Hearing Zeus confirm that the contents of both prophecies were unfavourable solidified the suspicions already forming in the minds of most of the gods gathered in the hall.
After all, while the revelation of two prophecies at the same time was unprecedented, it alone wasn't enough to justify a declaration of 'Highest Threat Level.'
However, if both prophecies were unfavourable, then such a declaration became far more understandable.
The prophecies themselves were believed to be manifestations of the will of the Cosmos, or more precisely, the Universal Sea. It was widely accepted that the prophecies sent to the various pantheons served as the Universal Sea's way of warning its inhabitants about impending events of great importance or looming danger.
Although not all prophecies were harbingers of calamity, over 90% of the confirmed ones had been.
Zeus continued to speak on the matter for a moment longer before turning toward Apollo and giving him the signal to reveal the prophecies' contents.
"I doubt we're the only ones who've received this," Apollo said. "Once you hear the contents, you'll understand why I say so. The other pantheons have most likely already received theirs and are probably in the midst of doing one of two things:
Either trying to prevent it from coming to pass, or doing everything they can to ensure it does."
The notion that some pantheons might actively seek to bring such dangerous prophecies to fruition immediately caused unrest among the assembled gods, but Apollo paid the commotion no mind. His eyes began to glow green as he continued to speak in his true voice.
On the day of black sun, as the skies darken,
All gods across all worlds shall tremble with fear,
For the one who can bring an end to them,
Shall be born.|
The moment he finished speaking, an uproar erupted throughout the hall. This reaction had been anticipated, after all, the gods were a race that reigned over most of the known universes. A prophecy foretelling the rise of a single being with the potential to bring about their downfall was far too outrageous.
Throughout the countless aeons of godly rule, there had been uprisings, rebellions, and orchestrated coups aimed at ending their dominion. Yet the success rate of these efforts was extremely low, with most ending in failure and the instigators suffering fates worse than death.
Some of these revolts had been masterminded by entities of immense power and influence, leading armies that numbered in the quintillions, yet no prophecies had ever been made concerning those events.
This was the first time a prophecy of this nature had ever been spoken, and it did not speak of an army or coalition, but of a single being.
A single being with the potential to bring about the end of the countless gods who ruled countless universes.
Such a thing was simply...absurd.
Some gods responded with outrage, some trembled in fear, and others laughed as though it were a ridiculous jest.
|Silence|
With a single word from Zeus, all the voices fell silent at once. The gods needed only one look at his expression to understand that he was furious, understandably so. This was Zeus, the one who had defied his father Kronos' rule, overthrown him, and risen to become the new Master of the Olympus Universe.
Now, he was being told that he might one day fall to a being who had not even been born yet. It would be far stranger if he weren't enraged.
Even so, he reined in his anger and instructed Apollo to recite the second prophecy.
"This one is quite strange," Apollo said. "It reads less like a vision of the future and more like a recounting of past events."
His eyes glowed again as he began to speak in his true voice, and all the gods listened intently, believing this prophecy might contain clues that shed more light on the first.
An uneventful spring night, it was,
when the paths of two beings converged.
One was a god, the other, a foe of the gods.
From their union shall be born a child of destruction,
One who may bring about his father's end.|
While Apollo was speaking, the goddess of wisdom, Athena, caught a fleeting sequence of expressions—surprise, followed by realisation, then acknowledgement—pass across the face of one of the gods seated nearby.
She could understand the initial surprise, as she herself had been taken aback by Apollo's words, but the following expressions of realisation and acknowledgement left her puzzled.
It was as if the god in question had grasped the full meaning of the prophecy, perhaps even identifying the two beings whose paths were said to have crossed.
Athena began forming several theories as to what might have prompted such a reaction, but her train of thought was interrupted when Zeus' voice echoed with a question.
"What are your thoughts on this, Athena?"
She was momentarily startled but quickly regained her composure and answered,
"I believe the second prophecy has provided almost all the clues we need to determine where this being will be born, and to whom."
Placing a hand on her forehead, Athena paused to think for a few moments before continuing.
"This 'child of destruction' is most likely the one mentioned in the first prophecy. The father is most likely the god, and the mother, the one considered an enemy of the gods. Although we have many enemies, the mother is probably from a race that the majority of the god pantheons unanimously regard as hostile.
This significantly narrows down the possibilities. For such a being to possess the level of power described in the prophecy, the child's parents cannot be individuals of low status, limited power, or little influence within their respective pantheons or races.
In conclusion, from the father's side, we are likely looking at a high-ranking god, at the very least, an Inferior Stage High-Tier Deity, and the mother should possess an equivalent standing within her own race."
All the gods who heard her words began to ponder, many nodding in agreement. While most were still deep in thought, a sickeningly sweet voice suddenly echoed through the silent hall, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"Then what races do you think they are from?"
The speaker was none other than the goddess of love and beauty, hailed as the most beautiful deity in all of Olympus, Aphrodite.
Every being present in the hall, regardless of gender, turned their gaze to her the instant she spoke. Even those who had been lost in contemplation over Athena's words paused and stared.
Aphrodite, however, didn't seem to care about the attention she had drawn; her focus was fixed solely on Athena. Athena, on the other hand, cast her a peculiar glance before responding.
"Titans, devils, giants, fallen angels, Gigantes, Fomorians.
Those are my suspects. While we do have many other enemies, these are the only ones I believe would go so far as to raise a child with such immense power, solely to bring about our end."
The races she named were all well-known enemies of the gods across multiple pantheons, each ruling over different universes.
"I believe it's the Titans," one god said.
"I think it's the devils," another voice called out.
"No way. What sane god would sleep with those conniving bastards?" someone scoffed.
At that remark, Athena unintentionally glanced in the direction of the one she had been observing earlier and noticed a slight twitch of his brow and a trace of anger on his face.
'Just as I thought. He might know something.'
"Maybe it's the demons."
"Could be the giants."
"Nah, they're way too big for that! Hahaha!"
"Maybe it's a race hiding their true strength? A lot of them do that these days."
"Could even be one that Lady Athena didn't mention at all."
Multiple voices filled the hall, each offering a different opinion as the gods debated over which race the mother of the prophesied 'child of destruction' might belong to.
"How are we supposed to find the mother of this so-called 'child of destruction'?"
One of the twelve Olympians finally spoke, and at once, the chatter throughout the hall died down. It was Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt.
"You can't possibly be suggesting that we go scouting the territories of all our enemies, looking for a being with the power of a high-ranked god who also happens to be pregnant.
With the number of universes that exist, we might as well all go count the grains of sand on a beach."
Artemis bluntly voiced her opinion, clearly irritated by how impossible the task sounded. While she was fond of hunting, this wasn't a hunt but a fool's errand.
"We're obviously not doing that alone, are we?"
The god of war, Ares, replied in her place. He gestured toward Apollo before continuing in a lazy tone.
"Goldilocks over there mentioned that others received the same prophecy. So, we just ask them to cooperate. With thousands of universes working toward the same goal, it'll be a lot easier to pull off."