Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Deep in the trench, Pontus ultimately acknowledged this assertion.

However, what truly convinced the Primordial Sea God wasn't because of Zeus's previous actions altering history and inverting the truth, nor the ludicrous reason of believing that the Great Serpent from the Abyss was inherently trustworthy.

This matter was only good for a laugh; for real judgment, one obviously needed more practical reasons.

And for Pontus, the most practical reason was undoubtedly Zeus's character and his own longing for power.

The latter goes without saying, throughout the Second Epoch, the Sea Gods fought amongst themselves only to unify the sea and to break the upper limits of a True God's power.

His so-called withdrawal from the world was actually because he was frightened by the Sun bathed in the sea, realizing the slim chance of defeating the God of the Ocean, rather than truly seeing through the vanity of life.

As for the former... that's just Zeus's consistent problem with style.

Although today's Chaos had yet to possess the word 'politics,' analogous terms still existed. At least in Pontus's view, Zeus undoubtedly leaned more towards political thinking rather than divine thinking, making him a rare oddity among the Innate Deities.

Just as he previously assessed Zeus, if the lineage of the Primordial Sea God were willing to submit to the Divine Court, the Divine King would definitely absolve them of past grievances.

But conversely, if he chose to abandon Zeus and completely separate himself from the Divine Court, what reaction would Zeus then offer?

"A wise choice, Pontus. Zeus is such a person, even if you establish your own domain, when that day comes, he will definitely make the most 'appropriate' decision after weighing his options,"

With a slight nod, seeing that Pontus had finally relented, Erebus felt increasingly at ease.

Despite holding the card of Uranus, if Pontus had made up his mind to give up everything and permanently slumber, unwilling to cooperate with him, Erebus really would have no solution.

After all, he wasn't the Sea God; in the world of the Innate Gods, violence wasn't the solution to every problem. Fortunately, the other party had come to an understanding at this crucial juncture, making the remaining tasks much easier.

"Now, let's talk about what comes next. Zeus shouldn't linger in the Underworld for too long. Once he returns, it will be time for me to leave."

"Back to the point, if you want to gain greater strength, you are likely fated to set aside past grievances with your old friend and join together,"

"...Alright."

Nodding in agreement, Pontus had no objections.

Unifying the sea is the most direct way for a Sea God to enhance their strength; it's just that before, he and the God of the Ocean both aimed to lead the unification themselves.

However, now they may both have to step back, because in the face of the impending threat, if they don't want to place all their hopes on Zeus, they will necessarily have to start anew.

Even though Zeus is someone who would compromise for his goals, the premise is that one must possess the capital that is worthy of his compromise.

To him, those who can only be of benefit but pose no threat are like wheat in the field, harvested one year with the promise of the next, just like the Goddess of Agriculture, Zeus never considers her desires.

Those who can pose a threat but bring no benefits, on the other hand, are like the Demon King Typhon, disruptive forces challenging the calm and stability of the present world. Zeus would only attempt to eliminate you together with all the deities of the Divine Court, and if he can't defeat you, he will drive you away; no other options are available.

Only the third type of God truly makes him exert considerable effort to win over, those who can both offer benefits and impose a significant threat to Zeus.

The Awakening of the Heavenly Father automatically grants Zeus and me a mutual interest, so as long as I pose a sufficient threat, the crisis from Zeus will resolve itself.

Substituting Poseidon might in a fury harm both himself and a traitor, but Zeus is not that kind of person.

"You have convinced me, Prince Erebus... However, before that, I still hope you understand,"

Looking at the Lord of Darkness holding the warm orb in his hand, Pontus spoke gravely.

"I am unaware of others, but at least for me, I will not accept an outcome where Oceanus gains the most benefit. Otherwise, what would have been the point of the struggles over the past epoch?"

"...Heh, of course, I understand."

Speaking indifferently, the Lord of Darkness was unconcerned by Pontus's words.

Let them make a fuss if they wish; he'd prefer it if they continue to be at odds after the war foreseen to conclude the Third Epoch is over.

...

The Underworld.

Above the former site of the Fields of Truth, having exited combat status, Zeus's Divine Body finally restored to completeness.

But compared to physical wounds healing, the scars on his spirit were far from repaired.

The immense shadow in The Sky had been out of sight for an unknown time, but the traces it left remained enduringly.

The edge of the Underworld seemed to have an additional wall reaching immeasurable heights, the powerful residue of life deterring anything external from drawing near.

However, this wasn't the reason for Zeus's foul mood; actually, the one he forced a smile at was not someone else, but his own brother.

"Hades, you've come. I didn't quite see you earlier... As the King of the Underworld, is your palace usually empty?"
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Barely managing a smile, yet Zeus couldn't help but throw a veiled barb.

However, Hades, who had hurried back to The Temple site, merely looked expressionless, cold, and indifferent, much like the preconceived notions other gods had of him.

"Zeus, the Temple of the Underworld King is naturally populated, but once the Gatekeeper of the Underworld reported your movements to me, it became deserted."

"After all, you came to track the enemy, and my confidence in you isn't exactly high,"

Speaking plainly, Hades's words were both straightforward and devoid of affection.

