"Eros! You owe me an explanation!"
"Explanation? What explanation?"
Eros tilted his head, as if genuinely puzzled by Poseidon's outburst.
"It's simple, either you surrender to me, or that little girl surrenders to me. There's no third option!" Poseidon snarled.
As the mighty Sea King, she could live with being cheated on. But she absolutely could not tolerate wearing a crown of shame before even touching her own Sea Queen.
Her wife was untouched, her wife's lover had already run wild, what was she supposed to accept that as?
If word got out that Amphitrite and Eros burned hotter than the tides, while the actual Sea King sat outside excluded, what dignity would she have left?
So for the sake of pride, for her role as hunter and ruler, Poseidon had decided, she had to conquer one of them. Preferably both.
Within her harem, women could entangle among themselves all they pleased. But as long as Poseidon stood at the apex, her position remained unshaken.
Eros, meanwhile, was floored by her reasoning. Shouldn't she be thinking of salvaging her reputation instead?
Instead, this sounded like an elder announcing an arranged marriage before anyone had even met their supposed spouse… and then throwing a fit because said "wife" already had a lover.
And her solution wasn't to negotiate boundaries, declare innocence, or maintain appearances.
No, her "solution" was to seduce the lover, to prove dominance.
What kind of twisted logic is this?
Eros could only sigh and firmly refuse.
"You're dreaming. I don't have that kind of hobby."
"Then you truly have deceived and humiliated me?!" Poseidon's temper flared.
"You crippled me just to steal my woman, even split my divine authority and raised her as Sea Queen! What next? When you two have children, should I claim them as mine too?"
"And now you set your eyes on another goddess, snatching her right from under me?!"
She jabbed a finger at Eurynome, her face flushed with fury.
"Do you deliberately covet only the ones I want? Are you sick? Out of all the goddesses in the world, you always have to compete with me?! Are you targeting me?!"
Eurynome, the subject of their quarrel, was surprisingly calm. Far from embarrassed, she coolly added a cutting remark.
"From a bystander's perspective, that does appear to be the case. Still… if I had to choose, I'd rather be taken by the one with the better reputation."
A wry smile touched her lips. She was a primordial goddess, after all. For beings of her stature, morality meant little.
Strength took everything; weakness lost everything.
Had Gaia not borne children with her own children? Had Eurynome herself not created Ophion, birthed the cosmic egg, then kicked him down when he overstepped?
Call it twisted, perverse, even degenerate, but primordial gods defined their own rules.
In comparison, Poseidon was nothing but a fledgling pervert meeting her elders.
"You've gone too far! I wanted reconciliation, peace instead of war, and you spit on my goodwill!" Poseidon growled, recalling her trident with a snap of her hand.
"When did we ever have goodwill?" Eros shot back dryly. "Don't twist words. You're being melodramatic."
He folded his arms. "Skip the theatrics. What do you actually want?"
Poseidon frowned. Her posturing had been brushed aside too easily. He wasn't biting her bait.
"Tch. You're a sly one. Are you sure you're even human?" she muttered. Such cunning hardly matched his youthful appearance. Was this what mortals meant by "born wicked"?
"Fine. No more nonsense. Since you're here, my demand is simple."
She raised one finger.
"Have that girl return my authority. Then everything else can be forgiven. After that… we'll see."
At the core of it all, what Poseidon wanted most wasn't women, it was power.
Amphitrite had seized half her oceanic dominion. Worse, she refused to listen and openly opposed her.
If this continued unchecked, how could the seas remain stable? How could Poseidon's throne remain secure?
Dignity and lovers could always be reclaimed once she held authority again.
"That decision isn't mine to make," Eros replied instantly.
"She gained that power herself. Whether she returns it is for her to decide, not me. If you want it back, ask Amphitrite directly, not me."
"Hah. And how am I supposed to do that? March into Oceanus's domain swinging?" Poseidon folded her arms, though her chest failed to impress.
"She hides in Oceanus's embrace and never emerges. Tell me, how am I to reclaim my authority?"
"Fortunately, you returned. Just in time."
Just as Prometheus had foreseen, the tides of power in the seas had shifted.
Where once Poseidon steadily tightened her hold, now the Oceanids had turned toward Amphitrite, their sister and now Sea Queen.
Even without Oceanus's overt blessing, most gods assumed he silently supported her.
The sea fractured into factions, and though Amphitrite remained hidden, Poseidon still teetered on the weaker side.
She couldn't ignore it. If she didn't strike with thunder, the fracture would only grow.
Her original plan had been to secure Eurynome as an ally, both to bolster legitimacy and soothe rumors.
But with Eros back on the board, she saw a more useful pawn.
"I'm sure if you asked, she'd comply," Poseidon said with a sly smile.
"After all, would Amphitrite want her beloved dragged down, unable to sail a step without my wrath?"
Either Eros became a hostage, or he became a negotiator. Either way, Poseidon gained leverage.
"Eros, surely you understand. I cannot be overthrown."
"This world, everything you dream of, cannot escape the sea."
"So why not reconcile? Don't you agree?"
Her tone dripped with veiled threat.
Zeus would never let her lose the Sea King's throne. Even if he offered no help, her position was untouchable.
Thus, Poseidon always stood undefeated. If Eros wanted to sail freely, compromise was the only way.
Eros fell into thought.
Poseidon's destiny as ruler of the Seven Seas was inevitable.
Not just because of Zeus, but because of Fate. Even Oceanus had understood and withdrawn.
And perhaps their meeting here was itself her fate working through the currents.
But he remembered Zeus's advice: Fate was not always an enemy.
If he aided Poseidon's destined rise, perhaps he too could reap its blessings.
Just as he had in the Underworld, when his help in dividing the seasons had brought him immense growth.
If he played this correctly, helping Poseidon fulfill destiny might fatten his own path.
"I can't give you an answer yet," Eros said at last.
"I'm headed to the Abyssal Capital soon. Once I've made progress there, I'll invite you to discuss this matter again."
"Invite me? Hah. Not like your last 'invitation,' I hope?" Poseidon scoffed.
"That den of the abyss? You think I'd waltz in so easily?"
"You're overcautious," Eros shook his head. "If Oceanus wanted to crush you, he'd have done so already."
"Regardless, that's my decision. Once I speak with Amphitrite, I'll inform you. Whether you come or not is up to you."
"You really have no respect for me, do you?" Poseidon snorted. But she wasn't angry. Perhaps she was simply used to his irreverence.
"Fine. Then handle your Abyssal Capital affairs properly. My patience is thin, if I end up clashing with those stubborn children of Oceanus…"
Her tone darkened, heavy with warning.
If she was to step foot in the Abyss, Eros had better clean house first.
After all, whether Amphitrite returned her authority was no longer up to Amphitrite alone.
Sometimes, the hardest part isn't the enemy, it's the allies who refuse to yield.