Chapter 227 Artemis and the turning point of fate

Zeus wanted to communicate with Hecate, and it was not just an idea that came into being today. In fact, as early as he gradually figured out the law of the birth of faith, he had already planned to talk to the goddess of the magic net who controlled witchcraft. Today's matter was at best just an introduction.

Of course, the reason why he just "talked" instead of directly announcing the order of the king of gods and letting Hecate obey his orders was that Zeus was secretly afraid.

As the king of gods, he was never a person who knew how to repay his gratitude. The fate of Metis was the best proof. If it weren't for Hecate being so special, how could Zeus be so generous to her and even personally promise her the right to be independent outside the court of gods? All this was to win over and appease the goddess of the magic net.

As early as the beginning, before the reward banquet after the turn of the era, the reward prepared by the God King for Hecate was actually the control of a starry sky - Zeus originally expected the underworld, but the Goddess of the Demon Net had no authority related to the underworld after all, and the Goddess of the Moon and the River of Oath already existed in the underworld, so the God King chose the vast starry sky as the second best choice.

On the one hand, this can express his intention to rule the world with the gods, and on the other hand, the starry sky is not really under the control of Zeus, and even the presence of the Moon Goddess there is much higher than that of the newly born God Court. Letting Hecate go there can also allow her to use the moon as a springboard to check and balance with the ancient gods in the starry sky, to prevent some star gods from deciding to imitate the ancient sun god and try to become the master of the entire starry sky when the God Court is first established.

Koos, the god of the lightless celestial bodies, is the one Zeus is most wary of. Although this Titan god has been away from the world for a long time, he once briefly joined forces with Kronos in the last era to launch a war to unify the starry sky. This ancient Titan is low-key, but he is an ancient god who is not inferior to the ocean god Oceanus. For the God King at that time, his existence itself was a huge threat.

On the earth, the light bodies in the starry sky radiate light, but only the gods who have really set foot there know that the celestial bodies without light are the most component of the starry sky. The power of the light body is fragmented, and the star gods and the sun and the moon are all part of it, but the owner of the lightless celestial body is only Koos.

Zeus made a lot of plans for this. That seemingly ordinary reward banquet was actually the art of checks and balances that the God King had been thinking about for a long time under the advice of Metis. It was just that when he really took over the throne of the God King and sensed the shackles of the laws that affected the world, he adjusted his previous choice at the first time.

Hecate was given extra glory and power by him, and the God King secretly contacted the black-robed goddess Leto. Without the goddess of the magic net, he had to stabilize the starry sky in an alternative way. Even though the goddess's appearance was not outstanding among the gods, Zeus still exerted his twelve-point skill in words to make Leto stand on his side.

Of course, Zeus is now very glad for his original decision. He himself did not expect that this goddess, who was not really valued by him, would bring him such an impeccable eldest son.

"Witchcraft. It's really a troublesome power. Fortunately, when I take that step, many things will be much easier."

Sighing softly, Zeus had a headache. Today's human world does not support the gods to release their divine power for a long time. Often one move is enough to make them pay the price. The fate of Poseidon not long ago is an example. But for Hecate, this is the biggest benefit.

The God King had no doubt that even if the opponent's divine power was far inferior to his, and [Magic Net] was not as suitable for direct combat as [Thunder], he would be the only one who would lose in the end if he really fought Hecate in the mortal world. Because as long as Zeus could not defeat the opponent in a few moves, the balance of victory would obviously lean towards the side of the goddess of the magic net.

Of course, there was more than one god in the temple, and Hecate would never be an opponent if they attacked together. And when Zeus completed at least half of the ritual and gained further power, this embarrassing situation would be alleviated. But distant water cannot quench near thirst, at least for now, the God King thought that things had not yet reached that point.

"Let's go first, at least I want to understand what she wants to do. In any case, Leto and my eldest son cannot have any accidents."

After making a decision, the God King immediately stepped out of the palace. He was going to explore the southeast of the earth, but before leaving, Zeus waved his hand and summoned his usual messenger Zephyros.

"Your Majesty, what do you want?"

