Those nymphs, Nemesis thought, were just mountain elves from a remote place in God's Domain.
Their status is humble, and they have never seen the face of the most honorable Lord God on Olympus, so they will never know what the face of the young man they love, hate, and curse means.
So he made a big mistake in ignorance, which is sad but not pitiful, and he deserves it.
The illusory figure of Aphrodite turned around, looking at the lush forest in front of him, he pondered, and did not immediately express his views on the entanglement between Narcissus and the nymphs.
In the temple, Aphrodite's real body opened the parchment scroll again, and wrote a sentence on the parchment scroll——
[Narcissus, my reflection, clone... If fate allows, he can be me at some point. ]
After Aphrodite finished writing, she paused, closed the parchment scroll again, and opened her eyes to the phantom again.
Aphrodite said to Nemesis: "Since the nymphs summoned you with all their hatred, you can also satisfy their wishes a little bit. But you have to tell the nymphs that there is a curse. The price. If they are willing to pay the price, you can curse Narcissus."
Nemesis was startled, and couldn't help asking: "What about Narcissus? Do I really want to curse him..."
Aphrodite looked up into the depths of the forest, and smiled slightly: "Narcissus is my reflection, do you really think you can curse him? The reason why I let you tell those nymphs like this is because the book It is the fate of Narcissus."
The reason why Aphrodite gave Narcissus to the river god couple to raise him was because Narcissus was born outside the realm of God, in the world of extreme ice created by Aphrodite.
Narcissus is different from Areinte, his soul does not belong to this god domain.
In order to let the soul of Narcissus pass through the law, Aphrodite gave his soul to the couple of the river god to conceive.
It's just that Narcissus is too important to him. When Narcissus was born as the son of the river god couple and a native of God's Domain, Aphrodite still wanted to bring him back to him.
But the soul was sent by Aphrodite, and it is a bit unreasonable for him to take Narcissus back from the couple of the river god for no reason...
Therefore, Aphrodite gave such a warning to the river god couple, not to let him see strangers, not to let him see himself.
If one day the River God couple can't do this, Aphrodite can appear smoothly and tell the River God couple that he wants to bring Narcissus back to his side to practice.
Aphrodite is the main god with a high status, and he has a very good relationship with the gods of the sea world. The river god couple have no reason to reject him.
But Aphrodite took into account the feelings of the River God couple as Narcissus' parents, and didn't want them to be too reluctant.
Just at this time, things like Nymphs and fairies happened.
With a thought, Aphrodite came up with an idea, which could justifiably avenge Narcissus, punish the group of nymphs, and at the same time relieve the feelings of the River God couple and divert their hatred.
Aphrodite whispered a few words in Nemesis' ear, Nemesis took it seriously and said softly: "I understand, Your Highness, I will do it now."
Aphrodite told Nemesis: "After the matter on Narcissus' side is settled, you have to go back to the mountain. I need your identity to do something."
Nemesis, as a well-behaved and fearful god, has no curiosity about the affairs of the main god. She has a faint intuition that if she knows the secret of the main god, then something extremely likely will happen to her. scary thing.
Nemesis didn't want to die.
After Aphrodite's confession, Nemesis found the group of fairies who prayed to her for power to avenge Narcissus, spread out huge black wings, fell from the sky, and landed in front of them.
Nemesis is a very powerful deity whose divine power is between the first-class gods and second-class gods.
When they saw her appear, the nymph fairies who were talking immediately fell silent and knelt down to worship her.
Nemesis looked at the group of nymphs with a smile, and she asked, "You called me before... you want to curse that young man named Narcissus?"
The nymph fairies looked at each other, then nodded their heads heavily, with expressions of resentment on their faces: "Yes! We want to curse him, curse that arrogant young man, and make him feel the pain of being ignored and despised by our beloved!"
Nemesis's brows and eyes drooped suddenly, her long eyelashes cast a shadow under her eyes, her voice was almost illusory, and she asked the nymphs again: "Your curse can be fulfilled, but revenge requires sacrifice. If you can bear the price of revenge, I can curse Narcissus for you."
The nymphs asked worriedly, "Your Highness Nemesis, what price do we have to pay?"
Nemesis turned his face away, and said calmly: "How powerful the person you curse is, you will be demanded by fate."
The nymphs immediately laughed, their pretty faces were full of joy and indifference, and they said happily: "Although Narcissus has a divine body, he doesn't have a priesthood. He is not powerful. We will definitely not have to pay much to curse him." cost!"
Nemesis looked at them quietly, and asked gently: "So, are you sure you want to cast the curse on Narcissus?"
