Chapter 246 Sister Ya is still your Sister Ya (4.1k)
At this moment, Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, who suddenly appeared in the forest, took a look at the mess on the ground, glanced at the two culprits in front of her, and spoke unhappily.
"You guys have messed up my garden like this, how can I not come back?"
Being caught red-handed, Loen couldn't help but smile awkwardly. Just as he was about to defend himself as usual, he heard the noisy sound of armor rubbing against each other outside the garden.
Obviously, since the [maze barrier] was destroyed by the Talisman of Destruction of All Laws, the noise made by him and Melinoe inevitably attracted some attention.
"What are you standing there for? Bring her in!"
As Persephone in front of him frowned and waved, Lorne woke up as if from a dream. He quickly picked up Melinoe from the ground and ran into the elegant building that the Queen of the Underworld pointed to.
A faint floral scent wafts through the delicate beaded curtains. The warm-toned interior that is out of place in the underworld, as well as the freshly washed velvet bedding, all prove that this seems to be the bedroom of the Queen of the Underworld.
Loen carefully opened an empty wardrobe nearby, carried the unconscious Melinoe in, restrained his breath, and hid quietly.
Soon, accompanied by the cold scolding of the Queen of the Underworld, the guards of the Underworld who came to the garden to investigate the situation retreated in disgrace.
About a quarter of an hour later, light footsteps entered the bedroom, followed by a faint voice.
"Come out, they've already left."
After hearing the permission, Lorne pushed open the tightly closed wardrobe door, quietly came out from inside, and scratched his head with a wry smile.
"I'm sorry to trouble you again."
"Don't be so polite, sit down and talk."
Persephone responded nonchalantly, then put down the solid wooden tray in her hand and motioned a guest from the ground to sit down and taste it.
However, when Loen looked at the delicate snacks and a pot of fragrant fruit wine on the tray, he couldn't help but murmur.
It seems like we can’t just eat random food from the underworld, right?
As if she had read someone's mind, Persephone rolled her eyes at Lorne and snorted softly.
"Don't worry, I brewed these myself in my own garden. They won't have any adverse effects on you."
Then, the Queen of the Underworld paused and her voice became low.
"Besides, I've already suffered a loss once because of this, how could I let you make the same mistake again?"
Hearing the sadness in Persephone's tone, Loen couldn't bear it, and hurriedly sat down at the table. Putting aside his worries, he grabbed some snacks and fruit wine, and ate and drank heartily, not forgetting to praise the cooking skills of the Queen of the Underworld.
"This sweet-scented osmanthus cake is sweet and sticky, and tastes really good; the fruit wine is sour and delicious, and has a light floral scent. Did you add wild honey?"
"Um."
The cold expression on the Queen's face melted away, she smiled and nodded, looking across with gentle eyes and whispered instructions.
"Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you."
"I haven't tasted such delicious snacks for a long time. I couldn't help myself for a moment. I'm sorry to make you laugh."
After finishing a pot of fruit wine and most of a plate of snacks, Lorne wiped his mouth and smiled cheerfully, as if a child had returned home.
The warmth emanating from the gestures of the person opposite her made the Queen of the Underworld more and more satisfied. She stood up and cleared the plates on the table while scolding him with a hint of anger.
"Since you have already escaped from Hades, why are you running back?"
"Of course I'm worried about you..."
Loen blurted out the worry hidden in his heart, and then a shy smile appeared on his face.
"Besides, I will come back to see you. I promised."
Persephone smiled at that, warmth filling her eyes.
"You are a trustworthy person, unlike Sisyphus, who is so smooth-talking."
"What's wrong with him?"
"Not long ago, Charon cried to me. He risked his life to send you out of Hades, but after Sisyphus was caught, he refused to pay him. He also said that he had no money but only his life. As long as he could defeat Thanatos, Charon would do whatever he wanted with him."
"This is really like that guy's style..."
Luo En smiled bitterly and silently mourned for Brother Jia Qian for his empty-handed efforts.
That guy Sisyphus is a real tough guy. He has fooled many gods, not to mention Charon.
Moreover, he estimated that there was a high probability that he would not be able to escape if caught this time, so he was naturally unwilling to bleed huge sums of money for this.
