It wasn't just them who were awakened by Zeus's words, but also the melancholy-filled Hera.
Zeus's words, each "beloved Hera," made her feel as if her entire being was soaked in the sweetest honey sea.
However, following this sweetness came even more, even deeper heartache like knife cuts.
Hera forcibly suppressed the abundant emotions in her chest that were about to burst forth, asking in a tone of near-silent calm: "Your Majesty the God-King, what important matter brings you to me?"
Zeus's handsome face full of smiles instantly lost its smile upon hearing Hera's distant address, becoming indifferent.
His thick brows furrowed slightly as he strode forward, grabbing white-armed Hera's wrist that was like newly bloomed white magnolia petals without explanation.
He pulled her straight into the spacious temple, saying with a tone carrying a trace of displeasure: "Must I have business to come see you?"
"Also, I still prefer you calling my name—Zeus."
Hera's heart suddenly trembled. She instinctively wanted to break free from Zeus's pull, but facing Zeus's absolute strength, all her struggles seemed futile.
She was pulled all the way to the center of the temple, unable to break free from beginning to end.
She could only let Zeus's powerful hands grip her tightly, slightly lowering her head as she said quietly in a dull, oppressed tone: "But you're already the God-King."
This lord of the gods, equally domineering in emotions, didn't respond but instead used both hands to cup white-armed Hera's slender jade hands.
These jade hands were smooth and lustrous, tender and delicate—truly flawless, the most perfect masterpiece of divinity and creation.
Divine bodies, as long as not deliberately made so, truly had no flaws whatsoever, not a single defect.
There wasn't a single goddess who didn't care about her divine body. The careful crafting of divine bodies would never be careless or negligent.
Especially for a great mother goddess like Hera, her divinity merged into her divine body, making it not only perfect and flawless but also radiating from within a sacred power that held infinite attraction and admiration for all beings in the universe.
Zeus gently and preciously held his beloved Hera's jade hands against his heart.
Words capable of melting ancient glaciers, infinitely tender, slowly flowed from his mouth: "Yes, Hera, I am already the God-King. But I am also forever Zeus, that eternal Zeus, the Zeus you know, your Zeus."
"And you are Hera, eternal Hera, the forever beloved Hera in my heart."
Hera could clearly feel from beneath his heart the strong, powerful beating of his heart, just like her own.
Only her heart was truly too chaotic now.
The bright-eyed great mother goddess full of melancholy said leisurely: "Zeus, please let me go."
"You shouldn't hurt Metis like this. She is the god who loves you most in this universe. And she is also the beloved you publicly declared before the gods."
The experienced master of the sky naturally wouldn't let go at such a time.
He completely wouldn't follow the goddess's rhythm, but used an incredibly sincere tone to turn the question back: "Then what about my beloved Hera? Is the god she loves most also only me?"
Goddess Hera, whose heart was in chaos, didn't dare look at Zeus's eyes that seemed capable of penetrating souls.
She forcibly pretended coldness and hardness, shouting lightly: "That's no longer important! Let me go!"
Zeus gripped even tighter, with force great enough to make her feel pain.
He pressed forward step by step: "No! This is very important!"
"I must know the answer to this!"
Majestic Hera was finally enraged. She suddenly raised her head, anger burning in her beautiful bright eyes as she looked directly at Zeus: "Zeus! How can you hurt Metis who has only you in her heart?! She is the beloved wife you personally proclaimed to the entire universe! You should respect her noble and devoted divinity!"
But Zeus stubbornly continued his question: "Answer my question first! Hera, this answer is crucial to me!"
Extremely helpless Hera angrily shouted: "Is this how Your Majesty the God-King forces a goddess?"
Zeus's expression was incredibly serious. He gazed at her, saying word by word: "I never hide my love. I'm not forcing you—I'm only desperately pursuing an answer I've longed for too long."
"My beloved Hera, when have I ever hidden my love for you? But why do you resist me so?"
"I haven't seen your beautiful smile for far too long. Do you know? All of sacred Mount Olympus has become dim and lightless because it lost your smile."
