[Hera POV]
"Now, explain to me why there is a certain little rumor being tossed around on the lips of these Gods."
"Better yet, explain why these rumors claim that I, the Queen of Olympus, gave birth to an infant so deformed that I threw it from Mount Olympus in disgust."
"Which shouldn't possibly be, after all. You all swore an oath, and it would genuinely upset me if any one of you had somehow failed to keep your word."
"It would be terrible, since everyone knows that those who break their oath never meet a good end. So just imagine the trouble the trickster who failed their obligation would face, and what that would mean for the rest of you."
"...."
My Nymph servants, the very same who witnessed that day, now kneeling before me, their forms drawn tight, shrinking under the weight of my gaze like flowers folding beneath a sudden cold wind.
"Honestly, I could hardly believe how surprised I was after when my husband visited and I found all of this… but I promise that whoever leaked my secret will die by my own hands." I growled the second half of the threat.
Then one of the younger Nymphs stood up and looked directly into my eyes, shouting, "I did not break my promise!"
Seeing her expression, I could tell she was telling the truth. Deities can sense the falsehoods of mortals, and there was none in her voice.
When I turned my gaze to the other Nymphs, they immediately understood what I expected. One after another, they stood and stated clearly that they had kept their word.
'I see… since it's not one of my servants, then it could only be that recent bastard child of Zeus he had with that damn Pleiades,' I said with clear a disgust far stronger then I ever felt for that spawn.
'Regardless I'll ensure rumors will be just that—rumors.' Using my authority as 'Queen of Olympus' to oversee the skies, it allowed me to veiw the entirety of the earth while remaining at Mount Olympus.
In mere moments I scanned over all of Greece whether by land, islands, or sea, still nothing came to vision.
'It's a shame I no longer possess the Domains of Nature, Fertile lands, and The Home after my marriage with Zeus, fortunately I still have some lingering abilities of the older days.'
Perhaps sensing her intentions a towering, red-haired lion standing nearly two and a half meters tall came trudging in behind the Nymphs who had resumed kneeling. Beneath its thick coat of fur, are swell of muscles that shifted with every heavy step, and strikingly it had two massive heads, each bearing fangs like those of a smilodon.
Upon approaching Hera it had stopped and kneel(lay) down, "I came at your command, my Queen. Speak your will, and I shall act — guard, seek, fight, or hunt, as your word demands."
"Aaahhhh~! Ophryléon, Theradyos, you came just at the right time." Ophryléon and Theradyos, my twin headed red lion and one of my many pests. This fellow is certainly of one my more intelligent and stronger creatures, having abilities to find any prey and manipulation of burning hot white flames.
While patted their mains and rubbed their chins, I gave out the order, "I need you to search... and possibly hunt."
At the command Ophryléon & Theradyos eyes narrowed as It's breathing slowed, nostrils flared, and the soft rumble in its chest quieted to silence.
"As you command, my Queen."
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[Hephaestus POV]
Strength, pure and absolute, that's what I felt when the elixir touched my tongue. It flooded my being like molten gold, rushing through every vein until I thought I might burst. My muscles tightened with vigor like I could crush continents in ease, my lungs filled as if I could swallow the world itself. Power, vitality, dominance — it was all there, pulsing in rhythm with my heart.
"Aghh—! Ghh—hah—hahh—!"
Then despair took hold, power that had filled me turned inward, crushing instead of uplifting. My bones ached as if they were being melted and hammered into something new. The pain grew unbearable — not just on my skin, but inside my blood, my mind. Every ounce of strength, every spark of that mystical might was torn away, stripped until I felt hollow, exposed, raw.
Yet the worst was still to come, for deep down within my mind I found myself reminiscing on an old memory of John, my human self, reading a very terrible urban cultivation light novel with all it's predictable clichés, and obvious over compensating chinese superiority complexes.
The current chapter was detailing a Phoenix death, falling to earth after being cut down, but rising up again from ashes, a rebirth.
Then I was hit with a [realization], my transformation is in a way similar to a phoenix. It all mirrored it's cycle, to be broken down, consumed by their own fire, only to rise again stronger, purer, and whole, only difference is I'm using a potion rather than flames.
Unfortunately for me, both my body and the universe seemed to have agreed. As I felt sudden sharp change assaulted my core being, and I instinctively new what it was, a brand new domain is emerging.
It wasn't just any of the branches either, what was sprouting inside my core is a whole goddamn tree, a main domain. Pain I had never experienced when I was the Human John and the Old Hephaestus, the viscerally sensation my other Trees(main domains) being forcedibly shoved to make room. The possibility of death now looming over me subconsciously didn't help, it had only further push my despair into the trenches of the abyss.
"Ghh—ahh—hah—ahhh—!"
Seconds felt like hours as the pain tore through me, my throat ragged as I tried shallow breaths between gasps, each heartbeat dragging time itself into a slow, merciless crawl.
"Hhh—hahh—hahh—hahhh… Ahh… over…"
Gradually, the everything began to fade away. The pain dulled to a heavy throb, the pressure in my bones eased, replaced by a dense, grounding weight. Can barely feel my throat as I no doubt torn it to shred after screaming in agony for so long.
Finally exhaustion hit me, my too tired to checking anything started to shut down, and vision quickly blurred, only getting a glance of flames swallowing me.
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[Third Person POV]
Lemnos Island
Within Hephaestus forge a large ball of fire that had 'swallowed' Hephaestus shifted colors, starting from red, to orange, white, and lastly into deep blue flames.
