divine Court. . Letting Hecate go there can also allow her to use the moon as a springboard to check and balance with the ancient gods in the starry sky, preventing some star gods from deciding to imitate the ancient sun gods and try to become the whole world at the beginning of the establishment of the divine court. The master of the starry sky.

Koos, the god of lightless celestial bodies, is the existence that Zeus is most wary of. Although this Titan god has been away from the world for a long time, after all, he briefly joined forces with Cronus in the last era to launch a war to unify the starry sky. This ancient Titan acts in a low-key manner, but after all, he is an ancient god who is not inferior to the ocean god Oceanus. For the God-King at that time, his existence itself was a huge threat.

On the earth, the light bodies in the starry sky radiate light, but only the gods who have actually set foot there know that the celestial bodies without light are the most numerous components of the starry sky. The power of the light body is fragmented. The star gods and the sun and the moon are all part of it, but the master of the lightless celestial body is only Koos.

Zeus made a lot of plans for this. Behind that seemingly ordinary reward banquet was actually the art of checks and balances that the god king had been pondering for a long time under the advice of Metis. But when he really took over the position of God King and sensed the shackles of the laws that affected the world, he immediately adjusted his previous choices.

Hecate was given extra honor and power by him, and when he turned around, the God King secretly contacted the black-robed goddess Leto. Without the Magic Network Goddess, he had to stabilize the starry sky in an alternative way. Even though the appearance of this goddess was not outstanding among the gods, Zeus still used his verbal skills to get Leto to side with him.

Of course, Zeus is now extremely grateful for his original decision. He himself did not expect that this goddess, whom he did not really value, would actually bring him such a blameless eldest son.

"Witchcraft is such a troublesome power. Fortunately, once I take that step, many things will be much easier to handle."

Sighing softly, Zeus had a headache. Today's human world does not support the gods to release their divine power and fight for a long time. One move is often enough to make them pay the price. The fate of Poseidon not long ago is an example. But for Hecate, this was actually the greatest benefit.

The God King has no doubt that even if the other party's divine power is far less than his, [Magic Network] is not as suitable for direct combat as [Thunder], but if he really fights Hecate in the mortal world, he will only lose in the end. It's him. Because as long as Zeus can't defeat the opponent in three or two moves, the balance of victory will obviously tilt towards the side of the Magic Network Goddess.

Of course, there is more than one god in the Divine Court, and if they all attack together, Hecate will never be an opponent. And after Zeus completes at least half of the ritual and obtains further power, this embarrassing situation can be alleviated. But distant water cannot quench the near thirst. At least for the moment, the God King believes that it is not necessary for things to go that far.

"Let's go first. At least I have to understand what she wants to do. No matter what, Leto and my eldest son can't have any accidents."

After making his decision, the God King immediately stepped out of the palace. He was going to explore the southeastern part of the earth, but before leaving, Zeus waved his hand and summoned his usual messenger Zeferos.

"Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

After hearing the summons, the God of the West Wind asked respectfully.

"Keep an eye on Olympus and don't let Hera do unnecessary things. If she sends someone out, stop them first. If she wants to go out on her own, tell her that the matter is over and she can't change anything. We’ll talk about everything when I get back.”

He said in a deep voice that many aspects of Zeus' words were not clear. However, the God of West Wind only bowed slightly to show his understanding.

"I will, Your Majesty, but if the Queen insists on leaving -"

". Just bring my words."

Rubbing his temples, the God King no longer thought about these headaches. Seeing that Zeferos understood what he meant, the next moment, he turned into thunder and lightning and flew towards the outside of Mount Olympus.

······

Southeast of the mainland, by the Xingluo Lake.

The trees that originally grew hastily under the power of Demeter seemed to have passed a hundred years in the blink of an eye, becoming tall and straight, turning into a vast ancient forest; the birds were invisiblely attracted, lingering around the forest, and even Among them were several white swans, circling and flying around the ground.

