This top-tier daughter of Ocean, though a trace of sorrow still lingered between her brows, was in decent spirits.
After all, among the Oceanids she ranked near the forefront!
In power, temperament, and wisdom alike, she was a first-rate great goddess of the universe!
To speak plainly, if she truly bore down, at the very least Poseidon would have a hard time taking her down.
(A certain Sea-King still soaking in the cold waters of Styx, dazed and muddled, sneezed—and burped up a few more bubbles.)
Were she not peerless in temperament, strength, and beauty alike, then even mighty Iapetus could not have taken her as his wife.
One need only look at the children she bore to know how formidable and splendid her divinity and power were.
Though she was now punished to attend upon Zeus for ten thousand years, the moment she set foot in the God-King's sacred hall she naturally became the great housekeeper within Zeus's temple.
Note that the Seven Pleiades and the Five Hyades—those are her children's children.
Even Adrasteia and Ida, now swiftly elevated by the God-King, still had to greet her as elder sister.
Amalthea all the more so.
This coquettish nymph—also now an Oceanid—was likewise most respectful when facing this eldest sister, who ranked among the top Oceanids and was greatly cherished by Father and Mother.
As for the newcomers, the daughters of Thaumas—Iris and Arke—in former days they were not even fit to lift their heads and speak to her.
Nominally she served Zeus—but in truth there was nothing that required her to do.
Gods and mortals are, after all, vastly different; they have no need of all those trifling mortal necessities.
As a top great goddess of the universe, if it is matter, whatever it is, a mere wave of the hand can create it at will.
And with her station, not a single god upon Olympus would dare bully her.
Thus, at Zeus's side, she lived all the more comfortably.
Though the seas were flourishing and fair, compared to Olympus they still fell far short.
Nor was Zeus likely to treat her harshly—to tell the truth, he had no time to.
This was the first time His Majesty had returned home since adjournment…
What troubled her most was still her foolish child. Her exhaustion came of that.
Even so, she was not without hope.
The God-King's divine character was worthy of trust.
Moreover, she was working earnestly to deepen her bond with her new younger sister—Amalthea.
She thought that, in time, there would be a chance to petition the God-King to release her foolish child.
After all, her new sister's nature was gentle and kind.
So long as she could forgive that foolish son of hers, then when His Majesty's anger had cooled and Menoetius had suffered enough punishment, it would not be impossible for the boy to be released.
After all, who would hold it against a fool forever?
The God-King's heart was not so narrow.
What she felt most guilty about was her Father and Mother being punished because of her plea.
It was not only that their honor was gravely damaged and they left a terrible impression upon His Majesty—they were also confined to the Ocean for a hundred thousand years, forbidden to leave for a hundred thousand years.
Over this, Clymene's sorrow and guilt were extreme. Her Father and Mother loved her dearly; she loved them as dearly.
She had long resolved to serve the God-King well and beg him to lift her parents' confinement.
Even if she could not save her son, she must first lift her parents' punishment!
Only recently had she managed to settle her spirit somewhat—chiefly because the atmosphere within Zeus's temple was harmonious and warm, and the nymphs and goddesses attending nearby were basically "her people." Living here was no different from being home.
Though she had not yet wholly emerged from the foolish deed Menoetius had done, she had accepted reality and had grown accustomed to being Zeus's housekeeper.
Truth be told—it felt quite good!
After becoming the God-King's housekeeper, the gods treated her with even greater respect!
Everyone knew that the closer a god stood to His Majesty, the less one could afford to offend them.
Whatever her station, she could never be an object of offense.
Much less this goddess, who was noble by birth and formidable in strength.
Once she had grown familiar with the affairs of the God-King's palace, she could not help quietly grumbling in her heart: His Majesty is exemplary in all things—save that he is entangled with far too many goddesses.
Since the Assembly of All Gods adjourned, he had vanished from sight; over these two-plus months, far too many famed goddesses had come seeking His Majesty.
Especially after the earth-shaking events in the Underworld, and then, upon Olympus, the world-illumining spectacle with the Mistress of Pure Radiance—several goddesses stormed in to block His Majesty, and in the end it fell to her to laboriously talk them down.
