Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

```

Erebus's plan was simple, so simple that it hardly counted as a plan at all. He merely outlined a hypothetical situation.

As long as Zeus could somehow provoke Laine into striking first, Erebus would follow through on his promise and immediately come to his aid, and perhaps he wouldn't be alone in doing so.

Beyond Zeus and himself, he had thought of several beings who could pose a threat to Laine. And they had ample reasons to act against him, reasons that could even become a problem for Zeus after everything had ended.

Yes, a problem for Zeus, since he never really intended to create a Divine King who would rule over everything... and once he achieved his desires, the existence of the Divine King would become a nuisance.

"It sounds feasible, but how do you plan to guarantee you'll keep your word? The Styx River cannot bind you, that is something we both know," Zeus said.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, Zeus pondered for a moment. He seemed somewhat intrigued, but inwardly, he became vigilant.

The abnormal dissipation of the world's power clearly indicated some sort of shift, and the fact that the Lord of Darkness had chosen this moment to meet with him suggested a scheme that went against the world's laws.

Ignoring the other's intentions was the best strategy when in the dark about their plans. As long as he didn't take the bait, he would never be at a loss. However, as he was about to speak, Zeus hesitated, realizing that even though Erebus might have his own agenda, this might also represent a different opportunity for him.

The Lord of Darkness wanted him to target the Spirit Realm and exaggerate its threat... But was the Spirit Realm truly his greatest enemy at the moment?

Perhaps not. In truth, the damage was more a loss of face, and its actual impact on the Olympian Pantheon was not as significant as it seemed.

Years of 'hard work' by Zeus and the other deities were not in vain; humans with Divine Blood had already spread across the land, and those born of noble blood naturally became an indispensable part of the ruling classes.

Not every one of them revered the All Gods, and among these Demigods were rebellious figures like Tantalus, but in any case, they were generally proud of the Divine Blood running through their veins.

They often saw themselves as superior to everyone else, and to those below, the social hierarchy was clear-cut. This could be said to be the inner portrayal of many deity-blooded Aristocrats. On one hand, they saw themselves as entitled to a status comparable to the gods, questioning the strength of the Deities, believing they were nothing special.

On the other hand, they felt that, compared to mortals without Divine Blood, Demigods belonged to a completely distinct class.

They were born rulers, and mortals their servants to command. In this context, the teachings of Silver Moon City, which denied the All Gods, were in fact denying the divinely ordained nobility of these Aristocrats.

The devout followers of the Olympian Gods would not compromise with Silver Moon City, and neither would the power-wielding humans who might not be devout. This was why several failed campaigns hinted at by the deities did not shake the faith in the Olympian Pantheon; it remained as stable as Mount Olympus in the Mortal Realm.

Interests were the fundamental root of everything, and over the years, Zeus had figured out a way to deal with humans. By comparison, he deemed the actions of Silver Moon City too naïve.

If this world lacked transcendental powers, without the bloodline of the deities, then perhaps their self-aggrandizing teachings might indeed have an advantage. But reality contained no such 'ifs,' making their extremist ideology a form of bondage instead.

Having understood all this, things became clear. Perhaps the existence of Silver Moon City was not so crucial, and even defeating them wouldn't cause a qualitative change in the faith Zeus would acquire... but a true war that involved all gods and humans might.

The Olympian Pantheon had ruled the world for thousands of years, and it was no longer as fragile as it had been at its inception. The current Divine King was not the same as when he had first ascended to the throne. His progeny grew more numerous and more powerful, with beings chanting Zeus's name filling the skies and the earth from past to future.

Maybe now was the time for him to clean up some of the remnants of old troubles.

```

```

Take for example those Titans Deities who do not obey commands and proclaim themselves kings in the starry skies, the Ocean God who has not formally submitted to him, and even Hades, who after marrying the Queen of the Underworld, has been growing more distant from Olympus, acting in secrecy within his own domain.

Their obedience to him is nothing but superficial, resulting in Zeus's Sovereign not gaining much strength. Therefore, he now needs a war, not to flatten Silver Moon City or defeat the Ancient Gods in the Spirit Realm. His real intent is to use this as a pretext to involve all gods in this war.

Whether he can defeat Laine is not important; it would be good if he can, but it doesn't really matter if he can't. Zeus is not so arrogant as to think that he can invade the Spirit Realm right now. That is something he needs to consider only after he has truly unified the present world.

What he really needs is to use this opportunity to clear up the troubles left over from the past. By that time... once his Sovereign encompasses the stars and the ocean, the mountains, and the Netherworld, under the favored Law of reality, perhaps even Erebus would no longer be his match.

On that day, he will truly be the ruler of all gods.

"Give me your assurance, I can take the initiative, but you can't just sit back and watch."

It seemed like a long time had passed, but it was only a moment. Zeus looked as if he had been persuaded by the Lord of Darkness, but his expression still held some hesitation.

"Assurance... what kind of assurance do you want?"

In response to the question, Erebus smiled secretly as he looked at Zeus, who seemed somewhat tempted.

The assurance didn't matter; as long as Zeus was willing to take the lead, that was all he needed, and he had no intention of breaking the agreement. As soon as Zeus acted, he would follow suit.

Erebus had prepared for both victory and defeat in dealing with Laine. No matter what, he was certain to engage in a battle.

"Three conditions."

"First, your forces in the Mortal Realm must join the war, namely those beings who dwell beneath the earth; they must act together with the followers of Olympus. Second, you must hand over the Golden Apple Tree to me; from then on, the Goddess of Life will become a permanent part of the Divine Court, with no further connection to you. And lastly...

I want you to convince those Underworld deities to secretly serve me. As far as I know, they were born by the power you and Mother Night called upon during the end of the first era."

"Mother Night has never inquired about their existence, nor has she ever treated them as her offspring. You have done the same before. But if you are willing to speak now, they would know whom to pledge their loyalty to."

"Three conditions, not difficult. But Zeus, I am exerting effort for you, aren't I? Why does it seem as though I am working for you?"

With an unchanged smile, Erebus spoke casually.

"Working for me?"

Zeus shook his head slightly and said indifferently:

"Until I understand what the fluctuations of the World Power truly mean for you, I certainly won't make such a hasty decision."
Explore more stories with empire

