Chapter 134: Pitiful Mother Goddesses
Asteria nodded gently. These matters were simple to speak of, but perhaps not so easy to achieve in reality.
But having a method is already very good; there is a viable path, and all that remains is to put in the effort!
Her determined gaze grew even more resolute, and she said in a deep voice, “Dearest aunt, thank you for your guidance. I know what I need to do.”
Leto finally managed to stop her tears. She looked at Mnemosyne with tear-filled eyes and earnestly pleaded, “Dearest aunt, thank you for your help. We will forever remember your kindness in our hearts.”
“I implore you, please take me to the side of the merciful Hera. I am willing to serve by her side, to be her most humble attendant, and to do my utmost to beg for her forgiveness until she is satisfied.”
“If the Goddess of Reproduction and Fertility is truly so merciful and forgiving, then I will certainly move her with my most sincere heart and devout attitude, so that she will forgive my parents!”
Hearing this, a shock flashed through Asteria’s clear eyes, and she softly exclaimed, “Sister…”
But for just a moment, she also understood her sister’s sacrifice. She said resolutely, “Dearest aunt, my sister is right! What could better prove our sincere intentions and determination for atonement than our personally serving by the side of the Goddess of Reproduction and Fertility?!”
“Please take us to the side of the Goddess of Reproduction and Fertility, Hera. We will serve her with our hearts, and we will beg for her forgiveness with our actions until she forgives our parents!”
Mnemosyne let out a soft sigh and nodded gently.
She knew that this was the only path to survival for the sisters and the only thing they could do for their parents.
With their strength depleted and their simple relationship, the God of Intelligence couple had no other hope but to rely on their remaining two daughters.
And these two poor children would have to bear everything.
At the same time, the beautiful, gentle, and kind River Nymph Eurylyia, along with her daughter Hesperis, born to the impetuous Menoetius, who was virtuous and elegant.
And her daughters’ children with Atlas, the three Hesperides sisters, this group of wives and daughters of failures, now all prostrated themselves before the kindhearted god Nereus, tearfully begging for his help.
This group of goddesses, truly made of water, wept profusely, tears streaming down their faces like a gushing spring, each unable to hold back their sobs.
If they were not in a divine palace by the sea, the outside would have already been flooded.
Nereus, the god of the abyssal sea born from the union of the inner sea and the earth, was the eldest son of Pontus.
Unlike Poseidon, the lord of the outer sea, who was temperamental and unruly, He was a god with an exceptionally good temper, full of wisdom, and steadfast in fairness and justice.
He was the eternal symbol of the sea’s generous love and order’s mercy.
His wife was the loving and beautiful Oceanid Doris, and together they bore fifty Nereids, who were beautiful and gentle sea nymphs.
He and his wife represented the gentle and kind aspect of water. If they were so kind to outsiders, then naturally they doted on their own children even more, cherishing each one as a treasure.
At this moment, seeing his children weeping before him, the benevolent old god was overwhelmed and exhausted. Helplessness and heartache filled his usually gentle face with worry.
He was a deity of ancient and noble lineage, his mother being the Mother Goddess of All Things, Gaia, and his father being Pontus, the god of the deep sea.
He himself possessed considerable power and authority, and he had fifty beautiful daughters, many of whom married renowned great gods, forming extensive alliances.
Frankly speaking, with his reputation and network, anyone in the entire universe would give him face.
However, all of this did not include Zeus.
The God King Zeus.
His lineage, wisdom, power, and network all seemed insignificant and not worth mentioning before the new God King.
Facing the supreme God King, he had only the hope of begging for a bounty; everything else he possessed was meaningless.
The kindhearted old god’s gentle face was now filled with sadness and helplessness.
He knew very well that the gods of the inner sea had contributed nothing to this war that would decide the future of the universe.
The gods of the inner sea, who acted with utmost caution under the rule of the divine family, did not dare to get involved in this terrifying war, which meant they had no merit.
For the sake of their mother Gaia and because their father Pontus treated the new God King with respect, the sea gods could still retain their past glory and avoid being purged.
However, there was no doubt that the sea gods had no right to make excessive requests to the God King, or they would be humiliated.
The fact that the new God King was not pursuing the families of the defeated was already a sign of his great mercy and generosity.
Nereus sighed deeply, his brow furrowed, and he spoke with sorrow, “My dear children, please stop crying. Every tear you shed pierces my heart.”
Nereus’s words were full of apology: “There is perhaps nothing I cannot help you with, but in this matter, I am powerless.”
“It is not that I have a cold and unfeeling heart, nor that I am unwilling to see smiles bloom on your lovely faces again and for you to regain your former joy.”
“It is because this matter concerns the majesty of the new God King, and only a select few gods in the entire universe can be involved in it.”
“And I am not among them.”
