I soon wake up feeling incredibly ill and unpleasant. Sitting up in bed, I rub my extended belly.

  Pregnancy, even for gods, is still a rough ordeal. I soon look around and see that Psyche is gone; still, I have to try to be as normal as possible.

  Getting up, I wear a thick, baggy robe to hide my pregnancy. This robe is a must because Zeus might eventually try to look up, and if he sees me, he’ll start asking questions.

  So this ugly, dirt-brown robe is a must.

  I soon get on my feet and walk to my office. Going downstairs, I smell food being cooked, followed by the sounds of laughter from Hedone. I carefully hover off the ground to not disturb them. Once in my office, I close the door and let out a sigh of relief. Today I plan on creating Vassals of Love; basically, they will be extensions of my will and secretaries/assistants, what have you.

  I am already the Primordial God of Love, so I cover four domains, keeping the four types of love in mind. I take a breath and hold out my hands and create a manifestation of my power, and then divide it into four spheres. The four orbit each other in my open hand, and soon I say the words.

  Cupid: Now my vassals of love, be born, come to me. Philia

  Soon one of the Spheres would leave my hand and soon float onto the floor and then transform into 5-foot-tall purple-haired women wearing cotton candy pink flat shoes with black stockings with slightly ripped punk-themed skirts and an upper white crop top with long sleeves. She wore pink leather fingerless gloves on her hands; her ears were pointed, and her eyes were a sapphire blue.

  Her bubblegum-pink hair was short and bobbed with a single long bang on the left side of her face.

  Philia: I am Philia, the vassal of deep friendship love. I am willing to serve you, Master Cupid.

  I would smile and then go on to say

  Cupid: Now then, Philia, stand behind me and observe.

  Philia soon spread her swan wings and walked behind me.

  Cupid: Now arise, Storge.

  Another Sphere would leave my hands and form into another Vassal. This one took the form of a six-foot-tall man dressed in a cream, orange, and coral pink suit with an ascot. The suit didn’t look like it was meant for business; it looked more like the type of outfit a professional male nanny would wear who trained at an institute for the very profession.

  He wore a dark pink French beret on his head, and his face looked like the very definition of a Twink. His hair was long, tied into a braid, and was the color of red velvet.

  He then placed his hand to his chest and did a bow, saying

  Storge: I am Storge, the Vassal of Familial Love. I shall do all that I can in your name, Lord Cupid.

  Cupid: Glad to have you aboard, Storge. Now join Philia and watch on.

  Storge soon walked behind me, standing next to Philia, and I then went on to say

  Cupid: Now arise, Agape.

  The second to last sphere would then fall to the floor, and what would form was a woman wearing a sleeveless pastel pink evening gown with cherry blossom pink heels and whitish silver stockings. Her silverish purple hair was tied up into a bun. She wore lipstick on her lips, and her eyes resembled pearls that shone in the light.

  She then smiled and said

  Agape: Greetings, my Lord. I am Agape, the vassal of unconditional love. I shall proudly serve you in all the best ways.

  Cupid: Very good. Now then, join the others; we are almost done.

  Agape would smile, licking her lips, and then walk behind me and stand beside Storge.

  Cupid: Now let us end the creation of my vassals with you, Eros. Arise!

  The final Sphere would then leave my hands, and soon a teenage boy would form his hair was an autumn brown with bright pink shades. He wore a long, pure white cultist skirt with depictions of romantic figures decorating it. He wore a metal brazier over his chest and had a gauntlet that completely covered his left arm.

  His face was much like mine, but his eyes were a dark purple color. He soon knelt down in front of me and said,

  Eros: I am Eros, your eternal vassal of passionate love. Your wish is my command, Lord Cupid.

  Cupid: Rise and get in line with your fellow Vassals. We have little time, but I must discuss something with all of you.

  One thing I would say is that Eros was the most sexually appealing out of all my vassals, the very definition of bara in every sense, but with all my vassals ready, I cleared my throat and spoke with them and said

  Cupid: Now the four of you are manifestations of the type of love that all fall under my domain. You are all extensions of my power, but that doesn’t have to be our relationship. I will treat the four of you with the same respect and devotion as my family, and if any harm should befall you, so help me, for now you will all stay with me in my palace. I will work on having rooms prepared for each of you, but for now my husband is cooking breakfast, and I would like for all of you to meet the rest of my family.

