[Side Story] GOD Talk (2)

Before a circular domed temple, meticulously carved from pure white stone without a single rough edge, stood twelve majestic statues sculpted in the likenesses of the gods.

A grand canal ran along the temple's frontage, engineered so that its crystalline waters plunged over the precipice at the far edge, creating a continuous, endless cascade into the celestial void below.

Approaching the temple's grand entrance was a voluptuous beauty possessing an exquisite hourglass figure—curving in and flaring out in all the right places—crowned with a luxuriant mane of golden hair. Draped in the flowing white chiton typical of ancient Greek goddesses, she strode gracefully across the polished marble.

Tap, tap.

Venturing deep inside, her eyes fell upon a fair-skinned woman lounging lazily beneath the sunbeams streaming down into the center of the domed rotunda.

Like her visitor, this pale-skinned woman wore a classical white goddess's gown. She shared the same flowing golden locks and breathtaking hourglass proportions, though her bust was noticeably fuller—bursting with an almost absurd degree of plush abundance.

Watching the woman idle about like a pampered cat, the newcomer released an exasperated sigh, looking down at her from where she stood.

"Zeus. What are you doing?"

"Ah, Hera, you're here? Just taking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a break. I just finished working a little while ago, you know."

"Work? Running off to frolic with mortal men counts as work to you?"

"Hey! In order to protect against the threat of the Titans, multiplying our bloodlines and expanding the divine pantheon is our sacred duty! You know that. Besides, watching from up here to judge which mortal man is worthy of providing me the seed of a true hero is my primary responsibility. Since the rest of you slack off on your duties, I'm just pulling the extra weight. You should try spreading your seed a little more enthusiastically yourself!"

Confronted by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Zeus's shameless defense that procreation was her core job description, Hera almost found herself swayed for a split second. But remembering the reason she had come, she quickly snapped back.

"Spread what seed?! Seriously... if only you weren't so damn smooth-tongued! You're going around laying hands on mortal men left and right... Could you please show some shred of divine dignity? Nobody's telling you to go celibate. Just do it in moderation! Do you have any idea how many children you've popped out by now?"

"Tch... Yeah, yeah~ I've been doing my best, but almost all of them turn out to be daughters... I really want to bear a son for once... so I got a little carried away trying... Heheh..."

"Haah... You are unbelievable...!"

&%$#$%&&%$$!

^^$%$^%%$!!!!!

&&^%%^%$#@$%...

#@#$@$$#@!!!

Having endured an earful of Hera's relentless scolding, Zeus wore a look of profound boredom. Gazing up toward the massive, suspended sphere hovering beneath the ceiling, she muttered wistfully to herself, scanning the mortal realm for any worthy prospects.

"Ugh... Such nagging... Ah~ Isn't there any fine man down there? A real man capable of plucking my heartstrings~"

Right at that moment.

God-to-tok-tok~ God-to-to-tok~ God-to-tok-tok~ God-to-to-tok~

Right as Zeus was practically singing for a man, an alert chime resonated in her ears—a notification tone from GOD Talk, a divine messenger network that rarely rang unless an emergency summit of the dimensional pantheon had been convened.

"Huh?? Why is that going off...? It shouldn't be time for a meeting yet."

"Did someone post by mistake? I'll take a look, so go back to what you were doing."

"Sure. Now, which region was I inspecting again..."

Moments passed as Hera swiped open the interface.

"'Huge scoop'? There's not even any content, just shouting that it's a huge scoop... Why does the Goddess of Justice always act like this?"

"She's always been an attention seeker."

While Zeus continued exchanging idle banter with Hera, rotating the massive scrying sphere with her divine will to resume her mortal man hunt—

God-to-tok-tok God-to-to-tok! God-to-tok-tok God-to-to-tok!

God-to-tok-tok God-to-to-tok! God-to-tok-tok God-to-to-tok!

Hearing the rapid-fire pings go off again, Zeus figured there might actually be something worthwhile this time. Overcome with curiosity, she brought the tips of her thumbs and index fingers together in a rectangular frame—「 」—expanding it outward to summon the divine interface of GOD Talk.

Zeus blinked hard and rubbed her eyes, suspecting for a second that she was looking at a corrupted memory imprint. She peered into the chat log once more.

"What is this? Is this snapshot... for real? The Supreme Deity is crying...? E-Even Yeomra, who's notorious for never getting off her heavy rear end, is comforting her?! Oh my gods! Th-This is a must-see! This is prime tavern banter to tease her with for the rest of eternity! Wait, first come, first served?! I have to claim a spot right now! Hera! She says spots are limited! Are you applying or what?!"

"What the... The Supreme Deity is weeping, and Yeomra's consoling her...? First come, first served? Sign me up immediately!"

Zeus's fingers blurred across the air as she feverishly typed into GOD Talk.

Seeing that, Hera scrambled to mirror her movements, frantically inputting her own response.

Bait tossed by the Goddess of Justice had completely hooked the divine realm. The moment Zeus and Hera posted, gods who had maintained centuries of absolute silence began firing off replies at blinding speed.