The poor Eurylyia, the gentle and graceful Eurylyia, this daughter of the sea, this peaceful and detached river goddess, was heartbroken and in agonizing grief. Her prolonged weeping had made her beautiful voice hoarse. Who, upon seeing such a scene, could not be moved to sorrow?
She was a loyal and gentle goddess. Even though her husband was an arrogant and reckless Titan, she still loved and was loyal to him deeply.
Moreover, she had lovely children!
In the new order, where would her children find a place?
If the God King did not forgive them, then these children might never be able to live in the sunlight.
At this moment, before her beloved father, she shed clear tears and cried with a trembling voice, “Dearest father god, my most merciful and wise father god, I do not wish to put you in such a helpless predicament or cause you to grieve for your daughter and grandchildren. This is not my intention, and I am utterly blameless.”
“However, my beloved father god, you taught me and my sisters from childhood to uphold kindness and justice, to be loyal to our husbands, and to care for our children. Eurylyia has never dared to forget your teachings and remembers them at all times.”
“Now my husband has finally reached his end on the wrong path. He is a brainless, reckless Titan who does not know the right way.”
“But, my wise father, I firmly believe that a god’s loyalty to the God King who bestowed honor upon them is certainly not a wrongdoing.”
“Now that the war is over, I will persuade him to be loyal to the new divine order, to be loyal to the great, merciful, and forgiving Your Majesty Zeus.”
“He was loyal to the Old God King, and he will be equally loyal to the new God King now; he simply needs an opportunity.”
The pure, kind, and gentle Eurylyia’s tears flowed like a babbling stream, ceaselessly rolling from her eyes. Her grief-stricken appearance was heartbreaking.
She pleaded desperately, her voice hoarse, “Father god, I beg you, I implore you to ask the respected Mother Goddess of All Things, Gaia, and the vast grandfather of the salty sea, Pontus, to intercede with His Majesty the Great God King on behalf of Menoetius and the others, to seek a sliver of hope for them.”
“His Majesty the God King is a great God King with a broad magnanimity; His mercy is boundless. As for Menoetius, he is merely a brainless, reckless brute with a simple mind.”
“In this war, he was so insignificant, so unimportant; he was merely following orders. If Mother Goddess and Grandfather intercede, the merciful His Majesty the God King will surely forgive him. I beg you, father god!”
Her sorrowful gaze turned to her children, who were crying with their heads in their hands. The pain of motherhood twisted her heart even more, “Father god, look at my pitiful children, your poor granddaughters. If they cannot receive His Majesty the God King’s forgiveness, where will they find a place in the new divine order? Where will they go?”
Eurylyia cried even more sadly, saying with utter despair, “Father god, the children are innocent. They never dared to participate in this terrible war, nor did they dare to disrespect His Majesty the God King in any way. They have never shown any disrespect to His Majesty the God King, or to the divine Goddess Queen!”
“Father god, how can I bear to watch these innocent children live forever in the cold depths of the water, never to live under the beautiful sunlight and enjoy the beauty of the world?!”
Nereus’s tightly furrowed brow did not relax at his daughter’s heartbreaking words but instead furrowed even more.
His daughter and grandchildren were all gentle, refined, pure, sincere, and virtuous children; they thought too simply.
In this war that decided the fate of the universe, the Iapetus family was the most loyal staunch supporter of the Old God King. They followed the Old God King closely and resolutely resisted the new God King until the very last moment.
Loyalty was not wrong, but being loyal to the wrong god made one more loyal and more wrong.
If such obstinate resisters could be easily forgiven, how much of the new God King’s authority would remain?
Yes, Atlas and his two brothers were merely minor figures in the eyes of the God King.
However, in the eyes of the other gods in the universe, they were still formidable great gods, powerful Titans.
The new God King Zeus was a generous and forgiving god; this was true, and His mercy was evident to all.
However, the God King was by no means a softhearted god.
The terrifying thunder that shook the universe showed no mercy when it struck down his father Cronus into the endless abyss of nothingness.
Before even entering Tartarus, the remaining two fugitives—Atlas and Menoetius—were now trapped in the subterranean netherworld and darkness.
They had not yet been dealt with not because the God King had forgiven them, but because the God King was too busy establishing the new order and had no time to bother with such insignificant minor figures.
But this did not mean they could make excessive requests to the God King.
Especially since they were gods with no merit, they were utterly unqualified.
Perhaps this plea would remind the God King of them, and he might casually cast them into Tartarus, which would be even more regrettable.
Nereus wanted to discuss it further, but looking at his weeping children, he could not bear it in the end. How could this always softhearted old sea god watch his children suffer?
In the end, he took the children to find his father, Pontus.
The lord of the inner sea, the flowing abyss, knew why they had come to him the moment he saw Eurylyia and the others.
He also let out a deep sigh, a bitter smile on his face.
He now deeply regretted why, when Zeus was looking for allies, he had been hesitant and indecisive, and why he had not fully supported Zeus with all his might when Zeus approached him.
Although his honor was preserved for now, that was all.