  The four Vassals would nod. Cupid would then open the door and lead the four vassals to the kitchen.

  Psyche and Hedone were surprised to see the four Vassals, but after Cupid explained everything, the two would be very inviting.

  Storge would sit next to Hedone and would happily interact with him, and it became incredibly obvious that Hedone and Storge would become good friends.

  Agape and Philia really seemed to hit it off; they might have formed a sisterly bond with one another. Meanwhile, Eros stayed quiet; he seemed to be processing everything. Cupid would soon help Psyche with cooking breakfast, and today they were having strawberry crepes with whipped cream and stuffed French toast.

  When breakfast was served, Psyche asked each vassal about their aspirations, but having just been created just an hour ago, they didn’t have much to aspire to just yet.

  When breakfast was over, Cupid would help clean up but would tell his vassals to meet him in the gym for a combat evaluation.

  One of Cupid’s servants would guide the Vassals.

  Hedone would then run off to play, and Cupid would finish up to allow Psyche so he could watch Hedone.

  When Cupid had finished, he teleported to the gym. Now each palace in the Upper Stratum had its own gym the size of an auditorium. This was so each primordial god could train their armies in privacy.

  Cupid would then appear and take a second teleporting, which was already disorienting, but Cupid would soon compose himself and look to his vassals and say

  Cupid: Now then, since you four are not God's, I need to assess your abilities. I am a Primordial God, and that makes you all slightly more powerful than those on the lower Stratum but not by much, so I shall summon some pawns, and you will each show me your combat prowess. You all being manifestations of my power, this should come naturally.

  Cupid would then snap his fingers, and three soldiers made of mana would appear. These soldiers looked like standard gladiators, only they didn’t wear helmets, and their golden and pink armor bore Cupid’s crest, and they wielded Estoc swords.

  Philia would step up first; she soon got into a boxer stance and summoned boxer gloves. These gloves were pure white and had hearts on the front part where the knuckles would be.

  Philia took a breath and would then rush towards the guards and, without hesitation, would begin to fight the guards with the expertise and skill of a person trained by Mike Tyson himself.

  Cupid was incredibly impressed.

  As Philia put an end to the final Pawn, Cupid would summon a set of Rooks. These creatures were 10-foot-tall warriors clad in pastel pink steel armor with armored helmets fashioned to resemble rabbits. These armored units held heavy heart-shaped shields that resembled mirrors, and for their weapon was a heavy lance built into their left arm.

  Cupid: Now, Philia, you will have to use theurgy in order to take down these powerful units. think carefully

  Philia: I’ll show you what I can do, my lord.

  Now the gods all have three additional forms of combat. The first is their skills; these are physical combat skills that rely on HP in order to use. Next is their magic, which relies on their mana, and lastly we have theurgy; these are skills that consume GP (God Power).

  Every God has a set number of GP, some more than others, and GP can be extended in time.

  But what is the difference between these three forms of offense?

  Well, skills are better for foes who have high magical resistance. Magic is good against foes with high physical resistance, and theurgy is essentially good on either; the only difference is that skills will always be single target while magic will always be multi-target, and theurgy is different for every god.

  A God’s Theurgy is based on their Godly Domain for example Cupid’s Theurgies all have the ability to inflict Charm and one of them can even do more damage if the foe is charmed

  Philia soon punched her fist together, and she soon began to emit a glorious pink light. Philia then said

  Philia: for my friends

  Philia then began to move like a bolt of Lightning and appearing in front of all the Rooks and delivering a powerful punch that pierced their armored Chests destroying them Cupid would then begin to clap, satisfied.

  Cupid: impressive Philia Now let’s see your skills and if you have any magic.

  Cupid would then summon a single rook and three pawns.

  Philia soon took a breath and activated her skill flurry

  Philia then unleashed a five-punch combo, destroying each pawn. Philia was then going to get skewered by the rook, but she soon did a backflip, giving her some distance. She then pointed her left fist towards the rook and began to use the spell Enrage.

  Soon a red mist would circle her as she put a rage enchantment on herself.

  And soon she smirked and went ballistic on the rook, decimating it in seconds.

