Tyche was speechless and turned to leave in silence.
As she passed Aphrodite's rose garden, the gloom in Tyche's heart slowly dissipated amidst the rich fragrances.
Fiery red rose branches twined around the garden gate, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see, a sight that inspired awe.
Tyche, drawn by the beauty before her, couldn't help but step into Aphrodite's domain. The goddess of love, sensing a visitor, emerged barefoot from the rose bushes to greet Tyche.
A gentle breeze ruffled Aphrodite's golden hair as she led Tyche into the rose-covered temple.
The temple of the goddess of love was surprisingly quiet, with not a single nymph attendant.
The pure white marble pillars were also covered with blooming flowers. Within her own temple, the goddess of love shed her heavy disguise, her demeanor calm and confident.
"Your Highness Tyche, I have found a few potential candidates who could become Hera's husband."
Aphrodite was full of confidence. "Atlas, the god of strength, is powerful enough. Marriage requires the protection of strength."
Tyche shook her head. Uraeus, the key to Atlas's escape from supporting the heavens, was in her hands. While she wouldn't hold Iapetus, the god of souls, and Clymene, the goddess of renown, responsible for their actions, she wouldn't easily hand over the power of the mountains. He likely couldn't offer her any benefits that would sway her as a primordial goddess.
"His fate is shrouded in a layer of gloom. To ascend to powerful divinity, he must undergo an extremely difficult trial."
Aphrodite secretly noted this information and cautioned herself to keep her distance from Atlas.
"Then what about Moros?"
Aphrodite was not discouraged by this initial setback, as it concerned her own ascension to powerful divinity, and she couldn't remain uninvolved.
Moros was the son of Nyx, the goddess of night. This deity was very mysterious; apart from his siblings, almost no other god had seen him. It was difficult for Aphrodite, who must have spent a great deal of effort searching for a suitable male god for Hera.
Moros symbolized destined calamity, determining the end of all living beings' deaths. His power blended fate and death, bearing some resemblance to Da Siming's elder brother, Da Siming.
However, this deity was born with an emotional deficiency, as cold as a stone. If Nyx hadn't painstakingly used her emotional power to maintain her son's humanity, Moros would have likely returned to his primordial essence.
"Why would you think of him? Moros and Hera are not suitable."
Tyche was curious how Aphrodite came up with the peculiar pairing of the god of doom and the goddess of marriage.
"The bonds of marriage between deities are not inherently strong," Aphrodite's words impressed Tyche. "No matter how beautiful something is, it loses its preciousness once obtained."
"Deities who enter into marriage often seek new affections after their passion fades. For them, love is not eternal. Moros, representing calamity, perfectly echoes the essence of marriage. Isn't a marriage that has endured trials more real?" the goddess of love mused with a hint of self-deprecation.
"Furthermore, for Hera, the support of Nyx would be very tempting for them. Hera and her siblings are in a worse position than even I am. I am merely a goddess who cannot seize supreme power; my glory is but a rose in a golden vase, and removing it would not diminish the vase's value."
"And for the five of them to gain two seats as major deities is enough to stir the envy of the gods," Aphrodite's words held a veiled meaning. "After all, among the current major deities, only Hades and Demeter have weak ties to the King of the Gods, and their alliance would be fraught with difficulties."
Zeus had acted impartially, and despite Demeter's past intimacy with Crius, he did not harbor animosity towards her. However, in the eyes of the gods, the goddess of abundance was the most easily replaceable among all the major deities.
She had an ambiguous relationship with the god of growth, who had almost replaced Zeus as the King of the Gods. Due to Gaia's interference, the power of Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, had almost helped Crius deceive Tyche.
If Aphrodite had not unexpectedly switched sides, the throne of the King of the Gods would have fallen to the god of growth, and Demeter would have lost her chance at the position of Queen of the Gods. She dared not resent Zeus, but the solitary Aphrodite was not so fortunate.
The reason the goddess of love had dealt ruthlessly with Poseidon was not unrelated to Demeter's instigation behind the god of tsunamis. Perhaps Demeter merely wanted to embarrass Aphrodite and exact revenge for herself, but how could Zeus not see the complexities? Therefore, he chose to deal lightly with the goddess of love who had caused Poseidon's humiliation, also intending to warn Demeter against causing further trouble.
Among the current major deities, Zeus and Leto, Apollo and Artemis, Tyche and Kanas, all had close ties to Zeus. Aphrodite, the mascot, also clung tightly to the King of the Gods, cheering him on. Hades was taciturn and uncommunicative, but he resided in the Underworld and diligently performed his duties, earning the favor of the Underworld gods. More importantly, both Tyche and Nyx were satisfied with him, believing the god of wealth would be a competent leader. Only Demeter, whose importance in agriculture had not yet been fully realized and whose faith was just beginning to sprout, naturally became a target for those aiming for a seat as a major deity!
Although five seats for major deities became vacant after Atlas resigned, all the gods understood that these seats were already allocated. After all, the fact that Tyche, as a primordial goddess, retained her seat as a major deity indicated that she was holding it for her son!
Recently, there had been frequent instances of deities bringing up the past relationship between the god of growth and Demeter, with the intention of probing Zeus's thoughts. Demeter's situation was not easy; apart from her sister and brother, no other god was willing to lend her a hand. Even her attempts to suppress Aphrodite and divert attention required Poseidon's intervention, as she truly had no subordinate gods to rely on.
"I heard Demeter is preparing to find a powerful deity to conceive a child with."
Aphrodite subtly sowed discord in front of Tyche. The divine duty of the protector of children naturally made Tyche dislike purposeful conception. Although Styx did not particularly dote on his descendants like Nike and Zelos, he had fulfilled his responsibilities by raising them. Demeter's intention to conceive children for the purpose of developing her influence would clearly lower Tyche's evaluation of her, displeasing Tyche, and naturally, Zeus and Kanas would not have a favorable impression of Demeter.
Tyche easily saw through Aphrodite's intentions, and her spirits immediately waned, her earlier good mood from seeing the rose garden taking a hit.
Aphrodite's initial intentions were not pure. She had begun her scheme from the very first meeting after Tyche's awakening. The once arrogant and willful goddess of love, after mingling with the gods for so long, had inevitably acquired a somewhat materialistic side.
Tyche felt a touch of regret about this, but Aphrodite had to become independent after losing the help of Eros and Porthos. This was perhaps not a bad thing, at least she could protect herself this way.