Great Prophecy

"Thank you for your generosity."

Faced with Ryan's invitation, Cronus accepted with feigned cheer, entirely unswayed by the reactions of his siblings beside him.

At that moment, within the Earth Mother's womb, Crios was voicing his contempt for that 'net.' The other Titans beside him shared his opinion, likewise believing they had no need for such elemental aid.

Even Cronus thought the same. As a god of Great Divine Power, he could accomplish anything he wished with his divine might alone. Yet, since he was asking a favor, he still expressed his concern.

"What do you intend to weave this net with? If you need, I can knead space into threads and gift them to you."

"No need. I have a better choice."

Ryan gently shook his head, then smiled as he gazed at the Earth Mother.

His demands made, it was time for the other party to act.

"We shall fulfill your wishes, Your Highness," the Earth Mother returned Ryan's gaze. "But you had better not disappoint us either."

As her words fell, Gaia extended her hand. Silently, a strangely shaped bottle materialized.

Its form resembled the organ of a female bearing offspring. Mysterious divine patterns shimmered across its surface, and at its center was set a nameless gem of gold and green, from which Ryan sensed an endless torrent of life force.

This was the [Life Treasure Bottle], the symbol of life, procreation, and reproduction. Gaia herself did not possess these authorities; this was a supreme treasure bestowed upon the Earth Mother by the world. She had once used it to irrigate vegetation and nurture newborn gods.

"For the next thousand years, it is yours. Though it contains the life origin of Khaos, I must warn you: absorbing its origin is meaningless. Just as a god's origin ultimately returns to its master, the life you take from this bottle will also revert to the world."

Reluctant as she was, the Earth Mother still handed the bottle to Ryan.

"Thank you for the reminder. I'll keep it in mind."

Ryan took the bottle and examined this legendary Divine Artifact. "But it seems life origin can be absorbed by mortal things. At least, that's what you did when creating plants."

"Because mortal things eventually decay, and the birth of new life also strengthens the artifact's power," Gaia said calmly.

Nodding, Ryan looked toward Gaia's abdomen, where Cronus and his eleven elder siblings resided.

Under his gaze, the surrounding space-time began to ripple. A mass of gold-and-silver interwoven origin force slowly emerged. This was the bulk of Cronus's Space-Time Origin. Given the unique nature of space-time power, even with his origin separated, he retained most of his strength.

"It can only last five hundred years," came Cronus's somewhat weary voice. "That's the limit I can manage. Beyond that, it will inexorably return to me."

"That's enough." Ryan stored away the mass of origin.

Space-time was the foundation of the world. If the Life Treasure Bottle represented the vast majority of the world's life origin, then Cronus's share of space-time was at most thirty percent.

What Ryan held was even less—roughly a little over twenty percent of Khaos's space-time origin force—but that already far exceeded his expectations.

"Swear to the world: if you can tell me the true meaning of prophecy, including how to truly overthrow my father, then when I become the new God King, I will immediately fulfill the agreement I made with you before."

Cronus's voice came again, tinged with urgency. The Earth Mother followed closely, also swearing an oath.

The advance payment had been delivered. They could hardly wait to hear the answer.

Smiling inwardly, Ryan knew that, under the influence of Fate and the push of the world, even without him, Gaia and Cronus would have eventually stumbled upon the crux of the problem.

But reality was like this: sometimes, knowing something just one minute earlier could bring you immense returns.

Unhurried, Ryan calmly laid out the reasons why Uranus had become God King. Among the three generations of God Kings, he was truly the one who 'won the throne by righteousness,' for it was a reward from the world.

"The Sky Father's divine authority comes from the world. He was the first god to procreate through union. When he took that step, he became the symbol of the masculine. When the Titans were born, he transformed into the origin of Paternal Authority. For such merits, the world crowned him king and allowed him to rule the sky, the sea, and the earth."

"So what then? How do we make him lose the world's favor?"

Ignoring Ryan's mention of the humiliating title 'Titans,' Cronus pressed on urgently.