  When the battle had ended, Philia returned to Normal, taking a breath and looking to Cupid, who showered her with praise and warmth.

  Next was Storge, who slowly stepped onto the battlefield.

  Storge then summoned a deck of playing cards that circled around him. It was obvious to Cupid that Storge was more magic-oriented.

  Even still, Cupid soon summoned a group of pawns.

  Storge soon unleashed his bee wings and took flight a few feet off the ground and soon started to send his cards flying towards the pawns; his cards would pierce the flesh of the pawns like a hot knife through butter. Storge didn’t just let his cards stop; he used his magic to move his cards like they were a school of fish. They spun around and around the pawns, mincing them.

  Cupid: Interesting. Storge, now I would like to see your theurgy.

  Cupid would once again spawn three Rooks.

  Storge would then land on his feet, and he took a breath and then began to give off a pink light.

  Storge: I place my fate within my cards.

  Storge then closed his eyes and picked a single card, and the other circling cards would vanish. Storge then revealed the card and said,

  Storge: I invoke you, card of Swords.

  Suddenly a sword made of energy would appear in the center of the Rooks and slashed around in a whirling circle.

  Doing heavy damage to the rooks and critically wounding them, Storge then sent more cards flying, and they spun around the rooks, doing chip damage until they ultimately fell defeated.

  Cupid: I see, so I’m guessing your theurgy is based around the cards you draw so multiple outcomes can happen.

  Storge: Correct, but because of this I only have one theurgy, but that theurgy can have multiple outcomes.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Cupid: Exciting! Now moving on to your magic and skills.

  Like before, a single rook and three pawns would rise.

  Storge then began to charge up mana, and soon his cards began to form two circles, forming an X, and soon Storge released his spell.

  Storge: Cards bestow your blessings upon me.

  Storge’s spell would soon manifest as a raging fire sprouted below the enemies feet, greatly wounding them. Storge then used his skill.

  Storge’s skill was called Dealer's choice, and it essentially gave him another turn, but it greatly weakened him in return.

  Storge then used the fire spell again. This fire spell is called Pyras.

  And it defeated the rook and the pawns.

  Cupid would once again clap and praise Storge, who soon took a backseat, and soon Agape took the stage. She would summon two weapons, a large folding fan decorated with flamingo feathers, and she also had a hand crossbow in the other.

  Cupid: an interesting weapon choice Agape, I imagine your fighting style is based on speed.

  Agape: Hehe, well, we’ll see, but shall we begin, my lord?

  Cupid would once again summon three Pawns, and Agape would soon charge forward. Agape’s fan, though it looked fragile and delicate, was an incredibly lethal weapon. The folding fan was able to slash as well as a sword, and the hand crossbow was able to do deadly damage even when in close range.

  Agape’s fighting style was a mix of swift strikes while also avoiding oncoming damage.

  Cupid was greatly impressed; next came time to see Agape’s theurgy.

  Three Rooks were once again summoned, and Agape smirked confidently and soon gave off that oh-so-familiar pink shine.

  Agape then held her folding fan in the air, and soon a pink wind would rush at the rooks; they would soon begin to slouch and enter a relaxed state. Agape would then rush at them and begin to attack. Agape’s attacks soon did double damage and decimated the rooks entirely.

  Cupid: So that’s your talent: you're a trickster.

  Agape: guilty as charged, tricksters specialize in debilitating their foes and taking advantage of their weakened state.

  Cupid: Well then, let’s proceed.

  Cupid would once again summon three pawns and a rook.

  Agape snickered, and soon Agape revealed her magic. She soon charged up mana in her folding fan and waved it at the rook and pawns.

  And yelled

  Agape: stagnant air

  Suddenly a sickening green air would rush towards them, greatly poisoning them.

  Agape then held up her hand crossbow and charged up energy into it and shot a green arrow into the air above her. The arrow soon came back down as a large snake that greatly damaged the enemy. This was the skill Toxic Feast. This physical skill is except from the rule most skills have: it does great damage to any targets that are inflicted with the poison debuff.

  The enemies were slain, and Cupid greatly praised Agape, who took it all in stride.

  Soon Eros stepped up for his turn; he smiled and summoned a

  Cupid would once again summon three Pawns.

