“How is it, did I do well even from the position of an old god?”
“What?!”
“Well, if an old god who has lived through ages praises me, then I must have done it somewhat properly.”
“…….”
Eurynome made a pouty face at Poseidon’s teasing and threw the trident she had been holding at him as if she were spearing him.
“Oh my! Are you handing me something this dangerous like that.”
“Well, think of it as the sort of punishment a woman gives a man when he plays a prank he shouldn’t.”
“Haha, it was a joke. A joke. Perhaps I couldn’t help but want to tease the most beautiful goddess in the sea when faced with such beauty.”
Eurynome snorted as if she was dumbfounded by Poseidon’s brazen attitude.
“Hmph, when you use that ill-fitting way of speaking, doesn’t it feel like you’re teasing me again?”
“No? I’m sincere.”
“Enough, I only came to express my gratitude. Because you kept your promise well, I have received an outcome I could not ask more from.”
On Eurynome’s face as she said that, there was the regret of the humiliation she had endured, layered with the complex feelings she held toward her enemy who had now fallen into pitiful madness.
“…….”
* * *
As the silence dragged on and Eurynome became embarrassed for no reason, she turned her body to leave this place.
“Hm… then. I’ll see you next time.”
At that moment, Poseidon grabbed Eurynome’s shoulder as she turned and pulled her back around.
“Hey now, just a moment. I also have something to say.”
“What?”
“Eurynome, my gratitude isn’t over yet. I may still be a young god, but I’m firm about these things.”
With those words, Poseidon held the goddess’s shoulder and smiled slyly.
“If I entrusted this sea to you, Eurynome, goddess—what would you think of that?”
“What?”
“I’m saying I would guarantee you your original place.”
“Uh, but that’s like giving the sovereignty of the sea…”
“Don’t worry. I’m already the strongest being in this sea anyway, so such things don’t matter.”
“T-that’s true. It is, but… your expression right now is too lecherous…”
The expression Eurynome saw on Poseidon’s face was like that of a hunter looking at a deer caught in a trap.
And because the offer was so great—something she had never imagined—Eurynome instead felt suspicious.
Like when someone receives something completely unexpected and feels unsettled for no reason—such was Eurynome’s current mood.
“Heeey~ my expression is a smiling one. You’re simply doing paperwork… no, simply returning to your rightful position.”
“No, you clearly just said paperwork…”
“You must have misheard. For now, let’s go to my palace and talk about it in detail.”
Poseidon pushed the hesitant goddess from behind and invited her to his palace.
And Eurynome, who had lost everything to Pontos, now faced something she had only ever imagined happening before her eyes.
Even though it felt unsettling, she could not bring herself to refuse, and was led away by Poseidon.
‘Yes. I must have misheard… there’s no way he’d say that just because he dislikes paperwork, right?’
Still unable to regain her composure, the goddess dismissed Poseidon’s words as a misunderstanding.
And Poseidon’s true thoughts were…
‘Heh heh, there’s been so much work in the sea, but now a good paperwork… no, a good talent has arrived. Shouldn’t I use her?’
* * *
When all judgments were finished except for Pontos, the very first thing Poseidon did was to attend to the goddess Styx and the goddess Eurynome.
And announcing the matter they had already discussed was also an important task.
If those two goddesses had not stopped children of Pontos such as Nereus or had not restrained his power, then no matter how strong Poseidon was, the damage would have been immense.
Thus, the merit of the two goddesses was not small compared to anyone here.
“Goddess Styx, I shall repay the favor you have shown me. Zeus made you the most honored, and I shall do the same. Wherever you desire within this sea, the River Styx shall flow. Thus, your oaths will be absolutely upheld not only in the heavens and the earth, but also in the sea.”
At Poseidon’s words, Styx could not hide her joy and spoke.
“Oh my, is it fine to receive such a reward for something this small? But I won’t decline. Then, please let my river flow where your palace is being built. If I flow upon the most authoritative ground in this sea, will I not become the most respected goddess here? And allow me and my children to be respected by the creatures of the sea.”
Poseidon nodded at Styx’s request.
In the original myth the River Styx of the Underworld was not something Poseidon could interfere with, but the current Poseidon could manipulate all waters and cycles of the world.
“Eurynome, you shall reclaim your sea. I will return to you the place Pontos stole from you. In this sea, you may rule according to the principles and rules you set.”
Eurynome could not hide the joy on her face at Poseidon’s words.
When she and Poseidon had spoken earlier, she truly feared that if she blinked, she might wake from a dream.
Moreover, she was a fallen Protogenoi just like Pontos.
To restore her lost authority would mean, from Poseidon’s perspective, that another powerful god would arise in the sea.
Of course, she now knew why Poseidon granted her this authority, but even so, this was something she had desperately longed for.
