All the gods of the Olympian Pantheon shuddered, eyes wide in disbelief as they stared at Athena, who was incessantly drawing sharp breaths.
Zeus trembled, eyes bulging and beard sparking with electricity from his flaring emotions. "Is it true, Athena?! You really sensed the cosmology?!"
Apollo, Hermes, and other Primary Gods of Olympus were also trembling with excitement.
These Olympian gods had all originated from the world of Campione!, and were all main-god level. However, Zeus, Athena, and Pandora were exceptions—one step away from becoming God-Kings, only lacking the merit.
Athena smiled calmly. "Yes, it's nothing to hide."
"Didn't the Supreme Gods once say this? Some gods who are compatible with the cosmology can activate it directly without needing to go through a Gift Game."
Even before becoming a Primary God, she had felt a strange and inexplicable sensation. After her ascension, that sensation grew stronger, and only in recent centuries had it reached a level that made her realize the truth.
It was a presence completely different from the main universe—an aura from another cosmos. But it wasn't from a time-space plane, which could only mean it was from a cosmology.
Upon this realization, she had paced within her divine palace, pondering, anticipating, exhilarated—barely able to contain herself.
Cosmology! The ultimate secret of Divine Collectives, the blueprint for creating a great universe, the key to supreme authority.
Gods who aligned with the cosmology revered and obeyed its bearer above all.
The rightful king of divinity—destined to reach omniscience and omnipotence, to become the supreme of supremes.
How could she possibly remain calm? And recently, she had finally acquired information on her associated cosmology.
It was a cosmology tied to the Zodiac.
In the annals of Human History, she—Athena, Goddess of Victory—was known as the mistress of the Zodiac.
Thus, a connection to the cosmology was born.
The four God-Kings of Olympus fixed their gazes intently on Athena.
Nyx's voice quivered, "Cosmology! You've already received it, Athena~?"
Gulp… The surrounding gods swallowed hard and held their breath.
A pantheon gaining a cosmology was a monumental event.
They now clearly felt how immense the gap was between pantheons with and without cosmologies.
Not to mention the sheer power and potential granted to the bearer.
Even just the gods related to the cosmology would innately gain divine ranks and growth potential, dramatically elevating the entire pantheon.
A cosmology bearer would inevitably become omniscient and omnipotent. Among their related gods, at least a few were guaranteed to ascend as Primordial Gods.
Most crucially, pantheons were not eternal. Unforeseeable calamities could still destroy them.
But cosmologies were eternal. A pantheon tied to a cosmology would become eternal too.
Thus, no god would be envious of the bearer—because all gods would benefit.
Athena shook her head. "Not yet. I merely have the qualifications. I can't activate the cosmology on my own—I still need to awaken it through a Gift Game."
The gods felt a tinge of disappointment, but their excitement remained undimmed.
Olympus did have a cosmology, and now it had a compatible bearer in Athena.
Their past insecurity in the face of pantheons with Supreme Gods vanished instantly.
Each Olympian god's eyes now burned with expectation.
A gentle smile crossed Athena's face. The collective will of the gods was slowly turning toward her—even the four God-Kings.
Though she was only a Primary God with exceptional status, just having the potential to wield a cosmology made her the de facto center of Olympus.
Something she had once dreamed of, yet never had the power to achieve.
A Trinity Queen? That couldn't compare to the bearer of a cosmology.
Behind the Olympians came the Norse Pantheon.
Odin, God-King of the Norse, frowned, watching the sudden shift in Olympus's atmosphere with suspicion.
"What's going on with Olympus? Why does it feel so strange?"
"Sigh…"
Though unsure of what had happened, Odin sighed and turned his gaze toward the foremost, most radiant pantheon.
At present, the Inazuma Pantheon was the most powerful pantheon—far surpassing even Sumeru, which had an actual Primordial God.
No one knew the full extent of Inazuma's current power. Just the Pseudo Star Map Creation used during previous missions was enough to spark endless speculation.
His Norse Pantheon had only himself as a God-King, placing it among the lower-tier pantheons.
Still, compared to those with no God-King at all, Norse still carried some prestige.
Pantheons like the Aztec, Pagan, Vodou, Shamanic, Mayan, Ashanti, and Slavic pantheons didn't even have a single God-King.
