Chapter 245: Civilization Creation Fire!
Hera let out a wry smile and sat down again. “Mentis must be undergoing unbearable torment in her heart right now. I truly don’t want her to suffer for another moment.”
“If making her the child’s godmother can alleviate her distress even a little, I really don’t want to delay any longer.”
Hestia nodded, her eyes filled with even more warmth. “I know, I know. However, it won’t take you long, and there’s no rush for now. Let me finish telling you about something else.”
“I’ve come with a gift as well. Well, not a gift for you, but for this lovely child.”
“This child is Zeus’s eldest son, and also the first male god of the third generation in our Cronus family. I wish to bestow upon him a spark of familial love.”
Hera gently shook her head and smiled faintly. “We are family, what gifts do we need? Besides, I haven’t even accepted the title of Zeus’s wife yet, and this child…”
She shook her head again. “Let’s just forget about it.”
Hestia said helplessly, “You, your temperament truly gives me a headache. I can’t even imagine how much of a headache Zeus must have.”
“But then, he deserves it.”
The warm Hestia playfully teased Zeus again, which made Hera smile in agreement.
She then said solemnly, “However, this gift of mine is not for you, it’s for this lovely child. So, you must accept it on his behalf.”
“This child possesses the supreme authority of ‘creation’. He is destined to lead all civilizations towards progress and prosperity.”
“And all of this is inseparable from the power of ‘fire’.”
“Therefore, I wish to bestow upon him the ‘Fire of Civilization’, which is also the ‘Fire of Creation that forges all things’.”
“I hope that after possessing these, he can better lead the new life forms towards a more glorious and brilliant path of civilization.”
“May this fire become the lamp in his heart that illuminates his path in the future, and the furnace that melts his conceptions into reality.”
Hera’s expression changed dramatically upon hearing this, filled with shock.
She quickly waved her hands repeatedly, her expression extremely firm. “No, no, absolutely not! My dear sister, this is absolutely unacceptable!”
“Your gift is far too heavy! I cannot accept it, and neither can this child!”
“He already possesses sufficiently powerful authority. How can he presume to usurp your magnificent authority?”
“This is not an ordinary branch under your authority, but one of your most core origins!”
“I absolutely cannot accept this gift! Please stop speaking!”
Hestia smiled gently, not arguing, but instead pulled her beloved sister into her embrace again.
“My dear Hera, didn’t I already say it? This is not a gift from me to you, but to this child. Therefore, you have no right to refuse it on his behalf.”
Hera, emotionally agitated, tried to refuse again, but Hestia gently stopped her with a raised hand.
“Don’t get so worked up. What is such a small matter?”
“My authority has long been connected with Zeus. ‘Fire’ will eternally exist within thunder, within radiance, and continuously revolve in that supreme divine seat.”
“Even if I bestow some authority, what impact will it have on me? It’s merely extracting a wisp of the ‘Fire Seed of Civilization’; it causes me no loss.”
“My dear sister, the meaning of fire lies in sharing and igniting, bringing warmth to all beings in the world. Warmth that is possessed solely, not only lacks meaning, but will eventually extinguish.”
“This child’s authority of ‘creation’ is very powerful, and destined to be incredibly great, but he still lacks much.”
“Even if Mentis becomes his godmother, with ‘wisdom’ as the foundation, he will still lack two things.”
The Master of Fire raised two knuckles. “He lacks a little bit of the ‘spark of inspiration’, and the ‘continuous energy source to turn all fantasies into reality’.”
“Isn’t my ‘fire’ the best supplement?”
“Only with this ‘Fire of Creating Civilization’, this ‘Fire of Forging Reality’, can he turn all ‘possibilities’ into ‘reality’.”
Hera’s golden eyes shimmered as she looked at Hestia, murmuring, “Hestia… my sister… this… this… I…”
Hestia smiled gently. “Alright, let’s not waste any more time. Aren’t you still going to Mentis’s place?”
Before her words even finished, Hestia unhesitatingly retrieved a ball of “fire” she had long prepared from her Primal Law—that “Civilization Creation Fire”!
It was an incredibly scorching, incredibly dazzling, divinely radiant fire seed displaying nine colors.
Its temperature was ardent but not scorching, bright but not piercing, as if forged from billions of nascent stars into a burning heart.
Within it, lay infinite forging scenes and blueprints for civilization.
And this most precious and sacred fire seed, she unhesitatingly, gently placed into Hera’s abdomen.
The brilliant, warm fire seeped in silently, and the “Sea of Creation” rippled slightly.
