Chapter 50 Shock
“…My dear Hermes.”
Triton led Hermes to the shore of the strait, where the sea was calm and a huge whirlpool on the side created a strange sense of harmony.
The sky above was a deep color, reflecting the crystal-clear blue sea—oh, of course, this is just a figment of imagination.
Hermes sat on the rock, tilting her head to look at the mermaid prince beside her in the damp sea breeze.
Triton looked so quiet. The melancholy that had been evident from the first moment he was seen still lingered in his amber-colored peach blossom eyes. What had he gone through to make him so hard to change?
"This is the habitat of some siren, isn't it?" Hermes asked, her natural powers were incredibly strong, and her senses for monsters were always keen.
Triton nodded: "Yes, Scylla lives here."
Scylla, a sea monster, has a huge and bizarre body with six heads and twelve legs, and a cat's tail growing from her buttocks.
Scylla was not originally a terrifying monster, but a beautiful water nymph, one of the many children of the primordial sea gods Phorcys and Ceto. She was born of the Gorgons and the Greières, who shared an eye and a tooth with her siblings.
Legend has it that Scylla was transformed into a monster by Circe, daughter of Helios, the sun god, or perhaps by Amphitrite, the sea goddess. She dwells in straits and whirlpools, tearing apart any weak life that passes through them.
Perhaps this is an unbreakable curse.
Hermes couldn't understand why Triton had chosen to bring her to such a place. Did he think it was interesting and fun?
So far, the terrifying sea monster hasn't come to cause them any trouble, so everything is fine. Even if something does happen, she's confident she can handle it; how could a monster possibly defeat a deity who is a chief god?
Only the weak and pitiful human beings are helplessly persecuted by monsters, ultimately dying in despair.
Thinking of this, Hermes sighed.
If Athena and Prometheus knew that the humans they created were still struggling to survive, they would surely be heartbroken.
“I always wanted to bring you to a peaceful and tranquil place, with the sea and the sunset, with birds and fish, where perhaps pure and harmless little flowers would grow, clinging to the steep cliffs and blooming in the wind,” Triton said slowly, his tone flat and drawn-out, his voice low and husky, drawing attention to the sharp teeth that were slightly visible at the corners of his lips. “No one will ever discover this place, because its guardian is a lonely and solitary fellow like myself.”
...
...Could your kind be the siren Scylla?
Hermes was somewhat bewildered.
Is it still Scylla?
"right."
Triton raised his eyes and gazed at the setting sun in the distance.
The golden and red colors are reflected on the rippling sea, creating a distorted yet stunning picture.
"So beautiful!" Hermes exclaimed. "Such natural scenery!"
Triton curled his lips into a smile, his colorful fishtail flapping on the waves, creating tiny splashes.
Hermes' calves and bare feet, exposed outside her sandals, were splashed by the cool water, causing her to squint and chuckle a few times in the gentle sea breeze.
That carefree and joyful appearance was so dazzling, so adorable that it melted his heart.
“Hermes.” But Triton still asked aloud, “Do you believe that Scylla was turned into a monster by my mother?”
"Haha—cough cough cough cough!!!"
Hermes was startled, her eyes widening as she stared at the merman prince who had uttered such a strange statement.
But he still looked completely calm.
"What?" she asked in surprise and doubt. "What... what are you saying? How would I know..."
The fun playtime was ruined, Triton!
Do you know what you just said?!
“I’m sorry.” Triton shifted his gaze from the distant sunset to the girl’s face beside him. “But I think that might also be the reason why my mother is sad.”
"..."
Hermes felt quite upset right now, really, because this inexplicable topic was making her feel a little suffocated.
The Sea Emperor's family affairs are far too complicated.
“...Listen, Triton.”
Hermes picked up the golden scepter that was placed to the side and threw it into the sea at her feet, letting the splashing water get all over her body—and Triton's, of course.
"Sometimes, things are not as simple as we imagine. Even if we think about them and do them, the final outcome is not what we want."
As the golden scepter floated on the rippling sea, its dazzling, fantastical colors dimmed.
The beauty of sunset gradually fades away.
Triton turned his head and looked around, his eyes filled with a hint of confusion.
"so."
Hermes retrieved her scepter, which leaped from the sea, and small blue snakes grew from its shaft, falling into the water and meandering into the sea.
She took a deep breath and silently commanded the serpent spirits to search for the melancholy goddess in the sea.