The nymphs and fairies nodded their heads together.
Nemesis laughed, she raised her hand, and the faint blue light enveloped her whole body, and her black skirt was constantly swaying and fluttering in the wind.
And a scene appeared in front of the Nymph fairies, it was a cave, and in the cave lived their beloved beautiful young man Narcissus.
Since the nymph fairies met Narcissus that day, the River God couple gradually relaxed after Narcissus had no accidents, no longer strictly guarding him, and allowed Narcissus to go out to play alone.
After Narcissus suddenly regained his freedom, he immediately played happily in the mountains and forests, and always went hunting with a bow and arrow.
However, his technique was not very good. After seeing a stag, he pulled out his arrow and shot it, and then the arrow hit the stag's leg, and it was only half inserted. ran away.
Narcissus kept chasing the buck until it escaped across a river.
Narcissus originally wanted to cross the river, but when he was about to enter the river, he suddenly thought that this was the first time he had come to the river since he was born.
Once such an idea was triggered, Narcissus' curiosity about the river suddenly soared.
He gave up the injured stag, and squatted down by the river curiously, his fingers gently slid across the water, causing ripples and waves. Narcissus waited curiously for the ripples to dissipate, and lay on the lake intently Look up.
When the ripples dispersed, the same face as Narcissus appeared in the lake.
In the temple, the scene in front of Aphrodite also changed suddenly. He saw the white clouds and the sky, and the beautiful young man who had the same face as him but was full of innocence and curiosity.
Narcissus was the reflection of Aphrodite, and after he was sent away, Aphrodite could no longer see her own reflection in the mirror or in the water.
But when Narcissus himself returned to the mirror or the water surface, he could see Aphrodite's figure from it, and Aphrodite could also see Narcissus on the other side of the mirror or the water surface. at this time.
Aphrodite showed a faint smile to Narcissus on the other side of the water, and Narcissus, who saw such a perfect existence for the first time in his life, instantly stayed where he was.
He looked stupidly at the beautiful young man standing in the gorgeous palace on the surface of the water, and said foolishly, "You... you are so beautiful."
Aphrodite smiled slightly and said softly, "You are beautiful too."
Narcissus stared at him blankly, and asked after a while, "You are the most perfect girl I have ever seen, my name is Narcissus, can you tell me your name?"
Aphrodite paused, with a delicate expression: "Thank you for the compliment, but I'm not a girl."
Narcissus said stupidly: "Then you are the most beautiful boy I have ever seen."
Aphrodite stopped talking, and Narcissus had completely forgotten about the injured stag at this time, so he simply sat down on the bank and kept talking to Aphrodite: "You haven't tell me your name."
Aphrodite lowered her eyebrows and her eyelashes trembled slightly: "So what if you know my name, you can't come to my side."
Narcissus said anxiously: "I can find you! Please tell me your name, even if you live in the farthest sky and deepest sea, as long as you want me to find you, I will definitely Find yours!"
Aphrodite chuckled, stretched out her thin white and slender palm to him, and said with a smile, "I'm not at the end of the world, I'm at the bottom of this lake."
"As long as you jump down, you can come to my side."
Narcissus stared at him blankly, smiled happily, and said, "Okay..."
He grabbed Aphrodite's outstretched hand, but all he touched was the cold lake water. His hand passed through the lake, and did not fall into the lake, but entered another world.
This world has the same scenery as the outside world, but it has no vitality.
This is the mirror world, and he is the only living being in it.
And at the moment when Narcissus crossed the lake and entered the world in the mirror, Aphrodite also broke the mirror from the water by virtue of the law of mirror replacement.
The silver-haired god's persistent scepter stood indifferently on the lake. Although he and Narcissus had the same appearance, no one would mistake them for they had completely different temperaments.
Aphrodite came to the river, and immediately noticed Nemesis' divine power. He glanced at Nemesis in warning, and the image of Nemesis' divine power was shattered, and those The nymph fairies were disturbed by this terrifying look from the Lord God.
Nemesis looked indifferently at the terrified nymphs in front of him, and pity slowly emerged from his eyes.
Cherish the last time, the curse from fate that you promised has come.
Aphrodite temporarily ignored the group of nymphs and fairies. He stood above the lake and raised his hand lightly. Under his call, a bright light flew out from the bottom of the lake.
That light was Narcissus, who stood beside Aphrodite, but couldn't condense a specific figure.
Aphrodite frowned, and after thinking for a moment, she raised her hand, and the light also raised her hand stiffly, touching Aphrodite's palm.
