"The gods' primal laws are the rules and forces that constitute this universe, yet they must not be the sole standard by which the gods act and conduct themselves."
"Of course, the gods' innate natures grounded in their laws should not be rigidly shackled either—becoming uniform and lifeless. That too is unfavorable to the universe's eternal flourishing."
"To this end, I shall, on the basis of the gods' innate law-natures, grant corresponding sacred honors and duties, so that the gods may each exercise their talents and find their proper place, and thereby attain a balance between 'nature' and the 'self.'"
"However, the gods must remember this well! Even though you possess divine vocations by nature, you must never act willfully and without restraint! You must strictly obey the Sacred Just Order, forever take my Sacred Just Order as the highest standard, and keep to the program of the Sacred Twelve Laws!"
"Gods, do you all understand?"
The gods again answered in unison, their voices shaking the cosmos.
At this moment, they all bowed to the God-King's upright doctrine of the true and proper path.
At least for this moment.
Zeus nodded in satisfaction, then set his gaze once more upon the three Erinyes and said slowly: "Erinyes, you are the embodiments of 'hatred,' 'wrath,' and 'vengeance'—sources of turmoil all."
"However, in this world there is vengeance and punishment that are sacred and as they should be. Those beings who dare violate my just order, those who have committed grievous injustices, they ought to receive the severest penalty."
"From this day forth, you shall be the 'Defenders of Truth' within my Sacred Just Order! You shall be the 'Holy Punishers' who punish those beings who have violated all just order!"
"All who have committed such wicked and violent crimes as murdering kin, tyrannical arrogance, breaking oaths, slighting guests, or harming hosts—these sinners shall receive from you the punishment they deserve!"
"From this day forth, you shall be under Hades, Lord of the Underworld, and bring these sinners the destruction and torment they deserve."
Hearing this, the three Erinyes trembled with excitement.
They had never imagined that merely coming to pay respects to the new God-King would—would get them a place on the rolls!
At once they dropped to one knee again and cried out in stirring voices: "Great Zeus! We thank you for your generous grace! You are the most sacred, the most radiant, the supreme sovereign! From this moment, your will is our will! We shall forever obey your sacred decrees and defend your justice unto death!"
Zeus nodded, satisfied.
Only then did the three Furies happily withdraw behind their Mother.
And this time, they were no longer unable to lift their heads, stiff with caution.
Each held her head high, her bearing full of an unprecedented pride and majesty.
From today onward, they too were thoroughly integrated into the new, great order of the undying God-King!
Afterward, Zeus looked to Lady Night, thinking it was time to offer some comfort.
Since that time when he dealt with her in the goddesses' quarrel, they had had no time to be alone.
Though they were together when weaving the Divine Order, that was in full view of all, busy with the most proper cosmic affairs.
Then the gods were wholly devoted to weaving order, and they truly had no chance to confide in private.
Now, so much time had passed; it was fitting to show her some closeness and ease the deep wistfulness in his beloved goddess's heart.
For Zeus, managing this goddess was all too easy; though last time he showed no mercy and dealt with her well.
Yet this pure-hearted great goddess not only held no grudge, she truly worried that Zeus was angry—afraid he would blame her for being thoughtless—and was long consumed by anxiety and self-reproach.
When weaving the Divine Order, Zeus had shown her special favor, giving her a larger share.
That little preference already filled the Night Goddess's heart with sweetness and steadied it greatly.
Still, though she had no grievance, the goddess of Night was full of yearning sorrow.
The one and only Great Mother of Night could no longer restrain her wild longing for Zeus.
Even after a fight with Mnemosyne, her possessiveness over Zeus not only failed to diminish, it grew even stronger.
Yes—among goddesses the more they contend, the stronger the possessiveness grows.
Night is ever greedy.
Though Night coveted Zeus, after the merciless lesson last time and several rounds of tempering by Zeus, Lady Night was now truly obedient and docile before him.
Zeus was very pleased by this, and would naturally grant her the comfort and reward she deserved.
A goddess's every effort and submission must receive the most direct "positive feedback"!
Such is what "training" means.
Do wrong, and punish; do well, and reward.
Thus, going back and forth, let her clearly know what action leads to what outcome—then, with timely beckoning and guiding, training comes naturally.
For the goddess Nyx, what she cared about most for the moment was, first, Zeus, and second, her children.
Zeus did not mind some labor to properly reward this long-suffering goddess Nyx. But here and now, that was clearly not appropriate.
So he would choose the latter for the time being.
Lady Night's eldest son and daughter—Aether of radiant light and Hemera of day—needed no added honor or authority; they had always been indispensable foundations of the universe.
Beyond them were those few children Nyx conceived alone in the long lonely years from Kronos's enthronement to his overthrow—years of oppression by the Ouranian faction—children born of her various dark emotions.
These night deities still had no formal honors or offices. They rarely dared to appear openly in the universe and could only idle in the underworld.
Chiefly because the children Nyx bore had none whose names sounded "nice."
Children born of Night's negative emotions—how good could they be? The laws they held were assuredly detested by gods and ghosts alike, and no deity would befriend them.
Today, taking advantage of this most sacred occasion of the Assembly of All Gods, Zeus would grant these unfortunate children honors and bring them under the sacred order.
Many relatively negative laws actually contain extremely fearsome "destructive power."
Often this destruction is not direct damage to matter or outward things, but deeper, fundamental harm to order, civilization, society, and development.
Rather than letting these highly destructive laws roam outside order and become sources of calamity, it is better to bring them under the management of order, make them a link in the operation of order, and give them correct guidance by the Divine Order.
As with the law of Taiji, dualities oppose yet ultimately are unified.
Where there is good, there is bad; where there is light, there is dark; where there is yin, there is yang.
