Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 384, Section 383: The Prince Family
Space seemed to be torn apart by an invisible hand, revealing a deep, cold, and desolate underworld filled with the whispers of the dead.

Osiris, the god of the underworld.

The family lineage of this ancient Egyptian deity is an important thread in ancient Egyptian mythology.

He was the eldest son of Geb, the god of the earth, and Nut, the goddess of the sky. He married his sister Isis and had a son named Horus, who was the future king of Egypt, much like Maitreya Buddha.

Don't ask why it's about consanguineous marriage, because in mythology from Greek mythology, ancient Egyptian mythology, and mythologies from all over the world, the gods' favorite thing to do is to marry their own relatives.

Even in the most ancient East, this kind of ancient divine ethics could not be escaped. Just think of Fuxi and his sister, and you'll know that in the eyes of the gods, incestuous marriage was a common occurrence.

Yes.

You can discover this if you study history thoroughly.

In mythological systems around the world, inbreeding is not uncommon, but rather extremely common—in Greek mythology, Zeus and Hera were siblings, and their children included Ares, the god of war, and Hebe, the goddess of youth; even in Japanese mythology, Izanagi and Izanami were siblings, and in Norse mythology, Odin and Frigg were also siblings.

Even the legendary figures Fuxi and Nuwa in Eastern mythology are sometimes described as siblings. This seemingly unethical behavior is considered normal by the gods, reflecting their unique considerations for their bloodline—maintaining the purity of their divinity and the integrity of their genetic makeup.

The gods' pursuit of pure bloodlines bordered on obsession. They believed that sacred bloodlines were a precious essence unattainable by humans, and any mixing with other races would dilute this sacredness. When Zeus swallowed the pregnant Metis, it was not only to avoid overturning a prophecy, but also to ensure the "pure" birth of Athena.

A deity entirely conceived by the divine, untouched by mortal corruption. Under this logic, incest becomes a necessary means to maintain divine integrity.

Gods are considered gods because they possess power, wisdom, and eternal life that surpass that of mortals. To ensure that their offspring retain their divinity, the divine race tends to reproduce within "pure bloodlines." Inbreeding minimizes the mixing of "mortal genes," guaranteeing that their descendants will remain gods, not demigods.

Marriage among the gods is often not just a personal choice, but also a political and power struggle.

For example, the twelve Olympian gods in Greek mythology were almost all closely related—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were brothers, and they were married to their respective sisters.

This ensures that power and divinity are always passed down within the family.

Simultaneously.

It also serves as a barrier to prevent the outflow of divine power.

The gods consolidated their power structure through endogamy. The divine realm in mythology is often a closed political system, with power passed down through bloodlines. The union of Osiris and Isis not only gave birth to Horus but also ensured the sacred legitimacy of the Egyptian monarchy. This kinship-based marriage created an intricate power network, enabling the gods to firmly control the universe and preventing power from being dispersed to unknown realms through exogamy.

However, this bloodline purification strategy came at a great cost. First, it led to a decline in the gods' fertility. In Norse mythology, inbreeding gradually depleted the gods' reproductive capacity, ultimately forcing them to absorb mortal heroes into Valhalla to compensate for the shortage of divine offspring. More obviously, it resulted in genetic defects caused by inbreeding.

The conflict between Horus and Set in Egyptian mythology stemmed in part from inheritance disputes caused by inbreeding within the family. Of course, Horus might be a rare case of a genius being born from inbreeding.

The union of Osiris and Isis is considered a "perfect match." Their son, Horus, inherited his father's royal power and his mother's wisdom, ultimately defeating Set to become the patron god of the pharaohs. Hephaestus, the son of Hera and Zeus in Greek mythology, was not so fortunate.

This guy was born lame and was abandoned on Mount Olympus. Isn't this a real-life example of consanguineous marriage leading to a child with congenital deformities?

In the gods.

Science is not entirely ineffective.

The gods' obsession with "pure bloodlines" also brought a fatal flaw—a severe lack of genetic diversity. Long-term inbreeding led to problems in the descendants of the gods, such as unstable power, extreme personalities, and even mental deficiencies. In many myths, the descendants of the gods are often depicted as less powerful than their ancestors.

For example, although the Olympian gods in Greek mythology ruled the world, their children were not as perfect as their parents. This was precisely because long-term inbreeding led to a shrinking gene pool, and the descendants of the gods gradually lost the glory of their ancestors. This is the most ironic thing.