In fact, the highest-ranked gods of these smaller pantheons weren't even Exceptional Primary Gods—most would be considered weak among Primary Gods. A strong Primary God from a major pantheon could easily obliterate an entire minor pantheon.
Some communities were even stronger than these small pantheons.
Of course, militarily annihilating a pantheon was not something acknowledged by the Cosmic Nexus.
Pantheons traveled together in groups, and those familiar with one another exchanged greetings.
"Emperor of Heaven, it's been many years."
The Three Pure Ones of Taoism led their celestial masters, guardian deities, and immortals as they greeted the Supreme God of the Heavenly Court.
The Three Pure Ones no longer resembled their mythological depictions; they had absorbed much from modern culture and now wore casual modern attire.
Many gods dressed quite informally. Even the Heavenly Court's God-King, the Jade Emperor, wore a refined middle-aged gentleman's outfit.
"Long time no see, you three."
"This is our first time attending such a gathering. Quite the grand event."
Zhongli, with hands clasped behind his back, nodded in greeting. "You four."
"Greetings, Rex Lapis."
"Might Rex Lapis be willing to explain the details of this divine assembly—"
Before the Jade Emperor could finish, a wave of ominous energy surged forth, making him instinctively turn.
All the gods of the various pantheons looked back as well. A sharp chill swept over them. Gods below the level of God-King began to sweat from the oppressive dread.
A divine youth cloaked in pitch-black menace approached with a blank expression.
Behind him followed a retinue of abyssal gods exuding corrosive, negative, and other dark auras. Even without sound, their very presence seemed to hiss with eerie jiejiejie laughter.
Frightened, gods from weaker pantheons quickly cleared a path, terrified of being tainted by the ominous energy.
Uuugh…
Click…
The Abyssal Monarch Aether wore a blank expression, but couldn't help clicking his tongue.
His Abyss was as unwelcome as ever—but he was used to it.
The abyssal gods behind him threw mocking, sinister smiles at the timid lesser gods who had moved aside, even letting out exaggerated jiejiejie laughs—eager to play their roles as evil gods to perfection.
"The Abyss! It's the Abyss!"
"Quick, get out of the way!"
"Such terrifying energy!"
It wasn't just the smaller pantheons—even great pantheons with God-Kings flinched at the sight of the Abyss. Cold sweat crept down their backs unconsciously.
A bead of sweat rolled down Odin's temple, his pupils faintly trembling. "Abyss… Monarch…"
Even Indra instinctively stepped back half a pace. Realizing this, he quickly forced himself to stop, cheeks flushing red—his pride wounded.
Damn it! It's just the Abyss! What's there to fear? It's not like he's going to attack us!
Nuada, the Celtic God-King, twitched at the corner of his mouth. Images of gods thrown into the Abyss surfaced in his mind, and he shivered.
The Abyss was the complete antithesis of all things in the main universe's time-space dimensions. It stood in total opposition to all existing gods and entities.
To be observed by the Abyss was to be ultimately consumed by it.
That phrase, "As you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes also into you," wasn't metaphor—it was literal.
Except, the Abyss didn't gaze at mortals—it gazed at gods.
The Abyss had always coveted the gods of every pantheon in the main universe. The moment a god was tainted with sin, they were at risk of being dragged into it.
Once within, they'd be used as fuel—gradually assimilated, stripped of everything, even their consciousness.
Gods were incarnations of Law, but the Abyss thrived on devouring Law.
The Abyss welcomed all gods.
As long as one obeyed its rules, anyone could enter it through a galaxy's central black hole.
Most pantheon Primary Gods and God-Kings had at least once been curious about the Abyss. If the opportunity to enter presented itself, many had taken it.
The Abyss Monarch, a Primordial God, didn't care if they visited—as long as they obeyed the rules, they could roam freely.
At first, they thought the Abyss Monarch was simply hospitable. But soon enough, they felt it—their divine Laws, divine power, divine intent, intellect… all of it being slowly eroded, devoured to feed the Abyss.
Since then, no god dared set foot in the Abyss again.
Especially those pantheons who had seen their own gods thrown into it.
They had witnessed the fate of gods doomed to eternal torment within.
Odin once found his sworn brother, the evil god Loki, mining deep within the Abyss.
Loki no longer resembled anything human. His clothing was in tatters, his body emaciated, his divine Laws and intellect nearly depleted.
Loki had clung to Odin's leg, wailing hysterically for rescue, claiming he had learned his lesson.
