The Key of Heaven was Ea—the vessel through which primordial authority manifested, the crystallization of Rovi's own will.
After he devoured Cronus and Tartarus and fell into the Netherworld, Athena had kept the Key of Heaven close to her heart, constantly feeling its presence while waiting for Rovi's return from the land of the dead.
Then, rumors began to spread.
Some claimed Athena bore the Sage's inheritance—his wisdom and power. Others insisted it was precisely due to that power that she had ascended in a single step to become a God-King.
At first, the Goddess of Wisdom and War couldn't have cared less. Yet the rumors only grew stranger—
Until they became: The thing Rovi left behind would prove its bearer the most beautiful being in Greece.
Because he had once rebuked Mesopotamia's goddess of beauty for "not understanding beauty."
Because he was the one who truly understood "beauty" above all others.
And so, even the goddesses began to stir.
Whether it was true no longer mattered.
Their pride demanded they claim it for themselves.
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty, and Hera, Queen of Heaven—two goddesses who prized their beauty above all else—immediately threw themselves into the contest.
Behind Hera stood Zeus.
Behind Aphrodite stood a swarm of Greek gods she'd entangled—a formidable faction on its own.
If Athena hadn't already possessed a status capable of rivaling a God-King, if she hadn't commanded her own host of subordinate goddesses, she could never have held the advantage.
Even so, it was a headache. No matter how her circle consolidated, she still relied on the Greek pantheon. She couldn't fight against a crowd of gods forever.
Until now—when Rovi returned.
Only then did Athena finally release her breath.
"Rovi—my only beloved—tell them your choice." The silver-haired goddess spoke with solemn conviction, her fingers interlaced tightly with his, her face illuminated by calm, peerless confidence.
At that moment, Athena's presence completely eclipsed every other goddess—even Hera.
Aphrodite let out a cold, disdainful laugh. "So-called love was never eternal. Love's essence is change and greed."
She raised her eyes—endlessly alluring, dangerously enticing—and fixed them on Rovi. "Sage. Rovi. Choose me, and you shall have all the love and beauty in the world."
"This is the only gift the Goddess of Love and Beauty will ever bestow upon a human."
Aphrodite's flame-red curls cascaded down her back, framing a lush chest and slender waist. A gauzy dress did nothing to hide the perfection of her body; crossed legs traced a hazy outline of forbidden geometry. Her face was proud, her tone arrogant—yet in sheer physical beauty, no goddess present could match her.
Of course, her arrogance toward Rovi existed only in words.
No one truly dared look down on the one who had crushed Cronus and swallowed the abyss of Tartarus—even if he was "only" human.
Tartarus wasn't something ordinary gods could comprehend. Aside from Athena, who had been there personally, only the three God-Kings knew what truly transpired within Tartarus—that Rovi had devoured Cronus, seized that colossal machine-god body, and could now freely shift between man and god.
The rest only sensed that Rovi had stopped the calamity and consumed Tartarus.
And Aphrodite's offer was more than enough to ignite desire in any living being, awakening an insatiable craving for her.
Even the Sage was still human, wasn't he?
Hera—noble, elegant, the youthful lady of Olympus—furrowed her brows. "Aphrodite. This is the temple of Olympus. Cease your wanton display."
"I am the wife of the King of Gods. I am the mistress of Olympus. Sage of Uruk—choose me, and I shall grant you unmatched nobility in Greece." Her voice was solemn, every word heavy with authority.
Hestia, black-haired and white-clad, said nothing. She merely peeked from a corner, watching, eyes darting back and forth.
Hmm… watching this is actually kind of fun?
She was here purely out of curiosity—and to support her friend Athena. Who was "the most beautiful goddess" had nothing to do with her. She was just a goddess that wanted popcorn.
Rovi, meanwhile, tightened his grip around Athena's hand.
Their existing closeness—and his awareness of what had happened—made the gesture natural.
Athena paused for a beat, a faint blush rising to her cheeks, but she maintained her graceful poise. "Whatever you choose, I'll respect it, my beloved Rovi."
"…"
A deadly question.
Rovi swept his gaze across the gathered goddesses, and a decision formed instantly.
Thank god Artemis wasn't here… He exhaled in relief—only to realize the goddesses showed no sign of backing down.
Aphrodite, tempting him with love and beauty.
Hera, enticing him with supreme power and prestige.
In the original myths, this was precisely how they had tempted the demigod boy Paris—holder of the "Golden Apple"—and how Aphrodite's promise of the most beautiful mortal woman, Helen, sparked the Trojan War.
But unfortunately for them, this time the choice didn't lie with Paris.
It lay with the Sage.
"My choice is simple." Rovi smiled faintly, raising his free hand—
Aphrodite's smile turned confident. No conscious being could resist love and beauty. Not even gods.
Hera remained composed. The sweetness of power was not something a human could ignore.
Hestia watched, curious—though instinctively, she sensed he would choose her friend Athena.
Then the three goddesses saw Rovi's finger trace a slow circle in the air…
And finally point to himself.
Athena: "?"
Hera: "?"
Aphrodite: "?"
Hestia: "?"
"You're seeing correctly." Rovi grinned. "I choose myself."
In the original myths, the Golden Apple was meant for the most beautiful goddess.
But this wasn't the original myth.
Rovi refused to be bound by inertia.
No one saw this coming—and no one accepted it.
Well… no one except Athena.
"The one I love should, of course, be the most beautiful in the world." The goddess of Athens nodded, as though stating something obvious.
This is a beauty contest, not a PDA stage… Hestia rubbed her forehead.
"What?" Rovi said easily. "Not satisfied? Beauty isn't merely skin-deep. Nor is it simply a pretty soul. To harbor ambition embracing mountains and rivers—that's beauty. To plot ten thousand miles ahead—that's beauty."
"To keep faith and loyalty—that's beauty."
Aphrodite's proud face twitched with faint, sullen anger—he was obviously referring to her, who'd entangled half the gods.
"To not be jealous—that's beauty."
Hera's expression barely moved, but it moved enough. She was famously jealous—of Zeus's lovers, of goddesses, of everything.
"To not fall into listlessness—that's beauty."
Hestia raised both hands, as if insisting she was merely here as a spectator.
Athena's smile only widened.
Rovi softly cleared his throat, pausing. "Of course, I know none of you will accept that."
"So let's make a bet."
"We'll wager on that proxy war among gods in the human world—"
"The Trojan War."
---
T/N: turojanu war
4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was too focused on something elseeeeeeeeeeeee ive been playing 7daystodieeeeeeeeeee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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