The practice of inbreeding adopted by the gods to maintain their purity became the very reason for their decline.

As the divine race gradually weakened due to a depleted gene pool, the demigod heroes born from the union of gods and mortals displayed astonishing vitality. These hybrid offspring inherited the essence of divine power while also gaining the diversity and adaptability of human genes, often making them even more powerful than pure-blooded gods.

Hercules—son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene—accomplished twelve labors that even the Olympian gods could not achieve; Perseus—son of Zeus and Danaë—successfully beheaded Medusa; and even Dionysus, a "demigod," eventually joined the ranks of the Olympian gods.

These demigod heroes not only demonstrate abilities surpassing those of pure-blooded gods, but also frequently accomplish the feat of "god-slaying," overthrowing those ancient gods who insisted on pure bloodlines.

The gods favored inbreeding, essentially to maintain the purity of their divinity and the stability of their rule. However, this practice also led to a lack of genetic diversity, causing the gods to gradually lose the possibility of evolution.

The emergence of demigods proves precisely that "impure" bloodlines can give birth to even more powerful beings. In the world of mythology, inbreeding is both the cornerstone of the gods' power and a hidden danger to their decline—when the gods are obsessed with the purity of their bloodlines, they may have forgotten that true power often comes from fusion and breakthrough.

Closed systems are destined for entropy increase and decay, while open systems can gain sustained vitality. The bondage of divine blood is both a guarantee of power and the ultimate shackle.

This is where science transcends theology. Of course, while many deities' offspring are inferior to their parents, this does not include the true rulers of the underworld.

Hades, Osiris, is still very powerful.

He was clad in a magnificent royal robe symbolizing Upper and Lower Egypt, wore a tall white crown symbolizing royal power, and held a flail symbolizing agriculture and harvest, and a shepherd's staff symbolizing royal power and rule. His face was solemn and dignified, like an unchanging rock, and his eyes held a profound understanding of life and death. This time, he did not enter the mortal world aboard a giant ship, but instead stepped through the mists of the River Styx, walking step by step onto the land of reality.

"Da da da~"

With each step this ancient god took.

The writhing, fleshy earth beneath his feet began to freeze and petrify, turning into hard black basalt, as if the realm of the underworld was expanding into reality.

He was surrounded by countless translucent ghosts.

These souls were not the agonizing prisoners within the evil god's body, but rather orderly, like the most devout pilgrims. They floated silently around Osiris, uttering deep, resonant hymns, like the harmony of the universe. These hymns were not dirges, but requiems praising order, judgment, and eternal peace.

Countless souls wandered around him, uttering ethereal chants. The melody of the hymn formed a stark and piercing contrast with the agonizing screams of the billions of souls within the evil god.

On one side lies the eternal destiny of harmony, on the other, the eternal torment of chaos. "As expected, you were born after all."

Osiris's gaze, like two swords of judgment, pierced through space, aiming directly at the true form of the evil god suspended in the sky. He slightly raised the flail and shepherd's staff in his hands, and the eerie blue power of death and rebirth condensed at the tip of the staff. The surrounding hymns of the dead suddenly rose, and the chill of the underworld collided violently with the distorting power of reality.

"Those who, in the name of the River Styx, desecrate the order of life and death, shall be punished eternally." Osiris's voice echoed like a tomb, and Hades raised his crooked staff, pointing it at Set-Appep. In an instant, countless souls formed an army, surging towards the evil god. These souls were different from the living.

They are beings that have already passed away, and the power of the Lord of the Underworld helps stabilize their existence. The devouring ability of the evil god is greatly reduced in its effect on them.

Ian's ravenous eyes widened slightly. He keenly noticed a detail: Osiris wasn't directly attacking the evil god, but rather focusing on rescuing the souls being devoured. Each swing of Hades's staff would pull several trapped souls from the evil god's body and then guide them to the underworld.

"I see," Ian exclaimed, suddenly realizing, "They're working together in a division of labor!"

Isis was responsible for healing the living and reversing mutations; Osiris was responsible for saving the dead and stripping the evil gods of their power. Their seamless teamwork clearly indicated they hadn't faced this crisis before.

"Damn!!!"

The evil god roared in anger, attempting to resist the combined might of the two deities. But this time, His adaptability seemed to have met its match—the power of the gods stemmed from faith and concepts, a system entirely different from conventional magic. Seth-Appepp needed time to analyze and adapt to this new power.

