Three days and three nights later, the sun broke through, and the sea mist dispersed.
Gentle sunlight pierced through the lingering smoke of Mount Etna's crater, illuminating its dim interior.
The once surging lava had lost its dark red color and scorching heat, turning into a solidified mass of dead ash and residue, completely burned away.
"Crack~~"
With a crisp cracking sound, the grey-black mud shell on Lorne's body peeled off.
His eyes slowly opened, and golden-red, bird-shaped flames flickered within his pupils.
The golden wheel behind him simultaneously rotated to the eleventh slot.
—The Eleventh Incarnation: Phoenix.
In addition to granting him relatively high-speed aerial mobility, he also gained the trait of [Resurrection].
This means that when the host's physical body is destroyed, the Phoenix takes the damage, performing a true [Resurrection].
This was equivalent to him having an extra life when facing enemies.
The unfortunate thing is that after the Phoenix dies, it requires a long period of rebirth from ashes before the [Resurrection] ability can be used again.
Therefore, the cooldown period for this incarnation's ability was quite long, and it couldn't be easily used unless it was a critical moment.
But even so, this current gain filled Lorne with overwhelming excitement.
With an extra life, he had more choices, and his plans gained several more chances of success.
Calming his excited heart, Lorne broke free from the solidified lava residue, leaped up, and entered the cave above.
"You're awake? Not bad."
Beside the extinguished forge, Hephaestus shook the empty wine jug in his hand, stood up, looked at Lorne, whose divine light was now contained, and nodded with satisfaction.
Then he shifted his gaze to the completely cooled and solidified magma at the bottom of the cave entrance, sighing regretfully.
"This furnace is unusable now."
"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."
"Nonsense. You saved my foster mother, and you gave me such good wine. By all accounts, I should compensate you."
Hephaestus waved his hand, then a teasing smile appeared on his face.
"Consider this my early wedding gift to you two."
Hearing his words, Lorne felt a bit helpless.
It seemed this God of Crafts was determined to bring him and Thetis together, which was why he specifically gave him the Phoenix, which possessed the power of [Rebirth].
That way, even if Zeus were to blame and severely punish him when they confronted him on Olympus, he would have a chance to resurrect, preventing Thetis from becoming a widow before even marrying.
It's just that although he had a really good impression of Thetis, he had a good impression of Medusa, Artemis, Hestia, and Athena too…not to mention there's also Hera.
If he really married Thetis, he was afraid that he'd get shredded into many pieces.
'Brother, say no more. I acknowledge you as my son. When your mother and I get married, I'll definitely arrange the best table for you!'
Lorne secretly joked to himself, thinking about the complicated family relations, then took a deep breath and spoke in a deep voice.
"It's almost time. Shall we go?"
Hephaestus nodded solemnly, took out a complete set of handcuffs, leg irons, chains, and other instruments of torture from a nearby treasure chest, and put them on Lorne one by one.
The latter tried to mobilize his divine power to break free, but dense divine patterns immediately flickered on the surface of these metal instruments of torture, absorbing and transforming the resisting force in an instant and further strengthening the confinement.
Finding that path blocked, he then summoned the Bull, relying on the brute strength of his physically enhanced body to resist the instruments of torture on him.
However, even though the veins on his forehead bulged, and his protruding blood vessels almost burst through his skin, he couldn't budge the set of torture instruments in the slightest.
Seeing this, Hephaestus replied proudly.
"Don't waste your effort. These are instruments of torture specially made for your divine nature and divine power, based on the blood sample Thetis sent. Furthermore, I've increased their performance by dozens of times, as per your request. Theoretically, even if you become a chief god, there's no way you can break free."
Lorne didn't speak; he just raised his hand, half-believing, half-doubting.
After waiting for a moment, he looked at his empty palm and finally showed a satisfied smile.
Very good, the twelve-sided die containing the divine power of [Chance] could not be summoned, which meant that his most special [Chance] divinity was indeed confined by this set of torture instruments.
On one hand, going to beg for forgiveness with these things on, Zeus should not notice his special nature and directly eliminate him.
On the other hand, due to the principle of 'enemy and I share the same origin,' these things that work on him should theoretically also work on his dear master's ancestor.
Having eliminated his last worries and made ample preparations, Lorne finally relaxed and prepared to officially go to Olympus with Hephaestus.
"Don't rush yet; hide this well."
Saying this, Hephaestus secretly slipped a key into Lorne's hand, explaining in a low voice.
"I made an extra one for backup. If things go south, you can use this to secretly unlock the shackles and make a smooth escape."
Lorne nodded, accepting Hephaestus's painstaking effort.
Afterward, the God of Crafts led the self-surrendering culprit, summoned the chariot parked on the island, and the two rode together, heading towards Olympus among the stars.
~~
In the quiet, gloomy side hall, Zeus, the King of Gods who had ruled the thousand-year monarchy of Olympus since the Titan War, sat on his magnificent divine throne, looking down at the culprit below him, letting out a cold snort, radiating an air of authority without anger.
"How dare you plot to harm a divine descendant!"
"Your Majesty, I merely didn't want him to harass Thetis, so I pushed him out.
It was the Hundred-Armed Giants who killed him."
Lorne lowered his head and honestly defended himself.
"Still trying to twist words?" Zeus scoffed disdainfully, then waved his hand impatiently. "Hephaestus, lock him in the prison first and await the judgment."
"As you command, Father God."
