The Little Golden Mouth

To ordinary people, becoming a god means having an almost endless lifespan, an appearance that never ages, and a power so great that with a single gesture, one could overturn the heavens and earth.

"But as someone who was once human, I don't necessarily think this is a good thing."

A gentle breeze swept by, and the boy who had been sleeping under a tree slowly opened his eyes. A trace of confusion flashed across his azure blue eyes.

Perhaps because he had just woken up, the scenes from his dream still lingered in front of him, making it hard to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Lying under an apple tree with brilliant golden hair, the boy had actually been awoken by the loud caw of a white raven perched on the branches.

With just a glance, he recognized the bird as his older brother's sacred beast.

"You're not at the Temple of Apollo, why have you come here?"

Yawning, he leaned back against the tree, lazily speaking to the white raven, "Is it that Apollo needs me to handle something again?"

One must admit, time is the most powerful force in this world because any discrepancy can be smoothed out by the long passage of time.

When he first arrived in this world, he couldn't accept this sudden change in identity.

But how could a few hundred years compare to a mere dozen or so years of a human life?

He had accepted his new identity, forgotten his old name, and everything from his past had faded away. Only a few fragments remained deep in his memory.

From the dim, small mountain cave he had been born in, to the later magnificent and sacred Mount Olympus.

Under the influence of that shameless King of the Gods, he seemed to naturally integrate into this world.

In the beginning, he had resisted the god who shared the same father but had a different mother. But after a few hundred years, he had accepted the relationship, though it hadn't taken long from the perspective of a god.

For ordinary people, this was several centuries, but for a god, it was merely a fleeting moment.

"Hermes, are you taking another nap on Earth?"

The white raven flapped its wings and flew in front of the boy. However, the voice that came out wasn't that of the raven, but of its master, transmitted through divine magic.

"Oh, my dear brother Apollo, what do you plan to use to compensate for disturbing my nap?"

With a grin, Hermes leaned his head on his hand and asked lazily, "How about giving me this lush land as compensation?"

"You want this land? Fine, as long as you help me with something. I'll give it to you, and not just this land, but even the Tarslo Mountains as well."

The white raven flapped its wings, flying in mid-air. Apollo, sitting in the Temple of Light, didn't hesitate to agree to Hermes' outrageous request.

"You're not serious, are you?"

Picking up his gear from under the tree and brushing off the leaves, Hermes looked at the raven with a playful expression.

Apollo wasn't stingy, but he wouldn't usually be so generous without reason.

Because of his sister, Hermes had intentionally reduced contact with Apollo.

"Of course, it's not for free."

Apollo thought for a moment and directly said to Hermes, "It's hard to explain the specifics, so why don't you come to the Temple of Light?"

The earth was vast, the embrace of Mother Earth. Although the gods had established their realms on Earth and in the sky, they couldn't encompass all territories.

Take the valley Hermes was in, for example. It was an unclaimed land at the border of Apollo's domain.

Since there was a temple of Apollo nearby, no ordinary gods came to this area.

However, the Tarslo Mountains were different; it was a vast, thriving valley.

Hermes had once heard people say that the vitality there might be related to the fallen Earth God, Crys, who had died there.

Hermes had always been intrigued by that area, but in the past, he didn't dare act on it due to concerns about Mother Earth.

But after Zeus had assigned the land to Apollo's domain, Hermes had finally given up on his plans.

Now, unexpectedly, Apollo was offering to give it to him...

Could this be an unexpected joy?

"Coming is no problem, but I'm guessing the Temple of Light isn't exactly welcoming me?"

Adjusting his golden crown, Hermes looked at the white raven with a half-smile.

Though he had a good relationship with Apollo, Apollo's sister, the goddess Artemis, seemed to have an innate antagonism with him and often caused trouble.

Because of this, Hermes hadn't stepped foot in the Temple of Light for nearly a hundred years.

He feared trouble and didn't want to deal with a heavy brother complex.

From their previous interactions, Hermes had sensed this.

Artemis wasn't necessarily opposed to him personally, but her actions towards him had likely been fueled by jealousy due to his closeness with Apollo.

Don't doubt it—these two twin gods shared a strong bond, and it was only natural that they didn't want any third party involved.

Thus, Hermes understood that the best way to avoid conflict was to reduce contact with Apollo.

"Don't worry, Artemis has gone to our mother's side, she's not at the Temple of Light today."