The moment their palms touched, an ice wall appeared instantly, and the light flew into the ice wall, and Narcissus appeared in it, looking at Aphrodite with shining eyes, he smiled happily, Eyes filled with sadness,
After Narcissus entered the mirror world, he recovered the part of his memory about his origin and identity, and successfully transformed from an ordinary youth into the mirror god.
Since then, he has only walked in illusion, and can no longer appear in reality, except when Aphrodite enters the mirror world.
Narcissus was born in the mirror world, and he accepted the fact that he could not appear in reality, but he was a little regretful and sad.
Narcissus said softly: "Your Highness, you are a bit mean."
Aphrodite raised her eyebrows lightly: "Huh?"
Narcissus lowered his eyes sadly: "You know very well that I am your reflection. After I wake up my priesthood, I will never be able to appear in the same world with you again. The previous state is the only thing I can touch with you. Chance. Why can't you give me a chance... to touch you."
Aphrodite pondered for a few seconds before explaining, "Would you believe me if I said that I didn't know that you would no longer be in the same world as me after you recovered your priesthood?"
Narcissus nodded, but his sad expression became more obvious, and there were glistening drops of water on his eyelashes, as if tears would fall in the next second.
Aphrodite hesitated, and tried to enter the mirror world through the ice surface to wipe away tears for Narcissus.
However, the moment he put his hand into the mirror world, his whole body appeared in the mirror world, and Narcissus was replaced outside the mirror.
Aphrodite tried a few more times, and after confirming that she really had no way to appear with Narcissus, her head suddenly became dizzy.
Narcissus turned his back and secretly wiped away his tears, reappeared in the mirror, squeezed Aphrodite out, and said in a muffled voice: "It's okay, Your Highness, that's it. Although I can't touch you, But being able to meet your eyes at any time is enough for me."
Aphrodite nodded hesitantly, he thought for a while, and promised Narcissus: "When I return to the temple, I will replace all the walls of the temple with mirrors, so that you can appear in every corner of the temple, okay? good?"
Narcissus imagined such a scene. He shuttled through the mirror and could appear beside Aphrodite anytime and anywhere. He was a little happier: "Okay, thank you, Your Highness!"
Seeing that Narcissus was no longer sad, Aphrodite breathed a sigh of relief. Over there, the river god Cephissus was coming quickly. After Aphrodite, she was stunned for a moment, and her sprinting pace subconsciously slowed down a bit.
Aphrodite turned around when she heard the voice, silently looked at Cephissos who was slowly approaching not far away, and asked, "Cefissus? You are here."
Cephissus stared blankly at Aphrodite, and his eyes subconsciously flew to the ice mirror next to Aphrodite, where Narcissus was watching him gently and thoughtfully.
Kefissos held his breath subconsciously, and was dizzy and almost unconscious for a moment.
He clutched his chest and panted for a long time, finally regaining his strength, Cephissos asked with a pale face: "Your Highness Aphrodite, Naxi, Narcissus..."
Aphrodite asked him: "Cefissus, do you remember what I told you when I gave Narcissus to you and your wife?"
Kefessos turned pale, he seemed to remember something, and said in fear: "Not long ago, a group of nymph fairies saw Narcissus..."
Aphrodite looked at his reflection in the mirror and said calmly: "Yes, the group of nymph fairies saw Narcissus and fell in love with him. But Narcissus rejected their courtship, driven by anger Now, the nymphs summoned the Nemesis and cursed Narcissus."
Kephissos didn't dare to listen to what happened next, he growled angrily, "I'm going to kill those bastards!"
Aphrodite looked at the lush forest not far away, raised her scepter, and with a light wave, a barren night appeared above the forest.
On Mount Olympus, Artemis and Apollo froze for a moment. Just now, Aphrodite asked them to control a forest.
From then on, the light will no longer stay above the forest, and the natural vitality is also passing away from the tree's body quickly.
The lush trees were covered in darkness at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the green leaves fell from the branches and turned into foul-smelling sludge.
And those tall trees and their neat branches are also shrinking rapidly, the tree body becomes shorter, and the branches are also stretched out, extremely shriveled.
In front of Nemesis, the group of nymphs born from the trees had undergone drastic changes in appearance due to the loss and change of their own vitality.
Their beautiful hair fell off quickly and became sparse, and the remaining hair was as messy and stiff as dry and dry weeds. Their fair skin became yellowish brown, covered with wrinkles and dark spots, and their plump bodies became extremely shriveled. It hangs loosely on the face, and the tall and straight figure is also bent down. Without a pole to support the ground, it is even impossible to stand firmly.
This group of beautiful nymphs transformed from young and beautiful girls into old women who lost all vitality in just an instant, like the vicious witches in fairy tales, full of evil aura.
