Great Temple.
As the divine council eting ended, foreign deities and their representatives gradually departed. Goddess Athena, Queen Hera, Goddess of the Hunt Artemis, Goddess Mnemosyne, and God of Wine Luo En remained seated in their original positions, closing the doors to start a new round of discussion.
Unlike the earlier collaboration for mutual benefit, this was an internal eting on War God Mountain, where the five chief deities present could be more sincere and less scheming among themselves.
And so matters could naturally be discussed openly.
Athena glanced at the black dragon head rolling on the floor and asked in a grave tone.
"Are you confident about slaughtering Typhon?"
"How could I be?"
Luo En first rolled his eyes, then added irritably,
"The opponent is, after all, a Divine King possessing 'Immortality'. After fighting for several hours, I barely managed to explode nine of his heads. Then, seeing that the situation was unfavorable, he directly slipped into the Sea of Chaos, unstoppable. To embolden you, I specifically picked up a relatively intact head from the battlefield."
"So, can only the trouble on the sea surface be dragged out?"
Hera raised her eyebrows, recalling her own encounter in the Sea of Chaos, her eyes clouding with a trace of gloom.
"No worries, the Sea God Temple has a vast enterprise, and Lord Bo has several good tricks up his sleeve. It will hold on for quite so ti. I just need to block Typhon at the crucial mont when he wants to co ashore, then that old thing won't pose any serious threat to us."
Luo En offered so brief reassurance, then looked up at Goddess Mnemosyne across from him.
"You've already t the Giant Spirit Clan and the Titan Gods, how do they seem?"
"The Giant Spirit Clan is still the sa, but he seems stronger than before..."
"Who?"
"Cronus!"
Goddess Mnemosyne answered in a deep voice, a thick sense of dread welling up in her eyes.
Artemis, hearing this, couldn't help but express surprise.
"That shouldn't be possible, weren't the Titan Gods imprisoned in Tartarus Hell? And the power of Dreamland has been constantly weakening and suppressing them. After such a long ti of attrition, how could they not weaken but instead beco stronger?"
"It's not the Titan Gods who have grown stronger, but Cronus."
Mnemosyne corrected in a low voice, then an image of Cronus erged in her palm, speaking slowly.
"It seems he has forged a 'Crown' for himself, redefining his divine authority..."
"A Crown?"
The deities were montarily stunned, then their gazes converged on the top of the virtual image of Cronus, the halo composed of ten light patterns.
Luo En examined it closely and suddenly realized that the patterns in the halo were precisely the Divine Emblems he had seen in the underground Titan Temple.
Ten Divine Emblems, exactly corresponding to the ten Titan chief deities except Goddess Mnemosyne and Goddess of Justice Themis...
And they were all directly or indirectly imprisoned in Tartarus Hell, having co into contact with Titan King Cronus.
Could it be...
Luo En's heart chilled, sowhat horrified.
"Did he devour them all?" A dry, suppressed voice ca from the side; Queen Hera lifted her head, her face sowhat pale, her mind involuntarily recalling certain past events.
In the past, with the support of Mother Earth Gaea, Cronus, alongside his fellow Titans, launched a surprise attack, castrated Heavenly Father Uranus, divided the authority of the first Father God, and established the order of the Titans.
However, as the initiator, Cronus was also cursed by Heavenly Father Uranus.
—"You will be overthrown by your own children, just as I was!"
After being crowned king, Cronus, to secure his position as Divine King, began systematically eliminating dissenters, first imprisoning the three Hecatoncheires and the three Cyclopes in Tartarus Hell.
Afterward, still uneasy, to avoid the curse of Heavenly Father Uranus coming true, he swallowed the children born by his wife Rhea.
Hestia, Hera, Deter, Hades, and Poseidon—five siblings were all swallowed by their father, who sought by every ans to snuff out their lives.
If not for the power of the curse and the divine authority of life preserving them, allowing them to survive until Zeus grew up, and joined forces with tis to rescue them, they would probably have been digested long ago.
Although they had overco their father in the Titanomachy, overcoming their old fears,
Being swallowed and shrouded daily by the shadow of death inside their father's stomach was truly a nightmare.
Even now, Hera occasionally dreams about these events.
"To be exact, it was an integration of divinity." Goddess Mnemosyne sighed softly, adding quietly, "It seems he has forcibly rged the divine authority of the other Titan chief deities, dominating their divinity."
No wonder...
Luo En's eyes reflected thoughtfulness, his mind gradually unraveling so brewing doubts.
Actually, when Cronus successively pulled out nine Titan chief deities for his support, he had been sowhat puzzled.
Among the Twelve Titan Gods, as dedicated adherents, the Soul and Prophecy God Iapetus and the Weather God Crius siding with Cronus was logical.
The River God Occhanos and Ocean Goddess Tethys—who lost their daughter tis—and the Celestial God Coeus and Prophecy Goddess Phoebe, whose divine authority was weakened by Zeus's betrayal, as well as the God of Light Hyperion and several other chief Titan Gods joining Cronus could also be considered a normal choice.
But Rhea, the mother of the six Hera siblings and Goddess of Ti, was quite protective of her children. Even if stripped of divine authority, she might not have continued down a dark path with her husband Cronus.