Hearing that Zeus had no intention of directly executing Lorne, Hephaestus breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led the "insignificant" criminal towards the prison set up on Olympus.
As he walked out of that somewhat oppressive space, Lorne also felt a sense of relief.
The hardest part was over.
Zeus not killing him on the spot proved that his biggest secret had not been exposed yet.
And the meaning of locking him in prison to await judgment was that killing Peleus had not touched the King of Gods' inverse scale; at most, it was considered insignificant triviality.
Whether the punishment was light or heavy, it could be negotiated.
As long as he showed enough value, he might not be unable to replace the deceased Peleus and become the one to marry Thetis.
'Negotiation? I like it.'
Lorne sat cross-legged in the dim prison, contemplating how to gain the trust of His Majesty, the King of Gods, and obtain the last missing piece of the puzzle for his plan.
—Twelve divinities, only you are left.
"Creak~~"
The slight sound of the metal gate being pushed open interrupted Lorne's thoughts.
He couldn't help but be slightly stunned, a murmur rising in his heart.
So fast?
However, accompanied by a series of crisp footsteps, a figure he had not expected emerged from the dim corridor.
Seeing the Queen, wearing a crown and simple formal attire, appear before him, Lorne felt a surge of surprise.
"Lady Hera, why have you come?"
"To see you."
Hera spoke as if it were the most natural thing, completely disregarding her noble status, she opened the cell door, placed a food box filled with food in front of Lorne, and spoke softly.
"Are you hungry? Come, eat something first."
"…"
Listening to the ambiguous tone and seeing the gentle care, although he felt a bit warm, at the same time Lorne's forehead couldn't help but break out in a fine cold sweat.
Hera glared at her trembling young lover and snorted unhappily.
"What's there to be afraid of? He's not on the mountain."
That's good, that's good.
Lorne heard this, and his hanging heart finally settled down.
Fortunately, Hera wasn't crazy enough to commit a crime in plain sight, directly dragging him into an affair right under his husband's nose.
Otherwise, if Zeus discovered the truth, he would surely cleave him in two.
But, if His Majesty, the King of Gods, wasn't on the mountain, where did he go?
Hera seemed to understand what Lorne was thinking.
She handed the plate filled with food to her young lover in front of her and said with a sarcastic sneer.
"He knew I was coming back, so he ran out of Olympus early. Who knows which Nymph's arms he's fooling around in now!"
She had truly seen through her husband, the king of gods.
Promiscuity was one aspect; ingrained calculation was another.
He might have once loved her, but to secure his divine throne, he would rather flirt outside every day than return to Olympus and live a normal married life with his legal wife.
Because the divine royal bloodline she bore often possessed powerful talents, very likely becoming a potential factor threatening Zeus's position as king of gods.
But it doesn't matter; what you can't satisfy, someone else has already satisfied for you.
Hera looked tenderly at her lover, who was younger, more handsome, and more affectionate than Zeus, with approval in her eyes.
"I've heard about Thetis's matter. You did well."
In her early years, she had personally raised Thetis and adored the child's intelligence and grace, having long considered her as half a daughter.
Thetis also respected her greatly and had even adopted Hephaestus, whom Hera had abandoned, striving to mend their mother-son relationship.
Therefore, upon learning that her husband, in order to reprimand Poseidon, not only used Thetis as bait but also intended to force her into marriage, she became furious.
This led her to end their separation and rush from the sacred site of Argo all the way to Olympus, intending to confront him face-to-face.
As a result, Zeus, feeling guilty, ran away beforehand, and Hera instead encountered her young lover, Lorne, who had just been imprisoned.
For the sake of a woman, he was willing to sacrifice himself and bear all the blame.
In comparison, her husband, the King of Gods, absolutely lacked such awareness.
Countless experiences of chasing down mistresses and illegitimate children proved that women, or illegitimate children, were merely tools for him to satisfy his private desires and maintain his position as king of gods.
Her judgment in choosing a husband wasn't great, but her judgment in choosing a lover was quite good.
Hera took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from Lorne's forehead and the food crumbs from the corner of his mouth.
A cold glint appeared in her eyes, and she promised her lover with certainty.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you!"
"Mm, I await your good news."
Lorne nodded quickly, then pointed at the empty food box he had just finished and reminded her with a wide smile.
"It's almost time. Shouldn't you go back and rest first?"
He didn't know when Zeus would return, and Hera was acting so ambiguously.
He was really afraid that His Majesty, the King of Gods, would make a surprise return, expose their affair, and then, in a fit of rage, kill him.
However, the Queen in front of him showed no intention of leaving. Instead, she licked her moist cherry lips, and her bright eyes shimmered with a familiar heat that Lorne recognized.
"I'll do what I promised you, but how will you repay me?"
Lorne understood the meaning in Hera's eyes and almost had a heart attack.
No way? At this time? Here? Big sister, Queen, my lady, let me off the hook, or someone might die!
Just as Lorne was retreating step by step into the corner, wanting to resist to the death, Hera unceremoniously grabbed the chain, pulled the trapped prisoner in front of her, and, in a conquering posture, leaned down, proudly declaring.
"Even if you marry Thetis, a part of you is mine!"
As she spoke, Hera let her golden robes fall down,
The fabric slid down her divine body like liquid light, revealing skin that glowed even in the darkest of farms.
Watching the Queen of Heaven in the naked glory, Lorne's mouth went dry.
Kill me Damn it.