The nymph fairies saw their own reflections in the cloudy eyes of their companions, and they were instantly frightened by their own appearance. There was a strange wheezing sound in their throats, and they covered their heads in a hoarse voice and shouted in disbelief: "No, No, that's not us."
Unable to accept the reality, they frantically pushed their companions, trying to treat the scene in front of them as a nightmare, and then completely tore it apart.
Nemesis watched them quietly, the three poisonous snakes she was holding were entangled together, and smiled gloatingly at the miserable conditions of the nymphs.
Nemesis sighed: "It's just that I don't like you... Why bother to curse Narcissus because of love and hatred. That's all right now. I've offended His Royal Highness Aphrodite, and I'll be revenged."
Nemesis shook his head, turned into a crow and left the black forest, and flew to Mount Olympus, where he waited for Aphrodite's return.
Kephissos said he hated the nymphs, but after seeing what happened to the nymphs, he couldn't help trembling.
Aphrodite took his terrified expression into her eyes and smiled slightly: "Don't be afraid, Cephissus, you and Liriope gave birth to Narcissus, and you have a lot of credit for it. I will not blame you , and can even satisfy one of your not-too-excessive wishes."
"For example, give you a stronger godhead?"
Aphrodite was relaxed, but Cephissus didn't dare to ask him. Aphrodite's prestige is very wide in God's Domain, although not many people have actually seen him, but everyone knows that this is a powerful character who can make even the king of the gods suffer, and they dare not be rampant in front of him.
After holding back for a while, Kephissos said in a low voice: "I don't have any wishes. If I can, I can change my priesthood to the sacred mountain of Olympus. Liriope and I want to distance ourselves from Naxi. Thurs a little closer."
Aphrodite thought for a while: "Only this wish?"
Cephissus nodded quickly, and Aphrodite smiled and said, "Okay, His Royal Highness Oceanos is in charge of the Three Thousand Rivers. I don't think he will refuse such a small request of mine."
Aphrodite took out the conch, told Sea Breeze the need, and asked it to help transport it to the sea realm.
Aphrodite said: "If you have no other wishes, I will take Narcissus away first. You can just wait here for news from Oceanus. After you move to the foot of Olympus, I also allow you to call Narcissus back to join you."
Kefessos said quickly: "We have no other wishes, thank you Your Highness for your kindness!"
Aphrodite responded lightly: "Okay."
He nodded slightly, disappeared from the spot, and returned to his temple.
After entering the temple, he immediately fulfilled his promise to Narcissus, directly turning the wall in the palace into a mirror, and Aphrodite's figure was reflected in the mirror, and Narcissus appeared in it.
He walked back and forth a few steps in the new environment with some confusion, and finally lay down on the bed in the mirror world, he whispered softly: "From now on, this will be the home of me and Your Highness."
Aphrodite ignored it, and stuffed the box that sealed the fragments of Iapetus into the mirror world, and said to Narcissus: "Narcissus, please help me look at this box first, except for me. If you want it, don’t give it to anyone. If there is any movement in the box, please notify me in time.”
Narcissus didn't know what the box was for, so he took it solemnly, carefully put it down on his bedside, and said softly, "I will keep an eye on it, Your Highness."
Aphrodite hummed: "Okay, by the way, can you see what's going on in the Queen's Hall?"
Narcissus thought for a while, then nodded obediently: "If there is a mirror in the Queen's Temple."
Aphrodite: "There is a mirror in Hera's place, just take a look for me, just take a look, don't let anyone find out, just make sure that the god king is there."
Narcissus looked at Aphrodite, and after taking him back, his main body's attention was shifted to other things, slowly ignoring his existence.
Fortunately, he can still help him. Narcissus thought a little depressed, then quickly entered Hera's mirror, peeked out from the corner of the mirror, and saw that Hera was talking to a male god with short black hair.
Narcissus returned to Aphrodite's palace and told Aphrodite what he saw.
Aphrodite murmured: "The male god with short black hair? Ares?"
It's okay if Ares is beside Hera.
Even with him, Ares can help say some difficult words of 'Nemesis'.
I just wonder if Ares can see his identity through the appearance of 'Nemesis'
Aphrodite thought of this, briefly explained a few words to Narcissus, quickly entered Nemesis' body, quietly turned into a crow and flew up the mountain, landed on the window eaves of the Queen of God, gently Tapped it a few times with its claws.
Hera, who was reprimanding Ares, paused, and subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound.
After seeing the crow with light purple eyes, he immediately stood up anxiously and drove Ares out.