Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Another matter resolved... He gave Themis a smile.

He once found his aunt quite troublesome, but now he saw she was rather agreeable. Thus, the Divine King turned around; with that issue settled, the next step was to continue the unfinished ceremony.

He prepared to say something, yet behind him, the voice of Themis came again.

"Zeus, the affair of Mother Earth is indeed as you say, but what transpired today is not limited to just that. Regarding Metis and Athena, shouldn't you say something?"

With a calm demeanor, the Goddess of Justice slowly spoke from behind the Divine King.

"...Your Highness Themis, that is a personal matter of mine now, isn't it?"

With a slight frown, facing the goddess's questioning, Zeus had no choice but to confront his aunt again. However, he had long been prepared for this matter.

"According to the statutes of the Divine Court, it seems nothing is mentioned about such provisions, beyond fulfilling godly duties and the basic requirements; what the gods do is a personal matter. As for my daughter with Metis, Athena... I will indeed give her the compensation she deserves. There's no need to say more on this matter, is there?"

Without addressing the right or wrong of the situation with Metis, Zeus merely referred to the laws of the Divine Court. Yes, when he first requested Themis to refine the laws, he had insisted on this point—that the Divine Court should only deal with the regulations regarding the deities' responsibilities, rights, and duties, and not attempt to control every action and word of the gods.

On the one hand, Zeus himself could never accept a law which even considered him a 'criminal', and on the other hand, all deities have an instinctive aversion to such constraints.

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They would rather decree the outcome of an affair after its occurrence, than set standards of judgment in advance. Therefore, respecting the 'views of the gods', the Divine King naturally obeyed this when discussing the statutes with the goddess.

By his reasoning, a law is meaningful only when recognized by all. If a regulation nobody liked was forcefully enacted, it would amount only to violence and tyranny. As the 'Goddess of Justice', she should not do this, and indeed, at the time, Themis was persuaded.

Only now did she start to grasp the problem with this.

"The laws of the Divine Court... Yes, I created laws as you requested before, and they were indeed as such."

It wasn't surprising to her, Themis nodded. Turning to look at the surrounding gods, a realization dawned on her.

When she walked in the Mortal Realm, similar feelings were already arising within her. And now, these feelings were solidified.

"Perhaps, my choice was indeed wrong. Thousands of years have passed... And I've never truly understood my godly duty."

"Hmm? What are you talking about, what is wrong?"

With an uneasy premonition, Zeus squinted his eyes. He was not afraid of confrontation in terms of power; the goddess before him was no match anymore, but his instincts told him that what Themis intended to do had nothing to do with power.

"The mistake I speak of... Is naturally choosing to stay in the Divine Court."

Taking a deep breath, at that moment, Themis finally understood what had been bothering her all this time.

In the past, except for the time she spent legislating for the present world, she felt she had never truly fulfilled her responsibilities. The Goddess had made efforts, but the results were always unsatisfactory. She was like a spectator invoking 'justice', and when it came to what had actually been achieved, it amounted to nothing.

Themis had always been puzzled by this, but now, she was somewhat clear.

In the Chaos World, the purpose of the law itself was to maintain an order established by a higher being, and this higher existence was sometimes the order of the present world, and at other times, the Divine King.

Hence, when Themis faced the invitation of Zeus, she didn't refuse, because, in her view, the Divine Court indeed seemed a place suitable for fulfilling her duties, and so she accepted the position of 'judge'. However, unfortunately, she had forgotten one thing.

If she were merely the Goddess of Law, the Divine King or the world made no difference to her. However, besides law, she was also in charge of fairness and justice.

Thus, this was the source of her longstanding discomfort: the world's laws were indeed fair—they merely aimed at equally reducing all threatening elements. That's why Themis felt a resonance with her godly duty and a joy from deep within when legislating.

In contrast, the Divine King was different; they never talked about justice, even the previous Divine King had committed acts like swallowing his children.

Therein lies the fundamental conflict: if the very object that law serves does not align with 'fairness' and 'justice', then the results it brings could never be good, and this is also a problem that's difficult to resolve. Unless a being completely aligned with Themis's ideology is found, it's nearly impossible for her to execute all her divine duties.

But that is almost impossible, because everyone understands fairness and justice differently.

So, at this moment, Themis finally made her decision.

If they can't be accomplished together, then complete them separately. But no matter how it's done, the Divine Court is not where she should stay. Remaining here, all the Goddess can do is witness more 'injustice' and 'unfairness' without bringing any significance to her. Perhaps the Mortal Realm is far more suited for her than here.