However, after a full half hour had passed, and the faint yet persistent sense of being watched in the surroundings completely disappeared, the corners of Lorne's tightly drawn lips finally lifted slightly.
The gloomy, unpredictable expression on his face softened into a playful smile.
It seemed that the Three-Formed Goddess Hecate was not the primordial Nyx herself, but rather a fragment split from her.
In that sense, she could be considered Nyx's daughter and presumably, the same applied to the Moirai, the Three Goddesses of Fate.
As embodiments of order, the birth of Hecate and the Moirai naturally could not have occurred through conventional sexual reproduction.
Instead, it was a kind of "self-fission", where the main entity split itself for certain reasons.
For example, in Greek myths, when the Sky Father Uranus's severed organ fell into the sea, the foam it stirred up, mixed with the dispersed divinity, gave birth to Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love;
After Medusa was slain by the demigod hero Perseus, the giant Chrysaor was born from her remaining divinity;
And when Stheno and Euryale pursued the killer and were wounded along the way, the blood that spilled onto the earth transformed into venomous snakes in the desert…
All these examples were more than enough to show that Nyx, revered as the supreme goddess in Orphism, was very likely an embodiment of rules themselves...something akin to a world-managing "supercomputer".
It was just that Zeus had surpassed fate, creating a logical BUG.
During the process of self-repair, the original system split into two parts.
The main body, the Moirai, agreed to choose Zeus as king and resolved to maintain the course of destiny.
Hecate, who held differing opinions and represented "possibility", was deemed a "virus" and was split off.
And in this world ruled by fate and predetermination, one side represented the inevitable trend of history, the "inevitable", while the other was an exceedingly tiny "accident".
The outcome of that struggle was obvious.
As the victors, the Moirai became the rulers of earth, sea, sky, and life itself, worshipped by Zeus.
From an Eastern traditional perspective, the two sides were more like the relationship between the "Heavenly Dao" and the "Son of Heaven".
One stayed behind the scenes; the other stood at the forefront.
As for Hecate, she was driven into the Underworld.
Though she retained a transcendent status due to Zeus's reverence and fear, this was not much different from being imprisoned in Tartarus.
Born rebellious by nature, Hecate naturally refused to accept this quietly.
Thus, she made use of Nyx's authority and was the first to create three subordinate gods, the ferryman Charon, the God of Sleep Hypnos, and the God of Death Thanatos to "assist" Hades in managing the Underworld.
If these covert maneuvers were still insufficient to prove her intent to hollow out Hades's authority,
Then Lorne could still present some rock-solid evidence.
Her goddaughter, Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, became the Queen of the Underworld.
Her disciple, the great witch Circe, was both the ruler of Aeaea Island and, according to legend, the gatekeeper who guided sea-borne spirits into the Underworld.
Her disciple's disciple, the great witch Medea, was said to be the queen of the "Elysian Fields" which was also translated as the "Elysium", a symbol of paradise.
…
One coincidence might be chance, but three together were definitely intentional.
And beyond that, she and the Moirai had never stopped their struggle....
—Poros, the God of Opportunity, the son of Metis, Athena's never-born younger brother; Zagreus, said to be Poros's reincarnation, the son of the Queen of the Underworld, the god who died and was reborn;
—Dionysus, said to be Zagreus's reincarnation, the son of Semele, the god who was born, died, and was reborn…
These three "possibilities", who were originally meant to replace Zeus as king of the gods, were Hecate's three attempts to resist fate.
But judging from the subsequent myths, all three attempts failed.
Even the most promising Dionysus was burned to death in fire together with his mother before he was even born.
And based on Lorne's own experiences, as well as his understanding of Zeus,
He suspected that Zeus's so-called "fatherly love" rescuing Dionysus from the womb and sewing him into his thigh...was also full of ulterior motives.
Devouring one's own children was an old tradition inherited from the Titan King Cronus.
Athena and Poros, who were swallowed before birth, had already experienced this treatment.
In the end, only Athena, who posed no threat to the throne, was allowed to be born.
Similarly, Zeus sewing Dionysus into his thigh was most likely a comparable method to eliminate the baby's threat to his position as king of the gods.
And evidently, he succeeded.
Otherwise, in that so-called resurrection match, Hecate would not have chosen to abandon Dionysus—whose future was doomed to failur, and instead place her hopes on him, an otherworldly soul.
Lorne even suspected that the reason his soul descended into this world at all was because of Hecate's little maneuver.
—She was, after all, a goddess who controlled the dead and guided paths.
—A soul not accounted for by fate was precisely the chess piece she needed.
Thus, chance was also inevitability; everything lay within that woman's plan.
As his thoughts surged, a cold glint flashed through Lorne's eyes.
Compared to Zeus, the obvious enemy on the surface, he was far more wary of Hecate.