Here, a miracle that is incomprehensible to mortals but not uncommon to gods is taking place. Obviously they were two gods who were supposed to be born at the same time, but the elder sister was delivering the baby to her younger brother. The water fairies living in the lake couldn't help but poke their heads out and look at this strange scene. There were even many elves with the same slightly bulging belly, looking at it all with fear and yearning.

Invisible light shines from the void, bringing a scene like the alternation of day and night. After nine flashes, everything went quiet again, except for a girl who looked six or seven years old. She made her own dress out of leaves and held a newborn baby in her hands.

The world is gradually improving, and the gods born in the Third Age are no longer able to make the laws of the real world sing as easily as they did in the past. But the honor given by the world to the true God remains the same. They have the authority given by God and the true name they are born with.

Artemis, the Lord of the Wilderness and the God of Hunting, is her domain in caves, mountains, forests, wild beasts, and midwifery. There is even a silver moon mark on her forehead, which is constantly emitting the light of the stars. The bright moon has a completely different atmosphere, which seems deep and mysterious.

Apollo, the incarnation of light, does not have a series of complicated priesthoods like his sister, but light itself is one of the top divine powers in the world. The power of [Light] separated from the body of the ancient Titan Theia has been reflected in his body in a different way. Even after he was just born, Apollo, as a baby, unconsciously exuded a hazy light and healed Leto. Even the surrounding water elves felt that their bodies were more energetic after the injuries they suffered during childbirth, and the fatigue of the past was gone.

With the passage of the era, and even the integration of Alfheim in the Nine Realms, the power of Chaos [Light] has increased accordingly. Even if it is divided by many parties, the part that falls on Apollo is still enough to sustain it. He entered the realm of powerful divine power. At this moment, looking at this naturally extraordinary son, Leto felt that all the suffering he had suffered before had been rewarded.

Scanning the surroundings, the beings who were secretly observing were instantly frightened by the goddess's gaze and left the area. After driving away the outsiders, Leto looked at his daughter in the distance again.

"Al, come here, let me see your brother."

Waving to his daughter, Leto's heart was filled with joy. Artemis was fine, but the power lingering around Apollo reminded the goddess of the former power and dignity of the Mother of Light. Even if he didn't rely on the power of faith, he was destined to stand at the top of the Gods.

In contrast, Leto was not surprised that his daughter was several years old right after she was born. Just like another goddess who has not yet been born, the girl who was forcibly restrained in the mother god's womb by the law did not stop growing. She drew strength and wisdom from nature, and after her birth, she instinctively helped her brother come to the world.

Taking a few steps forward, Artemis handed the baby with blood in her hands to Leto. She looked at her mother with bright eyes, and the goddess responded with a gentle smile.

A warm feeling came from the baby in her arms, and Leto was about to praise her daughter for her abilities. However, the next moment, her expression suddenly turned into surprise, and there was even a hint of imperceptible fear.

"Mother Goddess——"

"shut up!"

The moment the girl looked up, Leto suddenly saw the moon marks between Artemis' eyebrows. The faint silver lines were so obvious, and the restraint originating from the Styx revealed its essence.

That is the power of the moon. Although there was not much, its existence was clearly visible, which reminded the black-robed goddess of an unexpected experience she had when she was wandering between heaven and earth. She once encountered a special fragment at the edge of the starry sky, and there was a similar power there. Leto didn't think it was related to the moon before, because it was not similar to the real moon of Chaos, but now the facts told her that everything was different from what she thought.

It wasn't just the moon, it was even transferred to Artemis in some way because of her unexpected intrusion.

Leto didn't know that her initial judgment was correct. It was not the moon of Chaos, but the remaining fragments of the moon god in another long-destroyed world. Attracted by the destiny of this world, it came to the goddess who was originally destined to be related to the moon, but now has no chance, and became part of her power.

