Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

The oath made by the Styx River cannot be violated; the moment it is established, it entwines itself around the swearer. Before this, neither Hecate, who made the request, nor Leto thought that the thing related to 'Moon' was an item. Their judgment was actually correct, it indeed was an item, yet this item had not yet been born.

It was one with its owner, which meant that Leto had to face a reality, her oath might become even more difficult to fulfill.

This was not even an issue that could be resolved by sending the child away, for Artemis is a deity, and to the world, she belonged to no one. No god could fulfill an oath with the 'ownership' of another deity, after all, in the divine hierarchy established by Chaos, even parents and children are by no means subordinates to one another.

"Mother Goddess, what's wrong?"

Looking at Leto, the young goddess was somewhat afraid, and somewhat confused; she just looked at the changing expressions of the Mother Goddess, stepping forward seeking comfort. Yet, seeing this, Leto took a step back.

At that moment, her heart was filled with fear and indecision—she was about to become the first deity in Chaos to break the oath of the Styx River, and before this, no one knew what this would truly entail.

All gods knew the terror of the Styx River, and therefore, they were unwilling to test these unknown risks under the premise of having eternity. Perhaps the oath-breaker would be shaken from their godhood, stripped of divine power, or suffer some kind of punishment from the Styx River. Leto knew nothing of this.

Her godhood was already weak; perhaps she would be completely stripped of everything, or maybe even fall into eternal slumber.

"No, it won't happen!"

Taking another step back, the goddess clutched the infant in her arms tightly. Amidst the extreme highs and lows, she had already somewhat lost her ability to judge.

"It won't... I still have Apollo to raise, he will bring me glory and status! Yes, he will make Hera pay for her actions, he will become Zeus's right-hand, become the pillar of the Divine Court. As long as today passes, everything will be alright..."

Feeling the oppressive force of the oath weighing on her soul, Leto grew increasingly desperate. At one moment, looking at her daughter, bewildered, she suddenly bit her lip and extended her right hand.

The power belonging to a deity was released without any restraint, and amidst the vibrations of divine power, Artemis passed out without any resistance. The girl, who had been in the Mortal Realm for no more than half a day, lay on the ground with a face still marked by incomprehension and doubt, unaware of what had happened or why her Mother Goddess had suddenly struck her.

And before her, faintly, Leto locked onto the embryo of that Divine Artifact.

The strength of the Divine Artifact was still tightly connected to the Origin of Artemis, they were holistically one sacred entity. Feeling all this, Leto's face flashed with hesitation and regret, but in the end, she simply whispered:

"...Don't blame me; this is perhaps fate. Your godhood was weaker than your brother's, maybe it's not so bad to be a little more ordinary."

Clenching her hand in the air, Leto grasped forcefully, and the embryo of the Divine Artifact that was still in development was forcibly taken out. Accompanying this, there was a violent turmoil from Artemis's body, even in unconsciousness, she seemed to feel the pain, but faced with a True God who had reached their peak, the newly born her obviously had no power to resist.

The next moment, the evil fruits of utilizing divine power followed suit, the backlash of the laws of the present world fell upon Leto, but the black-robed goddess couldn't care less at this point. She hurled the silver light she had extracted, allowing it to fly towards Hecate's location following the connection in the void.

Subsequently, the force of the oath from the void instantly vanished, and the alert pressure on the soul also disappeared as if it had never existed. Leto gasped for air, her face showing a trace of relief from surviving a catastrophe.

She had, after all, avoided the worst outcome, yet at this moment, the goddess felt somewhat lost. After a short while, she leaned against a tree trunk, staring blankly at the starry sky above her head, unsure of what she was contemplating, or perhaps she wasn't thinking at all.

"Wah—"

In the silent woods, the infant's crying grew louder. As a deity, even though he had just descended to the world, Apollo wasn't supposed to cry like a mortal, yet as a naturally born deity, his acute perception allowed the young him to faintly sense the powers of the Styx River and the present-world laws that had descended here one after another.

Therefore, the newly descended Divine Child could only use crying to express his fear, and the increasingly loud cries finally brought Leto's attention back.

"Apollo, my child."

Reaching out to hold the infant in her arms, the warmth gave her some consolation. Coming back to her senses from the emotional rollercoaster, Leto finally realized what she had done.

She had made an oath that was impossible to fulfill and then terminated it at the cost of her daughter's Origin. Looking at Artemis who lay on the ground, a sense of absurdity surged in the goddess's heart.

She regretted it; perhaps she shouldn't have contested with Hera for the position of the eldest child. She had yet to gain anything and had already lost a daughter—when Artemis woke up, Leto could already imagine how she would view her Mother Goddess who had cruelly harmed her as soon as she descended to the world.

She, like her sister, faced disaster upon her daughter's birth, and yet, this unwarranted catastrophe was not caused by their daughters themselves.