Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Chapter 335: Chapter 87: Only One Day

Across the lofty mountains, beyond the rivers, over the sea, under the night sky, Leto wandered helplessly between heaven and earth. Yet there was nowhere for her to rest, for compared to her, the Queen of Gods undoubtedly invoked greater fear.

Or rather, it wasn't that Hera wasn't important, but when she made such a decision wielding the divine authority of the Heavenly Empress, her command also represented the Divine Court itself. Under these circumstances, naturally, no one was willing to oppose the order of the Divine Court for Leto, who had even been abandoned by her own parents.

"Hera—!"

Clenching her jaw, Leto tightened her fists. Just a few years ago, she was still immersed in the joy of bearing Zeus's offspring, but now, all that joy had turned into rage, tormenting her soul every moment.

Her fury wasn't directed at Zeus—in fact, the Divine King had anticipated that Hera wouldn't let the matter slide so easily, so he had made preparations early on.

He had told Leto about the difficulties he faced as the Divine King, the perilous situations he had to confront. Outside, the Titans refused to submit, and there were beings like Mother Earth and the deities of the Spirit Realm threatening his kingship; internally, his brothers covetously eyed the throne, and Hera was a woman with a strong sense of jealousy.

In order not to fall into disarray amidst external threats, he had no choice but to make repeated compromises to Hera, to the extent that even the Divine King could not prevent certain behaviors of the Heavenly Empress.

Clearly, this action was what Zeus had previously hinted at as 'certain behaviors'.

Nine truths and one lie, coupled with a handsome appearance and past affections, Leto, as the Goddess of Nursery, was easily moved by Zeus's appeal to her protective instinct and sympathy, even forgetting the vast disparity between their status and power. Even now, as Hera's power chased her, leaving her unable to find refuge in heaven or earth, she still did not believe this to be Zeus's fault.

She merely etched Hera's name in her heart in secret and vowed to avenge herself one day. Even if she herself lacked the ability, her children would surely be capable. They would become the Divine King's strong supporters, and then they would make that malicious Queen of Gods rue her actions.

"Ah—"

Flying through mid-air, as Leto was once again turned away over the sea, she prepared to head to a secluded valley. It was said that there, the previous Heavenly Empress, the Mother Goddess Rhea of the Olympian Gods, lived in seclusion, information Zeus had inadvertently revealed to her. However, just as she caught sight of the coastline, an intense abdominal pain shot through her body.

Almost instantly, Leto knew what was happening; this wasn't the first time. The daughter who should have been born clashed with the laws that prevented her birth, driven by instinct. The unborn goddess naturally could not resist the authority of the Heavenly Empress, but that didn't stop the collision from causing harm to her mother.

Under severe pain, Leto lost control of her power in an instant. She streaked across the sky, plummeting straight down, but fortunately, the coast lay ahead.

Crash—!

With a resounding impact, Leto smashed onto the sandy beach beside this bay. Blue light flickered on and off around her, the inherent power of her daughter, and under this pulsing light, Leto once again experienced intense agony.

After a time, the collision finally ended. Leto lay on her back on the beach for quite a while before slowly sitting up. Soaked in sweat, she endured the soreness throughout her body and surveyed her surroundings.

A bay that shaped like a crescent moon, calm and gentle waves, in the future, this would become an excellent natural harbor. Ocean currents originating from the deep sea passed by here, bringing numerous fish that migrated seasonally to spawn, and not far from the coast lay a sizeable tract of woodland.

However, Leto was unaware of this, and her evaluation was simply 'nice scenery.' Moving her gaze away from here, she sensed a special aura in the distance away from the coast instead.

That feeling, she had experienced more than once; pure and warm, it went straight to the soul. It had appeared on Helios's Sun Chariot, later stolen by Prometheus.

"...There are humans here?"

Some doubt crossed her mind, but Leto was surprised rather than preoccupied with further thought. Logically, the new generation of humans that had just been born should not be in this place, but it didn't concern her much.

Humans are the treasure of the gods, perhaps brought here by some deity. Poseidon, Lord of the Sea, was very likely; he was not one to follow rules, and perhaps this was the human city he built in defiance of his promises. Conveniently, she was planning to find a place to recover, and since there were humans here, they were obliged to serve her, which would also be an honor for these mortals.

Read new tales at m-vl-em,pyr

Not just anyone is qualified to host a deity, but now, Leto graciously conferred this privilege upon them. Thus, following the guide of the aura, under the night sky, she made her way toward the faintly glowing lights.

······

The night was deep, and even though there were no clouds, the Moon was still nowhere to be seen. This led the humans on earth to believe they had mistaken the date, that it was actually a rare day of stars without Moon.

Fortunately, unlike animals, humans utilize tools, so in this hastily erected temporary dwelling, there was still plenty of light.

Some lights were at the openings of erected wooden fences, where guards kept the night watch; others were high atop a cliff, where the first building erected served as a temple for the gods. Faith and security, these were the two things most on the minds of the people who had just embarked on a long journey of migration.