Chapter 1014: Chapter 426: Shaping and Advent

Rustling…

In the fragment of time-space, the Goddess of Beauty quietly awaited the response from the other side.

The swirling vortex connected the Abyss and the Mortal Realm, yet the separation between them still existed.

Thus, at the bottom of Tartarus, within the chaotic time-space that had not fully evolved into a complete interface–

Darkness undulated like flowing water, and yet resembled a colorful ribbon.

Aphrodite was not aware that on the other side of what seemed to be a calm time-space tunnel, an indescribable, massive entity was stirred by her words, causing a tumult like a roaring tsunami.

“…Ah…”

“A vessel, huh…”

The voice murmured, echoing from all directions.

Hearing the voice, the expression became somewhat bewildered.

Between sanity and madness, so many years had flown by. Yet at this moment, the thing she once sought to reclaim was right before her eyes, but despite Moya’s attempts to remember, she could not recall her former appearance.

Was her former self beautiful?

Perhaps.

Although she had forgotten much, at least this memory remained fresh for Moya.

As a noble Titans God, her appearance was undoubtedly beautiful.

Yet, millions of years had passed, and after Mnemosyne lived for tens of thousands of years in the Abyss, under the influence of Tartarus day and night, she was no longer sure what her once beauty was.

So when the present Goddess of Beauty’s initially thrilling words fell, Moya, for a moment, wasn’t as excited as imagined.

She looked at the spinning time-space tunnel and instead posed another somewhat unrelated question.

“A vessel that carries my will… That’s good.”

“But Goddess of the Mortal Realm, successor of Olympus–as a deity presiding over beauty, you must have your own unique understanding of what ‘beauty’ is, right?”

“Of course.”

Her voice was very confident; Aphrodite believed no one understood beauty better than herself.

Receiving her affirmative response, Moya then continued to ask.

“Good, since that is the case, then you must be able to answer my dilemma–the Goddess of Beauty in the Mortal Realm, please tell me, in this world, within your domain, what exactly is the standard for judging beauty, one that holds universally?”

“As the Goddess of Beauty, you must be able to answer this question for me.”

“…”

“Are you asking… the standard of beauty?”

Somewhat hesitant, on the other side of the tunnel, Aphrodite was slightly taken aback.

She had not expected to ever hear such a question; beauty is beauty, does it even have standards?

Momentarily stumped, yet Aphrodite was ultimately the Goddess of Beauty. For thousands of years, even if she seldom explored the foundation of her domain, as long as she truly wanted to know, she could find the answer to the question.

So just moments later, the Goddess of Beauty’s voice once again reached into the Abyss.

“…Beauty has no unified standard, your honor, because beauty has never been an objective concept.”

“From the perspective of humans, there is human beauty; from the viewpoint of deer, there is deer beauty; even when strength reaches a certain level, they too can showcase the beauty of their domains, just like the blood tree rooted in the Sun, which is the ultimate perfection of life.”

“But in the end, there’s no absolute beauty; if there must be, perhaps it’s the world itself. The true function of the authority of [Beauty] is not to shape an objective, absolute concept of beauty, but to allow me to change with the changes of all things.”

“In the eyes of those who love tranquility, the Goddess of Beauty can be tranquil; in the eyes of those who prefer ardor, the Goddess of Beauty can be passionate; to a fish, the Goddess can be a fish, while to an eagle she can soar in the sky.”

“The authority of [Beauty] allows me to become the most perfect figure in anyone’s eyes, yet there is no figure that is perfect in everyone’s eyes in this world.”

“And the Divine Body I display to the world is simply the form that best fits the majority’s definition of ‘beauty’.”

“…Is that so?”

“I understand.”

Seemingly enlightened, yet Moya felt she understood.

She didn’t heed the part about ‘becoming the most perfect figure in others’ eyes’; instead, after hearing Aphrodite’s explanation, she developed another understanding.

Beauty, in essence, is the recognition of others. Though transforming into the shape that others recognize is one method, changing others’ attitudes to make everyone recognize oneself is also another method.

However, the latter is probably difficult… The Mother of Demons’ body swayed in the chaos, stirring boundless waves.

Nonetheless, first, let this present deity create a vessel for herself.

Since she had already forgotten her former appearance and barely remembered the aesthetic of the Mortal Realm, let her take the initiative and craft a perfect body for herself.

“Goddess of the Mortal Realm, your answer is quite good…”

“However, apart from verbal response, I still need to see the vessel you described.”

“Since beauty is subjective, then create for me a perfect body in the eyes of the strongest in this world.”

“Although you are the Goddess of Beauty, some of your ideas are still too naive. What is the value of the ‘vast majority’s’ definition of beauty in this world, which ultimately belongs to the mighty?”

Aphrodite silently scoffed, showing some disdain towards Moya’s views, yet she did not argue the point.

Such cognition was normal for a being from the Abyss, having lived in such harsh depths for so long.