Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

"You've done well, although you've only completed half of the tasks in the mortal world, our bet can be settled in part now,"

"Now, this place is mine to handle,"

With one step, the Lord of Hell vanished without a trace. Behind him, Mephisto bowed in the direction of his departure and then cheerfully stepped through the illusory whirl with the souls.

The rest was no longer of any concern to the demons; their part was done, and presumably, the daughter of the original Sea God faced no issues.

Soon, the waters quieted again, only the sound of souls passing through continuing endlessly.

...

A spectrum of light streaked across the sky,

The gentle flames surrounding the light dispelled the chill of the downpour. The gaze of the Goddess of Hearthfire swept over the ocean's surface, but there were only waves upon waves.

Earlier, at the feast on Olympus, Hestia had left early due to her dissatisfaction with Poseidon's attitude. However, after leaving the Divine Palace, she didn't return to her own hall but instead came to the surface of Earth.

She intended to visit the descendants of the deities, Prometheus's son Deucalion and his brother's daughter Pitha. Though unspoken, they were allowed to survive after the Deluge because the gods all knew the Divine King would no longer permit any god to enjoy the credit for creating humans.

Moreover, there was no longer a need for gods to create humans. Creation was always arduous, but imitation was quite different. After three human ages, with the assistance of the gods, creating humans wasn't as difficult as imagined; what was truly crucial was crafting their materials.

Fortunately, the gods were well-prepared for this task.

"What is this, some kind of dark power?"

Suspended in mid-air, Hestia's brows furrowed. The sullen light surged up through the water, mirroring the heavy clouds in the sky.

Before, halfway through her journey, Hestia had abruptly changed direction. No longer within Olympus, she couldn't constantly observe what was happening in the cities of humans, but the trident flying towards the Mount of the Gods and the changes in the northwest of the land were still distinctly visible.

The disaster that was to annihilate humanity underwent an unforeseen change, one that the gods had not anticipated. Thus, the goddess came here immediately, wishing to uncover what had occurred.

Yet everything seemed empty; she found nothing. It wasn't until she hovered above the ruins of the human cities that she keenly sensed something amiss.

A set of laws different from the mortal world emanated from beneath the water, an inexplicable sense of oppression looming over the Goddess of Hearthfire. It was somewhat reminiscent of the sensation she had when traveling to the Spirit Realm, a feeling of not belonging to the surrounding world; but by comparison, the goddess felt somewhat relieved.

The normal rule in the mortal world that forbade deities from using their powers seemed to be somewhat diluted by this novel law. This foreign law wasn't amiable towards Hestia, but in some way, it released a fraction of her power.

Thus the goddess no longer hesitated and pressed her hand downward.

Boom—

A muffled sound erupted, and the ocean surface crackled open, but after extending less than a hundred meters, Hestia's divine power was blocked by another figure.

Focusing her gaze, with only a bit of hesitation, the goddess recognized the newcomer. She had appeared more than once at the feasts on Olympus, but it seemed she had not been seen much over the past few decades.

"Keto, why are you here?"

"Do I need to report my whereabouts to you?"

Within the currents, Keto, the mother of sea monsters in myth, retorted unfazed.

"...No need, but the Divine King has designated this place a forbidden zone, forbidding ordinary deities from coming here. You might not be aware of this... but what's happening below?"

Ignoring Keto's somewhat provocative tone, Hestia looked downward.

But she could see nothing of use. Darkness naturally held the quality of 'secrecy,' and although the powers wielded by demons fell short when compared to The Dark Overlord, this place wasn't Olympus where divine power could be freely used; hence, the goddess saw only some vague, quivering, transparent shadows that vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"The gods have annihilated humanity, but I'm quite interested in their creations, so I came here to ask their departed souls a few questions. This shouldn't violate the laws of the Divine Court, right?"

Following Mephisto's previous instructions, Keto stalled. And true enough, after hearing her explanation, Hestia didn't know what to say.

If it was merely about seizing a few human souls, indeed it wouldn't be a big deal, and the Divine Court wouldn't trouble itself with the offspring of the original Sea God. But in light of recent events at this location, the goddess thought something didn't quite add up.

"Do you know what happened here earlier, and where is Triton?"

Not pursuing the matter beneath the waters, Hestia asked about her nephew.

"How would I know? Perhaps he left on his own,"

Keto offhandedly replied, her lack of sincerity apparent.

"...I hope that's the case,"

Frowning, even the usually good-natured Hestia was somewhat irritated. She gave Keto a glance and finally decided to go down herself for a probe; under no circumstance would she trust the other's word.

A few human souls, how could they cause a disturbance on the level of the laws?

However, the next moment, the Goddess of Hearthfire's expression drastically changed. She looked toward the eastern sky, and as she watched, several unfamiliar figures emerged from the void.