Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

There are piles of bones and dim firelight.

In the empty underground space, the name was whispered in disbelief.

Looking at everything in front of him, Zeferos never expected that he would actually see him underground in Silvermoon City.

Astraeus...the father of the stars, the Titan god.

He is the son of the former weather titan Kleos, the grandson of the ancient sea god Pontus, and the father of all the current star gods.

As early as the beginning of the Second Age, he and the Goddess of Dawn gave birth to the stars in the sky and the four wind gods.

Therefore, in the Second Age, the star gods were divided into two, obeying the God King and the Sun respectively.

After the change of the throne of the gods, the god of weather was imprisoned in Tartarus, while Eurybia, the power of the sea, returned to the sea and "reflected on her mistakes" under the supervision of her brother Nereus.

Having lost his two biggest backers and having failed to defect to Zeus early on, Astraeus was in an awkward situation.

There was no place for him in Olympus. After all, although Zephyrus gained the trust of Zeus by offering the [Golden Scepter], the relationship between them was not very close.

Although they are called father and son, they are more like colleagues who follow the same orders.

And in the starry sky, although the ancient sun god is no longer there, the status of the Mother of Light is still as solid as a rock.

As a result, and given his mediocre strength, Astraeus was forced to leave the world.

There are actually quite a few Titan gods like him, most of whom have mediocre power and did not join Olympus early.

From this perspective, Zeferos' luck and choice were already very good.

In comparison, the gods of his generation have long since faded from the center of the world.

hum-

"Ok?"

It seemed like a long time had passed, but in fact it was just a moment.

All the things about Astraeus flashed through his mind, and when another buzzing sounded, Zephyros immediately locked onto the source of the sound.

It was at the midpoint of this underground space, surrounded by endless white bones, where stood a tall altar.

Its shape is very similar to the altars that mortals used to worship gods, but if you look closely you will find some differences.

Not only because the one on the stage is not a statue, but the god himself, but also because of the fine pipes and light silver grids that run through his body.

A fine grid radiates from the altar, from the void, and even from Astraeus' body, ultimately binding the existence on the altar.

And the continuous noises were not caused by anything else but the noise caused by the collision of the God of Stars with it.

"Are you... calling me?"

Taking a step forward, Zephyros noticed that Astraeus on the altar seemed to still be conscious.

He seemed to be aware of my arrival and was trying to get my attention.

Without hesitation, the God of West Wind flew forward.

Although their relationship was ordinary, as a member of the gods, Zeferos could not sit idly by and watch the other party being imprisoned here by humans.

This is a taboo among the gods, and it is also something that every god will inevitably do.

Like the last mortal who did this, Sisyphus, he is still pushing the boulder endlessly to this day.

brush--

Leaving the corridor, underfoot is a huge pit where billions of bones are buried, and invisible air currents carry the God of Wind forward.

However, just at the beginning, Zeferos's expression changed slightly.

For some unknown reason, ever since he arrived above the pile of bones, an inexplicable force began to act on him, trying to extract his blood and spirit.

The further in you go, the more intense the extraction becomes.

At the same time, almost visibly, the grid near the central altar became brighter, and the God of the West Wind in the air was in a dilemma for a moment.

He didn't know if he could still block this force without relying on divine power if he continued to move forward.

And this feeling... is so strange and familiar.

Zephyros was sure that he must have seen it, and more than once, but he couldn't remember it for a moment.

Hovering in mid-air, his expression was extremely serious.

“…Huh…”

“…Don’t come over here…”

"what?"

Looking up suddenly, Zephyros heard the voice of Astraeus through the air around him.

And the next moment, the God of Stars also realized this.

Within the pale silver grid, a glimmer of hope flashed in the eyes of the god who was as thin as a withered bone.

"…Can you hear…?"

"...Hurry up...This is a 'blood sacrifice'..."

"...You can't save me...just by yourself..."

"... Let's go... Leave here... Tell the gods everything that happened here..."

"...Otherwise, my today...will be your...tomorrow!"

The voice was so faint that it was almost inaudible, but Zeferos could hear the overwhelming hatred in it.

It was understandable that the other party wanted him to leave. After all, he might be the only hope he had seen in thousands of years.

If he were to die here too, that would be true despair for Astraeus.

However, even though he saw this, the God of West Wind did not want to leave just like that.

Blood sacrifice, yes.

After being reminded by the God of Stars, Zephyros finally remembered what this familiar feeling was.

Mortals use blood and food to sacrifice to gods, and just now I played the role of "sacrifice".

It's not just me who happened to come here. The billions of bones in this underground cave may have come from here.

The mortal who had obtained his mark for unknown reasons unfortunately became a 'sacrifice' and a blood food for the blood sacrifice to the God of Stars.

But why?

Human sacrifice was expressly prohibited by Zeus. Even a tyrant like Ares could only do so under the pretext of "gladiator fights".

But everything before our eyes proved that under the Silver Moon City, which has always claimed to be "civilized", there is actually such a huge and continuous human sacrifice.