The West Wind God asked respectfully after hearing the call.

"Keep an eye on Olympus and don't let Hera do unnecessary things. If she sends someone out, stop them first. If she wants to go out by herself, tell her that things have come to this point and she can't change anything. Everything will be discussed after I come back."

Said in a deep voice, Zeus' words were actually not clear in many places. However, the West Wind God just bowed slightly to show that he understood.

"I will, Your Majesty, but if the Queen of Heaven insists on leaving--"

". Just take my words with you."

Rubbing his temples, the King of Gods no longer thought about these things that gave him a headache. Seeing that Zephyrus understood what he meant, the next moment, he turned into thunder and flew out of Mount Olympus.

······

Southeast of the continent, by the Starfall Lake.

The trees that had grown hastily under the power of Demeter seemed to have passed a hundred years in an instant, becoming tall and upright, and turned into a vast ancient forest; the birds were attracted by the invisible and lingered around the forest, and even a few white swans circled and danced around the ground.

Here, a miracle that is incomprehensible to mortals but not uncommon to gods is happening. The two gods should have been born at the same time, but the elder sister was delivering the younger brother. The water fairies living in the lake couldn't help but stick their heads out and look at this strange scene. There were even many elves with slightly bulging abdomens, looking at all this with some fear and yearning.

Invisible light shone from the void, bringing a scene like the alternation of day and night. After nine flashes, everything returned to calm again, except for a girl who looked six or seven years old, who made her own dress with leaves and held a newborn baby in her arms.

The world gradually became perfect, and the gods born in the Third Age could no longer easily make the laws of the world sing for them as they did in the past. But the world's favor to the true gods remained the same. They had the authority given by God and the true names they were born with.

Artemis, the lord of the wilderness, the god of hunting, caves, mountains, forests, wild beasts and childbirth were all her domains. There was even a silver moon mark on her forehead, which constantly exuded a completely different breath from the bright moon in the starry sky, appearing deep and mysterious.

Apollo, the incarnation of light, did not have the series of complicated priesthoods of his sister, but light itself was one of the top divine powers in the world. The authority of [light] separated from the ancient Titan god Theia was embodied in him in a different way. Even though he was just born, Apollo, as a baby, unconsciously exuded a hazy glow, healing the injuries Leto suffered during childbirth. Even the surrounding water elves felt more energetic, and the fatigue of the past was dissipated in one day.

As the era progressed, and even with the integration of Alfheim in the Nine Realms, Chaos's [Light] power had already increased. Even if it was divided by many parties, the part that fell on Apollo was still enough to support him to enter the realm of powerful divine power. At this moment, looking at this son who was born extraordinary, Leto felt that all the sufferings he had suffered before were rewarded.

His eyes swept around, and those lives that secretly observed were instantly frightened away by the goddess's eyes. After driving away the outsiders, Leto looked at his daughter in the distance again.

"Al, come here quickly, let me see your brother."

Waving at his daughter, Leto's heart was full of joy. Artemis was okay, but the power lingering on Apollo reminded the goddess of the former power and dignity of the Mother of Light. Even without relying on the power of faith, he was destined to stand at the top of the gods.

In contrast, Leto was not very surprised that his daughter was several years old when she was born. Like another goddess who had not yet been born, the girl who was forcibly restrained in the mother's belly by the law did not stop growing. She drew strength and wisdom from nature, and instinctively helped her brother to come to the world after she came to the world.

Stepping forward, Artemis handed the blood-related baby in her hand to Leto. She looked at her mother with bright eyes, and the goddess also responded with a gentle smile.

A warm feeling came from the baby in her arms. Leto was about to praise her daughter's ability, but the next moment, her expression suddenly became surprised, and there was even a hint of imperceptible fear.

"Mother Goddess-"

"Shut up!"

The moment the girl looked up, Leto suddenly saw the moon mark between Artemis' eyebrows. The faint silver lines were so obvious, and the constraints from the Styx revealed its essence.

