After the ball, Aphrodite, accompanied by the Graces, went to bathe in the hot springs. Her light veil was dampened by the spring water, her graceful figure appearing and disappearing through it.
"What's wrong?" asked Euphrosyne, the goddess of merriment, with a light chuckle. "Has the beautiful goddess of love finally decided to shift her target?"
Aphrodite responded with a splash of water, chuckling. "Once I obtain what I desire, the thrill is lost. I enjoy the process more. If he were to fall in love with me too easily, I would lose interest."
With that, Aphrodite used her divine power to weave a veil. Crafted from feminine grace, provocative words, and primal lust, this veil could ignite impulsive desire in all the male gods. The Graces, with ambiguous expressions, adorned Aphrodite's creation with all things beautiful.
Aphrodite, pleased, draped the veil over herself, her already radiant beauty enhanced. She rose and dressed, then lightly descended to the mortal realm. At that moment, Ares, the god of war, had just concluded a battle. The monsters emerging from the fissures in the earth had been his best opponents.
The exhilaration and satisfaction of slaying the monsters filled Ares. He cleansed the blood from his body in a lake, his bare torso covered in numerous scars. Ares often displayed a berserk side when engaged in war, and the pain from his wounds excited him, making him fight even more fiercely.
Cleaned and refreshed, Ares emerged from the lake. His robust physique stirred something within Aphrodite, who was hiding nearby. As the god of war donned his armor and prepared to leave, seeking his next opponent, Aphrodite stepped out from her hiding place.
The goddess of love, draped in her sheer veil, exuded a soft rose fragrance. The power of desire, like a gentle rain, extinguished the flames of war, drawing courage and composure away from Ares.
The god of war angrily accused Aphrodite, "Aphrodite, are you trying to stop my war? My fury will destroy you. Go back to your banquet and continue dancing, stay away from me quietly, or I cannot control myself from doing something that will hurt you!"
Aphrodite chuckled lightly. The thin veil around her body swayed with her agile steps, displaying an alluring posture in the wind. With each approach Aphrodite made, Ares's furrowed brow would smooth out. Aphrodite lifted her skirt, revealing her bare ankles, and swayed gracefully before Ares. She tiptoed to his ear and whispered, "Ares, do not suppress the fire in your heart. Look at me, I desire your ardent gaze."
"I feel your surging blood. Look at me properly, so you won't confuse the fire of love with the fire of anger."
Aphrodite's warm, smooth fingers gently caressed Ares's cheek. The electric jolt of pleasure made the god of war tremble uncontrollably. The warm breath of the goddess, passing from his ear to his mind, caused the fire within Ares to spread like wildfire on dry grass.
Anger was silently extinguished, replaced by an unprecedented stirring that occupied Ares's mind. The young god of war did not understand the source of this feeling that made him feel weak and powerless. He pushed Aphrodite, who was leaning on his shoulder, away in confusion, and asked the goddess of love as if he had discovered something new, "Aphrodite, what did you do to me?"
The proud Aphrodite could not accept Ares's lack of understanding and turned away in anger, leaving Ares bewildered and frozen in place.
On Mount Olympus, the Graces, seeing Aphrodite's indignant expression, knew she had failed again. They used their divine authority to bring joy to Aphrodite and dispel the gloom from her face.
Comforted by the Graces, Aphrodite's smile reappeared. The four goddesses danced freely, pushing the atmosphere of the banquet to its peak.
The appearance of Eos, the goddess of dawn, brought back Aphrodite's displeasure. By the lake, Eos emerged from a rosy mist. Since Astraeus, the god of the starry sky, had been imprisoned in the abyss, the goddess of dawn had lost her spouse. However, she did not mourn for long and soon turned her attention to other male gods.
She had borne the star gods with Astraeus, but she was not close to her sons. Apart from introducing her sons as subordinate gods to Zeus, she had not shown them any attention.
Eos, now a demigoddess of moderate power, possessed sufficient honor. She had once cared for Canna, earning the respect and protection of the god of disasters. Her brothers and sisters were also powerful deities, and under their protection, she lived a life of carefree enjoyment.
She had also spent time with Poseidon, but the sea god's infidelity was unacceptable to her, and the relationship soon cooled.
Now, she had set her sights on the handsome god of war, Ares. However, Ares was already considered Aphrodite's exclusive possession, and she would not let Eos get there first.
Sparks of anger flashed in the eyes of the goddess of love. She left the divine mountain and hid in the clouds, drawing the bow of jealousy and nocking the arrow of desire, shooting malice towards Eos, who was smiling so happily under the moonlight!
The power of desire transformed into an invisible arrow aimed at the goddess of dawn. Selene, who drove the moon chariot and guided the souls of the departed, descended rapidly from the night sky. Wielding her bow, she blocked Aphrodite's hidden dart.
Selene pulled her panicked sister onto the chariot and turned to chase after the fleeing Aphrodite.
The goddess of love escaped by using the clouds for cover, but her fear was no less than Eos's. Aphrodite knew very well that if the gods of the radiance lineage were to pursue the matter, she would be utterly unable to resist.
Aphrodite returned to Mount Olympus once more. Seeing her pale face, the Graces immediately gathered around her, asking with concern. The unjustified Aphrodite could only force a smile and perfunctorily dismiss her friends' solicitous inquiries.
Meanwhile, Hecate, who was in her temple, suddenly looked up. The subtle fluctuations of desire had not escaped her notice. The winter goddess, observing the moon goddess and the dawn goddess, who were unknowingly affected, immediately realized it was Eros's doing. Aphrodite's methods were not so sophisticated; she had been influenced by the primal god of love!
Hecate's gaze grew dangerous. Styx, the goddess of fate, emerged from the river of destiny, weaving the threads of fate to separate the divine nature of the primal god Eros that remained within Aphrodite's body.
The primal gods, trapped in the depths of their origin, had limited influence on external interference. Everyone started from the same point, except for Tyche. Styx, who had ascended to powerful divinity, could not be stopped by anyone except Phoebe. The domain of fate was no less disruptive than the gods who ruled desire.