Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Chapter 598 - 188 Thetis

From that day forward, the queen cursed by the gods took more interest in animals than in humans, and the King of Crete evidently could not tolerate such matters happening to his queen.

Therefore, to solve the issue, he invited Daedalus to create a wooden cow for Queen Pasiphaë, later confining her within it.

No one knew why the king did this, since he surprisingly didn’t forbid others to touch the wooden cow—there were also rumors claiming that this was a beautified version of history; in fact, Minos was initially unaware of the queen’s curse, and the wooden cow had been commissioned by Pasiphaë herself to satisfy her bestial desires.

In any case, Daedalus truly had unparalleled skill; the wooden cow he built was incredibly lifelike, so much so that even real cows could not distinguish it from one of their own. As a result, the divinely gifted white bull, which had aroused the king’s greed, was attracted to it and mated with her.

Consequently, Pasiphaë became pregnant and gave birth to the monster Minotaur—’the Bull of Minos’—a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull.

It was born with immense strength, so much so that even the king who discovered it could not kill this spawn of misfortune. Of course, it was likely also a matter of not daring to, given that the birth of the Minotaur meant that the white bull was clearly more than just a bull.

Such a being could not possibly be born from the union of two mere mortals; no one knew what this white bull really was... Could it be a Divine Child of Poseidon, or perhaps even an incarnation of the Sea God himself? It’s no wonder that the Sea God had thus placed a curse.

In any event, with no other choice, Minos commanded Daedalus and his son Icarus to construct a vast labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur with a man’s body and a bull’s head.

After the labyrinth was built, to keep the secret, Daedalus and his son were also locked inside. However, it was precisely because of this that their eventual escape across the sea and the story of Icarus flying too close to the Sun, ultimately leading to his death, came about.

The monster imprisoned in the labyrinth craved blood, and infants were thus offered as sacrifices to the Minotaur. This brutal act continued for many years until one day Theseus, who had not yet ascended the throne, arrived; he ventured into the labyrinth, killed the monster, and turned it into an episode within his legendary life, while incidentally taking away Hydera, who later became queen.

Of course, according to Laine’s conjecture, there was likely an element of transaction in this.

The King of Crete, not daring to act himself, let others take the fall, and the young Theseus readily agreed to do so.

However, the original mythological Theseus was raised by followers of Poseidon, which is why he had a close relationship with the Sea Emperor, so killing the Minotaur without retaliation; but the current Theseus had no such connection with Poseidon.

Given the addition of Princess Andrea of Athens, who was not present in the mythology and just happened to be attacked by the Resurrection Church, followers of Hera on the high seas, plus the King of Athens immediately deciding to go fight an incarnation of a certain Sea God... clearly, it was most likely a joint conspiracy between Hera and her brother, and it had simply failed for now.

"If you look at it that way, Athens really is making enemies everywhere..."

Laine silently reflected once again on the absurdity of the human-deity of Chaos—Minos, such a king, was still universally recognized as a wise ruler. But beyond that, Laine was also aware of the undercurrents beneath the calm surface of Athens.

In the realm of deities, it was hard to say which god or goddess on Mount Olympus truly stood with Athena, while Ares, Aphrodite, and Hera were obviously her enemies.

In the mortal realm, Athens could hardly speak of allies, both on land and sea.

"It’s a bit strange, would Athena really let herself fall into such a predicament...?"

He did not know, nor could he make it clear. Laine thought no more of it and had Andrea look for an inn that received foreign visitors.

After settling their itinerary and parking their carriage, Laine immediately took Andrea to a place teeming with people.

Laine had noticed it upon entering the city; it was a place where the identities of outsiders were registered, and stone badges of varying levels were granted according to the status of the visitors.

It wasn’t mandatory and the validation of identity was quite lenient. However, considering the assembly that might take place soon, it was feared that an identity would indeed be necessary to gain entry.

"The two of you, would you like to register for a professional rank or a bloodline rank?"

Before long, Laine and Andrea arrived at the place. The Godhood Practitioner in charge of registration lifted his head and smiled politely.

"Bloodline rank."

Laine spoke softly, giving a hint with his eyes.

Andrea hesitated for a moment but eventually raised her hand to place it on the crystal ball in front of the Godhood Practitioner.

Enjoy more content from empire

"Tssss—"

"Boom——"

Lightning streaked across the sky, clouds morphed into a chariot – a sign of the arrival of the Divine King.

Zeus made no effort to hide his approach, and Nereus, the eldest son of Pontus and now steward of the Pontus Euxinus Sea, had long been waiting.

"Your Majesty, welcome,"

the old Sea God greeted with a warm smile, paying respects to the Divine King stepping down from the cloud chariot. Zeus reciprocated graciously, laughing as he embraced Nereus.

"I’m pleased to see you, elder of the ocean. I know my visit today may be somewhat abrupt. I hope you don’t mind,"

"As the King of All Gods, you have the right to visit any place in this world without prior notice."

"Hahaha..."

Zeus laughed heartily, waving his hand dismissively.

He entered what used to be the Divine Palace of the Ancient Sea God, at the invitation of Nereus. The place seemed long deserted.

The children of Pontus didn’t reside here. Even Nereus had built a new home nearby for himself. However, to show his respect for his guest, he had re-opened this dusty palace.

As they went further in, Zeus saw many descendants of the Ancient Sea God, particularly Nereus’s daughters. Amphitrite had once been among them, now having become Poseidon’s Sea Empress.

’I hope they’re not all so foolish... though, clever or not, it doesn’t really concern me anymore.’

With an unchanged expression, Zeus seated himself on the golden throne Nereus had prepared.

Sea nymphs performed songs and dances, many Sea Gods made toasts, and cups clinked against each other. As time passed, more Sea Gods who heard the news began to converge here, while the Divine King seemed to truly be here just for a banquet, feasting with All Gods.

Time quickly slipped by; Zeus’s cheeks were a bit flushed, seemingly getting slightly drunk. At one moment, he patted the old Sea God on the shoulder and suddenly pointed to a dancer below.

"Who is she?"

"My daughter Thetis. Does her dance please you, Your Majesty?"

Responding with a smile, Nereus glanced at his daughter.

Like Amphitrite, she was one of the most beautiful among his fifty daughters... It seemed the Divine King had taken a liking to her, right?

However, Zeus’s next words caused Nereus’s heart to skip a beat.

"No, Nereus, how could I dare to fancy her? That’s impossible,"

In a haze of tipsiness, Zeus seemed to speak without doubt:

"She will give birth to a child more powerful than his father... That’s the Prophecy, and also Fate... She is aware of this fact, and the Fates know it too."

"I plan to arrange a blissful marriage for her. What do you think?"

"Of course, it would be her honor,"

Nereus said with an unchanged smile.

"Very well, let’s do it soon,"

Zeus nodded, taking another cup of nectar and then resumed his enjoyment of the entertainment before him.

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