  Eros said nothing and simply started attacking them, not with a weapon; no, he fought with his gauntlet, unleashing a series of punches while also defending himself, and Cupid would notice that the gauntlet was decorated with pink glowing glyphs.

  As each pawn fell, Eros drained their mana.

  Cupid: interesting

  The Rooks were soon summoned, and Eros teleported above them, hovering in the air and unleashing his theurgy.

  Eros: devastator

  Eros’s gauntlet would soon begin to give off blackish purple light as he raised it up high.

  And soon a burst of black energy erupted from the ground the Rooks stood on, and oddly enough, despite the display, they weren’t defeated, but they fell to their knees.

  Greatly saddened, this was a status effect known as Despair. Eros soon teleported in a few feet in front of the despair-filled rooks and soon used his skill.

  He grabbed one of the rooks and drained them of their mana and life force, instantly destroying it; he then backed away and destroyed the rest with a spell.

  Eros: Thorn

  Suddenly the remaining Rooks would be pierced by giant thorns made of Mana, instantly killing them.

  Eros would then look to his lord, and kneeling, Cupid was greatly impressed and soon gathered his vassals together and said

  Cupid: Philia I dub you my Spartan. May your merciless strength decimate my enemies. Storge, you shall be my envoy. May your supportive magic secure our victory. Agape, you may be known as my Trickster. May your speed and sabotage make the battles ahead much easier, and lastly, Eros, you shall be my Destroyer. May your destructive power strike fear in our foes.

  Cupid was greatly satisfied by the prowess of his vassals and would soon instruct them on how to perform their job. Cupid showed them how to use the Telesphere, a round, ornate room that could show the entire mortal world.

  Cupid then explained how to manifest and send love to those who needed it. Each Vassal represented a different form of love, and as such, they each had to look for something different. Luckily, depending on what type of love was needed, the mortals would have the correlating symbol.

  Each Vassal gained a quick understanding of how to do their job and would spend two weeks doing their job and spending time with Cupid and his family.

  Storge would soon become good friends with Hedone, and whenever Cupid was stuck in bed and needy, Psyche would spend most of the day tending to him. In those moments, Storge would keep Hedone entertained.

  Philia would form a deep bond with Psyche, but outside of work, Philia would work with the servants, helping with cooking and cleaning, ultimately keeping everything tidy.

  Agape, however, when she wasn’t working, would go down to the mortal world and have fun. Agape, however, did this for other reasons; she would use her feminine wiles to gain funding from high-ranking mortals, to which she would stow away into a bank account and would buy a lovely home for her lord; it was a three-story penthouse.

  Agape would also gather information because it was common knowledge amongst the Gods that the bastard children of Zeus still live on Earth and have been granted high-ranking positions on the earth. Some of the descendants of Zeus play some part in how the world is run, and Agape was determined to keep tabs on them in any way possible.

  That left Eros, who mainly read books in the Library of Cupid’s palace, Eros, though silent, greatly Cared for his newfound family; he just didn’t say it.

  Cupid would soon get a visit from his sister, Gaia. She had done her part, having her husband locate the forming stars, but on Psyche’s request, she kept the number of stars to herself.

  Gaia soon walked into Cupid’s bedchamber, where she would see Cupid watching TV with Hedone snuggled up into his side.

  Gaia would let out a calm sigh and say

  Gaia: Hello little brother, how are you feeling today?

  Cupid would smile at his sister and say

  Cupid: Fine, I guess I’m as good as I can be with this pregnancy. I have to say you made it look so easy when you went through it.

  Gaia: Oh, that honestly wasn’t the truth. I gave birth to so much, and it was monstrous.

  Cupid: Yeah, most of your children were a bit freaky.

  Gaia: Yeah, they were. Anyway, I came over to deliver this memo from Hypnos. It’s about a group of gods who may be willing to join our cause.

  Cupid: Oh really? Is it anyone I know?

  Gaia: in more ways than one, it seems

  Gaia would then hand me a list of Gods from the Pantheon below who are willing to dissent.

  These figures were Aphrodite's sons Pothos, Anteros, her close rival and mat Hymen, Himeros, and Imeros, and Aphrodite’s friend Peitho, and lastly Hedylogos Hermaphroditus.