"Live in the moment and enjoy life to the fullest, my dearest friend."
Hermes subtly warned Triton not to delve into his mother's past, even though they didn't know the truth.
As for Scylla?
Who cares!
"..."
Triton was silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. The fin on the side of his head twitched slightly, making him look rather cute.
Hermes' eyes lit up. She couldn't help but reach out and touch Triton's fin. When she touched the slightly cool, smooth object, she felt it tremble slightly.
"ah."
Triton recoiled in fright, clutching his fins, his eyes wide with terror as he stared at Hermes, who was completely stunned.
"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" Hermes said apologetically, clasping her hands together. "Because you are so beautiful, I couldn't control myself..."
Triton's cheeks flushed slightly; he always couldn't resist her when she looked like that.
He enjoyed being praised by her and being valued by her, even if her attitude had ulterior motives.
So Triton plucked a scale from his own fish tail and handed it to Hermes.
"This is a gift for you, Hermes."
Hermes: "!!!"
Hermes was shocked. She hadn't expected Triton to be so honest; he actually plucked his own fish scales and gave them to her!
"Why?" Hermes didn't take the colorful scales immediately. She stared at the specks of blood on the Triton's tail, feeling extremely distressed.
What she cherished was his entire fishtail, not the worthless fragment.
Such a dark thought suddenly surfaced in my mind.
Hermes was startled by her own immoral thoughts; she seemed to be acting strangely again.
“You won’t accept it? I thought…” A hint of disappointment flickered in Triton’s amber eyes. He clenched his fists, tightening his grip on the fish scale in his hand. “I thought you liked it and wanted it.”
It turns out he really did know what she was thinking.
Hermes hesitated for a moment, then waved her scepter, sending the natural divine power emanating from it toward the fish scale held by Triton.
Triton, thinking she had accepted it, let go of her hand.
But the green light carried his scales into the sea and disappeared.
Triton was stunned.
“So didn’t I already say that?” Hermes withdrew her scepter and smiled at the innocent mermaid prince. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the pink conch shell tied to his waist. “Sometimes, things are not as we imagine them to be.”
She was a skilled hunter, inherently greedy and cruel.
But her heart was not filthy or dirty.
“I don’t possess Apollo’s superb medical skills, so I cannot heal your injured fishtail,” Hermes said. “But I can make it sink into your homeland and become a dazzling gem—which, of course, is you yourself! Perhaps you can even go and find out where it’s hidden!”
What is she saying?
Triton blinked, a hint of amusement mixed with anticipation.
Hermes may never know that she regarded him as a precious treasure, but in his eyes, she was the same.
It was as if they were in love with each other.
Thinking of this, Triton felt his heart race wildly. However, it only lasted a few seconds before returning to its normal rhythm.
Because he remembered that Hermes was supposed to be in love with the Olympian god of light.
He could tell that she treated Apollo differently.
Hermes suddenly said, "I really want to meet Her Majesty the Sea Queen."
"..."
“Ah, please don’t mind, because I think…” Hermes closed her eyes, the curve of her lips as warm as the sun, “I think Her Majesty the Sea Queen must be very perfect, otherwise how could she have given birth to such a strong and beautiful child as you?”
But Amphitrite often cried sadly.
It seems that not every mother is satisfied with her childbirth.
This led Hermes to think of Pan and Perius, the latter of whom paid the ultimate price with his life.
However, Pan is different from Triton, because Pan is clearly wicked by nature and is a complete monster. Moreover, this monster is different from Scylla, the Gorgon sisters, or Echidna.
Hermes's powerful divine abilities did not entirely originate from Gaia, the Earth Mother. She was already a powerful deity even when she was still in Maia's womb—which was one of the reasons Gaia chose her.
For example, she can always cleverly resolve various difficulties and achieve her goals; she can also quickly detect something is wrong and try her best to explore and solve it.
Hermes had discovered unusual clues in the human settlements of Delphi, where ordinary humans were secretly reading papyrus scrolls inscribed with strange runes in the dead of night. So she carefully dispersed a wisp of her divine consciousness in a corner where Apollo's light could not reach, and kept this other 'her' lurking in the shadows of Delphi.
She must find the dangerous monsters and secrets, whether to destroy them or to make them work for her.
At the same time, she also anticipated that there must be a deity involved.
Some time ago, Hermes' mother, Maya, was unwilling to tell her why Hera would visit the cave in Kulenne in the dead of night, or what new and special secrets were contained in their private conversation.
