Selene, who was about to kiss Endymion, immediately noticed something unusual. The goddess turned around and disappeared, leaving only Endymion's eager calls echoing in the valley.
The next night, Endymion continued to pretend to be asleep, waiting for the arrival of his dream lover. He controlled the urge to open his eyes and see the woman's face clearly, tremblingly sensing her kiss on his cheek.
Since then, Selene met Endymion every night, and she didn't hesitate to abandon her duty of leading the souls of the dead from the hands of Thanatos, the god of death.
The moon's neglect of duty soon caught the attention of the gods. The busy gods of the underworld suddenly found that the number of souls coming to the underworld was decreasing day by day. At first, they were even glad about it, but then they discovered the tryst between Selene and Endymion, the human prince.
At the crossroads of the city - state, Hecate, holding a torch, walked out from the gloom and went straight to a wooden house and knocked on the door.
Selene came out of the house and stood in front of Hecate and asked, "Goddess of Wishes, why are you here?"
Hecate's cloak covered half of the goddess' face, and the torch in her hand flickered with a sickly green flame. "Selene, your behavior has become intolerable to the gods! The long - absence of the moon from the night sky has caused panic among humans. I don't care whether you have some unspeakable schemes. At the request of Lady Styx, I bring her advice. Don't be as indulgent as your sister and unable to extricate yourself!"
This piece of advice was like a bucket of cold water poured on Selene's burning heart. Eos and Tithonus' tragedy was witnessed by the moon goddess with her own eyes. The crazy look of the dawn goddess was still in front of her eyes, but the thought of leaving Endymion made her reason burn in the fire of love.
After speaking, Hecate turned around and left. She really didn't care what Selene had done, but was just running an errand for Lady Styx.
For thirty days and nights in a row, the moon didn't rise into the sky to perform its duties. This made the gods on Mount Olympus unable to tolerate it any longer.
In order to permanently eliminate the temptation of the human - loved moon goddess Selene on the human world, Hestia proposed, "Taking the lover away from Selene will only make her suffer. We can make the human loved by the moon goddess fall into eternal sleep. In this way, Selene can meet her lover in her dreams."
Zeus summoned Endymion and made him make a choice: either return to his origin and separate from Selene, or stay eternally young in an eternal dream.
In order to be with his lover, Endymion chose the latter. His body was frozen, but because of the blessing of the king of gods, it still maintained its vitality. Every night, the moon goddess would visit him in her dreams and stay with her lover for a long time.
Hestia was also helpless about this. No one could lift the curse of the primordial god. Such a result was already lucky enough.
The tragedy of the dawn goddess could have been mitigated through negotiation, but Poseidon's meddling made Hestia have no time to pay attention to Eos.
Perhaps because he had obtained the power of earthquakes, Poseidon's arrogance was unprecedentedly high for a time. The daughters of the Ocean God were busy snatching the vacated territories, and Eurynome, the goddess of the power of the sea, also inevitably relaxed her supervision of Poseidon.
The brothers and sisters of the daughters of the Ocean God - the river god Asopus, and his nine daughters as beautiful as pearls. Among them, the youngest daughter Aegina was the most outstanding. Asopus obtained the glory of a god because of the rivers attached to the earth. His power was weak, and although his beautiful daughters inherited the pure Titan bloodline of the Ocean God Oceanus, they could only appear in the form of nymphs because they couldn't get a divinity.
As Poseidon caused a tsunami to flood the earth, more water sources became the source of power for the nymphs of the ocean. The daughters of the old river god also benefited from this and had their own lakes, becoming territorial deities.
Although their weak divine power was not enough to influence the overall situation, they were also free from the embarrassing situation of being at the mercy of others. The lake goddesses were very grateful to Poseidon for this.
When the god of the tsunami passed by the lake where Aegina lived, the naive goddess walked out of the water and expressed sincere gratitude to Poseidon.
However, Poseidon was attracted by the beauty of the goddess and brutally abducted her. The gods of streams and springs were afraid of Poseidon's power and dared not stop him, so they had to tell Asopus about this news.
