The Greece Antagonist

Half an hour later.

"This little sister-in-law is just too easy to get drunk, only a few cups in and she's already passed out."

Luo En, leaning against a tree, looked at Princess Fedra, her cheeks flushed red as she lay fast asleep in the arms of her female companions, without any defenses, and could not help but raise his glass in jest.

However, in the quiet valley, silence reigned, and no one responded to the patriarch's teasing.

After all, Fedra was the legitimate daughter of King Minos, with pure Divine Blood flowing through her veins.

The rest of the devout followers, old and young, were mostly ordinary people without nobility or specialty, faring even worse than the little princess when it came to resisting wine, having already found spots to lie down together in advance.

Even the young Polyhymnos, who had accompanied him to the gathering, was not spared.

Under the moon at its zenith, the cool, bright moonlight cast a mottled glow, a hazy veil of silver covering the bodies of the men and women in the valley, like a comforting quilt.

The believers, immersed in pleasant dreams, slept soundly, and with each breath, strands of very faint golden-red light, following the rise and fall of their chests and the rush of their blood, quietly gestated and solidified beneath their skin.

With every flow of the golden-red color, the aura of life on their bodies became denser.

The knots in their souls unraveled, their brows relaxed; their slack skin quietly tightened, gaining a bit more smoothness and elasticity; their fragile organs became tougher, vibrant with life as they pulsed...

These subtle changes, from soul to flesh, were almost imperceptible, yet they truly existed.

Praise this joyous—Life!

The instigator beneath the tree raised his glass from afar, revealing a satisfied smile.

Under the night sky, those eyes, bright as crystals, admired the [golden-red] beneath the skin of the followers, or rather,

—the Divinity given by him and nurtured by people!

In the clear moonlight, Luo En gently swirled the cup in his hand, looking at the blood-like crimson wine in the stream, and murmured meaningfully.

"This is my body, sacrificed for you;

This is my blood, shed for the many.

The ashes of Titans, the progeny of madness;

We are tied by blood thicker than water, our bloodlines connected..."

His magnetic voice, like a chant of an ancient and enduring mythic epic.

In the original history, the Orphic Sect, which worshipped the God of Wine, believed in Zagreus, the god of rebirth.

That is, the original incarnation of Dionysus, the God of Wine.

According to legend, Divine King Zeus and Queen of the Underworld Persephone first gave birth to the horned Zagreus.

The young Zagreus climbed upon Zeus's throne, wielding Zeus's thunder with his childish hands, portending that he would replace Zeus as the new king of the world.

Queen Hera, out of jealousy, incited the Titan gods to tear him to pieces, all but his heart, which they devoured.

Goddess Athena, feeling pity for the child's misfortune, brought his heart to Zeus. Zeus swallowed the heart and then joined with the princess of Thebes, Semele, to give birth to Zagreus anew.

Thus, he was reborn from death, becoming Dionysus, the God of Wine.

In this legendary divine battle, where the newborn Dionysus was torn apart by the Titans and the Titans were burned by Zeus's lightning, a new order of the world was established, and mankind was born from the ashes of the Titans.

Therefore, in the scriptures of the Orphic Sect, whether called Zagreus or Dionysus, the original God of Wine performed a self-sacrificial martyrdom for ancient humanity, and achieved the miracle of resurrection.

And because the Titan gods devoured Dionysus, humans born from the ashes of Titans have both the divinity of the God of Wine and the sins of the Titan gods in their blood.

Thus, humans are born with dual natures of good and evil, and the purpose of life is to suppress evil and promote good in order to be liberated. To reach this goal, one must perform purification rites, participate in the secret initiation ceremonies, observe taboos, such as not killing, not eating meat, avoiding wool during burials, not touching beans, etc.

If one follows the secret rituals, observes the taboos, and persists in doing good, one can escape the devilish nature, gain divinity, and avoid or lessen the sufferings of the cycle of rebirth in the Netherworld after death, then enter the blissful world of Elysium; otherwise, they will endure eternal toil in Hades.

—Wine is my blood.

—The miracle of resurrection from death.

—The original mankind saved by the martyr, though burdened with original sin.

—Equivalent to the Elysium, equivalent to the Hades.

—Adding to this, the Orphic Sect being a secret folk religion, irrespective of noble or humble birth, gender, city-state, open for individual participation, promoting equality in life...

Does all of this not give a strange sense of déjà vu?

Luo En smirked in jest and drained the crimson wine from his glass.

Indeed, the Orphic Sect, with its worship of the God of Wine, shared many commonalities with the future Abrahamic religions.

The latter, as a patchwork, mostly drew inspiration from the former.

If so, as the one indirectly indebted, he too could take advantage of the other's strengths and put them to use.