It would have become an accompanying artifact, born together with Artemis, but its power was broken and loose, far from enough to transform into another form in just a few years and regain a new life. It had no choice but to sleep in its master's body and become one with her. At the same time, part of Artemis's natural divine responsibilities were gradually transferred to the artifact, becoming the nourishment for its shaping, and further deepening the connection between the two.

For Artemis, this is not a bad thing. The accompanying holy objects do not undermine the power of the gods. They are completely different from those created by nature. When this artifact takes shape, everything that originally belonged to her will come back. But for Leto, this was a truly terrible trouble.

The oath of the Styx cannot be broken. The moment it is established, it haunts the person who takes the oath. Before that, whether it was Hecate or Leto who made the request, they all thought that the thing related to the 'moon' was an object. Their judgment was actually correct. It was indeed an object, but this object had not yet been born. It became one with its master, which meant that Leto had to face the reality that her vow might no longer be fulfilled.

This is not even a problem that can be solved by sending this child out, because Artemis is a god and to the world, she does not belong to anyone. No god can use the 'ownership' of another god to fulfill his oath. After all, even among the gods of Chaos, even parents and children are by no means subordinate to one another.

"Mother Goddess, what's wrong with you?"

Looking at Leto, the young goddess was a little scared and a little confused. She just looked at the changing expressions of the mother goddess and stepped forward to seek comfort. However, looking at this scene, Leto took a step back.

At this moment, there was only fear and hesitation in her heart - she was about to become the first god in Chaos to violate the Oath of the Styx, and no one knew what this meant before.

All the gods knew how terrifying the River Styx was, and therefore they were unwilling to test this unknown risk on the premise of having eternity. Perhaps those who broke the oath would be shaken from their priesthood, knocked out of their divine power, or suffered some kind of punishment from the Styx, Leto didn't know. Her priesthood is already weak, and maybe she will be completely deprived of everything, or even fall into eternal sleep.

"no, I can not!"

Taking a step back again, the goddess hugged the baby tightly in her arms. Under the ups and downs, she had somewhat lost her ability to judge.

"No, I still have Apollo to raise. He will bring me glory and status! Yes, he will make Hera pay the price for her actions. He will become Zeus's right-hand man and the pillar of the Divine Court. As long as you get through today, everything will be fine."

Feeling the oppression brought by the oath in his heart, Leto became more and more at a loss. At a certain moment, looking at the bewildered daughter in front of her, she suddenly gritted her teeth and stretched out her right hand.

The power belonging to the gods was released without restriction. When the divine power was shaken, Artemis fainted without any resistance. The girl, who had just been in the world for only half a day, was lying on the ground with confusion and confusion on her face. She didn't know what happened and why her mother goddess suddenly attacked her.

In front of her, Leto locked onto the artifact embryo.

The power of the artifact is also closely connected to the origin of Artemis. They are one and the same divine being. Feeling all this, hesitation and regret flashed across Leto's face, but in the end, she just whispered:

"Don't blame me. Maybe this is fate. Your priesthood is weaker than your brother's. Maybe there is nothing wrong with being more ordinary."

Her five fingers clenched tightly in the void, and Leto grabbed it hard, and she forcibly took out the artifact embryo that was still gestating. What followed was a violently turbulent aura on Artemis' body. Even in a coma, she seemed to feel the pain, but facing a true god who had already reached his peak, the newly born she obviously had no resistance. Power.

The next moment, the consequences of using divine power followed, and the backlash of the laws of the world fell on Leto, but the black-robed goddess could no longer care about so much. She threw the silver light she took out and let it fly to the direction of Hecate following the connection in the dark.

Then the power of the oath coming from the void suddenly disappeared, and the vigilance that was oppressing the soul also disappeared, as if it had never appeared before. Leto gasped for breath, with a look of relief on his face.

She had avoided the worst outcome, but at this moment, the goddess was a little confused. For a few moments, she leaned on the tree trunk and stared blankly at the starry sky above her head. She didn't know what she was thinking about, or maybe she wasn't thinking about anything at all.

