Upper Layers, Mount Olympus—
Apollo, the handsome blond God of Light, sat leisurely at a stone table, watching the dancers performing below.
After a moment, he shook his head. "Not keeping dancers of this caliber here with you is honestly a waste, Uncle."
Across from him sat Hades.
With strikingly handsome features, the ruler of the Underworld carried an unmistakably gloomy air. He merely shook his head. "Apollo, you always seem to concern yourself with the most trivial things."
"No, no." Apollo waved the comment away. "The problem is that you're too aloof."
He didn't hesitate to criticize his uncle. "This is the sacred mountain of the gods, yet you have fewer than two hundred attendants. As for your own palace, you keep only two or three servants year-round. It's exactly because you're like this that everyone in the pantheon ends up favoring my father."
Hades neither denied nor accepted the criticism.
Instead, he replied calmly, "I dislike complicated hearts."
Apollo sighed and let the subject drop.
For the god who ruled the Greek Underworld and judged the sins of the dead, it was only natural for him to find that kind of indulgence distasteful.
There wasn't much Apollo could do besides offer the occasional word of advice.
After a brief silence, he asked, "Uncle... what do you and Aunt Hestia think?"
"What do you mean?" Hades sounded genuinely puzzled.
Apollo frowned. "I haven't confirmed it personally yet, but you and Aunt Hestia must have already received word about the Fourth Generation King of the Gods."
"You mean that young man named Ryo Yagami?" Hades looked mildly surprised before a faint smile crossed his face. "He's not bad. At the very least, he's better than Zeus."
Apollo fell silent for a moment, "...Is that your official stance?"
The appearance of the Fourth Generation King of the Greek Gods directly affected the current Olympian Twelve.
When a new king rose, the old order would inevitably fall. No member of the Twelve could avoid choosing a side.
That was precisely why Apollo had come to the Palace of Hades.
He wanted to know where his unfathomable uncle stood.
If Hades sided with Zeus, there was nothing Apollo could do. But if Hades intended to support Ryo Yagami... then Apollo would have to start making preparations immediately.
Hades chuckled, "And what difference would my stance make? Do you think Greece can function without me?"
As the eldest son of the Third Generation, Hades' position within the Greek pantheon was virtually unshakable.
Human mythology liked to claim that Hades had been cheated, that as the eldest brother he'd ended up with nothing but the Underworld. But that was only humanity's shallow understanding.
The Sky governed the living. The Sea governed the living.
The Underworld alone ruled over the dead.
If anything, Hades' domain was more important than Zeus's sky or Poseidon's sea. Death and reincarnation were supreme Authorities in any pantheon. Only the highest gods possessed them.
That was why Hades wasn't worried about the coming Fourth Generation King at all.
If the newcomer wanted to inherit Greece's cosmology... then Hades' cooperation would be indispensable.
Besides, he'd grown tired of Greece's endless political messes a long time ago. Retirement sounded far more appealing these days.
Compared to him, Apollo's situation was much more dangerous. After all, Hyperion, the previous God of Light, was still active in Little Garden.
Apollo was still young. He wasn't anywhere close to retirement, nor did he have Hades' detached mindset.
Thinking that, Hades patiently explained, "The foundation of the Third Generation Greek pantheon's cosmology is the Big Three. Zeus, Poseidon, and I each govern the Sky, Sea, and Underworld."
"Our powers divide the authority of the God King. So my share accounts for roughly one-third."
"If Zeus and Poseidon agree on something, my opinion doesn't carry much weight." As he spoke, Hades glanced westward and smiled. "Look at Zeus. The moment he returned, he rushed straight to Poseidon. He conveniently forgot that barely two hundred years ago he stole Poseidon's daughter and made her his lover."
"That alone should tell you. You're never going to outmaneuver someone that shameless."
The implication couldn't have been clearer.
The key wasn't Hades. It was Poseidon. Anyone who wanted to overthrow Zeus would inevitably have to deal with him.
So the person anyone needed to persuade wasn't this retired old veteran sitting before him. It was the notoriously petty Poseidon.
"Uncle, you may not care..." Apollo smiled bitterly. "But Athena certainly won't let me off."
He shook his head, "My dear sister is terrifying. Without making a sound, she created the foundation for an entire Fourth Generation pantheon. One move, and Zeus was backed into a corner."
What Apollo didn't mention was the bad blood between Athena and Artemis. For reasons he still couldn't understand, his normally cold and aloof younger sister simply couldn't stand the capable, commanding Athena.
'Women... They're impossible to understand. Men are so much easier.' Apollo silently grumbled to himself.
"What are you afraid of?" Hades sipped his fruit wine with a smile. "Compared to Zeus, who's already been forced into making his move, you're still in a much better position. You still have room to maneuver."
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Apollo meaningfully, "Instead of trying to recruit me... you'd be better off keeping an eye on your icy little sister."
"...Artemis." Apollo's smile grew even more strained.
Even now, he felt the world was changing far too quickly.
One day, his sister had gone to bully some powerful figure from the lower layers. The next, that same person had somehow become the future Fourth Generation King of the Greek Gods.
The change had come so suddenly that Apollo didn't even know how to react anymore.
Artemis had already applied to join the Divine War on Mars. What else could he do?
All he could do was let her offend her future superior.
Thinking that, Apollo sighed deeply, "Uncle, you know me. I have no desire to get caught in the struggle between Zeus and Athena."
His life was perfectly comfortable.
He had handsome companions to spend time with, good wine to enjoy, and when researching Authorities became boring, he could play music, travel, or indulge his interest in animal husbandry.
That was enough to keep him happy.
So why... why did his own relatives insist on ruining his peaceful life? Couldn't they just leave him alone?
But if his opponent was Athena... If it was that woman... Then failing to choose the right side in time meant he'd never get another chance.
Just look at Zeus. He'd guarded against enemies for years. Yet Athena had still cornered him in a single move, forcing him to fight desperately for even the slightest hope of survival.
Apollo was still young. He had no intention of dying because he hesitated too long before picking a side.
Otherwise, why would someone as laid-back as him come all the way here to persuade Hades to join Athena's camp? Wasn't he simply hoping that by declaring his allegiance early, he'd earn himself some leniency later?
Even so, the final decision still rested with Hades.
With that thought, Apollo looked toward his silent uncle, unable to hide the anxiety in his eyes.
Whether he and his little sister lived or died... might very well depend on the answer Hades gave next.
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