The angry old river god, guided by his brothers and sisters, chased after Poseidon. He came to a city - state and asked the leader whether he had seen the trace of the god of the tsunami. The leader of this city - state was Sisyphus. This cunning human told Poseidon's whereabouts on the condition that the river god irrigated his crops for him. Just when Asopus was about to catch up with Poseidon, the god of the tsunami used the power of earthquakes to cut off the river channel, and the old river god could only watch helplessly as his daughter was abducted.
Athena, who was teaching textile skills to humans, heard of Poseidon's atrocities. The strategic goddess immediately returned to Mount Olympus to ask for Hestia's help. When the sea goddesses learned of this news, they also came to Mount Olympus and asked the king of gods to take back Aegina, who had been abducted, from Poseidon.
Hera and Demeter no longer spoke up to defend their brother. Both goddesses agreed that Poseidon should be punished for this.
The sea gods who swarmed out soon found Aegina, who had been abducted. The naive lake goddess had already forgotten her worries about being far away from her father under Poseidon's coaxing and fell in love with this handsome god. When the sea goddesses found the goddess hidden on the small island, Aegina had already given birth to a son for Poseidon.
The angry goddesses were disgusted by Poseidon's behavior, but Aegina, whose reason had been blinded by sweet words, defended Poseidon instead, which made the sea goddesses feel embarrassed.
Zeus on Mount Olympus was also troubled by this. The victim Aegina was willing to make her kind father sad to defend Poseidon, which made the king of gods unable to find a reason to punish Poseidon.
The grieving Asopus was exhausted. Finally, the river god who loved his daughter lowered his head and dropped the lawsuit against Poseidon, and then returned to his river in a dejected mood. The exhaustion in the river god's heart made the river no longer rapid, and the echo of the water flow told of Asopus' worry about his daughter.
Hestia said to Aegina, who had a stubborn look on her face, "Aegina, who has abandoned her dignity. Do you think Poseidon really loves you? Do you really believe his words so firmly?"
"He swore to the goddess Thetis that he fell in love with me at first sight. There is nowhere to hide lies in front of the goddess of justice. This is true love!"
The stubborn Aegina didn't accept Hestia's doubts and firmly believed that Poseidon's act of snatching her away in front of her father was just an impulse caused by deep love for her.
"He loves your beauty. This kind of love is so frivolous and shallow because there will always be a more beautiful goddess appearing! His sweet words can become an excuse to abandon you tomorrow!"
"If his love for you is just a feeling, then it will surely fade one day. When your love faces challenges and temptations, its true nature will be nothing but a beautiful bubble that can't withstand the slightest test or touch!"
Hestia's well - intentioned words didn't have the desired effect. Aegina still believed that her love with Poseidon was pure and true, and no matter how much Hestia said, it was of no use.
Letting out a helpless sigh, Hestia said, "Then let's set a test for Poseidon. Your father has protected you too well, and this is also his greatest fault! Asopus, your sad old father, may he heal his wounds in the company of his other daughters."
Poseidon's complacency didn't last long. The children of the Ocean God turned their backs on him and threw him to the border area with the Pontus family to act as a barrier. Their estrangement made Poseidon realize an overlooked problem. If the children of Oceanus abandoned him because of this, then there would really be no place for him in the sea realm.
Poseidon came to Asopus' river to ask for forgiveness but was driven away by the old river god. Zeus also reprimanded Poseidon for failing to restrain the sea gods of the Pontus family. The daughters of the Ocean God took the initiative to stir up trouble, making Poseidon exhausted and regretful.
Styx fiddled with the threads of fate, adding countless obstacles for Poseidon. The long - retired Ocean God and the Sea Goddess also sealed off Poseidon's connection with the source of the ocean. The opportunistic Pontus went even further. He shook Poseidon's dominion over the rhythm of the sea.
Besieged on all sides, Poseidon fled from the sea realm and begged Aegina to speak for him. The lake goddess took Poseidon and her child to ask for her father's forgiveness. The old river god Asopus conveyed the words of the sea goddesses to his daughter, "As long as Poseidon is willing to give you back to me, my sisters will allow Poseidon to return to the sea realm!"
It was obvious what decision Poseidon would make. The poor lake goddess only got blatant abandonment. Even if Poseidon's excuses were perfect, Aegina couldn't face the fact that she had been deceived.
