Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

"Hera, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you."

"If Themis were here, I would be happy to consult her and let her use the golden scale to measure the true goddess of beauty. But if you let me be the judge - I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to put aside my feelings for you and make a truly fair decision."

Zeus suppressed the rebellious forces with a wave of his hand, and once again silently demonstrated his authority. But in the face of Hera's request, the king of gods flatly refused.

Whether or not he actually has such deep feelings is one thing, but since he said so, then it is true.

"Is it impossible to make a 'truly fair decision'? Is this something that needs to be thought about, Zeus? Shouldn't your queen be the most beautiful one?"

Hera did not take Zeus's evasion seriously at all, and her words were still sharp and pressing. However, Aphrodite, who was watching this scene not far away, sneered.

"Hera, there is no point in forcing the King of Gods. The authority of the gods is inviolable, and you cannot change that. I am the goddess of beauty, this is a fact recognized by the world, and it is also a truth recognized by the laws of the world!"

"Really? It's just skin and bones. If the 'beauty' you understand is just the beauty of the outside, then that only shows how shallow you are. Power and authority are the treasures that adorn a woman, and marriage is the guarantee of it - but then again, you only have a face that's acceptable."

Hera retorted without any hesitation, sitting beside the golden throne.

She had long been dissatisfied with Aphrodite, and the other party was the same with her. The grudge between the two sides was not a one-day thing.

Once upon a time, the newly born goddess of beauty was forced to marry Ares by the king and his wife, and Hera took the opportunity to put her within the restrictions of marriage, thereby expanding her authority. But for the goddess of beauty, marriage is exactly what she cannot tolerate.

Indulgent emotions and free joy come from the beauty of nature. This is the authority and instinct of Aphrodite, the embodiment of love and beauty, born from the legacy of the Father. For her, the existence of marriage is tantamount to locking her in a cage, which is something she cannot tolerate. So it didn't take long for the goddess of beauty to let herself go.

Therefore, Hera, who had personally presided over the marriage between her son and Aphrodite, felt that her authority had been violated, and she began to dislike the goddess of beauty. Even her believers on earth had a lot of conflicts with her because of this.

The favorite thing of Aphrodite's clergy is to use their own charm to attract the spouses of the clergy of the Queen of Heaven Church, so as to destroy their marriages and gain the favor of the gods. On the other hand, if someone can resist this temptation, or even persuade the believers of the goddess of beauty to take the "right path", they will receive additional gifts from Hera.

In short, the conflict between the two was known to all gods, and even the king of gods was troubled. However, due to power and status, Hera usually had the upper hand. However, this time, facing the irony of the queen of heaven, Aphrodite could not help but clench her fists.

"You forced me to do this!"

She silently thought to herself that she had not originally planned to use her "ultimate move". After all, once this was done, it would be difficult to end it. However, in order to protect her reputation as the "Goddess of Beauty" and to prevent Hera from really stealing the concept of "beauty", she could not care less.

Silently, the golden belt around Aphrodite's waist suddenly lit up with a light that ordinary people could hardly see. She picked up the wine glass in front of her and took a sip.

The wine slid from the corner of her mouth, flowed down her neck, passed through her collarbone, and seeped under her clothes. Aphrodite turned her head and showed a bright smile to the person not far away.

"Ares, tell me, who is more beautiful, me or your mother?"

"……what……"

His eyes were dazed for a moment. In Ares' eyes, his wife, who had always been distant to him, was so beautiful.

Her eyes are like the stars in the sky, her lips are like the sweetest wine, and her skin is as white and smooth as milk. At this moment, she is the moon in the night sky, the only one among the gods!

"Needless to say, Afu, how could the Mother Goddess be comparable to you..."

boom--!

Before he finished speaking, a huge roar sounded from above, and the next moment, the entire palace began to shake. However, immediately afterwards, under the power of the God King, all the noise was suppressed.

Beside the golden throne, Hera glared at her disappointing son, her eyes were about to spit fire. Ares actually dared to say such words in front of the gods. She could almost imagine that her son personally admitted that he was not as beautiful as Aphrodite. This matter would probably be laughed at by the gods for ten thousand years!

"enough!"

Zeus finally couldn't bear to watch any longer after he shouted angrily. Even as he spoke, he couldn't help but glare at Ares.

This idiot, how could he and Hera give birth to such a thing. If you had inherited one tenth of my ability, you wouldn't be manipulated by Aphrodite.

"call--"

Zeus let out a breath, his anger was only for a moment, and Ares was just a small matter. He had originally planned to let the existence of the golden apple ferment among the gods, but he never expected that even if the use of force was prohibited, the situation could escalate so quickly.

Add fuel to the fire? No need, it was just Hera and Aphrodite, he couldn't imagine what would happen if he let it go... Zeus decided to speed up the process as he glanced at Athena who was involved but still felt out of the script.

He was quite satisfied with the development of the matter. In terms of creating conflicts, the effect of the Golden Apple was better than he had imagined. Although the two people who had the most intense conflict were not the ones he wanted, he should not hesitate any longer and should just proceed to the next step.

Zeus then showed an angry look on his face, as if he was angered by the argument between the goddess of beauty and the queen of heaven. But he glanced at the gods and seemed a little helpless.

"You are all my relatives, my arms, or the respected ancient gods. It is not wise to fight against each other for such false reputations. It will only make this matter a laughing stock."

"So how are you going to solve this?"

As if she enjoyed watching the fun, Hecate conjured up a huge pumpkin for herself. She sat on the edge of the pumpkin, swinging her legs, and broke off a piece and put it in her mouth.