From their very first meeting, that woman had been evasive....first borrowing the identity of Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld (see Chapter Three), then using threats of death and temptations of reward to gradually push him onto the gambling table, setting him against the Olympian gods.
Although their goals and interests were temporarily aligned,
Given the family traditions of Greece, Lorne found it difficult to guarantee that, after learning so many secrets, he would not eventually be discarded once he had outlived his usefulness.
But still…
Lorne once again picked up the twelve-sided die, lightly released it, and let the die of "chance" roll and spin across the tabletop, a pleased curve lifting the corners of his lips.
"You want to use me, this 'variable', to topple Zeus and the Moirai, and reclaim Nyx's original authority."
"Coincidentally, I want that too!"
Before the final cards were revealed, victory or defeat was still uncertain…
Then let's see which of us will have the last laugh!
At that moment, the die spinning on the table came to a stop.
Lorne subconsciously lowered his head, his gaze falling on the petal-like patterns carved into its surface.
"Another Aphrodite result?"
"Don't tell me this is hinting that if I want to win, I should seize the chance and turn her into a plush ball?"
The strange thought flashed through his mind, and the phrase "a disciple who scorns the ancestors" surfaced involuntarily in his head.
But judging by seniority, Hecate should count as an "ancestor"?
As for the "disciple"…
~~
"Achoo!"
At the same time, in the corridor of the Colchis royal palace, a petite figure with pointed ears...a witch, let out a heavy sneeze.
Strange… why do I suddenly have such a bad feeling?
A curse?
Damn it, who dares to make a move against your great aunt from behind?
Just wait—I'll curse you to death when I find you!
Circe walked through the corridor with her head lowered, grinding her teeth one moment, muttering darkly the next, then suddenly breaking into a grin…
The maids and patrolling guards passing by, seeing her ever-changing expressions and the distinctive eagle-feathered wings on her back, all felt a chill in their hearts and instinctively detoured around her.
After all, she was a distant elder sister of Aeëtes, the King of Colchis, a witch from the sea-bound island of Aeaea.
With Queen Idyia about to give birth, the king was worried about the safety of both mother and child, so he had specially summoned this sister of his, who was skilled in witchcraft and healing, just in case.
—The goddess she worshipped, Hecate, possessed authority over childbirth and the upbringing of children, making her, in another sense, a guardian deity of infants.
And ever since Circe arrived and cast her spells, the queen's labor and delivery had indeed gone smoothly.
"Waaah—!"
A quarter of an hour later, with a clear infant's cry ringing out from the birthing chamber, the busy maids and midwives inside and outside the room all breathed a sigh of relief and passed the swaddled, healthy princess toward the king.
But before the handover could be completed, Circe rushed into the room, snatched the bundle excitedly, and examined the newborn again and again.
However, newborns had very short necks, disproportionately large heads, wrinkled skin, and sparse, messy fetal hair.
There was really nothing about her that could be called "cute" or "pretty".
As a result, Circe only held her for a few seconds before disdainfully tossing her back to her kingly brother.
"Like a skinned little mouse. So ugly…"
Hearing the great witch's muttering, several midwives smiled awkwardly and explained,
"The princess is still very young.
When she grows up, she'll naturally become beautiful."
Circe nodded thoughtfully, immediately regaining interest, and looked toward her kingly brother.
"Hey, Aeëtes, have you decided on her name?"
Although the King of Colchis was burly and fierce in appearance, often sowing dragon's teeth during rituals and slaughtering the resulting warriors to offer sacrifices to Ares, the God of War,
In front of this seemingly petite and delicate sister, he dared not show the slightest temper due to the difference in strength, and honestly spoke the name he had long prepared.
"Medea…"
"Mmm, that's a nice name."
Circe praised perfunctorily, then rolled her eyes and spoke leisurely.
"She has good aptitude and is well suited for learning witchcraft.
I'll stay here for a while.
Once the breastfeeding period is over, I'll take her back to Aeaea Island to formally receive Lady Hecate's inheritance."
Hearing his sister's proposal, the King of Colchis immediately nodded in agreement...
To be honest, he really wished he could hand his daughter over before she even finished nursing.
The blood of Colchis ran with martial valor and aggression, and they greatly revered Ares.
And Hecate not only intervened in childbirth but also governed the education of children and youths.
For his daughter to become her personal disciple and a proper witch was exactly what the king desired.
After settling the matter, Circe nodded in satisfaction, took her newborn niece back from her brother, and examined her carefully once more.
This time, perhaps guided by her state of mind, the wrinkled little thing in her arms seemed a bit more pleasing to the eye.
After inspecting her for a while, Circe poked the baby's cheek and couldn't help muttering softly,
"Still not as cute as him…"
(End of Chapter)