Crete Island.
As the outpost where the land extended into the ocean, this place had witnessed the glory of the Minoan civilization, welcomed prosperity, and also experienced the tragic defeat in the war against the Atlantis kingdom, submerged beneath giant waves.
Time turned several times, and the traces of war had gradually been erased.
After a hundred years of changes, the island had regained its vitality.
However, at this moment, the Oceanus sea in the distance, once a longtime rival, had lost its former silence and tranquility.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky.
Fierce lightning bolts snaked downward like sharp spears piercing the sea surface, constantly churning and stirring in the seawater.
The blood-like setting sun cast crimson afterglow on the sea, as if the ocean itself was bleeding.
Tens of thousands of fish, sea beasts, and divine-blood dependents died on the spot under the rampage of the lightning without even having time to scream.
As the seawater surged, eerie red tides raised giant waves that rolled up the hideous corpses, almost covering the entire sea surface.
Flee!
Accompanied by the instinct for survival, this single thought was engraved into their minds.
Countless fish, sea beasts, and divine-blood dependents in the Oceanus sea frantically fled while wrapped in giant waves, trying to rush onto nearby deserted islands and land to stay far away from the extremely dangerous ocean at this time.
However, when the groups of marine creatures rushed to the nearest Crete Island, they were shocked to discover that this land hostile to the ocean had also changed beyond recognition.
The rushing rivers had long dried up, the riverbeds collapsed to reveal pitch-black voids, and the fertile soil on the plains melted inch by inch under the blowing of the red-black ether storm.
Sand and dust raged everywhere.
All the green shade and vitality had disappeared.
Raging torrents surged from the fissures that tore the earth. Mountains collapsed one by one.
Panicked animals and magical beasts rushed into the old site of Knossos city and gathered around the towering great temple.
A moment later, the entire Crete Island had turned into a vast ocean.
The only remaining great temple was like a lone island floating above the deep sea.
The few animals and magical beasts who had luckily escaped into this sole shelter looked at the suddenly descended apocalyptic disaster and trembled.
Puff puff puff puff!
But soon, the four corners of the temple's high platform were leveled by a new ether storm.
The hundreds of animals and magical beasts crowded at the periphery instantly burst into clouds of blood mist and were crushed into minced meat.
The owl statues with spread wings ready to fly turned into dust.
The scene before them also filled the animals and magical beasts with despair as they frantically squeezed into the great temple, trying to obtain protection from the unknown.
But this great temple had long declined, and that great mother goddess had already left long ago.
The fire of faith no longer existed, the gods no longer watched over this land, and the miracle that the beasts longed for naturally would not occur.
As the crimson ether storm swept and raged, the temple's bricks and stones were disintegrated inch by inch.
The beasts exposed outside instantly melted into the terrifying halo.
Their futile struggles only allowed them a few extra minutes of lingering on.
.
.
At the same time, in Athens.
The old and weak who had retreated to the corners of the valley and city walls had eyes overflowing with despair, yet within that despair gathered pleas.
Above their heads, the sky's light wall was thin and bright.
The twinkling stars covered the sun's brilliance, making it clearly visible.
Meteors descended from the star sea, burning fiercely as they smashed toward various parts of Greece, bringing intense explosions and tremors...
Before them, the Acropolis of Athens was covered in tragic scars.
It was already riddled with holes, with fully one third of the walls and areas collapsed and sunk.
The scene outside the city was even more unbearable to look at.
The wilderness was full of devastation;
Buildings billowed with thick smoke;
Brick walls cracked and collapsed...
The crimson ether storm swept past.
The sporadic resistance quickly turned into toys in the hands of giants with creaking sounds and was torn to shreds.
Through the thick smoke and firelight filling the sky, looking far into the distance, the earth was like fragile cardboard.
Fissures stretching for several miles crisscrossed, their insides bottomless...
Volcanoes such as Etna erupted violently.
Floating volcanic ash scattered toward the sky.
Dark red lava flowed wantonly, melting all life along the way...
Coastal cities such as Thessaly, Sparta, and Mycenae had been flooded by torrents and turned into vast oceans.
Frenzied sea beasts charged onto the shores, triggering a series of upheavals...
In mountainous and densely forested areas such as Thebes, Arcadia, and Calydon, groups of magical beasts ran out of their habitats and charged toward human cities, venting the fear and panic in their hearts through destruction and slaughter...
Facing the apocalyptic scene before them and the mighty lights constantly colliding and clashing in the sky, the frail humans could only hide behind the fortifications, trembling, or surge into the temples to pray for this heaven-sent disaster, akin to divine wrath, to end as soon as possible.
O gods, please quell your remaining anger and have mercy on this place.
However, the anomalies in the sky grew more and more intense, and the miracle never happened.
What was attracted by these pleas was instead even deeper black despair.
"Life is a thing destined to end, a pilgrimage of accumulated pain.
Eyes are ancient, limbs are fragile. Existence will inevitably head toward nothingness. Birth exists only to be destroyed. How tragic, how ridiculous..."
In Thebes city, among the lambs huddled and shrinking behind the high walls, a slightly nasal lazy and teasing voice echoed through the crowd.
The sorrow of being weak, the pain of separation from relatives and friends, the helplessness of one's own birth, aging, illness, and death...
All kinds of misfortune and resentment grew in people's hearts.
In this atmosphere of despair and tragedy, the goddess with red hair draped over her shoulders and a pair of black wings flapping behind her seemed to stroll through a poppy field.
