The Underworld. Elysium.
The brothers Thanatos the God of Death and Hypnos the God of Sleep sat beneath the pavilion, looking at the soul stones on the table that had turned completely black, and exchanged a furrowed glance.
"It failed..."
"But it also succeeded."
"How so?"
"The more tightly that place is defended, the more likely Mother Goddess is being imprisoned there."
The God of Death gave a gentle nod upon hearing this.
"That makes sense. It seems we found the right direction."
"Then going forward, should we tell Charon about this?"
The God of Sleep turned the teacup in his hands and asked his older brother across from him.
Like them, the Ferryman God Charon was also a creation of Nyx's divinity and regarded the Hecate as his mother Goddess.
"Better not. That fellow is too greedy and too careless in his handling of things. Letting him know too much will only cause problems."
The God of Death waved his hand and rejected his younger brother's suggestion.
The God of Sleep rubbed his aching brow with some difficulty.
"But we need as many reliable helpers as possible."
"Call Megaera and the others."
The God of Death gave a measured answer with a new proposal, his gaze flickering quietly.
The three Furies guarding Tartarus were new Gods personally brought into the Underworld by Mother Goddess Hecate.
Their connections were simple.
And they also bore Mother Goddess's God seal, so they should obediently follow orders.
After all, as the Mother Goddess's attendant Gods, if something happened to her, their own strength and authority would also suffer.
The God of Sleep accepted this proposal with a nod, then his gaze flickered as he looked toward the depths of Elysium.
"What about Them?"
"I strongly advise you not to set your sights on Them. With Mother Goddess absent, They experienced a brief liberation last time and absorbed a considerable amount of divinity and authority. The seals have grown unstable. Compared to the targets up above, They are far more dangerous!"
The God of Death spoke in a cold voice, his face completely serious.
Seeing his older brother this resolute, the God of Sleep had no choice but to put aside that thought.
---
The Ocean of Oceanos.
Deep beneath the dark water surface, Sea King Poseidon sat in the temple, asking with furrowed brows.
"It failed?"
"Please punish me, Father God."
The prince Triton, kneeling on one knee in the great hall, wore a face full of shame.
Poseidon waved his hand with some indifference.
"Never mind. It was only a probe to begin with. I never expected those small pawns to actually bring back anything useful."
"I let you down, Father..."
The merman prince's cheeks flushed red upon hearing this as he buried his head even lower.
Ever since the Battle of Crete, the sea God lineage had become a laughingstock.
Their once great kingdom sank into the deep sea, its glory gone.
His clanspeople suffered under the curse, transformed into bloodthirsty monsters.
As the prince of Atlantis, as the successor of the Ocean of Oceanos, Triton felt deep shame.
But the harder he tried to prove himself, the more things went the opposite way.
This time he even lost many of the few remaining clear-minded clanspeople.
'Perhaps I truly have no right to become the new king of the sea.
No right to lead them.'
Looking at his son's defeated expression, Poseidon rose with a cold hum. "Stand up! We have not lost yet!"
"Father God. Do you truly think we still have a chance?"
Triton asked with a bitter smile, his eyes completely devoid of fighting spirit.
Hearing even his closest son beginning to question him, Poseidon fell into long silence.
A flash of fierce resolve passed through his eyes, as though he finally made up his mind.
"Come with me."
So saying, the Sea King swung his trident and activated the magical formation diagram in the center of the temple, stepping into it with his son.
After a flash of light, Triton found himself standing on an unnamed floating island.
Silver-white streams of light flew in from all directions and hovered before them.
They were metallic spheres wrapped in silver-white blades, with a crimson gem shaped like an eyeball embedded on their inner surfaces.
Dim red light shot out from the gems toward the two people on the island.
Under Triton's puzzled gaze,
Poseidon stepped forward and stood in the beam of red light.
A moment later, a cool, clear voice came from the surrounding silver-white metal spheres.
"Ding. Identity verification complete. Level one authorization. Entry permitted."
At the same time, the blue sea and sky around them rippled open like water and the entire world before their eyes seemed to have a veil torn away, revealing the [Truth] behind it.
