"Your timing couldn't be better," Styx's enthusiastic smile gave Tyche an uneasy premonition. "I was just worrying about finding someone to take over."Tyche felt as if she were suffocating; she could already anticipate what Styx was about to say!"Taking care of these children has exhausted me both physically and mentally; I don't even have time to properly recover my depleted strength."With a grand gesture, the Goddess of Fate ejected Tyche and the four deities from the temple.Tyche, who had been forced to take over, had no intention of becoming a nanny. She futilely pounded on the tightly shut temple doors, trying to make the Goddess of Fate understand the potential impact of these deities' presence in the outside world."Styx! Come out! How am I supposed to explain their origins to the other gods? I can't very well say I found them in a cave while taking a walk!"The four newly born deities were unaware that the goddess before them was, in fact, their mother, but the divine connection was undeniable, and it stirred a sense of familiarity within them.Seeing the trusting gazes of the newborn deities, Tyche felt a shiver run down her spine and pounded on the temple doors even harder.Determined to pass the hot potato to Tyche, the Goddess of Fate remained silent within the temple; the commotion attracted the attention of Hecate, the Goddess of Wishes, who was wandering near the River Styx. Hecate raised her torch and shouted, "Soulless spirits, this is the temple of Styx, do not dare to..."Tyche turned to look at Hecate, and the flickering firelight revealed a familiar face, causing the Goddess of Wishes to swallow her unfinished reprimand."Princess Tyche."Hecate immediately bowed deeply. "Forgive my rudeness. Are you here to visit the Goddess of Fate?"The firelight illuminated the area, and Hecate's gaze was instantly drawn to the Rivalry God Zelos, who bore a striking resemblance to the God of Slaughter. Her father, the husband of the Night Goddess, was Pallas, the god of destruction and ruin, and brother to the God of Slaughter. Hecate was well-acquainted with this reclusive uncle.Though Zelos and Pallas were nearly identical in appearance, Zelos's brown eyes were a stark contrast to the God of Slaughter's conspicuous bright yellow. Unfamiliar deities would not make the connection due to their entirely different auras.But Hecate was different. Among so many deities in the underworld, why did she have to encounter her? Tyche felt utterly helpless.Hecate's gaze lingered on Zelos for a long while, casting a furtive glance at Cratos and Bia, before silently stepping back with an impassive expression.The gods of Might and Violence did not resemble Pallas in appearance, but their distinctive orange-yellow eyes completed the puzzle.Tyche, no longer concerned with knocking, chased after Hecate and whispered urgently, "It's not what you think! Let me explain! This is Styx's doing. If you don't believe me, ask her!"When the two goddesses turned back, the temple of the Goddess of Fate had already vanished, submerged into the river of fate and beyond reach.The air instantly fell silent, and an inexplicable awkwardness enveloped Tyche and Hecate. With no way to clear her name, Tyche had no choice but to first ask the Goddess of Wishes not to spread the word about this incident. Before more deities could gather and gawk, she took them back to the Isle of the Formless.Phryne, the head of the handmaidens, was following the instructions of the principal deity, carefully scooping out the wisdom spring water that had accumulated on the tree roots and placing it into a vessel. The portal's radiance was quite conspicuous, and the diligent tree nymphs immediately perked up to welcome the arrival of the principal deity.Tyche had already given up on explaining. In Phryne's shocked gaze, the four deities, never seen before, entered one after another.The Isle of the Formless rarely had outsiders step foot on it. Apart from the visits of the Dawn Goddess and the Night Goddess, there had been no new visitors for a long time.Looking at the somewhat uneasy deities, Tyche's heart softened after all."Styx has entrusted you to me because I have a deep connection with her. Since it is the request of the Goddess of Fate, I will arrange a place for you."Tyche's words were not baseless. Things had already come to this pass; she couldn't possibly hide them just to preserve her reputation! After all, they were conceived by Styx alone, and compared to other deities, they had more reason to be trusted.After Zeus became the king of gods, he had no trustworthy assistants by his side. The Goddess of Fortune, Leto, though successfully promoted to a medium deity, had already exerted all her efforts to secure her position as the queen of gods. Moreover, with her gentle nature, she was not suited to engage in the conflicts among the gods.Apollo and Artemis, after all, lacked prestige. The first generation of Titans' offspring had many complaints about the twins becoming