"You've come at just the right time," Styx's enthusiastic smile gave Tyche a bad premonition. "I was just worrying about not finding anyone to take over."
Tyche felt like she was suffocating; she could already guess what Styx was about to say!
"Taking care of these children has exhausted me, body and soul, leaving me no time to properly recover my depleted strength."
The Goddess of Fate waved her hand, kicking Tyche and the four deities out of the temple.
Forced to take over, Tyche didn't want to be a nanny. She beat fruitlessly against the closed doors, trying to make the Goddess of Fate understand the consequences of these deities appearing in the outside world.
"Styx! Come out at once! How am I supposed to explain their origins to the other gods? I can't possibly say I just picked them up in a cave during a stroll!"
The four newly born deities didn't know that the goddess before them was the same person as their mother, but the divine connection was undeniable, making them feel an affinity for the goddess before them.
Seeing the trusting gazes of the newborn deities, Tyche's scalp tingled, and she pounded on the temple doors even harder.
The Goddess of Fate was determined to dump the hot potato on Tyche and remained silent within the temple. The commotion attracted Hecate, the Goddess of Wishes, who was lingering by the River Styx. Hecate raised her torch and shouted, "Souls who have departed from their bodies, this is the temple of Goddess Styx, do not..."
Tyche turned to look at Hecate. The torchlight illuminated a familiar face, causing the Goddess of Wishes to swallow her unfinished reprimand.
"Your Highness Tyche."
Hecate immediately bowed, "Please forgive my rudeness, are you here to visit the Goddess of Fate?"
The torchlight illuminated the area, and Hecate's gaze was instantly drawn to Zelos, the God of Competition, who bore a striking resemblance to the God of Slaughter. Her father, the husband of the Goddess of the Night, Perses, God of Destruction and Ruin, was the full brother of Pallas, the God of Slaughter. Hecate often met her unconventional uncle and was very familiar with him.
Zelos and Pallas looked almost identical. His brown eyes differed from the striking bright yellow of the God of Slaughter, and deities unfamiliar with them wouldn't make too many connections due to their vastly different temperaments.
But Hecate was different. Out of all the deities in the Underworld, why did she have to encounter them? Tyche felt like crying.
Hecate's gaze lingered on Zelos for a long time. She cast a subtle glance at Kratos and Bia, then silently retreated with a blank expression.
The Gods of Strength and Violence, though different in appearance from Pallas, had their conspicuous orange-yellow eyes that completed the final piece of the puzzle.
Tyche couldn't be bothered to knock anymore. She chased after Hecate and said in a low voice, "It's not what you think! Let me explain! This was Styx's doing. If you don't believe me, ask her!"
When the two goddesses turned back, the temple of the Goddess of Fate had vanished without a trace, disappearing into the River of Destiny, impossible to find.
The air instantly became quiet, and an inexplicable awkwardness permeated the space between Tyche and Hecate. Helpless to explain, Tyche could only ask the Goddess of Wishes not to tell anyone about this matter. Before more deities could witness it, she took them back to the Invisible Island.
Philyra, the leader of the attendant maids, was following the main god's instructions, scooping out the wisdom spring water that had accumulated on the tree roots and carefully placing it into vessels. The radiance of the teleportation portal was obvious, and the diligent dryads immediately perked up to welcome the arrival of their main god.
Tyche had given up on explaining. Under Philyra's shocked gaze, four never-before-seen deities entered in single file.
The Invisible Island rarely had outsiders visit. Apart from visits from the Goddess of Dawn and the Goddess of the Night, there hadn't been any new visitors for a long time.
Looking at the four somewhat uneasy deities, Tyche's heart softened after all.
"Styx entrusted you to me because she and I have a deep connection. Since it is the request of the Goddess of Fate, I will make arrangements for you."
Tyche's words were not without reason. The situation had already come to this; she couldn't hide them for the sake of her reputation! After all, they could be considered as having been nurtured solely by Styx, and there were more reasons to trust them compared to other deities.
After Zeus became King of the Gods, he lacked trustworthy helpers. Although the Goddess of Fortune Leto had successfully ascended to the rank of a middle-tier deity, she had already exerted all her effort to secure her position as queen. Moreover, with her gentle nature, she was not suited to participate in the clashes among the gods.
Apollo and Artemis lacked prestige. The children of the first generation of Titans had reservations about the twins becoming the main gods. Although Zeus was bearing the brunt of it, he was clearly unable to cope; as for Kratos, he was a rare powerful deity, and his support indirectly eased the pressure on his younger brother.
The Goddesses of the Rainbow were still busy running errands for Zeus on Mount Olympus, indicating that there were still some hidden dangers that needed to be guarded against, which had not yet surfaced. Nike and Zelos were both formidable in combat, and as long as their stance wasn't easily swayed, they were a force to be reckoned with.
As for Kratos and Bia, their divine roles of Strength and Violence were not trivial. Like the Goddesses of the Rainbow, they could be helpful with errands.
On Mount Olympus, Zeus was troubled by Kratos's repeated sneaking away. This unreliable elder brother had dumped his duties on his busy younger brother and disappeared to who knew where.
Under the persuasion of Tyche and the Laws, a trend of guiding humans swept through the divine mountain. In the competition for limited humans, friction was inevitable among the arrogant gods. The main gods, every single one of them, were busy day and night, constantly traveling across the land to maintain order. Even Aphrodite, who was not good at fighting, was sent out by Zeus to do manual labor. The God of Disaster was not kicked off his position as a main god solely due to his good fortune, having a mother who was an primordial deity and a brother who was the King of the Gods.
Seeing Tyche return, Zeus was somewhat surprised. When he heard Tyche say she wanted to introduce four deities to become her subordinate gods, the busy King of the Gods was very welcoming.
However, when Zeus saw the three male deities who resembled the God of Slaughter, Pallas, this steady King of the Gods did not fare any better than Hecate.
Tyche could now calmly accept her younger son's unusual gaze. No amount of explanation would be useful; the divine connection could not lie. Tyche couldn't possibly reveal that she and Styx were one to clarify this unresolvable truth.
Perhaps to protect his mother's honor, Zeus did not dwell on their origins. He solemnly assured Tyche, "Rest assured, Mother! I will take good care of them!"