In the brief silence following this shock, a voice with a lazy smile sounded from the shadows:
"Hecate, it seems you've been hiding quite a key detail."
Metis, the Queen of the Underworld, had silently returned at some point, her steps light as a shadow of wisdom gliding through the dark night.
She approached Hades, but her eyes were sharp—she had seen everything—and she turned to the goddess of magic, who was trying to shrink her neck.
Metis turned to Hades, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and reminded him: "Darling, do you remember what he said when you visited Poseidon before?"
She imitated Poseidon's carefree, detached tone:
"'Dear brother, if you want to ask me about that little 'little interest' of Metis's,'"
"'All I can say is I'm not interested and have no idea. Art is the eternal pursuit. These entanglements of love and consciousness are too vulgar, too 'un-oceanic'.'"
Hades's pupils constricted.
Yes! At the time, he was focused on investigating the source of Metis's abnormal consciousness and didn't think deeply—how did Poseidon know that Metis's condition was different?
This matter was only circulated within the core of Hades and a very small number of related people (like Hecate). How did Poseidon, far away in the deep sea and almost isolated, know about it?
Metis looked at Hades's suddenly enlightened expression, chuckled softly, and lovingly teased: "My Hades, why have you suddenly become foolish~"
She reminded him, "Do you remember the artifact we created together?"
"'Gaia's Foundation'—" Hades whispered the name.
An artifact that could perfectly disguise and change its form—it was the crystallization of their wisdom and skill, and also one of the testimonies of his deep connection with Metis.
"Only three artifacts," Metis said, like a thread of fate.
"Two are in your hands and mine, and the other we dedicated to the Earth Mother Gaia, to thank her for her initial protection."
"Zeus once took the god-killing scythe from the Earth Mother," Metis guided the idea.
"Poseidon knew about this. Darling, tell me, upon learning that Zeus was able to obtain such an important artifact from the Earth Mother, wouldn't our brother the Sea King also have 'visited' the Earth Mother's place once? If he went, what else could he have 'borrowed' when the god-killing scythe was already taken?"
Hades's eyes suddenly sharpened.
The answer was about to appear—the third 'Gaia's Foundation'!
With the 'Gaia's Foundation' in hand, Poseidon had the basic tools to implement a series of plans.
But Hades still had doubts: from his understanding of this brother, Poseidon didn't have a particularly strong desire for power, especially after he became obsessed with art and neglected the administration of power. Why would he go to such great lengths?
Hades was silent for a moment and slowly said: "He doesn't have a very strong desire for power."
This was his judgment of Poseidon, and his brother's recent behavior confirmed it.
"But he can't avoid 'trouble'," Metis replied, her eyes sharpening.
Thetis, the sea goddess caught by the prophecy that she would 'bear a son stronger than his father', whose very existence was a vortex of trouble. Countless ambitious gods had their eyes on her. Poseidon had sheltered her.
"However, the trouble of the prophecy doesn't disappear with sheltering. Attentive people, spies, and provocateurs... An endless stream seriously disturbed Poseidon's immersion in 'wave sculpture' and 'light and shadow painting'. He craves a pure land where he can create with peace of mind, not a center of problems where he constantly has to fend off external desires."
She began to outline a bold and almost insane plan on Poseidon's part:
"Poseidon was not interested in marriage, and Thetis hated it because of the prophecy. But countless suitors and problems constantly interfered with Poseidon's cherished 'artistic creation'. As a result, a 'replacement' plan formed in his mind—if Thetis was 'no longer Thetis', then the prophecy tied to her would naturally self-destruct."
Metis looked at Hades and threw out the key: "The power of Eros, acting between male and female gods, causes them to unite with eros. What if... what if it acted on the basis of a goddess and an 'object' full of divinity, and even gave birth to life?"
Hades instantly pieced together all the clues!
The 'origin' of Uranus, which had been hit by Eros's golden arrow, was developing in the ocean... But was it really Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty?
"I'm afraid," Metis's voice was coldly insightful,
"the core of this 'Aphrodite', about to be born, or already born, has long been replaced by... Thetis!"
Hephaestus gasped—such a method of stealing the day was simply unimaginable!
But Hades still questioned: "Nevertheless, this explains Thetis's escape, but it doesn't explain why the breakdown of Poseidon's marriage to 'Amphitrite' caused such a strong reaction against Hera. The marriage itself was like child's play."
Metis, as if expecting him to ask this question, unexpectedly posed another, seemingly unrelated question:
"Hera, how did you find Amphitrite? You know, the coastal zone is also within Poseidon's domain. A sea nymph, if the Sea Emperor intends to hide her, how could Hera easily find her?"
She paused and said astonishingly:
"Is there a possibility that the 'Empress Amphitrite', who hastily met Poseidon and quickly concluded a marriage from beginning to end... was all orchestrated by Poseidon himself?"
"From the first meeting to their wedding, everything was incredibly fast, like a rehearsed play. Wouldn't it be easy for Poseidon to use the 'Gaia's Foundation' to replace Amphitrite's identity? It's not difficult for the Sea King to assume the identity of a sea nymph."
Hades thought in this direction and said in a deep voice: "Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult to carry out such a level of soul replacement and identity play, even with the power of Eros and the Gaia's Foundation. He would need an assistant skilled in soul magic, capable of interfering with the threads of fate, and willing to keep secrets for him..."
Their gazes, like four cold spotlights, shot in unison towards Hecate, who was trying to merge into the back wall.
Hecate's body tensed, and a sheepish smile appeared on her face, uglier than tears.
Metis, as if remembering something, lightly tapped her finger on her chin and said in a 'casual' tone:
"By the way... I was still wondering before who was so 'enthusiastic' as to reveal the little change in my condition to Poseidon, who was far away in the deep sea and didn't care about the world?"
"Hecate," Hades's voice was like a cold wind from the abyss.
"You need to explain. Everything."
Under the double lock of the will of the King of Hades and the Queen of Hades, Hecate knew that any concealment was useless.
She took a deep breath and began to explain all the details of this shocking plan, led by Poseidon and in which she was implicated, including the birth of the goddess of beauty, the identity of the Sea Queen, the marriage scam, and the interference with fate.
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