That was the power of the moon. Although not much, its existence was clearly visible, which reminded the black-robed goddess of an unexpected experience when she was wandering between heaven and earth. She once encountered a special broken fragment at the edge of the starry sky, and there, there was a similar power. Leto had not thought it was related to the moon before, because it was not similar to Chaos's real moon, but now the facts told her that everything was different from what she thought.

It was not only the moon, but it was even transferred to Artemis in some way because of her unexpected intrusion.

Leto did not know that her initial judgment was correct. It was not Chaos's moon, but some fragments of the moon god in another long-destroyed world. Attracted by the fate of the world, it came to the goddess who was destined to be related to the moon but now had no chance, and became part of her power.

It would have become a companion artifact and was born with Artemis, but its power was broken and loose, far from enough to transform into another form in just a few years to be reborn. It had to sleep in its master's body and merge with her. At the same time, part of Artemis's innate divine duties were gradually transferred to the artifact, becoming the nourishment for its shaping and further deepening the connection between the two.

For Artemis, this was not a bad thing. The accompanying sacred objects did not undermine the power of the gods. They were completely different from those made later. When this artifact was formed, everything that originally belonged to her would return. But for Leto, this was a truly terrible trouble.

The oath of the Styx cannot be violated. When it is established, it will be entangled with the person who made the oath. Before this, both Hecate and Leto, who made the request, thought that the thing related to the "moon" was an object. Their judgment was actually correct. It was indeed an object, but this object had not yet been born. It merged with its owner, which meant that Leto had to face a reality that her oath might no longer be fulfilled.

This is not even a problem that can be solved by sending the child away, because Artemis is a god, and to the world, she does not belong to anyone. No god can fulfill the oath with the "ownership" of another god. After all, even parents and children among the gods of Chaos are never subordinate to one another.

"Mother Goddess, what's wrong with you?"

Looking at Leto, the young goddess was a little scared and confused. She just looked at the changing face of the mother goddess and stepped forward to seek comfort. However, looking at this scene, Leto took a step back.

At this moment, she was filled with fear and hesitation—she was about to become the first god in Chaos to break the oath of the Styx, and no one knew what this meant before.

All gods knew the horror of the Styx, and therefore they were unwilling to test the unknown risks under the premise of having eternity. Perhaps the oath-breaker would be shaken of his priesthood, lose his divine power, or receive some kind of punishment from the Styx, but Leto didn't know. Her priesthood was already weak, and perhaps she would be completely deprived of everything, or even fall into eternal sleep.

"No, it won't happen!"

Taking another step back, the goddess hugged the baby in her arms tightly. After the ups and downs, she had already lost some of her ability to judge.

"No, I still have Apollo to raise, and he will bring me glory and status! Yes, he will make Hera pay for her actions, he will become Zeus's right-hand man and the pillar of the God's Court, and everything will be fine as long as today passes."

Feeling the oppression brought to her heart by the oath in the dark, Leto became more and more at a loss. At a certain moment, looking at her daughter who was at a loss, she suddenly gritted her teeth and stretched out her right hand.

The power of the gods was released without restriction, and Artemis fainted without any resistance during the vibration of the divine power. The girl who had just come to the world for only half a day was lying on the ground, with confusion and doubt on her face. She didn't know what happened and why her mother goddess suddenly attacked her.

In front of her, Leto locked the artifact embryo.

The power of the artifact is also closely connected with the origin of Artemis. They are sacred and born together. Feeling all this, Leto's face flashed with hesitation and regret, but in the end, she just whispered:

". Don't blame me, maybe this is fate. Your priesthood is weaker than your brother's, maybe it's not bad to be a little ordinary."

Leto clenched her five fingers in the void, grabbed it hard, and the artifact embryo that was still incubated was forcibly taken out by her. Then came the violent turbulent breath of Artemis. Even in a coma, she seemed to feel the pain, but facing a true god who had already reached his peak, she, who had just been born, obviously had no power to resist.

The next moment, the evil consequences of using divine power followed, and the backlash of the laws of the world fell on Leto, but the black-robed goddess could no longer care about so much. She threw the silver light she had taken out, letting it fly to the direction of Hecate along the connection in the dark.

