On the sky pantheon's side, the fine goddesses were as numerous as hemp fibers.
Arrayed like stars, each dazzling with her own light.
And look at the inner-sea pantheon's goddesses—what do they look like? Absu Naya already counts as one who can "carry a fight."
Now look back at the sky pantheon.
There is simply no comparison.
On the inner sea's side, only old Nereus's daughters are all delicate, captivating sea-nymphs.
But even as nymphs, their side has only fifty sea-naiads.
Whereas Oceanus alone has more children than one can count!
What's more, every god loves Oceanus's daughters!
Nereus's divinity does not support his siring too many high-grade gods or nymphs.
But Oceanus and Tethys are primordial Titans—their divine power vast. They can have as many as they like, and of very high quality.
Though the two sisters themselves also enjoy His Majesty the God-King's favor and are often blessed with His grace and rain,
there is nothing particularly special about it.
Even counting only His Majesty's close attendants, and setting aside those goddesses whose status is extraordinary,
the two sisters can by no means compare.
After all, Atlas's daughters truly set the divine heart aflutter!
Do you know what seven plus five even means???
That's twelve real sisters!
Twelve different styles, twelve peerlessly beautiful nymph-princesses—that's joy raised to the twelfth power compared to just two sisters!
No one could possibly remain unmoved—least of all His Majesty.
His Majesty even opened a special, over-spec palace in Paradise just for them. Such favor is something the two sisters cannot match.
By comparison, the two of them are only a fraction.
How could they compete!
No one is asking to match His Majesty's formal wives, nor is there any thought of outshining Hera, who for the moment is not yet a wife, but is most dearly loved by His Majesty.
Nor do they covet comparison with the Lady of Night.
Not even with those goddesses whose status stands apart.
But even compared only with the other close-attendant goddesses serving at His Majesty's side, they are outmatched entirely.
Same tier, but the other side is many in number and strong in influence; there's no way to win such a contest for favor.
For the sake of themselves and their house, the sisters must find a way to compete!
If the two of them alone cannot win on their own—too few, too small—then they must make it up from another angle.
A goddess, if she cannot prevail alone, must rely on her house!
Their house failed to show absolute loyalty at the critical hour in the past. That is their greatest stain.
It must be wiped clean!
His Majesty must know that the inner-sea houses bear absolute loyalty to Him!
Otherwise the inner sea may forget about ever entering the center of cosmic power.
Iris, keen of mind, saw it plain.
The Sea King of the outer sea is habitually unruly and has frequently offended His Majesty; His Majesty is notably displeased.
Still, as they are brothers—and for the face of the eternal, holy High Queen Rhea—
His Majesty has forgiven him again and again. Whatever the offense, it can only end in light punishment and grave warning.
This is the inner sea houses' chance to prove their loyalty to His Majesty!
Frankly, it is their chance to survive at all!
That greedy, unruly Sea King has long hated that the full authority over the seas is not in his hands.
He cannot, on a whim, offend great Oceanus.
So the inner sea will certainly be his first target.
Whether for their house's survival or to show absolute loyalty to His Majesty—serving as His tool to restrain the Sea King—
the inner sea must cluster close at His Majesty's side!
Only by becoming the blade in His hand does the inner sea have value.
Otherwise, a vacillating fence-sitter house could be offered up at any time to the Sea King as a gift to soothe a brother.
And to gain more of His Majesty's support, they must display absolute loyalty!
Though Iris is usually bright, docile, gentle, and sweet, she harbors a little ambition that cannot be spoken aloud.
The Sea King seeks to swallow the inner sea—then conversely, the inner sea might well swallow the Sea King!
Of course, the "god-elect" could only be a divine child of His Majesty.
Among inner-sea goddesses at His Majesty's side, there are only the two sisters.
And she is the elder.
Her younger sister Arke is still young; she does not grasp what matters most in the distance ahead. She revels in His Majesty's affection but does not see the future's duties.
But Iris, as elder sister, must seize this favor so close at hand—for the house's future, and for her own and her sister's future!
As His Majesty's messenger and the most splendid rainbow, she already has the most chances to receive His grace.
What is most urgent now is to let His Majesty pour that holiest fount of life, imbued with supreme will, deeper and more abundantly into the depths of her divinity!
