The Bird Struggles Free of the Egg

In an instant, Cronus broke from the allied lines and soared up toward Mount Olympus.

The Titans left behind on the ground plunged into chaos at the sight.

"W-wait—he's just leaving like that…?"

"What do we do? Should we go help him?"

With their head suddenly gone, the Titans floundered, unable to find their bearings. Under ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary circumstances, following one's king would have been the correct course. But given Cronus's temperament, intervening at the wrong moment risked punishment for snatching his prey out from under him.

"Damn it! We still have to go after him!"

"Something feels off about this. I'm going too."

A little late, but Atlas and a few of the bolder Titans prepared to move in support of Cronus.

In that very moment—

"Hmm~ And where do you think you're going? Why don't you stay and play with us instead?"

"!"

"W-who the hell are you?"

A sudden, bone-chilling sensation washed over them. The Titans turned their heads—and found figures standing there whose mere presence radiated pure ill omen.

"Th-the gods of death!"

"W-what are you doing here…?"

"Heh heh! What else? We came to make some death, of course."

"How noisy. Even on a battlefield, one might hope for a little more order."

"Regrettably, it seems your fates will not be bright ones."

Only three of them stood there, yet the pressure they exuded was crushing—as heavy and taut as facing an entire army. The gods of death calmly adjusted their weapons.

And then—

"Well then, shall we begin? As gods of death, for you poor souls!"

"A peaceful death."

"An inescapable death."

"I'll give you the most agonizing death of all!!!"

With those words, the gods of death charged. Led by Keres at the front, the merciless slaughter began, shattering the already disordered Titan formation into pure pandemonium.

"Keheheheh! Eheheheheheheheh!!!!"

The goddess of violent death's laughter rang out, hideous and ringing. That cruel bloom of laughter filled the battlefield, drinking deep of countless screams of agony, and blossomed ever more brilliantly with every cry it consumed.

—KRAAAAAANG!!!

A piercing sound that shook the world. At the same time, the world that had been wrapping around her began to tremble.

"!? W-what is this…?"

"At last…"

The heat that had filled everything began to rush out, taking the stagnant air with it. Caught off guard by the sudden change, she hesitated for a moment.

Then—

"? M-Mother…?"

"Come, my daughter. We must go—quickly!"

Her mother seized her hand. Face lit with a smile of pure joy, she pulled her daughter into a run toward the place where the air was escaping.

She did not fully understand what was happening, but she followed her mother's will and moved her feet as fast as she could. And when they finally arrived, what came into view was a crack—etched sharp and clear into a world that had once been utterly solid.

From that high place, small yet unmistakable, something was pouring in through the gap.

Light.

She saw it for the first time. It was so brilliant, so beautiful, that it took her breath away.

—Crack! Crackle-snap!

The fissure split wider, as if a shell were breaking. As the shafts of light poured down even more fiercely, she found herself taking a step forward without thinking.

Then—

—PAAAAAK!!!

"Ah!"

It shattered completely. An enormous gale surged through at once, and she and her mother could no longer keep their footing—they were swept upward, carried high into the air.

And then—

"! That is…"

Through the light so bright it hurt her eyes, something came into view.

A blue, blue expanse of sky.

That free place called the heavens, which existed outside this stifling world. She had heard of it from her mother for as long as she could remember, and its true form was more beautiful than anything she had ever imagined.

"Good. If we can just reach there like this—"

Then—

"Huh?"

"! N-no…"

In that instant, the sky began to close. Watching the opened crack in the world seal shut again, deep dismay settled over both their faces.

"M-Mother? W-what do we do…?"

"Kh…"

At her daughter's question, the mother bit her lip. The passage had barely opened, and at this rate the chance they had finally won would slip away before their eyes. Already the wind that had been lifting them was weakening.

And in that moment, she made her decision.

"You must live well… my daughter."

"What? What do you mean—ah!"

In the next instant, her mother threw her upward with every ounce of strength she had. As a result, the mother's own body—which had been rising with her—began to fall back into the depths below.

"N-no! Mother! Mother!!!"

She slipped out into the world by the barest margin. Watching her go, the mother falling into the dark wore a deep smile on her lips.