Hestia and the sea goddesses came out of the river. They kept their promise and accepted the god of the tsunami again, but as a punishment for abandoning Aegina, Poseidon had to fill the cracks in the cut - off river channel.
The water gods refused to let Poseidon use their water sources. The god of the tsunami, whose connection with the ocean was sealed, couldn't call for the help of the ocean either. He had to work like a mortal himself.
The human leader Sisyphus, who had guided Asopus, got what he wanted. Asopus' river irrigated this land, and the joy of a bumper harvest filled this land.
Sisyphus didn't notice that the man working on his territory was a god. He boasted to his subjects about how he got the help of the river god, which made Poseidon extremely angry. He took away Sisyphus' vitality, making this despicable human age rapidly.
The shadow of death loomed over Sisyphus, but this leader didn't panic. He asked the old river god Asopus whether the abnormality on him was related to the gods. The old river god's answer was affirmative. The messenger of death was gradually approaching this human cursed by the gods.
Thanatos, flapping his black wings, came to the human world at night. The light - footed god of death came to harvest the souls of the dead. His steps were slow but never stopped. Neither lofty mountains nor wide rivers could stop the god of death for a moment.
The banquet in the city - state had lasted for a month. The happy people sincerely offered sacrifices to Demeter, the goddess of harvest. In the name of the goddess, they gave food to passers - by and spread the great power of Demeter bringing fertility to the earth.
However, the host of the banquet had no intention of enjoying these delicacies. The exhausted Sisyphus had been waiting for death to come, but the guest he had been waiting for had not yet appeared. Just when Sisyphus was about to end this banquet, a cold wind blew in. The god of death in a black cloak flapped his wings and walked slowly. Thanatos raised his sickle to harvest Sisyphus' soul and bring him eternal and peaceful sleep.
But Sisyphus had long anticipated the arrival of death. He was fearless and opened his arms to welcome the arrival of the god of death. "Great god of death, why the rush? Death will eventually come to me. Aren't you curious why I was deprived of my vitality and met you earlier than expected?"
Thanatos really stopped his action. This human was facing death under the intervention of a god, which was unprecedented. Curiosity made the god of death interested, and he wanted to hear what this human would say.
Sisyphus took the opportunity to invite the god of death to join the banquet and told the story of Asopus losing his daughter in an emotional tone. The well - treated Thanatos gradually relaxed. He was surprised to find that this human was not afraid of his arrival.
This was something that the god of death cared about. The gods of the underworld got very little faith. After all, the fear brought by death made humans naturally resist.
Before Thanatos could ask Sisyphus why he wasn't afraid of him, the old man started telling all kinds of stories. These stories contained this human's understanding of the world and death, which immediately attracted the attention of the god of death.
This exchange between humans and gods lasted until dawn. The god of death saw the sun rising from the mountains and then remembered that he came to take Sisyphus' soul. Sisyphus was still fearless. He gave the god of death a pair of exquisite bracelets engraved with the maxim given by this sage to the god of death - Death is an unknown journey, and after death, we will see the world from another perspective.
Thanatos immediately liked this pair of bracelets. He had never thought that a human would be willing to explore the meaning of death, which undoubtedly made him feel respected. So, Thanatos, who never coveted wealth, accepted this pair of bracelets and put them on his hands joyfully. Immediately, Thanatos felt that the bracelets on his hands seemed to become heavy, making it impossible for the god to break free. And an invisible chain connected these bracelets and extended towards the unknown distance.
"Don't struggle, great god of death. These chains are made of the hair of mothers who lost their sons, the tears of lovers who lost their beloved, and the grief of people due to parting. They condense all the sadness and resentment caused by death. They are insignificant to humans, but as heavy as mountains to the god of death. You can't break free from its bondage."
In this way, the god of death was imprisoned in the palace by Sisyphus. Sisyphus still treated Thanatos as an honored guest. Fine wines and delicacies were placed in front of the god of death for him to enjoy at will. Sometimes Sisyphus also came to the palace to chat with Thanatos. Thanatos was not panicked either. The god of death, who had been busy harvesting souls, hadn't been so relaxed for a long time. He even enjoyed the current days a bit. Such a vacation hadn't been available to him since he got the divinity of death.