Tykhe, following the suggestion of Nyx, the goddess of night, requested half of the Supreme Divinity from Gaia. The Earth Goddess reluctantly agreed, her face etched with displeasure.
Clearly, such a loss pained Gaia greatly. After the transaction was complete, she unceremoniously banished Tykhe.
Having secured tangible benefits, Tykhe did not dwell on Gaia's abrupt change in attitude. After all, one couldn't receive a boon without allowing the giver a few complaints.
To expedite her departure, Gaia immediately began preparations. The more powerful a divine position, the stronger its ties. Gaia unhesitatingly relinquished all divine positions except those related to nature. Upon integrating the power of the Earth Divine Position, Tykhe, her successor, would be able to ascend to the status of an Original God.
During the period of Tykhe and Gaia's divine position exchange, joyous news arrived from Mount Olympus: the children of Zeus and Leto were about to be born.
Tykhe specifically set aside time to visit the divine mountain to witness the birth of these twins.
Leto, who had ascended to the status of a Middle-Tier God by virtue of her divine position of Luck, found the gestation of the twins somewhat taxing. The Goddess of Prophecy, worried for her daughter, had been by Leto's side for some time.
The first son and daughter of the King of the Gods were born amidst love. The two deities emerged from their mother's embrace almost simultaneously.
The radiant Apollo possessed luminous power. His appearance bathed the world in clarity, dispelling all darkness. Unlike the light brought by thunder and lightning, his gentle radiance instilled joy in the hearts of all who beheld it.
Perhaps due to his father's acquisition of power in the Life domain, Apollo inherited a condensed medical divine position within his lineage of life divinity, complemented by the divine position of Radiance born from his luminous power. From birth, Zeus's eldest son possessed a divine personality approaching the Middle-Tier God level.
Leto and Phoebe were first delighted by their child's might, but then they considered how Apollo's power encroached upon the domains of the gods of light, foreseeing another potential storm.
Artemis, born before her younger brother, imbued the world with a fresh power. With the four divine positions of forests, new sprouts, birth, and purification, Zeus's eldest daughter possessed the standing of a Middle-Tier God from her very birth.
Compared to her brother, Artemis, the elder sister, seemed to have inherited a more potent life force from their father. Tykhe believed this forest goddess might become the goddess of life and nature. Gaia's departure would significantly weaken the power of nature, and Artemis's emergence perfectly filled this void. With this thought, Tykhe bestowed upon the newborn goddess the animal divine position she had received from Gaia, hoping it would aid Artemis in acquiring the divine position of nature in the future.
As for Apollo, the power of the sun was currently uncontested. The retirement of Hyperion, the god of the sun, and Theia, the goddess of radiance, presented a good opportunity. Unfortunately, the domain of light was still held by these two Titans. If relying solely on the power of light, Apollo would be unable to surpass these primordial beings of light and ascend to High-Tier Godhood.
Tykhe produced the divine inspiration position, obtained from Iapetus, the god of the soul. This divine position held the potential to lead the gods of art, perhaps offering Apollo another path.
Upon receiving the divine inspiration position, Apollo, already on the verge of breaking through to Middle-Tier Godhood, smoothly ascended with Tykhe's assistance, a welcome surprise.
The beautiful and handsome twins brought great joy to Zeus, who immediately decided to bestow upon them the honor of a major divine position once they came of age.
The King of the Gods' decision greatly relieved Phoebe and Coeus, who also used this opportunity to abdicate their own major divine positions. From then on, all the First Generation Titans retired, clearing the stage for their successors.
Tykhe, who had come specifically for Apollo and Artemis, presented gifts after meeting the siblings and politely declined her son's requests to stay, returning to the Invisible Island to continue her preparations for ascending to the status of an Original God.
Gaia's departure drew nearer, and with the assistance of two Original Gods and the Laws, Tykhe successfully took that step. Everything on the earth remained as peaceful as ever; no one knew that the cornerstone supporting the world had silently changed hands.
Relieved, Gaia eagerly prepared to leave this world. Tykhe and Nyx both came to the world's periphery to bid farewell to the goddess.
Gaia shed her elaborate adornments, clad only in a simple white dress. With a radiant smile, she bid farewell to the two goddesses and disappeared into the Chaos Sea, carrying their hopes and blessings.
Nyx watched Gaia's radiance fade into the darkness of chaos and sighed, "She has never come to terms with it. What is gained will eventually be lost, and what is lost will not return. Even if she finds a new world to rebuild her home, it will not be her original home. That homeland, existing only in memory, is merely a dream from which she is unwilling to awaken."
"Where the heart finds peace, that is home," Tykhe gazed into the boundless Chaos Sea, lost in thought. "As long as she believes it is her homeland, she will not care whether it is real or not."
She then turned to Nyx, "Have you thought about returning?"
Nyx slowly shook her head, "A world without them is not a homeland."
Tykhe fell silent. She was the only one left of the Nine Songs Pantheon, and she imagined Nyx felt lonely in her heart.
"And you? Do you still intend to return?" Nyx retorted.
Tykhe nodded firmly, "I will definitely return. No matter how long I have to wait, no matter how far I have to go, I will return."
Nyx smiled without speaking.
The brief interval between the two Original Gods' exchange was perceived by Khaos. The momentary fluctuation in the Origin forced the two Original Gods to return to the world to suppress the Creator God.
Tykhe looked at the colossal deity slumbering in the depths of the Origin and couldn't help but marvel. This Creator God was truly unlucky. Who would have thought his casual actions would plant the seeds of his own downfall? The five deities used as building materials had split his authority, and the world's laws, having broken free from control, in turn used the weakened Khaos as a battery to extract power. Thinking of Pangu from Chinese mythology who separated heaven and earth, it seemed that Creator Gods often met unfortunate ends after creation.
Darkness and the Abyss had already arrived in the depths of the Origin to assist the Laws in extracting Khaos's power. The invisible Eros arrived belatedly after the two goddesses. The Original Gods took their respective positions, beginning to divide Khaos's almost solidified divinity.
Khaos's divine power belonged to the Laws, used to contribute to the world's advancement. Tykhe focused on searching for residual memories within the Supreme Divinity. Khaos, who created in chaos, was ancient; it had even experienced the ebb and flow of the Chaos Sea. Countless worlds perished in these tides, yet Khaos remained standing.
Tykhe soon obtained much information about the Chaos Sea from the memories. The Chaos Sea had no concept of time or space. Travelers would lose their way in this disordered chaos. The only beacons were the myriad of brilliant worlds, but they were not static.
The birth and destruction of worlds were commonplace, and the positions of these signposts shifted unpredictably. The only reliable method was to leave avatars within these worlds. The connection of the same divine essence would guide travelers to a foothold. Otherwise, no matter how powerful a being, their power would be worn down during this long journey, dissipating into the darkness.