Alexander opened his mouth as if to retort, but the evidence Hermes had listed, especially the final accusation regarding the timing of intelligence, had nearly cornered him.
He fell silent. The mask of the 'hero' gradually faded from his face, replaced by a certain gloom and coldness after exposure.
He looked at Hermes, then at the heroes around him with their varied expressions, and finally, as if surrendering, his shoulders relaxed slightly, and he let out a resigned sigh.
"So, the biggest flaw was in the body."
He shrugged helplessly.
"Should I stop pretending?" Hermes looked at him playfully.
"No need." Alexander—now Zeus—shrugged.
"Alright, then. Care to explain how you pulled it off?" Hermes got straight to the point.
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Zeus looked up in surprise.
"?"
"Heh..." The corner of his mouth twitched.
"It seems my all-powerful brother is not omniscient after all. Such a major oversight, and it's with him."
"What is it?" Hermes asked, his eyes gleaming beneath his hat's brim.
Zeus took two steps, the charred dust crunching faintly under his boots.
He looked at the dark crimson tint within the sacred flame, then glanced at Jason's remains, his eyes indifferent, as if they were just insignificant background.
"Have you not truly discovered the most fundamental and ironic basis of my 'perfect disguise'?"
He turned to the group, his tone mocking.
"To be precise, you never delved into the prophecy that has long circulated in the divine realm—about the goddess Thetis. Where does its true terror lie?"
"The prophecy?" Thalia repeated subconsciously, frowning.
"You mean... 'Thetis will bear a son mightier than his father'? But hasn't that already been circumvented? Thetis became Aphrodite, and Poseidon used a trick to—"
"'Circumvented'?" Zeus interrupted with a short, sharp laugh.
"Foolish. If the power of a prophecy could be so easily 'circumvented', it wouldn't be a prophecy. Thetis indeed became Aphrodite, changing her 'essence' and acquiring a new divinity, thereby escaping the prophecy's lock on her 'own future'. But—"
He deliberately drew out his tone, his gaze sweeping over Odysseus and Heracles, whose faces were beginning to change.
"The power of the prophecy did not disappear. It is like the most stubborn mark, still deeply imprinted on the body of the 'sea goddess Thetis'. As long as that vessel exists, as long as it is used for the act of 'conception', then the offspring born will, in any case, fulfill the prophecy of being 'mightier than the father'."
He extended a hand, as if tracing the silhouette of a body in the void, a look of extremely unpleasant reminiscence and possessive desire in his eyes.
"The original body of Thetis... where did it go?" He asked himself and answered, lowering his voice with a kind of blasphemous intimacy.
"She didn't destroy it. After all, it was the foundation of her existence for hundreds of millions of years. I simply 'preserved' it properly, thinking it could rest peacefully."
Hermes's face was utterly cold, the disgust in his eyes almost overflowing. "You found that body and... used it."
Zeus admitted frankly, albeit with a hint of boastfulness.
"By my estimation—it's quite... accommodating. Truly... it has a unique quality. Moreover, it is the perfect 'vessel' and 'matrix'. When I poured my seed into it, the prophecy began to operate automatically, ensuring that the 'product' born from this union possessed the 'potential' to surpass the concept of the father, 'Zeus'."
He pointed to his current body, the body of 'Alexander'. "Thus, 'Alexander' was born. From the root, he carried the prophetic blessing and curse of 'surpassing Zeus'. This body is naturally gifted, grows rapidly, possesses an innate affinity for thunder, and can even unconsciously attract the sacred beasts of Zeus... It all makes sense. He is the most perfect 'son of Zeus' and the most perfect 'disguise'. Who would suspect that a child destined to 'surpass' his father is, in fact, the father himself?"
The air in the temple seemed to freeze.
Heracles's fists clenched and unclenched, the veins on his forehead bulging.
In matters of men and women, he held no particular moral high ground, but to use a goddess's discarded body, to toy with prophecy, to treat the birth of offspring solely as a tool and a disguise... The coldness and calculation in such an act made him sick.
Odysseus's closed eyes trembled slightly, as if trying to suppress his emotions.
The faces of Theseus and the other heroes were also extremely ugly.
Eros covered her mouth, her small face full of shock and discomfort.
Thalia felt a chill and murmured, "So... you were Zeus from the very beginning? The so-called unification of Greece, the resistance to theocracy—it was all just a performance?"
"Necessary prelude." Zeus corrected, his voice flat.
"I needed a plausible, powerful persona to interfere to the extent of attracting the attention and fear of that other Zeus. A 'son of Zeus', full of potential and rebelling against the patriarchal order—that was perfect. He could gather strength, create chaos, and become a problem that Zeus had to deal with, before I was thrown into this world."
He looked at Hermes, a deep smile on his face. "As for how to make this disguise flawless, to the point where even my suspicious brother couldn't fully see through it at first... that is thanks to Hades's own carelessness."
Hermes's eyes narrowed. "The 'Foundation of Gaia'?"
"Yes, the perfect disguise artifact, forged by the Goddess of Wisdom and the Earth Goddess. Theoretically, only three copies exist." Zeus nodded.
"Gaia's share was originally in her hands, later passed to Poseidon, where he used it to create Aphrodite. Metis's share, which she considers a symbol of her bond with Hades, she almost never leaves, and I could never touch it. Then there was the last remaining one..."
"The Father of Gods' share." Hermes finished the thought, a note of clarity and absurdity already in his voice.
"But how could you possibly obtain the Father's share?"
A look of mockery and bewilderment crossed Zeus's face.
"I find it strange too. Didn Hades never study and safeguard his own artifact? He actually turned his into a ring."
"A ring?" Thalia interjected, struggling to keep up.
"An unassuming obsidian ring, worn on the ring finger of his left hand." Zeus gestured.
"Of course, it could be some kind of camouflage, or a personal preference, though I do find wearing such a precious artifact daily a bit casual. But the part I could never understand came later."
He paused, as if recalling something unbelievable. "Later, for some unknown reason, Hades severed the ring finger of his left hand. He used the primordial divine power of that finger to create Atlas. And the ring, transformed from the 'Foundation of Gaia', naturally followed the finger... Heh."
Hermes was silent.
So this was the secret hidden within!
Was Father Hades truly careless? Or... was it intentional? The thought sent a tremor through his heart.
Zeus didn't notice the momentary shift in Hermes's thoughts and continued, his tone becoming relaxed, even a little proud. "In that sense, it became much simpler. Facing Hades himself, I naturally wouldn't dare to take that ring. But Atlas—I'm not afraid of him."