"Wow--"

In the silent woodland, the baby's cries grew louder. As a god, even if he had just come into the world, Apollo would not cry like a mortal. But as a born god, his keen sense allowed him to be vaguely aware of the power of the Styx and the laws of the world that had descended here successively.

So the newly born Son of God had no choice but to cry to express his fear, and the increasingly loud cries finally called Leto's attention back.

"Apollo, my boy."

She reached out and held the baby in her arms, the warm feeling giving her some comfort. After recovering from his ups and downs, Leto finally realized what he had done.

She made a vow that was impossible to fulfill and then ended it at the cost of her daughter's origin. Looking at Artemis lying on the ground, a ridiculous feeling came to the goddess's heart.

She regretted that perhaps she should not have competed with Hera for the position of the so-called eldest son. Before she could gain anything, she lost a daughter first - when Artemis woke up, Leto could already imagine how she would view this mother goddess who had hurt her so much when she was born.

Like her sister, she faced disaster because of the birth of her daughter. However, this unprovoked disaster was not caused by their daughter herself.

Everything seemed like fate was mocking them. The goddess of light, Phoebe, wanted power and status. She asked her husband to cooperate with the second-generation god king, so the goddess Asteria, the star goddess, who acted as the mediator of the relationship between the two parties, gave birth to a child. The priest Hecate; Leto was immersed in Zeus's description of the future and could not extricate herself, so she inadvertently made an oath that could not be fulfilled, and ended up hurting her daughter.

"So, is this the warning from God the Father, stay away from the King of Gods?"

She whispered to herself, but Leto knew that she had already given so much, how could she let go of everything and return to the cold starry sky to be with her sister?

"Apollo, you are my hope. Everything I have lost, you will get back for me, right?"

"Leto, what have you done?"

The goddess was speaking to the crying baby in her arms, and on the other side, with the help of the power of traveling through the spirit world, the figures of Hecate and Selene appeared here silently.

In her hand, a silver light changes erratically, faintly echoing with the girl on the ground.

".I have fulfilled my oath, and now, it is yours."

Not knowing what to say, Leto took one last look at Artemis on the ground. If she could do it all over again, she would never make such a vow, but it was already too late. Holding Apollo in his arms, with hatred for many, many existences, Leto turned into a stream of light and flew towards the sea.

Behind her, looking at Leto walking away and the goddess left behind, Hecate instantly understood the cause and effect.

If it were a stranger, if this matter had nothing to do with her from beginning to end, the Goddess of the Magic Network would not hesitate to take action against the departed god. But now, the girl in the red dress had no idea that she would just do it again under the guidance of the priest. An ordinary treasure hunt turned out to be like this.

"Selene, do you need this artifact embryo?"

Forcing a smile, Hecate asked softly, and beside her, Selene just shook her head and refused.

The Moon Goddess read the hidden meaning in her friend's words. Even if it didn't exist, she wouldn't want this treasure herself. If she had known that this was a companion artifact of another god that was integrated with the divine body and dependent on each other, she would not have thought about it at all.

"Let it return to its master's hands. But if this pregnancy is forcibly interrupted, I'm afraid it won't be able to continue."

Taking the silver light, Selene sighed softly and let the embryo in her hand return to her master's side. But as the Moon Goddess said, it just surrounded its owner's head like a silver crown, but it never returned to its original position.

"No, there is still a chance. In addition to the gift I gave you, isn't there another one?"

It was the first time that something like this happened because of herself. Although this was not Hecate’s original intention, and she could not be blamed on her, looking at her actual cousin, she had a similar experience to her former self. Girl, the Goddess of the Magic Network still made a decision.

She knew that Zeus on Mount Olympus would not be ignorant of the birth of her daughter, and he would definitely take corresponding actions, but Hecate felt that compared to the divine court, perhaps the city where Cohen was located was more worthy. As the place where Artemis grew up.

What she had, this unfortunate girl should have too. And let her and Selene take the place of the slate she once encountered unexpectedly.