Previously, Luo En indeed couldn't understand the situation, even harboring plans to have Goddess Mnemosyne act as a negotiator, attempting to divide and win over the other Titan chief deities.
But now it seed that it wasn't the case that the Titan Gods were choosing sides to align with the old God King Cronus against the Olympus faction led by Zeus, battling fiercely to the end; they had no choice in the matter.
During the ti they had been jailmates with Cronus, their divinity had gradually been eroded by him in so way, and their authority and consciousness were also dominated by him.
No wonder the eleven Titan temples underground were arranged around that high tower in a formation reminiscent of the stars encircling the moon.
No wonder the nine chief Titan Gods always appeared and acted together with Cronus.
No wonder after the appearance of the nine chief Titan Gods, they hardly spoke, not even to curse Zeus…
Indeed, they had already beco puppets controlled by Cronus.
However, Luo En wasn't surprised at all by Cronus's actions.
After all, as the new God King tainted with humanity, Zeus could still barely be described by the term "personification."
The old God King Cronus was much more barbaric, having castrated his father, imprisoned his brothers, and devoured his children—all these ruthless acts he had committed.
With such a history, stabbing his siblings a few tis, integrating divine authority, controlling their powers and divinity, and preventing their betrayal were simply normal tactics.
But speaking of the integration of divine power, Luo En involuntarily took a few more looks at the haloed crown behind the phantom of Cronus, with its ten divine emblems, his expression puzzled.
"He now only controls the divinity and authority of the ten chief Titan Gods; if he gets control over the full divinity and authority of the twelve chief Titan Gods, does that an..."
"Yes, integrating the twelve divine powers and combining 'Everything' into 'One' is another way to transcend fate, and by then, he would at least beco a being equal to Zeus," Goddess Mnemosyne nodded, her tone somber.
The number twelve holds special significance for the 'World': a year has twelve months, each of which can be represented by a deity. There were twelve Titan Gods among the old gods and twelve Olympus Gods among the new gods, symbolizing 'Order' and 'Destiny.'
Once the twelve powers that maintain destiny are reclaid into oneself, completing the integration and reshaping of order, it equates to controlling the lifeline of all things and forging a 'Crown' that rules the world.
—This is what it ans to combine 'Everything' into 'One'.
Luo En's gaze slightly sharpened as he thought of himself.
It seed, his path to becoming a god was also designed by Hecate this way.
Only his technique was about shearing wool, sustainably exploiting his relatives for Gold Coins, benefiting everyone involved; while Cronus directly stripped the skin and consud the flesh, likely leaving not a single hair of his siblings, to perfect himself at the end.
Suddenly, Luo En seed to realize sothing and looked towards his mother-in-law across from him uneasily.
"Aren't you in great danger by being involved?"
"Am I safe just staying on Mount Helicon?"
Goddess Mnemosyne waved her hand indifferently.
Upon hearing this, the slight guilt rising in Luo En's heart dissipated.
Indeed, since Cronus had already integrated the divinity of the other nine Titan Gods besides him, preparing to utterly abandon humanity, the remaining two chief Titan Gods were naturally essential materials for forging his 'Crown,' and they couldn't escape it.
"For now, please stay at War God Mountain, I will ensure your safety!"
Hearing this solemn promise, warmth flooded Goddess Mnemosyne's heart, and she looked at Luo En with even gentler eyes.
Having Queen Hera and Thetis as examples, it was clear to see that this young fellow valued relationships deeply; most things he promised, he achieved.
This was how he differed from Zeus and Cronus, and also why she was willing to risk going to Thessaly for him.
Noticing the sowhat oppressive atmosphere, Goddess Mnemosyne displayed a gentle smile,
"Actually, the revival of the Titan Gods and Cronus's integration of divinity isn't entirely bad."
"Such as?"
"The twelve chief gods' divinity is a whole, intricately connected, and since Cronus aims to complete the integration of divinity, it will surely involve the Giant Spirit Clan to worship all the chief Titan Gods together. My and her divinity and authority will also be simultaneously enhanced, so…"
Upon hearing Goddess Mnemosyne's aningful pause, surprise flickered in Luo En's eyes.
"Themis is waking up!"
"It's still the divinity that's damaged; it won't recover that quickly. However, this will definitely shorten her slumber significantly."
Goddess Mnemosyne chuckled softly and then elegantly stood up, reaching out her hand to Luo En with a smile.
"If it's alright, could you take to see her?"
Luo En, naturally eager to accommodate her simple request, imdiately rose quickly, courteously leading this nominal mother-in-law into the Sanctuary to look around and visit friends.
Watching soone's swift departure reminded Hera and Artemis of flowing water, their eyes glaring in irritation.
How was he whisked away by an outside goddess again? This wasn't the plan!
"It's just a visit, it won't take long."
Reassuring words ca, and Athena spoke with a smile.
"Once we're done here, I'll take you both to the Sanctuary to find him. I know the place better than he does."
Unable to relish the feast they had expected, Hera and Artemis eagerly looked to the hospitable and astute Goddess of Wisdom.
Athena responded with a gentle smile, then looked at her empty wine glass and licked her slightly dry lips.
"But, you'll have to include …"
After a brief silence, the crisp sound of clapping echoed through the great hall, and the three goddesses, who had collaborated before, once again joined forces.
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