READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 32: Chapter: The Rise of New Gods and Laws
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Soulis casually inspired an alternative beauty god, but he didn't take it to heart.
Ceto, as a deity, never had much of a presence in later generations. Only her monstrous sons and daughters appeared in human epics, serving to highlight the great achievements of demigod "heroes."
As a monster, Ceto couldn't compare to Typhon, the King of Demons, let alone his descendants.
However, now, as a god, Ceto might leave some new traces in the history of Khaos.
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Another seven hundred years had passed since Metis was born and Ceto was reborn.
The world never revolves around one person. Though Soulis had lived in seclusion for seven centuries, the prosperity of Khaos continued undisturbed.
One hundred years after returning to the spiritual world, a bright moon once again graced the sky of Khaos, which had been dim for nine hundred years. This moon was the goddess Selene, the daughter of Hyperion and Theia.
This goddess, who should have been powerful in her original trajectory, was now extremely weak, having lost all concepts related to the moon. Her strength reached only the level of weak divine power. This was only possible because the moon remained the largest luminous celestial body in the night sky.
The situation enraged Hyperion. He had suppressed his son because the sun could not be divided into two, but Selene, as his daughter, was supposed to assist him in ruling the starry sky. Instead, she turned out to be a huge disappointment.
Determined to restore Selene's lost power, Hyperion eventually came to the underworld. In his mind, as long as he avoided seeking prophecy from Soulis and thus entangling himself in fate, he had nothing to fear from the so-called spiritual god.
The dark night gods had retreated in the past, and Hyperion believed the mistakes of two previous generations of god-kings—binding themselves with prophecy—would not be repeated.
Hyperion searched the underworld relentlessly, trying to find Soulis and demand the return of the concept of the moon. While Hyperion was reluctant to trouble his sister, Selene's weakness was unacceptable, and he saw no issue in forcing the issue for his daughter's sake.
However, Soulis completely ignored Hyperion's actions. For years, the Sun God wandered the underworld, releasing bursts of divine power in frustration, but he could not touch the elusive figure of Soulis.
After his futile attempts in the underworld, Hyperion approached Cronus, believing the God-King had issued the order that allowed Soulis to take Selene's power. He argued that Cronus could simply revoke the command and return the moon's concept to its rightful owner.
Cronus decisively rejected Hyperion. Not only was the moon's transfer part of an oath he made to the world, but Cronus also held no fondness for his arrogant brother.
Furthermore, Cronus had his own reasons. He knew that while Soulis may have initially controlled the moon through the authority of the God-King, the moon's concept had now fused completely with the ancient god of spirituality. It could not simply be taken back.
Refusing to expose this truth and risk humiliation, Cronus dismissed Hyperion's demands outright.
Furious at being rejected repeatedly, Hyperion had no choice but to return to the sky. His anger unleashed uncontrollable solar flares, raising the temperature of Khaos. Fortunately, the earth was populated mainly by gods, preventing large-scale disasters.
This incident revealed to the gods that a mysterious, ancient deity resided in the underworld, one who controlled both the moon and spirituality but rarely emerged from seclusion.
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A few years later, Astraeus and Eos were born. Astraeus, the god of stars, was the son of Eurybia, the goddess of weather and sea power. Eos, the goddess of dawn, was Hyperion's second daughter.
Unlike myths that claimed Eos was cursed to love mortals, this version lacked any sign of such a curse. Instead, Eos and Astraeus naturally gravitated toward one another, eventually becoming mates.
Their union gave birth to the four great wind gods—Boreas (North Wind), Notos (South Wind), Eurus (East Wind), and Zephyrus (West Wind)—who tore pieces of the weather god's authority and established control over the winds of Khaos.
Additionally, their offspring included numerous star gods, most of whom were quasi-gods without priesthood. The exception was Astraea, the Star of Justice and Purity, who became a true goddess and a leader among the star gods.
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On earth and in the ocean, other divine beings were born. The three ash tree goddesses, known as the Meliae, and the three goddesses of vengeance, the Erinyes, emerged from the blood of Uranus.
Because Ceto had once consumed Uranus' divine blood, the Erinyes considered her their eldest sister and chose to dwell with her in the ocean.
Meanwhile, the Meliae traveled to Mount Odiles to pay homage to the God-King. Queen Rhea took them under her wing.
Elsewhere, Iapetus fathered three famous gods with his niece, Clymene, the daughter of Oceanus. Their offspring were:
1. Atlas, the original god of strength and future sky-bearer.
2. Prometheus, the fire-thief and creator of bronze humanity.
3. Epimetheus, the slow-witted god.
Atlas, in particular, displayed extraordinary divine power from birth, earning congratulations from Oceanus, who blessed his grandson-nephew to remain invincible to the ocean's wrath.
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Oceanus himself continued to sire countless children over seven centuries. Rivers and lakes now crisscrossed the lands of Khaos, and many of his offspring gained priesthoods. Notable true gods included:
Eurynome, goddess of pastures.
Perseis, goddess of boiling water.
Pronoa, goddess of vision.
Doris, goddess of gentleness.
Philula, goddess of healing.
As their children multiplied, tensions grew between Pontus and Oceanus. Battles erupted between their offspring, but the presence of the God-King prevented an all-out war.
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During this time, an event baffled the gods.
A thousand years after Cronus ascended the throne, emerald light flew out from the earth toward the East Sea, where it vanished into Gaia's domain. For three years, the land of Khaos trembled with the Earth Mother's anger, though no consequences followed.
Cronus, curious, visited Gaia to borrow the Vase of Life. However, Gaia refused, forcing Cronus to bring Rhea and Themis to plead with her. Eventually, Gaia relented.
Despite their efforts, the Vase of Life failed to create conscious beings. Disheartened, Themis abandoned the experiment and returned to her work.
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Fifteen hundred years of preparation culminated on a historic day when Themis, the goddess of justice and law, ascended Mount Odiles and began legislating for Khaos.
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