The bones under the pit clearly showed the order of death, and the object of their blood sacrifice was actually an imprisoned god.

"What a madman... blood sacrifice to the gods, aren't these humans afraid that he will resist at all costs?"

"No, judging from his appearance, if there was a glimmer of hope, he would have fought to the death even at the cost of a huge sum."

Taking a deep breath, Zeferos vaguely guessed something, but he subconsciously didn't want to believe it.

How could such a noble god fall to such a fate at the hands of humans...

The decline will start on the high platform, behind which is the corridor we came from.

With Astraeus' warning, the God of West Wind did not plan to go any deeper, but that did not mean he would just leave.

There will eventually be a conclusion to what happened here.

"...Asterius, I will find someone to rescue you."

"But before that, you have to tell me what you have been through."

"Who trapped you here, what did they do, and what was their purpose?"

"And most importantly..."

"Apart from humans, are there any gods involved in the affairs here?"

His expression was solemn, and the God of West Wind was even more nervous.

He wanted to know the previous questions, but they were not that important.

Only the last one is the key to the problem.

Although as a god, he didn't believe that any other gods would support humans in doing such a thing, but there are always unexpected things.

What if, what if...what if that what if happens to be the god worshipped by Silvermoon City?

After all, this underground space was built right here, underneath the abandoned temple.

Under such circumstances, Zeferos couldn't help but feel nervous.

But fortunately, the next moment, when Astraeus' voice sounded, the God of West Wind breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

"...I know...what you are thinking..."

"...No...there are no gods involved here..."

"...Even if it's the Demon Net Goddess... it's the same..."

"That's good."

I felt a little relieved. The biggest threat no longer existed, so things would be much easier.

But since there were no gods involved, how did these mortals trap Astraeus?

Confused, Zeferos asked.

“…Huh…”

"...Zefyros...you underestimate their meanness..."

"...along the way...did you see the oil lamps on the road?"

"..."

“…You guessed it…right…hehehehahahahahahahahahahaha…”

Looking at the suddenly silent God of West Wind, a crazy smile appeared on Astraeus's skull-like face in the center of the altar.

It seemed like crying and laughing, but there was not a single tear.

After a long time, the God of Stars slowly told the truth.

“…That’s right… ahem… just as you guessed.”

"…It's an oil lamp…but it's a 'magic oil lamp'!"

"...As a congenital god...my ministry brings me divine power all the time..."

"... and as long as there is enough divine power... these humans can't trap me..."

"..."

Standing at the exit of the corridor, Zephyros was silent.

He did guess it, before Astraeus spoke.

But his subconscious mind was actually unwilling to believe that a true God would actually encounter such a disaster.

True God is immortal, this is Chaos's iron rule.

Their divine power comes directly from the laws that correspond to their authority, and there will never be a concept of exhaustion.

In this case, the so-called "eternal sleep", although terrifying for the gods of Chaos, may actually be extremely difficult to achieve.

Even if they are regional gods, no matter how weak a god is, as long as the mountains, rivers and streams corresponding to their divine power are still there, they will not fall into sleep.

Since the beginning of creation, the true gods who have been in eternal sleep are either the result of backlash from the laws themselves or their own choices.

So in this situation, even if a mortal accidentally captured a god, how could they guarantee that it would not rise up in resistance after it recovered?

"...consume...they can only do this..."

"...In the beginning...I exhausted my power during the Typhon Rebellion...These humans found me...and brought me back secretly..."

"...At first, they just thought I was a star god...until later...they realized who I was..."

"So they fear me! No, they fear the gods!"

hum-

The voice suddenly became high-pitched, immediately causing the pale silver grid to react, locking Astraeus tightly.

The ferocious expression on the God of Stars' face was instantly mixed with pain, and then he was forced to calm down.

After a long time, the god, who seemed to have become mentally disturbed due to the long suffering, raised his head again, his eyes staring at the place where Zeferos was.

“…Huh…huh…”

"... Zephyrus... They fear me... but they also desire me... They don't want to give me up... but they are afraid of my power..."

"So that's it."

"Let my body be on the verge of death... extract the blood... bones... fat... organs one by one..."

"…This is the material for their research…and also the tool they use to limit my restored divine power…"

"...Now...do you understand?"

"..."

There is no response, and no response is needed.

Of course Zephyrus understood, and now he was sober.

During the short time he spent in Silvermoon City, he actually thought it was a pretty good place.

Although he could not compare with the sacred mountain in terms of status, what he experienced here was something he had never seen in Olympus.

All of this made the God of the West Wind feel somewhat favorable towards this city.

"But it turns out that humans are, well, humans."

"The more ignorant one is, the more pious one is."

"The more intelligent one is, the more blasphemous one becomes."

"The God King told the gods that this is the nature of mankind, but it was not until now that I truly realized this..."

"Wizards should not exist..."

Zephyrus had no idea how, from a human perspective, they viewed their fellow citizens who were secretly performing human sacrifices.

But from the perspective of the gods, everything before their eyes is an indisputable crime.