The child slumbering within, merely by instinct, joyfully opened unseen “divine jaws” and swallowed this warm fire seed in one gulp.
Hestia, the great Master of Fire, that most warm Goddess of Fire, selflessly and generously, injected the most crucial and indispensable point for all “possibilities” to be forged into “reality”, and for “all matter” to be transformed into “vessels”!
That eternally unquenchable furnace of civilization creation!
Suddenly, from the depths of the embryonic sea’s rhythm, a tiny but extremely stable “furnace spark” lit up.
It was not boisterous, yet it brought warmth to all thoughts.
It was neither hurried nor impatient, yet it allowed conceptions to have the possibility of condensing into form.
The great, sacred, most precious, most valuable fire, infused into the body of “creation”, becoming the eternal driving force within “creation”!
From this day forward, creation obtained its most sacred initial motivation; creation gained the support of the fire of civilization; creation also gained an infinite energy source as its foundation.
From this day forward, “civilization” obtained its core fire nucleus for iterative accumulation, and “craftsmanship” gained its eternal hearth for forging inspiration into tangible forms.
And all of this originated from the great Master of Fire, her warmest, most selfless, and greatest love for all living beings!
Creation no longer existed solely in poetry, and craftsmanship no longer depended solely on imagination.
Inspiration had a furnace, forging had a hammer, civilization had fire, and all spirits could learn!
All of this was because that warmest goddess was willing to share a cluster of her heart’s fire with the “future”, bringing hope to all spirits!
Praise Hestia—the sacred, warm, primordial fire!
Praise, that eternally burning, selflessly bestowed, sacred fire of civilization!
Praise, that unquenchable furnace, the source of all crafts!
As everything became a foregone conclusion, Hera slowly lowered her head, her fingertips gently resting on her slender, flat abdomen.
She could clearly feel the “Fire Seed of Civilization” gifted by Hestia within her, emitting an eternal, sacred warmth.
It was like a heart lamp placed at the bottom of the sea, beating steadily and enduringly.
That was the “Fire of Civilization Creation” Hestia had just gifted, embracing the “Sea of Creation” within her, transforming into the most stable embryonic heartbeat rhythm as the child slept.
She raised her eyes, looking at Hestia, her golden pupils filled with a tidal wave of gratitude and warmth. “Sister…”
Before she could finish speaking, she was gently embraced by Hestia once more.
The warm Master of Fire smiled tenderly. “No more thank yous. We are one family of gods. You, my dear, should stop confining yourself to such sharp obsessions.”
She playfully winked her fiery, streamer-laden eyelashes and then grumbled half-jokingly, “Well, even though that scoundrel Zeus is truly wicked. But, as a sister, we should always be a little more tolerant of him, shouldn’t we?”
Hestia winked playfully at Hera.
Hera, amused by her lighthearted teasing, felt her heart soften. She pursed her lips tightly and remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly.
Her voice was filled with profound, moved sincerity. “Hestia, my dear sister, thank you. I thank you deeply on behalf of this child yet to be born.”
“The selfless bounty you have bestowed upon this child is a precious grace for which he should be forever grateful and for which he should always repay.”
Hestia simply smiled gently and playfully pinched her delicate nose. “You are always so stubborn. Why do you always say such distant words? We are family. When everyone is well, that is truly good.”
She released her embrace and brushed a stray strand of golden hair from Hera’s temple. “Alright, you should go to Mentis’s place quickly. You are both gentle and kind goddesses, and any matter can be resolved by speaking frankly face-to-face.”
“I believe that your precious friendship will never be damaged by that scoundrel Zeus.”
Hestia placed her hands on Hera’s shoulders and earnestly admonished her. “Remember, you must properly tell Mentis about this matter of the ‘godmother’.”
“Tell her that you can share the Divine King’s eldest son, a most adorable child. Let this child possess the ‘evolutionary’ power you bestow, as well as her guidance towards ‘wisdom’.”
Upon hearing this, Hera nodded equally seriously. The turmoil in her heart had been smoothed by a firmer warmth.
After Hestia departed, the magnificent Temple of Fertility once again returned to silence.
Hera thought of Mentis, of this friend whom she had always deeply respected, magnanimous, kind, and gentle, and her mind drifted again.
Without realizing it, another day quietly passed.
Another morning in Olympus, the first ray of purest light silently illuminated her hall.
The light was gentle and warm, like the unsung song of a lark, like a ball of soft feathers that had once curled in her embrace during storms.
She suddenly awakened, her gaze quietly fixed on the ray of morning light, and finally, she gave a gentle smile.
The smile was very, very faint, even carrying a trace of bitterness that could not be completely erased.
