Forging a New Pantheon
Despite Adamantia's minor slip of the tongue leading to the four of us spending our first night together as if beans roasted in a lightning bolt, the mood wasn't bad at all.
For me, Heracles—a guy, after all—I'd just enjoyed myself with three supreme beauties, so I was grinning from ear to ear. For Gaia and Echidna, it was at least better than their brutish, violent relationships with Uranus and Typhon. Adamantia found it embarrassing that things had rushed ahead like that, but since her relationship with me had been made possible(?) with help from her mother and sister, she didn't hate it.
The issues were that the lust Eros had planted in us, which we'd expected to quiet down after the deed, only rampaged more fiercely, and that Adamantia—doing it for the first time—had decided to take the day off due to the heavy pain.
The matter of Gaia's proposed order of the women had been sorted out more or less, which was a small mercy.
"Ugh, what is this…"
"Pretending to be prim now? You liked it just fine."
"I did like it… but I didn't expect it to be this easy."
"These things are easier when you just go with the flow, sis. Overthinking makes your head hurt more—look at me."
"Echidna, you're a bit too fast at this. Just do what feels right. We kinda pushed you this time."
"What, Mom!"
Echidna and Gaia were helping out Adamantia, who was complaining of back pain from the intense aftermath of last night.
The topic of their conversation was, naturally, all the salacious details of the previous night. Especially entertaining for the two goddesses was Adamantia's utterly novel reactions to everything—her losing her virginity after thousands of years. Teasing their big sister like that, as if wondering when she'd been so vigorous, even eased my own anxieties.
"Um, Lady Adamantia, you okay?"
"…I'm fine. Just my back hurts a bit."
"Honey, drop the 'Lady' already? You've seen everything there is to see."
"That might be best. Titles like 'goddess' don't matter now anyway— you're a god too, Heracles. From here on, just call me casually."
"Uh, you think so?"
"Yes, Heracles. It makes me more comfortable too."
And with that, the matter of how to address each other was settled.
Adamantia had been irked by how I used casual speech only with the friendly, ever-smiley Echidna while being formal with the other goddesses. Even Gaia, who thought formality was only natural, now found it awkward to receive it after sharing a bed with me as one of three.
Adamantia still envied Echidna's easy closeness, and Gaia figured we might as well get fully intimate now that things had gone this far. The Mother of the Earth had a competitive streak that belied her appearance.
The benevolent mother had yielded first and second place to her daughters, but she had no intention of staying completely distant.
"A-alright then… Adamantia, Gaia."
"Yes."
"Hm, that sounds good. Your voice is surprisingly pleasant to hear."
"Honey, you gotta call me too."
"Got it, Echidna."
"Still sounds too casual just for Echidna. Be careful from now on."
"Yes, Gai—er, got it, Gaia."
With the addressing issue resolved, our four-way relationship reformed around me at the center as their husband.
Then Gaia made an unexpected proposal to the rest.
"Soon, I'll call Hera here. Just her—no other gods."
"Just Hera? Why, getting married already?"
"Something like that. And Eros showing up here on this island twice out of nowhere… I suspect it's connected to that boy."
"Fair point. Eros loves pranks, but he's not one to wander aimlessly. So? Call Aphrodite too and give 'em both a scolding?"
"Why call Aphrodite when I'm here? I don't plan to blame Hera. Just bring her and seal the marriage. Duty calls."
"M-marriage…"
At the word "marriage," Adamantia's face lit up. Imagining a modest wedding with just the four of us and Hera suited her perfectly.
Originally, this fearsome daughter had planned to first swear marriage vows before Gaia and only later bring in her mother—but that was impossible now. She couldn't make vows to a bride like that.
A chance for a simple ceremony with Hera was still precious, a feat only possible with Gaia.
But Gaia's thoughts didn't stop there.
"And this is important too. Continue with getting Adamantia's recognition for my original duty."
"What? No, Mom, what are you talking about? Things have gone this far—why bother?"
"I agree it's unnecessary. You've already passed strong divinity to Heracles, Mom. No need for trials, right?"
"No. That level of divinity still can't compare to Olympus's king of gods. Adamantia, you're right—taking the blacksmith divinity too will benefit him greatly. You don't plan to stop at just marriage, do you?"
"…You're right."
Echidna and Adamantia were flustered by their mother's unexpected words, but Gaia was firm.
Adamantia had long harbored ambitions even beyond Olympus itself, so she nodded along readily. But I, the one directly involved, was hearing all this for the first time.
"Um… Adamantia, Gaia? What are you talking about? I have no idea."
"Oh, right—we never told Heracles."
"Couldn't exactly share that from our position back then… but now we can."
"What, what is it? Smells fun!"
"?"
I was baffled by this completely unfamiliar topic, while Echidna seemed to sense something with her sharp instincts, buzzing with excitement.
Of course, it was a grand and terrifying plan, so Adamantia and Gaia sobered the mood anew.
And Adamantia dropped the bomb.
"Heracles."
"Yes, Adamantia."
"Listen well. I will make you the chief god."
"What?"
"Not one of the Twelve Gods. Not even king of Olympus."
"…What does that even mean? How can I become a chief god without going to Olympus?"
"Listen carefully, Heracles. Gaia and I—we four will give birth to a new pantheon."
"……"
I fell silent at the utterly unforeseen declaration. A new pantheon? And a chief god outside Olympus? As a reincarnator, this made even less sense than anything before. Was that even possible? This was the world of Greek mythology.
But seeing Gaia and Adamantia's serious demeanor, it didn't seem like idle talk.
"Eyes full of fear about whether it's possible."
"…Can't help it. Joining Olympus is one thing, but a whole new pantheon? Never crossed my mind."
"No need to worry—it's fully possible. We're all earth mother goddesses: me, Adamantia, Echidna. Just as I birthed the Protogenoi and Titans, we can birth a new pantheon from you and us."
"Never tried it, but I can too, honey. I'm the monster mother of a hundred beasts."
"So… what exactly do you plan to do?"
I still couldn't wrap my head around it. A new pantheon—what then?
But Adamantia's resolve was ironclad.
"It's obvious, Heracles. Here on Sicily, my body Mount Etna—we'll rule this world as new gods."
"We rule the world?"
"Yes. End the tyrant Zeus's reign, and you, us earth goddesses, and our children will replace Olympus."
"Hmm."
I loved Adamantia with all my heart, but this time words didn't come easily. This was the Greek mythological world. Ever since possessing Heracles, I'd lived reflecting on that truth. I'd fallen for the goddess Adamantia, whom I'd never heard of before, but the big picture remained—I'd accepted and lived in the world of Greek myths.
This shattered that frame, venturing into the complete unknown.
Sudden fear gripped me. So I set one condition.
"Fine. But on one condition."
"Sure, what?"
"I'm not ready to fight Father Zeus yet. There's still the war with the giants. After the Gigantomachia ends, he might summon me to Olympus?"
"…And?"
"If the war ends and Father accepts me—or us—as new Olympian gods, then we drop this and go to Olympus. That's my condition. If he doesn't call, I'll follow your words, Adamantia."
"Fine. We'll wait and see."
It was my small hope that things might end well between Zeus and me, like in the myths.
Adamantia accepted readily, and the other goddesses consented.
But while I didn't know, the other three did: the tyrant Zeus and the now-powerful god Heracles could never coexist. Zeus would suspect Gaia even more for abandoning her children, the giants…