When Ares followed Hebe to Hera's temple, Hephaestus had also arrived. It seemed that the Goddess of Youth, Hebe, had not only notified Ares but also the God of Fire, as the eldest son.
When Ares and Hebe arrived at the temple, they saw him standing to one side, while Hera sat on her Queen's throne, staring silently into a pool of water in front of her. No anger, sorrow, or joy could be seen on her face; her eyes seemed dead.
Ares glanced into the pool and saw a familiar man receiving a wailing infant from a midwife. On the bed next to him lay a beautiful woman.
However, strangely, neither the man nor the woman showed much happiness at the sight of the newborn. The beautiful woman looked at the man beside her with deep shame, while the man's mouth twitched, unsure whether to cry or laugh.
Ares found the man somewhat familiar, so he looked more closely and then discovered his true identity.
Amphitryon…
Heracles's adoptive father…
Greece's most honest man…
After recognizing his identity, Ares seemed to faintly see a hint of green above Amphitryon's head.
However, even though he recognized Amphitryon and understood the whole story, Ares still asked, to start a conversation:
"Hera, who are this couple…?"
"The King of Thebes, Amphitryon, and his Queen, Alcmene. A very well-matched couple, aren't they? Their marriage also received my blessing, but that infant is the child of Alcmene and Zeus."
Hera said these words without anger; in fact, as she spoke, a smile even appeared on her face:
"Again and again, that man not only disregards our sacred marriage, but now he even destroys a marriage I have blessed."
Hebe and Hephaestus were so frightened by their mother's tone that they dared not speak. If Hera had simply erupted in anger and shouted, it would have been better, but her current expressionless demeanor, showing neither sorrow nor joy, made them feel even more horrified.
However, after listening to Hera's words, Ares calmly asked in his rough voice:
"So, what do you plan to do? Will she still take revenge on Alcmene and this Zeus's son?"
"I already did. I sent your sister, my dear daughter, Eileithyia, the Goddess of Childbirth, to Alcmene's birthing chamber to use her power to prevent that Zeus's son from being born. I wanted to use this method to save my failed marriage with him. But Alcmene truly has a clever maid. Her maid, dear Garantis, actually dared to falsely transmit my command to Eileithyia, causing Eileithyia's power to fail, and this Zeus's son was ultimately born…"
Hera murmured:
"Is it true that everyone in this world will side with that man? What do you think, Ares?"
"No." Ares pointed at Hebe and Hephaestus, then at himself: "Aren't the brothers and sisters here all devoted to you? By the way, what did you do with that maid?"
Hera showed a rather alluring smile. Then, she reached out and, surprisingly, pulled a black cat from behind her throne and threw it on the ground.
The black cat, thrown to the ground, lay still, not daring to move. Its deep blue eyes gleamed with human-like fear. Clearly, this was Garantis, who had deceived the Goddess of Childbirth and falsely relayed the Queen's oracle. She had been transformed into a cat by the enraged Hera.
Ares reached out and grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck, lifting it up, and said to Hera:
"Hera, I'll help you deal with it. Send it to the Underworld."
Hera nodded and said, "Ares, tell me, what should I do now?"
"Directly killing this Zeus's son… that's impossible. Zeus is clearly watching him too." Ares looked at the figures in the pool and shook his head: "And if you ask me, if you truly want to preserve your marriage, killing him is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Zeus will not fear these methods of yours. The only way to treat the root cause is to curb Zeus, the source."
"Curb Zeus?" Hearing Ares's words, Hephaestus and Hera showed no reaction, but Hebe was startled. She cautiously looked at her two brothers and whispered, "Ares, don't make Mother do something foolish."
"Hebe, don't worry about your brother. He is the God of War, after all," Hera said softly. "Ares, continue."
"Hera, indeed, with our power, even united, we are too weak to contend with Zeus, who holds the authority of the King of Gods and divine lightning," Ares said. "Therefore, what we need to do is unite all the victims in this world."
"Victims?" Hera raised an eyebrow slightly, as if she had thought of something.
"That's right. How many of the women he has taken were willing to fall in love with him? How many of the children he has sired truly love him from the bottom of their hearts, rather than fearing him because of his power and status? These people, like us, are all victims. Their individual strength is very small, but once we unite them, their power will be immense." Ares said, nodding towards the pool: "This child, Alcmene, and Amphitryon, they are all victims too."
"Are you asking me to help this bastard?" Hera sneered.
"Why not? Becoming Zeus's son is not something he could choose himself; he is not at fault in this matter," Ares persuaded. "Now is the time for you to show your magnanimity as Queen. Hera, use your motherly power to help this child completely transcend his mortal body, and I will help him become the strongest warrior on Olympus!"
"When he ascends Olympus and becomes one of the gods, it will be easy for you to win him over. With him on our side, a force that Zeus will fear can be formed. The reason he has been so unrestrained before is simply that you could not threaten his rule in any way. But if you have a force to counterbalance him, do you think Zeus will still have the energy to casually run off and fool around with women or men?"
Hearing Ares's words, Hebe closed her mouth, not daring to interrupt, while Hephaestus, who had kept his eyes closed, cast a somewhat worried glance. He said:
"Ares, are you… planning a rebellion?"
"No." Ares sneered: "I'm just speaking out for my mother."
After hearing Ares's entire speech, Hera thought for a long time and finally replied hesitantly, "Then, as you say, let's try it this once."