So the oath power that surged in the void disappeared instantly, and the vigilance that oppressed the soul in the dark also disappeared, as if it had never appeared. Leto gasped heavily, with a look of surviving a disaster on her face.

She did avoid the worst result, but at this moment, the goddess was also a little confused. After a while, she leaned against the tree trunk, staring blankly at the starry sky above her head, not knowing what she was thinking, or perhaps she was thinking nothing.

"Wow--"

In the silent woods, the crying of the baby became louder and louder. As a god, even if he had just come to the world, Apollo would not cry like a mortal, but as a natural god, his keen perception allowed him to vaguely sense the power of the Styx and the laws of the world that had descended here one after another.

So the newly born son of God had to express his fear by crying, and the increasingly loud cry finally called Leto's attention back.

"Apollo, my child."

Reaching out and holding the baby in her arms, the warm feeling gave her a little comfort. Coming back from the ups and downs of her mood, Leto finally realized what she had done.

She made an impossible oath, and then ended it at the cost of her daughter's origin. Looking at Artemis lying on the ground, an absurd feeling surged into the goddess' heart.

She regretted it, maybe she shouldn't compete with Hera for the position of the so-called eldest son. She lost a daughter before she had time to gain anything - when Artemis woke up, Leto could already imagine how she would look at this mother goddess who had hurt her severely when she just came to the world.

Like her sister, she faced disaster because of the birth of her daughter. However, this unprovoked disaster was not brought about by their daughter herself.

Everything seemed to be a mockery of fate. Phoebe, the goddess of light, wanted power and status, so she asked her husband to cooperate with the second generation of the king of gods. As a result, Asteria, the goddess of the star, who served as the intermediary between the two parties, gave birth to Hecate, who had no priesthood. Leto was immersed in Zeus's description of the future, so she made an unattainable oath inadvertently, and finally ended up hurting her daughter.

"So, this is the father's warning, stay away from the king of gods?"

Whispering to herself, but Leto knew that she had paid so much, how could she let go of everything and return to the cold starry sky to accompany her sister?

"Apollo, you are my hope. You will find back everything I have lost, right?"

"Leto, what did you do?"

The goddess was talking to the crying baby in her arms, and on the other side, with the power of the spiritual world shuttle, Hecate and Selene appeared here silently.

In her hand, a silver light changed unsteadily, faintly echoing with the girl on the ground.

".I have fulfilled my oath. Now, it belongs to you."

Not knowing what to say, Leto took a last look at Artemis on the ground. If she could do it again, she would never make such a vow, but it was too late. Holding Apollo in her arms, with hatred for many, many existences, Leto turned into a stream of light and flew towards the sea.

And behind her, looking at Leto who was going away and the goddess who was left behind, Hecate also instantly understood the cause and effect.

If it was a stranger, if this matter had nothing to do with her from beginning to end, the goddess of the magic network would not hesitate to take action against the departing god, but now, the girl in the red skirt did not expect that it was just an ordinary treasure hunt under the guidance of the priesthood, but it would turn out like this.

".Selene, do you need this artifact embryo?"

Hecate asked softly, forcing a smile, and beside her, Selene just shook her head and refused.

The Moon Goddess read the hidden meaning in her friend's words. Even if she didn't have it, she didn't want this treasure. If she had known that this was another companion artifact that was still integrated with the divine body and interdependent, she would not have thought about it at all.

"Let it return to its owner's hands. But this kind of gestation was forcibly interrupted, and I'm afraid it can't continue."

Taking the silver light, Selene sighed softly and let the embryo in her hand return to the side of her owner. But as the Moon Goddess said, it just surrounded its owner's head like a silver crown, but it didn't return to its original position.

"No, there is still a chance. In addition to the gift for you, isn't there another one?"

This was the first time that such a thing was created because of her own reasons. Although this was not Hecate's original intention and could not be blamed on her, looking at her actual cousin, a girl who had a similar experience to her former self, the Magic Net Goddess still made a decision.

