Ekanis's smile widened, and the growth of his divine power finally allowed this nascent deity to feel the hardness of the Abyssal shackles, which couldn't help but cause a riot of the Original God's power within him. The divine power belonging to joy vibrated outwards but couldn't shake the Abyssal shackles on his limbs, and Darkness further shielded his children from the remaining aftershocks.
Ekanis lowered his head in disappointment amidst the suddenly vanishing light. As the divine power dissipated, it was Erebus of Darkness who stood before Hemera and Aether.
His black clothes accentuated his tall and straight figure; though his body seemed slender, it was not fragile.
Beneath his sharply arched sword-like eyebrows were long, keen black eyes, and thin, tightly pressed lips.
At this moment, a warm, gentle smile graced his wicked yet handsome face.
"My young child of Darkness, please forgive Father God's rash actions just now. Darkness is proud and joyful of your great creation. Even if the shackles of the Abyss make you feel cold and lonely, please believe that the embrace of Darkness and Night will always be open to you."
The elder brother and sister, who had come back to their senses due to the unexpected event, also responded to Darkness's will, opening their Ekanis to him. The Ekanis of joy could be sensed and absorbed by the homologous Ekanis of delight. Ekanis nodded aggrievedly, his wobbly, puppy-like movements causing Day to feel a pang of pity and collapse into Space's embrace.
Erebus also couldn't hide the bitterness in his heart; there was no trace of disgust mixed in with his Ekanis of sorrow and indignation. This was the motivation that made Ekanis sensible, and he once again put on his signature smile, proudly introducing his creation to his Father God.
As the master of shadows, Ekanis could manipulate black shadows at will. He tried to change his approach to embrace his Father God, even if it was just a touch. Erebus understood his young son's intention, and his encouraging gaze, under the equally ethereal nature of the black shadow, merely merged coldly, like a drop of light ink dissolving into black ink.
No sensation was transmitted, only Erebus's seemingly enjoying expression made Ekanis close his eyes cooperatively. It was the father and son's first contact, heavy yet warm.
...
When Night returns and Day begins, a hazy glow guides the end of Night. Hemera will disperse the mists of the night in this process, allowing light to return to the earth. She and Night take turns entering and exiting Tartarus, the Abyssal depths, thereby forming the alternation of Day and Night.
The goddess of constant fate watched the young son's every move. At this moment, his hurried attempt to touch upon returning to the Abyss was stopped by Darkness. The child of Darkness was now contentedly slumped asleep on the scorched earth of the Abyss. Darkness enveloped the soft little figure, gently rocking the sleeping young son.
"I know your heartache for Ekanis, but Eros's curse power has not yet weakened. Ekanis has inherited both the unknown and terror of Darkness, the mystery and gloom of Night, and the desire and curse of Eros. The power he has not yet mastered needs to be restrained."
The divine nature symbolizing ominousness and the unknown made the future of this child of fate unpredictable, which left Nyx, the Night Mother who symbolized fixed causality, at a loss. Even the Abyss was helpless against the curse that came from Eros before his dissipation.
The gloomy essence of Darkness allowed the curse to erode exceptionally smoothly, and the vessel, born of Eros, was already the optimal container. The brilliant, dazzling hair color made the two Original Gods unable to forget their youngest sibling.
Nyx had already regained clarity and calm. She bent down and plucked the star embellishments from the hem of her night dress. The restrained, mellow starlight slowly formed a string, which quickly bound itself to Ekanis's wrist. The pure white, golden-glowing string of beads was a symbol of good luck, wishing its companionship could soothe this young god's longing for kinship.
Gazing at his smooth forehead, the seal outlined by the symbols of Night, Darkness, and the Abyss was faintly glowing hot. Under the embrace of Darkness, Ekanis entered a profound and mysterious state.
The story told by his elder brother seemed to unfold before his eyes, but at the end of the story, the deity, neither male nor female, was now surrounded by Gaia, Darkness, and Night. The cold, unfamiliar Ekanis was keenly perceived by the God of Eros. He desperately tried to escape, but how could Darkness and Night, both equally formless, easily let go of this opportunity?
The brown-haired goddess's resolute face was filled with anger. As Chaos's eldest daughter, the Mother of All Growth and Reproduction, her contribution was undoubtedly great and noble. She, with the essence of Gaia, nurtured Sky, Ocean, and Mountains, and then, urged by Eros and approved by the laws, successively gave birth to twelve gods of primordial law.
This caused this originally most powerful primordial goddess to lose her essence and her divine power to plummet. What's more, under the influence of Eros, she continuously split her primordial power to evolve Chaos's world, while Eros continuously grew stronger, his constantly nourished divine power making him yearn for more.
The divine power of Eros and fertility sprouted and spread in the hearts of the gods, eventually leading to the dissatisfaction of their siblings. The other's divine power should be bound. Although the natural law of the survival of the fittest did not allow the act of god-slaying, and even the five Original Gods could not be eliminated, ancient sages always had a way.
The sealed deity finally uttered a hideous and ominous curse, "Gaia, I hereby curse that Gaia shall never know peace, and endless wars will tear open your hypocritical true face with wounds. Oh, gods of Darkness and Fate, you shall give birth to offspring capable of disrupting the world. He shall possess a beauty capable of turning the gods upside down, matched by powerful divine power, and the result of unrequited Eros will breed countless shadows on Gaia."
Eros's resentful lament, at the cost of his essence, caused the laws to respond by giving birth to the concept of a curse. Darkness and Fate were also unable to prevent his actions.
Ekanis's birth soon arrived. The separation of essence made the two gods realize the horror of Eros's curse and they sought help in the Abyss, but only when the seals of the three Original Gods fell.
Eros's curse resounded once more, "Oh, idle Abyss, why do you not remain silent forever? The Abyss's stillness shall be broken by your own self. Eros's curse shall, like a bone-eating maggot, make the Abyss tremble, to be immersed in illusory joy day and night."
Eros's voice gradually dissipated into the Abyss with Ekanis's birth cry. The inherent divine nature of destruction and ruin caused the Abyssal Darkness to transform into a semi-illusory state. Eros's divine power, consumed by the dark curse power, slowly subsided and lay dormant within the small body.
Powerful divine power was growing the opponent's physique, but under the seal of the three Original Gods, it slowly stopped at the form of an eight-year-old child.
The powerful divine power was sealed, retaining the main divine duties of joy, shadow, and curse.
And in this state of hazy memory awakening, Ekanis sensed the arrival of new divine power.