That night, Hermes said to Maya, "I will use my power to dispel all my doubts."
The gods were completely unaware of this and could hardly fathom Hermes's cunning. They always thought that since she was already so clever and despicable, there must be limits to everything, so what else could she possibly do?
That requires asking Pan and Thanatos, the god of death.
After Hermes punished Pan for his disrespect towards Periuse, she handed over her shepherding duties to Pan, allowing him to rightfully inherit the position of the god of shepherd and her natural divine powers.
As she carried him through the boundless sky, she showed him all the lands, islands, and seas on earth, and told him about all the entrances to the underworld.
When her avatars handed over their duties to Thanatos, who faithfully performed his task of severing the souls of the dying, she left countless seeds on him. One of these seeds would allow her to clearly perceive all the signs of the underworld without his knowledge.
“Next time,” Triton said. “The next time you come to play with me, I will take you to see my mother goddess.”
Triton had always lived by the vast ocean, and he knew that Hermes was not only a god of heaven and earth, but also a god of darkness.
The only stories he had heard about her, besides the Olympian gods, were about her successfully entering the underworld with Apollo and bringing Persephone back to the surface.
"So you must come and visit me often, Hermes."
Triton stared intently at the god of deception and theft, whose face wore an innocent smile, secretly suppressing his own little schemes deep in his heart.
—If she is so amazing, then if she also became a member of the ocean, wouldn't my mother and I no longer be so sentimental?
Sirens are extremely selfish, selfish, and cruel creatures.
Triton, who is both a god and a siren, may appear kind on the surface, but he retains this nature deep down, just like his arrogant and conceited father.
They also have another thing in common: concealment and patience.
After bidding farewell to Triton, Hermes rose from the rock and turned to look.
Sure enough, her eldest son and older brother were quietly waiting there, presumably having been there for quite some time.
"How was it? This trip to the sea must have been much more interesting than the last one, right?" Hermes flew over and said with a grin, "I see that you two can get along well, so you must have gained a lot!"
Apollo nodded calmly and replied indifferently, "Indeed."
The goat boy, whose head was being pressed down by his large hand, crossed his arms and turned his head away, for the first time not rushing into his mother's arms.
"Hmph," Pan complained sourly, "I wasn't even born then."
Hermes smiled at this and reached out to pinch her silly son's cheek.
Pan squinted his eyes, thoroughly enjoying himself, which improved his mood somewhat.
"But every day from now on, I will spend happily with you, my dear Mother Goddess!" The silly boy was overjoyed, his obedient and cuddly appearance was incredibly cute.
"Good boy." Hermes was also pleased, after all, the child was becoming easier to control.
Determined to disrupt this scene of maternal love and filial piety, Apollo produced a colorful scale entwined by a green snake, which was from the mermaid prince's fish tail.
Under the dark night sky, the beautiful fish scales emitted a faint glow, like fireflies that have faded away after a summer night.
While defective products may not be as valuable as perfect originals, they are not necessarily worthless.
“The Sea God is the ruler of the ocean; he can raise or lower the waves and currents and control all the creatures of the sea. So his child can do the same.” Apollo handed the fish scale to Hermes, his light shining as brightly as the daytime even in the darkness. “Do you remember how Triton summoned those mermaid servants?”
Hermes took the fish scale that originally belonged to Triton and replied with great interest, "How could I possibly forget?"
The pink conch shell that Triton always wore around his waist was a symbol of his role as a messenger of the sea.
Triton was not only the prince of the sea, but also the messenger of Poseidon's will. He inherited his father's status, bloodline, and power.
Even at their first meeting, Hermes had this peculiar idea—that Triton, by blowing the conch shell, could not only spread information in the sea, but also create and destroy things.
The mermaid prince is both a god and a sea monster, and the other sea monsters obey his commands as if they were Poseidon.
During her time with Triton, Hermes became increasingly certain of her thoughts and opinions.
Yes, she suspected that Triton was also involved in the siren's rampage.
Even though she considered him a close friend.
"However, there's one thing I'm curious about."
Apollo watched as Hermes carefully examined the fish scales held aloft in the moonlight, and suddenly parted his thin lips to voice his question.
"When did you decide to take action against Triton?"
This is a very intriguing question.
Because the definition of 'taking action' is vague and unclear.
Pan suddenly opened his eyes wide and glared angrily at the cunning and despicable Apollo.
