Chapter 26: The Ocean God's Sense of Crisis
Tartarus guessed that if Nyx had reservations, the Dark God Erebus would likely have similarly.
However, the amount of Chaos Source Nyx currently retained wasn't much for the Abyss, so Erebus, the Dark God, probably wouldn't have much either.
Even if he spoke the truth, Erebus, by nature suspicious and cautious, wouldn't necessarily be willing to share the Chaos Source lingering in the darkness with him.
So, Tartarus thought of the ocean.
He planned to seek out Pontus, the First Ocean God.
The ocean was substantial, newly born, and its Chaos Source must far surpass night and darkness.
Also, Tartarus hadn't truly interacted with this new god since his birth.
The ocean's bottom was incredibly close to the Abyss.
Based on his previous life's concept of distance, it was only about five hundred meters.
Compared to the vast ocean and the vast abyss, this distance was practically nonexistent.
The distance between the Abyss and the earth is immeasurable, even far exceeding the distance between the earth and the highest point of the sky.
Tartarus suspected that Chaos had deliberately exploited the birth of darkness and night to drive the Abyss to the very bottom of the world, thus distancing Tartarus from the center.
It was rare for a new god's true form to be so close to the Abyss, so naturally he wanted to pay it a visit.
Such a short distance allowed Tartarus, at the peak of his divine power, to easily sense the seabed even with the darkness blocking it, and even more so, to easily penetrate the darkness.
Whoa!
Tartarus's Devouring Divine Body passed through the darkness and entered the deep sea.
The powerful water pressure of the deep sea did not pose much of a burden to the Devouring Divine Body, but instead gave Tartarus a long-lost sense of familiarity.
This was his first experience of water since his birth in Chaos's world.
He greeted politely, "Ocean God, Pontus, I am Tartarus, God of the Underworld Abyss. I have come to experience the beauty of the ocean."
The surrounding waters surged violently, coalescing into a waterman.
The waterman's outer shell shattered, revealing the divine form of Pontus, God of the Ocean.
"Welcome to the ocean, my uncle, Tartarus, God of the Underworld Abyss." A smile crossed the simple face of Pontus, God of the Ocean.
The ocean was newly born and incomplete.
Aside from the god Pontus, no life existed within it, as desolate and barren as the earth itself.
However, the deep sea was not now bleak. Within and beyond the ocean surrounding the earth, tiny specks of divine light emanated.
This was Pontus's divine power radiating throughout the ocean, illuminating the entire surface.
The ocean looked like a vast halo surrounding the earth, like the halo of Chaos' world—a truly beautiful sight.
It wasn't very bright, but this radiance made night and darkness impossible.
It could be said that the birth of the ocean further reduced the space for darkness and night.
Tartarus looked around and smiled, "The ocean is truly beautiful! Living here must be a truly blissful experience. It's made me, who originally didn't want to deify the abyss, even want to do so and live in the ocean."
"Thank you for your compliment. If you wish, you can come and live in the ocean anytime. With the great God of Hell and the Abyss here, the ocean has become great."
Pontus, the god of the sea, spread his arms, expressing his joy.
Then he said, "As the son of Gaia, the Earth Goddess, I've heard her say you've never ventured to the sky. Now that you've come to the ocean first, I feel even more honored."
"Uranus?" Tartarus said calmly, "After his birth, he said he wanted to go to the abyss, but he's never been. The sky, high above, looks down on the abyss, the lowest of the worlds."
"I don't think so. Brother Uranus helped me when I was born."
Pontus stopped talking mid-sentence and added, "However, I can sense that the sky is always watching the ocean, yet it hasn't entered it either." I don't know why."
"He was probably protecting me! You were there, and you heard him say that when I was born, he was worried about any mishaps with the sea godhood granted to me by Chaos, so he used his divine power."
"I wasn't born then, so my memory of the events is hazy. I asked the Mother Goddess, and she, while she was nurturing my true form, said she was also hazy."
"Uncle Tartarus, you also used your divine power and had a misunderstanding with your brother Uranus. Can you tell me the details of what happened?"
"A common wisdom," Tartarus thought.
He smiled and said, "Of course."
Then he recounted the scene where a divine barrier appeared in Uranus's sky and his own abyssal pillars collided with it.
Without any falsehood, Tartarus honestly recounted the true events.
Pontus, the god of the sea, listened intently, his blue eyes expressionless.
After saying this, Tartarus continued, "The situation was critical. I wrongly blamed Uranus and acted rashly. Fortunately, we are all safe, and you were born successfully. Everything was fate's best arrangement."
"Yes, fate has destined me to become the God of the Ocean and control the sea. This is mine, and it cannot be taken away." said the Ocean God Pontus.
"Indeed." Tartarus nodded slightly.
Pontus looked at Tartarus and said, "Uncle, you are the most mysterious and great being in the Chaos World. The Mother Goddess said that you predicted my birth and many future events."
"If you can tell me something about the future of the ocean, I will give you anything I can as a token of gratitude."
"I do know a little, but..." Tartarus said mysteriously, "Fate is predetermined, cause and effect are cyclical, and everything has its own laws. Fate is unchangeable. Knowing it or not, the result is the same. Are you sure you want to know?"
"I want to know." The Ocean God Pontus nodded seriously.
Gaia, the Earth Mother, told him the words Tartarus had spoken on the eve of his birth.
Although he didn't understand the principles of the future, as a powerful deity, he sensed that Tartarus's descriptions were true.
Knowing the ocean's future meant knowing his own future, and he couldn't help but explore.
After all, he hadn't witnessed the crisis that hadn't yet occurred, yet he feared it would happen again.
"Okay, I don't know much, but I'm willing to tell you everything," Tartarus said, his eyes darkening. He muttered to himself, "The sky covers the earth, and the ocean is split in two."
"What do you mean?" Pontus, the Ocean God, couldn't help but ask.
Tartarus said, "Based on what's happening now, analyzing and searching for the future's trajectory might only yield speculation, not the truth. This is all I know about the ocean at this point."
"My guess is that your divine authority may be divided by the new gods."
"Division of divine authority"