Persephone's Garden,
Persephone was the Queen of the Underworld in Greek mythology, the daughter of Demeter and Zeus.
Persephone had a garden located in the Underworld, cultivated specifically for her.
The garden was filled with all kinds of exotic flowers and strange plants unique to the Underworld, which could not grow in the mortal world.
Not only that, the garden even contained countless flowers from the mortal world.
The Underworld did not permit mortal life to exist there, but there were exceptions to everything. This was one of them!
In Greek mythology, Persephone's story was tied to the cycle of the seasons.
It was said that Persephone was abducted by Hades, the King of the Underworld, and brought to the Underworld, where she became its queen.
As her mother Demeter searched for her, she discovered that the earth had become barren without Persephone's care.
In the end, Zeus intervened and mediated, allowing Persephone to return to the mortal world for six months each year to reunite with her mother. That period was spring and summer.
When Persephone returned to the Underworld, the earth became cold and desolate. That was autumn and winter.
Thus, Persephone's Garden symbolized the cycle of life and death, as well as nature's changing seasons.
And the current Underworld truly was a black, withered, desolate sight. Thaumas had said so long ago.
He really did not like the Underworld's decorating style!
Sure enough, he simply could not stand things that were too ugly.
He did not hope to create some "Thaumas's Garden" in the Underworld. He only needed to bring a Miracle to this "dilapidated" Underworld!
So,
"Thaumas, have you figured out how to persuade Demeter?" Athena asked curiously.
?
"Wasn't it you, Goddess, who was supposed to persuade her for me?" Thaumas said in shock.
"Hm? For something like this, the person involved has to do it personally for it to be sincere enough. Besides, you only asked me to introduce you to her. Since you've already said it, you can't get greedy now!" Athena said slyly.
Fine! Very fine!
Just wait, Athena. Don't let me catch an opportunity, or I'll definitely humiliate you properly!
With the meager wages you paid, you wanted to freeload off Thaumas's labor? Then you'd better be ready for him to turn the tables on you!
Sooner or later, he would rise up and become the master!
Thus, in a mood completely unlike his earlier ease, Thaumas watched Athena knock on the gates of the Temple of Demeter for him.
Thaumas never doubted Hephaestus's craftsmanship. Temple after temple had long proven one thing—the God of Craftsmen truly deserved his title.
However, Hera and her daughter were both busy nurturing their relationship right now, so it was not appropriate to trouble them.
Hermes was unreliable, and he could not be contacted right now. Who knew which hero he had run off to have fun with? He could not even do his job as a bus driver properly. No wonder he had been kicked out of the ranks of the main gods.
As for Apollo... he would absolutely never consider that option!
As for Goddess Nyx, if he really troubled her, then he would truly have to accept Clotho, right? Hmm... actually, that did sound pretty good! But he had already rejected her.
Then, he could only rely on wisdom.
No!
Thaumas had thought he had Athena's personality completely figured out, but now it seemed...
It was Thaumas who had been played instead.
No way? Was wisdom really this powerful?
Thaumas had underestimated the heroes of the world, and even more so, the Goddess of Wisdom!
Athena smiled at Thaumas, but to Thaumas, that smile looked utterly sinister no matter how he viewed it.
She was not cute at all!
Thaumas was vexed. How had he ended up provoking this goddess?
"It's Lady Athena! Hello. Lady Demeter is already waiting for you in the main hall," said an unidentified Nymph who emerged from the temple, receiving Athena.
Nymphs were minor goddesses in Greek mythology. They were sometimes translated as spirits or fairies, and were also considered a type of fae.
They appeared in mountains and forests, fields, springs, seas, and other places.
They were spirits transformed from nature, generally taking the form of beautiful young women who enjoyed singing and dancing.
They did not age or fall ill, but they could die.
They could also bear immortal divine offspring by joining with gods.
Many Nymphs were free, while some served gods such as Artemis, Dionysus, Apollo, Hermes, and Pan.
Satyrs, forest gods who were half-human and half-beast, often pursued Nymphs and indulged in pleasure with them.
Nymphs had also once seduced Hylas, Heracles's adopted son.
All of this had been depicted by Western painters and became immortal works.
In truth, Greece had originally possessed many indigenous gods.
But after the Second God War, Atlantis was destroyed, and the remnants of the Greek pantheon drifted near the Aegean Sea.
They occupied this place. Since their True Body Machine Gods had basically been scrapped, they instead became pure conceptual gods, merged with these indigenous gods, and gave birth to a batch of lesser gods, along with many Nymphs.
Led by this Nymph, Thaumas and Athena soon met the person they had come to see—Goddess Demeter.
Demeter,
was the goddess of agriculture, grain, and harvest in Ancient Greek mythology, one of the Twelve Olympians. In Roman Mythology, the deity corresponding to Demeter was Ceres, the goddess of grain.
Demeter was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, Hestia's younger sister, and the elder sister of Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. She later bore Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, with Zeus.
Demeter taught humanity how to cultivate the land and gave life to the earth.
She possessed boundless divine power. She could make land fertile, plants flourish, and grain harvests abundant. She could also cause the earth to wither, all things to perish, and not a blade of grass to grow.
She could grant people inexhaustible wealth, while also reducing them to bare walls and utter poverty.
As the goddess of earth and harvest, her true form was an interstellar material-production vessel.
It was also because the abilities granted by this machine could continuously produce supplies for the people of the earth that she was revered as a main god.
Even after losing her Machine God's True Body, she still possessed the relevant Authority: [Thou Art the Abundance of Tilling the Stars]. This was her powerful ability.
She had golden hair, with a wheat-shaped ornament tucked into each side of her head, and her hair was braided like ears of wheat.
She was quite beautiful,
but Thaumas did not really like this style.
"Athena, why have you suddenly come to see me today?" Demeter asked curiously.
"Demeter, I'm not the one looking for you. This child asked me to introduce him to you," Athena said directly after greeting her, then added,
"Oh, right. This child is Hera's follower, as you can see! He blasted through Hell Gate and embarrassed Hades, so he is trying to find a way to earn the King of the Underworld's forgiveness."
"Eh—!! Is this the child Hera boasts about every day? I've finally met him! Wonderful! Come, child, let me have a look at you. Come over here!"
Demeter said excitedly.
This was bad.
Why did he suddenly feel like something bad was about to happen?!
Before you continue