'It's that woman!'
Zeus's heart skipped a beat as he immediately spread a barrier and spoke with solemn gravity.
"What happened? Be specific!"
Under that slightly sinister scrutiny, Lorne did not dare conceal anything and began recounting his previous experience.
"As you know, being pressed hard by the Hecatoncheires, I accidentally slipped into the sea God's temple to take shelter..."
Hearing the word "accidentally," Zeus shot a sidelong glance at the embarrassed young man, let out a light hum, and indicated for him to continue.
Seeing Zeus not pursuing the matter, Lorne completely set his heart at ease and gathered his courage to continue in measured tones.
"But the moment I went in, something felt very wrong. It was as though I collided with a mass of black fog in the invisible space..."
As he spoke, the recollecting Lorne's face showed fear and lingering shock.
"In that instant, I felt as though I had died. My soul was being drawn out and eaten away bit by bit, and my consciousness was being dragged into an endless boundless darkness.
Fortunately, the commotion of Poseidon clashing with the three Hecatoncheires sent the entire sea God's temple flying, and she seemed worried about being exposed and chose to flee.
Only then did I break free from that strange state. At first I thought it was just an illusion, but as I kept having strange and bizarre dreams lately, and this thing appeared on my body,
I confirmed that everything which happened before was real."
"Not just real. You nearly lost your life!"
Zeus let out a cold hum as dense gloom rose in his eyes.
No wonder Peleus chased Thetis for so long without anyone in the sea daring to show their face.
No wonder Thetis called out again and again from outside and Poseidon stayed stubbornly hidden in the sea God's temple the entire time.
No wonder the three Hecatoncheires brothers had barely gotten close to that place before his previously timid brother grabbed his trident and started fighting them.
So after all this, Poseidon had been cozying up with someone from the Underworld.
He just knew it.
His brother had barely finished serving his time in Thessaly and returned to the Ocean of Oceanos before he started forgetting his lessons, secretly rallying the sea Gods.
Having discovered the "truth," Zeus raised his head to look at Lorne and let a cold smile show on his face.
"So you were hiding out there all this time because of this?
Only coming to me when you could not resolve the problem on your body?"
"There... there was a bit of that..."
Lorne admitted with an awkward bow of his head, though he did not forget to argue his case.
"But my feelings toward you and toward Thetis are genuine!"
Zeus let out a cold hum, neither confirming nor denying.
He did not care in the slightest whether the young man before him was truly loyal.
With the God seal of their pact in place, he could deal with this young man at the soul level whenever he chose.
These were all trivial matters.
What truly concerned him was Hecate.
That woman joining up with Poseidon.
Was it her personal interest, or had the Gods of the Underworld and the Gods of the sea formed an alliance?
Zeus contemplated privately, his gaze flickering quietly.
The Ocean of Oceanos and the Underworld had always had connected passages, and the three layers of bronze walls separating the ocean floor from the Underworld were personally monitored by Poseidon.
Once the two sides formed a pact, his dear brother could open all three bronze walls and quickly join forces with the Gods of the Underworld, threatening him and even all of Olympus.
It seemed after all that ordering the three Hecatoncheires to sink Atlantis and stand guard over the primordial ocean was the right move.
The same went for this recent warning blow.
And by the look of things, he had even gone too easy.
Just as Zeus was deep in thought, Lorne could not help stepping forward and asking with careful caution.
"Your Majesty. Can you remove this seal?"
"I can, but it has been there too long. Forcing it would tear your soul apart along with it."
Zeus answered lightly, and a trace of disappointment showed in the gaze he turned on Lorne.
He thought the other party was a worthwhile piece to cultivate.
Who would have thought it was actually a piece that would not last long before being discarded.
Although this young man had narrowly escaped at the sea God's temple, Hecate had already planted her God seal on him.
Sooner or later she would use abilities like dream manipulation or soul authority to pull him into the Underworld.
As long as she silenced the person who knew things, the secrets of the sea God's temple would remain unknown to anyone.
He could handle Poseidon however he wished, but he could not go looking for trouble with that Underworld Moon Goddess without evidence.
Lorne was neither surprised by Zeus's answer nor by his disappointment.
If Hecate's God seal was truly that easy to remove, he would have had Hades, Persephone, and Athena deal with it long ago.
And once the God king before him realized this chess piece would not last much longer before becoming unusable, his valuation of it would naturally drop sharply.
However, reigniting this God king's interest was effortlessly simple for Lorne.
"Then might I ask you to bestow upon me a measure of God power!"
"What are you planning to do?"
"My life is not so easily taken.
Since she wants to move against me, then even if it means going down together, I will take a bite out of her!"
Lorne showed a fierce expression, then did not forget to continue pledging his loyalty.
"Besides, she harbors ill intentions toward you as well.
Doing this would also be a way of repaying the kindness you have shown me and Thetis."
"Good. I agree."
Hearing that genuine and spirited answer, Zeus could not help being moved as he promised with full gravity.
"Once this rebellion is put down, if you survive, I will personally bear witness at your wedding with Thetis!"
But beneath that God king's passionate encouragement, the depths of his eyes remained ice cold.
He did not care about the life or death of his own wife and children.
How could he genuinely care about an outsider.
Choosing to support and generously offer assistance was simply because what the young man before him said was not wrong.
Hecate joining up with Poseidon was already a threat factor to his throne.
In that case, it was necessary to strike hard.
On one hand, sternly ordering the three Hecatoncheires to stand guard over the primordial ocean, cutting off communication between the ocean and the Underworld, and finding an opportunity to give his dear brother another thrashing to completely stamp out his ambitions of claiming the throne.
On the other hand, whether Hecate wanted to silence a witness or wanted to use this body as a stepping stone to interfere in Olympus's God authority, he could turn the scheme around on her and use this hound to tear a piece of flesh out of that Underworld Goddess.
The [Chance] divinity that broke through destiny.
He very much wanted to test it as well.
And in the end, there were only two possible outcomes.
This young man held on and survived, married Thetis, and continued serving at his disposal.
Or if this young man could not withstand it and died, according to the pact, he would obtain the soul fragment containing this person's chance God power.
He would then have ironclad evidence of Hecate's restless scheming, and could negotiate with the [three Moirai] for greater authority.
Since any outcome was advantageous, Zeus naturally had no objection to giving the young man before him plenty of sweetness to make him willingly walk into death.
Was this, in a certain sense, a kind of end-of-life care?
Zeus pressed his hand down on Lorne's shoulder with a face full of regard.
"Do as you said. I trust you."
Lorne felt the domineering God nature flowing into his body and immediately showed an excitement as though he could not wait to throw himself into death, announcing loudly.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty.
I will absolutely not disappoint you!"
Hearing this, Zeus's eyes showed a trace of displeasure.
"Still calling me Your Majesty?"
In an instant, Lorne caught on and moved his lips with excitement, stammering out a certain form of address.
"Fos... foster father?"
"Mm. Thetis and I will both be waiting for you."
Zeus gave a nod and showed a satisfied and warm smile.
Equally, Lorne smiled too.
Exceptionally radiant and happy.
The two figures standing across from each other in the prison looked for all the world like an affectionate father and a devoted son, a picture of familial harmony.
(End of Chapter)