Fervor, restlessness, surging tides…
Rolling emotions continuously battered the mind, bringing with them a scorching, stabbing pain on a spiritual level.
Lorne no longer hesitated and quickly climbed up to the deserted rooftop balcony, stepped into the pre-arranged magic circle, drank down a cup of blood-like red wine, lowered his mental defenses, closed his eyes, and fully drove the divine blood within his body, stimulating the divinity contained inside.
In an instant, the trial of the flesh followed closely behind.
Inch by inch, his muscles were torn apart and reforged by the rampant divinity, becoming tougher and stronger; drop by drop, his blood was refined and transformed under the scorching of divine fire, gradually changing from golden-red into pure gold; his bones and internal organs trembled with intense, racking pain under the washing force of divinity…
Threads of filth were expelled from his pores, strands of impurities were completely incinerated by the ignited divinity, and the entire mind-image world became blazing and crimson…
Yet, in the face of the dual torment of body and spirit, Lorne merely frowned deeply....and did not cry in pain.
To be honest, he actually felt that it was still manageable.
It had to be said, Athena had always been reliable.
Although he had been tortured by blood for half a month, the benefits were very real.
During this process, not only did Lorne's combat techniques advance by leaps and bounds, almost reaching the level of being invincible among peers, his own mastery over divinity and divine blood also improved dramatically.
His body's endurance likewise increased severalfold.
Therefore, even this kind of heart-piercing, bone-cutting agony was still within his tolerance, and had yet to break through his limit of endurance.
Since that was the case, then make it even fiercer!
Lorne opened his faintly golden eyes, stretched out an arm from whose pores seeped wisps of foul aura and bloodstains, picked up the wine on the nearby table, tilted his head back, and poured the entire jar straight down his throat.
In that instant, the vast, ocean-like power of faith above Knossos surged into a raging tide, madly pouring into a certain sunken "hole," where, within that boundless darkness, it was endlessly torn apart, expanded, repaired, and torn apart again…
And the moment the scarlet wine surged into his body, it was driven by divinity and the power of faith, transforming into a golden divine liquid as viscous as divine blood, filling any cracks and gaps within his flesh and his mind-image world.
Gradually, under the dual irrigation of wine and faith, Lorne's body began to undergo a certain wondrous transformation.
—As if a newly brewed jar of fine wine, sealed away and buried in the soil, waiting for time to ferment it, ultimately transforming into a supreme vintage that even the gods would be intoxicated by.
At the same time, within the Palace of Knossos.
Athena gazed at that jar of "fine wine" undergoing its sealed fermentation, then withdrew her gaze with satisfaction.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
However, this was destined to be a relatively long process.
If she wanted to obtain a perfect, exquisite brew, she would need to wait patiently.
The Goddess of Wisdom seated upon the throne lifted her wine cup, took a light sip, refreshed her spirit, and then began flipping through the plan in her hands.
Though it was called the Dionysian Festival, it was impossible for it to truly be nothing more than a sacrifice to a wine spirit who had originally been obscure and unknown.
The first day of the festival was the opening-of-the-jar ceremony for fully fermented aged wine, which included a grand sacrifice in which wine was offered to the gods.
The second day was the Pitcher Festival, where people drank new wine and made bets at public banquets; at the same time, they evaluated and selected the new wine that would be chosen as the sacred offering for the gods in the next festival.
It was also the peak of worldly revelry.
The third day was the Pot-Boiling Festival.
On this day, people would prepare a pot of boiled vegetables, sit together with their families around the hearth, reunite before the fire, and pay homage to the Hearth Goddess Hestia, who protected the peace and safety of their homes.
This was the true focus of the ritual.
Because wine was a seasoning of life, a product brewed for the household hearth, it should be classified as part of the Hearth Goddess's merits.
Therefore, Hestia was the Olympian main god they truly needed to worship formally.
This kind of nominal arrangement was, of course, meant to guard against objections and excessive attention from the Olympian gods.
With the grand sacrifice to the gods and Hestia's main god both in place, who would still care about some so-called wine spirit, Dionysus?
Even if Zeus himself were to descend in person, he would probably find nothing to criticize about this carnival celebration.
And as the greatest sufferer and the thickest meat shield throughout the entire ritual, Hestia fully agreed with this plan, raising both hands and feet in approval.
After all, this was a subordinate god being cultivated for her sake.
Thinking about it, Athena looked at the wine in her cup, frowned slightly, and raised her hand to push the tray aside.
The wine… had turned sour.
Outside the window, night fell.
The cheers gradually faded, and the official divine sacrificial celebration was declared over.
~~
The next day, spontaneous folk entertainment and celebrations proceeded in an orderly manner according to plan.
Not only was there an evaluation of wines offered to the gods, but also competitions for delicacies and snacks from various regions.
The liveliness and joy throughout the city of Knossos showed no signs of diminishing.
Naturally, there were also drunken troublemakers who had drunk too much.
