As these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the great hall instantly changed, and many deities cast their eyes toward Poseidon's direction.
The gods still rembered how confidently the Sea Emperor had established the bet, with the deities placing their wagers one after another. But now, it seed he was the one who had lost most thoroughly.
Of course, most of the other deities hadn't won either, given that such an outco was truly unexpected. However, when no one guessed correctly, it was naturally assud that the one whose guess was closer to the truth was the winner.
Yet, in front of the other gods, Poseidon showed no sign of feeling defeated.
"Heh, yes, I lost. So, what are you going to do? Seize the islands in the sea from , or so other place?"
With a scoff, amidst the expressions of realization, surprise, or expectancy from other deities, Poseidon picked up his cup of nectar and took a drink, easing so of the frustration in his heart.
The reason Nereus had suggested that he bet with Zeus before coming here was exactly that. Winning would have been great, but losing didn't matter; if he couldn't get the place closest to Olympus, then the nearby seas were the most suitable for him.
And since there were no other Sea Gods in the Divine Court, Poseidon actually suffered no loss without any competitors.
On the main seat, Zeus wasn't too disappointed with this outco. For him, it was sufficient to legitimately dismiss Poseidon's desire for the land. As long as he could cut off the possibility of the other setting foot on land from the start, the latter probably wouldn't succeed later on.
After all, he still needed Poseidon to trouble his foster parents, so upon seeing this, the Divine King rely raised his hand to silence the discussion among the gods.
"Enough, Poseidon. Since you have admitted defeat, stay in your sea."
Responding with a cold snort to this, Zeus rely had to move his thoughts, and a map of Olympus and the sea, including the southeastern part, appeared before him.
The map didn't show a simple arc for the coastline but rather, it jutted out in parts. The eastern region of the continent was also fragnted by rivers and straits. Even in the nearby seas, there were many large islands.
If Laine were to evaluate it, it would sowhat resemble the Greek peninsula, but there were also significant differences. At the very least, there was no more vast land to the east of it, which is also why the Caucasus Mountains were nowhere to be seen in the original myths.
Seeing that the attention of the gods was drawn, Zeus spoke indifferently:
"Now that all is settled, I, in my capacity as the Divine King, hereby—"
"Boom—"
A muffled sound interrupted Zeus's speech. The doors of the great hall were violently pushed open, and as the gods turned to the noise, accompanied by a flash of fire, the figure of Hestia appeared inside the hall.
However, unlike when she had left, the Goddess of Hearthfire's expression was very solemn, and her breath sowhat unsteady.
"My respected sister, who dares to lay a hand on you!"
Zeus was the first to stand from his seat, clearly noticing that Hestia had just been in a skirmish, and she likely hadn't had the upper hand.
In the entire Chaos World, there were few beings that could defeat a deity skilled in battle. Aside from those in Olympus, the most nurous were once the world's rulers, the Ancient Titan Gods.
Could it be that right after the God of the Ocean and his wife had left, a certain Titan deity had decided to oppose Olympus?
"It's not what you're thinking, Zeus. I encountered a completely unknown entity. He made a fleeting appearance over the ruins of a human city, then stole the souls of all humans."
Shaking her head gently, realizing what Zeus was thinking, Hestia spoke seriously:
"His power is unfathomable, and intuition tells he is stronger than anyone present here. That strange deity proclaid himself Lord of Hell, and he seems to hold no fondness for Olympus. You might need to prepare yourself soon."
"Hell?"
Repeating the unfamiliar na, Zeus took a deep breath, feeling the world becoming more unstable. In his father's era, everything had been normal; the world was simply a struggle between the Titans. But now, one after another, ancient and unknown beings were erging.
"Did he only take the souls?"
In the hall, a deity spoke out.
"Whether he did or not, we can't allow the souls of humans to be stolen by soone else—it would leave mortals without any sense of security," said Hera from beside Zeus.
"Yes, though he only took the souls, it doesn't seem like he's satisfied," Hestia nodded in agreent.
"If you don't want your future worshippers to live in constant fear of other deities, I think you should do sothing about it," Hestia got to the heart of the matter. Perhaps the deities didn't care much about where mortal souls ended up, but mortals definitely cared.
As the saying goes, 'People don't worry about scarcity but about unequal distribution, not about poverty but about lack of peace.' Once humans learn that their souls will fall into the hands of an unknown entity after death, it's easy to imagine what they would think.
In the end, faith can't be forced. No matter how much you verbally profess belief in the gods, it can't change the subconscious fear and awe of the unknown.
"...I understand, Hestia. I will handle this matter. But since new humans have yet to erge, let's talk about this later," Zeus said after a brief silence, seemingly having a plan in mind. The gods, seeing this, also felt reassured and focused their attention on the present matters.
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