Chapter 6 – Saving a Goddess (I)

"Themis." Hemera spoke the name of the goddess with a warm smile on her rosy lips, her blue eyes seeming to shine with concern for a moment, as if she were thinking of something troubling.

Miquella stopped drinking and looked surprised at his older sister. He really did not expect that the goddess Hemera was talking about was a Titaness, and one of the most important in Greece.

"Themis, the daughter of Heaven and Earth? Goddess of justice, divine law, divine order, and customs." He asked to confirm that he had heard Hemera's words correctly.

"Yes, that Themis." Hemera was not at all surprised by her brother's skeptical reaction. Titans were not exactly known for their benevolence, as many personified the furious forces of nature.

"How did you two meet?" Miquella looked at his sister with curiosity shining in his golden eyes, he placed the goblet on the table and waited for the answer.

"She was being pursued by Hyperion and Atlas during the Titanomachy. I helped her escape and we became friends." Hemera replied, bringing the goblet full of ambrosia to her lips and savoring the drink of the gods.

Miquella nodded. Hyperion and Atlas were, respectively, the right and left arms of the Titan of Time during the Titanomachy. Themis, who had joined the side of the Olympians, was naturally considered a traitor and hunted by the Titans. There was nothing surprising about that.

The God of Order narrowed his eyes and looked at his sister with a suspicious look. He did not believe that Themis had no hidden plan related to him, especially since the Titaness had used Hemera to get in touch with him.

"I don't think such a powerful goddess would submit to me on a whim. So, tell me, what is really going on with her?" His voice was slightly serious and calm.

Accepting a Subordinate God was no trivial matter; accepting a goddess, a Titaness, especially an ancient and famous one like Themis, had certain complications and politics involved. Accepting Themis meant accepting everything about her, including her enemies over billions of years.

Hemera remained with a smile on her face despite Miquella's suspicious words. In her eyes, this was an expected question, after all, no one would submit to another god without a good reason.

"Don't be so suspicious, brother, things are much simpler than you expect." She spoke, letting out a low, pleasant, though slightly sad, laugh.

"Forgive my distrust, sister, but the news is too good to believe." Miquella naturally did not distrust Hemera, but Themis behind the proposal. Trusting someone unknown blindly was not like him.

Betrayal is so painful because it always comes from someone close.

"Themis is in trouble, brother. She is seriously polluted," Hemera explained with a serious face, her voice sad over the fate of her friend. This time, Miquella immediately grew serious.

"Tainted by whom, when, and how?" he asked, the aura around him changing completely. The idea that the pollution of the Outer Gods had reached the lower layers of Greece, despite his efforts, was a humiliation. Especially for him, as he took his work and responsibilities very seriously.

If this had happened, it would mean he wasn't doing his job right.

Malenia, who had been listening in silence, recognized this aura. Every time Miquella was truly serious and deeply irritated, he emitted this kind of aura.

"Don't worry. I personally searched every corner of her palace. There was no trace of Cursed Items or any sign of a Ritual being performed," Hemera said, understanding Miquella's seriousness. Outer Gods were dangerous and highly powerful. Even the weakest among them possessed the strength of a Divine Throne.

Miquella frowned at his sister's words and asked in a serious tone, "How did she learn about the existence of the Outer Gods?"

Contrary to what one might imagine, the existence of the Outer Gods was a closely guarded secret in the Greek Universe. Only Primordial Gods and a select group of other gods knew about the existence of the Outer Gods.

The reason for maintaining this secrecy was simple. When you know about the Outer Gods, they also know about you. Unlike the Primordial Gods, who had an innate resistance to the pollution of the Outer Gods, normal gods did not possess this resistance and were highly susceptible to corruption.

Just the gaze of an Outer God could make you hear whispers and voices filled with madness, tormenting your mind and thoughts, breaking down your mental defenses and gradually turning you into a monster full of madness and horror, a perfect vessel for an Outer God.

A tainted god meant that the influence of the particular Outer God could penetrate the Barrier and create breaches, allowing more Outer Gods to come through and cause even more damage. Hence, the existence of the Outer Gods was a rigorously guarded secret.