Hearing Hermes' concerns, Apollo smiled and reassured him.

"Alright, then I'll wait for you."

With a golden crown on his head, holding a caduceus in his hand, wearing winged sandals, and draped in a white cloth, the boy—who was also the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology, Hermes—summoned a breeze using the flying shoes Zeus had given him.

From the valley where he had been to the Temple of Light on Mount Olympus, the distance was thousands of miles.

But to the breeze, it was but an instant.

"Hey, what's this wind? It's bringing the messenger of the gods."

The Temple of Light, with Apollo presiding, was always dazzling and radiant.

The vast garden outside the temple was filled with beautiful flowers from the earth.

Standing in front of the Temple of Light, Hermes smiled at a few goddesses gathering flowers near the temple, unconcerned with their teasing remarks.

His discord with Artemis wasn't a secret on Mount Olympus—everyone knew about it.

These Muses, who were the daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, were also his half-sisters.

Compared to the goddess of nature, Artemis, these Muses treated Hermes with much more warmth.

Hermes followed a principle: if people don't wrong me, I won't wrong them.

For those who bore him no ill will, he naturally didn't want to make enemies.

As he spoke, the grand door suddenly opened by itself.

In the center of the temple, a god with a daffodil crown and white robes sat on a crystal throne, leisurely watching Hermes from outside.

"Well, what brings you here?"

Once inside the temple, Hermes didn't waste time with pleasantries and immediately asked Apollo why he had summoned him.

"There's something I need your help with."

Looking at his half-brother, Apollo's tone was gentle, "You must know that currently, Helios still holds the power of the sun."

The Titanomachy had just ended. Aside from the Titan gods who were cast into the abyss, many other gods who hadn't participated in the war still retained their glory.

After all, the law doesn't punish the innocent, and Zeus couldn't just wipe out everyone who hadn't participated in the battle.

So even though the Father of Light had been cast into Tartarus, Zeus couldn't dethrone the northern sun god Helios, and Apollo had yet to take the sun's authority.

"So?"

With a mischievous smile, Hermes gave Apollo a look as if saying "I don't understand," but then he laughed, "So, does this mean you're finally planning to challenge Helios' sun dominion?"

Apollo was the son of Zeus and the Night Goddess Leto, carrying the power of light and darkness. He was the current god of light on Mount Olympus.

His existence replaced Hyperion, the Father of Light among the Titans, and was considered an enemy by Helios, the current sun god.

But thinking about it, Apollo, as the god of light, still hadn't obtained the sun's dominion, which was a huge humiliation for him.

The rivalry between these two gods was inevitable.

Hermes understood the situation, but he couldn't fathom why Apollo had called him here for help.

He was just a messenger of the gods—what could he possibly do?

"With the power I have now, I'm not in a position to challenge that position."

Shaking his head, Apollo wasn't embarrassed but instead seriously said, "But you're different. You have Zeus' favor, and only you can enter that place to retrieve something for me."

Apollo had no other choice but to ask Hermes for help.

If anyone else was more suitable, Apollo wouldn't have sought him out.

But there was no one else.

Although Hermes appeared delicate and incapable, Apollo knew that Hermes had divine protection.

Besides, Apollo also knew that Hermes had an even stronger trump card.

"It seems you really know me well, brother."

By nature and instinct, Hermes liked making deals.

This wasn't a secret on Mount Olympus, as many gods had dealt with him in one way or another, and Apollo was no exception.

Hermes often claimed to value fairness and liked equal exchanges, but in reality, he wouldn't pass up any advantage he could gain.

Suppressing his smile, Hermes looked at Apollo and asked, "So, in exchange for the mountains and the legacy of the Earth God Crys, you want me to enter the sun and retrieve the sun artifact hidden by Hyperion. Are you sure?"

This question wasn't just an inquiry. Hermes had already activated his divine office of transactions.

Having lived in this world for hundreds of years, everything seemed fine.

But honestly, his identity was rather awkward.

Hermes, the future messenger of the gods, had various divine offices, including commerce, communication, thievery, travel, and the underworld. He was even one of the future gods.

But in reality, like Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, he was more of a decorative figure.

To preserve his integrity, Hermes had to work hard to acquire power.

With Zeus' favor, he successfully established his divine office of transactions.

Because of this, many gods had come to him for fair deals.

But Hermes hadn't expected that even the proud god of light, Apollo, would one day come asking for his help.