(Greek Mythology) The Abyss
Chapter Sixty-Six
"Just curious," Eris explained insincerely.
"If it's delicious, I'll give you less; if it's not delicious, I'll give you more; if it's awful, I'll give you all of it." Hemera nodded in agreement.
"So, I guess I should just kill you." Ai Miye thought this was incredibly irritating.
"What do you want to do? I'm telling you, don't do anything reckless. Killing a god is a grave crime." Hemera looked wary, but remained relaxed.
The best thing about high-ranking gods is that as long as you don't incur divine wrath, you don't have to worry about your life. No one will risk serious injury or even death to kill you for a trivial matter.
"If we can't kill you, we can lock you up." Tartarus, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.
And Ai Miye laughed, while Hemera burst into tears.
"Your Majesty, I know you are the God of the Abyss, and Tartarus, the prison feared by all the gods, is you. So you don't need to try to make your presence known now." —by Hemera 〒_〒
"Your Majesty Tartarus, may I have this painting?" Tarasa, standing nearby, timely intervened, saving her mother goddess.
"Sure," Tartarus agreed nonchalantly. "You like this one?"
"Hmm, it gives me a warm feeling."
Leaning closer to see what it depicted, Ai Miya genuinely didn't think her brother's painting could evoke any warmth.
"I don't understand your definition of warmth," Ai Miya remarked after looking at it.
After seeing which painting Tarasa had chosen, Tartarus fell silent. He didn't understand either.
Blue is a cool color, and purple is also a cool color. So now the question is, Tarasa, how do you see warmth in a painting dominated by these two colors? I'm quite impressed.
"I despise your aesthetic sense from an artist's perspective."
"An artist? The art of making dolls? Eris, how old are you? Still interested in this?" As a tomboy, Hemera had never been interested in such things.
"It's a puppet, a puppet, not a doll," Eris repeated twice for emphasis.
"Yes, yes, not a doll, but a puppet doll," Hemera said dismissively.
In her view, there was no fundamental difference between a puppet doll and a rag doll, at most one being more realistic and the other more abstract.
Given her poor close combat skills, Eris had put in a lot of effort to finally devise this method of controlling puppets in battle. However, she wouldn't abandon the runes she had painstakingly practiced for years. Instead, she combined the two, inscribing the runes onto the puppets, increasing their combat power while also compensating for their most fatal weakness.
Besides, runes were personally taught to her by His Majesty Tartarus; how could she possibly abandon them?
"Actually, I was thinking, what if your puppet strings break? Would you become a complete weakling in no time?" While Hermera might not be particularly outstanding in other areas, her combat skills were quite good, given her long experience in the illusionary realm.
"No," Eris smiled, then explained, "I can control my puppets through runes."
If anyone thought that cutting Eris's puppet strings would render her powerless, they would be sorely mistaken. The combination of runes and puppets allowed Eris to directly control them through her mental power. While the strings were important, they weren't essential. Eris used the strings only to conceal her true strength.
Imagine this: during battle, the enemy finally manages to sever all the strings, breathes a sigh of relief, and is about to close in and defeat Eris when the puppets, thought to be out of control, suddenly come to life. Plus, in such situations, the enemy usually lowers their guard out of joy, and then…
"Then they'll definitely die a horrible death," Hermera stated, recounting the fate of those enemies, then sighed, "How insidious."
Eris smiled shyly, her gaze falling on Tartarus.
"Playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses suits you very well," Tartarus's assessment was succinct.
Eris was already satisfied, a sweet smile blooming on her face, her eyes filled with respect and admiration.
"I will continue to strive, Your Majesty." The earnestness and determination in her words left no room for doubt.
Hermera, standing to the side, covered her face. So, no matter how many times she saw it, she still couldn't bear to look at Eris the same way in front of Tartarus.
"Eris, can't you just sit properly in a chair? Why do you have to kneel on the floor?" Hermella felt a surge of frustration at her sister's perpetually unconventional behavior.
Even with a carpet, it was still floorboards. What was Eris trying to do?
"I like it," Eris replied with a concise three-word answer.
"..." Hermella.
So, she still didn't understand what Eris was thinking?
Because it brings her closer to her brother, you idiot. Aimi glanced at the perpetually clueless Hermella.
Adjusting herself to a more comfortable position, the woman, her beautiful figure draped in a pure black dress, leaned back gracefully in the large chair. The long hem of her dress trailed on the floor, tracing a beautiful arc, and parted at the sides to reveal her long, slender legs. Between her delicate, nail-painted fingers, she lightly held a silver, intricately carved pipe, bringing it to her lips. The swirling blue-gray smoke added a touch of ambiguous mystery.
Hermera found it hard to accept Ai Mi Ye's transformation from a calm and refined child to a seductive queen. How had her aunt gone from a poker-faced little girl to a femme fatale?
And besides, Auntie, don't you know you look like a vixen? —By Hemera, startled by her aunt's transformation
Aimee keenly sensed Hemera's inner thoughts. A bewitching mist swirled around her narrow, heterochromatic eyes, obscuring her true expression: "Darling, what are you thinking~"
Her soft voice carried a slightly seductive huskiness and a charming smile. Hemera instantly fell for it, unconsciously blurting out her thoughts: "I was just thinking that you, Aunt, are acting so unlike a respectable woman."
Aimee's alluring smile visibly stiffened for a moment, then became even more seductive. Tarasa, standing beside her, facepalmed.
Tarasa: Mother Goddess, may you rest in peace. The adult Aimee is terrifying, you know.
"Aimee!!" Tartarus didn't use Nicole's usual nickname when addressing her.
Hemera: I've escaped a disaster (thankfully).
Although Amy immediately put away her pipe, Tartarus was still somewhat heartbroken.
He shouldn't know who corrupted Nicole; the Abyss's prison is still quite empty.
Tartarus has three sisters, but to no avail. They're all queen-type: Gaia is stunningly beautiful, Nyx is elegant and alluring, and Amy… she's practically a combination of both, a combination with enhanced features. The probability of this is astonishing.
Each sister is fiercer than the last, each exuding an overwhelming aura of dominance. Tartarus feels he'll probably never experience having a cute, soft sister, unless Chaos decides to create another daughter.
Nicole was so well-behaved and obedient when she was little… so why did she turn out like this? Did his parenting go wrong? —by the heartbroken Tartarus
Your Majesty Tartarus, with your unintentional bias towards your younger sister, are you sure this isn't something you've spoiled her into?