"She discovered an ancient mural." Hemera let out a helpless sigh. Even by destroying anything related to the Outer Gods, certain things can always go unnoticed or were hidden deliberately.

The mural Themis found was proof of this, and now her friend was seriously tainted by an Outer God.

Hemera had helped Themis using her authorities, but this only managed to keep the Titaness in a vegetative state. She needed help, help from someone capable of confronting madness and horror head-on.

Miquella was perfect for this, especially with his authorities over Order, Chaos, and as the Lord of the Astral World.

Gently rubbing his forehead, Miquella looked at his sister, who gazed back at him with a pleading look, and he let out a sigh.

"She should be thrown into Tartarus, but." Miquella looked at Hemera and spoke. "I will help her recover."

The reason for locking Themis in Tartarus instead of killing her was because the unique characteristic of the gods of the Greek universe was their immortality. Greek gods could not die under any circumstances.

It was an iron law that had never been broken throughout creation and probably never would be, because to kill a Greek god, you would have to destroy the universe. Which was not exactly an easy task.

All other universes also have unique characteristics. The Egyptian Pantheon, for example, could devour each other to become stronger and steal the destiny of another god. Amon-Ra was a good example of this.

Of course, each pantheon's unique characteristic had its disadvantages. The immortality of the Greek gods, for example, although they were immortal, their divine power grew very slowly compared to gods from other pantheons.

In the Greek Universe, it was very common to find a Minor God, such as a Dryad (spirits of forests, flowers, and rivers), who was millions of years old but possessed insignificant strength.

This wasn't just due to a lack of talent but also because divine power grew very slowly over time due to the immortality of the gods. This made the gods of the Greek Universe quite lazy and often addicted to pleasure, ignoring the passage of time.

Naturally, this tarnished the reputation of the Greek Universe in other Pantheons. Greek gods were synonymous with hedonism, sex, and debauchery in many pantheons. There is even a popular saying in the Infinite Cosmos, "If you want sex, go to the Greek universe."

Letting out a helpless sigh, Miquella looked at Hemera and spoke, "I presume you brought her." Hemera nodded and waved her hand. A two-meter-diameter crystal coffin appeared above the Personification of Day's hand. Inside the coffin, a goddess with long silver hair and a laurel crown rested as if she were having a pleasant sleep, though her injuries suggested otherwise.

"Origin Crystal," Miquella murmured, looking at the material of the coffin.

Origin Crystals were fragments of the Barrier that protected the universe, which, when separated from the Barrier, transformed into white crystals. Perfect for isolating the influence of the Outer Gods, unfortunately, the scarcity of Origin Crystals prevented their widespread use.

It was the first time Miquella had seen such a large amount of Origin Crystal, which showed how important Themis was in Hemera's heart.

Appearing in one of the palace's rooms, Miquella placed the coffin containing the Titaness on the bed.

Hemera and Malenia stood behind him, one showing sadness and concern, the other pure curiosity, both protected by a barrier created by Miquella. Opening the coffin, a malicious atmosphere spread through the surroundings like tendrils of black smoke.

If this were in Greece, the main planet of the Greek universe, these tendrils of smoke would have polluted everything around and transformed any material into monsters, but not in Miquella's Realm – The Nation of Disorder.

With a wave of his hand, all the pollution from the Outer God was contained in one place, forming a ball of black smoke that floated around Miquella.

Miquella looked at Themis and frowned. The goddess's once beautiful appearance was completely ruined. Beneath her skin, bloody sarcomas oozed blood, pus, and a black liquid. Her flesh and golden ichor seemed to have a life of their own, moving and contorting to create grotesque, slimy faces of horrid creatures.

There was not a part of the goddess that was intact. Though her eyes were closed, Miquella could see worms writhing disgustingly beneath her eyelids.

Miquella noticed something unusual: Themis did not seem to be fighting against the influence of the Outer God, almost as if she allowed herself to be polluted intentionally. As to why, that was something he also wanted to know.

This was the first time Miquella had seen the influence of an Outer God on a Greek god firsthand. Now any doubts about the secrecy surrounding the Outer Gods vanished completely. Normal gods were simply easy targets for Outer Gods. Even a powerful goddess like Themis had turned into this; Miquella did not want to see what a Minor God would turn into.

