Phagos struck down Astraeus just as the latter prepared to ambush Hebe. With a swift movement, he extracted the Godhead of the Stars and handed it to Hebe.
Due to the Right of Judgment bestowed by Hera, and because Phagos was essentially one with Hebe, he suffered no backlash from the act of deicide. However, the fall of a deity with Primary-level power was bound to stir a massive storm on the divine mountain. It was a thorny situation.
"Phagos, the spatial lock on this domain is about to dissipate. Return to the Underworld immediately," Hebe whispered into his ear after a moment of calculation. "Find Lady Nyx and tell her..."
Phagos listened intently to his primary self's instructions, nodding silently. Then, invoking his authority as a Master of the Cycle, he vanished into the Underworld. The dark-haired deity spread his obsidian-gold wings and flew toward Tartarus without a moment's delay.
Once Phagos had departed, Hebe waved her hand to dissolve the spatial barrier. Gripping the lifeless form of Astraeus, she descended from the starry void back to Mount Olympus.
The moment Hebe set foot upon the mountain, she felt the stifling weight of the atmosphere. The Great Temple was bathed in its usual brilliant radiance, yet it was now shrouded in an ominous aura of destruction and slaughter.
She pushed open the massive doors and entered. The ten other Primary Deities were already seated upon their thrones, and the hall was crowded with lesser gods.
The deities who had been busy spreading faith among the mortals had returned to the mountain at some unknown point. As they watched Hebe enter, their gazes fell upon the corpse of Astraeus in her hand. Their expressions were a kaleidoscope of emotion: terror, worry, and fury—but most of all, sheer disbelief.
Hebe, the Goddess of Life, had dared to commit open deicide?
And her victim was no minor spirit. It was Astraeus, the Master of the Stars—the brother of Perses, the God of Destruction, and Pallas, the God of Slaughter! A deity of Primary-level majesty.
Now, he was being hauled by this goddess like common game. A gaping hole pierced his chest; his divine blood was congealed, and his life-breath was extinguished. Even the stars in the sky appeared dim and lackluster, mourning the fall of their master.
Every sign pointed to one truth: Astraeus was dead.
This was a catastrophe of the highest order. On Mount Olympus, deicide was an ultimate crime.
"O Great King of Gods, Arbiter of Divine Law!"
A god stepped forward from the crowd. He was towering and martial, with dark red eyes that mirrored the ferocity of Ares, radiating a thick aura of bloodlust and madness.
It was Pallas, the God of Slaughter. His brother's fall had driven him into a towering rage. Under the subtle direction of his elder brother, Perses, he stepped forth to denounce Hebe. "The Goddess Hebe has publicly challenged your authority by slaying a Primary-level deity! I ask you: who on this mountain has the right to judge a god but you? Lady Hebe has committed a flagrant usurpation of power! She must be punished!"
"Zeus, Hebe did not usurp your power. It was I who granted her the right to judge Astraeus," Hera interjected from her throne. The white-armed Queen, draped in her defiant red gown, looked down at the shouting Pallas with imperial disdain. "Your brother, the God of Stars, disregarded a goddess's will and stormed the Temple of the Dawn to take Eos by force. When she resisted his violation, he resorted to physical brutality. As the Protector of Women, it is my sacred duty to seek justice for such a victim!"
Hera's purple eyes narrowed, flashing with a dangerous chill. "Or perhaps the noble Lord Pallas believes that forcing oneself upon a goddess is no crime? Do you believe goddesses are born to be subservient to gods—that we are inherently inferior?"
Hera's words struck a chord. Every goddess in the hall—even the chaste Hestia, Athena, and Artemis—was frequently subjected to the unwanted advances of male gods. Many had faced the threat of "abduction-marriage" in their pasts. No one understood that humiliation better than they.
In a single stroke, the experienced Queen had pitted Pallas against every goddess on Olympus. The female deities turned their icy gazes toward him, and even the lawless God of Slaughter flinched under the collective weight of their hostility.
"Your Majesty, my brother did not mean it so," said Perses, the God of Destruction, stepping forward to replace his faltering sibling. He was far more cunning than Pallas. "Astraeus's offense against Lady Eos was indeed wrong. However, even if he erred, he should have been brought back to the mountain for the King to deliver a just verdict. For Lady Hebe to take the law into her own hands and slay a Primary-level deity is unacceptable—to us as his kin, and to the assembly of gods."
Perses's argument carried weight. He subtly framed Hebe's act as a challenge to Zeus's kingship while playing on the fears of the assembly: If she can execute Astraeus today, who is to say she won't execute any of you tomorrow? The gods who had a history of "rough courtship" looked at Hebe with newfound dread and suspicion.
"..." Hera frowned. She found herself temporarily without a rebuttal. To be honest, she had been shocked to see Hebe return with a corpse. Though she had granted the right of judgment, she had assumed Hebe would merely thrash Astraeus and haul him back in chains. Summary execution was beyond her expectations.
"Perses has a point," Poseidon added from his throne. "It was merely a bit of passion. Eos has had other lovers before; why make such a fuss? A minor punishment would have sufficed. Clearly, goddesses should not hold such vast power; they lack the temperament and act too impulsively."
"Hmph. To hear Lord Poseidon speak, one would think there is no difference between a god and a filthy, fallen monster," Athena sneered. The Goddess of Wisdom did not hide her contempt for her uncle. "Then again, for a King who relies on his Queen's favor and spends his days with ignorant sea-beasts, such a loss of perspective is understandable."