Yet, it was enough to push all the shadows from the depths of her divinity into a corner.
She placed her hand on her abdomen, where a very slow but incredibly steady embryonic rhythm pulsed in response to her heartbeat, as if carrying an eternal promise.
It was the most glorious, sacred crystallization of her and her beloved Divine King.
It was their most adorable child.
It was the sweetest and most weighty responsibility of her life.
Love is a tide of gifts; after the tide, I will be the hard stones that build the embankment.
Happiness is the roar of thunder; after the roar, I will be the gentle breeze that accommodates the echo.
She was ready to talk, to mend, and to repay.
She was also ready to face, with composure, every goddess worthy of her respect—especially her best friend, Mentis.
And in a deeper part of her divinity, she gently caressed her abdomen, murmuring in a voice only she and the child within could hear:
“My child, you will be born into a world with less guilt. Your mother will do her best.”
Some protect promises with reality; others protect light with courage.
And she, with gentleness, will protect order, and with love, will protect love.
Hera composed herself, no longer harboring any hesitation in her heart.
She had already risen and begun to walk, her pace not fast, but each step was incredibly steady.
The universe is vast, and the laws are heavy. Love, moreover, is an unavoidable tide that can be settled.
It crossed the boundary between “sacrifice” and “forgiveness”; it journeyed through the stubbornness of “loyalty” and “togetherness”.
Ultimately, in the warm morning of love and being loved, it gave rise to great miracles that could be repeated time and again.
The patience and sacrifice of love, fulfillment and tolerance, were never two diverging rivers, but a warm light that quietly converged in the dark.
In front of the divine palace, Asteria and Leto stood side by side.
They quietly watched Hera’s determined departing back.
The gentle breeze stirred their robes, their long silver-blue woven skirts resembling fine waves rippled by the wind.
These two exquisite goddesses were like two beautiful statues, silent and soundless as the gentle breeze.
Asteria’s eyes were still very bright, like a meteor that swiftly streaked across the night sky.
However, within that dazzling radiance, there was a hint of indescribable complexity.
Leto reached out and gently placed her hand on her sister’s slightly cool hand, quietly conveying warmth and peace.
Asteria’s light and brilliance were accustomed to being fully displayed in the dazzling starry sky; even in a cloudless sky, they could still captivate the eye.
She was not yet adept at finding a way out in the cruel reality filled with shadows.
However, she was already learning to accept it.
She recalled the unadulterated gentleness of Goddess Hera, the care and affection the mistress had shown them sisters.
She also recalled the Divine King Zeus’s irresistible, domineering gaze.
The Divine King’s gaze was as intense as the sun, as oppressive as a storm—it was the most attractive, yet also the most fatal radiance in the entire universe.
She resisted it for no reason, yet could not deny the brilliance of the radiance itself.
She did not like this.
However, she also knew very well that some things had to be accepted.
She gazed at Hera’s receding figure and said to herself, If, on some future day, she had to step closer to that Divine King…
Then she would first deeply store this apology in her heart.
And then, she would repay this kindness owed to Goddess Hera today with ten thousand times the effort.
Leto’s palm grew steadier.
She had always understood that before true power and order, there were few choices. Bearing and making compromises were the only paths forward.
The sisters remained in tacit silence, having both determined the path they were about to take.
Time was always the best medicine.
The serene and wise Goddess of Wisdom, after several days of quiet contemplation, finally returned from the surging emotions, regaining her peace and tranquility.
True wisdom would never allow oneself to be constantly submerged in a vortex of pointless suffering.
However, the inexplicable sense of urgency in her heart had inevitably grown a little heavier.
She was now teaching her good younger sister, more seriously and comprehensively, all the techniques for capturing the Divine King!
As Hera’s good best friend, she knew Hera too well.
Hera’s pride and divine quality would never allow her to engage in any foolishness with Zeus alongside any other goddess.
If that were the case, then with their own sisters working together, surely they could compete for more of their beloved Divine King’s favor?
After all, their beloved Divine King was just that kind of god!
When Mentis heard the nymphs announce that Hera had come to visit, she couldn’t help but be taken aback.
But then, she roughly understood Hera’s intention.
Hera must have come to apologize with a heart full of guilt.
The elegant and humble Mentis couldn’t help but sigh deeply in her heart.
This was clearly all the fault of their beloved Divine King, so how could Hera be blamed?
In this world, who could truly resist the will of the Divine King?
Hera, too, was a pitiable victim who had suffered torment.
The beautiful Eurynome looked at her sister with a hint of worry.
