Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Chapter 201: Chapter 39 Hephaestus_2

Although she didn’t want to get involved in this matter, as the youngest and smartest of the three Graces, Aglaea knew she had no choice but to agree.

However, thinking about the Olympian gods’ subtle fear of the God of the Ocean, Aglaea felt that perhaps her aunt’s family, who lived far away, were more suitable to take on this ‘heavy responsibility’.

After all, getting close to Poseidon meant she could no longer be favored by King Zeus, so doing something for the Heavenly Empress, she thought, they would not refuse.

“Very well, then you may go,”

Nodding with satisfaction, Hera did not realize that in such a short time, Aglaea had already thought of a solution. She simply signaled for the other to leave.

When she was once again alone in the palace, looking at the empty halls, anger once again surged uncontrollably in the heart of the Heavenly Empress.

Her own sister, Demeter, Hera had thought was uninvolved with the world’s strife, but, to her dismay, she had betrayed her.

As for Zeus, Hera knew that his inability to restrain himself was the root of all problems, yet she couldn’t do anything about him.

“Hush—stay calm.”

“And this child, was he influencing me just now?”

Striving to calm her emotions, Hera unexpectedly discovered that perhaps due to the negative emotions she had infused into the embryo, this newly born deity seemed to have a closer connection with her.

This gave Hera a vague glimpse of the future, revealing that he seemed to possess divine authority related to the earth and fire.

“He should not be weak.”

She breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously. If she could give birth to a normal, powerful deity, that would certainly be best.

Yet feeling this connection, the Heavenly Empress couldn’t help but recall the source of her negative emotions.

A husband, a sister, and the child soon to be born.

“Zeus, this had better be the last time,”

Her expression was cold. In just a decade or so, the once bright and kindly goddess seemed to have accepted reality. At this moment, Hera silently made a decision.

“If there is a next time…”

She might indeed be unable to do anything about King Zeus, but that was only regarding him. If she couldn’t stop her own husband, then she would take concrete actions to show all goddesses that what belonged to Hera could not be taken by anyone.

…

After changing into a set of clothes at Evans’s house and tidying up his appearance, Cohen finally no longer looked like a wild man.

Even though his demeanor still didn’t fit in with the folks of Giant Wood Town, passersby no longer looked at him with strange eyes. Relying on his extraordinary control over his body and sharp hearing, Cohen also quickly learned the accent of the Bronze Humanity.

Now, walking on the street and listening to the exchanges among humans, Cohen gradually gained some understanding of history over the past thousand years.

The King of All Gods was no longer the one from the past. With the fall of Mount of the Gods, the ruler of the world now was the master of the Olympian lineage, King Zeus.

Humans had already perished twice over, and according to their sayings, the second generation, the Silver Humanity, also had long lifespans. However, because they did not respect the deities, they lost the gods’ protection and were exterminated during the gap of the Titan wars.

Cohen made no comment. He had never seen the Silver Humanity, nor did he know whether they truly respected the gods or not. But what he knew was, if reverence for the gods could offer protection, he would not be here now.

Moreover, what felt foreign to him was that although the current humans all claimed to be devotees of the gods, their understanding of the deities was not similar to that of the Golden Age. In the Bronze Humanity’s descriptions, gods were not omnipotent, flawless beings, but merely entities with mighty powers.

Even based on their varying strength, people have categorized the gods into different levels of importance.

Beyond that, in front of the temples dedicated to the deities, there exist priests who expound on the greatness of different gods and the benefits one can reap from worship.

Yes, although they call it a ‘blessing,’ Cohen felt it was simply a trade.

Humans offer sacrifices, deities bestow blessings; Bronze Humanity thought this was normal, but Cohen found it strange no matter how he looked at it.

“Maybe, this is what ‘gods’ truly are?”

“Perhaps our previous understanding of gods really differs from the truth.”

In silent contemplation, Cohen felt as if he had found the answer. Yet, as he looked upon the tall temples and the kneeling humans, he once again recalled the dream that had altered his destiny.

It’s funny to say, but thousands of years had passed and he still didn’t know which deity the self-proclaimed ‘angel’ in his dream referred to as the ‘Lord.’

It was as if the being had carelessly thrown some food to the ant beneath its feet out of whimsy and then forgot about his existence. To talk of building temples was out of the question; the being hadn’t even left a name.

This at times caused Cohen to feel frustrated. But now, it ironically served as a pillar for his past convictions.

Everything he saw in the ruins made the King of Men doubt the gods, but to completely deny the faith he had held for thousands of years, the belief that Golden Humanity had clung to, was somewhat unacceptable to him. Fortunately, Cohen found that there seemed to be differences among these deities.

Now, he wanted to know why, even though they are all gods, the past Titans, the current Olympian Gods, and that unnamed deity differed so greatly.

Intuition told him that the reason behind this might just be the answer he had been searching for.

“Brother Cohen, why are you zoning out again?”

Lost in thought, Evans’s voice instantly brought Cohen’s attention back.

“…Sorry, the place I used to live in is quite different from here.”

Snapping back to reality, Cohen gave Evans an apologetic smile, his face still a bit unnatural.

After all, even if it was for self-preservation, hiding his origin from others still contradicted the conduct that the King of Men had followed in the past.

“It’s normal for things to be different. Giant Wood Town is near the forest and lacks stone. Apart from The Temple, there are hardly any stone structures. It’s normal for you to find it new.”

“If you’re not in a hurry to get back, you could stay in town for a while, but for now, we’ve arrived.”

With an understanding nod, Evans gestured for Cohen to look ahead at a place dense with crowds.

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

“…You mean, those ‘unbelievers’?”

With just a bit of thought, Cohen recalled what Evans had previously told him.

It seems that in Giant Wood Town, there are some who are unwilling to offer sacrifices to deities anymore, which undoubtedly angered the priests in charge of The Temple. Today, in front of everyone, the priests are set to announce the verdict on their punishment.

“That’s right, them.” Nodding, Evans showed an intrigued expression, “In front of King Zeus’s temple, the goddess of justice and law’s sacrifice will publicly adjudicate the fate of those irreverent ones today.”

“Of course, the creator once said that the revered goddess always listens fully to both sides in the Divine Court before making a just judgment, so the priests are following suit, ready to give those unbelievers a chance to speak, and then find and criticize their faults in public.”

“Speaking of which, I’ve been quite curious for a long time about what they could possibly say.”