principal deities. Although Zeus was there to support them, it was clearly not enough; there was no need to mention Canus. As one of the few powerful deities, his support invisibly relieved some pressure for his younger brother.The Rainbow Goddesses were still bustling about on Mount Olympus for Zeus, which showed that there were still some hidden dangers that had not been brought to light and needed to be vigilant about; Nike and Zelos both had strong combat capabilities, and as long as they did not easily change their positions, they were also an impressive force.As for Cratos and Bia, the positions of strength and violence were not trivial either, and like the Rainbow Goddesses, they could help run errands.On Mount Olympus, Zeus was troubled for the umpteenth time by Canus' sneaking away. This unreliable elder brother left the affairs to his busy younger brother and disappeared to who knows where.Under the persuasion of Tyche and the Principle, a wave of guiding humanity swept through the mountain of gods. In order to compete for the limited number of humans, friction was inevitable among the arrogant deities. All the principal deities were busy, running around on the earth to maintain order without a moment's rest, and even Aphrodite, who was not good at fighting, was sent by Zeus to do hard work. The disaster god had not been kicked off the principal deity position only because of his good fortune, having a mother who became a primordial god and a brother who was the king of gods.Seeing Tyche return, Zeus was somewhat surprised. When he heard that Tyche wanted to introduce four deities as his own subordinates, the busy king of gods was very welcome.However, when Zeus saw the three male deities who resembled the God of Slaughter, Pallas, this steady king of gods did not perform much better than Hecate.For the strange look of his youngest son, Tyche had already been able to accept it calmly. No matter how much she said, it was useless. The divine connection would not deceive people. Tyche could not possibly clarify this unresolvable truth and make public the fact that she and Styx were one entity.Perhaps in order to maintain his mother's dignity, Zeus did not dwell too much on their origins and solemnly assured Tyche, "Rest assured, Mother! I will take good care of them!"
Tyche was left speechless, and she turned to leave in silence.As she passed by Aphrodite's rose garden, the knot in Tyche's heart slowly unraveled amidst the rich, intoxicating scents.Crimson rose vines twined around the garden gate, stretching endlessly into the distance, an awe-inspiring sight.Captivated by the beauty before her, Tyche couldn't help but step into Aphrodite's domain. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, immediately sensed the arrival of a visitor. The barefoot goddess of love traversed the rose bushes to greet Tyche.A gentle breeze brushed through Aphrodite's golden hair as she led Tyche into her rose-covered temple.Surprisingly, the temple of the goddess of love was utterly silent, devoid of even a single nymph attendant.The pure white marble columns were also entwined with blooming flowers. In her own temple, Aphrodite shed her heavy disguise, her demeanor serene and confident."Princess Tyche, I have identified several candidates who could become Hera's husband," Aphrodite said with confidence. "Atlas, the god of strength, is powerful enough; marriage requires the protection of strength."Tyche shook her head. Atlas had freed himself from the fate of holding up the sky, a key role that Urea had in her hands. Although she wouldn't hold the actions of the soul god Iapetus and the goddess of fame, Clymene, against the god of strength, she wouldn't easily relinquish the power of the mountains. As a primordial god, he likely couldn't offer anything that would truly impress her."His fate is shrouded in darkness, and he must undergo an extremely difficult trial to ascend to great power," Tyche explained.Aphrodite took note of this information, reminding herself to keep her distance from Atlas as well."What about Moirai?" Aphrodite didn't let the initial setback dampen her spirits, as this also concerned her own ascension to great power, and she couldn't afford to be indifferent.Moirai, the son of the goddess of night, Nyx, was an enigmatic deity. Few gods had seen him, aside from his siblings. Aphrodite had spent considerable effort searching for a suitable male god for Hera.Moirai symbolized the destined calamity and the endpoint of life's demise, his power blending fate and death, somewhat similar to the elder brother of the minor deity of fate.However, this deity was born with an emotional void, as cold and unfeeling as stone. If it weren't for Nyx's use of emotional power to maintain her son's humanity, Moirai would likely have already returned to his primal state."Why would you think of him? Moirai and Hera are not a good match," Tyche was curious how Aphrodite had come up with such an unusual pairing of the god