Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

He never imagined that just as he tried to take a shortcut back to the Mount of the Gods, a surge of unbearable memories caused him to be momentarily dazed.

And in that momentary misstep, an ever-present spatial vortex suddenly erupted into chaos, whisking him away to an unknown location.

Realizing something was wrong, Zeus was furious, but he could not afford to waste time here.

Thus, he relied on his connection with Asgard and tore open the space once again.

This time, however, he seemed to be too close to one of the forbidden territories outside the world, the mist-laden realm of Niflheim in the spatial domain.

Then the power of the Evil Creatures, bound by the Fruit of One Day, seemed to sense the original source and fluctuated slightly, forcing Zeus to quickly suppress it.

In the end, the fluctuation subsided, and the power of the Fruit of One Day was quite solid... But unfortunately, Zeus once again lost his way in the chaotic void.

While unexpected incidents occurred repeatedly, they seemed to follow a destined script.

No one acted against him; rather, the right things happened at the right time and place, and everything naturally fell into place.

With a face as dark as the deepest abyss, he finally emerged from the torn space.

No exchange, no harsh words.

Zeus knew that at this point, Liana was not going to back down.

And the Lord of the Spirit Realm, though not yet appearing, was pouring unrestrained power into those two immensely mighty Divine Artifacts.

So with a gesture, the Thunderbolt Arrow 'stolen' by Ares appeared in his left hand.

With his right hand, he grasped a Divine Hammer that seemed to condense the infinite light within his palm.

His arm swung down, and the hammerhead clashed together with the arrow's tail.

The Alien Realm's artifact collided with Chaos's artifact, issuing a resounding echo across the heavens and earth.

In the next moment, the most dazzling thunder in the world was unleashed.

Even the two Divine Artifacts suspended on Mount Olympus's peak, could not ignore the might it displayed.

Rumble——!

The divine thunder descended, breaking the chains of order encircling it.

Ancient texts floated upon the Brass Book, but it was ultimately not an artifact specialized for battle.

Under Zeus's unrestrained full might, the order woven by the Codex of Creation was pierced through.

The mighty thunder finally fell upon the Well of Reincarnation, stirring up a towering storm.

Clang——~~~!

The well's body shook, and the powers of life and death cycled here, while earth, water, wind, and fire eroded all things.

This world-shattering strike did indeed shake the Genesis Artifact, but could not truly harm it.

Unless Zeus could completely strip away all his thunder and reclaim that granted to the Abyss, then fuse them all into one, to manifest a symbol uniquely his own.

Otherwise, the Genesis Artifact could not be damaged by forces beneath it, and Zeus's sovereign authority was not adept at destruction, ruin, corruption, or final death.

"Spirit Realm..."

Taking a deep breath, Zeus could see that his actions had meaning, for, in effort to withstand his attack, the Well of Reincarnation slowed its soul absorption.

If he had initially returned here, then he might have found a way to harness Asgard's power, one outside and one inside, to isolate the artifact's soul devouring.

Yes, the Ancient Gods are masters of Spirituality.

Even if I block your absorption of these souls, you can extinguish the life force of those untouched by divinity directly from the root, scattering their souls.

But once it reaches this point, Zeus could declare that the Outer Evil God took advantage of his unpreparedness to destroy the Olympian Gods' kingdom.

He wouldn't have violated the contract made with Divine Persons, but would instead be the completely victimized... Yet now, it was different.

Asgard had been breached, and Interface Power was no longer stable; it was powerless to resist even part of a Genesis Artifact's soul absorption.

And once these souls are taken, reincarnation would be a fortunate outcome.

If the Lords of the Spirit Realm transformed these believers' souls into vengeful spirits of soul bodies, harnessing the Spirit Realm's ubiquitous nature to let them roam the earth, and even reach their former family members...

It's almost needless to think, the Divine King knew this would devastate Olympus's faith.

"Whew..."

With a gesture, Zeus attempted one last effort.

He tried to pull on the power of the Hall of Valor to oppose the Well of Reincarnation's soul absorption.

This ancient artifact from the Alien Realm was exceptionally effective, and Odin spent considerable effort on it.

But moments later, Zeus's expression worsened.

He suddenly recalled, not long ago, the greatest piece he left within the Hall of Valor, the demigod hero Perseus who had ascended in flesh, had already lost his physical form.

Including him, the remaining so-called heroes could not escape, as those who sided with Perseus, in truth serving as Zeus's anchors to influence the Hall of Valor, were completely destroyed.

And it was none other than his son Heracles who destroyed them; it was also none other than the Hall of Valor's former second authority, Nike, the Victory Goddess Athena granted, who helped him do all this.

"My daughter... is your shadow also within this?"

"Did you foresee today, guess that I would finally battle the Spirit Realm, or was it all mere luck, stemming from your 'King of All Victories' divine authority?"

Zeus did not know, nor did it matter to him.

Because the fact was, when he personally gave the Hall of Valor to Athena, the demigods meant to counterbalance her authority all perished, only to return as Heroic Spirits, instead bound by this artifact.

Thus, as long as Athena does not intend to relinquish control, he already had no way to manipulate it.

"Very well... very well!"

"One after another, if not useless, then scheming."

"Father, is this the feeling you once had?"

With a cold expression, Zeus slowly raised his head.

He looked at the shadow of the Nether Moon afar, and also the souls constantly drawn from Asgard.

"Forgive me, innocent lambs."

"Once you were my wealth, but now I must do this."

"If you want to blame someone, blame those who took you away... Ha, what of the Lord of the Spirit Realm."

"A soul that's reached my hands, do you still wish to reclaim it?"

"Don't even think about it——!"

Boom——!

With a grasp, an intense ripple spread invisibly.

In an instant, the Well of Reincarnation, which was originally absorbing souls, paused slightly, as eerie streaks of blood-red began to leak from it.

At the same time, all existing souls in Asgard trembled slightly.

Some blood-red light burst forth from their spiritual forms, making their expressions become haunting yet perfect.

Vaguely, a crystalline leaf passed through the pupils of their eyes.

Accompanied by cries unheard by mortals, their soul bodies shattered instantly, exploding into fireworks across the sky.

"You—Zeus, how dare you—"

"Why wouldn't I dare—"

Expressionless, a trace of blood slid from the corner of his mouth as a penalty for the Divine King breaking the contract with Divine Persons.

Yet breaking a contract with a group of prayers was better than breaking the contract with all creatures; he promised them a paradise-like life after death, and before personally acting, didn't they all achieve it one by one.

Both hands rose slightly as if embracing the entire world.

At this moment, no longer feigning justice or mercy, Zeus's eyes were cold and indifferent.

During these millennia, he built the Divine Kingdom and absorbed powers from Typhon; the first time he confronted the Lord of Darkness, he was contaminated, while his deities constantly conspired alongside enemies.

In such circumstances, would anyone think that he, Zeus, the King of All Gods, had really never considered the risk of souls within the Divine Kingdom, nor thought about harnessing the powers of the Ancestor of Evil Creatures?