Although their feelings for each other were made clear, Alaric did not linger long with Aphrodite.
The two of them only embraced affectionately upon the sea before parting and returning to their own dwellings.
It was, after all, an age of destruction and rebirth for the world.
Even if the gods had turned their gaze from the earth for the moment, it did not mean they would ignore it forever.
Moreover, the matter of how to recreate mankind required much deliberation, and Olympus would soon enter a time of great busyness.
Not only Aphrodite, but even Artemis would have little opportunity to see Alaric.
Besides, it was not suitable for Alaric to accompany Aphrodite back to Olympus at present.
Unlike the Moon Goddess, the Goddess of Love and Beauty was a newer deity to Olympus, born not long ago, and thus possessed neither influence nor networks upon the mountain.
Artemis's attendant nymphs had grown up playing alongside her, and so were devoted to her with unwavering loyalty.
And Artemis herself?
From the moment of her birth she had been alone, kin to no one. On Olympus, the attendants by her side were all arranged by Zeus.
Though Artemis was confident she could win their genuine loyalty, that would take time.
Thus, their reunion could only be a temporary farewell.
'But it doesn't matter, Alaric,' Aphrodite whispered in a teasing tone as she departed.
'Next time we meet… fufu, the very next time, I'll devour you from head to toe. Just thinking about it makes me so excited.'
Truly worthy of being the Goddess of Love and Beauty, though she herself was a mere novice without experience, she could so effortlessly utter the words of a seasoned seductress.
After bidding farewell to the goddess, Alaric brought Pandora back to his residence. The girl soon awoke.
The moment she opened her eyes, she cried out: "Lady Aphrodite… Eh? How am I back here? What happened before?"
"You lost your senses under the goddess's spell, so I had no choice but to knock you out," Alaric said dryly.
"But honestly, you're a girl, so why on earth were you lusting after another woman? Is your willpower really that weak?"
"I-I'm sorry," Pandora stammered, her face burning with shame. "It's just… I've never seen such dazzling charm as Lady Aphrodite's before… I'm truly sorry for embarrassing you."
"Forget it," Alaric shrugged, before suddenly asking, "By the way, when you were created on Olympus, did this ever happen to you?"
"How could it?" Pandora blinked at him in confusion. "Lady Aphrodite never acts that way on Olympus."
"What do you mean?" Alaric's curiosity deepened.
With a dismissive tone, Pandora explained: "On Olympus, Lady Aphrodite always restrains her own allure.
The power she showed today was not even one-tenth of what she truly possesses.
Otherwise, Olympus would have fallen into chaos long ago.
At least half of the Twelve Olympians would have lost their senses. And if that happened, Lady Hera would be furious."
Hearing this, Alaric nodded in wholehearted agreement.
The Aphrodite he had seen today, with her terrifying power to enchant all beings, to draw love from every corner of existence, how could Zeus and his lustful brothers ever hope to resist such force?
It was as if she possessed the equivalent of a Dota enchantress's "Untouchable" combined with an indiscriminate AOE passive "Enchant" ability, amplified tenfold, a hundredfold.
This terrifying gift, though technically auxiliary, was more overwhelming than any so-called combat power.
Then Alaric recalled the moment when Artemis had commanded the forces of nature.
These goddesses… each one was more formidable than the last.
Compared to them, Alaric was still far behind.
At that thought, his resolve to grow stronger only deepened.
But first, there was something he needed to tell Pandora.
So he revealed the truth about his relationship with Aphrodite.
He had expected Pandora to be angry, or saddened, he had even prepared apologies, words of comfort, and was ready to fight it out with her if needed to calm her resentment.
Yet Pandora's reaction was the complete opposite.
"My dear actually won the favor of the goddess herself?" Pandora's face lit with surprise and admiration.
"Isn't that wonderful? That's the most beautiful Goddess of Love, we're talking about her! My dear, you're incredible!"
"You're… not jealous? Not angry?" Alaric asked in disbelief.
"Jealous… a little bit, yes," Pandora admitted with a pout, but then her whole face brightened with joy.
"But I'm not angry. How could I be? If you'd gone after some ordinary girl, then yes, I would've been mad, just for a little while.
But you've captured the heart of the most, most, most beautiful Goddess of Love and Beauty herself, something even that wretched King of the Gods could not do.
I'm proud of you! Besides, if even the goddess favors you, doesn't that prove my own choice, my taste, was perfect?"
'Is that really how it works?' Alaric thought. It sounded reasonable enough, but somehow felt a little off.
In any case, Pandora was appeased. Setting Attila aside for now, the remaining hurdle was Artemis.
Unfortunately, in the original tales, Artemis, though a devoted maiden, harbored fierce jealousy, and she had even learned some unsavory habits.
Alaric could not tell whether the Artemis of this world would turn out the same.
The only countermeasure he could think of was to become stronger himself, strong enough that when dealing with Artemis, he could take the upper hand.
With this conviction, Alaric and Pandora's shared life settled into a new rhythm. No longer did they fight for days on end as before.
Now, their sparring remained light, just enough for fun, while most of their focus shifted toward the study of magic.
Meanwhile, beyond their home, the great flood finally began to recede.
Fierce winds swept away the thick clouds and heavy fog, letting sunlight return to the sky.
Poseidon, ruler of the seas, laid down his trident, commanding the roaring waves to retreat.
The waters withdrew obediently beneath the high banks, and the rivers returned to their beds.
The tips of trees emerged from the depths, their leaves caked with silt.
Mountains reappeared, plains stretched outward, and the land was restored.
Yet now the earth lay desolate, blanketed in mud, as silent as a grave.
Thus, the gods prepared to create mankind anew.
They debated long over how best to fashion humanity, but failed to reach any consensus.
One suggestion had been to do as Prometheus and Athena once did, to shape man from water and clay, then imbue them with divine power.
But Zeus, still embittered by the defiance of that generation of men and his conflict with Prometheus, rejected such a method outright.
In the end, the gods could not decide how to create beings with sufficient intellect who would also remain loyal in service to the divine.
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