"Who said Astraeus was dead?"
Hebe's words plunged the assembly into a new depth of astonishment. Not dead? Was the unseeing, lifeless corpse lying upon the floor naught but a phantasm?
"Lady Hebe is correct," the Goddess Nyx added, a slight, knowing smile touching her lips. She had long since deduced the younger goddess's design. Now that Hebe had cast the lure, the Personification of Night stepped forward to clear the fog of confusion for the assembly.
Nyx's grey eyes flared with a blinding divine light. In an instant, the Great Temple was filled with countless shimmering gold threads, flowing like a magnificent, celestial river. It was a vision of haunting beauty—the River of Fate, where the threads of all gods converged.
The Mother of Fate reached out a porcelain-white hand and plucked a single thread from the current. With a wave of her other hand, the golden river vanished. Aside from the eleven Primary Deities, every god in the hall felt a sudden, hollow sense of loss; their destinies had once again become opaque and unpredictable.
The thread in Nyx's hand belonged to Astraeus, the God of Stars. It was dim and translucent, flickering as if it might unravel at any moment.
"Gods are constructs of the Laws, the privileged children favored by the World's Will," Nyx explained. "When they fall, their threads of fate do not snap immediately. Furthermore, the Godhead of Resurrection held by Lady Hebe has granted the fallen another sliver of hope. Twelve days. So long as the majesty of Resurrection is invoked within twelve days of a deity's death, they may be reborn."
A fallen god can be resurrected?
The news struck the pantheon with the force of a plummeting comet. They had assumed Hebe's authority over Life was limited to the mortal coil. To learn that the Godhead of Resurrection could reach into the void and pull back a fallen deity was a revelation of terrifying power. Even with the twelve-day limitation, its value was incalculable.
The gazes directed at Hebe turned from fear to burning fervor. No god could guarantee their safety until the end of time; Kaos had already seen two Great Wars and countless minor skirmishes, and the list of the fallen was long. Having the power of Resurrection nearby was the ultimate insurance policy.
"So... my daughter possesses the power to bring gods back from the void?" Even Zeus was stunned. He had not anticipated her reaching such a height.
"I do," Hebe replied, stepping into the center of the hall. A golden seed appeared in her palm, radiating a surge of Resurrection power so vast it made the gathered gods recoil. "This is a Seed of Miracles, born alongside the Godhead of Resurrection. It holds the power to turn back the end. However, to restore Astraeus, I require one more thing."
"Oh? What is it?" Zeus asked, his curiosity piqued. He truly wished to see if Hebe could perform this miracle. This was a Primary Deity, not a common bull; despite her claim, a part of him remained deeply skeptical. The rest of the assembly leaned in, eager to witness the impossible.
"I must ascend to the firmament to gather the power of the stars. I require that same-origin energy to reignite Astraeus's divine fire."
"Goddess of Life!" Perses erupted in fury. "Astraeus was slain by your hand. You surely seized his Starry Essence then. Why go through the theater of 'gathering' more from the sky? Do you intend to hoard my brother's Mandate for yourself?"
Perses knew the stakes. The Starry Essence was a Primary-level power. If Hebe resurrected Astraeus using only a meager amount of gathered starlight, the reborn god would be a hollow shell—his rank would plummet, perhaps even falling below the Second-Tier.
And what if I do? Hebe thought with a cold sneer. Leaving him his life is more than he deserves.
Outwardly, she maintained a look of innocent distress. "The Starry Essence is indeed with me. However..." She looked up at Nyx. "Wise Nyx, do you recall the orb of Space Essence you granted me during the forging of the Archway of Reincarnation?"
The gods' collective breath hitched. Nyx gave her Space Essence?
The wealth of the Primordials was staggering. Space Essence was no common commodity; it was likely a portion torn from the imprisoned Cronus in Tartarus. The gods were once again reminded of the Primordials' terrifying methods—peeling away a King's essence as if it were fruit skin.
Deep in Tartarus, the criminal gods languishing in the soundless dark suddenly felt a phantom chill. A dark premonition washed over them. 'Hahahaha! After eons, I feel it! Cold! Emotion!' one mentally fractured deity screamed in the dark. 'More! Give me more to feel!'
Back on the mountain, Nyx played her part in the alliance perfectly. She nodded slowly. "I remember. After the runes were carved, I believe you retained a significant portion."
Significant was an understatement. It was more than half—enough to condense a new Godhead of Space.
"Indeed," Hebe continued. "When I struck down the God of Stars, I gathered his essence. I intended to return it upon his resurrection. But to my surprise, when the Starry Essence touched the Space Essence, it triggered an unpredictable mutation."
Hebe opened her palm. A cluster of brilliant starlight erupted, revealing that the once-transparent Space Essence had turned into a profound, dark void. It was a Miniature Universe swirling in her hand, filled with countless nascent stars.
These stars were fundamentally different from any the gods had seen. The stars of Kaos were mostly "Earth-Fragments" created by Uranus using Sky-energy mixed with Gaia's Earth-energy; they were flat, singular in attribute, and uncontrollable by anyone outside the Sky-offices.
But the stars within Hebe's nebula were spherical planetary bodies. Beyond their concentrated starlight, they pulsed with diverse elemental attributes.
The assembly was electrified. Apollo could feel a reddish-orange planet within the nebula burning with an absolute heat; his Solar Godhead roared in sympathetic joy. It was a body perfectly attuned to him.
Artemis could not tear her eyes away from a sphere emitting a cool, silver luminescence. Her Lunar Godhead hummed with a desperate longing; she sensed that if she mastered that planet, she would no longer need to hunt for the scattered lunar essence—it would come to her.