of calamity and the goddess of marriage."The bonds of marriage among gods are not very strong to begin with," Aphrodite's words made Tyche regard her with new respect. "No matter how beautiful something is, once it is possessed, it no longer seems so precious.""Deities who enter into marriage often seek new emotions after the passion fades. For them, love is not an eternal constant. The calamity that Moirai represents resonates well with the essence of marriage. Only a marriage that has been tested is truly genuine, is it not?" The goddess of love spoke with a touch of self-mockery."Moreover, for Hera, the support of the goddess of night is quite tempting. Hera and her siblings are in a worse position than I am. I am merely a goddess who cannot seize the ultimate power. My glory is like a rose in a golden vase; even if it is removed, it does not diminish the value of the vase.""And the fact that these five deities have obtained two principal deity positions is already enough to make the other gods envious." Aphrodite's words had a hidden meaning. "After all, among the current principal deities, aside from me, only Hades and Demeter have a tenuous connection with the king of gods. Their alliance is also struggling to move forward."Zeus appeared impartial and did not harbor animosity towards Demeter because she had once had an intimate relationship with Crius. However, in the eyes of the gods, the goddess of fertility was the most easily replaceable among all the principal deities.Her ambiguous relationship with the god of growth, who almost usurped Zeus's position as the king of gods, was almost facilitated by Mnemosyne's power, which almost deceived Tyche, had it not been for Aphrodite's unexpected betrayal. The throne of the king of gods would have fallen into the hands of the god of growth, and Demeter would have missed the opportunity to become the queen of gods. She did not dare to hold a grudge against Zeus, but Aphrodite, who was alone and vulnerable, was not so fortunate.The reason why the goddess of love was so ruthless to Poseidon was perhaps because the sea god had Demeter instigating him from behind. Perhaps Demeter only wanted to embarrass Aphrodite to vent her anger, but Zeus could not fail to see the entanglement in this matter. Therefore, he chose to let the issue slide with a light touch, which also served as a warning to Demeter not to cause more trouble.Among the current principal deities, Zeus and Leto, Apollo and Artemis, Tyche and Canus, all had close connections with Zeus. Aphrodite, the mascot, also clung tightly to the king of gods, cheering him on. Hades, who was taciturn and not good at socializing, was well-liked by the gods of the underworld for his dedication to his duties in the underworld. More importantly, both Tyche and Nyx were satisfied with him, believing that the god of wealth would be a qualified leader. Only Demeter, whose importance in agriculture had not yet been highlighted and whose power of faith had just begun to sprout, naturally became the target of the gods who aspired to ascend to the throne of the principal deity!Although there were five principal deity positions vacant after Atlas stepped down, all the gods understood that these positions were already assigned to others. After all, it was evident from Tyche's retention of her principal deity position as a primordial god that she was holding the spot for her son!Recently, it was not uncommon for gods to bring up the past relationship between the god of growth and Demeter, the purpose of which was not to test Zeus's mind? Demeter's days were not easy. Apart from her sister and brother, no god was willing to lend her a helping hand. Even to divert attention by suppressing Aphrodite, she had to let Poseidon take the lead. She really had no available subordinate gods."I heard that Demeter is preparing to find a powerful god to conceive a child," Aphrodite whispered to Tyche, trying to influence her opinion. The role of the protector of children made Tyche naturally dislike purposeful procreation. Although Styx did not particularly love her descendants like Nike and Zelos, she still fulfilled her duty of raising them. Demeter's intention to conceive a child for the purpose of expanding her influence would undoubtedly lower Tyche's evaluation of her, which would also make Zeus and Canus have no good feelings towards Demeter.Tyche easily saw through Aphrodite's thoughts and immediately lost interest. Her originally good mood when she saw the rose garden was instantly dampened.Aphrodite's initial intention was not pure. She had been scheming since the first meeting after Tyche's awakening. The once arrogant and willful goddess of love, after mixing with the gods for a long time, inevitably picked up some worldly aspects.Tyche felt a bit regretful about this, but after Aphrodite lost the help of Eros and Penthis, she had to become independent, which was not necessarily a bad thing. At least she could protect herself in this way.