Cohesion is something both powerful and fragile, capable of shattering with the slightest crack.
The primordial god of love, Eros, sensing the resolve in his ally's heart, no longer held back. He cried out, "Tartarus!"
Tyche immediately felt the earth tremble as the corrosive power of the abyss surged from the depths of the land, engulfing the Underworld.
"Tartarus! Are you declaring war on me?" Tyche's voice was cold and stern, as if she might erupt at any moment.
Styx, from the River Styx, emerged from the water, blocking the path of the deep Tartarus.
The shadowy figure of the abyss hesitated for a moment, but the impenetrable darkness did not cease its encroachment upon the Underworld.
Without a word, the goddess of fate, Fate, caused ripples to spread across the River Styx, fiercely clashing with Tartarus.
Tyche had made all preparations before initiating the conflict. She had entrusted the prophetic divine position left by Phoebe and her own divine position of fortune to an independent avatar, Styx. Combined with her existing divine position of fate, she held almost complete control over the domain of destiny!
Crimson flowers bloomed beneath Styx's feet. The lingering affections of countless souls after death transformed into an invisible fragrance that assailed the darkness. Naturally, Styx could not contend with the abyss, but she could hold Tartarus back for a time.
The darkness that shrouded the Underworld halted. Tartarus's emotions were partly contributed by these souls. His gaze was uncontrollably drawn to these illusions, making him unable to focus, even on Eros's urgings.
Time was of the essence. Tyche brandished the Spear of Eternity in her hand and charged towards Pontus, who stood in prepared defense.
The waves stirred by the primordial sea god could not harm Tyche. As fellow sea gods, the ocean's origin favored Tyche no less than Pontus! The surging tides were calmed by Tyche, and the storms and thunder at sea spread. Both sides simultaneously commenced battle.
Tyche did not pay attention to her sons engaged in combat with Eros. Her priority now was to defeat Pontus as quickly as possible and end the fight. As soon as she could disengage, victory would dawn on both the sky and Underworld battlefields!
Pontus also understood that this was a race against time. As long as he could hold out against Tyche for a sufficient period, at least until the abyss broke free from its entanglement and came to his aid, there would be a chance for the situation to change.
Pontus, fighting and retreating, was in a sorry state, barely able to parry Tyche's swift assaults. The battlefield at sea was advantageous to both Tyche and Pontus, but the primordial sea god was intent on avoiding direct confrontation, weaving and dodging through the seawater, narrowly evading the sharp edges of her spear.
The slippery Pontus always managed to dodge Tyche's attacks by a hair's breadth. During their engagement, he primarily focused on evasion and defense, rarely initiating an attack.
Tyche did not panic. The Spear of Eternity in her hand launched probing attacks; she was not fighting with full force.
Both sides, locked in a stalemate, remained calm. Pontus naturally wished for such a drawn-out battle to continue. The battlefield of the two deities unknowingly moved towards the deep sea. This was Pontus's domain, and he couldn't understand why Tyche chose to shift the battlefield to the deep sea, where her control was weakest. However, the sense of impending danger made him dare not neglect it, and he mustered his spirit to contend with Tyche.
Tyche finally revealed her fangs. She raised the Spear of Eternity in her hand and recited an incantation. This weapon, blessed by three divine positions of fate, shimmered with an almost imperceptible arc of light before being hurled, embedding itself deeply into Pontus's heart!
Pontus had been watching the trajectory of the Spear of Eternity. Before Tyche's fingers released it, he had already begun to dive underwater; he had thought he would evade the weapon Tyche threw, but the moment he dove, he felt pain in his chest.
An uncontrollable scream erupted from the primordial sea god. Pontus, enduring the pain, tried to pull out the Spear of Eternity, but the instant he touched it, he was repelled by an irresistible force. The Spear of Eternity refused Pontus's touch!
"You cannot kill me! I am the embodiment of the concept of the ocean! The laws will not permit me to die!"
Pontus finally began to panic. Nailed to the seabed, he was unable to move, only able to watch as Tyche's footsteps drew nearer.
"Silence! Stop your incessant babbling, or do you want me to cut out your tongue!"
Tyche reached out, grasping the trembling Spear of Eternity, and sternly commanded, her brow furrowed.
Pontus saw the undisguised killing intent in Tyche's eyes, cold and naked. He also saw his own rigid form reflected in her gaze.
Swinging the Lake Maiden's Shield with his left hand, he smashed it heavily onto the primordial sea god's head. Pontus, bleeding profusely, immediately lost consciousness and fell into a deep sleep. Tyche, still hesitant to kill Pontus for fear of destabilizing the ocean's origin, merely sealed him at the bottom of the sea. Not being able to kill Pontus did not mean he could retain his freedom; letting the primordial sea god fall into dormancy served the interests of the Oceanids.
Drawing out the Spear of Eternity and holding it reversed in her hand, Tyche commanded the earth to split open a rift leading to the Underworld. The power of the underground water divine position connected to the River Styx. Tyche drew upon Pontus's power to expand the scope of the River of Obsession. Before long, the calm River Styx became a vast ocean. Styx commanded the currents to resist the abyss's encroachment, diluting Tartarus's corrosive divine power and reclaiming control of the Underworld.
The goddess of fate pulled Pontus's body in front of her, using his power to resist the abyss. With each attack from the abyss, the waters of the River Styx diminished, but Pontus's oceanic divine power quickly replenished what was lost, causing Pontus's aura to rapidly weaken, plunging him into a slumber similar to that of the sky god.
The fissures on the seabed did not close. A continuous flow of seawater poured through this opening to the Underworld, proving quite troublesome even for the abyss. Intersecting underground water veins delineated the boundaries between the earth and the abyss. The immense pressure pushed the abyss away from the earth and the Underworld, and Tartarus, not daring to unleash his full power to destroy the Underworld, had to withdraw.
Pontus's body became the first line of defense for the Underworld. A continuous stream of seawater flowed from his divinity, becoming power controlled by Styx. If the abyss were to unleash its full force, the unfortunate Pontus would be the first to bear the brunt. The demise of the primordial sea god would only benefit Tyche by clearing obstacles for her to unify the seas. However, if the abyss did not act with full force, Tyche would likely have time to deal with him.
Tartarus did not harbor much resentment. In any case, he had not suffered significant losses. Responding to Eros was merely a matter of convenience, and a retreat was not unacceptable.
The power of the abyss thus receded. The panicked souls had their memories washed away by the River of Forgetfulness, returning to a state of peace, immersed in the vast ocean encircling the Underworld.
Eros, who had been entangled with Zeus and Kanna, sighed and turned to leave. Zeus stopped his brother, who was drawing his bow. The primordial god of love's power stemmed from the emotions of all sentient beings. As long as sentient beings existed, Eros was invincible.
Zeus knew that continuing the entanglement would yield no results. He watched Eros depart.