Chapter 34 Chapter 11: Desire Gives Birth to Love, Love Gives Birth to Beauty
Translator: 549690339
In the Ocean Temple, Laine bestowed godhood, and in the next moment, he utilized the properties of the Spirit Realm to leave his original location.
Beyond Mount Sinai, the space-time of the Spirit Realm became increasingly chaotic the deeper one ventured. Beyond the third layer, one entered the deep layers of the Spirit Realm, where a single step forward could mean traveling a thousand miles in the real world.
Although currently only the first two layers of the Spirit Realm had been completely structured, this did not prevent Laine from leveraging the characteristics of other dimensions.
Thus, in an instant, he arrived at the sea surface thousands of miles away.
This was still due to the Spirit Realm’s coverage being too small in the present world. Otherwise, with the movement method Laine called “Spiritual Realm Shuttle,” he could travel between the two sides of the earth in a matter of minutes.
“When living beings are born on the earth, and my Divine Power accumulates to level 16 or above, I can weaken the barrier between the surface of the Spirit Realm and the real world.”
“By then, lifeforms with innate intuition could directly see into the first layer of the Spirit Realm, and spirits that are deeply resolute or honored with rituals can stay in the shallow Spirit Realm, continuing to exist in another form.”
Contemplating in his heart, Laine looked back in the direction of the Ocean Palace.
Later generations would say that much of Zeus’s Wisdom came from Metis, yet now the godhood of Metis had been conferred by Laine.
“But it’s hard to say. Rather than attributing Zeus’s Wisdom to Metis, I’m more inclined to believe he just borrowed her name.”
“Swallowing a deity to use her Divine Authority, as if it were that easy. Besides, if Zeus managed to deceive the Goddess of Wisdom, his sweet talk is probably not inferior to Metis’s ‘Wisdom.’”
Shaking his head, Laine continued on his way to a location near the coast, following the direction in his memory.
Having diligently absorbed Origin for eight hundred years in the Spirit Realm, Laine had no intention of immediately going back upon finally emerging.
At the very least, he intended to retrieve something from that place.
“We’ve arrived.”
Seven days later, after crossing the vast sea, Laine reached a peculiar sea surface.
There were no waves here, the surface of the sea was as still as death. Yet, when the sunlight shone upon it, it possessed a divine beauty.
Not far away, a layer of blood foam emitting desire and Hatred floated in place. This was the source of all anomalies in this sea area, and even Pontus himself was reluctant to come near.
This was where the organs of Uranus had fallen, imbued with his Hatred for the Titans and Pontus. In the future, the Erinyes and Aphrodite would be born here.
As the birthplace of four deities, once the blood of the Divine King dissipated, this place too would become a sacred sea area.
“Who are you? This is the domain of the nearby sea lord. Strange deity, state your name.”
Suddenly, along with a somewhat strange tone, a half-snake, half-fish creature emerged.
She eyed Laine not far away with caution but did not act rashly, as the aura of Divine Power on him informed her that this was at least a deity with Intermediate Divine Power.
As one of Pontus’s five offspring, she, like her brother and husband Phorcys, was a lifeform that was half demigod and half monster. Together, they had sired many sea monsters, the most famous being the Graiae sisters.
They appeared as old women but shared one eye and one tooth among the three. They each ruled over ‘venom,’ ‘brutality,’ and ‘terror,’ but they were not True Gods. They were quasi-gods who held powers and possessed immortality, akin to the Oceanides without godhood.
“Keto, danger of the sea, I know of you.”
Laine didn’t look at her, nor did he answer her question.
Compared to Eurybia, the power of the sea, and Nereus, the friendly sea deity, Keto and her brother were more like Cyclops, disliked by all deities of Chaos.
There was no helping it; the gods of Chaos have always been superficial.
“But I do not know you, strange deity.”
“This is a forbidden sea area transformed by the Father God, a fact known to all deities.”
Keto’s expression grew increasingly unfriendly, particularly affected by her instincts compared to regular deities.
“That’s not important,” Laine said, an interesting thought suddenly emerging in his heart.
“What’s important is, do you want to change your appearance?”
“To get rid of your current form, or at least, to have another form that can be recognized by the gods.”
Keto’s increasingly ferocious face stiffened.
Laine’s persistent irrelevance was somewhat infuriating to Keto, who, being somewhat controlled by her beastly nature, had intended to follow her instincts and attack Laine; but his subsequent words immediately brought her back to her senses.
She had claimed more than once that she didn’t care about her appearance, but only she knew her thoughts when the gods’ banquet turned her away at the door.
“I want! I mean, what should I do?”
Her voice suddenly softened, though Laine could tell that this ‘softness’ was still harsh to the ears.
Without playing coy, Laine pointed towards the foam of blood in front of him.
“Drink it, of course, only a small part of it.”
“If you dare swallow it all, you’ll only serve as a vessel, birthing four new deities. But if you take just a few sips, maybe you’ll gain more than you expect.”
Keto hesitated.
Known as the ‘peril of the sea,’ she was very aware that this place was the most ‘dangerous’ part of these waters, and the source of the danger was this blood. She didn’t know whether she should believe this stranger deity’s words, but she was too desperate for change.
“To drink or not is up to you, but this might be your only chance.”
Extending his hand, Laine scooped a spoonful from the blood before him, then with a flicker, vanished silently from the surface of the sea.
In coming here, he had done so for this particular reason; encountering Keto was an unexpected bonus.
“Wait—”
Hurriedly speaking out, Keto wanted Laine to elaborate.
But Laine clearly had no time for her; his casual reminder was merely for his own amusement, like watching a spectacle for fun.
“Damn it!”
With a roar, but driven by a deep-seated longing, Keto still turned her gaze to the blood foam. After a long while, her ferocious face showed a struggle, but in the end, Keto’s desire for ‘beauty’ overpowered her instincts. She no longer cared about the danger of the blood before her and gulped it down.
As the blood entered her stomach, her appearance indeed began to change. At a certain moment, she stopped drinking and looked at her reflection on the sea’s surface.
A beautiful goddess with black hair appeared there, the wildness in her eyes adding a touch of allure. Yet at that moment, Keto felt no joy; instead, she felt ‘envy’ towards those who were truly beautiful.
She knew she had now become a ‘Goddess of Beauty’—but it was a ‘dressed-up beauty,’ a ‘false disguise of loveliness.’
Simultaneously, she understood under the influence of godhood that the true deity symbolizing ‘Love and Beauty’ would be born from these blood foams in the future, and her ‘disguise’ would be meaningless in front of them, serving only as a backdrop for the flowers.
“Nothing is everlasting without change; one day, I will become true ‘Beauty.’”
“If not, then let them all die. As long as there is no one more beautiful than me, then I will still be the epitome of beauty.”
Her voice was no longer raspy, but the pleasant tone spoke cruel words. Keto looked at the blood foam on the sea and silently swore an oath in her heart.
The future Goddess of Love and Beauty was destined to be her enemy.
After a long stare, when the sun set, Keto still left that place. Following her memory, she headed towards the palace of a deity, where a gathering seemed to be taking place.
The future was still distant, but now, she wanted to experience what it was like for the other deities to enjoy a banquet.
This time, she wouldn’t be rejected.
