Harkam asked Stelios, "Then which celestial god did it?"
That is the pertinent question. Stelio's answer to it will surely crack this facade for what it is. Then he will have a field day mocking the sun-brain idiot for trying to pull one over him.
Stelios pointed at the empty seat. Every god's gaze turned to the seat just like Harkam's. Harkam laughed. He laughed so hard he was shaking. He slapped his seat as he guffawed. He would have rolled over the place because of how funny he found the entire thing to be. Stelios really fucked up trying to fool him. It is pleasurable on so many levels that he can't hold himself back from laughing.
He laughed for almost a minute before he straightened himself. Then he coughed awkwardly after his unsightly bout of laughter in the council room.
"I am so sorry for that display. I made a fool of myself. But it is not as bad as Stelios's stupid lie right? Who would believe that there is a new celestial god? And that celestial god also happens to be a new god." He smiled as he spoke.
"That is so hilarious. Isn't it?" He asked the other gods but no one spoke up in agreement.
It is not that there's no other god that agrees with him. In fact, there are a lot that agrees with him. They just don't want to speak up for one reason or another. The gods are mostly confused by the situation. They aren't as sure of themselves as Harkam is and they don't know the celestial supreme enough like Stelios does to know that the celestial supreme doesn't behave like Harkam thinks he did.
The fact that two grand gods are on opposite sides of things also means the other gods are better off spectating. If they join a side, they may have to join the divine war that ensues after. So it is better to watch on the sidelines. It is not worth it to join a side when they are so many unanswered questions.
"I have heard your issue and will address it immediately. It is the major reason I called for this council."
The voice of the celestial supreme put an end to any more arguments. Harkam sat down reluctantly and waited for the explanation that is due forward to him.
The celestial supreme spoke calmly. "I don't have anything to do with the situation of the heroic quest. I didn't deceive you or interfere in it in any manner. An unknown power caused the situation we are currently in."
Stelios asked. "Is it the new god?"
"That is highly likely. I am not sure because even I am in the dark. I don't know how a new god ascended without any notice. It should be impossible for there to be a new god since all Godhood and divine positions have been accounted for. The fact that it happened without the slightest fluctuations of ascension or a church as a source of faith should also be impossible. But it has happened."
The celestial god of order is someone very conversant with rules. This situation has defied so many rules, and that's why he is confused. There are only two ways to become a god. Either you create a church of faith and ascend or you absorb the Godhood of a former god. The first option means the creation of a new divine position and the second option is the inheritance of a divine position.
The first option leads to the creation of a new seat within the council of the gods. Such a thing will be witnessed by the entire pantheon of gods. The plane will inform all the gods of the new arrival. But this god, who it is, became a new god without anyone knowing and without a church or faith. A new god needs faith to be ascended.
The only way it can be feasible is if a new Godhood is brought from another plane. But that is also impossible. Godhoods can't leave the plane they came from just like gods can't leave the plane. Even if such a thing were to happen, he would have noticed it as soon as an external Godhood enters the plane. He isn't the celestial supreme for nothing.
'Even if I didn't notice, there's no way I wouldn't notice the ascension of a new god.'
The celestial supreme tried to figure out what is going on. The only notice and sign that he got of a new god is the new seat in the divine plane. As the celestial supreme, he was informed of the addition of a new god but only that. He should have been informed of the ascension of the new god, but he wasn't. Not unless the god ascended instantly. Which is also Impossible. Even if the god ascended instantly, he should at least know the god's domain and other information.
Another impossible thing that has happened is that there is no new divine kingdom for the new god. A new divine position means an additional divine kingdom in the divine realm but there is none. This can only happen if the new god is a landed god which is also impossible. The Authority of the divine realm has decreed that there has to be a divine kingdom in the divine plane for a god.
He didn't even consider the ant queen to be the new god because he can tell with certainty that she isn't a god yet. There are a lot of things he doesn't know about the new god but what he knows for certain is that it is not a celestial god and it is not the ant queen.
The ant queen used her divine power to cover her ant mound. He might not be able to see what's going on with it, but he can sense that the divine power used is only at the demigod level. So he doesn't care about the ant queen. The one that is important is the god that is helping the ant queen.
That is another disturbing thing. A god is helping the ants. That god is unknown. It could be a known god or the hidden god but what are the odds that the arrival of a new god coincided with the ant queen getting divinity to become a demigod? If it is truly the new god that is helping the ant queen, it is obvious that this new god is hostile to the pantheon of giants.
So this situation is filled with impossibilities upon impossibilities. It is enough to drive a god angry but more than that is the lack of control which is something the celestial supreme doesn't like. There isn't even information about the new god. He doesn't even know if the new god is a giant of order or not.
If not for the extra seat, he wouldn't know that there's a new god. How can he make this god adhere to the order of the plane if he doesn't even know anything about them? He was about to spiral down a mental abyss of obsession when he heard a question.
Harkam had come out of his state of shock. He doesn't know what's right or not. The only leads he has is that Stelios is right or that he is working together with the Celestial Supreme o fool him. It is a debate he will have to have another time. For now, he can only assume that they are speaking the truth and as mind-boggling, as it is to believe that a new god has tampered with the heroic quest, Harkam also realized something very important.
"Does this mean that the demigods have been really kidnapped?" He asked out loud.
He is not concerned about the potential ramifications and complications of the existence of a hidden god or why a god will choose to hide and help the ants. He is more concerned about his chance to get a divine lord.
"Unfortunately it is true." The celestial god answered grimly.
He asked again. "You're telling me that a new celestial god has kidnapped my daughter?"
"There is a lot I don't know about this god but I do know two things. This god is not a celestial god and this god is very good at hiding. That might be the power of the divine position of the new god."
If a new celestial god appears he would get stronger because of his Authority as the celestial supreme. The more celestial gods there are, the stronger he gets. And since he didn't grow stronger, then this new god must not be a Celestial god.
Stelios agreed, "That's true. The only reason we suspect a celestial is because the divine power was able to overrule ours. If the god specializes in stealth or secrecy, it would have worked too."
They have managed to narrow down some of the powers of the god that is helping the ants. It is not much, but it is progress.