These negative and shadowed laws are themselves essential drives that spur the universe's spiral progress.
Zeus then set his gaze upon the Night's hesitant children standing behind Nyx and personally conferred honors upon them.
Apate, goddess of deception, guile, and falsehood.
Oizys, goddess of pain, sorrow, worry, and misfortune.
Momus, god of mockery and blame.
Geras, god of aging and the years.
The Keres, goddesses of violent death and unnatural ends.
Philotes, goddess of affection, intimacy, desire, and erotic love.
The children Nyx bore made anyone's head ache.
Don't think the goddess of affection is exempt; Nyx conceived her especially, a positive and benevolent child, out of fear her other children would tear each other apart.
But after all, Philotes is born of Night, a night deity born alone.
On one hand she represents friendliness, kinship, and love among people—an essential force for social harmony and human relationships.
On the other hand, her divine office also extends into the realm of "desire" and "erotic love,"
Especially those intimate relationships of a secret or taboo nature that can only hide in shadow.
Such as "affairs that betray vows," "love that violates ethics," "intercourse that defies physiology," "unions of pure desire," and "pleasures of a chance encounter," and so on. (For example: TXL, YP, YL, LL, DP, DF, PC, TJ, etc.)
The "affection" she represents is not purely good, but an extremely complex kind of feeling that often is unhealthy and detrimental to life and development—fragile and easily broken—coexisting with desire, conflict, and misfortune.
(Frankly, under Zeus's order, Philotes is certain to make her way.)
These children were indeed sensible—thanks also to Nyx's strict instructions beforehand.
When Zeus summoned them, each strode forward promptly, knelt respectfully, and cried "Father God" in unison.
Each appeared extremely obedient and well-behaved—at least, on the surface, all looked quite normal.
"The Night's children are Zeus's children."
The Night lineage resolutely, absolutely, and unwaveringly practiced this highest maxim!
And for these nominal "children," Zeus had indeed racked his brains.
He neither wished these children to sink entirely into the purely negative emotional laws they bear, nor would he allow those laws to become unmitigated disasters in the universe.
Though the laws they represent are not so benevolent, they are still indispensable parts of this universe.
Only, they must not act on impulse—such conduct would fundamentally undermine the program of the sacred order, and Zeus would never permit it.
To this end, Zeus made brand-new extensions and controls for their authorities, transforming them from purely negative into more profound dual unities.
For Apate, he added the authority to use "benevolent lies" to soothe hearts and dissolve fixations.
As for Oizys, though she is the embodiment of "pain" and "suffering," she shall also guide the "transformation of suffering."
She will lead beings to temper their spirit in suffering, to grow stronger; to draw strength from pain, to struggle to survive in adversity, and so gain an unremitting will to self-strengthening and endless life.
Momus, though he is god of "mockery," "blame," "complaint," and "criticism," his direct and keen speech shall also become the most precious "critical" force that pierces false façades and exposes ugly truths.
Geras, though he embodies life's irretrievable passage into decline, he is also the giver of "elderly wisdom," "rich experience," and "precious lessons."
He will let beings, in the passage of years and the increase of age, continually augment knowledge and wisdom, becoming transmitters of civilization, and thus win the respect of posterity and the dignity of life for themselves.
The Keres, they represent the pitilessness of "death" and the brutality of "war."
Yet their presence will at every moment remind the world that outside of normal death in ripe old age, there are more—and more terrifying, more merciless, more sudden—forms of death.
In this way they warn all that life is precious beyond measure, and peace of supreme importance.
And when a being truly can no longer bear the pain and torment of living, then perhaps there remains this last path:
An earlier end.
To choose oneself to end the pain, to choose one's own life and death.
This too preserves for life that last, most precious dignity.
As for Philotes, her divine authority was not so dark to begin with, and Zeus only extended it a little:
Namely—"simple, direct joy."
Perhaps true love is rare, and refined pleasures hard to obtain.
Yet beings still have the right to the simplest, most direct joys.
Amid the many forms of erotic love, beings can always easily obtain the most direct kind of "joy."
Only, her existence likewise warns all that joys gained from pure erotic love are often fragile and easily broken, and are always accompanied by discord and strife.
If one merely covets fleeting delight, in the end there can only remain endless conflict, resentment, and pain.
After this remaking by Zeus—no less than a "reshaping"—these gods born of Night were no longer absolutely negative existences.
Though their origin remained relatively negative, each possessed a positive side.
They could now all adapt to Zeus's "Sacred Just Order" and, under the God-King's guiding will and thought, be completely integrated into this new cosmic order and become indispensable links within it.
In this world there is no absolute freedom from care or utmost bliss. Even gods on high still have their troubles.
As long as differing "spirits" exist, darkness will inevitably exist.
All beings and all laws are mutually engendering and restraining; yin and yang exist together.
The universe's beauty lies in the differences of all beings—so one must also accept the un-beautiful that difference brings.
This too is the right principle of cosmic balance.
Without darkness, whence light? Without evil, whence justice? Without filth, whence purity?
Without hardship and suffering, whence growth?
Only the fundamental program and principles of the sacred order should be positive and uplifting.
The purpose of the Sacred Just Order is to convert all negative factors into sources of power that drive the universe forward.
So that the entire universe, in continually absorbing lessons and overcoming hardship and suffering, may continually spiral upward in progress!
To turn all that is not beautiful into beauty, and firmly pursue the beautiful.
For the God-King is the All-Father of all beings.
God loves all beings.
[A special discount will be available from December 30th until Three Kings' Day.]
[Use 37B44 to get 33% off all levels until January 6th]
[Unlock +20 Advanced Chapters on Patre on. com /Mutter]
[For every 50 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be released]
[Thank you for reading!]