An Ominous Sign (3)
The lower body of a colossal serpent paired with the upper torso of a beautiful human woman—this was the monster before me. Yet the true identity of the being who had seized that flesh was Cronus, the god of time and agriculture.
“Why? Did you not expect me to emerge into the living world?”
“To be precise, it is more accurate to say I never imagined Lady Gaia would summon you.”
“Uahahaha! How desperate Mother must have been to call upon me!”
With Cronus’s laughter, time around us began to flow without order. The divine power of a first-generation Titan god poured forth, twisting the surrounding landscape into grotesque shapes.
Damn that Gaia. So the one she had tried to drag out by sacrificing dozens of humans was Cronus? Was she truly so unwilling to accept that her Titan children had been cast into Tartarus?
Still, it was fortunate I had sensed the dagger she had hidden in time. If I had ignored my instincts and slain Echidna… Olympus might one day have faced a Cronus who had regained his strength somewhere far beyond the horizon.
“Gaia intends to set you against us. Do you truly plan to let yourself be used and then tossed back into Tartarus?”
“Simply breathing the air of the surface world is reward enough. Kahaha!”
Even though prolonged imprisonment in Tartarus had weakened him, Cronus remained the god of time and a Titan. He had once been the chief deity who ruled the world, and he still posed a genuine threat. Yet the conditions required to pull a deity from Tartarus into the living realm were steep: dozens of human sacrifices, an enormous expenditure of Gaia’s divine power, a suitable vessel, and a bizarre ritual. These were not factors that could be met repeatedly while evading the watchful eyes of the gods.
“Enjoy the scenery of the surface while you can. You will not have another chance to come forth.”
“Have you still not noticed? I am adapting to this body more with every passing moment.”
The aura of Cronus, who had possessed the monster and was now raising his divine power, grew steadily stronger. Even Enceladus—who had been gripping his club and watching me warily—broke into a satisfied grin.
But…
“I was not the only one stalling for time.”
“What did you say?!”
If he continued releasing his power like this, how could the sun hanging in the sky possibly fail to notice?
BOOOOOOOM!!!
An overwhelming pillar of light tore straight through the mountain and struck them. Yet the shockwave halted precisely before me.
Thud. Drop.
The dark cave was obliterated in an instant, and brilliant sunlight poured over everyone. A devastating strike that erased an entire section of the mountain, paired with the pinpoint accuracy to detect Cronus’s newly released power and target only them.
High above the clouds, Apollo stood with a bow radiating golden light, gazing down at us. When he opened his mouth, a majestic voice resonated in every direction.
“Mortals, close your eyes and do not look upon the sky. To gaze directly at my true form is to burn.”
Any human who stared straight at a god’s full-powered true form would perish. Semele, mother of Dionysus, who died after witnessing Zeus, was proof enough. Overwhelming heat and radiance poured from him, and the mortals bowed their heads in terror.
But those gathered here were gods, Titans, or monsters who stood against the divine. Every one of them stared straight at Apollo’s true form without flinching.
The Gigantes who had shaken off the debris and risen, along with Cronus who had blocked Apollo’s attack, both frowned deeply.
“Hoo~! A pleasure to meet you, Grandfather!”
“You’re late, Apollo.”
“The sun… it reminds me of Helios. So you are one of Zeus’s brats?”
“Lord Cronus! That one is the god of the sun—Apollo!”
Apollo descended to the lower world, unleashing the full power he had displayed during the battle against Typhon. The sun’s brilliant rays illuminated the half-crushed mountain even more brightly, announcing his presence.
“I came the moment I received word from Lady Styx! Uncle—or should I call you Aunt now? Haha!”
“Save the nonsense for later.”
The god of the sun cracked a cheerful joke upon seeing the corpses of the fallen humans, yet the corners of his eyes—those of the god of reason—had frozen into icy contempt. Apollo sneered, nocking another arrow infused with the sun’s light onto his bowstring. At the same time, Hades formed a spear of pure black darkness and charged straight at Cronus.
“Hades! To challenge your own father once more—how unspeakably unfilial!”
“You’re the last person who should speak of filial duty, you who devoured your own children!”
Cronus, now possessing the serpent-bodied monster, swept his hand through the air. Time slowed. Hades’s charging momentum dulled, and sparks erupted from the collision of their authorities.
Clang! Crackle!
The clash between the Lord of the Underworld and the Master of Time accelerated the collapse of the already ruined mountain. Trees, fish, and every living thing nearby either aged to dust in seconds or rotted away beneath waves of dark energy.
