I Became a Prophet in Greece: Section 11

During his reign, Chaos World would usher in a system of "feudal division." The other Titan gods held absolute authority within their respective domains and even showed signs of obeying Kronos in name but not in practice.

Under such circumstances, once Kronos learned of the curse and prophecy concerning himself, what would he do?

Kronos knew Theron was watching him, so he did not remain silent for long. On one hand, he feared Theron would consider him rude; on the other, he did not want Theron to see through his thoughts.

He no longer dwelled on that prophecy, or at least appeared not to, and instead asked Theron what he wanted.

"Esteemed Lord Theron, I previously promised you one condition. Have you decided what you wish for?"

Theron nodded and said with a smile, "My condition is simple, great King of Gods. You and your brothers should make more of an effort to create life for this world."

"This world is so vast, yet its laws remain incomplete. Thus, we need more gods, and we need more life. Only then will the world become increasingly prosperous."

"And this will also be part of your achievement as King of Gods. You will gain even greater recognition from the world because of it."

Kronos had never expected Theron's condition to be this, and it left him utterly surprised.

After Uranus, who had become King of Gods through the authority of the Father God, was castrated, the era in which power was obtained through paternal authority came to an end.

The change was like how, at first, the person with the most children in a tribe became king. By the second generation, it became the person who had contributed the most to the tribe, possessed prestige, and had the support of the maternal line.

By the third generation, it would depend on alliances, schemes, wisdom, and having the most supporters—but that was a matter for later.

When the first generation ended, the right of reproduction was no longer exclusive to the King of Gods. It returned to all life. Even without Theron saying anything, Kronos believed his brothers and sisters would produce one new god after another.

This was also a means of strengthening themselves. When two inherent laws merged and gave birth to a new law, the Titan gods would become stronger within their respective domains.

As if sensing Kronos's confusion, Theron added with a chuckle, "Life does not necessarily have to mean gods."

He subtly hinted, "Perhaps you could use your imagination and create other creatures. Don't you think a world with only gods is far too monotonous?"

Hearing this, Kronos was immediately stirred. He nodded thoughtfully, indicating that he understood.

Seeing that his guidance had succeeded, Theron no longer kept him and found an excuse to send the young King of Gods away.

Kronos felt that since he had already agreed to Theron's condition, and since he truly wished to do something for this world in order to gain recognition sooner and acquire more power, he should act.

Thus, rather than returning directly to the divine mountain, he went to visit his other Titan brothers.

Sure enough, just as he had expected, his Titan brothers had no intention of giving up on giving birth to new divine authorities. They had even already begun acting enthusiastically.

Still, Kronos subtly expressed his hope that more life would be born into this world, adding that such life did not have to be limited to gods.

He did not know what kind of life Theron wanted, so he simply had everyone put their minds together. The other Titan gods were also inspired by this and felt that the world was indeed rather dull, so they began researching new forms of life on their own.

They created all kinds of strange mythical creatures. From the elemental powers they wielded, many spirits and all kinds of nymphs were born as well.

These beings, symbols of natural power, became lifeforms in Chaos World apart from gods. Yet compared to the vastness of the world, their numbers were still not great.

Oceanus, who had likewise been inspired by Theron earlier, heard Kronos's words and felt as though he had suddenly grasped something.

Though he did not know what benefits reproduction could bring, having received repeated hints, he decided to follow them. Thus, he and Tethys gave birth to three thousand Oceanids and three thousand river gods.

This "three thousand" was not an exact number, but a reference to infinity. They gave birth to all the rivers in the world, while the Oceanids filled the formerly desolate ocean currents with boundless vitality.

The most immediate benefit of this soon became apparent: the great ocean current encircling the entire world grew ever larger.

This represented a breakthrough in both Oceanus's divine authority and divine power. Not only did the injuries he had suffered while fighting Uranus, the first King of Gods, rapidly heal, but his authority over water even showed signs of surpassing that of Pontus, the primordial sea god.

Having tasted the benefits, Oceanus finally understood the true meaning of "reproduction" and became even more diligent.

