I Became a Prophet in Greece: Section 29

But what he had never expected was that Iapetus never came. Only Prometheus did.

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to act!"

Before Kronos could question him, Prometheus spoke directly. "The Three Fates believe the same. Acting now may lead to consequences beyond our control! So I took it upon myself to persuade Father God to return."

Kronos was nearly blinded by rage, but Prometheus's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, forcing him to calm down.

Kronos still trusted Prometheus and the Three Fates greatly.

Prometheus was exceedingly wise and could devise strategies for him, while the Three Fates could see the future and warn him of danger.

For the past thousand years, this had been how they worked together. Prometheus and the Three Fates had never made a mistake. These two could even be called his right-hand advisors.

Although his instincts told him that this was an excellent opportunity, Kronos ultimately chose to believe Prometheus.

Taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Kronos cast Zeus and the others a cold glance before ultimately leaving with Prometheus.

The battle ended so abruptly that it caught the gods off guard, leaving the gods of Olympus utterly bewildered.

For them, this had originally been a tremendous crisis.

Kronos had developed murderous intentions and would not easily allow them to gain a foothold in this world. Moreover, they were not at their peak right now, so this would undoubtedly have been a bitter battle.

One mistake, and they might have lost everything.

Yet now they were being told that this enormous crisis had ended before it had even begun?

Then what had they spent all that time nervously preparing for? Because they were diligent?

Among the gods, only Zeus and Rhea watched Prometheus's departing figure with thoughtful expressions.

Zeus felt that Theron might have been behind this, because he knew that the person Prometheus truly supported was Theron. His loyalty before Kronos was merely a disguise.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Although this great trouble had been resolved easily, Zeus did not dare let down his guard. After much consideration, he decided to make another trip to the void.

Once again, he successfully met Theron.

"Great God of Fate, honored Lord Theron, was Kronos's hasty departure your doing?" Zeus asked bluntly, while feeling a headache coming on.

Because if it was, then he would owe Theron another favor.

He owed more and more, to the point that he did not even dare think about what he would use to repay him in the future.

"It was merely something I did in passing." A gentle smile appeared on Theron's face, yet those simple words made Zeus feel a chill rise from the depths of his heart.

The life-or-death dilemma that they had worried over, tensed up over, and had not even known how to handle was, in Theron's eyes, merely a trivial matter that could be resolved in passing?

Furthermore, Kronos was so wary of Theron that he wanted nothing more than to eliminate him, yet the advisor he trusted most was Theron's man.

What kind of terrifying power was that? How could it not inspire fear?

Of course, Zeus did not know that the Three Fates, who were deeply trusted by Kronos, were also Theron's people. Otherwise, he would probably have begun doubting his entire existence.

Theron merely smiled at this.

Kronos's defeat had been entirely foreseeable.

After all, Prometheus was the one advising him, and the Three Fates were the ones guiding the course of his destiny. Both belonged to Theron. What could Kronos possibly use to win?

Still, there was no need to tell Zeus any of that.

What he needed to tell Zeus now was something else.

"If you are not confident about the final divine war, I can intervene." Theron spoke the most shocking words in the calmest tone. "I can hold Kronos back."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "I can hold him for half an hour."

Theron had calculated the time himself. When the day truly came to overthrow the King of Gods, the power he could borrow would be enough to contend with him for about half an hour.

But although he could only borrow that power for half an hour, what came out of his mouth was, "With your strength, half an hour should be enough."

His casual manner made it seem as though the so-called King of Gods was no more than a toy he could handle however he pleased.

The reason it was half an hour was simply because he believed they would need only half an hour.

Zeus did not even dare think too deeply about the implication behind those words!

He only felt that he had still underestimated Theron. This fellow was utterly unfathomable!

The Necessary Price

Within the Temple of Fate, King of Gods Kronos arrived before the Three Fates, filled with confusion. He questioned them:

"Beautiful goddesses, why did you suddenly call off this attack? I believed this was an excellent opportunity. If we could completely crush them, they would never again be able to gain a foothold in this world."

"But now, that perfect opportunity has been missed. They have successfully established themselves in this world. If we wish to strike at them again in the future, I fear it will not be so easy."

Kronos was somewhat dissatisfied.

He had prepared this attack for a long time. He believed that if he joined forces with the Titan god Iapetus, then even if they could not devour those traitors again, they could still severely blunt their spirit.

As long as they were made to lose badly enough, every god watching this battle would understand just how laughable Zeus and his group's so-called rebellion was.

