Chapter 60 The Eros of Desire

After Erebus, the god of darkness, left, only the two goddesses remained in the great hall. Nyx did not speak, and Hebe naturally did not dare to initiate the conversation, quietly waiting for this goddess, with whom she had almost no connection, to reveal the purpose of her visit. The silence did not last long. 'I've never had the opportunity to have a proper conversation with you, Lady Hebe." Nyx's gray eyes looked down at the goddess, shimmering with strange light, as if something thread-like was swirling within them. 'You are very special, having such a brilliant idea to split your fate line into two, mastering two extreme powers. However, the emergence of reincarnation has allowed for the possibility of their fusion. A genius idea…" Hebe felt as if struck by lightning. She looked up in disbelief at Nyx, astonished that the goddess knew her deepest secret. Hebe did not run away, even though she desperately wanted to. After all, Nyx was a primordial goddess and held her most profound secret; where could she escape to? Hebe forced herself to calm down. Perhaps things were not as dire as she imagined. Since Nyx had specifically dismissed others to speak to her alone about this matter, it was evident that she did not intend to expose her secret; she still had value to Nyx. What that value was remained to be seen. Seeing Hebe quickly regain her composure after her initial panic, a glimmer of appreciation crossed Nyx's eyes. With such determination and character, she was worthy of the collaboration that was to come. The gray-eyed goddess spoke, 'You need not worry, Your Highness. Besides me, who can glimpse the highest fate, no other deity knows of this. I have no intention of interrupting your path to ascension. On the contrary, I will even provide you with certain assistance, giving you the opportunity to reach a level similar to mine." What? Your level? A primordial goddess? Although Hebe harbored such ambitions in her heart, the pie that Nyx threw at her almost knocked her senseless. Becoming a primordial goddess… Such temptation was something no deity could refuse! 'Embodiment of night, wise and far-sighted Nyx, may I ask you to tell me your reasons for helping me?" There's no such thing as a free lunch; she understood this principle well. Nyx smiled faintly, as if she had anticipated Hebe's question all along. 'It's quite simple. First, you have brought about several improvements to the laws of the world, and the will of the world is favoring you. Second, you are indeed unique, different from other deities, and I admire you." 'As for the third…" The smile on Nyx's face faded slightly, her gaze drifting to an unknown point, her voice carrying a hint of complexity. 'Our dear brother, Eros, is about to be reborn…" Eros? 'Huh? Eros?" Hebe felt a bit puzzled. In later legends, this god was merely the son of the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, born from her liaison with her brother Ares, the god of war, and was depicted as a winged figure who wielded the power of love. But Nyx referred to him as her brother, which made Hebe recall another tale that circulated in later times, claiming that Eros was the fifth primordial god born from Chaos, the original master of the laws of desire… The goddess of night, Nyx, gazed far and coldly: 'I have seen the trajectory of fate. A disaster is brewing on the earth, and the will of the king of the gods will lead to the extinction of this generation of humans, while a new generation will be born in pairs. This flourishing power of love and desire is the best nourishment for Eros, and his divinity will begin to awaken." '...Are you saying, Goddess Nyx, that you want me to assist His Highness Eros in regaining his power?" Hebe did not understand the complicated relationship between Nyx and this rumored primordial god, and she thought that Nyx intended for her to help Eros awaken. Nyx did not answer Hebe's question and continued, 'At the dawn of the world, our father, the chaotic Chaos, created this world and us, but he fell into a near-eternal slumber after exhausting his essence. Eros is our youngest brother, and he was chosen by our father Chaos to be the first king of the gods." The curtain of history was slowly pulled back, and Hebe's expression suddenly became quite subtle. She felt that as Nyx spoke, the ancient secrets that occurred before the birth of time were being unveiled. The historical divine essence within her began to radiate boundless golden sand, and vague images started to flash within it, gradually becoming clearer. The historical divine essence… it was ascending. She never expected that being forced to listen to gossip could have such benefits. 'Eros is the embodiment of primordial desire, possessing the power to control minds. Under his catalysis, Gaia and I gave birth to countless new deities to help perfect this newly born world. As a goddess, you should understand the price that must be paid by the mother body to nurture new deities." Hebe nodded. Although the world would grant new gods new divine essences, their divine bodies and powers needed to be nurtured by the mother body. Some goddesses who were not powerful enough could even be deprived of their essence by their own offspring in order to be born, and in severe cases, their downfall was not impossible. 'We've had enough of this nurturing life. Desire should be free, and the birthing of new deities should be our own choice, not a product of the primitive and savage laws of desire. Therefore, we united and killed him." Nyx spoke as if it were a trivial matter, seemingly unaware of how shocking her words were. 'You killed the master of desire, the primordial god Eros?" It felt like she had uncovered something monumental… 'Indeed." Nyx nodded. 'We returned him to his original form, scattering him within the omnipresent laws. Since then, desire has no longer been under anyone's control. Of course, the extermination of a primordial god came at a significant cost to each of us. Now, we are no longer able to bear the price of destroying him again." 'Then why not simply extinguish the opportunity for his rebirth?" This was a question that Zeus would have the most authority to answer. Nyx shook her head. 'No, while we despise Eros's great power to control minds, he has been a contributor to the perfection of the laws in the world. For countless ages, the laws have been looking for opportunities to nurture him again. Even if the current mother body is destroyed, he will re-emerge through another mother body or in other ways." 'So the mother body chosen by Eros is…" Hebe already had an answer in her heart. 'The brilliantly shining Uranus. Ever since his symbol of patriarchy fell into the sea, the law of desire has set its sights on it. The goddess born from the divine blood of the king of the gods, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, will be the most suitable mother body to nurture Eros. He will be reborn through this goddess." Sure enough, it was her. It turned out that this goddess was merely a tool chosen by the laws. No wonder her application of the laws of desire always seemed so rough and inadequate; instead, the title of the goddess of beauty shone brightly on her. It turned out that the laws never intended to grant her the authority of desire from the very beginning; they merely aimed to use the flesh and divine power of her father to nurture the true god of love. 'So, Your Highness Nyx, what exactly are your plans…?" Hearing this, Hebe was already a bit confused. The goddess Nyx clearly did not want Eros to be reborn, but due to the obstruction of the world's will, she was unable to extinguish him. If even the primordial gods could not accomplish this, what could a mere minor deity like her do? 'This was originally not a big deal. The world's primal energy is limited. After experiencing two divine wars, the world has been damaged, and the remaining primal energy is no longer sufficient to support another primordial god. Even if Eros were to be born smoothly, he would no longer be a primordial god, and his divine power would no longer pose a threat to us." At this point, Nyx paused, looking at Hebe with a complex and strange expression. 'But because of you and that little fellow named Pakos, the birth of winter has completed the cyclical rotation of the four seasons. The underworld's sun has provided a light source that perfects the laws, and the birth of reincarnation is of vital importance to the world. With these multiple factors, the world is about to undergo an ascension. After that, the primal energy of the world will once again become abundant enough to support another primordial god." So, after all this, it turns out I'm the one who has to bear the burden? 'So, Your Highness Nyx wants me to seize that position before Eros reclaims his status as a primordial god?" If she became a primordial god, then the world's primal energy would not be enough to support Eros, preventing him from becoming a primordial god. Nyx was clearly plotting a switch. 'Exactly." Nyx nodded in agreement. '...Alright, I accept Your Highness's proposal." Hebe did not think for too long. Having learned such explosive secrets, she realized that if she did not reach an agreement with this goddess today, she might not walk out of this temple alive.