The Hierarchy of Gods

The goddess of dawn, Eos, rode her golden chariot, drawn by winged horses, out of the palace of the Sun God. Surrounding her were the twelve Horae, goddesses who governed the twelve hours of daylight. They gathered around and hitched the chariot to the four horses of the Sun.

Phaethon leapt onto the gem-encrusted golden chariot, gripping the reins of the four solar horses. Helios, the Sun God, immediately grabbed his wrist and said, "My child! This is your last chance! Let me take the reins and spread light across the earth. You should stay here."

"Father! My mind is made up!"

Phaethon flashed a confident smile at Helios. The four horses, sensing their driver's resolve through the reins, began to move forward.

Helios, with a look of deep conflict, glanced at Phaethon one last time before finally letting go of his wrist.

The four solar horses pulled the chariot out of the Sun God's palace, racing toward the sky.

Back in the plaza where the chariot had been parked, Circe approached Helios, her eyes fixed on Phaethon's ascending figure. She angrily demanded, "Father! Why didn't you stop Phaethon with everything you had?"

"I cannot break my oath, and this is Phaethon's own will," Helios replied, his expression complicated. "Besides... I do need a third-generation Sun God to take over."

"If it's about a successor, there's still Aeëtes."

"Aeëtes has already given up his chance to become a god. He's chosen to rule Colchis as an immortal demigod."

Circe's eyes widened in disbelief.

Aeëtes, the eldest son of Helios and the sea goddess Perseis, was supposed to be the heir to Helios, the next Sun God. But now, he had chosen to lower himself to the status of an immortal demigod, the lowest rank in the divine hierarchy!

"Father! Even if you want Phaethon to be your successor, it's too soon. Give him another hundred, even two hundred years to grow, and he'll surely become a worthy heir to the Sun God."

"Of course, I wish Phaethon had more time to mature, but I can't change his fate. All I can do now is follow him. As long as Phaethon doesn't make any mistakes that bring disaster to the earth, not even Zeus can harm him."

With those firm words, Helios transformed into a golden streak of light and flew into the sky, following the speeding chariot from a distance.

Circe hesitated for a moment, then spread her silver wings and took off, chasing after the Sun chariot as well.

At that moment, Phaethon, focused on driving the chariot, had no idea that his father Helios and sister Circe were following him.

As Phaethon used the divine power of his solar essence to drive the sun wheel behind him, the wheel began to absorb the energy of the star, converting it into endless light and heat that poured down onto the earth.

The chariot gradually approached the peak of the sky, and the sun wheel absorbed more and more solar energy, making Phaethon feel as though he were carrying a mountain on his back.

If he couldn't hold on, the excess solar energy would flood into his body, causing him to burst into flames.

This is terrifying—so terrifying! I had no idea driving the Sun chariot was this dangerous. If I keep going, my body will definitely catch fire.

As fear crept into his mind, Phaethon instinctively tightened his grip on the reins, wanting to steer the horses away from the peak of the sky and fly lower.

Just as his hands were about to pull the reins, Phaethon bit his lip, snapping himself out of it. With a determined expression, he muttered under his breath, "Phaethon! You can't give in to fear! If you lose control of the horses and cause a disaster on earth, Zeus will have every reason to strike you down with his thunderbolt and let his son take over the solar mantle.

Even if my body does catch fire, I can't let fear win."

As Phaethon overcame the pressure of his fear, the burden of the sun wheel seemed to lighten, giving him a moment to observe the world around him.

Looking down, he took in the sight of the earth below and broke into a joyful smile. "So this is what it feels like for my grandfather Hyperion and my father Helios, looking down on humans and gods from the sky?"

After taking in the view of the earth, Phaethon turned his gaze to the sky and immediately widened his eyes in shock. He realized he wasn't the only one driving a Sun chariot.

In the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—there were other Sun gods, each driving their own chariots across the sky.

Judging by the areas they were illuminating, Phaethon muttered to himself, "The one in the south must be Utu, the Sun God from Sumerian mythology. The one in the northwest has to be Sól, the Sun Goddess from Norse mythology! The one in the southwest is probably Ra, the Sun God from Egyptian mythology. And behind me, in the east—that must be Mithras, the Sun God from Persian mythology."

Besides these four closest to him, Phaethon could see five more Sun gods in the distant regions of the sky.

Including himself, there were ten Sun gods in total—a true spectacle of "ten suns in the sky."

Phaethon was still reeling from the realization that his father Helios wasn't the only Sun God in the world when, from the distant east, he heard the voice of Mithras calling out, "Hey, kid! Are you Zeus's son, Apollo?"

Startled by the unexpected question, Phaethon paused for a moment before replying with divine power, "Honorable King Mithras! I am Phaethon, son of Helios."

"You're Helios's son? That's strange! If you're not Zeus's son, why is Zeus following you?"

Zeus is following me?

Upon hearing this, Phaethon didn't show any surprise, nor did he try to search for Zeus.

In the divine hierarchy, there are five levels: lesser gods, intermediate gods, greater gods, supreme gods, and the king of the gods.

Phaethon was currently just a weak intermediate god, three levels below Zeus, the king of the gods.

No matter how hard he looked, there was no way he could detect Zeus's hidden presence.

Mithras, the Sun King, wasn't just a Sun God—he was also the king of the gods in Persian mythology.

Given his immense power, it wasn't surprising that he could detect Zeus's presence. And since Mithras had no reason to deceive him, Phaethon didn't doubt his words.

In the blink of an eye, noon arrived.

As the Sun chariot climbed to the peak of the sky, the solar energy carried by the sun wheel reached the limit of what Phaethon could bear.

"Just a little more..."

Though flames were nearly bursting from Phaethon's mouth and nose, much like the solar horses, a triumphant smile spread across his face.

Once the chariot reached the peak of the sky, it would begin its slow descent toward the Atlantic, and the pressure on Phaethon, along with the solar energy in the sun wheel, would gradually lessen. Victory seemed within reach.