Seeing this, the other Titan gods rushed to imitate him. The new laws born from their unions were mostly extensions of their own authorities.

These extensions could likewise strengthen them, and under such circumstances, all the gods were more than willing to take part in this god-creating endeavor.

Chaos World, whose evolution had stagnated under Uranus's monopolistic rule, finally entered a period of stable and rapid development. Countless third-generation gods were born during this era.

With resources abundant, there was little scheming among the gods. They did not compete with one another, and the world enjoyed a rare peace.

Later generations called this era:

...Golden Age.

Rhea's Pregnancy

To eternal gods, time was the cheapest thing of all. In the blink of an eye, several more centuries passed.

Guided by Theron, Kronos had led the other Titan gods in creating life. This was indeed a great achievement. As Chaos World developed rapidly, it increasingly recognized this new King of Gods.

Kronos could clearly feel his power growing stronger. With the world's support, the speed at which his divine power grew even surpassed Oceanus, who had produced countless children.

This increase in strength finally gave him a measure of confidence. At the very least, he no longer had to constantly worry that his brothers—the Titan gods stronger than himself—would threaten him.

During the centuries he had spent striving, his queen, Rhea, goddess of abundance and time, had remained by his side. Their feelings for one another were incomparably sincere.

One day, atop the towering divine mountain, Queen Rhea found King Kronos with indescribable excitement.

Rhea took the form of an exquisitely beautiful young girl. With joy shining in her eyes and across her features, she looked all the more lively and breathtaking.

Seeing Rhea like this, Kronos could not help but smile. He reached out and pulled his beautiful wife into his arms.

"Oh, my beautiful queen, what has happened to make you so happy?"

"Great King of Gods, my love, this is certainly something that will make you happy as well!"

Rhea said with a smile. She touched her flat abdomen with immense happiness, her voice filled with sweetness. "We are finally going to have children of our own!"

The smile on Kronos's face froze. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, so shocked that he failed to control his expression for a moment.

But Rhea was completely immersed in happiness and sweetness at that moment and did not notice anything unusual about Kronos.

Ever since learning of Uranus's curse and the prophecy concerning himself from Theron centuries ago, Kronos had done everything he could to delay the arrival of that curse.

The curse said that he would be overthrown by his own child, so he had tried to avoid intimacy with Rhea, fearing she would bear his child.

But this could only be temporary. As King of Gods and Queen of Gods, he and Rhea were destined to produce offspring. This was the will of the world, and they could not resist it.

All Kronos wanted was for this day to come later, and later still, so that he would have enough time to think of a way to deal with it.

Yet when that day truly arrived, Kronos realized in panic that he was nowhere near prepared.

It had only been a few centuries. He was not strong enough yet, and the will of Chaos World had not fully recognized him. How could Rhea become pregnant at a time like this?

Looking at the beautiful girl in his arms, who had already begun imagining what their future child would look like, Kronos felt cold all over and nearly lost control of his emotions.

Uranus's final resentful gaze and Theron's calm, unchanging voice replayed in his mind without end:

...What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again!

When Rhea still did not hear Kronos speak, she raised her head in confusion and asked, "What is wrong, Your Majesty? We finally have a child of our own. Aren't you happy?"

Rhea did not know the content of the curse, nor did she know what Kronos feared and worried about. She had merely watched her Titan brothers and sisters give birth to many children over the past centuries and felt envious.

Now that she finally had a child of her own, she naturally felt happy and could not understand Kronos's reaction.

Meeting Rhea's puzzled gaze, Kronos forced out a smile and spoke with difficulty. "No, my love, I am happy. I am simply surprised, because this is somewhat sudden."

"It has already been several centuries, Your Majesty. It is time for us to have a child." Rhea smiled. "This will surely be a healthy and clever child, and brave like you."

Kronos's eyelid twitched at her words. He no longer had the mood to continue talking, so he found an excuse to send Rhea away. Then he sat alone in the vast divine hall, silent for a very, very long time.

In the quiet hall, Kronos seemed to have turned into a lifeless stone statue.

