The Greece Antagonist

"So, the one who planted this curse on you was Hecate?"

After listening to the story, Athena raised her hand and carefully touched the black divine seal in front of Luo En's chest, pondering for a moment, her eyes seemingly enlightened.

"What about that thing she initially gave you? Bring it out!"

Luo En was slightly startled, then realized what Athena was referring to, and a serpentine twelve-sided die appeared in his palm.

On ten of its faces, which represented the sacred symbols of ten of the chief gods, shone brightly, leaving only Zeus's [Lightning] and Hephaestus's [Flame] still dim.

Athena stared intently at the twelve-sided die, murmuring with a complex expression.

"It's actually this..."

"You recognize it?"

Upon hearing this, a wave of astonishment passed over Luo En's face.

"Recognize it!?" Athena huffed coldly, and began to speak somberly, "Strictly speaking, I was the one who originally planted this seed!"

The unexpected answer deepened the astonishment on Luo En's face.

Seeing Luo En's bewildered expression, Athena took a deep breath and then inquired.

"Have you seen Persephone, Queen of the Underworld? She must have told you about Zagreus, right?"

Luo En came back to his senses and nodded slightly.

Athena took another deep breath, recalling as she spoke.

"Zagreus died during the Titanomachy, torn apart and devoured by Giants. By the time I arrived at the scene, I was powerless, only managing to save a fragment of his divinity and sealed it in a small box, which I then brought to Zeus. Later, I tempted Zeus to swallow it, hoping my father would scatter this [Seed] into the mortal world during one of his affairs, to let it take root and grow anew (according to the mythological record)."

A box containing the essence of Zagreus?

Keying into those crucial words, Luo En's gaze shifted to the twelve-sided die in his hand.

Athena nodded her head, affirming the connection.

"Yes, it should be this, although its appearance has changed, I sense a similar aura from it."

That explained everything!

Luo En looked at the twelve-sided die in his hand, unraveling many of the mysteries in his mind.

No wonder Hecate had specifically handed him this die, for it held the seed of Zagreus's divinity!

For this reason, the die issued a series of oracles, guiding him to directly or indirectly disrupt the order of [Fate] and amplify his own [Chance] divinity.

"I sowed this seed with the mere hope of preserving a possibility to defy fate in this world, never expecting Hecate to get her hands on it first," Athena said, her gaze lingering on Luo En with a hint of emotion.

"Even less did I expect, after all the twists and turns, you would come back to me..."

What a twisted bond.

Luo En rubbed his somewhat numb temples, voicing the confusion in his heart.

"Say, why do you care so much about Zagreus's business? That isn't right, is it?"

Persephone, his own mother, wasn't present when Zagreus was slain; yet Athena rushed there immediately – too much of a coincidence, was it not?
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A reasonable explanation would be that the Goddess of Wisdom had been, consciously or not, keeping an eye on Zagreus's growth.

"That's because there's more to Zagreus's story," Athena answered irritably, and asked coolly, "Do you know how I was born?"

"I do," Luo En nodded, "Back then, Zeus swallowed Metis who was pregnant with you. Not long after, Zeus suffered a splitting headache, and urgently requested the God of Fire, Hephaestus, to cleave open his skull, and as a result, you were born from the brain of Zeus."

"In addition to that, I brought something else out from our father's body. The divinity of my never-born brother – Porus, the God of Chance..." Athena paused for a moment, adding softly, "Then, Hecate, ruler of the Netherworld, found me."

Upon hearing this, Luo En immediately connected the dots: "Zagreus?"

Athena nodded, sighing with resignation: "But the child didn't get to grow up, his fate was erased before that. I thought it was too conspicuous to keep him in the Celestial Realm, so I hoped he could be born into the mortal world, to live quietly and safely."

So this time, it was the princess of Thebes, Semele, and the one who was supposed to be born, Dionysus?

After learning this secret, Luo En looked at the twelve-sided die in his hand, feeling utterly disoriented.

Three successors consecutively doomed because of this thing, quite the abundance of instant death BUFFs.

Moreover, both you and Hecate are part of the source of my birth, and you have entangled yourself in my growth in countless ways; how should that be accounted for?

In an abstract sense, a half-sister, as close as a mother, and in the traditional sense, a wicked stepmother who barges in?

Gathering his complicated emotions, Luo En continued to probe: "What's its purpose for collecting twelve divinities?"

Athena pondered for a moment and shared her thoughts: "The Twelve Olympians represent the order of Fate. By usurping these divinities, perhaps it signals its taking over the original Fate, to provide nourishment for the growth of its [Chance Divinity]?"

"Hmm, that makes sense," Luo En nodded, and then inquired further, "Is there any way to bring this thing under my control?"

"Let me try..." Athena picked up the twelve-sided die, attempting to use her magic spells to break the restrictions upon it.

However, after a flare of light, Luo En felt a sudden contraction in his heart, an intense feeling of suffocation emanating from his chest, his soul crying out in bursts, consciousness gradually engulfed by darkness.

The rapidly escalating discomfort made Luo En hastily raise his hand to stop her: "Stop!"