It seemed as if fate was mocking them. The Goddess of Luminous, Phoebe, sought power and status, so she had her husband cooperate with the second-generation Divine King, and thus, as a medium between the two, the Goddess Asteria gave birth to Hecate, who was without godhood.
Leto was so captivated by Zeus's portrayal of the future that she unwittingly made a vow she could not fulfill, ultimately harming her own daughter and announcing the end.
"So, is this the Father God's warning to stay away from the Divine King?"
Leto whispered to herself but knew that she had already given so much—how could she let go of everything and return to the cold starry sky to keep her sister company?
"Apollo, you are my hope... Everything I've lost, you will find it for me, won't you?"
"Leto, what have you done?"
The goddess spoke to the infant crying in her arms, while on the other side, utilizing the power to traverse the Spirit Realm, Hecate and Selene silently appeared there.
In her hands, a silver light shifted, faintly echoing with the girl on the ground.
"... I have fulfilled my vow. Now, it's yours."
Not knowing what else to say, Leto cast one last look at Artemis on the ground. If she could do it all over again, she would never have made such a vow, but it was already too late. Holding Apollo in her arms and harboring hatred for many existences, Leto transformed into a stream of light and flew toward the sea.
And behind her, watching the departing Leto and the goddess left behind, Hecate also instantly understood the cause and effect.
If it had been a stranger, if she had had nothing to do with the matter from beginning to end, the Goddess of the Magic Net would have hesitated to act against that departing deity, but now, the red-dressed girl hadn't anticipated that a treasure hunt prompted by the guidance of godhood, so ordinary, would turn out .
"... Selene, do you need this Divine Artifact embryo?"
Hecate asked with a forced smile, while beside her, Selene simply shook her head, indicating refusal.
The Moon Goddess understood the hidden meaning in her friend's words. Even without it, she did not desire the treasure. If she had known that it was another deity's companion Divine Artifact still fused and dependent on a Divine Body, she would never have coveted it.
"Let it return to its own master's hands then... but I'm afraid that since its nurturing was forcefully interrupted, it probably can't continue."
Accepting the silver light, Selene sighed softly as the embryo returned to its master's side. However, as the Moon Goddess had said, it merely circled around the head of its owner like a silver crown, never returning to its original position.
"No, there's still a chance. Aside from the gift I gave you, isn't there another one?"
This was the first time Hecate had caused such a thing due to her own reasons, and although it wasn't her intention or her fault, seeing her actual cousin, a girl with a similar experience to her own past, the Goddess of the Magic Net made a decision.
She knew that Zeus on Mount Olympus would not be unaware of his daughter's birth, and he would certainly take action, but Hecate felt that, compared to the Divine Court, Cohen's city might be a more suitable place for Artemis to grow up.
What she had, this unfortunate girl should also have. And the stone tablet she had once encountered by accident would be replaced by her and Selene.
"Perhaps in the future, the city could have a nickname—call it Silver Moon City, how about that?"
Picking Artemis up from the ground, Hecate suddenly suggested.
Struggling to keep pace with her friend's leap in Thought, Selene, still reflecting on the girl's twisted fate, didn't understand how the other had suddenly come up with naming a city of humans.
"Let's call it that then, regardless of its official name. A nickname—Cohen will agree to it."
The transparent portal emerged in front of them, and Hecate stepped through first. Seeing that her friend didn't want to say more, Selene promptly followed to leave.
The secluded grove became quiet once again. No one knew that it was here, in this place, that siblings who should have been close took vastly different paths—one following their original destiny, the other towards a divergence.
Perhaps it was also destined. Without today's change, there would have been another, for Artemis and the Divine Court were bound to drift apart.
For tens of thousands of years ago, on a day when the illusory Moon rose into the still vacant sky, becoming the only luminance of Chaos's night, the fate related to the 'Moon' had already deviated from its original script, towards the unknown and miraculous.
As for whether this was good or bad, no one knew. The marks etched in history would pass judgment on all this.
In an exterior realm, the courtyard, Central Floating Island.
On the ground, in the center of a massive pit, a spring formed a small lake, and beside it, a magical tree bearing eight branches rose about a hundred meters tall.
Hovering above the island, in front of a simple wooden house, the projected consciousness of the World Serpent sat by a stone table, quietly viewing the scenes within a silver mirror.
He was originally concerned with the whereabouts of the gift he had given, but even he had not anticipated that things would develop along such a trajectory. The siblings, who were once close, had gone their separate ways from the start.
"So you mean to say, even this was within your expectations? Haha, that is truly far-sighted."
Asmodeus had come here in response to the sudden changes in the Styx River, which had surged with such clear force for the first time, coinciding with the imminent awakening of the Mother of Demons. As the Lord of the Nine Hells, he could not ignore it.
However, upon just arriving at the courtyard, the Lord of the Nine Hells had witnessed quite the spectacle. He still remembered the day and the Moon he had promised to the other party, and although an eon had passed without the shadow of the Stygian sun, the influence of the Moon phases had persisted to this day.
"You are overthinking it. The nature of uncertain fate is change, and even as a so-called emblem of it, I would not know the direction of change. If I could really grasp it, then the supposed 'uncertain' would be reduced to ridicule."
In a soft voice, Laine waved his hand, and the round mirror before him dispersed.
No matter how fate may change, the outcome is always determined by the strength within. Let Artemis write her own story.
However, 'Silver Moon City' is indeed a good name.
"Let's talk about you instead, Asmodeus. The first of the Demon Gods has descended, instinctively guarding by Moya's side, drawing from the wisdom and Thought she brought from the present world, and the remaining five will not be too far behind."
"When each of them is born, the Mother of Demons will awaken, so now, are you prepared to face them?"
"You're wrong; it should be 'we' prepared to face them."
Correcting himself, Asmodeus did not linger over past matters of the present world.
How the Moon fares was irrelevant to him; Zeus would eventually swallow the bitter fruit of his own troubles. By comparison, the first-ever, and inevitably the most threatening, Abyss invasion was the real challenge before him.
"There's only so much I can do. In the face of the Abyss itself, only the purest clash of forces is the sole method of response. As for the rest, it's up to them."
Gazing through the barriers of worlds, the Lord of the Nine Hells could see that on the upper levels of Hell, certain preparations had long been underway.
"The matter of the Demon Gods will be dealt with by others, but dealing with my former sister is up to you."
Nodding, Laine felt that the greatest threat Moya posed to him was likely not her strength, but that indescribable countenance.
Though she had not yet awakened, Laine could already anticipate how much malice her visage would harbor towards his true self in the Spirit Realm.
To his true self, Moya didn't really count for much, but it wasn't necessarily the same for this incarnation. Defeating her in the Abyss would undoubtedly be a difficult feat.