"Since the Goddess of the Magic Web is so interested in this, and it seems that you are not going to fight for the golden apple, why not let you decide where it belongs."

There was a gleam of divine light in his eyes, and Zeus said casually.

Many gods present were horrified when they heard this, but before they could question it, Hecate shook her head.

"Don't leave such troublesome things to me, little Zeus. I'm here to watch the fun, not to become the one doing it."

Glancing at the Queen of Heaven and the Goddess of Beauty, who had had the most intense verbal conflict before, Hecate sneered, then lay back, and disappeared in a flash.

It turned out that at some point, a large hole that could just accommodate one person appeared in the center of the pumpkin.

"Come on, Zeus, start your show. Let me see what you are going to do."

"...Since you don't want to, forget it. But the arrival of the goddess of discord is indeed an unexpected event."

Zeus was not angered by the outrageous words, and seemed to have a high tolerance when facing Hecate.

He looked at the gods, and looked into the eyes of each one separately, as if trying to select a fair judge.

Some looked expectant, others were unwilling to be tainted, but in the end Zeus chose no one. When the last god left his sight, the king of gods smiled.

"I know that many of you here would like to be the judge, but I want to say that, except for Themis' golden scales, there is no other god who can make all the gods feel that his judgment is fair and correct."

"So, I decided to leave it all to fate."

He stretched out his hand, and the three-color scepter of the God King appeared in his palm. Zeus waved it lightly, and a phantom appeared in the air.

Through the illusion, the gods saw a temple and a believer kneeling there to pray, and when the image was raised, they saw a city.

"That is my believer, one of my agents on earth. Not long ago, he prayed to me and prepared to hold a grand event for me and my favorite daughter as a gift to God."

"Perhaps this is the revelation of fate... The world is selecting a wise and fair hero, and the conflict between the gods requires such a person. How about letting this grand event decide who will own the golden apple?"

The gods looked at each other and they felt that the proposal was acceptable.

No matter who among the gods makes the judgement, they will not be convinced. Although it is a bit of a joke to hand it over to mortals, they can use various means to ensure that the mortal's choice is not influenced by the will of the gods.

As for the fact that this event takes place in Athens, it may give certain gods an advantage... Athens doesn't just have the Church of Knowledge, and there may not be fewer visitors from other countries gathering here, and they may be of higher quality.

"so be it."

Still furious, Hera looked expressionlessly at Ares and Aphrodite, then glanced at Athena who was standing quietly beside them.

It's already such a joke... No matter what, the golden apple must be hers!

······

wow——

slam-la-

……

In the east of the earth, a human festival was being held; on the Sea of ​​Pontonoris, a marriage ended in failure. The couple who were supposed to be the protagonists did not even have the chance to say a word. They could only huddle aside and watch the gods who were about to break out into a war.

And at the edge of the sky and the end of the sea, the eternal river flows unceasingly, never stopping for a moment.

That is the [River that Rings the World], the symbol of the ocean god Oceanus's ministry, the starting point of the world's ocean currents, and the boundary that separates the sea and the void.

Here, a temple that is always flowing stands between the river waves. Except for the Ocean God and his wife, almost no one can set foot here.

But today, something unexpected happened. In the empty hall, a third person appeared.

"What do you think... Oceanus, this is your last chance."

"In the past, you have worked hard for three epochs, but you know very well that if nothing unexpected happens, you will not be able to succeed on your own even after another three epochs."

Standing in the shadow - or rather, the place where he stood would become the shadow itself.

Erebus looked at the still hesitant Ocean Lord and stated the facts calmly.

This was his last attempt in a short time. After the wedding banquet at Zeus's place was over, he had other things to do. The Sea of ​​Pontonoris... He had other things to do with Pontos.

Although the other party had already fallen asleep, it was not difficult to wake him up as long as he wanted.

"You know, Oceanus, in this world, most people don't wish others good luck just because they've suffered. On the contrary, when they've been wet in the rain, they want more people to get wet in the rain with them."

“And in this world, there are only two people who once did not have great power, but later gained it and are still active in this world.”

"Lian, and Zeus - unfortunately, they both have ill intentions towards you."

"Your Highness Erebus, there were indeed some misunderstandings between us." The Ocean God used this excuse more than once to refuse, saying something he didn't quite believe in. However, his attitude of refusal softened again and again: "But malice, isn't it——"

"Heh, doesn't Ryan's sword hurt, or have you forgotten it so quickly?"

The Lord of Darkness smiled faintly and continued:

"As for Zeus - I dare say that as long as he is still the king of gods, you will never be able to unify the sea. Even if Pontus has already fallen asleep, Poseidon can't even stop you with one hand."

"..."

Lies don't hurt people, the truth is the sharpest knife. The sword mark that once cut off the long river was indeed fresh in the memory of Oceanus, and Zeus' attitude was almost revealed.

Even though he had sent two daughters to him, one of whom was swallowed by him and the other gave birth to the goddess Graces with him, Zeus still did not relax his vigilance against Oceanus.

No matter what, the other party would never allow him to unify the sea and work together with his wife to become the true supreme being who controls the sea and water.

"Tell me what you want me to do."

After a moment's silence, just when Erebus was about to leave, Oceanus finally gave in.

The other party was right. If I simply waited, I might not be able to seize the opportunity even if I really had one. But even though he let go, Dayangshen had already made up his mind that he would never be cannon fodder.

No matter how wonderful the other party's words were, Oceanus would not do anything unless his method could allow him to reach a higher realm first.

As for what happens after it is touched... that is another matter. What choice I will make at that time will naturally depend on the situation.