greek mythology stuff

Chapter 167 The Amazement of Hephaestus: The Earth Goddess Who Bears Everything
It was precisely because of the enlightenment that Hephaestus didn't know what to say for a while.

There were mixed feelings in his heart, but at the end it only turned into a long sigh.

He knew it from the moment he saw Pontos' severed hand.Pontus, the original god of the sea, must have known what he was doing and how risky his near-gambling behavior was.But he still did it, maybe because he felt that everything was worth it, and the risks and rewards were equal.

It's a pity - he lost the bet, lost everything and even lost his life.

At this moment, Hephaestus had a realization—the gods and mortals are indeed the same, they are all greedy.

What kind of emotion is greed?Sometimes it can be good for action, and sometimes it can blind people to their own abilities.

Hephaestus doesn't know whether greed is good or bad, but he knows that greed must be restrained.

Just like at this moment, Hephaestus is trying to restrain his greed.He controlled himself, telling himself not to drink the clear gem-like water in the small bottle in his hand.

But it's really hard.

Because no matter who he is, he is greedy, and the process of restraining greed is difficult.If a man can easily restrain his greed, it does not prove how noble he is, it only proves that the temptations he faces are not great enough, so he can easily get rid of them.

And even if it is the same item, its temptations are different.It's like throwing a harp-shaped artifact on the ground and asking a farmer to pick it up. He will never treasure it or use it.What he did was to sell the artifact because it was exquisite and could fetch a good price.This is the way of the peasants, not of the gods.The same artifact, the harp, will be treasured by the gods, and even put its status more important than themselves.Because the god's vision is different from that of the farmer, he can see more and be more tempted.

Hephaestus's vision is not low, even frighteningly high, so high that mortals and even other gods can't see it.

Farmer and god, if Pontus was the farmer, Hephaestus was the god.

He is facing a greater temptation.

At first, he also thought that the vial in his hand was an imitation, a counterfeit product derived from the vase of life in Gaia's hand.But he himself was the most outstanding craftsman among the gods, and when he calmed down, he soon realized something was wrong.

The vial in his hand was not genuine, but it was by no means a fake.It is so real that it cannot be cast or imitated by itself.

The source of water in the vial is not fake, but it is not genuine either.It's fake because it's much more precious than the real vial.

Small bottles cannot conceive these water sources, and someone put these water sources in small bottles.

Will it be Pontos?Could it really be him?
He didn't drink on purpose, but he wanted me to drink?

The water in the bottle is too precious.Hephaestus couldn't help but took a deep breath.It was also the first time he encountered such a situation, being so moved by a treasure.

These water sources are really too weird, no!It's Xuan Qi!
When Hephaestus saw it, he understood that these sources of water were not creations he could get, nor creations he could hold.It does not belong to anyone, and it comes from the upper reaches of the infinite fallen world, and it does not know where it originated.

But this is not what Hephaestus saw, but the water source in the vial told him.It is such a mystery, the inanimate water source tells the living gods its origin, it tells the gods, drink it, it will accomplish him!
Its narration has no sound, voice or expression. It is just a handful of water bound in a small bottle, but when the gods see it, they understand that it is narrating.

But Hephaestus is very clear that this water source is lifeless...

It contains no intelligence, wields no power, and no god has left any message in it.But it just has a kind of magical power, it can tell, which is different from the narration of mortals and gods, it is the narration of inanimate vegetation to living gods.

There is no doubt that it is a treasure.A treasure beyond the limits of Hephaestus' cognition.

In an instant, Hephaestus thought of the life vase in Gaia's hand, and that life vase was also a treasure beyond cognition.Perhaps only the Aquarius of Life can conceive the water source in front of you.

But the vase of life has its origin, a plausible origin.

Legend has it that Gaia once believed in the existence of "Chaos" Chaos. She recited Chaos' name, and the vase of life came from chaos to the present world.

But Gaia has never been the only god who recites "Chaos" Chaos, and Gaia's chanting has never stopped.But since the life bottle, there has never been a coincidence that "Chaos" Chaos responded.

Gradually, the taboo name "Chaosi" has been forgotten by the gods. Just as mortals recognize the world, the gods gradually recognize the essence of chaos.

But... do you really understand it?
Hephaestus has been hesitating ever since he heard the name "Chaos".He is unwilling to believe that "Chaos" exists, because such an existence is too unimaginable, and it has no logic as the truth.

Because if he really existed, the "scythe" at the end of time would be nothing in front of him, and the gods harvested by the "scythe" are even more ineligible to be mentioned.

Because both the "scythe" and the gods are in chaos.Just like ants living in the world, the big feet of mortals are a kind of great power to them, and the indifference and existence of gods are things they cannot understand and cannot fear.But suddenly one day, an ant heard that the world that carries all things is a life, and gods and mortals are no different to him and their clans—are they all ants, or are they worse than ants?

How do you make it believe?

Hephaestus is now that ant, and it is really hard for him to believe that the "chaos" that carries the infinite fallen world is alive.

Even if he tried his best to imagine the limit, he couldn't imagine what kind of existence it was.

But... the truth is the truth because whether people believe it or not, it's always there, it's always there, even if no one finds out...

"Chaosi", is he an alternative truth?

Hephaestus looked at the vial in front of him and the gem-like water in it.His answer was that he didn't know, just like he didn't know the source of the water in the vial and the bottle in front of him.

It was also because of this that he really wanted to drink up the water in the vial, and then hide the vial in his residence to watch him day in and day out.

But he didn't drink in the end.He doesn't want to gamble.

He tilted the vial, and the water in the bottle fell to the submarine volcano below.

The water source is peculiar, neither melting into the seawater during the fall nor sinking into the magma below.Instead, they floated on the magma and gathered into a ball to emit precious light.

Hephaestus looked at it.He suddenly discovered that this was a problem posed to him by Gaia, the goddess of the earth.

This mysterious water source cannot be destroyed, and I have indeed seen it.If I can reject it for the first time, what about the second, third and even later times?

It is here, neither increasing nor decreasing, it can be rejected countless times by oneself, but only one commitment is needed to achieve its purpose.

Gaia has achieved her purpose.

And how many times can I refuse its temptation?

Hephaestus finally understood—this is a battle of gods that Gaia will surely achieve!Because one's will cannot resist temptation forever!
He couldn't help marveling at the oldest goddess and the strange water source she deliberately placed here waiting for him to come to use: "Is this you? The goddess of the earth that bears everything..."

(End of this chapter)