As for the oath he made to the Skettis River, he was not afraid of it as he was under divine punishment.
If Charon really had the ability to rescue Sisyphus and collect the debt from him despite the punishment from Zeus, the king of gods, Hades, the god of the underworld, and Thanatos, the god of death, he would not have been reduced to being a ferryman of the Styx who took leftovers from the mouths of the dead.
And if one day he manages to escape from trouble, Sisyphus will definitely change his mind when he needs the money-giving brother Charon again.
After telling the funny story, Loen and the Queen of the Underworld smiled at each other, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.
When Persephone accidentally saw a trace of osmanthus cake crumbs left on Lorne's mouth, she subconsciously stood up, took out a handkerchief, and walked forward to wipe off the food residue for him.
As her fingertips touched the skin temperature and facial contours of the young male god, the suppressed emotions in the Queen of the Underworld could no longer be controlled and flowed out. She held up the ambiguous face with both hands, tears welled up in her eyes, and she murmured.
"My little Zagreus..."
Being stared at and touched by a mother who had lost her son, Lorne suddenly twisted his body uncomfortably. Finally, he could no longer resist the moral condemnation in his heart and smiled bitterly.
"I'm sorry, I think you got the wrong person."
Hearing this, Persephone did not get angry, but raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes and sighed softly.
"Of course I know you are not him. After all, as a mother, how could I easily mistake my child?"
Then, the Queen of the Underworld paused, a look of deep sadness appearing on her face.
"Moreover, given the character of the God King, how could he leave any hidden dangers behind as long as he took action? Whether it was the former Boros or my little Zagreus, they no longer exist. What you inherited was only the "Possibility" planted by Hecate. I know this better than anyone else."
When Luo En heard this, he narrowed his eyes and spoke seriously.
"Can you tell me in detail what you said?"
"That woman didn't tell you anything? As expected..."
Persephone sneered and shook her head, looking at Lorne in front of her with a little pity, and asked in a deep voice.
"Did you know that after the Titan War, there was a divergence in the destiny that the world had woven for the gods?"
Lorne's eyes flickered and he spoke tentatively.
"Is it because Zeus devoured Metis, the original goddess of wisdom?"
Persephone nodded slightly and revealed the secrets hidden in the darkness in a deep voice.
"In the original Chaos, three original gods were born: Father Uranus, Mother Gaia, and Old Sea God Pontus. They were the first generation of Titans, representing the embodiment of life and matter, responsible for reproduction and creation in the new World.
The goddess of night, Nyx, was conceived last. She is the embodiment of rules, responsible for defining the inevitable order for the [world] and weaving the inner [texture]..."
Lorne listened quietly and nodded secretly.
In the original texts of Orphism (Dionysus), Nyx was born from the primordial [Chaos] and was regarded as the supreme god of the three goddesses. She also possessed three different super-god identities: Ananke, the goddess of destiny, Adrastia, the goddess of retribution, and Hermamene, the goddess of cause and effect.
According to the ancient pantheon of esoteric Buddhism, she is the original origin. Her three aspects correspond to the three ancient gods: Father Uranus, Mother Gaia, and Old Sea God Pontus. Together, they constitute the inside and outside of the world, guiding the world in the dark, and representing the inevitable destiny of all things.
"Matter creates and enriches the world, and rules formulate and reveal destiny. This is how it should be."
Persephone pondered for a moment and sighed softly.
"But every generation of Titan God Kings was unwilling to fall asleep and hand over their responsibilities and authority to the next generation after completing the great work of creation. Therefore, they always resisted the arrangement of fate openly or secretly, either suppressing the growth of their children with tyranny or swallowing their children... However, their two resistances to fate failed without any surprise."
"Until Zeus showed up?"
Lorne made the transition at the right moment, and Persephone nodded slightly and continued to ponder.
"In order to overthrow the rule of the previous Titan King Kronos and continue to weave the [Destiny], Nyx once helped the previous Queen of Gods Rhea, allowing the newly born Zeus to escape the fate of being devoured, and secretly raised him for a period of time.
In the process, Zeus successfully won the favor of the goddess of night with a harmless image, and learned from her how to fight against fate.