"...Cough, Hades, my brother, you don't also believe the monster's nonsense, do you?"

"You see, it doesn't dare to lay a hand on me anymore, it..."

"So, Divine King, it doesn't matter which of you is telling the truth, regarding the destruction of my palace, what do you intend to do about it?"

"..."

At a loss for words, Zeus naturally wanted to say something like 'Then I'll build you another one,' but as he was about to speak, he realized he might not have the capacity to do so.

Well, that's the situation, considering Hades had gone mad, actually building such a colossal palace out of divine material.

Even for him, who held the corresponding divine authority, it was probably a matter of spending hundreds of years gathering materials; as for Zeus... Therefore, it's not about the rarity of the material but rather that the Divine Court simply did not have such reserves.

After all, under normal circumstances, which deity would need so many materials? Without a demand, there would be no storage.

And thinking about this, Zeus's face couldn't help but darken. Waves of phantom pain came, and he still couldn't understand why Hades had done this.

"...Regarding the matter of your palace, my brother, could you first address a confusion of mine?" Taking a deep breath, Zeus asked as calmly as he could, "Why did you build such a palace—it's entirely unnecessary."

"No, it was necessary. It collapsed three times before, and two of those were related to you, and now it's the fourth time."

"So the facts prove that not only was it necessary for me to do so, but I also didn't do it enough. After all, no one could have anticipated that this time it would be you who personally caused its destruction."

Speaking indifferently, Hades kept his gaze fixed on Zeus, then continued to ask the soul-searching question.

"So, Divine King of Olympus, about you entering the Underworld without prior notice and then destroying my property on your own, how do you plan to compensate me for my loss? My demand is not high, you just need to rebuild it exactly as it was."

"..."

Once again at a loss for words, Zeus instantly understood what 'the first two times' of destruction meant.

At that moment, he felt he should not have chased into the Underworld, luckily, although the situation was a bit stiff for a moment, he soon thought of a way to temporarily solve the problem.

"Cough, Hades, I sympathize with your predicament, but as you have seen, none of the disasters were instigated by me, it has always been others challenging my authority."

"How about this, the banquet on the surface is still underway. Before my departure, all gods had already been on edge against each other—I need to go back to stabilize the situation first. As for your palace..."

After pondering for a moment, Zeus made a promise.

"When the new palace is built, I will bless it with the sovereign authority of the Divine King, granting it the strength not to be destroyed. Moreover, like the seals that once imprisoned the Titans in the Abyss, this blessing will exist as long as the sovereign authority of the Divine King does; it will never be destroyed, and even if it suffers any damage, it will be able to restore itself to its original state."

Slightly taken aback, Hades had not truly expected Zeus to build him a new one, given that most of the world's minerals were under his jurisdiction, and he couldn't be clearer about the other's capability.

But the new compensation plan Zeus proposed did seem quite satisfactory to him.

Indeed, he had not thought it through enough before; just linking it with the power of the Underworld might not ensure its eternal indestructibility. But with the addition of a safeguard from the divine authority of the Divine King, that should be foolproof.

After all, the world never lacked for crazy deities. Like Gaia, who dared to collide with the pillars of heaven, but none capable of completely destroying the divine authority of the Divine King had ever come to his knowledge.

"Fine, but remember to send the Cyclops and Hephaestus."

With a much softer tone, Hades accepted the compensation.

Double insurance, multiple layers of protection.

This time, his fifth-generation temple would surely be without problems.

...

The affair of the Underworld finally came to a close, and Zeus tried to align with Hades on a unified front regarding his defeat narrative.

Unfortunately, Hades indicated that the Underworld had few deities, infinite things, and both Primordial Gods and the Goddess of the Nether Moon watching over it, so it wasn't as easy to manipulate as surface affairs.

And as with the matter of Typhon, Zeus had ultimately won the day. When you win, any explanation can be palatable. But the short skirmish not long ago had clearly not ended in Zeus's favor, and any explanation would only backfire.

"Then let's emphasize its evilness, letting all gods know that regardless of how strong the monster is or isn't, it is undeniably evil and cannot coexist with all gods."

Making a silent decision, this was the only method Zeus could think of.

Crossing the Styx River Acheron, the Divine King decided to return to the mortal realm. But at that moment, he suddenly looked back.

In the Underworld... no, deep in the Abyss, an intuition told him that something closely related to him was happening there.

What was it? Zeus was puzzled, his unusual response to the Abyss not being the first or second occurrence.

Yet he knew well the dangers that lay therein, and no matter what, he wouldn't venture there without full assurance.

"...It seems I must think of other ways."

"This intuition of fate... No, I must still find out," he thought.

If the gods entered, they might not return, so what being could go there, capable of avoiding death from the common creatures of that place, and also not be targeted by those two hellish beings?

"Humans, like Perseus once before, wielding the divine artifacts of the gods and solving problems for them."

"I remember, didn't I leave a child like that in the human world a few years ago?"

It seemed so, Zeus recalled, and that child had also accidentally established a connection with Hera.

It was said that before recognizing the child's true identity, Hera had even named him... was it 'Glory of Hera'?