"Buzz!"
The air trembled and hummed as a swarm of purple light-shaped underworld butterflies frantically flapped their wings and fled desperately from Lorne's body.
Want to run?!
Lorne suddenly opened his eyes and coldly smiled as he reached forward to grab.
Behind him, the golden light wheel engraved with twelve divine incarnations rotated, forming a visible golden vortex.
Like a whale sucking in water, like a wild bull drinking from a river.
For a time, an irresistible devouring force dragged large swaths of the purple underworld butterflies into the golden vortex, tearing them apart and decomposing them into specks of light dust, then devouring them completely.
"Burp~"
The intense feeling of fullness from the soul level made Lorne involuntarily burp.
Along with it, his spirit also turned languid, and he unconsciously loosened his encirclement and capture of the purple underworld butterflies.
Immediately, dozens of scattered underworld butterflies seized the chance to escape and swarmed toward Hecate's bound main body on the stone pillar.
A moment later, the listless Queen of the Underworld dazedly woke up and looked up at the smiling unfilial grand-disciple walking over, her eyes full of resentment and depression.
"Main god authority?
You had main god authority before even ascending to godhood?
This is completely unreasonable!"
"You clearly control the god of [Opportunity] and [Possibility], yet you refuse to even believe in [Miracles]. How ironic."
Lorne sneered and shook his head.
At the same time, he pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the ever-burning furnace fire within his body, and silently murmured.
"Thanks, Hestia."
Indeed, the one who had screwed over Hecate at the critical moment was precisely that Hearth Goddess.
While in the Olympian prison, she had proactively gifted him, her subordinate god, a main god divinity.
Paying too much attention to schemes would only continuously destroy the foundation of trust, leaving one to wander alone in the darkness.
And [Love] was often the soil that nurtured [Miracles].
"I didn't expect that among the twelve Olympian main gods, such a freak would appear. Fine, I lose." Hecate resignedly lowered her head.
Then, she resentfully looked at this treacherous, despicable, cunning, and evil good grand-disciple of hers and asked in a weak and powerless voice, "So, how do you plan to deal with me? Kill me? Eat me? Or..."
Her voice abruptly stopped as a hand heavily slapped onto Hecate's shoulder, causing the mountain peaks tightly bound by chains to shake.
Lorne put on a serious face and said, "What nonsense are you saying! You are my beloved close friend and life mentor!"
"..."
Hecate looked at that righteous unfilial grand-disciple with suspicion, then broke into a smile.
"You're going to let me go?
Then let's make peace!"
"Look, you're saying nonsense again."
Lorne smiled slightly.
The rune chains tightly binding Hecate twisted and coiled like snakes, accentuating the goddess' graceful curves even more prominently.
"Mmm~! Stop stop stop!" Hecate let out a mournful cry and begged for mercy repeatedly.
Then she resentfully looked at that master-deceiving, ancestor-destroying unfilial grand-disciple and muttered sullenly, "I knew you weren't that kind-hearted. Once you grew up, you really stopped being cute at all..."
Lorne automatically filtered out the emotional card hidden within.
He leaned his head close and teased with a light laugh beside Hecate's ear.
"No choice. If I really were an obedient good child, I should have been eaten clean by you by now.
Instead of having the chance to surpass the master and press you down beneath me."
The sweet fragrance of a fully ripe fruit mixed with the delicate scent of blooming flower buds rushed into his nose and Lorne unconsciously took a deep breath.
His lips and tongue felt dry, his throat moved, and a certain desire ignited in his heart.
Fine, he was a bit hungry too.
Hecate in her weakened state looked to him like a sweet, delicious fruit that made one want to take a few bites right away.
Well... there's no way.
The same-origin divinity was simply too tempting for both of them.
"Smack!"
In the end, a crisp sound echoed in the dark cave. Lorne loosely clenched his five fingers, savoring the residual warmth and elastic touch in his palm, then satisfied, he stepped back a few paces and recalled his somewhat out-of-control reason.
Although he couldn't eat her for now, he could collect some interest first.
Feeling the burning pain on her buttocks, Hecate glared at that master-deceiving, ancestor-destroying unfilial grand-disciple and coldly snorted in annoyance.
"This time I really lost because of my own carelessness. I accept the loss and have nothing to say.
But don't get too happy too soon. Even if you beat me, passing the two hurdles of Zeus and the Three Fates won't be so easy."
"Isn't there still you?"
Lorne said with a smiling face.
"The divinity I worked so hard to accumulate was first consumed by more than half by those old gods, and then swallowed by you again.
Right now I am just an empty shell and have already lost the qualification to sit at the table."
