After a few brief sounds, the sky fell completely silent. Nothing more followed.
This quiet? Both the gods and Hera had witnessed Zeus's majesty—truly heaven and earth changing color, sun and moon competing in brilliance. Why was the celestial response to Hera's succession so muted?
If you said it was acknowledged? The commotion was too small, felt somewhat fake.
If you said it wasn't acknowledged? Hera had received the crown and scepter, and heaven and earth had even symbolically celebrated a bit. This outcome left all the gods scratching their heads.
Only Thea knew—Zeus still lived. Mount Olympus likely only acknowledged Hera's acting authority, equivalent to something like a crown prince serving as regent. She certainly had power, but fell short of formal succession.
No matter what, Hera had inherited the throne. Even with grievances, Apollo had no standing to object. The Sun God stormed out directly, leaving in a huff.
The remaining deities, who'd all held hopes for the God King's throne to varying degrees, now looked completely defeated, their expressions gloomy as they excused themselves and departed. Even the usually spirited Goddess of Discord, Eris, couldn't make sense of what had happened in such a short time.
But one thing She was certain of—with the God King's throne settled, conflicts among the gods were forcibly suppressed. As the Goddess of Discord, Her very foundation had vanished. Eris seemed to face catastrophic disaster, her steps unsteady and expression wooden as she walked out.
Thea, bringing Diana and Supergirl, also bid farewell to the high-spirited Hera.
"Hermes has defected to the Underworld. Hades's trouble still exists. Be careful." Before leaving, Hera kindly warned them.
As the person with the best relationship with Her, Thea expressed gratitude on behalf of everyone to the new "God King."
As for Hades, she wasn't particularly worried. These deities were truly immortal in Mount Olympus and the Underworld, but entering the so-called "mortal realm" made them killable. The subtext of Hera's words meant more that she couldn't stay out of it—if Hades had problems, she'd need to help.
Thea suspected Hades probably didn't even know who she was. At most, he'd traced the holy sword to the Celtic pantheon and secretly resented them. With all pantheons currently lying low in their respective divine realms, the difficulty of storming someone's home to cause trouble wasn't trivial. Given Hades's patient nature, he wouldn't launch any thunderous operations.
The Underworld King's divine authority meant no one could escape death, so he was never in a hurry. Whoever offended him would eventually fall into his hands. He'd upheld this core principle for tens of thousands of years and presumably wouldn't break it for Thea.
The young miss felt quite at ease as she pulled Diana and Supergirl back to Earth. After seeing Supergirl off to continue her studies, she and Diana went home to deepen their relationship.
Zola and Zeus's backup copy in her belly—who knew how long before that would be born—had nothing to do with Thea. As for the Firstborn, that was even more Hera's problem. If the Firstborn had any brains, he wouldn't challenge Hera when she possessed every advantage. So overall, this aborted War of the Gods was ending before it even began!
As for Ares's divine position, Thea spoke for Diana: Our goal is the New Gods. Some broken War God position? Not interested!
...
Everything returned to normal. Students continued studying, workers continued working. The Eastern Mediterranean Fog Incident ultimately became one of Earth's unsolved mysteries. Neither the Eye nor Thea's Committee investigated any substance. Subordinates submitted confused reports, leadership signed off for archival and registration, and the matter finally concluded.
Thea glanced at the invitation on her desk before tossing it back. It was from S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City, inviting various figures to observe the particle accelerator's formal operation. As a contemporary authority in genetics, the young miss was now a big name in scientific circles. Combined with previous dealings with S.T.A.R. Labs, the Reverse-Flash disguised as Dr. Harrison Wells had also sent her an invitation.
"The particle accelerator is about to activate..." Thea gazed at the overcast sky outside. Her vision flew beyond Metropolis toward distant Central City.
If Metropolis was merely cloudy, Central City was completely overcast. Conducting experiments in such weather—anyone unfamiliar with the truth would say Dr. Harrison Wells had lost his mind.