Hermes paused for a moment, then tilted her head and brought the fish scale in her hand to her lips.
She planted a light kiss on it.
"How important is it?" the God of Deception and Theft said to the God of Light with a smile. "As long as the final goal can be achieved, then everything else is irrelevant!"
"Besides, you probably don't know when I started to like you, right?"
...
...
...
Apollo: "?"
Pan: "???"
Huh? What kind of nonsense is that?!
Apollo was shocked, and Pan was shocked too—did she know what she was saying?!
"You..." Apollo became unusually nervous and cautious, even lowering his voice, because his heart was filled with a mixture of confusion and surprise. "You just—"
Is what you just said true?
Before I could even ask the question, I was interrupted.
"Of course, that's just an analogy~" Hermes chuckled as she swallowed the fish scale, storing this important token of Triton's power in her stomach. "How could I possibly like my arrogant and hypocritical brother Apollo?"
Even if your temple collapses, Brother Apollo, I still won't fall in love with you, hee hee hee!
Apollo: "..."
Give him back his surprise and excitement, you brat.
Pan gloated as he watched Apollo, the unlucky fellow, turn as black as dirt in anger. This time, he didn't even need to say a word or make sarcastic remarks.
“Did you hear that, dear Uncle Apollo!” Pana’s beaming smile was just like his mother’s. “My Mother Goddess—will never—love you!”
Apollo: "..."
He really didn't want to stay in this world full of brats any longer.
"Whatever." But Apollo still said, "I can have whatever I want."
Hermes: "?"
Pan: "???"
You're taking turns being shocked, aren't you?!
Apollo, however, looked away and added indifferently, "I will move your statue to the main hall of my Temple at Delphi, so that you may stand shoulder to shoulder with me."
Seemingly finding Hermes's chin almost touching the ground rather amusing, Apollo shifted his gaze back, a hint of amusement in his light blue eyes.
"That's how it's known to everyone."
Whether it's my feelings or the unfulfilled promise between you and me... well, let's leave that aside for now.
Apollo paused for a moment, seemingly hesitant, but he still made up his mind to say the embarrassing words.
“…My dear Hermes.”
And his tone was somewhat low, with a hint of stickiness.
It sounded like whispered conversations between lovers.
Hermes: "!!!"
Pan: "?!!"
Pan, who loved his mother dearly, could no longer bear it. He was about to curse the gods when he felt a gust of wind flash past him.
Pan looked up in astonishment and saw Hermes' figure shooting straight into the sky and disappearing into the dark night sky with a violent tornado.
"Wait, wait! Mother Goddess, where are you going? Take me with you!"
Faced with this scene, the culprit Apollo shrugged and whistled to summon his swan chariot.
Apollo slung his leg over the carriage, not forgetting to give the humiliated and indignant poor Pan Lin one last look, a smile playing on his lips in high spirits.
"Aren't you Hermes's proudest child?" Apollo, as despicable and cunning as Hermes, even mimicked her smiling eyes, mocking her with a highly provocative tone, "Then you can surely fly into the sky like her and catch up with her before I do, can't you?"
After speaking, the God of Light, radiant with golden light, drove his swan chariot into the sky and sped away in the direction where the God of Deception and Theft had departed.
The goat boy, abandoned by the two, stood alone in the strait, his cheeks flushed red from the damp, cold sea breeze.
This is a humiliating disgrace, unforgivable!
"……hateful."
Pan looked at the night sky, which seemed to be mocking him as well; the glittering moon and stars were truly an eyesore.
"Damn you, you bastard Apollo!"
"Don't be so arrogant! She clearly said she doesn't like you!"
The Mother Goddess will always belong to Tapan!
Pan clenched his fists and vowed in his heart that he would work twice as hard as before to grow up so that he could firmly grasp everything he wanted.
Before that...
Pan, seething with anger and on the verge of losing his breath, turned his head and glared angrily at the huge whirlpool on the other side of the strait.
Before that, he needed to find a suitable evil guy—like that bastard Apollo.
He wanted to teach the sea monster that had caused all this trouble a lesson to vent his anger, and ideally, he would also absorb and deprive that wretched sea monster of all its life and power.
Even though this is the domain of Poseidon, the sea god, he has no fear!
Apollo, who was enjoying another chase with Hermes in the sky, clicked his tongue. His hearing was excellent, and he heard all of Pan's shouts and yells below.
How exactly did that brat raise her son? Such a rude and unruly child will definitely suffer a great deal in the future!
