Just as Zeus was fretting over how to soothe his beloved goddesses, Metis had already gathered herself and taken the initiative to seek him out.
A stream of light suffused with the aura of wisdom quietly descended before Zeus's temple.
Zeus looked up and immediately felt a twinge of guilt.
He thought Metis had come to demand an explanation, and his mind raced through what sweet words might dissolve the knot in her heart.
But to his surprise, the moment Metis saw him, she threw herself straight into his arms.
Zeus instinctively held the goddess tight, slightly stunned.
He then found that the wise goddess only pressed silently against his chest.
There was no quarrel and not a hint of sobbing—she simply held him quietly like that.
After a long time, the wise goddess slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she did not let her tears fall.
Even though she could clearly see that extra streak of black at her lover's brow that did not belong to her—and how it pained her.
Jealousy, resentment, even hatred—like countless invisible venomous insects—gnawed madly at her heart.
In a voice gentle to the extreme, she said, "My love, though my heart is in unbearable pain, I don't want to bring you any trouble, and I don't want you to feel torn because of me."
"My love, you are so great and radiant. I was drawn to you and fell deeply in love. Then it's only natural that other goddesses, drawn to you as I was, should also fall deeply in love with you."
"If there were no other goddesses who loved you beyond all restraint, that would be proof that my choice was wrong."
"I also know you are the embodiment of the sky, the Father of all gods and spirits, and that you are so kind and softhearted."
"When other goddesses take the initiative to embrace you, how could you bear to watch them suffer and go mad for love of you?"
"My beloved, so I don't blame you. Nor do I blame them. Because I love you."
In the end, the wise goddess could not completely hold back. The crystalline tears of a daughter of Ocean finally slid down in silence.
She gently stroked Zeus's heroic cheek and said in a voice full of holy radiance, "That I have the good fortune of your love is my blessing. But there are many more who are unfortunate."
"I can understand the pain of loving you yet being unable to have you fully. Just as I cannot imagine what an apocalyptic sight it would be to lose you completely."
"So, my love—my Zeus. I don't blame you, and I don't blame them."
"Even though my heart hurts so much. For no goddess can truly bare her heart and share her beloved with others."
"But I am willing to fulfill you, and fulfill them as well."
Driven to madness by love, the wise one threw all her strength into holding Zeus tight, pleading almost piteously: "My love, I ask only one thing—that you never, never, never abandon me. I would rather share you with the other goddesses than lose you entirely."
Zeus, who had been quietly listening to his beloved's words, was moved to the core.
He could clearly feel Metis's unconditional, pure love for him, and the fear—of losing and of not having—hidden beneath it.
For this, the wise goddess would rather wrong herself than cause even the slightest displeasure to Zeus.
She feared that other goddesses might take Zeus from her completely; she also truly did not wish for Zeus to feel torn because of it.
In love, the deeper one loves, the more humble one becomes.
Even supreme wisdom is no exception.
The noble goddess of wisdom had humbled herself to the dust.
Zeus held Metis tightly in his arms, without a single thought for flowery words.
Facing a goddess who loved him so dearly that she would tear her own heart to shreds for him, how could he utter anything glib?
Zeus gently stroked the beloved goddess's soft purple hair and said with unwavering tenderness, "My Metis, my beloved silly goddess."
"I, Zeus, here swear to you an eternal, supreme oath: I will never, ever leave you. Because your love is the most sacred treasure I can never give up."
As he spoke, Zeus gently released the silently weeping Metis.
He tore open his robe with a sudden motion, and with a raised hand the scepter symbolizing the supreme authority of the God-King leapt from the table stand and fell into his palm, turning into a golden, keen dagger.
Without hesitation, he resolutely opened his own chest, revealing the sacred heart that beat slow and strong.
Amid the dazzling divine radiance woven of ten thousand hues, his deep and steadfast love for Metis lay utterly bare.
"My love, please worry no more. In front of me, you never need to abase yourself like this. It pains me beyond measure."
"The one I love is the bright and radiant you—the confident and wise you—so I do not need you to destroy your noble self."
"Please look closely. You are forever in my heart. In my heart, my love for you is steadfast and resplendent."
Zeus moved too swiftly and decisively for Metis, sunk in sorrow, to react.
She was utterly shocked by this resolute and harrowing sight. Through that open chest, she clearly saw that within Zeus's surging divine essence lay a plain and unhidden love for her.
Though it was not the only love there—there were other burning feelings mingled within—that was enough.
What Zeus had done for her was enough.
Her heart was filled with ineffable emotion—and with a rending ache.
The tears she had just managed to restrain did not stop; they burst forth again in an even greater flood.
Flustered, her clear divinity thrown into chaos, she wanted to rush forward to embrace Zeus at once, yet feared touching that terrible wound.
All she could do, through heavy sobs, was cry out urgently: "My love, I know, I understand it all! Please don't hurt yourself anymore—hurry and restore your divine body!"
A flash of golden light—and the wound on the God-King's body closed in an instant.
Zeus tossed the scepter back onto the stand, then smiled faintly and drew the tearful goddess back into his arms.
He breathed in the fragrance of her soft hair and rubbed his cheek against hers, gently wiping away those seemingly endless tears for his beloved goddess.
In the gentlest voice he said, "My love, never doubt my love for you again—no more wild notions."
Metis nodded again and again, still stroking Zeus's chest—already whole—with aching tenderness. The tears would not stop, but now they were all tears of heartache.
In a voice full of hurt she said, "My love, I have never doubted your love for me! I only beg you—please never hurt yourself like that again. Seeing you wounded is a thousand times more painful than being wounded myself."
Zeus had no doubt of his beloved's sincerity.
He knew that if one were to open Metis's heart at this moment, only his figure—his alone—would be reflected there in full.
It would not be like his own heart, long since a kaleidoscope filled with many fair shadows.
He kissed Metis's smooth, delicate face with loving care, drank down all the Ocean-daughter's tears, and murmured, "My love, don't be sad anymore, and don't overthink."
"I won't have you lose your bright self. We have eternal, limitless time; we will enjoy this infinitely wondrous universe together. As long as we can always be together, living happily—that is enough."
Metis nodded repeatedly in his arms, sweetly compliant.
Nothing else mattered; Zeus was what mattered most.
Zeus then cleared his throat twice and whispered by Metis's ear, "My love, was what you said just now still true?"
Hearing this, Metis too wished to dispel the heavy mood quickly. Her beautiful eyes turned, and she shot Zeus an exasperated look; yet in a tone full of fond indulgence, she scolded, "Hmph! I keep my word! Didn't you say it yourself? A god must not break oaths or promises."
Zeus nodded emphatically, his face solemn. "Naturally. A god must stand by his word."
The wise goddess glared at him again, with a touch of plaintive reproach. "I truly don't know when you got entangled with my new sister."
"And you haven't even had a child with me, yet you already have one with my sister!"
Even Zeus felt a bit awkward at this.
He could only nuzzle the flawless face of this bright-eyed goddess and mutter in the smallest voice, "Th-there are reasons for that, and the circumstances were really unusual."
Metis pressed her lips to his, letting Zeus properly taste the Ocean-daughter's sweet nectar again before she said softly, "My love, if it's inconvenient to explain for now, then don't. I understand."
Then she shot her beloved God-King another sidelong look and said helplessly, "Besides, she is my sister. Since even I would fall helplessly in love with you, then my sisters falling for you is only natural."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]