But a moment later, an Abyssal God appeared with a friendly smile, jokingly offering Odin a chance to take anyone he wanted from the Abyss.
Had he not been warned by Venti, Odin might have actually believed it.
Abyssal gods would do anything to add fuel to the Abyss's fire—including luring gods into making fatal mistakes.
They would wait for the Abyss Monarch to slap them into eternal captivity.
Many gods from weaker pantheons had fallen for it—and were still toiling away in the Abyss.
Thus, across the cosmos, a series of famous warnings had emerged:
"Abyssal gods lie even better than the God of Lies. Don't believe a single word that comes from their mouths."
And that wasn't even the worst of it.
The Abyss currently had few God-Kings, but boasted the highest number of Primary and True Gods in the universe. Their sub-true-god-level divine beasts were mass-produced.
No god who had seen the abyssal beast tides could forget the fear.
These black beast tides spanned tens of thousands of star systems and were made entirely of god-level monsters—enough to make even God-Kings tremble.
Not just them—even Supreme Gods felt dread.
Currently, the Abyss had four God-Kings: the Fathomless Flames Egill, the Violet Lightning Onnar, and the Abyssal Envoy Enjou.
Among them was the Alchemist of Gold, Rhinedottir—the Creator of countless god-level monsters.
She had crafted terrifying god-tier black beast hordes for the Abyss. Furthermore, having received a fragment of the Ouroboros' knowledge from Noah, she had successfully ascended to God-King.
Rhinedottir stood atop the head of a high-tier Golden Wolflord, gazing toward the end of the pure white staircase. She quickly lowered her head, her heart filling with dread.
Lord Heavenly Principle hadn't summoned her in a long time. Was he disappointed in her?
If so… would he erase her?
But then, why let her ascend to God-King if he was disappointed?
In the past, she wouldn't have thought too much about such things. Everything she had belonged to Lord Heavenly Principle.
But as she delved deeper into alchemy, she realized that bio-alchemy was but a trivial facet.
The pinnacle of alchemy was world forging—creating an actual world. And beyond that, forging universes.
That was the authority of a Primordial God. Alchemy's ultimate destination was the power of a Primordial.
Just like the saying goes: at the end of knowledge lies theology.
She wanted to reach the end of alchemy. She didn't want to die.
And so, she would go to any length to please Lord Heavenly Principle.
But he never so much as glanced her way.
The longer this continued, the more anxious she became.
If Noah were here, he'd sneer and say: when pets go too long without a whip or treat from their master, they naturally think they've fallen out of favor.
Aether led his Abyssal gods forward. No god from any pantheon dared approach. They didn't even dare to make a sound or breathe too loudly.
Never mind the Abyss itself—that was a Primordial God, a being that could create mini time-space universes. A true Creator God. Could even a God-King hope to speak with such a being?
Only Supreme Gods had the qualifications to converse with Primordials. It was the envy of all pantheon supreme leaders.
"Heeey~ Aether, long time no see! Come drink in Mondstadt! It's been a thousand years since you last visited," Venti waved cheerfully.
Zhongli, hands clasped behind his back, nodded. "Indeed. Though presumptuous, were we not once friends?"
Focalors smiled. "We may not be friends, but Fontaine still welcomes you."
Buer added warmly, "Traveler, your bond with Sumeru will never fade with time, no matter how trivial it may seem to us now."
Aether sighed, looking complexly at the Seven Archons greeting him.
Besides his annoying sister, they were likely the closest thing to friends he had in this universe.
And there would certainly be more interactions ahead.
After all, between Supreme Gods, it wasn't about fighting—it was about social ties.
"Ah, you know how it is. My Abyss is full of crap, big and small. I'm busy to death. I'm not like you guys, all free and easy."
Venti quickly seized the moment, slinging an arm around Aether's shoulder. "No matter how busy, you can't go without wine! I've got a cask brewed for a thousand years with cosmic essence. Let's drink, brother!"
Zhongli: "Barbatos, in that case, why not invite a few friends for a little gathering when time allows?"
"Old man… your schemes are too transparent, I feel bad calling them out."
"No worries. I'll bring my finest tea."
Gods of all levels looked on in envy as the Supreme Gods chatted and laughed so freely.
Odin, watching Venti mingling with so many Supreme Gods, felt his throat dry up. "I really want to join that supreme circle…"
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