"Wow... Look at all those reclusive gods waking up and clamoring to go, all over a single image of the Supreme Deity. Hahahahat! Poseidon cut! She's always late, and today's no exception. What? Bwahaha! 'I was underwater so I only just saw this'? Who told you to be slow? Kheheheh!"

Among the twenty-four spots that filled up in the blink of an eye, Zeus and Hera didn't just receive generic tickets; they received direct spatial coordinates beamed straight from the Goddess of Justice.

Receiving the spatial coordinates directly into her mind, Zeus tilted her head, puzzled by the unfamiliar signature.

"Oho... These coordinates... are pretty strange. Where is this?"

"We'll know when we get there."

"True. Let's hurry."

Tap, tap.

Zeus stepped beside Hera, focusing her divine energy to lock onto the destination sent by Justice.

From the apex of the domed ceiling, a pristine column of pure white light descended, enveloping both Zeus and Hera from head to toe.

Fwoosh—!

Flash-flash-flash-flash!

In an instant, their divine vessels were propelled through multiple dimensional layers.

A breath later, having traversed the celestial corridors, Zeus and Hera materialized in a grand chamber. Before them sat a vast, Pi-shaped dining table, bathed in the dim crimson glow of the ceiling fixtures that cast an aura reminiscent of a secret, opulent banquet. Resting comfortably in an ornate chair was the Goddess of Justice, gazing back at them with an amused smirk.

"You're here? As expected of lightning... You're fast."

"Ah, whatever~ Where's the Supreme Deity?"

Zeus gave a dismissive wave to acknowledge Justice's greeting before cutting straight to the chase.

"The Supreme Deity? Luckily, you're not too late. Look behind you."

Justice gestured with a flick of her chin toward Zeus's rear. Zeus spun around.

There, before the eyes of Zeus and Hera, was the exact scene they had witnessed on GOD Talk.

Sniff... hic... uuu...

The Supreme Deity was genuinely sobbing just as Justice had shown, and Yeomra was gently consoling her side by side. Witnessing this historic spectacle with her own eyes, Zeus immediately mimicked Justice, bringing her thumbs and forefingers together into a frame—「 」—to capture an indelible divine imprint of the crying sovereign and her underworld comforter.

"Whoa... It was real... To let me witness such a priceless sight... Ditching my mortal man hunt was totally worth it. Heheh... I am never letting her live this down!"

"Good grief... Why are you always so malicious? Hey, I kept my promise, alright?"

"Hmph... Whatever! Justice, you... next time you come hang out in Olympus, I'll make sure you have the time of your life. You have to come, deal?"

"...Sure."

Feeling that her mission had already been accomplished, Zeus leaned back into an empty chair with her arms crossed, glancing over at Hera.

"I'm gonna close my eyes and catch a quick nap~ Hera, wake me up in a bit."

"...Fine."

However...

Listening to Hera's idle conversation with the Goddess of Justice, Zeus caught a snippet of dialogue that made her closed eyes snap wide open, banishing any thought of sleep.

"...So why is the Supreme Deity crying in the first place?"

"Ah... In order to unravel the secrets of the First Supreme Deity... she's currently obsessing over a human... But..."

"What?! The Supreme Deity is... obsessed with a human?"

"Huh? Well... it's not confirmed or anything... but it's true she's keeping a close watch on a human man. To my eyes... it looks an awful lot like an obsession, even though she denies it herself..."

Fidget-fidget, squirm-squirm-squirm-squirm-squirm!

Zeus was shocked first by the revelation that the Supreme Deity was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠obsessed with a mortal... and upon hearing that this mortal was a man, her rear began squirming against the seat cushion in pure, restless excitement.

"I-Is that for real?! The Supreme Deity... looks like she's obsessed with a mortal man?! H-How?! S-Seriously! A man... are you positive?! You didn't mistake what you saw? There's no way the Supreme Deity would take an interest in a mere mortal man, right...?!"

"No, it's real. The reason I gathered everyone today... is to show you all exactly that."

"W-Whoa... My... my hips are literally trembling right now... I'm going insane... A human who earned the Supreme Deity's personal attention...? Haah... What kind of divine flavor would the seed of a mortal blessed by her favor have...? Wait, so why was she crying again...?!"

"Hmm... That, even I don't know... I can only guess that something went down between the Supreme Deity and Yeomra."

"The reason she's crying... I'll just have to blackmail it out of her later using this snapshot imprint..."

Flash! Flash-flash-flash!

Fwoosh—!

One by one, divine pillars of light began descending near the spot where Zeus and Hera had arrived, heralding the arrival of the other gods.

"Yo—! You made it, Odin? Oh, Tathagata's here too?"

"Hmph... Where is it? The scene."

"Hey! Long time no see! So where's the spectacle worthy of an imprint?"

Arriving one after another to feast their eyes upon the weeping sovereign, the gods barely acknowledged the greetings tossed their way. After barking hurried inquiries at the Goddess of Justice, their eyes all went wide in unison. In the very next second, every single one of them had raised their hands, pressing thumb to forefinger in rectangular frames—「 」—feverishly snapping divine imprints of the sniffling Supreme Deity and her underworld attendant.