How-not to be an Olympian God!

Chapter 95 - A Step Back In Time(3)

"You know, I'm stronger and more handsome than that son of mine." The man named Zeus stood up from his throne and approached Aphrodite.

He was looking her up and down, and Aphrodite fidgeted around, as she felt uncomfortable.

She stepped back, but he still approached her.

Unfortunately, she felt the cold hard wall behind her and was cornered.

Suddenly, a feminine voice rang out, "What is happening here?"

Aphrodite felt that this was her chance, and escaped Zeus's clutches.

"Please, this man has tried to make advances on me," Aphrodite exclaimed to the woman.

The woman was Hera.

She frowned and said, "You're that barbaric son of mine's girlfriend? Look, you're 10000 years too young to try seducing my husband, and Zeus wouldn't make advances on you."

"Right, love?" Hera turned to Zeus and smiled.

Zeus replied, "Of course, my love Hera, you are my only sunshine."

"See? Now, get yourself out of here, you little sl*t!"

Aphrodite felt furious at this injustice, but a certain remark of Hera maddened her even more.

"Ares is not barbaric! Do not treat him that way."

Aphrodite realized in the future that her words were rash and her actions were impulsive, but she was too mad to think properly.

"I've heard of how you treat my lover, and I won't let you get away with it!"

Out of a sudden, Aphrodite felt her body uncontrollably thrown outside of the hall.

Hera had slapped her, and the force from her slap was enough to make the former's body ragdoll into the corridor.

Aphrodite stood up, with red eyes, and ran out.

She stormed out of the palace, where she found Hermes, who was speaking with another woman.

"Athena, have you heard of Hephaestus, the newborn son of Hera?" Hermes asked Athena.

"Artemis did tell me that he makes great weapons."

The two caught sight of Aphrodite, but they ignored her and continued on their discussion.

Aphrodite noticed their ignorance and left the mountain peak.

She was extremely furious with Hera's behavior, and a ray of magenta appeared on her lilac-blue eyes.

She remembered the words that Hermes said, and a scheme formed in her mind.

'This is extremely evil, but I can't let Ares suffer this injustice....'

Aphrodite would acquaint herself romantically with this Hephaestus, who was probably a loved son of Hera, and then she would break his heart, and by proxy, get her revenge on Hera.

If she were in her right mind, she wouldn't have made thought of such a plan, but love made her blind.

'I shouldn't tell...Ares, it's all for his own good anyways....'

Following that, she garnered information about Hephaestus and then visited him, in the lava pit where he lived.

The temperature was uncomfortable here, but she endured it and entered.

She found herself in a forging hall, and two men engaged in a discussion.

"Have you seen how fast the humans learned the skills of fire from you?" A muscular man spoke to a short and stout man.

"Prometheus, we agreed we would all contribute to the rise of these amazing mortals.."

The two were Prometheus and Hephaestus.

The two noticed Aphrodite, and she nervously greeted them, "Hello, I'm here in search for...Hephaestus."

Prometheus laughed and said, "Well, hello there, the man you're searching for is right next to me...the glorious god, Hephaestus!"

Aphrodite was surprised at Hephaestus' appearance.

He wasn't extremely handsome like the other gods, and he had an ordinary aura to him.

However, when she looked at his creations that were plastered all over the hall, it was clear his skills were nothing ordinary.

"I'm here, nice to meet you.....?"

"Aphrodite, my name's Aphrodite..."

After their first meeting, they got into a romantic relationship.

Aphrodite was frustrated, because she didn't truly love the man, and didn't have the same feelings for him as she did for Ares.

One day, she couldn't bear hiding this secret of hers anymore, and she spilled out all of her scheme, which consisted of her revenge on Hera.

Hephaestus frowned and replied weakly, "You should have known...that Mother hates everything that I am....I think I really liked you...I wasn't ready for this...."

Aphrodite stared mindlessly at him when she heard this declaration.

Her scheme was useless from the start....?

She couldn't even respond, as she heard a familiar voice in the hall.

"Hepha, got any good weapons?"

Ares entered the hall and looked for Hephaestus.

Yet, when he saw Aphrodite, his glabella folded into a frown and he said, "Urania, what are you doing here?"

Hephaestus laughed weakly and informed him, "She got into a relationship with me to....get revenge on Mother.....such a great joke, isn't it?"

Ares screamed, "URANIA, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!"

Aphrodite stuttered and replied, "A-Ares, I w-wanted to get revenge on Hera...for yo-

"So, to do that, you get into a relationship with another person, despite the fact that you should have known that it wouldn't work?"

Ares didn't let her speak, and he continued.

"My conflict with Hera is MY conflict, not yours, Urania, you have no business in it."

Aphrodite nodded and mindlessly left the pit.

She walked endlessly without a destination, and when it was too hard to bear, she broke down and fell to the floor.

Amidst the sound of her crying, she heard footsteps approaching.

She looked up and saw Athena.

The latter had a look of indifference on her face, as she didn't even glance at Aphrodite and walked along with a pile of scrolls in her arms.

Aphrodite hated injustice, but she realized now, that she hated ignorance and indifference more than anything in this universe.

When Athena was no longer here, she stood up and started laughing maniacally.

One of her eyes had completely turned a magenta color.

'I promise, I will never let anyone look at me with indifference anymore, and I want to be the person who can look to others with indifference...'

'Hera, one day, one day, you will see.'

Aphrodite took up an empty mountain peak in the mountain ranges of Olympus and built upon it, an ugly castle.

She didn't want beauty in others anymore, at least not people she can't control.

She hated all of the god's perfect beauty and wanted it all under her control.

Throughout her time with Hephaestus, she learned a bit of his craft.

So, she crafted a clay urn.

Inside of the clay urn, she placed all of being.

Inside the urn, there was love and there was hate.

There was lust, and there was degeneracy.

There was fertility, and there was sterility.

All of these took the form of the most beautiful woman in the world.

Aphrodite called her 'Pandora, the one that gives all.'

She would grant to the mortals the urn, and when they opened it, it would bring them a curse in disguise.

'From today on, I am no longer Urania or Areia, I am....Aphrodite.'