The resentful gaze Uranus had worn at the end had always been like a thorn lodged in Kronos's heart, one that had never been removed over all these years.

He could only try his best to ignore its existence, but today, it had pierced him until he was dripping with blood.

"I cannot simply wait for the curse to descend. I have to do something."

Finally, after an unknown length of time, Kronos made up his mind to act. He was the most courageous King of Gods, and passively waiting had never been his way.

Kronos left the divine mountain and descended to the earth, arriving at the residence of Gaia, the Mother Goddess of Earth.

Since the reign of Uranus, the previous King of Gods, had ended, Gaia had ceased meddling in the affairs of the gods. She had returned to the earth and slowly restored the origin power she had consumed over the years.

Gaia was surprised by Kronos's visit, but she still received him and took the initiative to ask, "My child, great King of Gods Kronos, have you come to me for something?"

Kronos hesitated, unsure how to begin, but in the end, his fear of the curse won out.

He told Gaia the details of the curse and then asked her to remove the child in Rhea's womb, lest his descendant overthrow his divine authority.

The greatest authority held by Gaia, the Mother Goddess of Earth, was the authority of reproduction. In this world, only she could make an already conceived child disappear.

Kronos had spent several days thinking of this solution. As long as he had no descendants, the curse would never come true.

But Gaia flew into a rage upon hearing this. Her dark brows furrowed as she said sharply, "Kronos, have you forgotten why your father Uranus was driven from the divine throne?!"

"He forced the children I had already given birth to back into my body. One who violates the laws of reproduction is unworthy of becoming King of Gods, and a god incapable of reproduction is even less qualified to lead the gods!"

"Kronos, put away that ridiculous idea of yours. Not only will I not remove Rhea's child, I will bless her! She will certainly give birth to your child!"

After saying that, Gaia directly drove Kronos out of the divine hall, not giving him any chance to speak.

Kronos looked at the tightly shut doors before him, a bitter expression appearing on his face. Yet there was nothing he could do.

Goddess of Wisdom

Time passed in an instant. Several centuries had gone by since Kronos had sought a prophecy from Theron. Throughout that time, Theron had remained in the void, feeling his divine power grow rapidly.

Compared with the world ruled by Uranus, the first King of Gods, centuries ago, the world now contained far more life. Though these lifeforms still seemed sparse in comparison to the boundless land, at least they were no longer merely a scattered handful.

The most immediate benefit was that Theron's divine power began growing faster. It had now completely stabilized at the level of medium divine power, no longer like centuries ago when he had barely broken through and his realm remained unstable.

He had thought he would continue waiting, at least until Kronos committed some outrage against heaven and reason out of fear of the curse. Only then would he leave the endless void and find a way to involve himself.

But unexpectedly, Rhea had only just become pregnant. Her child had not even been born, and Kronos had not yet had time to do anything, when an invitation was delivered into the void.

The invitation came from Oceanus, the god of the great ocean. He invited the gods to a divine banquet he was holding to celebrate the birth of his beloved daughter, Metis.

Having received hints from both Theron and Kronos, Oceanus had produced more children than any other Titan.

But not every child possessed a powerful divine office. Most were merely ordinary river gods and Oceanid goddesses, with little authority over water.

Still, among so many children, a few exceptional ones would always be born, such as Styx, the foremost of the Oceanids.

Styx, goddess of oaths and embodiment of the River Styx of the underworld, was the mother of Nike, goddess of victory.

Clymene, who had married the Titan god Iapetus, was another of Oceanus's more famous children, and she too possessed relatively greater strength.

Yet the laws of these goddesses still could not compare to those of the newly born Metis.

Metis, goddess of wisdom and strategy, was herself a symbol of wisdom, and wisdom had always been one of the important laws.

Thus, the beautiful girl was adored by Oceanus and Tethys from the moment she was born. The delighted god of the great ocean immediately invited the gods to a divine banquet celebrating Metis's birth, simply to express his excitement.

Theron had not expected to be invited as well. But thinking about it, he had previously sought out Oceanus, and the two had some small acquaintance. Out of respect and courtesy, Oceanus naturally had to invite him.