Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

He exhaled, and although the pressure from the Primordial Gods remained strong, Mother Earth, the one with whom he had a direct conflict, happened to be the weakest among them. His heart relaxed slightly as he watched the illusory scenery around him slowly dissipate, and Zeus locked onto the interface attached to Mount Olympus.

He was very curious about what was in this strange world—perhaps the treasure trove of that Otherworldly Divine King was among them. Since he still had time, he might as well probe into it.

Moreover, an interface... Zeus had many ideas about it.

...

No one knew what disaster had occurred at Olympus; the collision between worlds was silent yet vast and unpredictable.

Even Laine, far away in the Spirit Realm, only glanced strangely toward The East of the continent at the beginning.

Just now, he suddenly discovered that the authority he had left behind had inexplicably shifted locations. Although with the gestation of the new deities, he had willingly transferred the authority of Wisdom to a new deity, he had deliberately retained a part of it.

The Wisdom that remained in Zeus's mind could often produce special effects in many situations. But at this moment, for some reason, those remaining authorities suddenly lost their master and attached themselves to another deity nearby.

Not just the authority granted by Laine, even the Hydrology inherent in Metis herself was not an exception. Sensing all this, Laine tried to trace through the connection between the authorities to find out what happened, but there, he only felt two familiar forces that severed everything.

Their existence caused a rift in the dimensions of time and fate, blocking all possible probes and shrouding the events behind layers of mist.

"What's wrong, has something happened at Olympus?"

Handing back the Codex of Creation to Laine, Themis sharply noticed Laine's distracted divine mind, and the direction he was looking was precisely where Olympus was.

Thinking about the recent acts of her nephew, the goddess couldn't help but suspect he had done something again.

"Nothing much, just a minor incident. Zeus... may have obtained something special."

His eyes narrowed minimally, Laine accepted the codex. Although the world concealed everything, there were only so many possible outcomes.

Appearing at Olympus and related to the residual world power of the Nine Realms, there could be no other possibility. Zeus probably got hold of something left behind by the Nine Realms; considering that Asgard was what fell there, the source of the accident was likely Odin.

This seasoned Divine King was not like the previous two of Chaos; he had weathered many storms, presided over several wars of the gods—against the Titans, against the Vanir, and against the Land of the Dead—and had always remained steadily seated on his throne. Mimir's so-called understanding of him might only be a part of it.

Perhaps due to the rush of time, Laine hastily explored Asgard might still have some backup plans left by Odin, which all turned to naught as the world disintegrated. Now Zeus had obtained it, thereby causing today's impact.

However, compared to Zeus, what Laine was actually more concerned about was Chaos. What role did the world's will play in all this, that was what truly put him on alert. The loss of godhood in such an inexplicable manner was not something Zeus could do, but rather something triggered by the world itself under certain special circumstances.

What on earth happened to Metis that she ended up in such a plight, even the Hydrology blessed to her by the world had changed masters?

Perhaps later, he would take the opportunity to visit Olympus. After all, there were only two beings in this world who could truly threaten him now: the Flesh-Mother Tree, which seemingly inherited the world's resentment from the demise of the Nine Realms, and the world of Chaos itself.

Whether by accident or something else, he had to find out the reason.

"So it's Zeus again, he destroyed humanity in the name of Poseidon, merely because Pandora opened the box he purposely bestowed. If it wasn't for the prayer from the son of Prometheus to me, I might not have even noticed it until now."

Unaware of what Laine was thinking, the Goddess of Justice's expression was somewhat stern. Before leaving Olympus, Themis had inquired about Zeus's attitude towards humanity's deceit of the gods, and he had given her a satisfying response. Everything stemmed from Prometheus; once he was punished, humanity's guilt would be absolved.

He did follow through, and thus, the Bronze Humanity lived a few more years. But he also just found a new pretext for his own destruction, so after barely more than a decade, humanity ultimately perished because of it.

"So what will you do, question Zeus's justice as the Divine King?"

Laine mentioned it casually, then shook his head.

If it were him, Laine wouldn't care about what's reasonable or not. If he thinks you're wrong, then dealing with you is the end of it. But on one hand, Themis doesn't yet possess that kind of power, and on the other hand, her character wouldn't allow her to do such a thing.

Zeus was indeed 'entrapment enforcing,' but the one who actually took the bait was Poseidon, who approached of his own volition. Even Hades, he had previously warned not to open that box, and afterwards, he didn't deliberately target humans, but rather indiscriminately inflicted plagues and disasters upon the earth. In this situation, Themis probably doesn't have a suitable reason to do anything.

"No, although Zeus turned a blind eye to all this, silence is his right. So I am merely answering Deucalion and Pitha's prayers, and I will witness the birth of a new generation of humans. As for Poseidon..."

With a calm expression, the Goddess of Justice touched her golden sword at her waist. What she intended to do was crystal clear.

"Very well,"

Nodding, Laine ceased to concern himself with such trifles and brought up another matter.

"But apart from that, I do have something else. Since you have laid the foundation for the laws of future humans, you can't possibly solve all mortal problems by yourself."

"Even if every trial is conducted according to your request and in compliance with the rules, considering the vast future population of humans, you will probably not even have time to rest."

Since the matter with Mephisto last time, Themis had gradually realized that if she wanted to prevent similar incidents and ensure that human trials were conducted fairly, she needed to establish a standard for them.

But just like Laine said, it's impossible for her to supervise every mortal trial by herself, especially in the foreseeable future when humans with the ability to reproduce would be spread across the Earth. Even as a deity, Themis wouldn't be able to spend all her time on these matters.

"So, do you have any suggestions?"

Raising an eyebrow, Themis inquired. She knew that since Laine had brought up this matter, he must have some special idea.

"Sort of. It's also thanks to an angel under my command who gave me this idea. Perhaps you could establish a clergy to guard the fairness of trial on your behalf."

"Those mortals who resonate with your ideals, respect your actions, and are willing to offer their faith to you can be ordained with your holy emblem. They will judge the various affairs in the Mortal Realm in your name, and only truly significant events would warrant your direct gaze. And if they betray their faith, you will have a fitting reason to punish their betrayal."

With a slight smile, Laine unveiled the plan he had long considered. Across from him, the Goddess of Law nodded, but then shook her head.

"But I have nothing to give them, and even if they are my followers, I shouldn't let them serve me without compensation."

"No, you do."

Meeting Themis's gaze, Laine slowly said:

"For those who devoutly follow your path, I can take charge and present their souls to you. You can promise them that, after their death, they can enjoy various blessings in your realm and obtain a life far longer than they had before."

"But I don't have such a place... It seems you are already prepared, aren't you?"

With an inscrutable expression, Themis had already realized that Laine definitely had other plans for this matter.

However, she wasn't opposed to it, because ever since she first enacted laws thousands of years ago, while Laine did indeed gain something, she too benefited from each exchange.

"It's not about being prepared, but you just need to expend some divine power to build it. That's all."

With a subtle smile, Laine confirmed this.

"As for me, I have no other requests, except for one thing: the location of its establishment is naturally for me to decide."