Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

The God of Sun indicated he could set out, as Zeus at last slowly said:

"Persephone has never come to Olympus, thus Hades is not guilty. Demeter’s anxious love for her daughter is also understandable. This is a conflict without right or wrong, what the Divine Court needs is merely to end this natural disaster."

...

Helios, having flown out from Olympus, had an expressionless face all along the way.

Sitting on the Mount of the Gods, calamity descends from the sky above. Mediating the dispute between two Principal Gods, moreover a dispute where ’neither side is at fault,’ everyone knows this is no easy task.

One misstep, and those who intervene might earn the resentment of both Hades and the Goddess of Agriculture, even the attitude of the Divine King himself is so ambiguously neutral. But in the end, the God of Sun still accepted the task.

In truth, he could have refused, after all, Helios hadn’t committed any wrongdoing. The Divine King could make a request, but couldn’t use it as a pretext to punish him; otherwise, if his actions affected the journey of the sun, the resulting evils would also partly fall upon the sovereignty of Zeus.

Although not fully understanding the nature of the grand ceremony, over the years, Helios had gradually realized, this third-generation Divine King seemed to still uphold order. Yet, the thought of insistence on refusal only rose in the God of Sun’s heart for an instant before vanishing without a trace.

Because right after, he heard Zeus say that while he entered underground, Apollo could replace him in steering the sun.

Gods borrowing Divine Artifacts from one another is not too uncommon, and when the Divine King uttered these words, he didn’t think it would give Helios much concern, even the original myth’s portrayal of him was the same.

However, at that moment, the God of Sun suddenly remembered a conversation from long ago, with Prometheus.

"You need not worry now, but if in the future another god born with the qualifications to drive the Chariot of the Sun appears, then you’d have to be careful."

Times have changed; for Helios of the present, he no longer requires a Divine Artifact to operate the sun. The golden chariot served more to make his task easier and voluntary, rather than indispensable. But for others, this special chariot meant for driving the great sun could enable those originally unable to do so.

And Apollo was one such existence.

"So... this is the outcome you foresaw long ago?"

"Blind to one’s own disaster, yet regarding others with keen insight... How ludicrous."

Speeding through the sky, Helios felt as if he had returned to that oceanic abyss.

Cold, oppressive, heavy, and solitary. Except for the temperature, it was just like the time when he was locked within the sun by his own father, which he did not wish to recall one bit.

"Go to him, he said he could offer me a piece of advice... No, that’s impossible!"

The thought had only just arisen when it was immediately extinguished by Helios himself. He would not seek Prometheus, not because he was loath to admit the superiority of the other’s wisdom, but for another reason.

For one, those present at the time were not only him, but also two others who were assigned to escort the latter.

The God of Sun wasn’t sure whether the children of the Styx River had conveyed this segment of conversation to Zeus; although they were unlikely to be loquacious, should there be a chance and they had, then all of today’s events could also be a trial by the Divine King.

Should he go to the oceanic abyss on his own, defying the Divine Court’s judgment on the transgressor, it was very likely Zeus could find a just reason to punish him.

As for the second reason...

In silent muteness, Helios conceded that he had made a mistake any Chaos deity could make.

He and the sister of his wife, the wife of the God of Speech Iapetus, the Mother Goddess of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Atlas, the Goddess of Renown Clymene, had ended up in the same bed. Even recently, he had created another demigod half-brother for that Forethinker.

Under these circumstances, the God of the Sun felt that it was better not to have too much interaction with the other party. Although this matter was still a secret for the time being, as soon as a second person knew about it, there was a possibility of it being leaked.

Considering how much he cared even for his own creations, who knew how Prometheus would view this matter. If the other party was willing to endure even harsher punishment to set him up, he would just be asking for trouble.

"Damn it, how did I not think of this before..."

Cursing under his breath, but remembering Clymene’s seductive figure, the God of the Sun wasn’t too sure whether he would be able to reject her if given another chance.

Nevertheless, it was time for him to find a new patron. He had not hesitated when betraying Cronus back then, and he certainly did not feel any loyalty to Zeus now. Yet as the thought arose, the God of the Sun suddenly realized that he had nowhere to go.

The Spirit Realm was off-limits, after all, the Chariot of the Sun had been forged by the Lord of the Spirit Realm, and every time he rode across the sky, Helios was reminded that although he was the God of the Sun, he could not govern the twelve Zodiac Regions.

If he had the blessing of the Zodiac Regions, he would have entered the realm of great Divine Power centuries ago, but now, it was controlled by some Gods of Stars far less powerful than him. So if he really sought refuge in the Spirit Realm, he would probably just be a gatekeeper, which was even worse than living modestly in Olympus.

As for relying on his official wife, the Goddess of Boiling Water, Persephone, to seek alliance with the God of the Ocean’s lineage? Just thinking about it, Helios once again dismissed the idea.

The current Oceanus and Thaesis were no match for Zeus, and it was unlikely they would offend Olympus for his sake. Besides, the Sun and the sea were naturally at odds, having taken many ’baths’ in the sea over the last two eras.

Regarding the other Primordial Gods... Thinking of the Goddess of Life still on Mount of the Gods, Helios had no expectations of the Lord of Darkness. And as for Nyx, the lady of Eternal Night, in three eras, he had never heard any news about her.

"So, after all that deliberation, is Gaia really my only option now?"

His lips twitched involuntarily; if there were any other possibility, the God of the Sun would not want to deal with this ’old grandmother.’ But unfortunately, that was the harsh reality.

Only Gaia, the repeatedly frustrated Mother Goddess, might be willing to help him, and strictly speaking, their relationship was not bad. The Sun brought warmth to the Earth, and although their domains did not fully align, they were not in conflict either.

"...Forget it, I should go see her, just to visit an elder."

"If Mother Earth is still unreliable—I seem to have no other choice." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Feeling sad once more for the many misfortunes of the ’Sun,’ Helios couldn’t help but quicken his pace.

That’s why he had taken on this task. Gaia had not returned to Delphi, nor was there any trace of her on the earth. The last place she had been sighted was suspected to be the portal to the Abyss of the Underworld.

To scour the surface of the Abyss and check out the nearby areas. After all, that was his only option now...

And so, in an unnoticed corner, Helios’s figure dashed underground. Silently, the world’s destiny twisted yet another degree.

······

Mortal Realm, Eryxis.

"It’s done."

Observing the brown light that flew back to the city from a distance, Volos, who had been waiting for three days, finally nodded with satisfaction.

The other party had finally returned, and from the looks of it, Poseidon seemed quite formidable... It made sense; after all, the Sea Emperor’s benchmark was the entirety of all species; he had to be strong.

"Let’s go, complete the last two things, then head home."

Waving to Eros, Volos’s small wings behind him fluttered slightly, and he immediately transformed into a streak of light flying towards The Temple.