——In every generation of the God King's bloodline, there must be a [Seed of Destiny] to guide the inevitable change of kingship. Swallowing it can end the change of kingship and make oneself a part of destiny."
Lorne listened to Persephone's explanation, his eyes thoughtful.
The secret texts of Orphism did mention that Nyx was Zeus's adoptive mother, and it seemed that she accidentally leaked the secret of "transcendence" during her contact with the king of gods.
The specific answer is self-evident.
"So, Zeus found the [seed] - the unborn son of him and the goddess of wisdom, Poros? And devoured both mother and son?"
"That's right."
Persephone nodded and continued.
"But this also led to a self-contradiction in [Fate]. Nyx, who maintained [Order], split. The part that agreed to support Zeus' will turned into the three goddesses of fate, continuing to be responsible for weaving the [Pattern] of [Inevitability]. The other part turned into the three-phase Hecate, trying to pry open this corrupted [Order] and reshape the future with [Possibilities]..."
"But, wasn't Poros, the god of opportunity who represents that [possibility], swallowed and wiped out by Zeus?"
Hearing the confusion raised by Lorne, Persephone corrected slightly.
"Strictly speaking, Zeus only eliminated one option for Boros, not all [possibilities]. Someone took the [spark of rebellion] out of Zeus' body."
Luo En narrowed his eyes and suddenly realized
"Is it Athena?"
"Um."
Persephone nodded, then spoke in a sad tone.
"Later, under the guidance of my godmother, this [possibility] was poured into my child Zagreus. But the [fate] that had already become a foregone conclusion was too powerful. The birth of Zagreus set off discordant ripples in the [inevitability], and was eventually discovered by Zeus and the three goddesses of fate. My poor little Zagreus became a victim of their struggle and died an untimely death. I only learned about this later."
No wonder the Queen of the Underworld had such a big complaint against Hecate and disliked that godmother.
It seems that it was mostly because his son Zagreus became a victim of the conflict between Hecate and the three goddesses of fate.
Just as Lorne was about to say a few words of comfort, Persephone gave him a meaningful look and spoke softly.
"However, the matter did not end there. Someone rescued Zagreus's [heart] and allowed it to continue the flame in the mortal world."
"Hecate?"
"No, Hecate had already failed once. At that time, she was targeted by the three goddesses of fate and Zeus, so she had no chance to take action. It was Athena who really took action. She rescued Zagreus' heart and secretly preserved part of the child's mind."
"?"
"What's the big deal? If this possibility is lost, her mother Metis will never have a chance to escape from Zeus' mind. The goddess of wisdom certainly has her reasons for doing this."
Persephone waved her hand nonchalantly, then looked at Lorne with a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"But, no matter how hard Athena and I tried, my poor little Zagreus, like her brother Poros, ultimately could not escape the calamity brought by fate, leaving only this [possibility] to you."
After hearing this, Luo En fell into a brief silence.
He probably guessed how that part of Zagreus' mind was gone.
His unexpected appearance caused the destined baby to be born prematurely from the womb of Semele, the Theban princess, which aroused Zeus' suspicion.
Just as Persephone said, when the King of Gods takes action, with the assistance of the three goddesses of fate, there will generally be no hidden dangers.
Therefore, the part of Zagreus' mind that was supposed to develop into the future god of wine Dionysus was completely destroyed by Zeus' thunderbolt.
And he, thanks to Zagros's subconscious that blocked the bullet and his own special characteristics that did not belong to this world, luckily escaped.
"I didn't expect that my godmother, who had been with me all this time, would find you again and still want to throw you into this gambling game."
Persephone reached out and touched Lorne's head, her face showing pity and sadness.
"What an unfortunate child..."
Then, the Queen of the Underworld paused slightly and looked surprised while interacting with Luo En.
"You seem to have the scent of Athena on you. Has she found you?"
Loen was slightly stunned, and subconsciously manifested the incarnation of [Bull].
"You mean this?"
Persephone nodded immediately, her eyes becoming even sadder.
"Yes, my little Zagreus once transformed into a similar bull incarnation in an attempt to escape from the Titans who attacked him, but was eventually dismembered and killed."
“……!”
Hearing this, a bolt of lightning flashed through Luo En's mind, his face changed drastically, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
(End of this chapter)
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