MATED TO THE SECRET ALPHA-Chapter 224: Aethera’s Punishment
He turned to the council. "The pact between all creatures in the mortal realm is built on Order, not on unilateral action cloaked in shadows. Her interference with the law of Order endangered lives and shattered the fragile peace between the monsters, werewolves, and humans. Such reckless use of power cannot go unpunished."
Aethera’s gaze remained unflinching. "Order is not strength if it blinds us to the dangers lurking beneath." She continued, "Some of my creations started a rebellious movement. They don’t send their praises and worship to the sky palaces, and are influencing the others to do the same. Today, it’s the werewolves, tomorrow, it might be the humans, and then, the monsters." She paused, letting her veiled threat sink in. "We need their praises and worship to remain whole."
Her final word hung in the air like a blade, gleaming with dangerous clarity.
Every deity present understood what Aethera had just said.
Deities did not live by breath or blood alone but by belief. Worship sustained their divinity. Praise kept their palaces in place. If the wolves turned away and others followed... then cracks would spread not just in faith, but in the deities themselves.
"Mortals do not knee for fear," Helios began. "They kneel for purpose. If that purpose is lost, so is their loyalty. And a few werewolves have lost their loyalty to the Celestial Palace, not because they wanted war with the Sky palaces, but because Aethera waged war against them first. She laid curses on them, killed their mates for the fun of it, dragged some into an endless reincarnation circle, and now, she gave a body to my son’s demonic thoughts. Considering my son is a Supreme, that move by Aethera is a threat to everything in the Mortal realm, likewise to the sky palaces."
The chamber trembled with rising voices—some in agreement, others in dissent. The divinity-laced air buzzed with barely restrained power.
Aethera’s expression cracked. "I did not wage war," she said, voice firm but never raised. "I answered a cry no one else heard."
"You claim righteousness, yet your actions have stirred rebellion. You acted without the Supreme Council’s consent, and worse, you tampered with the soulstream. That is no light transgression." Star god spoke, his tone was detached, but piercing.
Aethera didn’t flinch. "Then let me ask; when rebellion brews beneath your stars, do you wait for it to consume the skies before you act?"
The question, though soft, stilled even the supreme gods.
She continued, taking their silence for defeat and continued with subtle smugness. "I did not seek permission because the time for waiting had passed. If I had hesitated, the corruption festering within the wolves would have devoured the mortal realm. I preserved the balance, even if the method was unorthodox."
Varyn’s eyes narrowed, his staff rising an inch. The Arbiter was not one to be swayed by eloquence, but neither was he blind to truth. "The soulstream is sacred," he said. "To forge a soul out of a god’s negative energy is to birth a godless deity—something with power, but no place. That is blasphemy, Aethera."
"I know," Aethera replied simply. "And yet I did it. Not for ambition. Not for wrath. But because I foresaw a future where we lost everything to silence. I gave that silence a shape, so we would see it before it swallowed us whole."
The chamber fell into a thick silence.
Then the Sun god finally spoke. His voice, warm and blinding, carried the weight of the sky. "Even the moon must answer to dawn, Aethera. You speak of vision, yet you are not the Seer. You speak of preservation, but at what cost? Your actions undermined divine structure. What happens when every god starts acting on foresight alone?"
Aethera turned to him. "Then perhaps the structure must evolve."
The words were whispered, but they struck like lightning.
"Presumptuous!"
The gods erupted again, this time louder, more fractured. Some stood. Others looked away. Even the stars behind the Star god shimmered more rapidly, as if reacting to the chaos in the room.
"Enough!" Varyn’s staff struck the dais again, and a blinding pulse of silence swept through the chamber.
He turned, slowly, to the center of the hall.
"The charges are clear. The evidence has been presented. The words have been spoken." His tone was final, yet not without reluctance. "The council shall retreat for deliberation. Until then, Acting Goddess Aethera, you are stripped of all direct divine influence over the mortal realm.
"You cannot use the Supreme goddess’s powers and you shall be confined in your quarters until the next meeting, where you shall be made to stand before the wheel of truth for three days and three nights. The truth will be drawn from your soul. And if deception is found, you shall be cast into the Sea of Silent Stars."
Aethera’s eyes flickered, but she remained silent, as her nails dug into her palm. She refused to accept that verdict but for now, she could only withdraw. She bowed her head, "As you command, Arbiter."
Just as she was about to leave, Lady Seraphae dropped her final. "You’ve played too many games with that boy, Aethera, pray he does not become your reckoning."
Before Aethera or anything else could retort, the demon god, who’d been silent and watching the fun, sighed, saying in a lazy drawl, "All I hear is that my demon essence was extracted from him. Isn’t this a violation of the Neutral Vow, Helios? You tampered with a child born of the Three, without consent from any of the Thrones."
The hall stiffened.
Helios’s jaw clenched. This guy was trouble—and Helios’ mortal enemy. Helios wouldn’t be exaggerating if he believed that Vaurenox connived with Aethera to replace his son with a demon. That way, power would shift towards the Demon god, whose interest in the Seat of Wrath was no secret.
Vaurenox wanted to Lord over everyone in the sky palaces and mortal realm but Helios had repeatedly put him in his place. Vaurenox was becoming desperate and had been finding other ways to annex power to defeat Helios. And what better way than to have his son on his side?
