’Back then, Apollo, with his prophecies and arts, forcefully suppressed Helius in the divine hierarchy of the Sun.’
’The problem is that Helius was not on good terms with the Father God, and he wished the divine power of the Sun would fall into Apollo’s hands.’
’But Selene has long been in the Father God’s bed; how could she allow me to usurp her?’
Artemis felt somewhat unwilling.
As a child of the Mother Goddess, she was born with a connection to the Moon, but the Moon God, Selene, was already an ancient Moon deity.
Even in the old divine wars, Selene aided the Father God.
Moreover, Selene’s relationship with Zeus was ambiguous.
Thus, even though she had a connection to the Moon, without divine power she found it difficult to spread her faith among mortals.
The priests are incompetent, unable to perceive the possible connection to my lunar essence without my guidance.
But she couldn’t make it clear; if discovered, Selene’s influence on the Father God could strip her of her current divine powers.
’Ranks’ and ’divine power’ are two different things.
’Rank’ represents the qualification to hold ’divine power’, which can be innate or fabricated.
’Divine power’ represents the capabilities one can wield, such as her hunting powers; anything related to hunting is under her control.
Artemis could only wait for Selene to fall out of favor. Her father appeared passionate but was, in truth, indifferent. If he liked you, he’d indulge you, but if not...
He could easily send you to the Netherworld at any moment.
And at this moment...
Artemis’s expression shifted, an innocent and wild face showing an adorable surprise.
Because she noticed a subtle change in her lunar essence.
Though not very noticeable, there was a change.
She couldn’t help but focus her attention on the mortal world, as constant talk related to her fell into her ears.
"Artemis is not only a fertility goddess; the moon phases and women’s pregnancy cycles are alike, so Artemis is also one of the lunar deities!"
"Since Artemis is the goddess of women, and the moon has always symbolized womanhood, why isn’t Artemis the lunar deity?"
"Worship the lunar deity, the fertility goddess Artemis, bless my wife’s delivery tonight..."
...
The more she listened, the happier Artemis became, thinking which priest had such an innovative idea to link fertility with the moon.
Previously, the only connection Artemis could think of was the need for moonlight during a hunt.
But it was a weak connection, as most hunters rarely go out at night; after all, nocturnal beasts are more aggressive, and human night vision is inferior to that of beasts.
Therefore, this had no effect on enhancing her lunar essence.
Linking fertility and the moon like this.
"When Selene’s sigh penetrates Ephesus’s colonnades, Artemis’s silver arrows transform into an umbilical cord. The waxing and waning moon is like a uterus’s breath — the new moon is a virgin’s belt, the full moon is a birthing bed."
Artemis murmured, full of admiration for the priest who spoke these words. This wasn’t seen as encroaching on Selene’s divine powers.
One could even say she shared part of the fertility divine powers with Selene.
However, Artemis had long held the fertility powers and often manifested miracles in the mortal world, so giving Selene some essence didn’t matter.
Selene herself had no fertility essence, gaining some wouldn’t snatch Artemis’s powers away.
"Let’s see which believer has such powerful thoughts."
Artemis’s attention fell to the mortal world. Using Divine Power, she traced the origin of the remarks and immediately appeared before Shen Fei.
Suddenly, while pondering how to deal with Herodotus, Shen Fei saw a woman clad in animal skins, a silver bow at her waist.
Noticing her distinguishing features, Shen Fei immediately recognized who she was.
"Greetings, my Goddess!"
Followers only needed to show respect when facing a Divine Spirit, rarely kneeling, unless some deities demanded it to show their majesty.
Artemis did not have such a rule.
"You did well," Artemis nodded slightly, "Linking fertility with the moon."
"My goddess, as the Sun God’s sister, you should be the lunar deity. Currently, Selene only encroaches on your power."
Shen Fei spoke ’righteously indignant’.
This fit the behavior of a fanatic, making Artemis even more pleased; after all, leveraging his faith to directly accuse other deities of stealing her power.
"My goddess, I have something to report!"
Suddenly, Shen Fei spoke urgently.
"Hmm? Speak."
Artemis thought Shen Fei wanted some reward; he had performed admirably, deserving a just reward.
But Shen Fei whispered, "My goddess, this might involve plots from other deities. Could other deities overhear us by talking here?"
This made Artemis raise a brow. Involving other deities?
Upon hearing Shen Fei’s words, she chuckled, "This is my temple, under my divine power’s coverage, as one of the main deities, even Father God cannot overhear our conversation here."
"I discovered a blasphemer in Ephesus."
"A blasphemer? That’s normal," Artemis said matter-of-factly, with so many people, who could ensure there was no blasphemer?
But Shen Fei quickly added, "But this blasphemer threatens to burn Artemis’s temple, and they’re from Thrace."
Artemis frowned, the word ’Thrace’ was a key term, as it concerned Ares.
If it were ordinarily, she wouldn’t be bothered, but Laxsis foretold her Greek faith would be destroyed.
But how, and by whom, remained unsaid.
"Could it be Ares?"
Hearing Shen Fei’s words, Artemis suddenly considered.
Even though Ares fought on her side during the Trojan War, she never got along well with this war-mad god.
Additionally, Aphrodite’s adulterous acts were a direct insult to her purity.
If not for Troy being her brother Apollo’s protectorate, she’d have never aided the Trojans.
Subsequent events became even more complicated.
Much later, she learned many Greek city-states’ ’human sacrifices’ had become ’hunting festivals.’
Ares already confronted her multiple times, even believing they lost the Trojan War because Artemis was a traitor.
Artemis previously couldn’t understand why the ’hunting festivals’ replaced ’human sacrifices,’ until Athena told her it was her doing.