The Curtain Falls

"Prince Ryan."

On Divine Mountain, Rhea, who had always stood beside the God King, suddenly spoke.

The gods' gazes were drawn toward her. The Goddess of Passage of Time had chosen to speak at this moment, clearly representing not only herself but also expressing the God King's wishes.

"Prince Ryan, your creation has shocked me, but the earth cannot be without the sun, just as the Underworld Soil cannot do without the Underworld Moon's radiance. If daylight were to lose its light from this day forward, all living things in the world would wither into desolation."

The clash in the sky continued, and the Sun God's power fluctuated more and more violently. If only Hyperion himself had weakened, Rhea would not have wanted to say anything.

There was obvious exaggeration in her words, but as she sensed the turmoil in the source of the sun, the God Queen understood perfectly that, under Cronus's rule, the world losing a celestial body was absolutely something he could not accept.

The Sun God could pay a price, but nothing could happen to the sun.

Neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the God Queen's proposal, Ryan looked at the God King and Queen, whose expressions had shifted slightly, and still did not insist on seeing things through.

Putting aside the fact that he actually lacked the power to destroy the sun, even if he had possessed it, he could not think of any benefit to doing so.

"Hyperion ought to be punished for his arrogance, but you are right. Khaos truly cannot be without this celestial body."

"So, under the witness of the gods, I can reluctantly make some concessions. If Hyperion is willing to apologize to me and swear to surrender control of the sun for five hundred years, allowing his own son to operate it in his place, then I can forgive his actions."

The corner of Cronus's mouth twitched. He did not know what to say about Ryan's "concession." It was not permanent, only five hundred years, which seemed quite generous. But the God King did not even need to think about it: after experiencing true freedom, Helios would never be willing to continue accepting his father's control.

Perhaps another father-and-son bloodbath would unfold in the future, but that had nothing to do with the God King. In fact, Cronus was rather pleased to see such a scene occur.

In the past, the God King's commands could not leave Divine Mountain. But if he could take the starry sky, he would have territory he could control for himself.

"Revered Sun God, I believe you heard that."

Having received his answer, the God King no longer hesitated. He looked toward the sky and said to Hyperion:

"Just as the Lord of the Spirit World said, you should pay a price for your actions. The celestial bodies have their own laws of movement. Rising in the east and setting in the west is the path the sun ought to follow. Now, it is time for my nephew to govern the starry sky alongside you."

As his voice fell, the gods present also turned their gazes toward the sky. If Ryan insisted on destroying the sun, then even though they were not close to Hyperion, they could not simply stand by and watch such a thing happen. But if this only involved a family dispute within the Sun God's household, that was another matter entirely.

In the sky, after hearing the voice from the earth, Hyperion unwillingly threw out another punch. But as he watched Eclipse tear apart and close up again, he ultimately submitted.

He did not know whether this monster had a limit to how much of the sun's source it could transform. But if this continued, he feared he would become the second deity in Khaos to fall from Great Divine Power.

Hyperion stopped attacking and took a deep breath. He remained silent for a while, trying to force a smile onto his face, but ultimately failed.

"Yes, you are right."

"Prince Ryan, I apologize for my previous actions. You possess undisputed sovereignty over the moon. This is an agreement witnessed jointly by the Mother Goddess and all of us."

Ryan nodded. Looking at the Sun God's stiff expression, he still gave no response.

Hyperion's cheek twitched. He knew what the other party wanted, so he looked at Ryan and spoke one word at a time:

"I swear by the Styx that, for the next five hundred years, my Firstborn will operate the sun in my place. This is the punishment I deserve."

The next moment, a fluctuation of law descended upon this place. It was the spontaneous response of Styx's Divine Office, far away in the Underworld Soil. She had witnessed the Sun God's oath.

"Good." Only then was Ryan finally satisfied.

"Come back, Eclipse."

He waved toward the sun, calling for his creation.

Although the evil spirit's consciousness was chaotic and disordered, it still could not resist its creator's summons. As it left the sun, its undying spirit directly dispersed its form, returning to Ryan's side in a scattered state.

The darkness ended, and sunlight once again shone upon the earth. Everything seemed unchanged, and yet everything seemed different.