She lifted her skirt hem from the crowd and advanced gracefully.
With each breath, she seemed to greatly enjoy the smell of strife, chaos, and blood in the air.
This had once been the holy land of the goddess of harmony Harmonia, but now harmony no longer existed, only fear ran rampant.
"Beg for mercy! Utter your timid voices!"
The figure who had the appearance of a goddess yet carried out demonic words and deeds stood in a blasphemous posture.
She stepped barefoot on the head of a certain statue in the temple, looked down at the clusters of grass in the city, and said,
"It is time to drown in this boundless sea of bitterness!"
In an instant, the blasphemer's alluring lips curved into an evil arc.
Her malicious eyes looked down disdainfully.
Countless thread-like blood-colored mists rose upward from the corpses, from the ruins, and from the living people.
Immediately, a cold and sinister oppressive feeling spread.
The surging red-black blood mist, like boiling lava, gathered and dispersed at times, suspended in the air above.
In the center, within the embryo-like blood clot, sinister and tyrannical eyes squeezed out one after another, scrutinizing the trembling lambs in the city.
Deformed arms stretched out from the blood mist and waved everywhere. The malice, turmoil, and unease that seeped into the soul made people almost suffocate.
"Come, welcome your... only redemption!"
The goddess of strife Eris murmured teasingly.
An evil smile hung on her pretty face as her fair fingertips lifted high.
The sky-covering crimson blood mist, like scalding lava, was about to pour down!
Tired of playing with that group of ugly monsters in the primordial ocean, she wanted to orchestrate an interesting strife in this city-state where she had failed several times to stir trouble, the holy land of her old rival, the goddess of harmony Harmonia.
Facing the malice from the gods, the frail and helpless lambs trembled, their eyes filled with despair.
"Buzz!"
At this moment, a majestic and obscure hum came from the statue beneath Eris's feet.
Golden holy flames, like furnace fire, burned fiercely, incinerating the blood mist of strife and bringing heart-wrenching pain to that evil goddess. It penetrated her flesh and struck her soul directly.
"Ah!"
Eris screamed.
Sensing that familiar aura, she was immediately filled with grief and indignation.
"It's you again!"
What responded to her was a phantom in the sky of an arm holding a golden large cup and pouring it down.
The crimson sweet wine poured down, causing the blood mist gathered in Thebes city to dissipate completely.
Immediately after, emerald green grapevines grew wildly on the ground; clusters of purple-red grapes burst open, filling the air with rich wine fragrance, intoxicating people and bringing them peace.
But on the contrary, for Eris, the fine wine in this golden large cup was like poison, like sulfuric acid.
Every drop that splashed on her body brought a heart-wrenching burning sensation.
Soon, the goddess of strife, covered in bruises, threw down a vicious remark in grief and indignation amid the pouring wine and then fled in panic while holding her head.
"Just you wait, this is not over!"
Safe? They were safe?
The Thebans who had survived the disaster looked blankly at the statue in the temple.
They found that figure rather peculiar, surrounded by heads of various animals: goat, giant whale, bull, wild boar, white horse, eagle...
He had a pair of horns on his head, grapevines wrapped around his hands, and his feet were shaped like a goat's hind legs.
In a daze, they recalled this god's divine name.
— The Lord of Revelry, the wine god Dionysus.
On this land, he had been denounced and exiled, yet he still responded to the pleas with benevolence, bestowing blessings upon the living and protecting the frail lambs from harm.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
Almost at the same time, clusters of light flames like furnace fire ignited in front of the altars enshrining Dionysus statues in various city-states.
The golden halos turned into indestructible barriers that blocked magical beasts from the mountains and wilderness, giant waves from the sea, and storms from the sky, allowing the fearful lambs to catch their breath.
But the catastrophes in the sky continued, the gods' fury had not ceased, and intense unease still pressed on their hearts.
Prayer became the only thing they could do.
O Lord who presides over revelry, please once again have mercy on this troubled mortal world and grant us a paradise where we can enjoy pleasure in peace.
The helpless lambs knelt and prayed together.
One person's voice, ten thousand people's voices.
The ancient words of blessing were sung and echoed among the crowd.
"The king we worship,
May all honor your name as holy.
May your kingdom come,
May your will be done on earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Our joyous wine,
Feast us today;
Lead us not into temptation,
Deliver them from evil.
May splendor, joy, and banquet accompany you;
Divine wisdom, divine power, divine love be with you;
Kingdom, authority, and glory all belong to you.
— From eternity past, to now, and forevermore!"
The weak ones seeking redemption, illuminated by the altar's furnace fire, used their bodies as firewood to gather the flames into light and converged together toward the top of War God Mountain, illuminating the deep black night.
On the square, the Lord of Revelry holding the golden large cup bathed under the golden torrent of faith and heard the countless sounds of prayer by his ear.
His divine achievements and divine position were forged by human faith.
At this moment, it was finally time to repay the debt.
Lorne smiled freely and drank the remaining fine wine in the golden holy cup in one gulp.
Starlight-paved steps spread and grew beneath his feet, leading straight to the windswept and cloud-billowing Olympian sacred mountain.
In the calls of the lambs and under the gaze of the gods on War God Mountain, the lord who brought pleasure and peace to the world rose to his feet, stepped forward, and resolutely headed to the final battlefield.
— Mortals use their bodies as firewood to gather flames into light and raise the fire for me;
— Then, I shall forge a new paradise here!
(End of this chapter)