Under the goddess's signal, the city defense army and the divine-blood guards showed no mercy, striking hard and arresting every last one of them, throwing them into prison to sober up.
Their names were recorded, and they were banned from participating in the next Dionysian Festival.
On the third day, the festive atmosphere continued until sunset.
Warm hearth fires were lit, and the fragrance of food drifted from every household.
Everyone, carrying gratitude toward the Hearth Goddess, praised the hard-won stability of their lives, then began to enjoy sumptuous meals together with their families.
.
.
.
And at this very moment, within Hestia's residence—
A sneaky figure took advantage of the night to quietly make its way up to the rooftop.
With a casual wave of the hand forward, countless streams of golden light surged toward the one-person-tall, luminous giant cocoon at the center.
That was the pure power of faith.
After finishing all this, the sneaky figure nodded in satisfaction, then slipped back into the living room.
In the flickering firelight of the hearth, a sweet and innocent face was illuminated.
At the same time, within the Palace of Knossos, the Goddess of Wisdom lowered her far-seeing eyes, returned to her throne, and with a cold expression crumpled several sheets of parchment on the table into a ball and stuffed them into the wastebasket, her movements extremely irritable.
"Alright, very good. Very, very good. I didn't even need to make a move myself."
The lamps in the great hall flickered unsteadily, and faint grinding sounds of teeth could be heard.
On the fourth day, the remnants of night faded away.
The first ray of newborn sunlight pierced through the morning mist and spilled across the land.
Crack—!
Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, the cocoon of light standing on the rooftop split apart and shattered.
A figure nearly two meters tall, with a slender yet powerfully built physique, felt the surging, endless vitality coursing through his body and opened his eyes in excitement, unable to resist the urge to shout aloud.
"Don't be careless! Gather your mind, find your fragment of divinity, and engrave your first divine law!"
A low, cold, and solemn voice came from behind as Lorne's expression immediately sharpened.
He quickly reined in his surging thoughts, calmed his mind, and sensed a quietly floating, crystalline thin shard within his mind-image world.
At a glance, flowers bloomed everywhere inside it, grapevines spread and grew, and brilliant colors refracted countless scenes, like a miniature reflection of a small world.
A divine spark!
Realizing that he had truly taken that crucial step, Lorne was overwhelmed with joy.
However, remembering the reminder from behind him, he immediately suppressed the thoughts that were once again about to run wild.
Using a sharp awl of divine will, he chiseled into the divine spark and engraved the content of his first divine law, one he had chosen after deep consideration.
—Ecstasy!
It perfectly matched the nature of wine, and was also flawlessly compatible with the authority of war.
In this way, it could maximize his combat power.
At last, as the final stroke was completed, the soul-carving pain gradually subsided.
Having successfully ascended, Lorne withdrew his focus, let out a long breath, slowly opened his eyes, raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat covering his forehead, then turned around and looked behind him, revealing a smile of immense relief.
"We succeeded!"
"Mhm. I know."
Athena, standing at the stairway entrance, calmly nodded, her expression extremely composed.
Then her gaze drifted slightly upward as she raised her hand and pointed in a low voice.
"So… shouldn't you put some clothes on first?"
At this moment, as a cool breeze swept past, Lorne felt a chill below his waist.
He suddenly realized that due to the violent surge of divine power earlier, his clothes had already shattered, and he was currently completely naked.
In an instant, embarrassment and awkwardness made him clamp his legs together.
He hurriedly activated the magic array, pulled out a spare set of clothes, and quickly put them on.
Only after the rustling sounds faded did Athena lower her gaze.
She carefully sized up the newly ascended god before her, nodded in satisfaction, and gave an objective evaluation.
"Not bad."
"You taught me well."
Lorne habitually offered a bit of flattery, smiling modestly.
For some reason, his ascension process had been exceptionally smooth, and the divine power within him seemed noticeably stronger than he had expected.
"Alright. Since you've completed your ascension, come with me to meet the guests outside." Athena beckoned from the stairway.
"Guests?" Lorne was somewhat puzzled.
Athena did not answer directly. Instead, she revealed a meaningful expression. "You'll know once we go down."
So mysterious?
With a trace of doubt, Lorne followed Athena downstairs and opened the door together with her.
Outside the door stood a young man with a dignified and imposing appearance, handsome in looks.
He stood elegantly, emitting a faint fragrance, his slightly floating long hair falling over his shoulders.
On his head was a crown woven from branches of laurel, myrtle of love, olive trees, or water lilies.
At his waist hung a silver bow and quiver, and sometimes even a golden sword.
The moment the door opened from the inside, joy appeared on the young man's face.
His eager gaze swept around as he impatiently tried to step over the threshold.
"He—"
However, a slender and agile figure was faster than him.
"So we finally meet again, Lorne!"
A female hunter with golden hair and silver eyes, dressed in a dashing hunting outfit, rushed excitedly to his side, grabbed his arm, and shook it, her delight overflowing without restraint.
In that instant, the expressions on the faces of two other gods, one inside the door and one outside, darkened.
(End of the chapter)