"This is only a lesson."

Beneath the sunlight, Ryan closed the Codex of Creation and smiled as he swept his gaze over the gods before looking toward Hyperion's disheveled figure in the sky.

"But if there is a next time, it will be more than a lesson."

Hyperion's expression darkened, but when he saw the Black Mist drifting around Ryan, he ultimately said nothing. He turned and left, with Theia and Selene, who had remained silent throughout, following close behind.

The young moon goddess seemed somewhat shaken. She had considered that her father might fail this time, but she had never expected the outcome to be like this.

Out of the corner of her eye, she looked toward her aunt, Phoebe. This Titan's Divine Office was likewise not very powerful, but her husband, Coeus, was the God of Lightless Celestial Bodies and had even touched upon the domain of darkness. Even among those with Great Divine Power, his strength was far from ordinary.

The Moon Goddess began entertaining some ideas again. Unfortunately, after considering all the gods of Khaos, she still could not think of any powerful deity who had a close relationship with her father.

The Sun God's family departed, while the expressions of the gods surrounding Divine Mountain varied.

Some were worried, some terrified, some indifferent, some reverent, and some wary. But they all shared one thing: in their hearts, they silently placed Ryan in the category of people who must not be provoked.

Although they clearly understood that eroding the source of a Divine Office was nowhere near as easy as Ryan had made it seem, no one wanted to personally experience such a thing.

As Ryan, the focus of all the gods' attention, sensed the Divine Office of Solar Eclipse within the evil spirit, he could not help feeling somewhat pleased.

It was not that he had not wanted to let Khaos's first Solar Eclipse last a little longer, long enough for Hyperion's divine power to fall completely. It was just that Ryan knew continuing any longer would easily let the other side notice something was wrong.

The sun's source had indeed been shaken, but that had actually been the will of Khaos personally manipulating matters. Eclipse was regarded by the world as a new god born from the emotions of the previous God King, and Solar Eclipse was its Divine Office.

Thus, the earlier dissipation of the source had actually been more akin to the splitting of a Divine Office during the birth of a new god. Ryan had merely used the Divine Artifact to influence the form this process took. If one truly compared their strength, then even with a relationship of restraint, it would have been difficult for the evil spirit to cross two levels of divine power and genuinely threaten the Sun God.

However, after this incident, once the concept of Solar Eclipse it had seized was taken over, absorbed, and digested by the spirit world before fusing with Eclipse again, it would possess the power of Intermediate Divine Power and the buff of dual restraint. It would become the true bane of the sun.

"Now that this farce has ended, I will not disturb you any longer."

"I am sorry for disturbing your victory banquet."

The second sentence was directed at the Goddess of Law.

Themis shook her head when she heard this. She had never cared about it in the first place.

Seeing that Ryan was preparing to leave, the gods present, regardless of what they thought in their hearts, all offered him a gesture of respect. Ryan nodded to each of them in response, and then spatial power surged forth as his body gradually blurred.

Before leaving, Ryan glanced at the God of Meteorology on Divine Mountain. Theia had sided with her husband, which was entirely understandable, but he had seen Crios mobilize his divine authority to help.

However, he had already done enough today, and there would be a more suitable person to punish him in the future.

Ryan departed. As the two protagonists of the earlier conflict left one after another, the atmosphere in the area also eased.

What had happened today allowed many of the new gods present to recognize this ancient existence who lived in seclusion in the Underworld Soil. Even the First-Generation Titans now had their own thoughts.

Okeanos could not help wondering whether he had a chance to turn Ryan into his "relative." Crios, meanwhile, was already regretting that he had helped just now.

As for Cronus, aside from speaking up to mediate midway, the God King had shown no other reaction, as if everything had been within his expectations.

But just as Ryan had said, the farce was over, so he also stopped remaining silent.

"Everyone," the God King announced loudly. "What happened earlier was merely an accident. Since the problem has been resolved, please move to my divine palace and enjoy the feast I prepared for you all."

Although this victory banquet, held to celebrate the successful establishment of the laws, had suffered a minor interruption, to the God King, neither side of the conflict was good. He would have been happy no matter who lost.

Now, naturally, it was time for the banquet to officially begin.