The Sea Goddess Tethys brought Hephaestus to meet the Ocean Nymph Eurynome.
They were both daughters of the sea, but belonged to opposing factions.
Tethys was the granddaughter of the ancient sea god Pontus, while Eurynome was the daughter of the Lord of the Ocean, Oceanus.
Ever since Poseidon became the King of the Seas and married Amphitrite, the second daughter of Oceanus and Eurynome's elder sister, conflicts had occasionally erupted between the two sides.
However, the clever Tethys was different from her siblings and elders. She had always been making friends with Divine Beings from the rival camp.
The Ocean Nymph standing before her now, once the wife of Zeus and mother of the Graces, was one of Tethys' newly befriended companions.
Upon hearing Tethys' purpose, Eurynome immediately exclaimed, "How could this be?"
After learning of Hephaestus' tragic fate, this goddess who had always longed for the beauty of the world couldn't help but feel sympathy.
The true son of the King of the Gods suffered in hardship, while the false one basked in glory—she simply couldn't accept such injustice.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely take you to Mount Olympus and announce your identity to all the gods."
At Tethys' suggestion, Eurynome, worried that the Queen of the Gods Hera would refuse to acknowledge him, decided to invite more Divine Beings to join them in exposing the truth behind the false heir of the King of the Gods.
They went to find the goddess of the River Styx and The Queen of the Seas, Amphitrite—Eurynome's elder sisters. Along the way, they also ran into Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth and eldest sister of Zeus.
As the elder sister of both Zeus and Hera, the silent and reserved Hestia was deeply saddened by the current state of Hera.
She even decided to stay on Mount Olympus for a while, just to keep an eye on the troublesome couple.
Because of their efforts to gather these goddesses, they were delayed somewhat, and by the time they reached Mount Olympus, the banquet hosted by the King of the Gods had already begun.
…
Hera was in an excellent mood that day, even walking with an extra spring in her step.
Her most perfect son was finally about to reveal his exceptional talents before the gods.
Before entering the grand hall of Olympus, Hera handed a belt to Bolos, leaving him quite puzzled.
"This is the Belt of Deception from the goddess Apate. It can disguise your appearance into anything. No Divine Being can see through it. I exchanged it with the goddess Eris for a golden apple."
Bolos was confused. "Why would the Belt of Deception be with the goddess of Discord?"
The two goddesses Hera mentioned were both daughters of the Lady of the Night, Nyx.
This embodiment of primordial darkness had parted ways with her husband Erebus after giving birth to Aether, the space between heaven and earth, and Hemera, the goddess of daylight. Since then, she had raised no children together with him.
In the domain of night, she had birthed numerous chaotic Divine Beings associated with bizarre Divine Offices—deception, discord, poverty, pain, aging, and more—all on her own.
Bolos didn't know much about Apate, but he was familiar with the tales of Eris.
The legendary quarrel over the golden apple had been instigated by the meddlesome goddess of Discord.
He hadn't expected that, in this timeline, Eris had obtained the golden apple in this manner.
"Don't worry about why the belt was with Eris. When you receive your second bestowal of Divine Power, your adult form will appear. Use the Belt of Deception to subtly alter your appearance—just enough that you don't exactly match that foreign god."
As Hera spoke, she even used Divine Power to conjure an image—the very likeness of Bolos in his adult form.
Bolos smiled softly, accepted the belt, and fastened it around his waist. "I understand. I won't put you in a difficult position."
Hera looked at him, her expression suddenly growing complex. She gently caressed his cheek and sighed, "I truly wish… you were my real child."
Bolos was slightly stunned, about to speak, but Hera didn't give him the chance. She grabbed his hand and flew toward the main hall of Olympus. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, they slowly walked in.
Once they reached the center of the gathered Divine Beings, she released his hand and walked straight to the Queen of the Gods' throne beside Zeus.
"Gods, this is my eldest son, Bolos. You should all know him. He is the most talented of Olympus' young Divine Beings and is destined for a glorious journey."
As Hera spoke, she glanced thoughtfully at Apollo and Artemis not far away.
Unlike Bolos, who still retained a childlike appearance, the brother and sister had already taken on the forms of a youth and a maiden.
But at this moment, neither sibling paid attention to Hera's gaze. Instead, upon seeing Bolos, they exchanged surprised glances.
This appearance… bore a six- or seven-tenths resemblance to their former "father."
Could he really be the son of Zeus and Hera, and not the child of their "father"?
Zeus seemed to notice the pair's reaction as well. Annoyed, he said flatly, "Enough. There's nothing more to see."
"Today, in the name of the King of the Gods, I bestow upon you the Divine Office of Opportunity and Creation."
"Zeus, you…"
Hera was clearly displeased with how casually Zeus was handling the matter.
They had agreed on holding a grand ceremony.
Now, with all the gods gathered, Zeus had simply begun the ceremony by granting the Divine Office directly.
"Hera, I am the King of the Gods."
Zeus cast a cold glance at the Queen of the Gods beside him, then raised the King of the Gods' scepter and pointed it at Bolos.
Among those witnessing the scene were Mountain Divine Beings, Ocean Divine Beings, Zeus' daughters—Fates, Horae, Graces, and Muses—and even the previous Queen of the Gods, the goddess of time, Rhea, mother of Zeus.
She was easily the most revered guest present.
Seeing this, she was finally certain that the rumors circulating in Olympus were likely true: Hera's eldest son was not favored by Zeus.
"At last, I've obtained the Divine Office."
Unlike Hera, Bolos wasn't the least bit upset. In fact, skipping all the pomp and proceeding directly to the final step suited him perfectly.
After all, he wasn't a hero—he was a villain. And villains often met their ends by talking too much or dragging things out.
From the void, a strange force seemed to descend upon Bolos.
It was like a manifestation of Primordial Force—not a law, but something beyond law, perhaps even indescribable.
"So this is Authority?"
A flicker passed through Bolos' mind. With Hera's guidance, he was no longer as ignorant about the divine path of this world as he once was.
The things Athena had told him—Hera had also explained.
And the things Athena hadn't told him—Hera had explained as well.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]