  These gods were all people I was acquainted with in one form or another.

  Cupid: You're telling me the entire division of Love Gods in the Pantheon below is possibly willing to join our cause.

  Gaia: My grandson has made countless enemies within his own ranks that I know of.

  Cupid: I see. I will have Psyche arrange a meeting, and I probably won’t be able to attend.

  Gaia: That might be for the best. I shall relay this information to Psyche right away. I will be in touch, my sweet brother.

  Gaia would then leave the room soon, asking a servant for Psyche’s location. The servant would then lead the way.

  Psyche was currently sitting on a bench in the courtyard looking up at the stars above.

  Psyche would quickly notice Gaia turning towards her and smiling.

  Psyche: my dear sister-in-law How may I be of service?

  Gaia: I have come to relay information to you about a meeting with some potential allies.

  Psyche: This is for the line of succession, correct?

  Gaia: Yes, my brother wanted you to organize everything, and I’m surprised to see what you can do.

  Psyche: I promise I will not fail in this task, but I do have one concern.

  Gaia: Which is???

  Psyche: How will we know that the listed gods won’t just run and reveal our plans to Zeus?

  Gaia: In the walkway of your palace is a special set of flowers that will place a binding curse on the gods not inhabiting this palace. The binding curse will not allow them to tell the details of the plan to come. Hecate helped me create them.

  Psyche: You managed to get the three-faced goddess of magic to help us.

  Gaia: It was incredibly easy to do so. Actually, Hecate is honestly rooting for us in our efforts.

  Psyche: That’s good to know, so are the listed gods on their way here now?

  Gaia: They should be riding the elevator up to this stratum now. I shall be leaving for my own palace via my roots.

  Gaia would then take her leave. Psyche would then call for a servant, and soon one would appear dressed in a cream-orange butler suit wearing a rabbit mask.

  Servant: How may I be of service? Master Psyche

  Psyche: I want you to prepare the meeting room; we have guests coming for a meeting.

  Servant: Yes, master.

  The servant would then leave to set up the meeting room.

  Psyche would then take a breath and would walk to the dressing room and would garb himself in a purple v-neck flamenco shirt that heavily exposed his chest and skin-tight bell-bottom pants and flat dancing shoes.

  Psyche also prepared Ruby Ambrosia with strawberry essence and chocolate.

  Psyche would then prepare a display of rose flowers in the meeting room while also going down to the cellar to grab two bottles of refined apple mead with the presentation set up just in time for the group to arrive.

  Aphrodite would then walk in dressed in a white and pastel pink dress with gold adornments, her hot pink hair voluptuous and wavy with expertly done makeup.

  Beside her were her sons, Pothos, the god of longing and desire. Than Anteros, the god of requited love and the Avenger of Unrequited love.

  Pothos was dressed in a silver and pastel blue vest with a very fancy necklace around his neck. He was also wearing a pair of harem pants and had bare feet and bangles on his ankles and a skinny veil wrapped around him but connected to bangles on his wrists.

  Pothos was honestly considered to be the prettiest son, second to his mother, and considering he’s the god of Desire, that is something that goes a long way when you consider Aphrodite did have daughters, and frankly, no one in the cosmos knows what happened to them.

  Which is chilling, considering her main lover, Ares, may know what happened, but that’s better left unspoken.

  Next we move to Anteros; he is 3 feet taller than Pothos and is more muscular and has taken after Ares and, as such, has been trained by him extensively and has mastered swordplay, how to use a glaive, and a bow.

  Anteros, being the god of requited love and the avenger of unrequited love, has taken his role seriously. Anteros dresses in a battle skirt made from the fear of grizzly bears, is completely shirtless, and has only a strap around his chest, and he wears a cloak made from a wolf pelt with a boar mask to cover his face.

  On his feet would be long black steel boots.

  Anteros has a history of being jealous of his brother Pothos, mainly because he’s so favored by his mother, so it’s honestly a complete mess.

  Next to come in was Hymen, the God of Marriage.

  Hymen was dressed in a groom's tuxedo with four white wings wrapped around his body like scarves. Around his neck is a veil. He had short golden hair neatly styled and one blue eye and one pink eye.