‘Poseidon may say he gave me authority simply because he dislikes working himself, but I, Eurynome, will not forget his grace.’
The last one mentioned was Metis.
And mentioning Metis was something that surprised not only the gods of the sea but Metis herself.
“Metis, since you belong to Olympus, I cannot give you authority over the sea. So I shall instead give you one direct favor from me, anytime you need help.”
Metis’s eyes widened at Poseidon’s words.
She had helped, yes—but because she was aligned with Olympus and had helped at Zeus’s will, it was difficult for her to feel she was owed a personal debt.
“You truly mean you’ll keep a debt for me?”
“Yes, as long as it is not a request that harms or troubles this sea.”
“I feel like I’ve received a gift I couldn’t even imagine. Thank you, Poseidon.”
Now the only thing left was the final judgment for Pontos alone—whose tendons and muscles had been removed and who was bound by the adamantine of the sea.
“You damn brats!!! I am the Protogenoi you should revere!!!”
“What do you want me to do about that, you idiot.”
“Release these chains binding me this instant and beg my forgiveness.”
Pontos lost his mind during the violent shock and the minimum treatment he received while rampaging.
“You young brat of a god!!! Do you know who I am? I am Gaia’s child and husband, a Protogenoi!”
“Gaia, help me. Your son is captured.”
“You damn wretches. You trapped me, didn’t you.”
“Hhghh, Gaia, where are you. I want to see you.”
“Why am I in such a place?”
“Nereus, Ceto, Eurybia, why are you there?”
“The chains hurt. It hurts.”
Poseidon felt pity as he looked at the mad Pontos, even though he was the enemy.
He had been a tyrant and garbage, yes, but he was one of those who had shaped the sea—borrowing the primordial sea power of Oceanus and completing it together with Eurynome.
No matter how merciless Poseidon was to enemies, he could not judge a Protogenoi—one who had played such a great role in forming the world—with the same standard as everyone else.
And there were few in the sea who were not his descendants.
“Hah… for an old god who once contested and fought with me to end up like this…”
Eurynome sighed, and the children of Pontos all turned their heads away from their father’s state.
Then Poseidon created fog so that the creatures of the sea would not see Pontos’s deranged form.
It was the final courtesy shown to the fallen Pontos.
“I will handle the judgment of this old god myself…”
Poseidon said so, dispersed all gods, and stood before the deep pit of the Oceanus Sea.
“Aaahhhh, mother!”
“Save me!!!”
“Mister, I was wrong. I’ll behave from now on. Please call my mother.”
Seeing Pontos flailing like a child who could no longer cause trouble, Poseidon let out a deep sigh and called out to someone.
“Goddess Gaia, I know you are watching. I would like to see your face.”
A few minutes after Poseidon’s call, a gigantic tree began to grow from the seafloor.
“Poseidon…”
“Gaia.”
Gaia emerged from the enormous tree, trying her hardest to remain calm and composed.
But when she saw the regressed, childlike Pontos begging her for forgiveness, she collapsed.
“Mother!!! I’m hurting…”
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Yes?”
Thump.
Gaia sank to her knees and screamed with a face full of hatred.
“Did you call me here to mock me?! My children are all imprisoned in Tartarus and now even Pontos, whom I bore myself, has ended up like this—did you call me to mock me?!”
Uranus had been banished by her own hand, yes—but for the rest, it was as if she had lost all the children she had birthed.
Poseidon looked at Gaia, then briefly looked up at the sky and spoke.
“No. I called you to receive an oath. And to tell you that if you wish, you may visit Pontos at any time.”
“What?!”
“It’s nothing surprising. As you know, Pontos manipulated sea nymphs—his own granddaughter even—and caused enormous harm to this sea. There is no forgiveness for that. But I am not so cold-blooded as to prevent a family from seeing each other’s faces.”
With that, Poseidon fell silent and looked calmly at the regressed Pontos.
“And… I do not believe a god in that state can do anything.”
Gaia was startled by Poseidon’s statement and hesitated.
Because he was Zeus’s brother, she had assumed he would show no mercy or compassion.
Especially if one had seen Poseidon's behavior during the Titanomachy, anyone would think that.
“So what is this oath? And what is this about being allowed to see him?”
Gaia, holding back her confusion, stroked the head of her child—bound in chains in a child's form and already distracted again—and asked.
Poseidon answered with a serious face.
What he was doing now would burden him greatly if it became known.
“You must swear on the River Styx that you will not free those imprisoned in the depths by any means.”
“And Goddess Gaia, if it is your personal visit, I shall allow you to meet Pontos and his children.”
“Of course, I will continuously drain his strength with Oceanus’s power and keep his tendons removed so that he cannot move his body. But I will allow him to use a puppet to look upon the world and interact with it on a minimal level. And I may even allow you, Gaia, to tend to those imprisoned in Oceanus.”