Aphrodite continued, "I sense a nascent divine authority of beauty within you. Can you entrust it to me?"
Möbius was startled. What kind of beauty hadn't yet formed? What was this nonsense?
What divine authority of his was still unformed beauty?
Wait a moment, Möbius's pupils contracted. He did seem to have a divine authority. Before he became a god, Ares told him that he would possess a divine authority that made war beautiful, and he had even named it himself—War Dance.
Every movement in slaughter, imbued with beauty, that was War Dance.
Möbius couldn't help but wipe away non-existent sweat from his face and said, "This power is something I obtained on the battlefield. I need Lord Ares's permission before I can entrust this power to you."
Hearing this, Aphrodite couldn't help but yawn, shaking her head and saying, "How boring! Can't you make decisions about the divine authority within you yourself?"
"Unlike me, I was cared for by Gaia, the Earth Mother, and Pontus, the Sea, in the Aegean Sea. I'm sure they'll grant me anything I wish," Aphrodite said with a hint of delight.
Möbius looked at Aphrodite and said perfunctorily, "Yes, indeed, Lady Aphrodite, your charm is sure to attract the adoration of countless gods."
"...." Möbius's words made Aphrodite laugh heartily, and her mood improved significantly. After all, everyone enjoys flattery, especially from someone of equal status.
However, Möbius hadn't finished speaking; this was just for now.
"Then, once Ares falls at my feet, this divine authority will be mine," Aphrodite said with a smile on her lips.
"Well, I'm off then. I'm going to Mount Olympus." Aphrodite clapped her hands, and the seventeen distant dolphins, holding shells in their mouths, slowly transformed into a shell-chariot. The seventeen dolphins pulled the chariot forward, heading towards Mount Olympus.
Watching Aphrodite leave, Möbius wasn't sure if he felt relieved or indifferent.
He stretched lazily, then slowly began to walk, planning to stroll a bit more before returning to Mount Olympus.
Just then, an ordinary-looking river god blocked Möbius's path. Murky river water swirled around Möbius, threatening to engulf him within seventeen steps.
"Hahaha, Möbius, God of Healing! You are finally my prey!" His lower body was a mass of flowing water, connected to the river behind him.
He was Achelous, the River God, at the peak of his weak divine power. Before Möbius became a god, he had been observing Möbius. According to his plan, Möbius should have been captured the moment he became a god and made his subordinate.
Any divine authority could bring him further advancement, but when Möbius became a god, Ares was by his side, guarding him. Then, when Möbius gained the power of healing, Ares returned once more.
And just now, he had originally wanted to seize both Aphrodite and Möbius, but Aphrodite had already become a god of intermediate divine power.
After Aphrodite left, he finally found his chance. This god, without any ability to protect himself, would become his exclusive possession.
The flowing water slowly approached Möbius. He was already envisioning the future: how he, relying on the healing and purification powers of his subordinate god, Möbius, would become the most beloved child of his father, Oceanus, and mother, Tethys.
All the gods of Mount Olympus, including Zeus, who wielded lightning, would humbly pray after being injured, saying, "Great Lord Achelous, we beg for your healing power to mend our wounds."
And he would only mockingly retort, "Poor Zeus! When you mocked me, a mere river god, tens of thousands of years ago, did you foresee this outcome?"
Then Zeus would only be able to kneel humbly on the ground, offering the power of the Sea King, so that he would use the power of healing to cure Zeus's wounds.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Achelous couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.
Looking at Achelous, who was laughing so hard he looked like he was about to choke, Möbius's lips twitched involuntarily. What was going on?
This river god seemed a bit dim-witted. Did this world also have rabies? Was he perhaps suffering from rabies?
Möbius subconsciously threw a healing force over, and that life-filled power instantly shattered Achelous's beautiful dream.
He looked at Möbius with dissatisfaction and said, "Insolent subordinate god, how dare you treat your master like this?"
Hearing this, Möbius couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, saying, "River god. Hahaha, subordinate god, that's hilarious."
"Me, become your subordinate god?" Möbius couldn't help but mock loudly, "You want a primordial god to become your subordinate? Why don't you just tell Zeus to give you his position as King of the Gods?"
Achelous subconsciously said, "That's not impossible."
....
Möbius couldn't help but roll his eyes and scoff, "Daydreaming, are we? If you keep this up for a few more centuries, Phantasos will have mastered all the authority over dreams and become a powerful god!"
Phantasos is the god who controls illusory dreams. No, that's not quite accurate; more precisely, he and his two brothers, Morpheus, the 'Shaper of Dreams,' and Phobetor, the 'Terror of Dreams,' together form the gods of dreams.
Individually, the three of them are just daemons, immortal daemons!
Achelous didn't realize Möbius's mockery, and instead said with a ferocious expression, "No matter how much you sweet-talk, you won't escape my grasp."
"But don't worry, Möbius, I'll treat you well. My lovers don't hold a candle to your status; your position will be second only to mine." Achelous looked at Möbius with a greedy expression.
It was as if Möbius was already in his grasp.
Looking at the river god, the smile on Möbius's lips faded, replaced by indifference in his eyes. If anyone familiar with Möbius were there, they would know this was the expression Möbius wore when looking at a dead man.
After all, why waste words on someone who was about to die?
A mere river god, he was giving him too much face!
Möbius caressed the twelve-leaf silver chain on his head, preparing to test another function of this divine artifact that had come into being because of healing.
A crimson light shot straight towards Achelous, striking him and knocking his head askew!