Mentis simply returned a reassuring smile, a smile without a hint of gloom. She took her sister’s hand and went out to meet her.
On the hall steps, the moment Hera saw Mentis and noticed the sincere and unforced comforting smile on her face, the guilt that Hera already found hard to dismiss instantly reached its peak.
She parted her red lips slightly, her voice weak as she called out, “Mentis…”
Mentis said nothing, but the smile on her face became warmer and more intimate.
She stepped forward, took Hera’s slightly cool and stiff hand, and led her into the hall.
“Hera, my friend, welcome. Please don’t overthink things needlessly.”
“I just want you to know that you are always welcome here.”
“Just like before, you are always welcome. We are eternal good friends. And, from now on, we have become even closer. We will be closer in the future.”
Hera, with a heavy heart and complex thoughts, remained silent.
She opened her mouth several times to speak, but didn’t know where to start; the words in her throat were all blocked by invisible guilt.
Mentis led Hera directly into the most private inner chamber.
Just as they had countless times before, they sat together on the soft cloud bed.
Mentis gently held Hera’s hands, which were trembling slightly from nervousness.
Their golden eyes, the same color, met.
Mentis smiled warmly and said in the most sincere and serious tone, “Hera, I know everything. You don’t need to say anything.”
“This is not your fault at all. It’s all Zeus’s fault, that scoundrel. He is too greedy and too amorous, always making us goddesses sad and upset.”
“But who made us unable to be ambitious ourselves? We all happen to deeply love this scoundrel.”
“But, that’s alright. We possess endless eternal life, and we will forever accompany Zeus until eternity.”
“In the endless river of time, we can all love Zeus to our heart’s content, and we can all enjoy Zeus’s love to our heart’s content.”
“What is this little bit of heartache happening now compared to the long and beautiful times in the future?”
“It’s merely adding a ripple worth reminiscing to our immortal love.”
The more magnanimous Mentis appeared, the more guilty Hera felt.
She lowered her head deeply, showing no pride, like a little girl who had made a mistake.
She could only speak in an almost inaudible whisper, “Mentis, my best friend, I’m sorry, truly sorry… It’s my fault, I couldn’t refuse Zeus… I’m sorry…”
Mentis gently pulled Hera into her embrace and said softly, “Hera, why would I blame you? I’ll say it again, this is not your fault.”
“I know how noble and pure your divine quality is, and I know even more what torment you have endured for it.”
“You have endured for too, too long. Really, it’s not your fault. I know it all.”
Mentis embraced her good best friend and whispered in her ear, “Hera, Hera, love is the most unreasonable thing in this world. Many things in this world can be constrained by reason. But love is certainly not among them.”
“You are already doing your utmost to restrain your flawless love. This is not your fault. I know Zeus forced you.”
“You and I both know, who can defy Zeus’s will? What he wants to do, he can always achieve, no matter what.”
“He appears the most gentle, but in reality, he is the most domineering. As long as he has decided on something, then it must be realized.”
“I told you earlier, if it were you, the gentle and kind you, becoming Zeus’s wife, I would not have minded.”
“I have also said before the gods, as long as it is what Zeus likes, as long as it is what Zeus acknowledges, I will have no objections.”
Mentis smiled serenely, her tone even more gentle and soft. “My dear Hera, it’s not just you. Just like Lady of Justice, the most pure and just of her, she too was once torn apart by the conflict between her divinity and her principles.”
“This is not what I want to see. I don’t want to see any noble and pure goddess suffer in love.”
“Because I know what kind of pain it is to love and not be able to obtain it; it is the cruel suffering of the entire divinity enduring endless drought.”
“And my dear sister, Eurynome. She also deeply loves Zeus.”
“I will not stop her from becoming Zeus’s wife, and I will help her fulfill her wish. And in fact, it has already happened.”
Hera was stunned for a moment upon hearing this and subconsciously glanced at Eurynome, who had been quietly composed like a lotus.
She had only just learned about this matter.
Eurynome’s secret crush on Zeus was known to her; practically no god in Olympus didn’t know.
But she really didn’t know that she had already fulfilled her wish.
Without thinking, she cursed Zeus in her heart again: That scoundrel!
But that was the extent of her thought.
She now felt deeply in the wrong. They were all in the same boat; how could she possibly criticize Eurynome?
Moreover, Eurynome was Mentis’s own sister.
If Mentis herself didn’t say anything, then she had no standing to speak either.
At least not now.
Eurynome felt Hera’s gaze and simply returned a shy smile, not interrupting their conversation.