Moreover, there was a hidden crisis.
His Majesty the new God King was benevolent and tolerant, but his brother Poseidon was not!
That Poseidon stirred up trouble every day!
He was short-tempered, capricious, and arrogant; he was simply a disaster for the ocean!
Compared to the God King, he was completely different!
He didn’t seem like a brother at all!
However, a neutral god had no right to speak in front of those gods who had spilled their blood and given their all on the battlefield, nor did they have the right to demand anything from the God King.
Especially since this god was the brother who had been favored by the God King.
He was the Sea King personally appointed by the God King.
Sea and ocean, the Ocean God might not care about the Sea King, but the inner sea could not.
They were incomparable!
Although His Majesty Zeus had fulfilled His promise and preserved the past glory of the Pontus family, this was only temporary.
The new, greedy, and ambitious Sea King Poseidon would inevitably erode the honor and authority of the inner sea step by step.
Before the divine family, which now completely ruled the universe, he was a pure outsider. His only reliance was the Mother Goddess of All Things, Gaia.
However, Mother Goddess Gaia was very displeased with the new God King imprisoning her four children. Although their relationship had eased considerably, there were still some disagreements and reservations between her and the new God King.
To be honest, this was very dangerous!
Of course, it wasn’t Mother Goddess Gaia who was in danger, but His salty sea family! His Pontus was in danger!
If the new God King wanted to make an example of someone by punishing the “chicken” to warn the “monkeys,” who would be the most suitable “chicken”?
Looking around the entire universe, who else but himself was the most suitable?
In the current situation, it was imperative to keep a low profile; why would he do something that might displease the God King?
But Pontus looked at the children kneeling on the ground and could only sigh deeply.
The one who could raise a god like Nereus could not have a heart as hard and cold as Pontus.
In the end, he didn’t say much; he didn’t give any uncertain promises, nor did he mention any difficulties.
He asked the children to wait temporarily in his divine palace, and then he personally went to find Mother Goddess Gaia to request her help.
Facing Pontus’s request, Mother Goddess Gaia fell into a struggle.
She disliked the two arrogant and reckless fools, Atlas and his brother, and especially since she had been wanting to ask Zeus to release her four children.
If she were to beg Zeus to release these two fools now, how could she even bring up the matter of rescuing her children?
Pontus pleaded with all his might, and in the end, he persuaded Gaia, as the Great Mother Goddess was also softhearted.
Pontus told her that perhaps they could use Atlas and the others to test Zeus’s willingness to release Cronus and the others.
Gaia thought it made sense. This way, they could indeed test whether Zeus had any sincerity in releasing his children.
If he couldn’t even forgive these two minor figures, then releasing Cronus and the others would be absolutely impossible.
Pontus gently and persistently advised her not to be forceful with Zeus, nor to oppose him.
Gaia pondered in silence for a long time, sighed, and finally agreed.
And on Pontus’s suggestion, they also went to the ocean to find Oceanus and plead together, after all, the Ocean God had two daughters married into the Iapetus family!
This matter, the Ocean God could not stay out of!
In the magnificent new divine palace of the Ocean God, the ocean gods were all happily enjoying the living ocean.
After the Grand Ceremony of the Gods, the ocean gods immediately moved into the new outer sea without delay, not wanting to waste a single moment.
Now, in their new home, they were filled with love for everything.
Defecting to Zeus was their most fortunate decision!
However, while the many ocean gods were busy building their respective divine palaces, inside the temple of the Ocean God Oceanus, there was a somber atmosphere.
Although it was not a scene of weeping like the other two places, an oppressive atmosphere permeated the air, along with some low sobs. The occasional choked cry was also quite mournful.
The Ocean God Oceanus and Tethys, the goddess who nourished the world, looked at the children below with heavy and helpless expressions.
Clymene was their beloved daughter, strong and wise, gentle and resilient.
Marrying Iapetus was initially a good marriage. It was Oceanus who, setting aside past grievances and thinking of his children, wanted to mend the relationship with Cronus’s side.
Later, through Clymene’s introduction, Atlas even married their other daughter, the dignified and elegant Pleione.
However, later, under Cronus’s aggressive scheming, these two marriages were no longer so blissful but instead became burdens that implicated their children.
Iapetus was truly loyal to Cronus!
The Ocean God couple felt deep guilt towards their two daughters. Now that their daughters and grandchildren were all sorrowful and worried, how could these usually gentle and loving parents bear to see it?
Clymene’s husband, eldest son, and second son were all now deeply sinful rebels, and the most unyielding of rebels.
The beautiful and wise Clymene did not consider saving her husband; it wasn’t that she was unwilling, but she knew it was impossible.
However, there was still a possibility of saving her two sons.
As a gentle daughter of the ocean and a mother, she could not turn a blind eye to the tragic fate that awaited her children.
She would only do her utmost to save her children, even at the cost of everything.