In this brief interval, Ian noticed a third anomaly: although Isis and Osiris had appeared, the false sun in the sky was still there, only its light was slightly suppressed.

This means that the battle was not a one-sided one.

In his raven form, Ian gently flapped his wings and flew to a higher position. His gaze was fixed on the eastern horizon, the direction from which the sun rose. Through the special vision of his raven eyes, he could see the flow of energy invisible to ordinary people—countless golden forces of faith still rose from the earth, converging on some distant place.

But these energy flows appear chaotic and disordered, as if they have lost their guidance.

What does this mean?

Just as Ian was thinking.

Hades, the god of the underworld, struck again. The hook and flail in his hand emitted a dark light, and the waters of the River Styx suddenly surged, the black waters transforming into countless chains that wrapped around Set-Appepp.

These chains are engraved with ancient underworld runes, and they devour even the light in their wake.

"You all want to oppose me, is that it?" the evil god roared angrily, his sixteen wings of light simultaneously blazing with blinding light, attempting to evaporate the Styx chains. The evil god's wings of light began to wither and decay the moment they touched the chains, and the devoured souls seized the opportunity to struggle and try to escape.

"In the name of Isis, a hymn to life!" The goddess of healing acted simultaneously. The Anka Cross in her hand emitted a soft green light, which fell like spring rain on the land corrupted by the evil god. The buildings and creatures that had been transformed into nightmare creations began to reverse their mutation process; stones hardened again, and flesh and blood regained their human form.

Even more ingeniously, Isis's power and Osiris's death power complemented each other perfectly. Her life energy was specifically targeted at the active energy within the evil god, while Osiris focused on stripping away the souls of the dead. The couple's coordination was seamless, as if they had rehearsed it countless times.

Set-Appepp was caught in an unprecedented battle. His body was constantly transforming—sometimes into countless points of light to evade the chains of the River Styx, sometimes solidifying to resist the purification of life energy. But each transformation required a huge amount of energy, while the souls being devoured were being continuously rescued by Osiris.

"You cannot stop the arrival of the new era!"

A million voices roared simultaneously, and the evil god's body suddenly exploded into countless fragments, each fragment transforming into a miniature Seth-Appepp, which swarmed towards the two gods like locusts.

Osiris calmly slammed his staff on the ground. "Gates of the Underworld, open."

The earth roared and split open, countless tombstones rising from the cracks to form a deathly barrier encircling the battlefield. The smaller evil gods crashed into the tombstones, immediately letting out shrill screams before dissipating into black smoke. But a few still managed to break through the defenses, heading straight for Isis.

The goddess of healing gently waved her hand, and the Anka Cross drew a perfect circle in the air. "The cycle of life."

The small evil god that lunged at her suddenly began to age rapidly, going through the entire process from birth to death within seconds, ultimately turning into dust. However, this attack had clearly exhausted a lot of Isis's power; her figure swayed slightly, and her face paled.

The battle reached a stalemate. While Osiris and Isis could suppress the evil god, they couldn't deliver a fatal blow. Set-Appepp's adaptability was simply too great; after each attack, it would rapidly evolve resistance. Moreover, it seemed to be learning how to use the power of the gods—some of its attacks clearly bore the characteristics of the Egyptian pantheon.

At this critical moment.

Osiris suddenly made an unexpected move.

"A wizard from a foreign land."

Hades, the god of the underworld, suddenly turned his head.

Those eyes, capable of discerning the boundary between life and death, precisely locked onto Ian in his raven form.

"Perhaps you should go back to the cellar one more time."

Hades' voice pierced through the clamor of war and entered the depths of Ian's consciousness. He was clearly referring to the cellar within the Temple of the Sun God.

Raven jolted. The cellar? Ian's mind raced—Pluto was clearly referring to the mysterious cellar beneath the Temple of the Sun, a place he'd stumbled upon when he first arrived in this era, filled with ancient magical devices he couldn't fully comprehend. Several thoughts flashed through his mind: How did Pluto know about that cellar? Why bring it up now of all times? Could it hold the key to defeating the evil god?
Despite having a thousand thoughts in my mind.

The raven still spread its wings without hesitation.

It transformed into a black lightning bolt and hurtled straight down behind the evil god.

Just as Ian was about to touch the bulge, Hades' voice came again, this time with a rare hint of approval: "Very good, the Prince family bloodline never disappoints."

As soon as these words came out.

Ian's flight speed was momentarily halted.

(End of this chapter)