Mentis saw everything and continued, “You are all my closest family and friends. How could I bear to watch you suppress your divinity and endure unbearable torment?”
“If my love is not shared with noble and kind you, should it be stolen by those other cunning goddesses with ulterior motives?”
The Goddess of Wisdom’s eyes twinkled with clarity. Her words were both comforting and strategic.
“Therefore, my dear Hera, please stop tormenting your noble and beautiful divinity. Please accept it with composure. I do not blame you, not one bit.”
“The love of our beloved Divine King is so vast and boundless. As long as we can share this eternal joy and happiness with Zeus, then let many small matters pass.”
“Let us become closer friends, become the closest sisters.”
Speaking, Mentis smiled and moved closer to Hera, a hint of affectionate complaint in her brow. “My dear Hera, I can never refuse Zeus, I can’t control him, and he certainly can’t control himself.”
“In the future, you’ll have to keep an eye on him with me, we must resolutely prevent him from being willful and unrestrained.”
“Without anyone to manage him, I can assure you, any goddess can easily tempt him.”
“My dear Hera, our union is both a sharing and a consolidation. We must build a solid fortress that no external force can shake.”
“Hera, it is acceptable for Zeus to share with those goddesses we respect and whose character is noble and pure, but he is not allowed to be deceived by those cunning and greedy goddesses. We must keep an eye on him together.”
Hera listened to Mentis’s sincere and wise words, her heart filled with inexplicable emotion.
She wanted to say many things, but found that any words at this moment seemed incredibly pale.
The warmth of being understood, the emotion of being accepted, and the position elevated to “joint guardianship” made her unable to suppress her emotions any longer.
Finally, all her gratitude, guilt, joy, and love transformed into a single action.
She could only embrace her friend tightly, repeatedly saying, “Mentis, my friend, thank you for this gift, thank you for this tolerance…”
“I… I can only be grateful… Mentis, thank you! Really, thank you!”
Before Hera’s words of thanks had even ended, Mentis’s rosy face was already filled with a smiling reproach.
Her voice was soft but carried a hint of feigned sternness. “My dear Hera, please don’t say such things again. If you speak like this, I will dislike it.”
“Between us, we are most sincere friends and sisters. We don’t need to create distance with such formal thanks. That would make me feel that a rift has opened between us.”
As she spoke, her gaze involuntarily shifted to Hera’s abdomen.
That area was still slender and flat, yet it was like a silent, invisible heart lamp, its flickering flame stirring the soul.
Mentis’s eyes trembled slightly, her heart secretly sighing in bittersweetness.
She of course knew that this “heart lamp” held the vision she had depicted in the depths of her divinity more than once—the Divine King’s eldest son.
It was a pity, however, that her beloved Zeus still only wished to have his eldest son with Hera.
“Hera,” she said softly and sincerely, “Congratulations. You and Zeus have a lovely child.”
“With your and Zeus’s origins and authority, his future will surely be incredibly brilliant and majestic, destined to lead the civilization of the entire universe.”
As the words left her lips, the trace of deeply suppressed sourness still crept to the corners of her eyes, and her eyes flashed with the most profound longing and envy.
However, the Goddess of Wisdom possessed not only wisdom, but also kindness, gentleness, and magnanimity. She would only grind jealousy into powder and let this dust be blown to the earth by the wind.
What she presented to her friend at this moment was only sincere blessings.
Mentioning the child, Hera’s chest rose and fell slightly. The complex melancholy was gently swept away by a breeze, and the dim light in her eyes was replaced by the radiance of motherhood, filled with undeniable comfort and longing.
However, she quickly regained her composure. Amidst her scattered thoughts, she remembered the main purpose of her visit today.
She composed herself, tightly clasped Mentis’s jade hand, mustered all her courage, took a deep breath, and said in an extremely serious tone, “O wise Mentis, my dearest friend, your magnanimity and generosity are unmatched by any god.”
“You are the Divine King’s first wife. Your love for Zeus is incomparable to any god.”
“It is you who thinks of everything for Zeus; it is also you who has given us latecomers opportunities, allowing us to be with Zeus in an open and aboveboard manner.”
“All of this proves your noblest, most magnanimous, most gentle and benevolent divine character. I believe that not only I, but other goddesses, will deeply thank and admire you.”
“Mentis, my friend, my sister, you possess the noblest character and have endured the most pain alone.”
“However, this suffering should not have been yours to bear. Under the Holy Justice Order established by Zeus, it is even less fitting for a benevolent and magnanimous deity to suffer innocent pain.”
“My dear Mentis, I don’t know how to repay you for this gift. However, I have come today with a wish.”
