Chapter 33: Swallowing the Ocean Water, Is the World Made of Four Elements?
Though doubtful, Tartarus didn't stop Gaia.
The Chaos Source didn't harm him, and in fact, it helped him.
A vast amount of Chaos Source, as black as ink, converged above Gaia's head.
Forming a massive sphere, twice as large as the black ball of Chaos Source Tartarus had once devoured.
Gaia said, "As you said, my growth rate far exceeds yours. Even if you concealed it, I ultimately benefited the most. This is my first token of gratitude."
"You intercepted the Chaos Source about to soar into the sky, benefiting my eldest son, Uranus. This is my second token of gratitude."
"You stopped Uranus, allowing my second son to successfully obtain the Sea Godship. This is my third token of gratitude."
"To express this triple gratitude, I have brought all the Chaos Source in the earth and given it to you. I hope you will become even stronger."
Looking at such a large amount of Chaos Source, Tartarus was naturally moved.
The abyssal soil and rocks transformed into giant claws, grabbing the massive mass of chaotic origin and pulling it into the abyss. 1
Tartarus looked at Gaia: "With so many Chaos Essences, aren't you afraid that I might surpass you in strength?"
Earth Goddess Gaia smiled confidently: "When the Earth and the Abyss bordered, we grew together. I sensed that. The Chaos Essences can't make you much stronger."
"You've grown stronger because the Abyss itself is powerful, and you've naturally grown to your current strength."
"Uranus has always believed that you've been hiding this from us, absorbing Chaos Essences to become so powerful. That's a misconception."
"When it was just you and me in the world, I knew for certain that you in the Abyss, while not as powerful as the Earth, were inherently strong. It's just that you were newly born. So I'm not afraid of the Chaos Essence's amplification."
At this point, Mother Earth Goddess Gaia's tone grew sentimental: "Perhaps, this is fate!"
"From the moment you were born, when I saw you and feared you, our fate was sealed. I hope that in the future, we and our children won't end up in true opposition."
"I hope so too," Tartarus said.
Tartarus wasn't sure whether the children of the earth opposed the children of the abyss.
The butterfly effect had already taken effect. First of all, he wasn't even sure if he had children himself.
But there were many stories of conflict between the children of the earth.
A deep pit appeared, leading straight upward.
"Goodbye, Tartarus."
"Goodbye, Gaia."
Gaia gave Tartarus a last, gentle smile before flying upward.
Tartarus didn't leave. Watching Gaia retreat, he thought to himself, "May you be lucky!"
"Mother Goddess, how should we deal with Tartarus?" Uranus, the god of the sky, quickly asked upon seeing Gaia, the Mother Goddess of Earth, appear.
"Whether or not it's a deception is irrelevant. Since neither of us has lost anything, and we've both gained, let's do this! The Abyss is the abyss at the bottom of the world, and the Earth is the Earth at the center of the world. Let's go!"
With that, Gaia, the Earth Goddess, soared into the sky, soaring into the darkness, heading directly towards the Earth.
Uranus, the Sky God, was puzzled at first, but then he understood.
He smiled happily.
He said to the Abyss, "Tartarus, I've been to the Abyss before. Welcome to my sky."
With that, Uranus and Gaia soared upwards together.
"Uncle Tartarus, we'll leave now. We'll visit the Abyss again later." Pontus, the Ocean God, hesitated for a moment before also choosing to fly upwards.
Watching the three departing gods, Erebus, the god of darkness, muttered to himself, "The bottom of the world and the center of the world? Then I am merely the world's darkness."
With that, Erebus's body faded and vanished into the darkness.
A portion of the night merged into the abyss.
The abyss, within the great hall.
Nyx, the goddess of night, looked at Tartarus and asked, "Brother Tartarus, I don't know what you two talked about, but I roughly understood the meaning of Gaia's words."
"From now on, Mother Earth Gaia is one side, and you of the abyss belong to the other. Is that what you mean?"
"Yes, Nyx," Tartarus replied.
The Night Goddess, Nyx, frowned slightly. "I don't understand her thinking. From your birth until now, the Earth has truly benefited the most. Without the Source of Chaos, its growth has accelerated, far surpassing ours."
Tartarus shook his head slightly and said, "That's not the reason. Nyx, the world of Chaos will continue to grow, develop, prosper, and become more complete. New gods will constantly be born and emerge."
"Originally, the Earth was the strongest, far surpassing us, but now I've become stronger too. Eventually, she will consider me a threat."
"Also, in the future, the number of gods will increase, and their forces will inevitably split. Gods have selfish motives, so naturally they have factions."
Nyx, the Night Goddess, said, "I've thought about it, and I've seen it. Ever since the birth of the Sky God, you've clashed with him twice, and I've already seen your opposition."
"However, Tartarus... "Brother, the situation is not favorable for us now."
"Earth, Sky, and Ocean—the three gods combined are more powerful than you and me. Even if I bring Erebus with me, our overall strength still pales in comparison."
Tartarus shook his head slightly, smiling faintly. "Forget Erebus. If he wanted to side with us, he would have joined long ago. He prefers to stay out of the fray."
"Of course, we don't actually have a conflict with Gaia and the others. Sometimes, the formation of a power isn't necessarily about conflict; it might be about survival."
"Right now, we don't need to do anything. We just need to continue to grow and become stronger."
Nyx added, "Indeed, Uranus, the Sky God, is growing too fast. He may not necessarily listen to Gaia. He's a tyrannical and cunning god."
Then, the Night Goddess, Nyx, returned to the night.
Tartarus sensed two large eggs in the abyss; they were not yet fully formed.
For the time being, he chose not to consume the vast amount of Chaos Source left behind by the Earth Mother, Gaia. Because Pontus, the god of the sea, had injected a vast amount of seawater into the Abyss.
Tartarus decided to devour this ocean water first.
As Nyx had said, Uranus, the god of the sky, was growing rapidly, and the Abyss could not rapidly expand its strength in a short period of time, so it needed to seek other ways to grow stronger.
Also, as he knew from his previous life, Greek mythology also stated that the world was composed of the four elements: water, fire, earth, and wind.
Whether this world's structure was accurate or not was uncertain.
But achieving the four elements of water, fire, earth, and wind—combining them into a god of the elements—would surely increase his understanding of the world's structure.
After listening to Gaia's words today, Tartarus also realized a crisis. Only by becoming stronger and gaining a deeper understanding of the world could this crisis be mitigated.
"Devour the ocean water..."