A power that surpassed the gods still diffused between heaven and earth, bringing a certain intangible oppression, and outside of Mount Olympus, under the Divine King's gaze, the gods remained silent.
But that was all. Although they had chosen to be mere observers in the previous struggle due to a misjudgment of the situation, the gods were not overly panicked now in the face of the victorious Divine King who had returned.
After all, their choices had not varied, nor had they taken any further action. Thus, unless the Divine King intended to rule the world alone, it was unlikely that he would actually do anything to them.
Moreover, Mother Earth had been defeated, not killed, and there was that brief flash of darkness three days ago... But these were mere speculations. Perhaps the increase in power might even change Zeus's personality, so at this moment, the gods were quietly waiting for the Divine King's next move.
Of course, there were some exceptions among the gods, such as Ker, the God of Destruction. As Hades's subordinate, his presence here was merely to substitute for Hades and witness the banquet where Zeus would confer the title of principal gods, so even if he made the same choice as the other gods, he still stood aside quite naturally.
There was also the Goddess of Justice, who had just returned to Mount of the Gods not long ago. She likewise did not stand with any other deity and instead stayed alone in midair, calmly watching everything.
The goddess seemed to be pondering something, occasionally glancing back in the direction of Mount Olympus. She caressed the hilt of the sword at her waist, her eyes reflecting hesitation and relief.
Since receiving this sword symbolizing "Justice," she seemed to have never truly used it—the Divine Artifact meant to purge evil had always remained untouched.
Since when had it been like this? The goddess didn't quite remember. Perhaps, since the First Age, it had always been this way.
"She failed to provide evidence to prove you did anything, and her actions indeed posed a threat to the world's order. So, the current world's response to this is only natural."
Without letting her personal view of Zeus affect her judgment, Themis indifferently gave her response.
This was, in fact, a sentiment shared among the gods—they didn't quite understand Gaia's hysteria. Before Mother Earth awoke, many among them had foreseen today's scene, as her conflict with the Divine King was almost unavoidable. However, in the eyes of the gods, this was at most a dispute about the God of Meteorology, Crius.
Perhaps in the end, unable to reach an agreement, Gaia indeed would have resorted to force, but more likely, Zeus would have stepped back once more, yielding in the presence of the Primordial Gods; there should have been no other path of development.
Yet, when the event actually happened, the Divine King's power indeed surprised the gods, but Gaia's actions also left them baffled.
Madness, paranoia, incomprehension, and even an unwillingness to listen to explanations—the other side had directly concluded that Zeus had stolen her Divine Tree and accompanying Divine Artifact—of course, they indeed had doubted whether Zeus had truly stolen the Golden Apple Tree, but while the tree was somewhat understandable, what about the Life Vase?
As Mother Earth's accompanying Divine Artifact, it would slumber along with its owner and reject anyone other than its master from using it. Stealing such an artifact would bring about nothing but scorn from the gods, with little to gain.
"To hear your fair judgment on this matter is truly more than I could ask for. In fact, I still find myself puzzled by it to this day. Perhaps Mother Earth has indeed slept for too long."
Zeus nodded in satisfaction, his lips curving into a smile as he received the response he desired.