If it were him who was in charge of educating him, Pan would definitely be thrown into monster habitats all over the world, and this kid would be toughened up in blood and tears!
As expected, Hermes is too soft-hearted.
As Apollo muttered these thoughts to himself, he searched for the direction Hermes had gone.
The Goddess of Speed is too fast; every time, he has to expend a great deal of effort to keep up with her pace.
However, this tug-of-war is not entirely meaningless.
At least after discovering his feelings for Hermes, Apollo's attitude towards her changed from annoyance and dissatisfaction to enjoyment and anticipation.
Hopefully, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, will show him mercy once she learns of this.
Apollo's eyes narrowed slightly as he mentally conjured up sweet nothings for Hermes when he finally caught her. Yes, thanks to that brat, he'd become quite shameless, caught in the web of love.
If a sweet, cloying "darling" can garner such a huge response, then...
Suddenly, Apollo sensed something unusual—an instinctive feeling that came from being the god of light who dispels all evil.
He stopped the chariot and looked down.
That is the Cilicia region of the coastal peninsula.
*****
Meanwhile, inside the underwater palace, several deities stood by long floor-to-ceiling windows. This was a side hall, far from the main palace, a place rarely visited by anyone.
Queen Amphitrite lived here.
When she heard soft sobs coming from the room made of crystal and coral once again, the blue-skinned sea goddess was slightly moved and sighed softly under her foster mother's gaze.
“My noble sister should not have done this,” Thetis murmured sadly. “She has never been to Naxos since she married Poseidon.”
Upon hearing this, Hera patted the head of her daughter, who was trembling and clinging to her waist, her dignified and beautiful face still bearing a smile.
Herb bit her lower lip. She was very worried and scared, but at least this time she didn't bury her face in her mother's skirt.
She wanted to be as brave and clever as her sister Hermes.
The equally noble Queen Goddess raised an eyebrow.
“You haven’t been there since,” Hera sighed. “What a pity! Naxos used to be filled with the laughter of you Nereid sisters. I still remember the first time we met, you were so carefree, singing and dancing!”
But that is ultimately a thing of the past, something that no longer exists.
"..."
Thetis remained silent for a moment, then tactfully changed the subject.
She always knew how to protect herself by remaining silent and neutral, but her sisters, whose lives were filled with hardship, never understood this.
“Please forgive my rudeness, Mother.” Even now, Thetis addressed Hera as her mother. “But what exactly is the task you entrusted to Maia?”
Since the end of Cronus's reign, Thetis rarely went to land or sky, let alone visit Maia, who had moved to Mount Olympus and then returned to earth to live in seclusion in the deep forests of Arcadia.
But she never forgot her, nor did she ever think of cutting off contact with her.
Even after Maia and Zeus had sex and had Hermes, Thetis risked being disliked and rejected by Hera to maintain this precious friendship with Maia.
Therefore, after taking in and raising Hephaestus, Herana's eldest son who had been thrown off the sacred mountain by Zeus, she would solemnly tell him the story of her past with Maia and tell him to respect and cherish Maia and her daughter.
When Apollo arrived at Hermes's residence on Hera's orders to retrieve Hephaestus, Thetis was still uneasy, wondering if the cunning Hera would lure Hermes into a game of chess.
It now seems that the game may have become chaotic long ago.
Hera setting aside her conflict with Maia and helping Hermes, granting her the prestigious position of chief god, could not have been caused by Hera's soft heart or any other accident.
Just as Thetis once escaped a sordid marriage that was essentially forced upon her, her sister Amphitrite was instead trapped in this restrictive snare.
Whenever Thetis thought of it, her heart ached so much she felt like she was suffocating.
But at that moment, she heard Hera chuckle and utter those nightmarish words.
“I am naturally willing to tell you the truth, my wise adopted daughter,” Hera said softly. “The destiny of the mountain goddess should not be confined to a corner of Arcadia.”
"So I sent Mayadoo out to see the outside world, Nemia, the Caucasus, Cilicia..."
Upon hearing the names of these regions, Thetis's lips trembled slightly.
No, Maya, don't—
“Perhaps there, she can find what she has just as her daughter has,” Hera said, her golden eyes, which held no hint of a smile, as she gazed at Thetis, whose face was now filled with terror. “A mission.”
That too was crafted by her and the Mother of Gods.
This provides Hermes, the chess piece, with a continuous source of power to move forward.
A terrifying stepping stone.
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