"Perhaps in the future, that city can be given another name, just call it [Silver Moon City]."

Lifting Artemis from the ground, Hecate said suddenly.

"ah?"

She couldn't keep up with her friend's jumping thoughts, and just now she was still feeling the fate of the girl in front of her. Selene didn't know why the other party thought of naming a human city.

"Then let's call it this name. No matter what it is officially called, it's a nickname. Cohen will agree."

A transparent portal appeared in front of her, and Hecate took the lead. Seeing her friend and not wanting to say more, Selene also left soon after.

The secluded woodland was quiet again. No one knew that it was here that the two siblings, who were supposed to have a close relationship, embarked on completely different paths. One followed his original destiny, while the other took a fork in the road.

But this may also be destined. Without today's changes, there would have been another one, and Artemis and the Divine Court would have drifted apart. Because as early as one day tens of thousands of years ago, when the illusory moon rose into the still empty sky and became the only light body at night in Chaos, the fate related to the moon had already departed from the original script and headed towards the unknown. with miracles.

Whether it's good or bad, no one knows. The traces engraved in history in the future will judge all this.

······

Outside the world, atrium, central floating island.

On the ground, in the center of a huge pothole, a spring formed a small lake. Next to it, a sacred tree with eight branches was about a hundred meters high.

On the floating island, in front of the simple wooden house, the projection of the World Snake's consciousness was sitting at the stone table, quietly watching the scenes in the silver mirror.

He was originally paying attention to the whereabouts of the gifts he gave, but even he didn't expect that things would develop in such a trajectory. The siblings, who were originally close, parted ways from the beginning.

"So, even this is what you expected? Haha, that's really foresight."

When he set foot here again, Asmodeus came because of the sudden changes in the River Styx. The first time that Styx, who traveled between the inner and outer worlds, had such obvious power was when the Mother of Demons was about to wake up. As the master of hell, it was impossible for him not to pay attention to it.

However, as soon as they arrived at the atrium, the Lord of Nine Hells watched a good show. He still remembers the sun and moon he promised to the other party. Although an era has passed and the shadow of the sun has not been seen yet, the influence of the moon phases continues to this day.

"You are overthinking it. The essence of uncertain destiny is change. Even if it is the so-called symbolic manifestation, I will not know the direction of change. If I can really grasp it, then the so-called 'uncertainty' will only become laughing stock."

Speaking softly, Ryan waved his hand, and the round mirror in front of him disappeared.

No matter how fate changes, the outcome is always determined by the power itself. Let Artemis write her own story.

But [Silver Moon City] is indeed a good name.

"Let's talk about yourself, Asmodeus. The first demon god came to the world, and he instinctively guarded Moya's side, absorbing the wisdom and thoughts she brought from this world, and the remaining five It won’t be too long.”

"When they are born one by one, the Demon Mother will awaken, so now, are you ready to face them?"

"What you said is wrong. It should be whether 'we' are ready to face them."

After correcting it, Asmodeus did not continue to dwell on the events of his previous life.

What happens to the moon has nothing to do with him. The troubles Zeus himself created will eventually swallow the bitter fruit. In contrast, the current invasion of the Abyss, which was destined to be the most threatening, was the real challenge he faced.

"There's only so much I can do. Facing the abyss itself, only the purest collision of forces is the only way to deal with it. As for the rest, it's up to them."

Looking through the boundary wall, the Lord of the Nine Hells can see that in the first few levels of hell, certain arrangements have already been prepared.

"They will take care of the devil's affairs, but it's up to you to deal with my former sister."

"certainly."

Nodding, Ryan felt that Moya's biggest threat to him was probably not his power, but his indescribable appearance.

Although she hasn't woken up yet, Ryan can already predict how malicious she will be to the body in the spirit world when she sees her own face.

To the real body, Moya is actually nothing, but not necessarily to this incarnation. It is somewhat difficult to defeat the opponent in the abyss.