Within the Great Temple, the gods had assembled in a sea of divine radiance. At the center of the hall knelt Selene, the Full Moon Goddess, her silver crown dimmed. Upon the high thrones of the Primary Deities, nearly all were present save for Hebe, who was in the Underworld, and Hestia, who remained upon the earth. They sat in solemn silence, awaiting the commencement of the judgment.
The lesser gods of Olympus gathered at the periphery of the hall—some in small clusters, others standing solitary—each harboring their own hidden thoughts. Looking at Selene, who despite being hauled before the King still cast longing glances toward the mortal realm, some felt scorn, others pity. A few, themselves ensnared by the tendrils of passion, felt a faint, sympathetic resonance.
Hera, the Queen of Heaven, watched Selene from her throne. As the goddess who governed the Godhead of Marriage, she sensed something amiss. This chaotic, all-consuming passion that had robbed Selene of her reason felt strangely familiar. Hera's purple eyes drifted toward Aphrodite.
Indeed, the Personification of Beauty and Desire sat idly twirling a lock of her golden hair. Her emerald eyes were fixed on Selene, her lips curled in the satisfied smirk of a fox that had just finished a feast. It was the look of an artist admiring a masterpiece.
So, it was her doing, Hera thought. She wondered what bribe the solar twins had offered Aphrodite to lead Selene into this snare.
As Queen, Hera saw the strings of the plot clearly. Artemis had been remarkably diligent of late, likely spurred by the humiliation of her defeat by Hebe. She had spent years upon the earth, refining her Godheads of the Hunt and the Forest while providing protection to mortal hunters. Her title as "Mistress of Beasts and Lord of the Wild" had spread far and wide, elevating her to the rank of a First-Tier deity.
Though she was only at the lower end of the First-Tier, Artemis possessed a drive that most of the indolent Olympians lacked. Now, with Apollo calculating against Selene and Zeus providing the weight of his authority, the goal was clear: to seize the Mandate of the Moon. With one of the sky's two primary light sources under her control, Artemis's potential would skyrocket, making her ascension to the High Council only a matter of time.
Yet... Hera's lips curled in a slight, mocking smile. Artemis was not the only one eyeing that final seat among the twelve. Her gaze shifted to the youth standing near Zeus—Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods, wearing his winged helm and clutching the caduceus.
Did this illegitimate son truly possess the harmless, genial nature he projected? Hera scoffed internally. If he were truly harmless, he wouldn't have been able to talk his way onto the mountain the day he was born, tricking both Zeus and Apollo. Commerce, Travel, Theft, Deception, Eloquence—none of his Godheads were simple. Hera had a premonition that Artemis's path to the High Council would be fraught with more competition than she realized.
However, Hera was content to simply watch the farce. Her own children were already prestigious Primary Deities. She had no stake in which of Zeus's other children seized the final seat.
"Selene!" Zeus's voice boomed, shattering the silence. He sat upon his throne, his handsome face a mask of solemnity, his sky-blue eyes swirling with a brewing storm. The sheer pressure of his aura forced Selene's head down. "As the Moon Goddess, you abandoned the heavens for the mortal realm. This is a grave dereliction of duty!"
"And more absurdly," Zeus continued, his voice dripping with disdain, "the reason for this dereliction is a mere mortal?"
Zeus snapped his fingers. Instantly, Endymion was teleported from the earth to the center of the Great Temple. The handsome shepherd, suddenly surrounded by the blinding majesty of the gods, stood paralyzed with terror, his eyes wide as he looked at the figures towering above him.
This is the mortal who bewitched Selene?
The gods leaned forward to inspect the boy. He was undeniably fair, but since Hebe's blessing of youth had been revoked from humanity, his beauty was a fleeting thing. In time, age would wither him. To risk divine office for a creature with such a short flowering was, in their eyes, the height of folly.
"Endymion!" Selene cried out. Seeing her lover, her emotions erupted. She scrambled to her feet and rushed to his side, shielding him behind her as if she could protect him from the King's wrath.
"...Selene? Where are we? Why do you look like this?" Endymion whispered, stunned by the goddess's disheveled state.
Selene had no time for explanations. Even clouded by love, she was no fool. Mortals had no right to stand upon Olympus. Zeus had summoned him for one reason: to punish her.
"Selene," the King declared, "for the sake of this mortal, you have desecrated your status and your office. To prevent your further fall, I have decided to remove the source of your temptation. I sentence this shepherd to death."
"No!" Selene's heart felt as though it were being pierced by ice. Driven by the magic of the Love-God, she was frantic, her mind racing for a way to save him. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration struck. She looked up at the King and shouted, "Great King, Master of Clouds—I am willing to surrender—"
"Selene! My moon-crowned sister!"
The voice of Eos, Goddess of the Dawn, rang out sharply. The rose-fingered goddess rushed forward, intervening before Selene could speak words that could never be retracted. "Wake from this maddening, agonizing obsession!"
Eos ignored the potential ire of Zeus. She seized Selene's hand, her rose-red eyes glowing with a brilliant yet gentle radiance. The morning light of the Dawn—the power that dispels all mists—shrouded Selene, granting her a moment of sudden clarity. Within Selene, the Godhead of the Moon flared with pure, cool light. The peach-gold divine power that had been veiling her eyes reacted like a serpent struck by a staff, withering and shrinking in the face of the Dawn.
Aphrodite's expression shifted. This sudden interference threatened to unravel the plot. She stole a glance at Apollo, who looked equally displeased.
This Aphrodite is useless, Apollo cursed internally. A Love-Spell cast by a Primary Deity is being shaken by a mere First-Tier goddess like Eos? What an embarrassment.