"How can you bear to be so stingy with your smile toward me? Can't you really feel my love for you that has long overflowed?"
"It's just one answer. Is it really so difficult for you to speak?"
Before finishing, Zeus suddenly forced Hera into his embrace!
His powerful arms capable of embracing the universe tightly, firmly encircled this delicate goddess.
He buried his head in her neck, saying in a tone almost painful and bitter: "The goddess in my arms is my most beloved Hera. Being able to hold you like this has been my deepest, deepest longing for so very long."
"Hera... Hera, my beloved Hera, if you really have the heart to decisively reject me, if your heart truly has no trace of love for me, then speak this cruel answer yourself!"
"Let this answer capable of piercing my chest and completely extinguishing my love completely defeat me."
Hera, confined by Zeus's sudden, possessive embrace, after initial surprise began struggling desperately, wanting to break free.
But hearing Zeus's words spoken from his heart, full of pain and longing, she felt all her strength being rapidly drained away.
A powerless yet bitter sourness instantly flooded her entire body.
She weakly nestled against Zeus's solid, broad chest, feeling that sense of security and happiness that made her want to cry.
This feeling completely intoxicated her, making her unwilling to part from this destined beloved for even a moment.
However, she was Hera.
After a long while, she said quietly: "Zeus, I cannot speak any words that would hurt you. Similarly, I cannot speak any words that go against my own heart."
"But I ask you, don't hurt Metis anymore. And please, don't hurt me like this anymore."
"After the Grand Divine Assembly ends, I will leave Olympus. Distant separation might be our best choice."
Zeus said without hesitation in an absolute tone: "I won't allow it!"
"I absolutely won't allow you to leave Olympus!"
"I absolutely won't allow my beloved Hera to leave my side!"
He loosened her slightly, gripping her shoulders tightly with both hands, staring into her eyes with the majestic tone of one who ruled the world: "I tell you here, Hera! If you dare leave Olympus, I will immediately declare to the entire universe that anyone who dares separate us, who dares accept you, whether gods, domains, or the world itself, I will unhesitatingly destroy them completely!"
Zeus's words were no longer tactful. The threat contained within was so obvious and domineering.
He could refrain from stopping Hera from leaving, but whoever dared accept her was destined to bear the God-King's most terrible wrath.
"You!" Hera was furious, both angry and helpless, unable to say anything for a moment.
She was very clear that absolutely no god would dare disobey Zeus's command.
Such consequences were unbearable for any existence.
Once Zeus announced this, there would no longer be any place in the entire universe for her.
Who would dare bear the God-King's wrathful thunder?
Moreover, kind Hera absolutely couldn't bear to implicate any innocent gods.
The more Hera thought, the more she felt endless helplessness; the more she thought, the more she felt heart-rending grievance.
She was still too naive now. In her urgency, her eyes actually reddened.
She used her snow-white teeth to bite her tender cherry lips tightly, stubbornly staring at Zeus with eyes extremely aggrieved yet incredibly strong.
The tears that refused to fall swirled in her beautiful eyes, seeming ready to burst forth at any moment.
Seeing this, Zeus immediately became soft-hearted as water.
How could he bear to let his beloved Hera shed a single tear?
He thought to himself: 'I went too far!'
He immediately put away all dominance and majesty, beginning to gently coax and persuade.
He held this goddess full of grievance even tighter, using his chin to gently and dotingly nuzzle against that smooth jade-like forehead.
In a voice only she could hear, he said softly: "My love, my love... I know that too often, I'm too greedy. I cannot suppress the trembling deep in my divine essence that wants to embrace all beauty."
"But please believe me—the deepest, purest love in my heart forever exists for you. Please forgive my greed, will you?"
"My love, I now only ask you as Zeus. I beg you, don't leave my side. I cannot be without you—it would be like tearing my heart in half while still alive."
"Even if my divine body still sits on Olympus's throne, what remains would only be an empty shell filled with eternal, endless pain."
"My Hera, please don't treat me this way. I cannot bear the pain of losing you—it would make my entire world never have a trace of light again."