Triton raised his head and looked up as an indescribable astonishment rose in his eyes.
Ten silver-white islands formed an enormous metallic ring, floating quietly on the water surface.
And in the gaps between the islands stood bronze statues each approximately one hundred meters tall, holding tridents, like giants guarding the gateway.
The inner territory, resembling land, was vast.
The buildings were arranged in concentric circles, separated from each other by fleets and metal gates.
As one progressed deeper toward the center, the identity restrictions grew increasingly strict.
The inner ring was the most important temple and protected zone.
The modular city buildings from the inside outward were distributed across intersecting streets in well-ordered beauty, showcasing the elegance of arrangement and order.
The gold-plated domed roofs produced harmonious sounds due to differences in wind and temperature.
Even more astonishing, above the inner ring of the building complex, a towering mountain range floated among drifting clouds and brilliant starlight.
The city on it appeared and disappeared, with corridors crisscrossing throughout, magnificent and elegant, radiating a quality of metal.
"This is..."
"Poseidonia. It can also be simply called the Sea God City. Built under my secret direction. It is the concentrated embodiment of Atlantis's culture, arts and constructive achievement."
"It is truly magnificent. This mountain range looks as though it floats between the clouds and stars..."
"Correct. And so it has another name. [The Mountain Range Between the Stars and Sky]: Olympos!"
Poseidon raised his head to look at this architectural wonder and introduced it to his son with considerable pride.
Hearing his father's answer, Triton only then noticed that the metal mountain range before him seemed to bear considerable resemblance to Olympus Mountain in his memory.
Obviously, this father God of his had always intended to replace Zeus and become the master of Olympus and the entire world!
It's just, how did he complete such a monumental undertaking?
'Why had almost no one known of this place?'
Triton followed his father Poseidon's footsteps onto this vast expanse of metallic land, his heart brimming with deep puzzlement.
At the same time, soldiers in silver-white-and-red tricolor armor holding metal swords and shields poured out from the streets, forming ranks to receive the Sea God father and son who landed.
These things seemed to carry no trace of living creatures, yet the ether waves they radiated were solemn and surging, with strength approaching that of a demigod!
Triton looked out across the expanse and made a rough estimate, finding over a hundred of them, and could not help clicking his tongue in astonishment.
"Father God. What is all this?"
Poseidon turned to look at his son and asked with unhurried ease.
"Let me test you. Do you know where our Atlantis's technology and culture came from?"
For this easy question, Triton answered without even thinking.
"I know. It was a product of the Bronze Age. You led the people to unearth the technology of the Bronze Age and used it to build Atlantis's brilliant civilization."
Poseidon gave a nod and continued asking. "Then do you know why the Bronze Age was destroyed?"
"Because those giants were ignorant and crude, savage and quarrelsome, and in the end enraged the Gods."
Triton continued his answer, as textbook-standard as could be.
However, Poseidon gave neither confirmation nor denial.
He rose, brought his son up to the topmost level of the mountain range between the stars, and holding his trident, came step by deliberate step to the center of the great altar, reciting sacred words in silence.
In an instant, thousands of rays of starlight fell.
The vast corridor formed by this silver radiance rose from the great altar and extended toward the staggered starry sky.
Poseidon held the silver light-formed spiral staircase and ascended, walking leisurely through the river of stars.
At the end of the star river, a silver vortex turned without pause, extending outward in thousands of spiral arms.
And at the very center of the starlight vortex, a silver-white metal engine approximately one hundred meters tall, its outer shell inscribed with dense nameless incantations and the principles of technological construction, pulsed and beat like a heart.
At this moment, Poseidon stepped forward, placed his hand on the silver-white metal engine, and slowly spoke.
"The true answer is. They not only developed their own civilization.
They even used the Gods as a template and created Gods of their own!"
In an instant, light-pattern niches rose from the star river along the way.
Twelve mechanical colossal Gods of varying forms and designs were arrayed on both sides, standing in towering, imposing rows!
(End of Chapter)