Suddenly, Miquella frowned. He looked at the goddess's abdomen and noticed an unusual vital aura. Initially, he thought it was the gestation of a vessel for an Outer God, but after a deep analysis, he discovered that it was not the child of an Outer God; Themis herself was pregnant before being polluted.

This complicated the situation significantly, but at the same time, he understood why he felt that Themis was not fighting against the influence of the Outer God—she was protecting the children within her womb using all her divine power.

The love of a mother, even among gods, was truly strong. Of course, there were exceptions, like a certain goddess of marriage who threw her son from Olympus because he had some deformity.

Around Miquella's body, a black and golden aura emanated like a flame burning furiously. He waved his hand, and the Assassin's Blade appeared in his grasp. Without any hesitation, he plunged the sword into Themis's heart, and the battle began.

Sensing the approaching danger, the pollution, which seemed to have basic instincts, moved. Themis's rotten flesh and black blood transformed into a long, grotesque mouth, apparently aiming to completely devour Miquella.

Faced with the attack, Miquella merely snorted coldly. If it had been the Outer God itself attacking, things would have been different, but what was before him was not an Outer God, merely a remnant of its power. With a simple gaze, the entire monstrosity of flesh and blood collapsed instantly. Miquella "distorted" the concept of life in the monster, transforming "life" into "death."

However, the pollution itself was not destroyed, only the monster. Miquella then "exiled" the pollution into a space, "distorted" that space, and compressed it. He compressed the space until all the matter was concentrated in one place and simply threw it into the Astral World.

The Astral World would play the role of filtering and dissolving all pollution.

As the Lord of the Astral World, Miquella could do something similar, but to expedite the process, he utilized the Astral World to filter and dissolve all the pollution.

Looking at Themis, still unconscious in the crystal coffin, Miquella "distorted" Themis's state from "sick" to "healthy" and from "wounded" to "healed."

Magically, the horrific injuries and deplorable state of Themis's body began to heal, as if time itself was reversing. In place of the extremely injured and polluted body, a beautiful, silver-haired goddess lay nude before Miquella.

Seeing the goddess still unconscious, Miquella frowned. Logically, Themis should have awakened, but seeing that she wasn't moving suggested this wouldn't happen anytime soon. Miquella presumed that the pollution was still somewhere in the goddess's body, or at least he hoped that was the case, as it was his first time healing another god from the pollution of an Outer God.

Miquella thought for a moment and made a cut on his wrist, letting his golden blood drip onto the goddess's naked body. As the God of Order, Chaos, and the Astral World, his own body embodied his authorities, so it was natural that his blood would possess related abilities. It was this or kissing the unconscious goddess, something Miquella did not wish to do.

What Miquella didn't realize was that the golden blood that fell on the goddess's abdomen was slowly absorbed. At the same time, a reluctant roar reverberated through the room, and the shadow of a grotesque face appeared before disappearing completely.

Turning to Hemera, who had witnessed the entire scene, Miquella spoke calmly. "She is free from the pollution, but it may take some time for her to regain consciousness. In the meantime, I will be on my throne."

Without waiting for Hemera to say anything, Miquella vanished. He felt the need to work a bit harder to ensure something like this wouldn't happen again. Although it wasn't his fault but someone else's, he felt he had to redouble his efforts in balancing the Greek Universe.

-

Hemera wanted to express her gratitude, but Miquella vanished before she could say anything, leaving her with a look of dissatisfaction.

"Always in such a hurry," she murmured, approaching the bed.

Malenia gave the Goddess of the Day a cold glance before leaving the room without bothering to say a word.

"She really doesn't like me," Hemera murmured, noting Malenia's departure. "She is quite possessive of Miquella."

Putting those thoughts aside, Hemera sat on the bed beside the unconscious Themis, her eyes filled with a gentle and warm look. For one of the few friends she had, she had even asked her brother to bend some rules. When a god is considered polluted, they are usually locked away for eternity in Tartarus, without a second chance.

