Faced with Zeus's pleading words, faced with this ultimate tenderness and indulgence she had dreamed of countless times, resilient Hera finally couldn't help but shed crystal tears.
At this moment, fragile Goddess Hera's tears finally soaked this amorous heavenly father's broad chest.
Her ethereal yet broken murmur echoed in the silent temple: "Zeus, oh Zeus, why can you be so cruel?"
"You speak of unbearable pain—why do you inflict it on me a thousand times over?"
"Zeus, do you know how painful it is for me to stay on this Olympus? Every moment, seeing your intimacy with Metis, that feeling of having my divinity torn apart alive envelops me every moment."
"Zeus, oh Zeus, you already have Metis who loves you so deeply, yet you... yet why do you still come to tempt me?"
"Metis loves you deeply! She is the beloved you personally proclaimed before the gods!"
"She... she is my dearest friend. How can I betray her? How can I hurt her?"
Resilient Great Mother Goddess Hera was so fragile at this moment.
Her broken heart could no longer be concealed.
Before Zeus, all her dignity, all her persistence was like a dam made of quicksand, easily washed away by Zeus's words.
She endured the heart-wrenching agony in her heart, gazing up at Zeus's handsome face with eyes full of tears and infatuation.
She pleaded in an almost begging voice: "Zeus, please, spare me. Please don't make me bear that unbearable pain between you and my dearest friend. That is harm my fragile divinity cannot bear."
Zeus paid no heed, holding her even tighter and more forcefully in his arms, with strength so great that Hera felt real pain, as if her perfect divine body was about to be crushed and merged with his divine body.
His voice sounded by her ear: "My beloved Hera, how I wish I could spare you even the slightest harm. But even though I am the God-King, even though I possess the power to destroy the universe, how can I control my heart?"
"The spiritual Heavenly Father granted free consciousness to all spirits. Since then, the consciousness of all spirits is no longer under any control, not even their own control."
"You are all so excellent—powerful, beautiful, wise, gentle, loving... all the beautiful words in the world are insufficient to describe your indescribable goodness."
"Perhaps I am too greedy. But you who are too excellent also bear inescapable responsibility."
"It is you, you brilliant goddesses who embody the universe's most beautiful everything, who make me unable to restrain my love for you from the depths of my divine soul."
"Especially you, my Hera. My beloved Hera, look at yourself. In this boundless universe, no more beautiful goddess can be found, no goddess more gentle, loving, gracious and magnanimous than you."
"Do you know? Hera, the moment I first saw you, all my divinity roared most violently at me, telling me most intensely: you must be mine! We are destined to be united beloveds! We can never ever be separated!"
Zeus slightly loosened the quietly weeping Hera, only his arms still encircling her delicate body as if fearing she would escape.
The amorous Great Heavenly Father gazed at his beloved Hera's eyes with incredibly serious, incredibly affectionate eyes.
Those eyes that should have been bright as stars in the sky were now dyed into misty, broken nebulae by endless tears.
He said in the gentlest voice: "I want to tell my beloved Goddess Hera that Hera is equally my most beloved goddess. My love for her is no less than my love for that bright wisdom. She lives in the depths of my divinity—my beloved I can never give up."
"So, Hera, my love, now please tell me personally—do you also love me most? Are you also the goddess who loves me most in this universe?"
Hera gazed blankly at Zeus's golden eyes deep as the sea. Two pairs of equally brilliant golden eyes met at this moment.
As if gold had melted into scalding liquid within them, her divinity trembled. She could not speak any words against her heart.
But she equally could not speak the truest words in her heart.
If she spoke them, she would never again be able to face her friend or her own divine principles.
Finally, in endless struggle and contradiction, she could only gently, almost imperceptibly nod her noble head once.
Then, as if all her strength was exhausted, she immediately buried her face deeply in Zeus's broad chest, tears once again uncontrollably rolling down like a bursting flood.
Her tears were the sorrowful tears of a great mother goddess.
These tears silently fell to the mortal earth below, becoming vast bitter seas. Her deep sorrow was contained within.
In the three realms and three domains, any being in the universe who drank this seawater would involuntarily feel heartache and shed tears.
In the God-King's arms, her heart continuously repented and blamed herself.
Why? Why could she not be more resolute before Zeus?
Why? Why could she never truly, firmly refuse him?
How would she face her friend Metis's pure bright eyes in the future?
Though Zeus didn't hear the words he most wanted to hear, this tiny gesture from the goddess in his arms was enough.
Today was about enough. He knew he couldn't press further.
After all, this was Hera.
Her divinity was so devoted to pure and singular love. She could never do something like actively competing for another goddess's beloved.
Today, being able to force her to nod in acknowledgment was already a hard-won victory.
Take it slowly.
He thought he absolutely couldn't truly force this gentle, loving great mother goddess into becoming that harsh jealous wife of later legends.
That would be too cruel for both her and him.
Hera was destined to be his only, eternal Queen of Heaven.
However...
Today's victory still needed the final sweetest stamp of certification!
He must take advantage of this moment when her defenses were completely down and emotions surging to completely, permanently brand her with his exclusive mark!
This way, this goddess most faithful to love would absolutely never have any other thoughts!
Zeus, stirring with spring thunder, gently stroked his beloved Hera's hair smooth as a golden waterfall, silently comforting her tangled, painful heart.
Then he slowly, gently loosened the powerful arms that confined Hera.
