Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

"Your Majesty, true to my trust, under the guidance of fate, I have found the mortal who can help you escape your predicament."

Zeus was still entangled in his dilemma, when suddenly, the voice of Zephyrus came from outside.

Whatever choice it would take, breaking free from the current predicament and regaining freedom was always the first choice. So the Divine King put this matter aside for the moment, turning his gaze toward the entrance of the cave.

Not long after, accompanied by a gust of wind, the figure of the God of West Wind materialized in front of the Divine King. He entered alone, having left Cadmos outside the cave.

"Your Majesty, I have brought the person."

With a slight bow, Zephyrus glanced at the bones in Zeus's chest.

It seemed that with the approach of the deity, the black fog swirling above became more animated. He was certain, if he dared to reach out and grab it, his end would certainly not be pleasant.

"He is the mortal Cadmos, prince of Phoenicia. In search of his sister, he traveled westward, crossing vast seas and mountains without faltering. I believe among humans, he would indeed merit the description 'resolute of will'."

"...Prince of Phoenicia?"
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His eyes flickered slightly, Zeus's expression became a bit unnatural, but it was a fleeting moment.

However, at this moment, he thought of his previous idea.

Zephyrus might have said so offhand, but now, Zeus truly felt the 'guidance of fate.' It was during his encounter with the Phoenician princess that the disaster of Typhon erupted, and then only the Fates, who controlled destiny, could help him win… And at this time, Europa's brother came in search of her, about to become the hero who would save the Divine King.

The more ignorant, the more fearless; on the contrary, the more he understood the terror of fate, the more Zeus dreaded it.

Had it involved the ascendancy to the throne of the Divine King, he might have had to use some means to delay the arrival of fate, but if it were anything else, Zeus would not intend to oppose it.

Moreover, this was his own idea in the first place… At that moment, the scales in his heart tipped ever so slightly, but the Divine King remained impassive. He simply nodded, as if the identity of the visitor posed no issue at all.

"Then invite him in, this noble among mortals. If he truly can be of assistance to me, then I shall also bestow upon him a glory no other mortal has ever had on earth."

Seeing no objection from the Divine King, the God of West Wind also breathed a sigh of relief.

With time pressing, he didn't know how much of what that mortal had said was true. Let him try, and if he happens to be bewitched by the power of Typhon, then he will be killed on the spot, and the search for another will begin anew.

...

In Chaos World, time was swiftly passing, and beyond the void, under the boundless darkness, golden points of light shone ever more brightly.

However, at a certain moment, Nyx suddenly looked back towards the way they came. She could feel that something that should have happened long ago was returning to its proper course there.

Just as she had sensed before her departure, the fixed number of destiny began to divide. Just like the 'oath' eventually bestowed upon the Styx River, the divine authority to peer into and weave destiny was also about to welcome its rightful owner.

"What is it?"

Noticing Nyx's subtle movement, Laine asked softly.

"Nothing significant, just that another deity is about to be born. And furthermore, a deity that controls destiny."

Shaking her head slightly, Nyx looked no more.

This scene was something she had anticipated, and she harbored no thoughts of her dominion being encroached upon.

The Fates would be the children of the Divine King, but that did not mean they were subservient to him; they were merely another proxy of the present world. Zeus once told the gods, 'The Fates to me are as cruel as I to you'; although Nyx did not know this phrase, she was able to make the same judgment.

Perhaps as the vessel for the birth of the Fates, that Divine King would have the chance to make a demand at the beginning, but only once. In fact, what concerned Nyx more than their birth was another matter.

Who has the power to bear the Fates with the Divine King? She searched through the entire Olympus pantheon and found no deity that met the criteria.

"They've come."

As they conversed, the changes at the edge of the distant world continued unabated, and with the burst of a sound that seemed to exist and not exist, a golden celestial body leaped forth.

It was the Sun, radiating endless light and heat, illuminating the void of darkness. And unlike the sun of the Chaos World, the surface of this body of light pulsed with flames, symbolizing both destruction and rebirth.

This was the difference brought about by the divergence of worlds. In comparison to Chaos World, Hemenu World had no Fire God, or rather, the authority of 'Fire' was naturally affiliated with the 'Sun.' As the supreme power of the world, the Sun gathered most authorities that could be connected with its essence, ultimately manifesting Ra-Atum.

Standing atop the vast celestial body, Ra beheld the world beyond for the first time. The cold and desolate void, which had been empty, was now dotted with a few points of light, each enfolding a deity with a distinct aura. Yet all these were but side notes; what truly captured his attention were those two overwhelmingly palpable figures.

This was the void outside the Hemenu World, where the powers of two different worlds collided. And the only two outsiders not swept up by the forces of Chaos World were naturally using their own power to resist the laws of the foreign realm.

No communication was necessary, nor was discernment needed; at the moment when three deities locked eyes in the void, they all understood each other's true names. At the same time, Ra-Atum realized what he needed to do in that instant.

Those mortals tainted by the power of the foreign realm might only be an accident, but his true enemies were these invaders from afar. He felt the world's vulnerability and struggle, as well as the fear and hatred from deep within. He could use rebirth to ward off decay, but if the world ceased to exist, what could he use against his own fated end?