  Hymen was a frequent matchmaker who would spend hours with Aphrodite and would get into shipping contests to see who would make the better ship.

  Hymen, when he’s not doing his monthly shipping battles, spends time pretending to be a wedding planner in the mortal world, and he’s so successful at it that his wedding planning business is rated number one in the world.

  Next is Himeros; he’s similar to Anteros and Pothos, a blend of their divinities. Himeros is the God of Sexual Desire and Unrequited Love.

  Himeros Dresses in Dark Pink and Bright Purple Cultist-like robes on his robes are depictions of birds and winged angels; on Himeros’s face is a silver mask fashioned to resemble a fox skull, and on his back are slender strawberry-pink bird wings.

  Next we have Imeros, the God of extreme lust and erotic craving and younger brother to Himeros.

  Imeros is honestly seen as a god to be avoided, mainly due to his power being the most harmful. Imeros honestly can inflict lust curses so powerful that they’ll consume your mind and will make sure you can’t think of anything else.

  Because of this, Imeros is feared by every other god and is mostly treated like a bratty child whose anger should be quickly placated.

  Imeros dresses in white, silken harem pants with jeweled bangles and bracelets on his arms; around his waist is a black metal chain, and on the front of that chain is a metal cylinder that also serves as his primary weapon, but more on that later.

  Imeros has coral red hair with purple hues; his eyes are a vibrant green, and he has the ears of a mule.

  Next we have Peitho; she is the goddess of persuasion, seduction, and charming speech. Out of all the gods in the current reigning pantheon, she is probably one of the three gods who doesn’t wield a weapon that we know of anyway.

  Peitho has dark purple hair and has her hair tied in a bun. She honestly dresses like an accomplished lawyer with a golden scarf wrapped around her neck; the ends of the scarf are made to resemble a dragonfly's wings.

  Next we have the adopted sibling of Peitho; his name is Hedylogos, and he is the god of sweet talk and flattery. In truth, his power is the weaker version of his sister's.

  Hedylogos dyed his hair a darker shade of purple to match his sister's, and he dresses similarly to her. In truth, Hedylogos is the love child of Aphrodite and Athena, but sadly both disregard him as a nuisance.

  Aphrodite disregards him due to his lack of handsomeness, and Athena disregards him solely because of his lack of military power and prowess.

  Before Peitho took him in, Hedylogos spent the first two years of his life living outside the Pantheon gates.

  Because of this, Hedylogos has devoted himself to Peitho. It’s admirable really.

  Lastly we have Hermaphroditus (for the sake of simplicity, hermaphroditus will be shortened to Hermaph). He is the God and Father of the Hermaphrodite race, and due to his parentage being Aphrodite and Hermes, he was blessed with the ability to shapeshift.

  Hermaph is often considered a god with no true sense of self. He will commonly pick a face and form he likes; he’ll act it out for at least three months or two, then get bored and abandon the persona he had created. Then he’ll add it to his journal of personas and then work on his next form.

  In his base form, Hermaph resembles a white-skinned, bald man with purple eyes and long, slender ears that resemble an elf. His body is a mix between slender and masculine. In his base form, he wears clothing similar to a male prostitute.

  Hermaph was raised solely by his father; this was mainly due to Aphrodite only accepting Hermaph when he wasn’t himself; she would physically punish him whenever she found him in his true form, and when the others found out, Hermes took sole custody and then placed a horrible curse on Aphrodite that turned her into a mule for two years.

  Ever since Hermaph has been doing so much better, but at the same time, he’s also developed a lot of trauma when it comes to his identity.

  But with everyone assembled, Psyche cleared his throat and said

  Psyche: Welcome, my esteemed guests. Please take a seat around the table and partake of the ambrosia and mead. Horderves will be arriving shortly.

  Aphrodite: This place is absolutely divine, Psyche, ten times better than the penthouse I live in.

  Pothos: Exactly this place oozes heavy romantic vibes. What do you think, Anter?

  Anteros: … yah

  The visiting gods would then take a seat and partake in the refreshments, and judging by everyone's faces, they were enjoying it.

  Psyche: Now then, you all have been called here for a specific purpose, and that is to answer a question I have been wondering.

  The visiting gods would then look to Psyche's curiosity forming on their faces.

