Chaotic Source Power

Atop Mount Othrys.

The sun and moon alternated across the sky, while the tremors of the Source Sea grew increasingly frequent. As time passed, more and more gods gradually gathered around Divine Mountain.

Around Divine Mountain, the gods stood in clearly defined groups. The Ocean God Faction, the Ancient Sea Gods, the Mountain Gods, and the Star Gods each occupied one direction, never mixing with one another. As for the other gods, they stood scattered among them, somewhat easing the tense atmosphere between the factions.

Of the four factions, the Star Gods sought no conflict with the world. They dwelled in the heavens, acknowledged the Sun God as their leader, and had no grudges with the other factions. The only Celestial God who might possibly cause a conflict was Coeus, but he had only two children, and the Star Gods treated him with great respect.

The other three factions were different. Vaguely, the Mountain Gods and the Ancient Sea Gods stood together, jointly opposing the gods of the Ocean God Faction.

The conflict between the two sea gods had existed for a long time. On the earth, as the River Gods, Lake Gods, and Spring Gods grew more numerous, the tensions between Okeanos and the Mountain Gods also intensified. Thus, the two brothers, Urea and Pontus, joined forces to face their nephew's increasingly powerful faction.

That was why, despite possessing two gods of Great Divine Power, Okeanos had never truly attacked his uncle. It was not merely because he was concerned about Earth Mother's attitude. More importantly, it was because of Urea's existence.

And, of course, there was Cronus on Divine Mountain. Everyone knew that although the God King had been forced to accept the current state of the gods ruling themselves, he would not accept it forever.

If the gods went to war and gave him an opportunity, he would certainly do something.

The chief gods of the various factions all understood this perfectly.

Amid the slightly tense atmosphere among the gods, more than three months passed in the blink of an eye. The Codex of Creation was nearing completion. Around the Goddess of Law, chains of laws visibly gathered, connecting tightly with the increasingly profound Codex of Creation.

Using her fingertip as a brush and source power as ink, Themis wantonly wrote down the results of her thousand years of work under the gazes of the gods of Khaos. At a certain moment, when she wrote the final character, space and time seemed to freeze for an instant.

The area around Divine Mountain immediately fell into an eerie calm. Only the sound of the law chains being pulled remained unchanged.

In this peculiar atmosphere, Themis was unaffected. The articles of law had been completed, and only the final step remained. She placed her hand on the pages of the Brass Book. The Divine Artifact, which had somehow grown as tall as a person, began to flicker, as if responding to the will of the Goddess of Law.

Themis could feel that, at this moment, she was infinitely close to the Source Sea. Every word she spoke could be heard by the world.

"By the name of the supreme Order Law, and under the witness of Khaos, I hereby enter into a covenant with the world."

"For every living being born, a law shall be established within one hundred days; from this moment onward, it shall take effect and remain so for all eternity."

Her voice was soft when it left her lips, but when it truly spread, the mortal world of Khaos seemed to tremble with it. Immediately afterward, the chains of order around Themis began to ring in an orderly fashion. Gray mist, growing gradually deeper in color, separated from the laws. The mist gathered and dispersed unpredictably, eventually taking the form of serpents. They slithered around the Codex of Creation, hissing and howling at it.

The gods could not help but feel alarmed. That was the Chaotic Source Power remaining in the mortal world, a malignant growth left behind since the beginning of creation.

They were the placenta that had given birth to Tartarus, as well as the core of those places beyond the mortal world where the gods had been halted. Less than one or two tenths of the original Chaotic Source Power remained here, but it was still enough to make any god wary.

Chaos was naturally hostile toward order, which was why it surrounded the Codex of Creation. But the gap in strength caused it to instinctively stop before advancing any farther.

After all, a complete Divine Artifact formed from three parts in one was a creation truly equal to Great Divine Power. Even though it had yet to be perfected, it was not something this remnant of Chaotic Source Power could oppose.

As time passed second by second, the "Mist Snakes" around them gradually increased in number. When the last wisps of gray mist spilled out, the chains of laws returned to calm. There were no celestial flowers raining down, nor was there a sudden boom of surging power, but everyone knew that the "legislation" had succeeded.