"Outsiders..."

The deep voice resonated through the nothingness; even though it was in a different language, no one misunderstood his meaning. Endless radiance blossomed in the void, and the power of the Hemenu World's outermost barrier, the 'Absolute Void,' infused Ra. At that moment, the might of Egypt's supreme deity was once again elevated.

"Outsiders, must die!"

With the strike of the golden staff, endowed with unparalleled might, unexpectedly, Ra's target wasn't Laine or Nyx.

Even with just one encounter, this Divine King from the chaos World, recognized that the two were not easy to deal with. Compared to them, it was better to target the other deities.

The one ultimately chosen as his target... was the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, who had just been deprived of "Pallas' destiny," considered by fate to have "completed her mission," which greatly diminished the protective forces around her.

······

"Ssssk—"

"Creak, creak..."

Within a cave in the Mount Corycian range, the grating noise slowly built up.

The tall and handsome Prince of Phoenicia was now grasping the Divine King's ribcage, slowly pulling it out bit by bit.

Dark mist swirled around the white bones, but it seemed to view Cadmos as a harmless object, no different from rocks or animals, and thus did not react to him. Nonetheless, this did not make the prince's task any easier.

The power of the Mother Tree was highly erosive and seductive; although this didn't manifest much in Typhon, it wasn't completely absent either.

From the moment he gripped the bone, various false and true voices began to whisper incessantly in Cadmos's ear.

They were tempting him, telling the prince of the benefits of accepting them... However, clearly, for the future city founder of Thebes, and the true God for a grandfather, these non-compulsory forces could not shake his resolve.

So, under Zeus's pained gaze, the vertebra was ultimately extracted, and the binding power over the Divine King ceased to be effective.

"Clang—"

With the task completed, the prince, suddenly relaxed, felt a wave of dizziness.

Although Typhon's power had not succeeded in corrupting him, it had placed a tremendous mental burden on Cadmos.

Now that the task was completed, a strong sense of fatigue overwhelmed him. He immediately collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious, with only the sound of his treasured sword clanging against the ground.

"Huff—"

"This feeling of weakness... I never want to experience it a second time."

The bone, once extracted, fell onto the Divine King's body, then writhed and coiled back into its rightful place.

Typhon's power was still there, but it could no longer confine Zeus's mighty force, which was above all other deities.

Visibly, his body rejuvenated, blood returning to his pale face... Zeus rose from the ground, and despite still being greatly injured, from the outside, it looked as if he had regained his former strength.

At this moment, inside the cave of Mount Corycian, there was no one else except for Zeus and the unconscious prince of Phoenicia.

To prevent Zephyrus's presence from being a stimulus during the extraction of the bone, he had moved a good distance away earlier.

Now, gradually recovering, inside this cave where only one person was conscious, Zeus could at last take a moment to reflect on his earlier thoughts. Having regained his power, the Divine King once again affirmed that he could not defeat Typhon head on.

He needed additional help, and fate was his only choice.

"Hmm... This isn't a daughter I sired, but like Athena, she sprang from my head."

In silent contemplation, or rather more contemplating how to manage the aftermath. For a Divine King who shared a part of the power of "procreation," simply ensuring the birth of the Fates wasn't a difficult matter.

"Right, exactly. Now the question is—according to the revelation once given by the position of Divine King, the Fates need to be sired by two individuals."

"While I can find a loophole, she indeed needs a 'father' in terms of destiny."

Zeus's face was rigid as he considered many options, but he ultimately dismissed each one.

He couldn't allow a deity to take this role, because even though the parents of the Fates were merely tools for their birth, they would indeed receive a small favor from fate for this action—like offering them a reasonable condition or something.

Zeus did not want eternal deities to receive this benefit, so he could only choose a finite mortal.

Mortals would die, and mortal fates were easier to manipulate. He could 'compensate' them in another way for their fate, and when they died, it would all be over. With this in mind, the Divine King once again began to sift through mortals, only to sadly realize that the outside world was now infested with Typhon's spawn.

If he did not want to reveal his secret actions, it would be best not to be too picky.

"So to say, is this also 'the guidance of fate'...?"

Recalling the words of the God of West Wind at the beginning, Zeus's eyes darkened, but he ultimately said nothing.

He simply gestured, extracting some bone, flesh, and sinew from the unconscious prince's body.

These materials were eventually shaped into a humanoid form in his hands, but the most crucial component was still missing—then Zeus, expressionless, gave himself a cut, successfully making this creation complete.

After all, to ensure that the one giving birth was indeed a True God, he needed to maintain as much as possible the nobility of the bloodlines on both sides of the Fates' parents—and it would be hard to find bloodlines more noble than the Divine King's in this world, especially now that there were two of them.

"..."

"This is all for world peace!"

Muttering to himself, as if convincing himself, Zeus started to employ the art of transformation upon himself.

Soon enough, just like the once handsome Divine King, what remained in place was a golden-haired, attractive Goddess with a seductive figure.