Chapter 752 - 266: Circles and Achievements_2

While turning [Light] into something that can grow by digesting [Darkness] would be quite a complex matter.

Even for a whole world, anything is possible as long as one is willing to pay the price, and even the opposing Source Powers can be forcibly changed.

But such an act clearly isn’t very meaningful, so when the remnants of the Nine Realms were integrated, it more so resulted in the strengthening of their respective powers.

Of course, the uses of the internal circulation are far more than these, and the world is not limited to ascending through externals.

From the very beginning of the world’s creation, Chaos incessantly birthed new concepts, new Godhoods, advancing the procreation and evolution of All Gods and even the prosperity of All Spirits, which is essentially another way of amplifying itself through the world’s internal cycles.

And of these profound mysteries, Zeus was not very clear.

His intuition told him that this might have something to do with why there were personal gods and why both the alien realms of the Nine Realms and the Chaos World gave birth to intelligent species.

However, intuition is just intuition, and Zeus didn’t ponder much further. After all, gaining power in such a way is obviously a long process.

"Still, one must plunder. How can developing on one’s own compare to seizing the possessions of others?"

"By seizing from Cronus, I became the Divine King. By seizing from Odin, I obtained the ritual for ascension. By seizing from Typhon, I gained even greater strength."

"Had I not seized, how would I be where I am today? Now, it is the same."

All Gods can benefit from the world’s enhancement, but during this process, those who are originally stronger and closer to the powers of the Alien Realm gain the most.

And yet, in Zeus’s senses, at least for now, the powers that the world breathes in and exhales are related to the domains such as the Void, Space, and Darkness.

The first two are inconsequential, merely reinforcing the spatial structure of the world itself and enhancing the reach of the world’s powers. The last, however, is different.

In this world, the gods associated with ’darkness’ are led by the two Primordial Gods of the Underworld, then the entire Underworld and the gods of the Lightless Celestial Bodies deep within the cosmos.

Perhaps Pontus, the symbol of the ’Earth Concave,’ could also derive some benefit, but all these have little to do with Olympus.

Therefore, the conspiracy Zeus had earlier with the Lord of Darkness had now changed from ’being approached by the other party’ to something Zeus himself did not want to give up.

The unification of the present world had become urgent.

"Let’s go."

Zeus had pondered a lot, but on the surface, he was just quietly listening to Zephyrus speak.

After Zephyrus had nothing more to say, Zeus nodded and gestured for him to follow him downward.

"Your Majesty, where is this?"

"This is just an ordinary hill called Catairon. But there lives an extraordinary individual here, who is, so far, my proudest creation."

Saying this, Zeus couldn’t help but reveal a smile.

"When he was born, I foresaw his greatness. So, I wanted him to rule the entire Mortal World and become the king of all Demigods."

"Many said I idly watched as Cadmos endured the hardships of building Thebes, but in truth, I had long planned to send them a Monarch whose name would live on through the ages. It’s just a pity that Hera spoiled it all."

...

Standing aside and listening quietly, Zephyrus was somewhat speechless.

The ’king’ you’re sending to Thebes doesn’t have Cadmos’s bloodline; this sounds like a cuckoo taking over the nest.

Moreover, not only is this person your son, he’s also the child of the princess of Mycenae and your own great-granddaughter. What does this have to do with Thebes?

But since Zeus put it that way, Zephyrus naturally showed his agreement, indicating that he had heard the story.

Zeus had sired this child with his own great-granddaughter, and he had claimed before the birth that his next offspring would achieve extraordinary feats and become the ruler of many Demigods.

Then Hera covertly used her Divine Authority, causing another of Zeus’s great-grandsons to be born prematurely.

The God of the West Wind had known this for a while, he even thought it was just another insignificant contradiction between the Divine King and the Heavenly Empress, but now it seemed, could this child really possess something out of the ordinary?

"Yes, his talent is indeed beyond your imagination, Zephyrus."

"Disputes among mortals stem from Athens, where there resided a King who claimed invincibility in the Mortal Realm. Hera had racked her brains to kill him, but she didn’t know, had she chosen to nurture this child from the beginning, she wouldn’t have needed to worry about the King’s threat."

"Even though his strength isn’t that great yet, it doesn’t matter because after undergoing some minor trials, he will become the most outstanding hero of the Mortal World."

Descending the slopes, Zeus and Zephyrus had already walked down from the hill.

Using their deity vision, the two easily spotted a young shepherd in the distance.

From his bearing, the God of the West Wind could not detect the slightest bit of a strong presence. He didn’t know what the other’s strength was like, but at least from appearances, this was not a being who yearned for battle and slaughter.

Without external influence, perhaps the other was able to stay here, leading horses and shepherding sheep... but watching this scene, Zephyrus didn’t utter a word of doubt.

"He doesn’t look like a mighty one, does he?"

The smile was faint, and Zeus looked as though he was beholding a peerless treasure, or a sharp sword.

However, the God of the West certainly confirmed, this was not the look of a parent gazing upon their child.

But such was the way of gods, towards the offspring of non-deities, they hardly placed much emphasis.

"He needs to be tempered, and before the tempering, he needs a reason to temper himself and a cause to persist."

"According to my original plan, this wasn’t supposed to happen today, but after he had established a family. He would mistakenly kill his own child, commit the grave sin of kinslaying, and then, in guilt and despair, accept the trial of the gods, considering obedience to my command as his way of atonement."

"Obedience to you is something all humans should do, Your Majesty, regardless of whether they have sinned or not."

Bowing slightly, an intuition told Zephyrus that he was about to witness the ruthlessness of the ’Divine King’ position once more.

"Hahaha... nice words can come from anyone, Zephyrus, but not everyone is as loyal as you."

Zeus waved his hand slightly, still smiling, "But now there’s not enough time, I can’t wait for him to get married and have children."

"Then tell me, Zephyrus, is there anything in this world that can be compared with one’s offspring, is there anything that can replace his son?"

"..."

Silent, Zephyrus knew he didn’t need to say anything, and indeed, Zeus soon revealed the answer.

"Of course, it’s his parents."

"Parents, closer than siblings, are the most intimate of kin, just like one’s children."

"He could never mistakenly kill me, but fortunately... my lover, the beautiful Alcmena, she, is still alive."

At the edge of his vision, the intangible wind told Zephyrus that a cart pulled by oxen was approaching from this direction.

Alcmena, Princess of Mycenae, Zeus’s great-granddaughter, and another lover of his in the Mortal Realm, was slowly approaching this place.

She was coming to visit her son, who had been exiled here to shepherd after mistakenly hurting his teacher in his youth.

"This is honor."

Still smiling, Zeus’s smile was so gentle, for he felt it was almost a guiding hand of fate.

A hero falls, a new hero arises. The previous night, Theseus of Athens had lost his life, but now, his successor had arrived.

"Alcmena should feel honored—Zephyrus, do you know, although I have lovers everywhere, my feelings for Hera are indeed true. It’s just that I don’t want to control my desires by comparison."

"So I don’t mind what happens to these ’toys’... like this time."

"In Hera’s absence, I can act in her stead. Let Alcmena bring about Heracles (Hera’s glory)."