"Athena! You dare!" Poseidon slammed his hand on the table, glaring at her.
"Did I say something false?" Athena replied, her battle-intent radiating outward, meeting his gaze without flinching.
While the atmosphere turned increasingly volatile, Zeus sat in a posture of leisurely silence.
Truthfully, he cared nothing for Astraeus. The star-god was not of his blood, but a child of a fallen Titan. His death saved Zeus the trouble of purging him later. He feigned a look of "difficult deliberation" only to wait for Hebe to speak. He wanted her to beg him.
His rebellious daughter had ignored his majesty far too many times. Though they had reached a strategic truce for the sake of the Primordial rank, he still burned with the desire to see her bow her head and plead for his mercy.
Just as the tension between Hera and Perses reached a breaking point, a figure stepped into the center of the hall.
She wore a gown of deep saffron, her form radiating a faint rosy glow. Though she looked weary, her eyes were fixed and resolute. It was Eos, the Goddess of Dawn. Looking at Astraeus's corpse, a flicker of grim satisfaction passed through her eyes.
Then, she fell to her knees before the King.
"...O Great King of Gods, Master of Thunder! This matter has nothing to do with Lady Hebe. She acted only to avenge me. I am willing to bear the full weight of this crime. I beg the King to cast me into Tartarus in her stead."
A collective gasp went up. To be cast into Tartarus was an eternal life sentence—a descent into a realm of soundless, colorless darkness from which no deity had ever returned.
Hebe was genuinely surprised. She had helped Eos out of simple indignation, but she hadn't expected the goddess to offer her own life as a shield. I didn't help the wrong person, she thought.
However, the victim would not be the one to pay the price. Phagos had been back in the Underworld for some time now; it should be ready. She only needed to stall for a few more moments.
"King of Gods, my wise and just Father..."
Just as Hebe prepared to offer a few hollow flatteries to buy time, a colossal, soul-shaking pressure settled over the divine mountain. An instinctive sense of reverence surged in the hearts of the gods—an honor reserved only for the most ancient of beings.
A Primordial had arrived.
Zeus immediately shed his air of indifference. He bolted upright from his throne, his face a mask of respect and delight.
"Gods of Olympus! Stay this judgment. Join me in welcoming our most noble guest: the Quiet and Mysterious Personification of Night, the Goddess Nyx!"
"There is no need for such formalities," Nyx's voice echoed softly.
The gods realized with a start that the Primordial Throne had already risen, and the black-robed Nyx was already seated upon it.
"We sing of your greatness, noble Nyx. May your glory endure," the gods chanted in unison.
"Mistress of Night," Zeus said with a charming smile, "to what do we owe the honor of your presence?"
"Great King, the starlight has dimmed in the heavens. I felt the fall of Astraeus and the loss of the Starry Mandate," Nyx said smoothly, her grey eyes seemingly brushing past Hebe's for a fleeting second. "As the Sovereign of the Night, it is my duty to investigate the circumstances."
"Supreme Nyx!" Pallas shouted, his mouth moving faster than his brain. "My brother fell because of the Goddess Hebe! Using a scrap of authority from the Queen, she murdered him! I beg you to judge this deicide!"
"Oh?" Nyx feigned surprise. She looked at Hebe. "Hebe of the Life-Breath, Sovereign of the Cycle—what have you to say to Pallas's accusation?"
"Great Nyx, Lady Hebe acted only because of me—" Eos began frantically.
"Eos, it is alright. Rest easy," Hebe said, placing a hand on Eos's shoulder. The rich aura of Life calmed the Dawn Goddess instantly. With a reassuring look, Hebe stepped forward.
She bowed gracefully to Nyx and spoke with absolute clarity. "Noble Nyx, the slaying of Astraeus was never my intent. Though the Queen granted me the right of judgment, I believed that true justice belonged to the victim, Lady Eos. After defeating the God of Stars, I intended to bring him here to face the Council. However... Astraeus chose to risk the crime of deicide himself. He attempted to ambush me with a Star-Spear. I struck back only in self-defense."
"Astraeus is dead!" Pallas countered. "The domain was locked; no one saw what happened! Of course you would claim self-defense!"
"Lord Pallas, I make the claim because I have the proof." Hebe turned to the God of Slaughter. His chaotic, bloody aura was far more primal than Ares', but it did not faze Hebe in the slightest.
She cast a weapon onto the floor. It was a spear that shimmered with starlight and the power of the constellations. Its owner was unmistakable.
"...A spear proves nothing!" Perses sneered. "You likely snatched it from his corpse after you murdered him!"
"In that case, let the truth speak for itself."
A Godhead appeared in Hebe's palm, swirling with the sands of time and reflecting images of the world.
"The Godhead of History?" Apollo whispered in shock. It ascended? She actually made that useless Godhead ascend?
The Godhead flared with light. A series of images unfurled before the assembly like a grand tapestry: the pursuit of Astraeus, Hera's appearance, and finally, the scene frozen on Astraeus lunging at Hebe's back with his spear.
Hebe retracted the Godhead. You don't get the rest for free, she thought.
She looked at the two brothers. They were now speechless.
"...Even so!" Perses barked, gritting his teeth. "To slay a Primary-level deity and cause the loss of the Starry Essence is a grave sin! It cannot be pardoned!"
"Heh..." Hebe let out a light, mocking laugh. She fixed her purple eyes on Perses. "My Lord... Who said Astraeus was dead?"