As the flames at last diminished, what had once been a disfigured infant with a crippled leg, now reborn a new.
Laying flat down, a five-year-old boy with bronze-tan skin that seemingly catch the light with a subtle warmth. His short, slightly messy brownish-black hair framed a youthful face, and glowing blue runes trailed across his small body, flickering like gentle flames. Each rune seemed alive, flowing together in intricate patterns that pulsed faintly beneath the skin. On his back, the markings merged to form the image of a phoenix, its wings spread in blue fire. When the light touched him, the runes shimmered, casting faint reflections that danced across his skin.
"I still can't believe you dragged me into this drama Thetis~"
"...I'm sorry Eurynome, but when I learned about that Infant, I just..."
Near the beaches of the island of Lemnos, two women emerged from the waters of the Aegean Sea. One had a youthful, slender figure, dressed in simple but refined garments. Her skin was pale like porcelain, her hair the color of a setting sun, and from her back extended white birdlike wings.
The other stood taller, with a much more fuller build, and fair hair that caught the light. Her turquoise garments were trimmed with silver, and her legs appeared to be made of solid silver, smooth and polished like metal.
These two were the Oceanid-Goddess Eurynome, third wife of Zeus, and Thetis, a sea nymph who had achieved divinity, becoming a sea goddess, and one of the fifty daughters of the sea god Nereus.
"I know I know! Your just being the adorable compassionate yet compulsive Thetis I know." Eurynome said camly while waving off Thetis as her wings flicks off water.
"I–I'm not that predictable (/≧◇≦＼)!!"
"Besides! It's literally a babe, a BABE! I'm mean who just throws their own CHILD
( ｀Д´)/ !!"
Eurynome simply looked at her and said, "It's...actually quite the normal thing Thetis, you have to remember how this world operates."
"It has no consideration for the Hopeful, and kindness did not come without condition."
"I know." Thetis coolly responded back without being upset by Eurynome words. Instead she said, "If the world won't care for this child, then I gladly will, and without asking a d*mn thing in return" while sweeping her hair backwards.
"Still, you should know what your about to do will surely gain a certain Queen's ire, so how do you plan to deal with that?"
"That's simple! I'll take the child back with me to the sea under my father's protection."
"While my father may have lost quite a bit of influence since Earth-Shaker emergence, he is still a quite a strong God."
"Okay, but what if she personally requests Earth-Shaker, The King, or any of the other powerful deities for help?"
"Do YOU think any of them will help her in this case, after all aren't you the The King's third wife?" Thetis said as she rolled her eyes.
Eurynome just gently shook her head, thinking for about a few seconds before she replied with a hard, "NO."
"As a of matter of fact, I actually think most of them would use this chance to get back at her, getting the Titaness of Justice involved which would be incredibly simple, and using her 'trial' to impose certain 'punishments'."
"As for the child itself, no idea, it varies depending on which Deity finds him."
"I see."
The conversation slowly went quiet as they walked, soon Thetis found herself thinking many of the Gods she had met, especially the ones that lived on Mount Olympus.
'No matter what, I'll be the one who finds this child first. I'll raise him with lot's of love and care, so what if he's ugly? That doesn't make him any less worth raising.'
'I'll just raise him with a soul far more brilliant than on the surface. And when he's old enough, he can decide exactly how he wants to live, without anyone else controlling that choice.'
"Let's do it–(*≧д≦)!!"
Seeing her friend's typical gusty attitude, Eurynome smiled, feeling glad she made befriended Thetis, a person of a fairly rare personality in this kind of world.
'Eh, what the heck, I'll help her raise the kid, never liked that b*tch Queen, especially not after what she and The King did back then...'
'That is if the Kid is still alive.'
After walking around the island the beaches to sense any remnant of Divine energy, or find any other races that locate this infant possible surviving infant, before eventually coming to a large crater with most of the surrounding sands turned to glass.
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Author: sorry for the late chapter, I've just been dealing with a lot school stuff since it's almost the end of the year, and I've been trying to improve my grades to make up for the earlier.
Again sorry for the late update, some of you may know this already from my [All new Goetia] book, but for those who don't know, this will probably be a common occurrence, as I am a school student and a worker, my chapters upload will be chaotic and regular.
I write for mostly fun, but I also do the edits alone using ChatGBT, and I'm not even getting paid, which should be enough to tell you about priorities & responsibilities.
Still, I never want to be one of those Authors who never finishes their books, thus will keep uploading, editing, and creating stories for you guys to enjoy.
With that said here are the 8 winners for confirmed lovers interests.
Tiamat with 6 votes
Amaterasu with 5 votes
Scáthach with 5 votes—Note; Although not considered a Goddess from Celtic mythology but a Hero, but here will be different. How? Let's just say you'll see.
Ereshkigal, Sif, & Bastet with 4 votes
For the last two spots were a 4 way tie between Nüwa, Freya, Brigid, & Isis, in which I spun a wheel for.
Making Brigid & Isis the winner.
Therefore Tiamat, Amaterasu, Scáthach, Ereshkigal, Sif, Bastet, Brigid & Isis will be the confirmed, and possibly only love interests. Note: I am only willing to make it grow to ten but no more, otherwise it'll becomes a 'catch em all' kind of situation and may ruin the story.
With that said I hope enjoy today's chapter, and have a great day😁