章節 10: Chapter 10 Visit from Mother Earth
Five hundred years had hurried by since the last time the Heavenly Father's wrath was provoked.
Just as Laine had predicted, a century after the Cyclops were imprisoned in the Abyss, the birth of the three Hekatonkheires incited the Divine King's thunderous fury once again.
They each had fifty heads and a hundred arms, possessed of immense innate strength. Their names were Briareus, Cottus, and Gyes. Though they held no godhood, the Hekatonkheires still had the immortal essence, and together, their combined strength could even defeat Titans who had attained intermediate divine power.
But no matter their abilities, no matter how much Mother Earth spoke in their favor, the great King of All Gods could not tolerate their existence.
This time, only fifty years had passed when Laine, newly ascended to weak divine power, was once again awakened. Through the vantage of the Moon, the descent of the three Hekatonkheires into the Abyss was clearly visible.
The brutal act of casting six offspring into the Abyss in succession sent tremors of fear through the twelve Titans. Although they did not particularly like their strangely shaped brothers, they couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for their fate.
The drama on the Mount of the Gods was captivating, but it had nothing to do with Laine. By now, having reached the seventh level of divine power, he sat quietly on a rock, awaiting the arrival of a visitor.
Prophecy was somewhat useful. Though he had never actually foretold anything successfully, he still received hints from fate about certain matters.
Like today, when Laine, his expression changing, saw the green-robed goddess appear before him.
Mother Earth wore a black veil, her demeanor solemn and tinged with sadness.
"It has been many years, revered Mother Earth," Laine said, guessing at her purpose for coming.
"I had intended to greet you, but seeing your complexion, I refrained from such an offensive notion."
Different from the youthful and vibrant goddess of a thousand years past, today's Gaia appeared much older, looking like a woman in her thirties or forties.
Her once smooth skin seemed dull, with fine wrinkles hanging at the corners of her eyes. Her clear and gentle gaze revealed pain, and even though there was a great disparity in their divine power, Laine could still feel the emptiness and decline.
Once the most robust in origin, Mother Earth was now languishing among the Primordial Gods, struggling even to maintain her rank of great divine power.
This was unprecedented. Although the Primordial Gods had lost power due to becoming personified, their rank had always remained stable. The current state of Mother Earth indicated that the Origin of the Earth had suffered greatly.
"May I inquire the purpose of your visit, Mother Earth?"
It seemed as if he had examined her for a long while, but it was merely an instant. Although he had already guessed Gaia's intentions, Laine still asked.
"Respected Foreseer, just as you said before, I can no longer bear it," Gaia said directly, not minding Laine's feigned ignorance.
"Two thousand years have passed... it started off well, although he was harsh on the children, he never did anything excessive."
"He demanded too much from me, but I cannot blame him. As the Heavenly Father and the symbol of yang, this is the influence of divine authority on him. I accept and understand it, and I do not resent him for this."
"But it changed later," Mother Earth said, looking back at the earth as if seeing her children locked away in Tartarus. "When Cucrops (the Cyclops) were born, everything changed."
"He began to become mad and despotic, irritable and irrational. He even believed that children, who did not possess godhood, could threaten his position. He abused the Divine King's authority, casting them into the Abyss."
"Until now, he has set his sights on my offspring, the deities born of me."
Gaia's gaze left the earth and met Laine's directly.
Although Mother Earth was not known for her martial prowess, such a look still imposed considerable pressure on Laine. He knew that Gaia was somewhat dissatisfied with him, despite the fact that none of this was his initiative.
It was out of respect for fate, or perhaps a desire for a solution, that both Uranus and Gaia always behaved properly in his presence.
But Laine knew that they behaved this way because they wanted to, not because they had to.
"So the Divine King feels threatened?" Laine asked with a smile, facing Mother Earth's gaze.
"Yes, the children who are growing stronger are unsettling him. Hyperion, Cronus, Oceanus, and Thaesis, these children have become beings with great divine power. Although they are not yet a match for their father, it is enough to trouble him."
"Even my other offspring, except for the pitiable Iapetus and Mnemosyne, who possess only 'Speech,' 'Script,' and 'Language,' and are too weak, their brothers and sisters have all become deities with intermediate divine power."
As Gaia continued, her expression became somewhat sorrowful. She should have been happy to see her children possess such great strength, but the increasingly dangerous look from Uranus told her that if she didn't do something, they might follow in the footsteps of the Titans.
"I understand," Laine nodded. "You hope I can solve this problem and reconcile their differences, is that it?"
"If it could be done, that would be ideal," Mother Earth said.
"But that's impossible." Shaking his head, Laine spoke calmly: "Respected Mother Earth, I am only the God of Prophecy, not the God of Destiny. The moment the Divine King commanded me to prophesy, his own destiny was enveloped by that prophecy."
"A prophecy that envelopes the destiny of the Divine King, even the esteemed Ananke might be powerless against it."
Mother Earth was at a loss for words. Long before today, over the past two thousand years, she had visited her sister more than once, the Mother Night who reveled in silence with The Dark Overlord Erebus.
But as Laine said, the power of a prophecy and a curse is closely tied to the one who initiated it. Once the Divine King personally sought to know his fate, that fate could no longer be stopped by anyone.
Perhaps the world itself could, but the world does not have its own will. That is why the Divine King, who also visited Lady Night, believes so firmly in the prophecy, because he knows it cannot be changed.
"What if we tried a different method?"
After a long hesitation, a struggle appeared in Mother Earth's eyes, but she finally spoke.
"If I want to solve this problem once and for all, what do you think I should do?"
Upon hearing this question, Laine's heart gave a slight leap.
This was not nervousness, nor surprise, but as Mother Earth made her choice, the power of History began to gather around him.
Witnessing an entire era and possessing authority related to time naturally grants one the godhood of History. This power was supposed to belong to the future Rhea, but now it reached out to an older deity.
Laine gladly accepted it.
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