For example, Luo En, the patriarch, abolished the original and barbaric processions by the maenads under his command and instead called for celebrations of the God of Wine through gatherings and merry drinking, following the outline of the future Christian Mass ceremonies.

He advocated that attendees shed their disguises, release their true natures, rather than strictly conform to the identities and rules of the present world, forcing themselves into submission. During this time, people could also confess and atone to the gods and find solace for their souls (confession rituals).

The congregation should help each other, love one another, always with a passion for life and the original intention to please themselves...

Of course, if that was all, the reborn Dionysian Sect would be nothing more than a self-indulgent group for the common people, creating extremely limited value for Luo En.

Therefore, on this foundation, he elevated the secret rituals cloaked in the guise of a gathering.

— That is, he brought the gods down from their pedestals and bestowed divinity upon mortals!

If the world was born from the flesh, blood, and ashes of the Titan gods, then mankind, which was born from it, should also possess [Divinity].

The same holds true for all things in the world.

— Whether it be grapes growing in the soil or the fine wine brewed with water, all should possess [Divinity].

Gods possess humanity, and humans possess divinity.

Mortals can become gods, and gods can also be swayed by humanity.

Therefore, whether divine or human, nobody is more noble than anyone else, nobody is more special.

Equal lives seek equal jests, ultimately bringing equal joy to the world.

This idea of elevating man and demoting the gods was utterly different from the current religious worship of the gods in Greece, and could be described as heretical.

But it was precisely because of this that it might gradually sever the mortal reverence and belief in the gods from its roots, making the perfect Divine King and the mighty gods of Olympus no longer invulnerable.

For this purpose, he attempted to use his gradually increasing God of Wine divinity to brew blessed divine wine, allowing the faithful to partake and thereby awaken the Titan divinity buried within them.

After months of trials, along with the body parts and flesh of a demigod hero and a horde of Divine Blood relatives, his experiments finally took that step and achieved a milestone success.

Those who drank the divine wine, one after another, had the divine genes within them activated, gaining varying degrees of enhancement.

Although the sparks of divinity that were ignited are minuscule and faint compared to those of the true Divine Blood relatives. Like clusters of fireflies trying to compete with the bright moon, laughable and overestimating themselves.

The people before me might not even become qualified warriors or heroes in their lifetimes.

But the seeds of rebellion have been sown, and time will cause them to take root and sprout.

He had handed over the stolen divine authority, the fresh history, and future, into the hands of mortals.

So, have all the fun you can, just don't let me down, I'll be waiting to celebrate for you.

"Ah ha, cheers!"

The unscrupulous instigator under the tree raised his cup, toasting to the newly-born mankind, to the seeds of rebellion, to the still resplendent Olympus under the night sky.

The empty cup slipped from his grasp, and a breeze followed, wafting through the valley, with the rich aroma of wine and the running springs gradually dissipating.

The slumbering people slowly awoke, looking up toward the east.

The faint light of dawn pierced the heavy night sky, and the gods' world welcomed another new day.

~~

In Knossos City, on the third street, at the seventh residence.

The figure who came with the dawn took out the spare key, quietly opened the door, and slipped inside the house.

However, upon entering, he was immediately met with interrogation.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you come home all night?"

Hestia, in the living room, huffed with displeasure.

"It's that matter of fixing Polymonos' arm last time, that kid insisted on treating me to a drink, and there you have it, I got drunk and he kept me up all night with his nonsense,"

Luo En yawned, somewhat helplessly explaining as his gaze fell upon the flickering flame behind Hestia.

The lamp oil in the lantern was almost gone, and the wick was nearly burned out.

Clearly, someone had waited in the living room all night long.

"Tch, no wonder you reek of alcohol..."

Hestia pinched her nose and muttered, waving her hand somewhat disdainfully.

"Go on, go sleep it off, and don't come into my kitchen until you're sobered up!"

"Alright, alright."

Luo En weakly complied, placing a box of pastries taken from the sacrificial site on the table, stretched, and went upstairs.

Seeing the lone offering, Hestia thought of her grandniece visiting home, and after only a moment's hesitation, she swiftly snatched up the pastries and stuffed the box into a small hiding spot in the spice cabinet, a smile breaking across her face.

Hmph, at least you have some conscience!

"Achoo!"

Meanwhile, upstrairs, the Goddess of the Hunt sneezed mightily as she sluggishly rose from the bed, stretching her somewhat sore body, and most of last night's lingering drunkenness faded away.

What a clear and refreshing day, another perfect day for hunting.

Where shall I go today?

Artemis curled her lips upward, a content and joyous smile spreading across her face.

Unawares, she had gradually adapted to, and come to enjoy this mortal life, even looking forward to every new day with a hint of anticipation.

It was a feeling completely distinct from her life on Olympus.