To say one served at His Majesty's side—what a joke; in practice one could not see him at all!
The bulk of the work was instead to speak well for His Majesty and counsel those goddesses who came to demand an account not to get worked up.
Over this, Clymene could only feel wry amusement.
Not long ago, she watched the Moon's domain of the Mistress of Pure Radiance slowly dissipate.
And the Moon Goddess herself, not even bothering to conceal it, returned to her temple at an unhurried pace, surrounded (supported) by her three beautiful newborn daughters of the moon's phases. Then Clymene knew His Majesty should be returning.
Only—the air of peace upon Olympus likely would not last!
Judging by the Mistress of Pure Radiance's conduct, this was naked provocation.
She blocked His Majesty quietly enough, but everything that followed was staged to make a show as grand as possible.
And when it was done, she deliberately and unhurriedly, in the company of her three beautiful newborn daughters, circled Mount Olympus before returning to her temple.
If she dared to do that, she was surely favored by His Majesty.
No doubt His Majesty would soon gain yet another wife.
However—
In her heart Clymene felt a touch of schadenfreude for the "good show" about to unfold; for that, much of her gloom had dispersed.
Zeus was drifting back toward his temple when he saw, from afar, a peerlessly beautiful Oceanid goddess coming out to meet him.
Her figure was willowy, her elegance innate; in every motion there was grace in a thousand forms.
Without false modesty, her beauty was beyond compare.
This goddess was Clymene.
She was the purest Oceanid—truly and personally begotten of Oceanus and Tethys, Mother of All Streams—not one of those gods formed by the natural evolution of rivers and lakes.
She was also among the earliest children of the Ocean pair—their true darling.
Her very name means "Glory," by which one may know how greatly Oceanus and Tethys cherished and prized this child.
Of course, Clymene had never disappointed them. She inherited all her parents' virtues—mighty in strength, vast in authority, gentle in nature, wise and clever.
Her authority was "the flow of waters," and she was the great goddess who presides over the circulation of the universe's waters!
And Oceanus and Tethys had also granted her the auxiliary authority over the Ocean and fresh water together.
She was the great goddess who assisted Tethys in ordering the universe's whole hydrologic operation!
Nor was that all; she likewise possessed the bloodline inheritance that magnified the world's ocean currents!
She too was a great Mother Goddess who embodied the creative bloodline of the universe!
One could see this from her children.
This oceanic Mother Goddess had a cascade of airy sea-blue hair like ocean and sky, soft and flowing, nearly as long as she was tall.
Upon it was a faint sheen of white fluorescence—silky and exquisitely delicate.
This head of lustrous hair alone could make any god's heart itch to behold it.
She had the classic oval beauty's face; the bridge of her nose was fine and high, her slim lips a fantastical pale blue—like the finest work of art.
She also had a pair of translucent ice-blue bright eyes—born limpid with moisture, brimming with tenderness.
At a glance, they were utterly crystalline and lovely—truly divine.
They were eyes that could speak.
And a pair of eyes most exceedingly gentle.
Though she was already mother of four strong deities, and her face bore the aspect of a new matron, with those beautiful eyes added her temperament was no different from a maiden in her prime.
An Oceanid daughter born from the Ocean's pure waters—purest and fairest—beloved of every god.
Clymene revealed a smile so beautiful that even the God-King—still in his sage time—was stunned for a heartbeat to see it.
She bowed deeply to Zeus. As she bent, the hazy skirt over her chest leapt in a graceful curve like rolling waves, fully displaying the oceanic Mother's astonishing abundance.
After saluting, Clymene said gently, "I pay homage to Your Majesty the great God-King, the supreme sovereign."
Zeus nodded slightly.
He felt his sage time seemed to be passing rather quickly.
"Beautiful Clymene, has anything arisen of late? Are you finding my hall to your habit?"
Clymene smiled and nodded. "I thank Your Majesty for your favor. Your Majesty's temple is the most sacred place in the universe. For Clymene, all is well here—it is no different from returning home."
"During the time you were busy, the revered goddess of Sacred Justice set everything in order; there is nothing, really, that requires your own great hand."
"However…"
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