```

"..."

The arena fell silent for a moment.

The weakening of World Power certainly means that things that conflict with the laws of the world can be accomplished more easily... The Divine King and the Primordial Gods looked at each other for a while, and then averted their gaze. Perhaps they both had their own thoughts, but at least one thing was the same for now.

They both felt they should take action against Silver Moon City, and they also believed a divine war with the gods of the Spirit Realm was necessary.

And Laine's existence was the final boss of this war.

"I accept your terms."

"The Dark Elves have multiplied, and the Golden Apples aren't as important to them anymore. You'll get what you want, but I expect action from you."

"You'll see it, and the turn of events will definitely surprise you."

Exhaling, Zeus nodded in satisfaction, another of his troubles eliminated.

As one of the twelve pillars supporting Sovereignty, the Goddess of Life's essence was not on Mount Olympus, but under the control of the Lord of Darkness, a fact Zeus had only recently discovered, causing a constant thorn in his side. Now having the opportunity to resolve this issue was one less worry for him.

As for the other two conditions, let's not speak of the latter; the main reason for the former was that Zeus really feared that Laine might not be drawn out before Olympian forces might fail to defeat Silver Moon City in the Mortal Realm.

Although this possibility was not very high, since previous conflicts were mostly carried out under the hint of the gods, and it was just the individual actions of some mortal kingdom, failure was inevitable. However, just to be safe and to get Erebus more deeply involved, Zeus still put forward this request.

With terms agreed upon and matters decided, everything was roughly arranged like so. The two exchanged a few more details, and soon, just as he had arrived, the silhouette of the Lord of Darkness silently vanished from the Mount of the Gods.

Standing alone on the cliff, Zeus didn't rush to leave. He just stood quietly for a while, then heaved a sigh.

"... Athena..."

Muttering the name of his most outstanding daughter, who was also the most distant from him, Zeus felt a tinge of regret.

In recent years, she had spent most of her time in the stars, and even seldom came to Mount Olympus.

"So, what are you thinking?"

No matter what she was thinking, Zeus was about to do something.

How to stir up disputes, how to intensify contradictions, how to gradually turn a war among mortals into a war among gods, and finally achieve his own goals—all of this gradually took shape in the Divine King's mind during the conversation. However, he needed a catalyst, not just the Divine King leading the Olympian Gods to attack Silver Moon City.

"...After all, it's you who have gone too far."

After a long silence, with a flash of lightning, Zeus returned to the banquet in the Golden Palace.

The Heavenly Empress still sat on the Golden Throne, with Ares beside her. All the gods were busy with their own affairs; no one noticed the Divine King's return.

And looking at his Queen of Gods, Zeus inwardly nodded.

Hera thought he didn't know what she had done—massacres, blood sacrifices, there was nothing her church couldn't do. However, for various reasons, the Divine King had pretended not to notice this.

Now... of course, he would continue to act as if nothing had happened, and even encourage her to increase her efforts.

...

The sun suddenly brightened and dimmed; Heliopolis was already in total chaos at this moment.

Yet far away in Midian, these storms had yet to reach this place.

In a daze, Messe stood at the base of the hill, feeling as if everything that had just transpired was but a dream.

"Thud——"

The staff lightly touched the ground, and the solid sensation brought Messe back to reality.

When he had left the dwelling of the gods and returned to this hill, the bush that had been untouched by fire had turned into a staff.

This was a gift from God to protect himself, but it had no Divine Power now; only when he returned to his tribe and began his mission would it gradually become extraordinary.

"I should leave this place."

"I must return to Egypt."

Touching his fiercely beating chest, Messe steadied himself.

He had been away for forty years; he wondered how the Hebrews had fared in his absence.