She knew that Zeus on Mount Olympus would not be unaware of the birth of his daughter, and he would certainly take corresponding actions, but Hecate felt that compared to the temple, perhaps the city where Cohen was located was more worthy of being the place where Artemis grew up.

What she had, this unfortunate girl should also have. And the stone slab she had accidentally encountered, she and Selene would take its place.

"Perhaps in the future, that city can be given an alias, how about calling it [Silver Moon City]."

Picking Artemis up from the ground, Hecate suddenly said.

"Ah?"

Somewhat unable to keep up with her friend's jumping thoughts, Selene was still feeling the girl's ill-fated fate in front of her, and she didn't know why the other party thought of naming the human city.

"Then call it this name, no matter what the official name is, a nickname, Cohen will agree."

A transparent portal appeared in front of her, and Hecate took a step forward. Seeing that her friend didn't want to say more, Selene followed closely and left.

This secluded woodland became quiet again. No one knows that it is here that the two siblings, who should have had a close relationship, embarked on completely different paths, one following the original destiny, and the other taking a fork in the road.

But this may also be destined. Without today's changes, there will be another one. Artemis and the God Court will gradually drift apart. Because as early as one day tens of thousands of years ago, when the illusory moon rose in the still empty sky and became the only light body in Chaos' night, the fate related to the "moon" had already deviated from the original script and moved towards the unknown and miracles.

As for whether it is good or bad, no one knows. The traces engraved in history in the future will make a judgment on all this.

······

Outside the world, the atrium, the central floating island.

On the ground, in the center of the huge pit, a spring formed a small lake. Next to it, the sacred tree with eight branches is about 100 meters high.

And on the floating island, in front of the simple wooden house, the projection of the consciousness of the ring snake is sitting at the stone table, quietly watching the scenes in the silver mirror.

He was originally concerned about the whereabouts of the gift he gave, but even he did not expect that things would develop in this way. The siblings, who were originally close, parted ways from the beginning.

"So, even this was within your expectations. Haha, that's really foresight."

When Asmodeus came here again, he came for the sudden change of the Styx. The Styx that crossed the world and the outside world surged with such obvious power for the first time, and it was at the moment when the Demon Mother was about to wake up. As the master of Hell, he could not help but pay attention to it.

However, just after arriving in the atrium, the Lord of the Nine Hells saw a good show. He still remembers the sun and moon he promised to the other party. Although an era has passed and the shadow of the underworld has not been seen, the influence of the moon phase has continued to this day.

"You think too much. The essence of uncertain fate is change. Even if it is the so-called symbolic embodiment, I don’t know the direction of change. If I can really grasp it, the so-called "uncertainty" will only become a laughing stock."

Speaking softly, Ryan waved his hand, and the round mirror in front of him dissipated.

No matter how fate changes, the result is always determined by power itself. Let her write the story of Artemis herself.

But [Silver Moon City] is indeed a good name.

"Let's talk about yourself, Asmodeus. The first demon god has come to the world. He instinctively guards Moya's side, absorbing the wisdom and thoughts she brought from the present world, and the remaining five will not be long."

"When they are born one by one, the demon mother will wake up, so now, are you ready to face them?"

"You are wrong, it should be "are we ready to face them?"

After correcting it, Asmodeus did not continue to dwell on the previous things in the present world.

What the moon is like has nothing to do with him. The troubles created by Zeus himself will eventually bear the bitter fruit. In contrast, the first and most threatening invasion of the abyss is the real challenge he faces.

"There is only so much I can do. Facing the abyss itself, only the purest collision of power is the only way to deal with it. As for the rest, it depends on them."

The Lord of the Nine Hells can see through the boundary wall that some arrangements have been prepared in the first few layers of hell.

"The demons will handle their own affairs, but you will have to deal with my former sister."

"Of course."

Nodding, Ryan felt that Moya's greatest threat to him was probably not her strength, but her indescribable appearance.

Although she had not yet awakened, Ryan could already foresee how much malice she would have towards her original body in the spirit world when she saw her appearance.

To the original body, Moya was actually nothing, but not necessarily to this incarnation. It was somewhat difficult to defeat the other party in the abyss.