Zeus fixed his eagle-like gaze on a massive planet swirling with storm-clouds and lightning. He was determined to have it. Even Aphrodite, Poseidon, Athena, and Ares stared at the nebula with naked hunger.
Perses turned pale. He realized with a sinking heart that his brother's Starry Essence was gone for good. No one would help him reclaim it now.
Hebe let out a "bitter" smile. "As you see, the two essences merged to form this nebula. I had intended to destroy these nascent worlds..."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Zeus roared, standing up. "You cannot!" Poseidon added. "I forbid it!" Apollo cried.
Hebe suppressed a smirk. Anyone who suggested returning the essence to Astraeus now would have to face the combined fury of the most powerful gods on Olympus.
"However," Hebe continued, "the omnipresent Laws intervened. The Will of the World has informed me that this nebula carries planets essential to the future of Kaos. They shall become the 'Leaders of the Stars.' They will form a Star-Network Magic Array across our night sky, shielding Kaos from the chaos gas of the void and converting it into Primal Essence for the world!"
As she spoke, a nameless majesty descended upon the Great Temple. It was the World Will itself, confirming her words. A psychic warning echoed in the minds of the gods: He who touches this nebula before the planets mature shall face the penalty of total annihilation by the Laws.
Perses and Pallas collapsed into their seats, their faces ashen. They looked at their brother's corpse and sighed. Astraeus... we tried. But the enemy called for planetary back-up. Rest in peace, brother.
The Primary Deities relaxed. They all wanted those planets, especially the "Leader Stars." If they could master them, they would feast on the surplus essence generated by the Star-Network. No one would miss such an opportunity for ascension.
"Since it is the Will of the World, we must obey," Poseidon declared, pivoting his stance instantly. He even added a kick to the fallen Astraeus: "Besides, his atrocities deserved a heavy price. The merciful Hebe has spared his life; losing his essence is a fair punishment."
"Poseidon is right," Zeus agreed, his tone now warm and paternal as he looked at Hebe. "By the authority of the King, I find Astraeus's crimes proven. Lady Hebe, acting as my enforcer, is hereby cleared of all charges. The seizure of the Starry Essence is deemed a legal fine. You are innocent!"
You weren't so enthusiastic a moment ago, Hebe thought. She bowed politely. "I obey your decree, Great King."
Hebe prepared to leave for the firmament to "gather starlight" to fuel the resurrection.
"Lady Hebe, wait!"
She turned. It was Eos.
The rose-radiant goddess bit her lip, her face a mask of sorrow and resolve. "Merciful Hebe, Sovereign of Life... the fruit of that crime has already begun to germ in my body. They have sparked with divinity, but they are unwanted, bitter seeds. I beg you: take their vitality. Remove them from me. I offer their essence to you as payment; use it to revive the God of Stars."
The assembly went quiet. Hebe approached Eos. Her authority over Life confirmed that several divine seeds were indeed growing—the union of Dawn and Stars had conceived the four Wind Gods (North, South, East, and West) and a minor stellar deity.
"This..." Hebe hesitated. While they were only sparks of divinity and not yet gods, she wasn't sure if the Laws allowed such an extraction. She looked to Nyx.
The grey-eyed Primordial nodded gravely. "Respect the choice of the victim."
Hebe turned back to Eos. "Goddess of Dawn, I shall grant your request. This sin shall be purged from your form."
She took Eos's hands. Using the death-aspect of the Cycle, she carefully reached into Eos's essence, snuffing out the nascent divine sparks and extracting them as pure, raw Primal Essence.
In Hebe's hands appeared several orbs. Four were the elemental essences of the winds: the Warm East Wind, the Dry West Wind, the Scorching South Wind, and the Frigid North Wind—mirroring the attributes of the four seasons.
Hebe's mind raced. She communicated with the Laws, and the four wind orbs merged, crystallizing into a single Monsoon Godhead.
She handed the new Godhead to Eos. "This is yours. A compensation for your suffering. The Monsoon Godhead harmonizes with the four seasons of the earth. Tell me, Eos: will you serve as my subordinate and assist me in governing the seasons?"
Hebe's expression was as warm as the first light of day. Eos took the Godhead and fell to one knee. "I swear it by the River Styx: Eos, Goddess of the Monsoon and Dawn, pledges her life and her all to the Goddess Hebe."
It was a heavy oath. Hebe quickly helped her up.
Under Eos's devoted gaze, Hebe took the final orb of extracted stellar essence and walked toward Astraeus's corpse. A wicked smile played on her lips.
She manifested the Seed of Miracles. Feeding it with death-energy, she grew the Resurrection Grass. She plucked the blue lotus flower and tucked it away, leaving only the stem. For a thing like him, the stalk is plenty.
She threw the golden stem onto Astraeus. The gold-blue power of Resurrection seeped into the corpse, wrapping him in a cocoon like a shedding snake skin.
Hebe then turned her attention to the stellar essence she had taken from Eos. She spoke to the Laws: "Fruit of sin, beginning of misfortune—you are destined to be a star of calamity. When disaster strikes the world of men, you shall appear in the heavens as a warning. Misfortune shall be your eternal companion."
The essence flared. A dull, grey star with a tail like a broom was born, diving into the cocoon.
The cocoon pulsed, then shattered with a series of sharp cracks.
Hebe smirked. "Let us welcome the reborn Astraeus—the Second-Tier God of the Broom-Star (Comet), the eternal Herald of Misfortune."