"He is a male god, so he represents the masculine. He is a father, so he wields Paternal Authority. Aside from me, aside from the Primordial Gods and his brothers, every living being in the world today is his descendant. That cannot be changed."

"So," Ryan dropped his smile and looked solemnly at the Earth Mother, and at the King of Space-Time within her womb, "you must use the Scythe to sever his symbol as a male god and a father."

"When he loses that symbol, he will no longer be a male god, and the power of the masculine will leave him. When he loses that symbol, he will no longer be able to procreate, and the power of Paternal Authority will crumble. Stripped of these, he will still be the master of the sky, but no longer a God King with merit to the world."

Gaia was stunned. Cronus and his siblings seemed to have lost the power of speech. Until that moment, they had been racking their brains over the Scythe's purpose.

Without a doubt, it was a Divine Artifact, but it was hardly enough to threaten the supreme God King. Yet with Ryan's explanation, they finally understood its use.

The Scythe had been nurtured in the earth, so it naturally would not harm Gaia; it could exist within her body and flesh. All that was needed was the right moment for Cronus to swing that blade, and everything would be over.

"Is this Fate?" Gaia sneered, unsure whether she was mocking the God King or herself.

"He personally placed the Knife Wielder into the most suitable position. He personally sowed the seeds of his own ruin. My sister who governs destiny—I wonder if she saw this scene long ago."

Ryan offered no comment on that. He knew that the Lady of the Night was different from Gaia. She and the Lord of Darkness had only personified a very small part of themselves. Even in later myths, they often had no presence at all.

"Choose the right time," Ryan said. "Not now, not soon. Wait until the God King has completely let his guard down, believing the prophecy has been thwarted."

"I will," Gaia said. Having obtained her answer, she no longer wished to stay.

To her, Uranus was detestable enough, but Ryan also made her want to keep her distance. Before this Seer, she always felt like a puppet being manipulated.

"Wait, Mother."

As if sensing Gaia's intent to leave, Cronus suddenly spoke.

His voice was steady and forceful. Ever since being confined to his mother's womb, he had stopped hiding his edge. Especially now that Ryan had revealed the key to overthrowing the Sky Father, his confidence swelled higher than ever.

But before that, he wanted to secure an insurance for himself.

"Before we depart," he said, "before we go to accomplish this great deed of overthrowing the God King."

"Esteemed Seer, Creator of Time Sequence; Lord of the Moon, God of Prophecy, as the future God King spoken of in your prophecy, I presume to ask you in the capacity of a God King."

"In your eyes, holding this scythe destined to be etched into history, can I achieve the shared wish of my mother, my siblings, and myself—overthrow the cruel old master, and let me ascend the throne?"

"In the future, can I create greater deeds than my father, ruling the sky, the earth, and the sea forever?"

Silent for a moment, Ryan didn't know what to say. This was the line of God Kings of Khaos—even after witnessing the terror of prophecy, they remained so obsessed with Fate.

But since Cronus had already spoken, Ryan decided to grant his request. Since they loved prophecy so much, he would make one final 'Great Prophecy' before merging with the Divine Office of prophecy.

Making his decision, Ryan nodded to the Earth Mother, and a faint light flickered in his eyes. Gaia and the Titans fell silent; no one wished to disturb the Seer's observation of Fate. With different thoughts in their hearts, they quietly awaited the final result.

After a long while, the moment the light in Ryan's eyes faded, Cronus eagerly asked.

"What did you see? Will I succeed?"

"You will succeed," Ryan said calmly, coming back to himself. "You will defeat your father. Though the process may require a battle, victory will ultimately be yours."

"But I hope you remember—" He stared straight at the Earth Mother, as if also staring at the future God King within her womb.

"Nothing is eternal, Cronus. You will succeed, but you will not succeed forever."

"When the day comes that life and death are reversed, you will understand my words."

"As you gain, so shall you lose. By this you rise—"

"—By this you shall fall!"