The position of the Earth Mother Goddess truly exists.
Not just Athena.
Athena, Metis, and Gaia—these three goddesses all hold the mantle of the Earth Mother Goddess. In fact, almost all goddesses connected to the earth possess this divine status, just as male deities connected to the sky are regarded as Steel Gods.
But the greatest challenge lies in this:
How to guide it forth?
Unlocking the mantle of the Earth Mother Goddess is neither simple nor straightforward. It cannot be achieved with a few words or minimal effort.
And now...
Metis had chosen to sacrifice her life to awaken Athena's Earth Mother Goddess mantle.
"Metis," Gaia murmured. "Truly a remarkable mother."
Her voice carried a rare trace of emotion, resonating with awe and solemnity.
In the Greek Pantheon and Mythical World, emotions were almost non-existent among the gods. Gods who valued emotions were anomalies.
For example:
- Erebus and Nyx cared deeply for their children and each other.
- Rhea loved her husband.
- Metis cherished her child.
Such feelings made them distinct, even outliers, among the deities of the Mythical World.
Given this context, it was no surprise Gaia was shaken by Metis' actions. Sacrificing herself to help Athena ascend to the position of Earth Mother Goddess was both shocking and unprecedented.
Still…
Upon reflection, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
"Very well. Very well," Gaia said softly, shaking her head. "Athena, it seems I have lost. I now look forward to seeing how far you can go as the Earth Mother Goddess."
Gaia was no sore loser. Defeat was something she could accept.
For Gaia, this outcome—rooted in profound maternal love—was beyond her expectations.
This wasn't unusual.
Gaia understood well that the Greek Pantheon and Mythical World had their issues. Emotional attachments, though rare, could disrupt even the strongest beings.
In Gaia's case, while she appeared to care deeply for her children, her motives were largely selfish. Her efforts to nurture and guide them were ultimately attempts to free herself from her burdens.
Yet one by one, those efforts had failed:
- Cronus rebelled.
- Hades rose.
- Zeus ruled.
- And now Athena…
Each turn of events had spiraled beyond Gaia's control.
Whether this was good or bad remained uncertain.
What was certain, however, was that Gaia had failed.
Still, was failure always a bad thing?
For Gaia, failure might even be an opportunity.
As the ties binding her to the Greek Pantheon grew too complex to sever cleanly, perhaps letting go of everything was her best option.
This would allow her to start anew.
But could even a Creator God relinquish such power so easily? Words alone could not capture the difficulty of such a decision.
Even Gaia, as the Earth Goddess, was no exception.
Now, having reached her limits, Gaia made her choice: to relinquish everything and embrace what came next.
"Let me see, Athena," Gaia said with a faint smile. "How far you can go on this new path as the Earth Mother Goddess."
Her voice carried a tone of resignation and anticipation.
A hum filled the air.
Streams of divine power began radiating from Gaia, dissipating her resistance.
Metis' sacrifice had activated Athena's dormant Earth Mother Goddess mantle, merging it with her divine essence.
This left Gaia without any chance of victory.
Under the weight of her accumulated wounds and the overwhelming convergence of power, Gaia allowed herself to be absorbed into Athena's ascension.
Little by little, streams of Gaia's divine energy flowed into Athena's body.
A faint vision appeared around Athena—a phantom of a dark serpent, coiled and immense. It roared with an ear-splitting cry before vanishing in an instant.
Everything grew still again.
It was as though nothing had happened.
Yet, in the core of the earth, Gaia and Metis had disappeared without a trace, leaving Athena alone.
She stood silently, sensing the intertwining forces of darkness, serpent, and earth coiling within her.
Darkness.
Serpent.
Earth.
These were the hallmarks of the Earth Mother Goddess—the essence of her mantle and laws.
Now, Athena had fully embraced these powers.
But tears rolled down her cheeks as she whispered, "Mother… you…"
She sighed, words failing her in the face of her grief.
Raising her hand to grasp the staff of the Earth Goddess, Athena turned and departed from the core of the earth.
Behind her, the core sealed itself, signifying the end of an era.
Athena had left.
The core fell silent.
By embodying darkness, serpent, and earth, Athena had ascended to the rank of an Ancient God.
And she wasn't just any Ancient God. From the moment she ascended, Athena stood among the top tier, second only to beings like Hades.
The mantles of the Earth Mother Goddess and Steel God had always existed, but unlocking them was an almost insurmountable task. Athena's success was extraordinary.
With this, the era of the God-Kings had truly ended. In its place, the era of Ancient Gods had begun.
Hades, Uranus, Cronus, Athena, and Poseidon—
These five had all ascended to Ancient Godhood.
Each one was profoundly unique, holding unimaginable power and potential.
- Hades, rooted in the Underworld's World Tree, had become equivalent to an independent Mythical World. His divine power was immeasurable.
- Poseidon, merging unholy and divine forces, was an unprecedented hybrid—an enigma like Hades.
- Athena, awakened as the Earth Mother Goddess, embodied the trinity of darkness, serpent, and earth. Though the serpent aspect was incomplete, Earth Mother Goddesses were rare even in the Chaos Sea, marking Athena as highly distinctive.
As for Uranus and Cronus?
They seemed relatively unremarkable in comparison—a testament to how extraordinary the others were.
When Athena ascended, a surge of divine power rippled across the entire Mythical World.
At the same time, Poseidon's invitation reached the sanctuary.
"You've succeeded," it seemed to say. "You are now qualified to attend."
However…
The Mythical World itself seemed on the verge of collapse.
"What's happening? What is this? What are you all doing? When will it end?"
The Mythical World teetered on the brink of a breakdown, overwhelmed by the seemingly endless chaos.
Athena, indifferent to the Mythical World's turmoil, left the earth's core and returned to the sanctuary, her grief and resolve intertwined.
As calm returned to the core, a shadow emerged.
It was Gaia.
But now, Gaia appeared as a delicate child, no more than three or four years old, her presence far removed from the mighty Earth Goddess who once ruled the Mythical World.
"Gaia."
Another shadow appeared—one cloaked in the unfathomable aura of chaos itself.
It was Chaos, the Absolute God of the primordial void.
Chaos spoke, its voice calm and deep. "Gaia, do you believe your actions will succeed?"
"Father, I don't know," Gaia replied softly, her childish voice serene. "Who can say what the future holds? Even you, Father, cannot fully perceive the timeline beyond the present."
Chaos fell silent, its agreement evident in the stillness.
Indeed.
Even the Absolute God could not entirely transcend the constraints of time.
Chaos' voice eventually broke the silence. "Everything will begin anew. This time, the Chaos Sea's turbulence exceeds anything foreseen by the Absolute Gods. None can predict what is to come. Let us wait and see."
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