Hecate thought about her successive failures and looked at this good student who was even more sinister and cunning than her and felt somewhat dispirited, mocking herself.
"Now I have become your prisoner. I can hardly protect myself, so what can I use to help you?"
"Then, do you want to take back Nyx's former authority?"
The unhurried voice drifted over faintly, like a tempting demon whispering in the darkness.
"Although you can't become the goddess of contingency who dominates [Opportunity], isn't there still the position of the god of necessity who manipulates [Fate]?
Controlling the three phases of fixed number, retribution, and causality, delineating fate and order, that was Nyx's original power..."
In an instant, Hecate's breathing quickened.
Her eyes, originally overflowing with deathly silence and defeat, burst with intense light as she stared fixedly at the grand-disciple before her.
"You mean..."
"Join me in toppling the Three Fates. Their authorities will be yours then?"
Lorne spoke with a smile, his voice full of temptation.
In the Dionysian cult's "Holy Verses," whether the three-phase Nyx or the three-phase Hecate, their positioning had never been that of the god of contingency, because that seat was prepared for him.
The Primordial One, Phanes, the first cause of the universe's birth. Neoplatonism called it "One."
Sometimes, to emphasize its importance, it was also called "the One."
This was the myth he had been weaving and singing across the Greek city-states for a long time while borrowing the identity of the bard Homer.
After more than a hundred years of meticulous layout, the persistence of visiting nearly every city-state and human gathering place, plus the continuous accumulation of variables, ultimately allowed him to complete his transformation on this day of ascension to godhood.
Lorne forged a divinity even more compatible with the [God of Contingency] than Hecate's, successfully turning from guest to host and seizing most of her contingency divinity.
So, his master ancestor did not lose unjustly.
She was destined to honestly explode gold coins for him.
But just as Hecate said, the god-king Zeus who bore the mandate of heaven, and the Three Fates who controlled the inevitable laws of all things, even in her heyday, she would have to tread carefully around them.
Even if Lorne successfully licked his master ancestor's loot and gained the qualifications to become the [God of Contingency], it was not certain he could shake the two current ultimate bosses of the Greek divine era.
Therefore, after driving the tiger to swallow the wolf, he still had to drive the wolf to chase the tiger.
Lorne's deep eyes looked at his former life mentor with sincerity.
His tone was incomparably earnest as he extended the olive branch.
"So, Master Ancestor, do you want to gamble with me once more?
After it succeeds, I will only take Zeus's god-king position.
The authorities of the Three Fates will go to you."
"You're not lying to me?" Hecate was deeply suspicious.
"Of course!" Lorne vowed solemnly. Then he resentfully looked at his master ancestor. "Our original goals were the same. We are both thorns in the eyes and flesh of those two.
If you hadn't insisted on internal strife, we would still be on the same side."
No matter what she saved him before...if it weren't for her terrifying scheme, Lorne wouldn't have moved against her.
Well, moved against her so much at least.
Hearing his words, Hecate could not help feeling a bit ashamed.
After thinking deeply for a moment, she gritted her silver teeth and made a ruthless decision.
"Let's do it!"
Hearing that decisive answer, Lorne showed a satisfied smile on his face.
As fellow successors split from Nyx, and as Hecate who shared the same origin with the Three Fates, she was bound to be very familiar with the opponent's habits, authorities, and other information.
The blade forged with her would be the sharp weapon capable of piercing through that layer of fate's barrier!
As for after success,
Lorne had one thing he did not say.
In the Dionysian cult's holy verses, the status of the [God of Contingency] was actually higher than that of the [God of Necessity].
And in the hidden real world of the gods, contingency also encompassed necessity.
Even if Hecate could successfully merge the divinity of the Three Fates in the future, she could only become the second in sequence under him.
Want to turn the tables?
I'm afraid it won't be that easy.
Lorne secretly sneered, then gathered his thoughts and steered the topic back on track.
"Tell me, what is special about the Three Fates?"
"Being tied up like this is quite tiring. How about you untie me first?"
Hecate's eyes rolled and she pitifully raised her hands.
Lorne smiled, then raised his hand high.
"Smack!"
A crisp sound echoed in the dark cave.
The buttock on one side of Hecate had not yet subsided from swelling, and the other side now rose high.
Now it was symmetrical.
A blessing for OCD.
Looking at that masterpiece of his, Lorne nodded in satisfaction and smiled as he looked toward his not-so-honest master ancestor.
"What did you say just now? I didn't hear clearly."
Hecate sullenly lowered her head and could only honestly confess some of the inside information she knew.