'What are you doing? How can you fail at such a simple task?' Apollo sent a sharp mental rebuke to Aphrodite.
'How should I know?' Aphrodite blinked innocently, looking like a harmless lily. 'Who knew they had a way to shake the mists of desire?'
In truth, Aphrodite had been feeling strangely fatigued of late, her divine power occasionally flickering. She wondered if she and Ares had been "toiling" too frequently in their secret trysts.
Apollo realized he had to salvage the situation. He struck the arm of his throne and stood, his voice ringing with righteous fury. "Goddess of Dawn! The King of Gods is judging a criminal! How dare you interfere? Begone!"
He hurled a bolt of solar fire toward Eos. It was a strike of Primary-level power; even a fellow deity of light like Eos would be gravely wounded if it struck her. She cried out and was forced to break her spell, spreading her wings to dive out of the path of the flames.
Eos looked at Apollo with shock and fury. The Sun God stared back at her, his sky-blue eyes—so like his father's—filled with a cold, murderous intent.
Endymion watched the exchange with mounting dread. Had Selene not shielded him with a barrier of moonlight, the heat of Apollo's fire would have vaporized him instantly.
"Apollo," Zeus said, his tone mild but reproving. "Control yourself. This is the High Council." He clearly wasn't truly bothered by the attack.
"Great King, forgive my outburst," Apollo said smoothly. "I simply could not stand to see the Dawn Goddess obstructing your justice."
"Hm. Be more mindful. A Primary Deity must have composure," Zeus replied, before casting a warning look at Eos.
Eos lowered her head, her hands trembling. "Forgive me, Master of Thunder. I was overzealous. I shall not interfere again." Beneath her long lashes, however, her eyes burned with a new, deep-seated hatred.
Without Eos's interference, the judgment resumed.
"Selene, to sever the root of your dereliction, I shall strike down this mortal who dared bewitch a god with my Thunderbolt. Do you have any objection?"
To be struck by Zeus's lightning meant absolute annihilation. Endymion, a mere human, would be turned to ash in less than a second—his soul and essence erased from existence. As for Endymion's own opinion, it didn't matter; to the gods, a human was as insignificant as an ant.
Selene's expression was complex. Through her lover's trembling hand, she felt his terror, and her heart ached with a profound sadness. Her own selfishness had brought this doom upon him.
Yet, her eyes were now clear. Helped by Eos's light and her own Godhead, she had broken the "Love-Fog" that had clouded her reason. She still loved Endymion, but she was no longer the irrational, obsessive creature of moments ago. She realized now that this entire spectacle was a trap—a set-up to force her to relinquish her Authority.
There were countless gods who neglected their duties, yet they chose to target her. The reason was obvious: Apollo had seized Helios's solar Mandate, and now his sister wanted the Moon. If Selene didn't pay a price today, neither she nor Endymion would leave this hall.
"Noble Master of Thunder," Selene began, her voice steady. "It was indeed my error to neglect my duties. As penance, I am willing to offer one-third of the Moon's Primal Essence to you. But I beg a mercy: allow me to bestow death upon Endymion myself."
One-third of the Moon's Essence!?
The hall erupted in whispers. Artemis, standing in the crowd, clenched her fists, her grey-blue eyes burning with hunger for that power.
Zeus arched an eyebrow. He saw that Selene had regained her reason; she was no longer a puppet he could easily manipulate, but one-third was a substantial enough prize. He had done enough for his children.
"Very well, Moon Goddess. If you offer your Essence as penance, I grant you this mercy."
Selene turned to Endymion. "Endymion..."
"Selene, I understand," the shepherd whispered. His soul, untainted by the world's evils, was pure. He felt no resentment—only a desire for her to be safe. "It was my longing that brought this upon you. Grant me eternal death, my beautiful goddess. Under your light, death is but a sweet, dark dream."
A single tear of moonlight fell from Selene's eye, crystallizing into a brilliant gem upon the floor. She leaned forward and pressed a final kiss to the shepherd's cheek. Cold divine power washed over him. Endymion's eyelids grew heavy, and he slumped into her arms, falling into an eternal, lightless slumber.
As he had wished, he would remain forever young in his sleep, a permanent fixture by his lover's side.
"What a beautiful romance..." Aphrodite murmured, genuinely moved by the tragedy. For a moment, she felt a pang of guilt for her part in the scheme.
Selene sent her lover back to the valley of his birth on a beam of moonlight. Then, she stood and reached into her chest. Under the watchful eyes of the assembly, she withdrew her silver-white Godhead.
"Ancient Phoebe, Goddess of Light, holds the Mandate of the New Moon—the birth of the lunar phase," Selene declared. "I now split one-third of the Moon's Essence to form the Crescent Moon, representing the Moon's end. I shall retain the Full Moon, representing the Moon's peak. Henceforth, the Moon shall be defined by three phases."
The lunar Godhead vibrated, and a new, crescent-shaped Godhead was born. Selene paled as she reclaimed her diminished Full Moon Godhead and handed the Crescent Mandate to Zeus.
Zeus toyed with the Crescent Godhead, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. "Artemis, my daughter."
"Great Father!" Artemis stepped forward and knelt, her face alight with excitement.
"You and Apollo are the twin deities of light. Since the Sun belongs to him, I entrust this Crescent Moon to you. Henceforth, you are the Goddess of the Crescent Moon, the Forest, and the Hunt—the Chaste Artemis."
"I praise your mercy, Great Father!"
The Crescent Godhead left Zeus's hand and merged with Artemis. A surge of lunar power erupted from her, manifesting phantoms of the crescent moon, the deep forest, and the lone wolf. The harmony was perfect, propelling her to the rank of First-Tier Upper. She was now but a single step away from the High Council.