```
However, the Divine King did not intend to personally bring Moanda to the Mount of the Gods. This task was better suited for the God of West Wind.
"Zephyrus, I want you to hold my scepter and go to the mountain of Panasus to welcome a messenger of the Ancient Gods on my behalf," he said.
As Zeus took out the Divine King's scepter, he noticed the gods' attention to the name 'Ancient Gods', but he pretended not to know and continued:
"Her name is Moanda. She is the True God who presides over life, the progenitor of all plants in the world. And starting from today, she will also become a new member of Olympus——"
His voice suddenly stopped.
Seeing this, Zephyrus lifted his head, puzzled. Under his and the gods' watchful eyes, the Divine King showed no other movement, simply sitting on the throne as if suddenly lost in thought.
After a short while, Zeus seemed to come back to his senses, and with a forced smile, handed the scepter to the Wind God.
"Take it, and go fulfill your task," he said.
"...As you command, Your Majesty."
The God of West Wind didn't understand the Divine King's meaning, but being the king's most loyal servant, he didn't ask questions and simply accepted the scepter. Accidentally, Zephyrus's peripheral vision seemed to catch something—that was the Divine King's wrist hidden under his sleeve.
There, a dark red light glimmered faintly, a bloody mark writhing as if something was about to emerge from it.
But it was only a moment of confusion, and then everything disappeared as if it had been an illusion. With an involuntary shiver, the God of West Wind, acting as if he had seen nothing, respectfully bowed again and then transformed into wind to leave the king's palace.
...
On Mount Olympus, the meeting was still in progress.
Zeus's distraction was only a minor incident, and no one cared about such a trifle. Half a day later, when Zephyrus arrived with the Goddess of Life on Mount Olympus, the Divine King announced the start of the banquet.
With a cold laugh, although Zeus was unclear about the owner of this power, he could easily sense its essence, which was certainly not a power similar to Darkness. Rather than considering it a 'warning' from Erebus, it was more like he was dumping this troublesome thing onto the Divine King.
In fact, Zeus's guess was very accurate. After cutting off the contaminated flesh, the Lord of Darkness carried out many studies on this power from the Foreign Realm. In the process, he inevitably became tainted with more of this highly assimilative energy.
But unlike the portion that transformed from the branches and tendrils of Mother Goddess, this second infection, although still troublesome, could be eradicated.
Therefore, Erebus didn't separate his power again but gradually wore it down—and today, he simply packaged it up and sent it to this younger deity who dared demand an explanation from him.
Compared to his sudden increase in status, the Lord of Darkness immediately saw Zeus's still somewhat weak divine body and power, so he unceremoniously presented this 'weapon.' His purpose, of course, was not just to vent his anger.
Acting over a verbal triumph was something Gaia did. In fact, Erebus wanted Zeus to realize that his divine body might be corrupted and destroyed by this strange power, and the only solution lay with the distant Goddess of Life.
Thus, the originally agreed terms would remain unchanged, and there might even be further progress—just as Erebus had Moanda disperse the foreign power from the flesh using the Life Vase, Zeus would ultimately realize that only a deity that rules over Life could assist him in this matter.
In time, with Moanda's help, Erebus would also be able to delve deeper into the secrets of the Divine King's ascension. He didn't even care if Zeus saw through this point because the latter had no other choice.
He isn't Laine, the Lord of Darkness doesn't have an Athena to probe the secrets behind the scenes, but absence doesn't mean he won't find his way to the answers. Today's actions were just another probing attempt by him.
"But the arrogant Primordial Deity, you have miscalculated after all. You have your hidden secrets, and I have mine... Although it may take a longer time, it is hardly anything."
The deep voice echoed through space, and looking at this interface attached to the present world, Zeus secretly decided not to leave Olympus until he fully possessed a divine body and power comparable to his status.
Fortunately, the biggest trouble, Mother Earth Gaia, had already been resolved by him and everything had returned to the right track. What remained was a long period of accumulation.
"When humans spread across the land, I can probably resolve this trouble as well. Let the gods fight among themselves for faith for now, and when the time comes, I will emerge to tidy up the situation."
Once again creating an embodiment to handle the affairs on the Mount of the Gods, Zeus stayed here. This time, he might have to undergo the longest 'seclusion' since his birth.
The power of the boundary kept surging, reflecting the symbol of Kingship. At the site of the old Golden Palace of Asgard, Zeus entered a not-so-short period of slumber.
And so, with the Divine King and Mother Earth silent, the Chaos World returned to a peace that had been long absent. Time flew by, and several seasons passed.