“You dare face me without that irritating Kynee of yours?”
“Do you honestly believe I would lose to a relic that’s been rotting in Tartarus?”
Yet the collision of divine powers was not limited to this place alone.
“Khaaaaaap! A-Apollo! I am Enceladus!”
Enceladus had moved a short distance away to avoid interfering with Cronus. He swelled in size. With a monstrous roar, his already gigantic frame expanded further, his ferocity multiplying. He charged at Apollo on his serpentine lower half. The blow was one that would force even most gods to yield.
Swoosh—hisssss!
Apollo met it head-on. As the god of archery, he loosed arrows of sunlight from his bow like rays of dawn, halting the monster’s advance.
“A mere monster cannot reach the majesty of a god. Know your place and kneel.”
Several arrows sank into the Gigante’s arm, filling the air with the stench of burning flesh. But the wound lasted only a moment. The rapidly regenerating monster charged again, swinging a massive fist at the god.
Boom! Kwaaaang!
The mountain crumbled under the combined aftermath of Titans, gods, and monsters. The shockwaves reached even the nearby city of Thebes.
Rumble… Crash!
The humans living peacefully in Thebes felt the earth-shaking roar and trembled in terror. The city quaked as though struck by an earthquake. Buildings collapsed. Killing intent rode the wind. The primal fear of gods descending to wage war nearby spread like wildfire, breeding chaos among the people.
“The ground is shaking!”
“Didn’t you hear Lord Apollo’s warning when he descended earlier?”
“Bow your heads and get inside, quickly!”
“Dionysus, save us!”
Fortunately, the leopards—Dionysus’s sacred beasts that roamed Thebes—appeared to carry away believers, and various gods lent what aid they could. Panic never fully took hold.
“The leopards… Lord Dionysus is watching over us!”
“I must offer a sacrifice at the temple later.”
“Lord Zeus…”
The humans retreated into the temples or homes of the deities they trusted and prayed fervently. They begged the gods above the clouds to withdraw their wrath.
Whoooosh—
My damned father, Cronus, was strong. Even during the Titanomachy, when many of the Titan gods had sided with us—
“Shouldn’t you return to the Underworld and retrieve your Kynee?”
“You yourself are powerless without your Scythe.”
Until we obtained the three sacred treasures crafted by the Cyclopes and the support of the Hecatoncheires, he had been undefeatable. Even then, it had taken several of us working in concert to drive him back. The heavy blow flying toward me now was merely a remnant of that power.
The authority that manipulated time—something I had experienced during the war—shook its target with full force.
Thud. Drop.
The sound of sand falling through an hourglass echoed as time twisted at random. Cronus’s mocking laughter slowly spread through the decelerated world…
My son, you still cannot defeat me…
In the slowed time, I saw the fingernails of the Echidna-possessed Cronus flying toward me. With a triumphant smile on the monster’s face, he swung his hand. The sharp, hideous claws reached right before my eyes, but—
Grab.
I moved the hand cloaked in ink-black divine power and seized his wrist. The air shattered, and the flow of time snapped back to normal.
“What…!”
Neither of us could exert our full strength in this imperfect state. Yet he had rested far too long in Tartarus. The penalty for breaking the Styx Oath was one year of suspended animation and nine years of being barred from divine councils. To immortals, ten years was but a blink, yet every god feared the oath for one simple reason: failing to properly tend one’s domain for even that short period brought devastating losses.
The more important the domain a deity governed, the stronger they became. It was no coincidence that the three chief gods ruled the Underworld, the sea, and the sky. Because hegemony now belonged to Olympus, most Titan gods had been weakened. That was why Apollo surpassed Helios despite both being sun deities. So how weak had Cronus become—a defeated Titan who had languished in Tartarus for so long?
Stab!
“Khuk!”
The answer was ‘greatly weakened.’ The domain of time was vital, an essential pillar of the world. But from the moment of his defeat, Cronus’s power had plummeted. Even in his diminished state he could rival the Twelve Olympians, yet—
“I am the King of the Underworld. I will not lose to a relic like you.”
“Y-you…!”
I shattered the wildly twisting currents of time with my own power. With my hand still buried in his chest, I taunted him. Cronus glared back with bloodshot eyes.
“Your little stroll ends here. Back to Tartarus with you.”
“If not for this wretched… body…!”
The erratic light of distorted time faded from his eyes. The Titan of Time who had descended upon the surface was sent back to Tartarus by the Lord of the Underworld.