"Drink?"
After Ares explained his purpose, Hephaestus asked in surprise:
"You didn't hit your head, did you?"
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head again:
"No, what place in this world could make you hit your head? You must have something to ask of me, right?"
"Not really." Ares shook his head: "To tell you the truth, did you notice Oceanus's movements today?"
"What happened to Oceanus?" Hephaestus asked in confusion upon hearing this: "I've been working all day, so I didn't notice anything outside..."
"Zeus swallowed Metis." Ares sighed: "Oceanus was furious about this today and has announced his withdrawal from Olympus, completely breaking with Zeus."
"Ah? Why did Zeus do that?"
Hephaestus was greatly puzzled.
"Because Cronus gave him a prophecy, or rather, a curse." Ares said: "Cronus prophesied that he would be overthrown by his son with Metis. To nip this possibility in the bud, Zeus swallowed Goddess Metis today."
"Is that so? So that's how it is." After listening, Hephaestus's face didn't show much emotion; he just said indifferently: "That certainly sounds like something he would do."
Seeing him display that expression, Ares felt the topic had been brought up, so he naturally said:
"I used to... always thought that you being abandoned by Zeus and Hera was due to your own weakness, but now I realize I was wrong. As Zeus's son, whether we are strong or weak, as long as we arouse our father's vigilance, then, before him, we are ultimately as powerless as lambs, only able to be slaughtered and manipulated by him. Who in this world, when young, can escape the control of their parents? Zeus and Hera, as our parents, not only failed to fulfill their responsibility to protect us, but if we displease them, we could be punished at any time, even losing our lives for it. Thinking about it this way, I suddenly feel some admiration for you, Hephaestus. Although you were born into a predicament, you relied on your own efforts, not on being Zeus's son, but on your talent, to secure a position among the Twelve Gods of Olympus. Perhaps, that is what true strength is."
No one in the world dislikes those who speak sincerely good words to them, especially in the world of greek mythology. Even an honest person like Hephaestus, hearing his brother Ares, who used to look down on him, now sincerely praise and even flatter him, outwardly remained calm, but inwardly, he was already secretly delighted.
As a return favor, after listening to Ares's words, Hephaestus also wanted to praise him in return. However, Hephaestus, the God of Fire, was not skilled in rhetoric, so he racked his brains, thought for a long time, and could only say to Ares:
"Ares, actually, it's not easy for you either..."
"Indeed, as Zeus's son, who among us has it easy?" As Ares spoke, he had already taken out two cups and poured a cup of divine wine for himself and Hephaestus.
He handed the divine wine to Hephaestus and clinked glasses, saying: "There's nothing for it; as brothers, from now on, we can only support and help each other on this Olympus."
Hephaestus held his wine glass, hesitated for a moment, and then gently clinked it with Ares's.
"You're right." He said to Ares.
...
That night, Ares and Hephaestus talked through the night over divine wine, discussing many things with each other.
Ares fully utilized his experience as an office worker in his previous life, employing the methods of entertaining company clients on Hephaestus, with remarkable results. The God of Fire was very happy with what he said, and the relationship between the two Great Gods also became much closer.
After that day, whenever Ares had time, he would bring fine wine, find Hephaestus, and talk about everything under the sun with him, strengthening their brotherly bond. After a period of time, their relationship had become as good as that of normal brothers in the mortal world.
And feeling that their relationship was close enough, Ares struck while the iron was hot, expressing his interest in forging techniques to Hephaestus and hoping that Hephaestus could teach him a little.
"As the God of War, why are you interested in this kind of hammering and banging craft?"
Upon hearing Ares's request, Hephaestus asked very strangely.
"Because forging can create weapons, chariots, and War fortifications." Ares, as the God of War, naturally stated his pre-prepared excuse: "As the God of War, is there anything wrong with me caring about the techniques for forging War equipment?"
Hephaestus thought about it; it seemed that this reason was indeed not problematic, so he replied: "Alright, anyway, I've almost finished repairing the equipment on Olympus recently, so I'll take some time to teach you."
As biological brothers, both Hephaestus and Ares's divine power attributes lean towards fire, except that Ares's flames are more violent and powerful than Hephaestus's, while Hephaestus, the God of Fire, has more easily controllable fire.
It was also for this reason, and because his physical strength became extremely formidable after becoming the God of War, that Ares dared to think that it wouldn't be difficult for him to learn Hephaestus's forging techniques with his conditions.
As long as he learned these crafts, he would be able to deduce some properties of that black crystal without troubling the God of Fire himself, which was also the safest option.
However, when Hephaestus began to teach, Ares realized how terribly wrong he was.
The weapons of the gods in this era were by no means comparable to human mortal objects. To learn to forge divine artifacts, before fire control and hammering techniques, Ares also had to learn a series of very complex magical knowledge.
Fortunately, after becoming a deity, his mental agility and memory capacity were several times greater than before. With Ares's efforts, he eventually learned what Hephaestus taught and successfully got started. In the past, Ares would never have been able to learn such complex and intricate things.
Hephaestus saw Ares's efforts and was also very pleasantly surprised.
Unlike the gods on Olympus who were arrogant and would never allow anyone else's skill to be stronger than their own, nor would they allow their skills to be passed on, Hephaestus was a rare talent who was not arrogant and was happy to share his skills. The forging techniques of later mortals were all taught by him.
Upon seeing Ares so diligently learning his forging, Hephaestus immediately found his brother more pleasing to the eye and also tried to impart everything he had learned without reservation.
After approximately four to five years of learning, Ares finally graduated from Hephaestus, the God of Fire.
Although his forging technique is still far from the God of Fire's level, he can now easily forge some low-level treasures. Hephaestus's forging knowledge and magical knowledge have also been completely learned by him; now, all that is needed is practice and experience.
And after completing his studies, Ares did not delay. He immediately returned to his God of War Palace, preparing to begin the analysis of that black crystal pendant.
But at this moment, outside the God of War Palace, a lesser god suddenly rushed in, and upon seeing Ares sitting on the divine throne, he shouted in surprise:
"Ares, you're finally back! Where were you yesterday? You didn't even attend Zeus's banquet."
"I went to inspect the earth yesterday."
Ares casually made up a lie, then asked:
"What's wrong?"
"Goddess Hebe came looking for you; it seems something extraordinary happened yesterday."
The lesser god said.