The joy of having given that child her freedom. And the sorrow of an eternal farewell. A smile so beautiful it held both at once.

"Yes… this is enough… this is… this is enough…"

Those final words, a comfort offered to herself. With them, the mother slowly closed her eyes.

—Tak!!!

But then—

"Huh?"

In the next moment, something caught the hand of the falling woman. A grip that felt extremely rough, coarse—and at the same time utterly solid. Experiencing that sensation for the first time, she opened her eyes.

"Sorry, but that won't cut it for me."

"!"

A single heavy line, spoken from within a brilliance so bright nothing else could be seen. Immediately after, the body of the woman whose hand had been seized ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was hauled hard upward—with a force that was utterly violent, and at the same time impossibly reliable.

And then—

—Pat!!!

"Kh!!"

The cold touch of the ground hit her at once. And right after—

"M-Mother!"

"!"

In her eyes—in the eyes of the goddess named Metis—what she saw before even her own approaching daughter was the figure of a man.

In that moment, having just split Zeus's skull, he was already swinging the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bloodied axe straight at Cronus. A man who looked like the very embodiment of standing against the world itself.

The vast world spread out before her eyes.

To the eyes of the "bird" that had broken free of its egg, it was piercingly, overwhelmingly beautiful. The sky was blue. The wind was cool. The sunlight was radiant beyond measure.

Everything told her one clear truth: this was the sensation called freedom.

She—

—Athena, the goddess of war, understood it with perfect clarity.

But before she could even begin to savor that freedom she was tasting for the first time, her gaze—still wet with tears—turned back toward the place she had just burst from.

A man pouring blood from his head. And another man sitting beside him, holding a bloodied axe.

Athena had no trouble recognizing that the one collapsed on the ground was Zeus. Then who was the other?

In that moment—

—Pak!!!

—Guhhhhhhh!!!

Zeus screamed in agony once more. And then Athena saw it: a person being pulled free, gripped in the hand of the man with the axe.

The person who, only moments ago, had made her eyes fill with tears at the thought of an eternal farewell. Her mother.

"Huh?"

Then—

"Die, you filthy whelp!!!"

"!!"

In the next instant, a man with a scythe lunged at the one still drawing her mother free. Athena, who had been gripping spear and shield from the very moment she emerged into the world, reflexively stepped in front of him.

—Chang!!!

"Kh!!!"

An enormous impact slammed into her. She had been born fully grown as a goddess of war—and still this man's power surpassed even hers.

"Damn it! And who the hell is this bitch!?"

The scythe swung with raw fury. Barely holding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back the tremendous force within it, Athena fought to protect the man who was saving her—and her mother. Her benefactor.

Then—

"Haaah!!"

"!"

The man wrenched her mother free in one pull and flung her backward. Immediately after, he swung his axe straight at the "enemy" pressing Athena.

"Get lost!"

"Guhk!!!"

The scythe-wielding man kicked Athena hard in the gut and barely managed to block the axe. Forced a step back by the blow, Athena whipped her gaze around in a panic.

"M-Mother!"

She started to run toward her—but Metis, still wearing a dazed expression, cried out urgently.

"I-I'm fine! More importantly—help that man with the axe! Help the one fighting Cronus!"

"Ah—y-yes!"

Following her mother's command, Athena readied her spear once more. Then, putting every ounce of her strength into it, she hurled the weapon at the scythe-wielding man—at Cronus.

—Pak!

"Guhk!! Y-you little—!!"

Athena's spear raked across Cronus's side. The wound itself was not severe. But the opening it created—the man with the axe did not miss it.

Hephaestus did not miss it.

"Haaah!"

"! Kruuugh!!!"

—KANG!!!!

The axe came down with a heavy crash. Cronus blocked it by a hair's breadth, but the blow threw him off balance and his stance collapsed.

And then—

"Now!"

The moment Hephaestus's words fell, the gods who had been waiting sprang into motion. Hades, Hestia, and Hera—who until moments ago had been bound—all charged at once. Watching them rush him together, Cronus's face went white with shock.

"D-don't tell me… this was a trap?"