The New King

No one dared meet Cronus's eyes at that moment.

Even Hyperion and Okeanos, who had once entertained thoughts of claiming the God King's Throne, remained silent.

Uranus's curse before his departure had been heard clearly by all the gods.

If it had been any other curse, they would not have taken it to heart. But this one was different.

Not only because of whom it had been directed at, but also because it reminded them of the warning given hundreds of years ago in the Underworld by the being who was still regarded as the God of Prophecy.

You shall rise by this, and by this you shall perish. Cronus had plotted against his father with the help of his children and seized the throne through armed force. Did that also foreshadow his own children plotting against him and stripping him of his kingship by force?

No one knew, but no one dared guarantee that it would not happen.

After all, the Sky Father's God King's Throne had been bestowed upon him by the World Will, so simple force could not replace him. But if Cronus became the God King, this throne obtained through strength would no longer have the World Will's endorsement.

Regardless, time did not stop for the gods' silence. Once no god in the world raised an objection to Cronus's God King's Throne, the authority began to shift toward him from the Unknown.

Since there was no longer a legitimately recognized God King endorsed by the World Will, a leader recognized by the gods was barely acceptable. If no one challenged Cronus within five hundred years, he would become Khaos's Second Generation God King.

During that time, although he could not yet fully enjoy the authority of the God King, that tremendous power had already begun transferring to him.

"Children, you have won."

Amid the silence, the heavily wounded Earth Mother approached from afar.

In the battle before this, she had suffered no less damage than her children. She simply had not appeared on the front lines, instead constantly manipulating the power of the earth to hold back the descending sky.

She had also heard the curse just now, but still acted as though she had not.

At a moment like this, she did not want to worry about a future so distant that no one knew when it would arrive.

At her words, the gods all came to their senses. They stopped wearing grim expressions and began celebrating their victory and Cronus's ascension.

Whatever they truly thought, faced with the strongest of the Titans—Cronus, who also wielded a high-grade Divine Artifact—they expressed their recognition of his God King's Throne.

"You're right, Mother. We should hold a banquet to celebrate today's victory."

Listening to the gods' congratulations, Cronus forced out a faint smile and spoke to the Titans.

"But I think we should deal with one matter first, Cronus!"

Suddenly, Mnemosyne spoke from the side.

Blood still covered her body, and her wounds slowly healed under the effect of divine power. She had rushed over from a crater in the distance—the crater she herself had smashed into. But at that moment, Mnemosyne seemed to have forgotten her pain. Her face was filled with fury as she glared at her former younger brother, now her eldest brother.

"That God of Prophecy, that thief! He stole my Divine Office of Memory."

"You all felt it, didn't you? At the very beginning of the battle, Khaos's consciousness exposed his disguise! He is the God of Spirituality, and he did something that enraged the World Will."

"We should punish him!" she declared. "In the Netherworld, the place where the World Will informed the gods."

"Yes. Before celebrating our victory, we should punish a sinner," Iapetus agreed.

He thought everyone would feel the same way. After all, it was Ryan's prophecy that had put them through such suffering. But unexpectedly, no one followed his words, and everyone's expression turned somewhat awkward.

"Ahem, my brother." Hyperion said, "The World Will only appeared seven days ago. Even if we punish him now, we won't receive a reward."

"Yes, Khaos's consciousness is always so rigid. Once the deed that offended the World Will was completed, the World Will canceled its 'bounty' on him."

Tethys echoed him. This eldest sister among the Titans rarely spoke.

"But what about my Divine Office?" Mnemosyne asked, somewhat confused.

Was there really any need to discuss punishing a weak God of Prophecy? Even without the World Will's reward, using him to demonstrate the authority of the New Divine Court would be worthwhile.

"I want him to become my subordinate god. A Divine Office cannot be transferred, but it can be 'borrowed' for a long time between a chief god and a subordinate god."

The corner of Cronus's mouth twitched. A Divine Office could not be transferred—that was what he had thought at first, too.

"But he isn't as simple as we thought, Mnemosyne." Lord of the Ocean seemed unwilling to beat around the bush. He spoke directly to his sister. "Seven days ago, while we were still fighting Father God, the two from Eternal Night Land went to the Netherworld."

"Your divine powers are too weak, so you couldn't sense it. On the previous God's Birthday, the two Primordial Gods accelerated the birth of the New Gods with their origins. Obviously, they went to cause trouble for the God of Spirituality."

At those words, Iapetus said no more. He understood what his brother meant. With two Primordial Gods personally taking action, either Ryan had already been cast into the Abyss to face the World Will's punishment, in which case they would not find him even if they went there.

Or he had used some method to make the Twin Gods of the Night return empty-handed. In that case, they were even less likely to do anything.

Everyone present, including Gaia, would not be enough to withstand a single strike from the Lord of Darkness.

After all, the other's power could contend with Uranus at his peak, while the Sky Father they had faced earlier had suffered tremendous losses and possessed less than thirty to fifty percent of his full strength.

"Let's leave it at that." Seeing that his sister was still unwilling to accept it, Cronus did not want to delay any longer.

If possible, he wanted more than anyone to strike at the one who had devoured his origin. But now, he could only give up.

Putting aside the other's consistently mysterious conduct and the means that had forced a Primordial God to retreat, the other's prophecy alone left him unable to eat or sleep in peace.

He now understood his father. The Sky Father had treated the Titans as toys countless times, yet had never once attacked Ryan. That was the deterrent brought by the mysterious Fate.

The other Titans could afford not to care. After all, they had never asked Ryan for a prophecy. But Cronus was different. He had begun to regret it—regret asking Ryan about his future before. If he had not known, he at least would not have been caught in such a dilemma.

"Let's go back to Mount Othrys. Mother's creations are always so delicious."

His mood growing even gloomier, the future God King who should have been exultant forced himself to look a little happier, then flew toward the Divine Mountain.

"Let's go. We'll discuss the matter of the Divine Office later."

Rhea glanced at her sister and spoke as well. She was the only one who had noticed something of Cronus's condition.

Seeing that everyone had said so, Mnemosyne could only suppress her unwillingness and choose to fly toward the Divine Mountain with the Titans.

She did not dare act on her own. Even Ryan from before, despite everything, had been a God of Time Sequence with a Divine Power Level of 9. He was far more capable in a fight than she was, a God of Language and Writing with a Divine Power Level of 8.

The gods departed one after another. Once the divine war ended, the earth also returned to peace. As time passed, it slowly recovered from the damage it had suffered.

Half a day later, the banquet celebrating the new king's ascension began on Mount Othrys.