Saori Kido.
The human vessel of the current Athena.
Hm~~~
This description isn't entirely accurate.
More precisely.
Saori Kido is the human body formed when Athena's soul entered the Sanctuary and coalesced anew.
Simply put.
Ordinary human vessels can, at best, channel five or six tenths of a god's divine power.
But a vessel like Saori Kido.
Can unleash eight, even nine tenths of that power.
The former—a body condensed by divine power—is a lesser version of the god.
The latter—a child born of humanity—might not only fail to channel divine power but could even falter due to the vessel's own will.
Shun.
Aaron.
Look at the human vessels Hades chose—each one riddled with issues.
"God-King…"
"That's the divine power of a God-King."
"And."
Saori Kido sat upon the goddess's throne in the Sanctuary's temple, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.
At this moment.
She could hardly believe it, murmuring, "That's Persephone's divine power. Has she stepped into God-King?"
"How is that possible?"
Saori Kido couldn't fathom what had happened.
Hades' death was beyond doubt.
Yet.
How did his death lead to Persephone achieving God-King status?
In just two and a half months, what had occurred?
"The divine order is about to shift."
Saori Kido looked up, gazing toward Olympus, lost in thought.
…
Olympus.
Here.
Temples stood tall.
The gods resided within.
Though.
In this era.
With Hades dead, Poseidon without a divine body, and Zeus vanished…
The Olympian pantheon had weakened significantly.
Yet.
Olympus still housed many main gods, including Apollo, hailed as the universe's mightiest God-King.
But Persephone's divine power, blooming forth, shook the gods.
"That's…"
In the Moon Temple.
Artemis, stunned, murmured, "Hades is dead, and Persephone, missing since the mythical era, has achieved God-King?"
"Apollo."
"What now?"
"How will you handle this?"
Artemis made no move, simply waiting.
She knew that with a God-King's emergence.
The Holy War had undergone a seismic shift.
She had no place in such matters.
"Daughter."
"Daughter."
A goddess with golden hair, bearing a striking resemblance to Persephone, shed a tear.
Indeed.
She was Persephone's mother, Demeter, one of the twelve Olympian gods.
In the mythical era.
When her daughter entered the Underworld, she vanished completely.
Until now.
Demeter finally sensed her daughter's divine power again, now elevated to God-King level.
Of course.
This wasn't what mattered to Demeter. She only cared that her daughter was safe and unharmed.
That was enough.
"Demeter."
"Hestia."
At that moment, another goddess entered the temple.
Demeter, wiping tears from her eyes, spoke softly, "Persephone is alive and well. That's wonderful."
Hestia, once one of the twelve Olympian gods and one of the three virgin goddesses of the Greek pantheon.
At this moment.
She looked at her sister, shaking her head. "Demeter, Persephone has become a God-King. She must be the new Hades."
"Otherwise."
"She could never have taken this step."
Demeter fell silent briefly, then said, "I know."
Hestia continued, "In this era, a new God-King's birth will have an unparalleled impact."
"With Hades dead, Poseidon without a divine body, and Zeus gone."
"Now."
"Apollo won't allow Persephone to grow."
"This Holy War."
"It will unfold in ways none can imagine."
Hestia looked at Demeter, who seemed to listen but gazed distantly. Helplessly, she said, "Demeter, I know what you want to do, but think carefully. Failure means death."
"I know."
After a brief silence, Demeter nodded seriously. "I have no choice. This is the only path."
Hestia said no more, wanting to dissuade her sister, but with her daughter's return, she knew persuasion was futile.
The God-King's Temple!
Within, it seemed to contain a vast cosmos.
Seated on the supreme throne, hailed as the universe's strongest God-King.
The new lord of Olympus.
The new king of the gods.
The Sun God, Apollo.
He slowly opened his eyes, and for an instant, a searing aura seemed to sweep the universe, only to vanish just as quickly.
Apollo murmured softly, "Persephone, you succeeded?"
"But."
"It doesn't matter."
"No matter how you succeeded."
"The outcome."
"Is irrelevant."
"But you shouldn't have."
"This path is far too narrow. You shouldn't have chosen it. Your choice will bring death."
"It seems…"
"This Holy War will see some unique changes."
Apollo gazed down, his eyes calmly observing the Earth below.
Like his father, the former king of gods, Zeus.
How could he tolerate another sleeping beside his throne?
***
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