"Their divine rights are extremely powerful. They are the embodiments of the pioneering order of the entire divine era world. There is almost no possibility of defeating them head on."
"Stronger than Zeus?"
"Zeus is merely the spokesperson of the mandate of heaven and possesses its protection.
He is not strong enough to transcend everything. Otherwise, he would not fear the Titans' curse so much and desperately sow his seeds."
"Indeed."
Lorne nodded, expressing agreement, then asked again.
"Anything else? They must have weaknesses, right?"
"Correct. Their weakness is that they pay too much attention to [Order]. Rather than gods, they are more like machines that maintain the operation of the [World].
They are quite rigid when facing many things and are easily misled and deceived."
"Then what if they encounter some mutually contradictory problems?"
"They will prioritize the stability of the world and the operation of the rules."
Listening to Hecate's answer,
Lorne raised his hand to stroke his chin. In the darkness, his shining eyes revealed a trace of realization.
He probably knew how to use the cards in his hand to deal with the Three Fates.
Perhaps there would even be a big harvest!
Lorne glanced at Hecate tied to the stone pillar.
The corners of his lips curved into a pleased arc.
— Hmm, even bigger than this one.
After a simple tease in his heart,
Lorne continued questioning.
"What about Zeus? If more than half of the Olympian main gods join forces, can they win against him?"
"Absolutely impossible!"
Hecate shook her head and answered without hesitation.
Upon hearing this, Lorne could not help but frown and solemnly added.
"What about a surprise attack?"
"Absolutely impossible!"
Hecate's answer remained the same.
Then she spoke faintly, completely shattering all of Lorne's illusions.
"Let me tell you honestly. Forget half. Even if all eleven Olympian main gods join forces, plus the Hades family launching a joint sneak attack, it is still absolutely impossible to win against Zeus!"
Faced with this result, Lorne looked incredulous, but his heart was filled with doubts.
"Why? His strength should not be strong enough to suppress all the other Olympian main gods, right?"
"It's not because of strength, but because of the mandate of heaven!"
Hecate answered calmly.
Then she looked at her still-confused grand-disciple and helplessly sighed.
"It seems you fundamentally do not understand the terror of [Heaven's Mandate]. Simply put, even if you make full preparations and hold all the advantages, with a success probability of 9999 out of 10000, [Heaven's Mandate] will still let him seize that one-in-ten-thousand possibility in adversity and turn defeat into victory!
Even if we take a step back and say you have a foolproof plan, in the actual implementation process, all kinds of accidents will occur due to various changes, leading to failure at the last step and allowing that god-king to seize the opportunity to turn the tables!"
Lorne listened to Hecate's explanation and murmured in a low voice.
"This is simply unreasonable..."
Hecate nodded, looking as if it was a matter of course.
"Correct. Some are born gods, some die before birth, some enjoy wealth and peace, some suffer from diseases. Fate is just that unreasonable.
And that god-king favored by [Heaven's Mandate] will be invincible at all times and places, turning misfortune into fortune!
Wanting to defeat him fairly and squarely is equivalent to confronting the will of the entire world.
It is almost impossible.
Therefore, I have always avoided direct conflict with Zeus and the Three Fates."
Lorne felt a little unwilling as his face darkened and he pressed further.
"Is there really no way at all?"
Hecate thought seriously for a moment and answered with a furrowed brow.
"If you only want to defeat Zeus, there is actually a path."
"What?"
"Cut off his connection with the Three Fates and gradually strip away the [Heaven's Mandate] from him.
5here is no other way."
Just as Lorne wanted to ask more, the holy domain above shook violently. Stars swayed and fell.
Floating islands maintained by divine power cracked and disintegrated one after another.
The entire space fell into turmoil.
Looking at this world closely related to Athena beginning to show abnormalities, an ominous thought immediately arose in Lorne's mind.
Something happened!
Hecate beside him also became alarmed.
Her heart sank, and she spoke in a dry voice.
"Could it be that you all made your move?"
Lorne nodded stiffly.
Then, without bothering to explain the details to Hecate, he immediately gathered stones into a coffin and sank this immobile master ancestor into the ground.
After that, he leaped up, transformed into a pitch-black eagle, spread his wings, flew out of the holy domain, and descended onto the square of the great temple on the War God Mountain.
At this moment, strange phenomena filled the sky: sometimes dark clouds gathered with flowing water light; sometimes the sun and moon appeared together, illuminating ten thousand miles; sometimes flowers fell and flames surged...
Beams of mighty light intertwined, dyeing the world with colorful hues.
But no matter how they impacted or tore, they could not completely suppress the rampant silver-blue thunder filling the sky!
(End of this chapter)