It's incredibly difficult to know if the pollution has been completely removed. So, to avoid unnecessary risks, the god in question is cast into Tartarus forever. An extremely cruel and cold punishment from the rulers of the Greek Universe.

As for what the Personification of the Abyss, her uncle Tartarus, does with the polluted prisoners, Hemera doesn't know and prefers it to stay that way. The primordial god of the Abyss was terrifying, and she preferred to keep her distance from him.

Suddenly, Hemera noticed her friend's eyelashes trembling, a sign that she was about to wake up.

After a moment, Themis slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of silver eyes, similar to two pools of molten silver.

"Hemera..." A barely audible whisper escaped the lips of the Titaness of Divine Order.

"Themis, I'm here..." Hemera gently held her best friend's hand and spoke softly.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking around the unfamiliar room. Then, she widened her eyes, feeling the authorities floating around. To her eyes, the whole world around her was made up of two authorities: Order and Chaos.

"So beautiful..." murmured the Titaness of Divine Order and Justice. She never thought she would see such a beautiful place in her life. Everything seemed so orderly despite the chaos, it was stunning to behold.

"We are in my brother's realm," Hemera replied, helping her friend to lean against the headboard of the bed in a comfortable position.

Themis nodded, realizing that Hemera's brother probably personified both Order and Chaos, her superior in every sense of the word. In simple terms, while she could control the water of the sea, he was the sea itself.

However, Themis quickly set those thoughts aside and remembered her situation.

Placing a hand on her abdomen, she sighed in relief upon noticing that her daughters were safe.

"What happened?" Themis asked, looking at Hemera, her eyes reflecting profound horror and fear. She couldn't remember much, but what she did remember would likely terrify her for the rest of her immortal life.

"You were polluted, polluted by something," Hemera responded seriously. She didn't specify further because Themis needed to become a Subordinate God under Miquella to access the full information. Otherwise, she risked being polluted again.

Themis furrowed her brow, recalling the mural she had seen—a being composed of numerous grotesque spheres covered in tentacles and countless eyes.

She had heard that beyond the Barrier lay unknown dangers, but she had always assumed it was just rumors spread to prevent a god from leaving the universe. Now, she didn't think they were just simple rumors. She knew that beyond the Barrier, there was something terrifying.

Honestly, Themis had not been re-polluted because she was in Miquella's Realm; otherwise, she would have been polluted again just by remembering the being.

"What price did you pay?" Though she didn't remember much, Themis knew the state she was in. Before losing consciousness, she had protected her unborn daughters with all her divine power, leaving herself completely defenseless to whatever had attacked her.

"You will become a Subordinate God under my brother," Hemera said without hesitation. This was a price she couldn't afford to pay herself, as it was Themis's life at stake.

Themis nodded, not rejecting the price Hemera had mentioned. For the first time in billions of years, she truly felt what fear was. She needed a protector to ensure she was never so defenseless again—not just for her, but for her unborn daughters.

Caressing her abdomen, Themis had already decided that she would become a Subordinate God under Hemera's brother. Partly for saving her and her daughters, but also for his authority. She wanted to become stronger and never be so fragile that something like this could happen again.

Seeing Themis caress her belly with a maternal and loving smile, Hemera's eyes widened in realization, and she asked with genuine happiness, "You're pregnant! Who is the father?"

Themis replied, "Just me."

Hemera nodded, not too surprised. The gods often disregarded the concept of a womb and the normal process by which babies were born. So, it wasn't surprising that Themis had become pregnant through parthenogenesis.

Suddenly, the hand caressing her belly stopped, and Themis's eyes widened as she felt something incredible with her daughters. Inside her, she could sense that the titanic lineage her daughters had inherited from her was now mixed with another lineage!

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Author's Thoughts: I first wrote about the effects of the Outer Gods' pollution. Something unexpected also happened at the end of the chapter. Yes, some of you guessed correctly, Miquella is going to be a father. As for who your daughters will be, just know that there are three of them. From this, you can already have an idea of the identity of his daughters.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :D

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Next Chapter: Chapter 7 – Subordinate Goddess (I), Chapter 8 - The First Meeting between the Emperor and the Empress (1)