Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Chapter 300: 76 Double Sun

Above the starry expanse, the morning star fell westward.

Mortals describe the heavens as lofty, recounting that a fall from the sky would take nine days and nights to reach the ground; to fall from the ground to the Underworld would take the same, and from the Underworld to the Abyss, another nine days and nights—even for a deity, this immense distance is by no means trivial.

But when pierced by the spear shaft, Hypnos began to sink a millionfold faster, even the renowned speed of the Wind Gods and the Goddess of Rainbow probably couldn't match his descent at this moment.

Yet he didn't mind that. The God of Sleep looked up at the sky, Sinai's peaks growing farther and blurrier. At that moment, a sense of weakness suddenly surged from the depths of Hypnos's soul, followed by specks of light emerging from his divine body.

Those were 'dreams.' Sleep and dreams are one, yet separate, one born from the womb nurtured by Eternal Night, the other from the blessings granted by the Spirit Realm. However, the world's gifts also end with the world, and as Hypnos descended, the dominion of his [dreams] dissipated bit by bit. They returned to the embrace of the Spirit Realm, becoming a part of It.

But what truly concerned the God of Sleep was not this. He gazed at the figure that had struck him down, that familiar 'Father God.' As his godhood was stripped away, his connection with the Spirit Realm also grew more intense. In that instant, the world he saw seemed to have changed.

The figure in the black robe grew blurry in his sight, yet at the same time, 'clearer.' Somewhere between clarity and obscurity, Hypnos could scarcely tell the difference between himself and the Spirit Realm sky. As he continued to fall, passing through seven layers of temporal barriers, as if in a trance, the God of Sleep seemed to glimpse the other side of the Spirit Realm.

Mount of the Gods running through the Spirit Realm was Its spine, the Well of Reincarnation was Its heart core. Moon was Its eye, mountain ranges and rivers were Its flesh and sinews.

It was there, at the very beginning. It transformed all of Itself into the world, and the world should likewise be one with It.

"This... what is this?!"

Startled, Hypnos's eyes widened. He wished to see more clearly, but the fantastic vision had already disappeared. He had left the Spirit Realm, the Divine Authority of [dreams] had departed from him, and the fleeting glimpse of the scene, for lack of that deep connection, could no longer be seen by anyone.

Or rather, that was a perspective that belonged only to 'the world,' one that not even eternal deities were qualified to witness.

"Wait—stop!"

A fierce shout, powerful Divine Power exploded around him, the God of Sleep desperate to see more clearly. He struggled mightily to halt his fall, causing more blood to flow from the piercing wound in his chest; however, it was all in vain.

The short spear shaft that passed through his chest also locked all his resistance, and carried by it, Hypnos couldn't even slow his downward trajectory.

Shortly after, finally realizing his powerlessness, the God of Sleep gave up on resisting. He lay back weakly in the void, descending with the wooden shaft, surrounded by flickers of light floating around him, each containing a life.

Previously, with each layer he passed, a portion of his dominion of dreams was stripped away; simultaneously, the lives obeying his command in that layer were expelled with him, falling alongside.

Now, they clustered around the God of Sleep as if to guard their king.

"Heh, a king, huh... the lowest of all realms. It seems you are coming with me to that place, whether you like it or not."

With a self-mocking laugh, Hypnos relaxed his body, then fell endlessly. He saw the auroras of the starry sky, the floods on the ground, saw the wraiths in the Fields of Truth, and then, passing the interface between the present world and the Abyss, he fell into Tartarus.

The concept of time was erased, with past and future invert, left and right shifted, only Gungnir's 'absolute' destiny remained unchanged. With this remaining force, he was pulled towards that ultimate destination.

...

In the Eastern Region, Olympus.

"Boom—"

Huge waves surged, casting up a thousand layers of froth. At some point, the seawater initially stirred up by the Sea God's offspring, which had stopped at Olympus's outskirts, continued to spread westward. Towering waves, like the wrath of a god, collided with the barriers rising from Mount Olympus.

Olympus, this haven of gods unconstrained by the laws of the mortal world, now trembled slightly before the concealed power in the waves. And as the pillar supporting the Eastern sky shuddered, it seemed even the firmament trembled with it.

"Zeus, come out and face me!"

A roaring challenge rang out, and then upon the crests of waves, a chariot burst forth from the sea. Enormous power roiled around it, and although the owner of the voice did not emerge, his might diminished not at all.

In response to the Titan deity's call, atop Mount Olympus, the damaged doors of The Temple slowly opened. Zeus appeared first, lightning swirling in his hand, followed by all the deities who had partaken in the deliberations.

The Divine King's expression was grave. He knew who the caller was, and he had a good guess as to why they had come, but he had no wish to stir up trouble now; after all, the Divine Court was more vacant than ever before.

The higher the Divine Power Level, the clearer the disparity between levels. Facing the Ocean Deity Sovereign, who had reached the peak at level 20 of powerful Divine Power, only Zeus himself could contend with him.

Well known it was, that Thaesis, the original Goddess of Water, was also a tremendous God of Water, myriad River Gods and lake spirits obeyed her; now Olympus had no one able to withstand her presence.