The scientific community generally disapproved of Wells's experiment. His claims about the imminent future, changing physics understanding, advancing dynamics, and unprecedented medical breakthroughs—
Most scientists thought Wells was under too much pressure and mentally unstable. What nonsense was he spouting! Some sneered coldly, some earnestly advised, and naturally some were enviously bitter.
Through Gideon, Thea learned that Reverse-Flash was currently so excited he could practically jump. Fifteen years of careful preparation were about to bear fruit. He'd never been more focused.
If this had been when she'd just arrived in this world, Thea could have gone to the particle accelerator explosion site to take advantage. With good luck, she might have gotten some ability.
Unfortunately, Thea's current level was too high. Gaining an ability incompatible with her existing system would require another arduous soul-splitting process. More trouble than it was worth.
Since the scientific community was boycotting this experiment anyway, she went with the flow and had her assistant call to decline the invitation.
Diana also had no interest in scientific matters and went off to manage her foundation. Thea stayed home alone watching television.
That night, it indeed began pouring rain. People from all sectors called Dr. Wells suggesting he postpone the experiment. Reverse-Flash played the image of an obsessive, slightly mad scientist to perfection.
Across several cities, Thea could see Reverse-Flash shouting into his phone, his expression full of love for science and pursuit of truth. The old man's acting was truly superb—over the phone, who could see his face? Yet he performed with contradictions and complex emotions, his explosive performance probably convincing even himself.
The storm outside grew fiercer and denser. Not just physics scientists and S.T.A.R. Labs' peripheral citizens and reporters, but even internal staff began urging Dr. Wells to postpone the experiment.
In such terrible weather, accidents were far too easy.
Reverse-Flash sneered internally. If it were sunny, what would I experiment for? I want the accident!
Once again ignoring everyone's opposition, he forcibly activated the particle accelerator. Thea could glimpse a trace of nervousness in his subtle expressions.
Would he return to his original timeline to live in luxury, or stay stuck in the 21st century waiting to die? It all came down to this moment.
Amid the torrential downpour and waves of opposition, Reverse-Flash activated the particle accelerator!
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Translator's Little Rant / A Small Confession (Feel Free to Skip)
Honestly, I still can't believe we've made it to Chapter 500 already. The pace feels insane—I've only been translating for 3 months and 3 days, and we're already halfway through the whole story.
Sometimes I think back to the early days: me hunched over my phone, squinting at a tiny screen while fixing typos and patching inconsistencies. It's funny now, but if I hadn't saved up for a laptop, I probably would've dropped this project—and maybe translating altogether.
Choosing this series was… a rough start for someone with zero experience. I ended up rewriting and adjusting a lot, especially parts that felt discriminatory or just plain unsuitable, and it was mentally exhausting. Some of my "days off" were spent doing nothing but cleaning up sections that didn't sit right.
On top of that, I'm a speed-reader by habit. When I edit, I sometimes skim the same way, so I miss details that others catch. And translating a DC-related story while not being a big DC fan definitely didn't help—there were references and events I genuinely didn't know.
Still, I'm grateful. A surprising number of people have supported this translation, and some even subscribed to my Patreon. It's not enough to quit my side job, but it's motivating—and as a freshman, it's honestly more than I expected.
Lesson learned: I'm not touching Transformation in the Marvel World by this author anytime soon. Doing three series from the same author would mean more heavy editing and fixes, and I don't have the energy for that until this DC monster is done—if I still do then.
That's why my next project is going to be something lighter—a yuri romance novel. Simple, soft, and actually my taste. No headaches, no constant second-guessing every line.
I've already got around 30 chapters translated, and I'm planning to stockpile 60 paid chapters before I post anything here. If I can keep the momentum, I'll start uploading next week—hopefully you'll enjoy it.
And yeah… genuinely, thank you. To everyone who read, commented, supported the translation, or subscribed on Patreon—even if you just stopped by for a chapter or two. Your support is the reason I'm still here, and I really, truly appreciate it.