The newly established order of reincarnation in the Underworld began to operate, like a precise mechanism slowly engaging, and the pressure that had originally been blocked and heavy began to ease.
At this moment, a faint but unique wave of life, mingled with the countless streams of shade souls flooding into Hades, touched the laws before the gates of Hades and drew the attention of Hades on his throne.
His figure vanished from the obsidian throne, and the next moment he silently appeared before the magnificent gates of Hades, guarded by Perses, the god of destruction.
Before the gate stood the one-eyed giantess who had once wept in the valley.
Her massive body cast a huge shadow in the dim light of Hades, but she carefully held an infant in her arms, one that seemed extremely tiny compared to her size.
The silent figure of the death god Thanatos stood beside her, apparently having extradited this particular 'shade'—or rather, this half-living being—to this place.
When the giantess saw Hades appear, her huge single eye immediately filled with reverence and supplication.
She awkwardly and respectfully knelt on one knee, causing the ground to tremble slightly, but her hands were as steady as stone, holding the child in her arms.
"Your Majesty, Great King of Hades," her voice was like muffled thunder, but she tried to suppress its volume, afraid of disturbing the child in her arms.
"I... I, following the guidance of fate, have come with my child to seek refuge with you, ready to dedicate our meager strength and eternal loyalty to Hades."
Hades's gaze glided over the giantess and finally settled on the infant in her arms.
The child was different from other newborn souls or mortals; he slept peacefully with his eyes closed, breathing evenly, and the heavy breath of giant blood flowed through his body.
"He survived," Hades stated. There was no joy or anger in his tone; he was merely confirming a fact.
The giantess quickly nodded, tears of gratitude welling up in her single eye: "Yes, Your Majesty! He is strong... more than any giant son I have ever seen... special. I know he does not belong to the sun of Olympus, nor does he entirely belong to the mountains of the giants. Only the eternal Hades can accept beings like him and give him a path to the future."
She raised her head and looked sincerely at Hades: "Your Majesty, please accept us! I am willing to take on the most painful and weary duties of the Underworld, and only ask Your Majesty to grant him a title and... a future."
Hades was silent for a moment, his violet eyes looking at the child. He saw that this child's fate was faintly connected to Hades.
"I will keep the promise; he is under the protection of the Underworld, and he shall also serve the Underworld."
Hades's voice sounded in the giantess's ears, like an eternal decree.
"His name shall be—Minos."
The moment the name was spoken, it seemed an invisible contract was formed.
A faint fluctuation of divine power around the infant's body became more aligned with the aura of the Underworld, and the path of his future destiny seemed to gain a clear direction.
"From today, you two shall return to the Underworld."
The giantess's huge body trembled slightly with excitement. She deeply lowered her head, pressing the infant in her arms, Minos, to her chest, as if firmly protecting the blessings and the name given by the King of Hades.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Minos and I will swear allegiance to the Underworld and never betray!"
Hades nodded slightly and said no more.
On the other side, the boundless sea was not always a tranquil canvas inspired by Poseidon's art.
A sudden commotion interrupted his attention as he was trying to carve a crystal palace from frozen waves.
A panicked shadow, like a frightened dolphin, darted frantically between the reef and the waves.
Her speed was extremely high, and in her fear of being cornered, she accidentally broke the coral branches that Poseidon had just outlined.
This even threw the water refraction zone, where he had been carefully adjusting the light for a long time, into chaos.
Poseidon frowned discontentedly, and with a pause in the divine power in his hand, the half-formed crystal palace collapsed and returned to the sea.
He raised his sea-blue eyes and looked at the source that had destroyed his 'masterpiece'—a beautiful but pale goddess, Thetis.
He recognized her—the daughter of the ancient sea god Nereus, a sea goddess known for her calmness and for prophesying 'mighty offspring'.
At this moment, her face was deeply tired and frightened.
Behind her, several divine forces were vaguely approaching, with blatant desire and possessiveness.
There was even a hint of something unknown, belonging to the primordial sea god Pontus.
Thetis was clearly at the end of her tether, and in her panic, she was about to crash into a patch of moonlight that Poseidon was preparing to use for a new creation.
If everything was interrupted, his half-day of meditation and preparation would be wasted.
At this moment, Poseidon made a decision.
Not from the chivalry of a hero saving a beauty, but from a purer impatience—impatience at the interruption of his creative process, impatience at the noise-seekers who disrupted the 'rhythm' of the ocean.
He waved the trident in his hand—this time not to create a huge wave, but to summon a soft, yet incomparably wide, watery curtain.
It silently rose between him and Thetis, and also blocked the perception and path of the pursuers behind.
Thetis was caught off guard and collapsed into the sea, enveloped by Poseidon's divine power, and suddenly found herself in an unusually calm place.
