In the original myths, at the beginning no god was willing to help Troy.
Not only because of Zeus's will, but also because gods like Apollo, who had been deeply wronged by Troy, had no reason to help them at all.
If the Greek heroes had not gone too far and offended Apollo himself, he would never have come down to earth personally.
The wars of mortals were not something that required gods to get directly involved.
And it was from the moment Apollo sent the plague, purely to get his priestess Chryseis back, that the war spiraled into a back-and-forth with more and more gods intervening on either side.
But Aphrodite, the original cause of everything, the spark that lit the Trojan War, had gone into hiding after setting it all in motion.
She only appeared on the battlefield when Aeneas was about to be killed, and even then nearly got cut down herself for it.
Now, because of what just happened, Aphrodite was showing signs of actively turning toward Troy and helping them.
If Night found out about this, he would have given it two enthusiastic thumbs up.
What a way to take revenge on me!
Please go harder. Ideally cripple the entire Greek side.
Facing Hermes's warning,
Aphrodite said she had her own thoughts on the matter, then simply abandoned the man on the shore and left.
Hermes: !!?
She just left?
She took off and abandoned the person who just saved her life?
Good grief, that's cold.
Shouldn't she comfort me a little, console my poor fragile heart with her seductive body after what I just went through, give me something before she goes?
That's how you treat the person who saved your life?
Hermes felt deeply wronged. He got nothing out of this, and he nearly got killed for it, and then...
But then he thought about Aphrodite's beauty, and all the anger faded.
Oh well—he'd just have to bear it.
After going this far without getting a chance to sleep with her, flipping the table now would be an even worse deal.
The little boat of this divine friendship nearly capsized but was steadied at the last moment by Hermes himself.
Sunk cost at work.
Not lingering any further, Hermes vanished again and went to report back to Zeus.
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Meanwhile, back to Night's side.
After Aphrodite left, he returned to his tent and found the room had actually been tidied.
Having a goddess clean your room for you.
Even in his wildest dreams he could never have imagined such treatment.
Had this goddess of love lost her mind, or had the whole world gone strange?
He didn't believe that he possessed such a bewitching charm that made him fall in love at first sight and become such a devoted admirer.
At least not before receiving the existence-level quality of Adonis.
Night lay down on the bed to rest, then waited quietly for darkness to fall.
He had originally planned to find an opportunity to call Apollo down after returning to the camp so that he could pass on a message.
But after what just happened, plenty of eyes were probably still watching this area.
Night-time wasn't necessarily safer either, but it was better. It would reduce the chances of being noticed.
So he decided to wait until deep in the night, then call upon his own main god, Lady Artemis, to come.
Whether a god would actually respond to that,
Judging by how closely Apollo had been paying attention before, Night thought it was likely.
As for Artemis, he could only hope his standing in her favor was high enough. That was a gamble.
Time passed, little by little.
Finally, night came, the moon rose, and the stars lit up the sky the way they had when the world shifted earlier.
Night opened his eyes and activated the moon blessing once more, then turned toward the moon and called Artemis's name.
The moonlight stayed calm and still, nothing like the dramatic transformation of the daytime.
It seemed like there was no response at all, and Night felt a little disappointed and thought it was hopeless.
Well Artemis isn't responding so let's call Apollo.
However, in the next second, a small hand appeared from behind and gently pressed against his back.
"Don't move yet. Let me check whether that filthy goddess left any kind of mark on you." Artemis's cool, clear voice came from just behind him.
Then she stepped right up close and began carefully searching his body with her hands, checking him over.
Night went completely rigid.
No, what's happening?
So it wasn't that there was no response, but rather that it arrived instantly?
She even launched a sneak attack from behind.
After scanning him with her divine power, Artemis let out a quiet breath and seemed satisfied.
"I have used my authority to seal this space into a domain where magic cannot pass through. No sound or image can reach the outside. Not even my father, the god-king Zeus can see what is happening here unless he looks directly for it.
If there is something you want to say, you can speak freely now."
Artemis was well aware of Night's true identity and his plan.
And this thoughtful gesture from her earned her a hundred silent approvals from the young man.
Now this was reliable. Moon goddess, respect.
Apollo, take notes.
Compared to Apollo and Aphrodite, who both had a habit of turning into mortals and thinking their disguises were convincing, neither of them could manage anything like this private sealed space that blocked eavesdropping.
Against mortal eyes maybe, but against the gods' gaze, completely useless.
Artemis came in and immediately brought that reassuring sense of being truly shielded.
Night felt she understood exactly what he needed.
Rather than jumping straight into asking her to pass a message, he started by thanking Artemis for driving Aphrodite away during the day.
Artemis was slightly taken aback. "You figured that out?"
"After all, Scorpius is yours to command."
When she heard that, a clear and visible flash of joy showed on Artemis's cool and beautiful face.
She was not the kind of girl who hid her feelings deep inside. From the beginning she had been the freest goddess of all, and also the strongest and craziest one.
With parents who never really managed her, she had grown up doing as she pleased.
It was only after being invited to join Olympus as one of the twelve principal gods and gathering countless followers that she gradually began paying more attention to her appearance and behavior.
Before that she had always appeared on earth the way Aphrodite chose to dress today, as a hunter, and a practical one at that.
That Night remembered her kindness and took the time to thank her made the principal goddess genuinely pleased.
At least this follower was worth keeping.
If he had been swayed by Aphrodite and lost his sense of things, no matter how fond she was of him, even he would not have been spared her response.
For traitors (those who turned away from their faith), no one held more contempt than Artemis.
But in her good mood, a thought came to her, and after a brief hesitation, Artemis suddenly asked a very profound question: "Who is more beautiful, me or the goddess of love Aphrodite?"
Asking a man a question like that, comparing herself to another goddess, something she had never once done before.
The unfamiliar shame of it brought a faint flush to her cool face, but her gaze remained sharp as it fixed on the back of Night's head.
She wanted to see how he answered.
At this moment, Artemis still harbored a slight competitive spirit that she herself was unaware of.
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