  Psyche: My question is simple: Are you all happy with the way things are being run right now?

  The visiting gods would then talk and discuss amongst themselves, but it was Hymen who spoke up and said

  Hymen: Personally, no, and though my friends may not admit it, we are not happy with the way things are being run at all.

  Himeros: Personally, our entire division is just an all-out lounge platform. Psyche, your husband takes care of everything we do, and in all honesty, Zeus mainly comes to our division to lounge around and party with mortal women he abducts.

  Aphrodite: in a shaky voice, That’s not true. Psyche, excuse Himeros; he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We love our king dearly.

  Psyche: Aphrodite, in terms of family, you are far older than Zeus, and so you honestly hold more power than him. If I’m even correct, you can create vassals based on aspects of your prior interests that you were told to stifle by Zeus.

  Aphrodite would then fidget in her seat; she pointed her head down, biting her lip.

  Pothos soon placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder and tried to help her calm down.

  Psyche: And if I recall correctly, you once took an interest in battle, and you were highly skilled with a ranseur.

  Pothos: Lies. My mother never took up arms in her life.

  Aphrodite would then shed a tear and say

  Aphrodite: But I did.

  At that moment it felt like all the air would have left the room; everyone was shocked save for Psyche, who had heard the stories of Aphrodite’s prowess on the battlefield.

  Aphrodite: It was days before our wedding. I was in the gymnasium training with a practice polearm. I was beautiful, graceful, and powerful, and with my theurgies and magic, I was unstoppable. On the night before my wedding, Hephaestus made me a ranseur made from pearls and rose quartz. It was even purified in the seafoam that I was born from. It was the greatest gift, but shortly after, Zeus came and said, "My dear, the battlefield is no place for one as beautiful as you. Think about it: what can a goddess of beauty and love contribute to war?" At the time it made sense, so I hung up my weapon, and I have regretted it ever since.

  Psyche: Since we’re sharing, has anyone else been slighted by Zeus?

  Hermaph then spoke up. Hermaph would clear his throat and say that one time Zeus tried to assault him.

  It was at a gala, and Zeus was heavily intoxicated at the time. Hermaph was using the guise of a maiden, and Zeus, in his intoxicated state, took Hermaph aside, promising to show him a great treasure he had in his gallery.

  And saving the details, Zeus tried, but luckily Hermaph was able to get away, and he told no one.

  Aphrodite then looked incredibly shocked, and she soon stood up, surprising everyone, and then she ran over and hugged Hermaph close, apologizing profusely.

  This honestly shocked everyone; even Psyche was stunned, but after that, everyone started coming forward with how they were wronged by Zeus in one way or another. By the time everyone was grieving, Psyche spoke up and said

  Psyche: So you have all admitted that you have been wronged by the lightning-flinging jackass, but what if there were a way to dethrone him?

  The entire room went silent, looking to Psyche, who cleared his throat and said

  Psyche: In the coming months, there may be a possibility that a new lineage of gods will be born that could be powerful enough to knock Zeus out of the universe.

  Imeros: Are you saying one of the primordial gods has chosen to bear a child?

  Psyche: I don’t know; I just know there is a possibility of that happening, and if it does happen, will you all be willing to take up arms against Zeus and join our new pantheon?

  Aphrodite: Personally, I want to be who I am, and Zeus has taken that from me. I am the Goddess of Beauty, but I also want to partake in battle. I am willing to take up arms.

  Soon the others would follow.

  Hymen would then stand up and say

  Hymen: I am more than willing to take that jackass down; he has ruined countless marriages, and seeing him on his knees would give me the greatest satisfaction.

  Psyche: Good, now then we have set up a base for any soldiers you may command within Tartarus. Please work to slowly dispatch them there to receive orders. Also, do not let Zeus know about this, and when the time should arise, please make haste to Hades palace. Is that understood???

  The visiting gods were all in agreement and soon left through the front doors. As they passed by Gaia’s flowers, they placed their enchantment on the group. They would soon descend the elevator when Aphrodite and her sons entered the penthouse. Aphrodite would then go down to her basement and pull out her old Ranseur. It was still pristine as the day it was gifted to her. Aphrodite would then clear her office and convert it into a workout room where she would train for the first time in a millennium.

  End of Episode