If she could bear a divine child with the authority of the sea for His Majesty, then would not the inner and outer sea's authorities both fall into their hands?
If it's her own son, is it not also His Majesty's?
Then the Sea King would no longer have the power to make trouble that gives His Majesty headaches; His Majesty would lose a worry and gain a promising son.
She and her sister would gain happiness, and their house would be reborn.
Would that not be perfect?
Everyone would have a bright future!
As for whether His Majesty would agree—
An ambitious brother can never be closer than a true-born son, right?
If she could bear an excellent divine child for His Majesty, then what seems a lofty dream would no longer be impossible.
With the entire inner-sea pantheon as backing, there would be no fear that her child could not rule the vast ocean well in the future.
Of course, to accomplish all this is far from easy.
The inner sea is not the sky pantheon; by blood and closeness, there is that one layer apart.
Even if she could stir this thought in His Majesty, every concern must be fully laid to rest.
The greatest of these concerns would be whether the inner-sea pantheon might grow a disloyal heart and sideline His Majesty's own blood,
and whether those fence-sitting inner-sea relatives truly bear absolute, unconditional loyalty to His Majesty.
These two thorns must be pulled.
On one hand, she herself must work twice as hard—displaying value before His Majesty, and gathering useful gods within the house.
On the other hand, she must seize chance after chance to let His Majesty see the house's undeniable, absolute loyalty with His own eyes!
Though her family, the Thaumas line, has long been His Majesty's most loyal followers, that is still far from enough.
The Pontus bloodline is indeed lush and tangled.
But those truly presentable are only three: the Thaumas clan, the Phorcys clan, and the Nereus clan.
Old Nereus is mild of temper, contends with no one, and has many weaknesses.
His fifty delicate, captivating sea-nymph daughters are his greatest soft spot.
Iris had already counted it all: once she had a son, she only needed to have him wed one of Nereus's daughters, and the kindly elder would cease to be a concern—easily handled.
Right now, Absu Naya's neither-big-nor-small affair was just such a heaven-sent, well-timed opportunity.
It could make the Phorcys house owe her a tremendous favor, drawing them closer.
At the same time, by this plea of guilt, it could let His Majesty see more clearly the inner sea's loyalty and humility.
By any count, it was a profit-only bargain.
Indeed, for the sake of her future child who did not yet exist, Iris had already planned as far as sidelining Pontus completely.
As for her and the great God-King Zeus's child, she feared no god within the inner sea would be able to vie for authority.
The only obstacle was "the sea" itself—the oldest source—Pontus.
This deep-sea sovereign looks cautious and low-key, not very conspicuous, and in the God-King's war he took fence-sitting to its peak.
But he is not one to be trifled with.
To this day, he still holds near-absolute control over the inner sea.
If her child were to rule the sea in truth, it would not suffice merely to kick out that unruly Sea King, Poseidon.
This old sea-god, deep-sea Pontus, must also be removed.
Only then could her son become the one and only great king who truly rules "the sea!"
For this fence-sitter grandfather, Iris had little respect.
Grass that bends with every wind may seem safe and untroubled, gaining a shallow peace for a time.
But once the true master moves into the house, the first thing to be pulled is the grass on the wall.
Because it is an eyesore.
This seemingly secure path is, in truth, the most foolish and least advisable.
Had Pontus possessed a little boldness back then—when His Majesty personally sought him out for alliance—and gone all in, staking everything on His Majesty,
how could the two sisters be so unremarkable at His Majesty's side today?
Of course, seen another way:
If the inner sea had truly become the sky pantheon's core bloodline, there would be no hope of ever scheming for the sea's authority.
By that count, it becomes a "good thing" in its way.
Iris thought: Grandfather is already old. His old survival rules can no longer steer the inner-sea ship that has entered a new channel.
He cannot support great things, so it is best for him to retire in peace and dignity.
Hand the inner sea's future over to herself and His Majesty's son—would that not be best?
None of His Majesty's children are of low station.
They are all indispensable nodes in the cosmic Order, gods of weighty authority.
But as the cosmic laws are perfected and stabilized, it is inevitable that children born later, lacking special chance, will slip toward the ordinary.
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