Hera thought Zeus was finally going to let her go. Her thoughts instantly became more complex.
She breathed a sigh of relief, yet from the deepest part of her heart surged an indescribable, intense reluctance to part.
However, Zeus did not leave.
He gently, with infinite tenderness, cupped her tear-streaked lovely face.
Hera was stunned. Just as she met Zeus's burning sun-like gaze, Zeus had already lowered his head, most preciously and gently kissing her bright eyes moistened by tears.
Hera clearly felt Zeus's gentle movements.
That tingling electric shock from the thunder master's essence instantly completely paralyzed all thinking in her divinity.
Strange, wonderful sensations swept through all her divinity and divine body, making her involuntarily reach out her arms to tightly embrace Zeus.
Her slender ten fingers involuntarily grasped Zeus's back clothing, almost tearing his garments apart.
Zeus moved downward, using his lips to kiss beautiful Goddess Hera, gently absorbing into his lips all the tears on her lovely face representing endless heartache and sorrow.
The amorous divine lord's lips slowly moved down until reaching Goddess Hera's beautifully lined, slightly thin yet incomparably enchanting lips.
He unhesitatingly, naturally, deeply kissed them.
The faint salty taste of tears, for the first time, slowly spread on the tongues of two supreme deities.
That light yet incredibly heavy bitter taste thus mixed with the sweet fragrant divine nectar, combining into the most complex flavor.
Finally becoming a slightly salty clear spring, silently swallowed by the greedy, eager, longing other.
Pure Goddess Hera, in her eternal divine life, welcomed her first truly intimate contact.
But this first intimate contact was completely eroded and possessed by this affectionate yet amorous divine lord in this ultimate inner pain and struggle, and love suppressed to the limit.
She would never forget this day. Much less forget this moment.
Infatuated and faithful Hera's tall, exquisite delicate body completely collapsed in Zeus's arms.
Her consciousness had already floated to the ninth heaven, drifting aimlessly in that boundless cosmic star sea.
Only Zeus's strong, powerful tight embrace supported her from collapsing to the ground.
After a long, long time, Zeus's magnetic gentle words slowly sounded by her ear.
Warm breath called back her already scattered, dazed spirit.
"My love, my eternal love, promise me not to think so heartlessly about leaving me again. Alright?"
Hera's increasingly enchanting, red and full lips could not speak words of refusal no matter what.
Even though all her reason screamed in her mind, urgently demanding she refuse, she could not do it no matter what.
Zeus's pleading words continued: "My Hera~ My Hera~ My love~ Please pity me who suffers from true love's pain. Don't let me suffer that most bitter, painful agony. Stay by my side, forever stay by my side, alright?"
Hera lowered her noble head. After a long while, she said in a barely audible voice: "Let me go, Zeus. I promise you, I won't leave Olympus."
"But... that's all. I also ask you, don't hurt me anymore."
Zeus immediately beamed with joy. He intimately nuzzled Hera's smooth jade-like cheek with his own face, saying in an extremely gentle tone: "My beloved, I could never bear to hurt you. My love, you will forever be my most beloved Hera."
"Thank you for showing me mercy. How fortunate I am to have you, to have all of merciful Hera's love. Perhaps this is the greatest reward for my saving the entire universe."
Hera felt somewhat uncomfortable with Zeus's intimate actions.
Her feminine divine essence belonging to a great mother goddess was being violently stirred by Zeus's supremely strong, masculine yang energy belonging to the great father god.
With an evasive mood, she quickly said in a low voice: "Zeus, please let me go first. My heart is truly in chaos now. I promise you I won't leave Olympus. Let me be quiet first. I... I want to be alone for a while."
Zeus pondered for a moment, finally nodding gently: "Alright. My love, as long as you won't leave me, anything is fine."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his head once more, precisely landing on Hera's enchanting red lips.
Hera couldn't react at all. She completely couldn't think how... how it was so sudden.
But soon, she was once again immersed in it.
Great mother goddesses could never refuse that greatest father god.
Because their divine essences were so compatible—the perfect harmony of yin and yang, the universe's most perfect combination.
However, Hera was still Hera.
After experiencing the divine storm that nearly shattered her spirit, she still relied on the resilience from being a supreme mother goddess to control herself.
She used slight force to push away the God-King who was still immersed in the great mother goddess's goodness.
Zeus also knew when to stop.
He gazed at Hera's absolutely beautiful face that, though bearing tear traces, appeared even more enchanting. He couldn't help but lightly peck her smooth jade-like lovely face several more times before departing with satisfied smile as a flash of lightning, reluctantly.
In the temple, only Hera remained standing blankly in place.
Her graceful, tall figure stood motionless in the center of the spacious, cold hall for a long time, as if transformed into the world's most beautiful statue frozen in endless joy and sorrow.
While Zeus was using sweet words to bully his beloved goddess, the sisters Leto and Asteria, after returning to their own small temple, had faces full of insoluble worry.
Gentle and tender Leto once again fell into melancholy and sorrow.
She sighed lightly, like late autumn evening wind blowing the last withered leaf, full of desolation and helplessness.
She said despondently: "Asteria, my sister, today we finally saw His Majesty the God-King and received His Majesty the God-King's forgiveness. But the merciful Goddess of Reproduction, our only reliable mistress now, is going to leave Olympus."
"This..."
"What shall we do in the future?"
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]