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But the Power of Time was a very different matter.
In the entire Saint Seiya universe, as far as Jiang Chen understood, there was only one true wielder of time itself: the God of Time, Kronos.
Kronos was a transcendent existence, not a god from myth or a creator deity of a single world, but rather, the creator of all myths, a being that existed outside all realities. To Kronos, even the Saint Seiya world was just a book.
In a conversation between two supreme entities, they once referred to Kronos as the "Father of All Creators."
Such a being was the ultimate pursuit of all gods.
Even if Jiang Chen's control over the Power of Time couldn't compare to Kronos's, it was still the Power of Time.
Yet Athena,
Not only did she show no concern, but she even helped him conceal it.
That was… strange.
"Indeed, if Omega is the taboo of all gods, then the God of Time is the end point of the gods themselves. No matter how powerful a Spiritual God is, even my grandfather Kronos, he, too, pursued the ultimate truth of Time."
"As for him, I've had thoughts of my own… But that path is not mine. I cannot grasp it."
Athena spoke calmly, her gaze drifting toward the distant sky, her thoughts momentarily wandering.
Jiang Chen opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but before he could speak, Athena's voice echoed again.
"Asclepius, you should know who my father and mother are, don't you?" Athena's gaze returned to Jiang Chen.
"Yes, Lady Athena. Your father is Zeus, the King of the Olympian Pantheon and God of Thunder. Your mother is the Goddess of Wisdom, Metis."
Jiang Chen nodded slightly, though a bit confused.
"That's right. My father is Zeus, the King of the Olympians. My mother is the Goddess of Wisdom. But what you may not know is that, according to the prophecy of Gaia and Uranus, the children of Metis, my mother, would all be brilliant and powerful. After giving birth to a wise-eyed daughter, she would bear a son who would one day overthrow Zeus."
"Afraid of the chaos his children might bring, Zeus swallowed my mother whole while she was still pregnant with me."
"But after devouring her, Zeus began to suffer from agonizing headaches. Eventually, he asked Hephaestus to split open his skull with an axe. Just as the axe was raised, I was born from Zeus's head, fully grown, and at the same time inherited my mother's divinity, becoming the new Goddess of Wisdom."
Athena's tone was calm, like she was recalling a distant past.
Jiang Chen listened quietly, not interrupting.
He already knew this origin myth, but he hadn't expected that even in this mythological simulation of the Greek pantheon, Athena's birth would follow the exact same narrative.
"Lady Athena…"
With a trace of confusion, Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment but couldn't help speaking up. He truly didn't understand what she was trying to convey with all of this.
"Don't worry about it. I was simply reminiscing. Asclepius, the Power of Time, outside of the Sanctuary, you should refrain from using it again. No one here will notice or interfere with you." Athena gently shook her head and continued softly.
"Understood! Thank you, Lady Athena!"
Though Jiang Chen still held deep confusion in his heart, he respectfully bowed his head. Even if he didn't understand the full picture, Athena's meaning was now very clear:
--Inside the Sanctuary, she would protect him even if he used the Power of Time.
--But outside, it was forbidden.
Just this level of protection from Athena was already a great blessing.
"No need to thank me. In the coming period, you may find yourself quite busy within the Sanctuary." Athena nodded lightly and added with a smile.
"Busy?" Jiang Chen's heart stirred as he began to sense something.
"Yes. In the coming days, the Sanctuary will likely begin its expansion." Athena didn't keep him guessing, she stated it plainly.
"Understood." Jiang Chen nodded again.
Then he respectfully withdrew from Athena's temple and took his leave.
"The Power of Time…" Athena murmured to herself softly, withdrawing her gaze only after watching Jiang Chen's figure disappear.
To the gods, the Power of Time was a treasure coveted by all, but to Athena, it was something she didn't truly care about.
Even if it led to the summit of all gods,
So what?
It simply wasn't her path.
Of course, Jiang Chen didn't know any of this. As he walked home, his expression remained full of doubt. Athena's words were vague and fragmented.
He really couldn't make sense of them at all.
"I really hate riddlers!" Jiang Chen couldn't help but mutter, then shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
After all, doubts were just doubts. At the very least, one thing was certain, Athena had no current plans for him and didn't intend to interfere for now.
As long as he remained in the Sanctuary, he was relatively safe.
And that was enough.
To him, coming to the Saint Seiya world to cultivate, the most important thing was to increase his strength.
As long as he had a relatively safe environment and suitable conditions for training, that was sufficient.
Everything else wasn't something he needed to worry about.
Nor was there any need to.
After all, he wasn't a native of the Saint Seiya world. His figure returned to his room. After briefly greeting Melchaba, Jamil, and the others and assuring them he was safe, Jiang Chen resumed his training, just as he had before.
Time passed quietly.
And just as Athena had said, the Sanctuary soon began to fall into unrest.
While King of Hell Hades and Sea God Poseidon made their moves across the world, the Goddess of Wisdom Athena also began to act.
One by one, Saints of the Sanctuary began to launch attacks on other divine systems across the world. At this point, the Sanctuary was far more powerful than it had been in the past.
The 88 Galaxies' Saints, originating from Athens, each displayed unprecedented power upon appearing.
In less than a year, over three divine domains were swept through and conquered by Athena's Sanctuary.
And as more and more divine domains fell, the Earth Authority, which had dispersed after the death of the Earth Goddess Gaia, began to silently converge upon the Sanctuary.
However, at this moment, compared to the other four divine authorities, Sky, Ocean, Death, and Earth, few were paying attention to the Earth Authority. After all, ever since the Earth Goddess Gaia had died, the Earth Authority had completely dispersed across heaven and earth.
No Spiritual God had ever been able to grasp it. Not even a sliver of it. In contrast, the other three authorities, Sky, Ocean, and Death,
All had previous holders, and some had even mastered large portions of them.
For example:
The Sky Authority was initially held by Uranus, the Sky God. After Uranus's fall, the Sky Authority shattered. However, a portion of that authority was inherited by the second-generation King, Kronos, and later passed on to Zeus, the current Divine King.
The Ocean Authority was first held by Pontus, the original Sea God. After Pontus's fall, it was scattered among:
Nereus (Old Man of the Sea),
Thaumas (representing sea wonders),
Phorcys (representing the sea's wrath),
Ceto (symbolizing the sea's dangers),
and Eurybia (representing the power of the sea).
These three divine authorities were still held, in part, and even had the potential to be unified.
So naturally, few paid attention to the Earth Authority.
(End of this chapter)