She gasped in shock, and looking back, she saw that the originally clearly perceptible aura of the pursuers seemed to have been absorbed by an invisible mist; she could no longer find their trace.
Only then did she notice Poseidon holding his trident nearby, and her heart suddenly clenched.
His Majesty the Sea King? He was also...
However, Poseidon only glanced at her briefly. In his eyes, there was none of the fiery or greedy look common in other male gods, but rather a bit of displeasure after being disturbed and a kind of... regret over the damaged remnants of his 'artworks'.
"My rainbow refraction zone," Poseidon pointed at the sea, which had become ordinary, in a plaintive tone.
"It took three days to get used to it and find the perfect angle."
Thetis was stunned. The expected pursuit or requests did not follow.
She looked in the direction Poseidon was pointing and saw only ordinary seawater, not understanding what there was to regret.
"And the layout of the coral bush, which was a bit inspired by 'order in disorder', is now all messed up."
Poseidon continued to mutter, like a child whose sandcastle had been trampled, not like a sovereign ruling the seas.
Thetis's fear subsided a little, replaced by absurd confusion.
She spoke cautiously, her voice still trembling: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty? You... aren't you going to capture me?"
"Capture you?" Poseidon looked at her as if she had said something inexplicable. "Why would I capture you? You disturbed my creation; I should be the one asking you for compensation."
He waved his hand, and his attention seemed to return to how to restore the 'perfect' refraction zone.
"Those noisy guys are really annoying; they can't even provide a quiet environment to create."
Listening to Poseidon's completely unexpected response, Thetis's tense nerves miraculously relaxed.
She looked at the supposed ambitious and ruthless Sea Emperor, who was now like a craftsman obsessed with his hobbies, seemingly showing no interest in her prophecies.
A strange sense of safety spontaneously arose in this calm water, isolated by Poseidon's divine power.
"Yes... I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I didn't mean to damage your... work." Thetis apologized softly, trying to understand what was bothering the other person, although she saw nothing special in the sea and coral.
Poseidon waved his hand, indicating he didn't care. "Forget it, inspiration comes and goes."
Instead, he looked curiously at Thetis: "What about you? Are you just going to keep running like this? I see that old man Pontus has lost his mind; you won't have much peace."
At the mention of this, bitterness and helplessness appeared in Thetis's eyes.
"I don't know... Your Majesty. The prophecy... I would rather not have it. I just want a quiet life, not to be... a tool for the gods."
Poseidon raised an eyebrow and, for once, did not answer immediately.
He looked at Thetis, seeing the desire for pure calm in her eyes, which subtly resonated with his own state of mind, seeking artistic immersion.
They both wanted to escape some imposed expectation and the hustle of the outside world.
"Calm?" Poseidon seemed to ponder.
"I can provide a 'calm' body of water here, if you don't destroy my things anymore." He paused and added:
"Of course, in return, you have to listen to me talk about my creative ideas from time to time. The 'close friend' Hera found for me doesn't understand what true beauty is."
Thetis was stunned. She hadn't expected such a reaction.
No coercion, no conditions, just a safe haven and... a request for a listener?
Although, she might never be able to understand the aesthetic value of these 'wave sculptures' and 'rainbow paintings'.
"I... I would be happy to listen, Your Majesty," Thetis said sincerely.
"Although I don't fully understand your art, I am willing to try. Thank you for your protection."
Thus, a peculiar and harmonious friendship arose between these two sea gods.
Thetis remained in this quiet sea that Poseidon had carved out. She couldn't speak the subtle 'professional insights' under Hera's script like 'Amphitrite', but she was an excellent listener.
She sat quietly on the reef, watching with great interest as Poseidon fiddled with water, light, and sand, listening to him explain why the arc of this wave symbolized the 'slavery of freedom' and why chaotic mud contained 'primordial order'.
Although she didn't understand, she felt the pure and fiery light in Poseidon's eyes as he explained, an almost childlike concentration and joy, free from power and desire.
This made her feel calmer.
And she would also confide in him her troubles, her helplessness in the face of fate, and her yearning for a quiet life.
Poseidon listened most of the time, sometimes making sharp comments like "Prophecies are really troublesome; it's better to quietly pinch a clay figure," but this strangely calmed the anxiety in her heart.
They could not resonate with each other in 'art', but they became close friends in the 'search for inner peace and escape from external distractions'.
Poseidon had sheltered the goddess pursued by prophecy simply because she needed shelter and was willing to respect his hobby.
Thetis, on the other hand, had found a truly peaceful refuge beside the powerful Sea Emperor, one where she didn't need to worry about being sought after or possessed without fear.
The master of this haven was completely focused on his 'play with water and light' and turned a blind eye to her 'value', which might provoke divine war.