Themis's divine office origin and Cronus's authority as God King had both gradually advanced over the past hundred days. All the gods could sense that although her divine power had not increased, the Goddess of Justice had already opened the threshold leading to Great Divine Power.

All that remained was the accumulation of time.

"Congratulations, my sister. All the gods should remember your achievement."

Around Divine Mountain, Okeanos was the first to offer his congratulations. Although he did not dare approach Divine Mountain because of the unpredictable Mist Snakes, his booming voice still carried a great distance.

"Congratulations, Lady Themis."

"Congratulations. It is my honor to witness your great achievement."

"Congratulations. What you accomplished today will be passed down throughout Khaos forever."

"."

The voice of the Lord of the Outer Sea seemed to remind the gods present, and congratulations rang out one after another.

Atop Divine Mountain, Themis was extremely exhausted, but she still forced herself to converse with the gods. After a thousand years of effort had finally borne fruit, and feeling her divine office origin grow stronger, she even offered smiles to several Underworld gods she had always disliked.

Divine offices such as Deception and Lust were naturally at odds with law. But since they had been brought there by the God of Heavenly Light and the Goddess of Day, the Lady of Justice reluctantly accepted their unwilling congratulations.

She simply remembered that there should have been more than five gods from the Underworld. She had no idea what had delayed the rest.

The gods continued offering their congratulations, but Themis soon realized their awkward predicament. After the legislation was complete, the gods should have come up to Divine Mountain. Yet because of the Chaotic Source Power here, they—including Cronus—could only stand far away, not daring to approach at all.

Themis had no solution to this either. She signaled to Cronus with her eyes, preparing to invite the gods to the divine palace behind Mount Othrys, where a celebration feast had long since been prepared.

"Congratulations, Lady Themis."

She was just about to speak when a familiar voice reached her. The Goddess of Justice turned around in pleasant surprise. She had assumed the other party would wait until the gods had dispersed before coming.

In the direction of her gaze, space began to ripple. A young god dressed in black appeared silently before her, as if the Chaotic Source Power posed no threat to him at all.

Several gods of Great Divine Power in the distance frowned. With their strength, they had only sensed the visitor a moment in advance. They had seen this level of temporal and spatial power only from Cronus.

"I should say, 'Congratulations to you as well,' Your Highness Ryan."

The goddess smiled faintly and relaxed. She pointed toward the Codex of Creation beside her.

"Two hundred years overdue. It is time to return it to its rightful owner."

"And these strands of Chaotic Source Power. If you had not come, I would not have known what to do with them."

Hearing this, many of the surrounding gods who had never seen Ryan before grew curious about his identity, as well as his relationship with the Goddess of Law's Divine Artifact.

Even the few who knew of Ryan's existence were puzzled. To the gods born in the mortal world, Chaotic Source Power was nothing less than poison.

Ignoring the gods nearby, Ryan nodded to Themis. He raised a hand and beckoned. The Codex of Creation immediately shrank, transforming into a normal-sized book before falling into his palm.

He tapped the spine with one finger, and a page fell from the Divine Artifact. A golden light flashed across the page, and the Mist Snakes around them immediately flowed inside like whales drawing in water, leaving not the slightest trace behind.

Clearly, in the hands of its true owner, the Divine Artifact displayed even greater power in the domain of order.

"Are you staying for my celebration feast?"

"No. I only came to take away the things you could not deal with. I have been looking forward to the Chaotic Source Power for a long time."

Ryan shook his head and refused Themis's invitation.

He had no interest in attending a feast from this era.

With the item in hand, Ryan prepared to take his leave. But in the next instant, an indescribable pressure suddenly descended, freezing the surrounding space.

This level of restraint did not affect him much. With just a little more force, Ryan could easily break free.

But he did not do so. He merely turned slightly and looked toward the source of the power.

As expected, in the direction of his gaze stood the family of the Sun God. The one at their head was none other than the Lord of the Sun, Hyperion.