Yet such an important battle had been called off in haste before he even had the chance to unleash the might of the King of Gods.

It was no exaggeration to say that if only Prometheus had stepped forward to stop him at the time, Kronos would not have chosen to withdraw. He had hesitated only because he heard that the Three Fates said the same, and he had ultimately chosen to give up.

If he had not trusted these three goddesses enough, he might even have suspected this was Theron's scheme.

Yet despite his deep trust in the Three Fates, he was still filled with doubt. If the three goddesses could not give him a satisfactory answer, the trust accumulated over a thousand years would probably vanish completely.

Because he was precisely such an extremely suspicious King of Gods.

Faced with the King of Gods' questioning, the Three Fates remained very calm. They spoke together, their three voices merging and echoing through the temple, crisp and lingering:

"Great King of Gods, this was indeed a good opportunity, but it was far from perfect."

"We have a better opportunity. If you can seize it, perhaps this absurd chaos can be ended directly."

Hearing this, Kronos hurriedly asked, "Beautiful goddesses, what opportunity are you speaking of?"

"We glimpsed a fragment of fate. Before long, Zeus, the leader of the rebels, will travel alone to the void. If you head there now, perhaps you will encounter him at just the right time."

"Is that not a better opportunity?"

Kronos's eyes immediately lit up. He understood all too well what that meant. If he could devour Zeus, the strongest among them, then the other gods would hardly be worth mentioning.

And if he could catch Zeus alone, it truly would be a better opportunity than attacking Olympus just now!

At that thought, Kronos's suspicions toward the Three Fates and Prometheus completely vanished. He even felt somewhat guilty for having doubted them before.

However, he had no time to thank them now. After hurriedly bidding the three goddesses farewell, Kronos rushed straight into the void.

At the same time, he secretly thought that if this prophecy proved true, he would surely find a way to properly thank the three goddesses.

Meanwhile, in the endless void, Zeus sincerely praised, "Great Lord Theron, your divine power is astonishing."

"With your help, I believe victory will ultimately belong to us."

He meant every word.

Theron had agreed to act and was willing to hold back the most troublesome Kronos. Zeus could practically be said to be overjoyed.

He had actually long considered begging Theron to intervene, but the other party was far too mysterious, and the power he had displayed was too intimidating. Zeus had not dared speak rashly.

He feared that making the request abruptly might offend Theron, and he was also afraid that he could not offer suitable compensation. He already owed Theron so much that he was nearly unable to repay it.

But now Theron had offered to help of his own accord. Naturally, Zeus would not refuse. Moreover, he felt that since Theron had taken the initiative, the price probably would not be too difficult for him to accept.

With that thought, he took the initiative to ask, "Great Lord Theron, you have helped me so greatly. How should I thank you?"

"There is no need." Theron smiled. "You deserve this."

Zeus was somewhat bewildered by those words. This young god still did not understand the perils of the divine realm, so he humbly asked, "Why do you say that? Have I done something?"

Theron did not answer his confusion. Instead, he asked an entirely unrelated question. "Are you willing to pay a price for the final victory?"

The moment those words were spoken, Zeus immediately became wary. After hesitating for a long time, he cautiously asked, "What kind of price?"

"Getting injured, or losing face." Theron's manner remained gentle. In a tone without any pressure, as though discussing the matter with him, he said, "You know, Prometheus is my subordinate god."

"He needs to gain more of Kronos's trust before he can bring us help. Therefore, when necessary, we will need to leak some information."

At those words, Zeus immediately revealed a thoughtful expression. He roughly understood what Theron meant.

For an infiltrator to prove that he was trustworthy, the best method was to reveal key and important information, even to deliberately lose some important battles.

There was nothing wrong with that. A few necessary small losses were only for the sake of greater gains in the future. That was entirely acceptable.

With that thought, Zeus said seriously, "For the sake of final victory, these insignificant defeats are nothing. As long as we win in the end, I am willing to pay some price for it. That is only proper."

At the end, he deliberately stressed his tone. His meaning was clear: he could cooperate with Theron and pay some price to gain Kronos's trust, but the prerequisite was that they had to win in the end.

"Rest assured. Fate will favor you." Theron smiled. "Final victory will certainly belong to us."

Hearing this, even Zeus could not help feeling delighted. Yet he deeply understood that there was no such thing as help without reason. Even though he already owed Theron so much that he could never repay it, he still took the initiative to ask:

"Kronos's retreat allowed us to successfully gain a foothold in this world and solved one of our great troubles. Lord Theron, what must I pay for that?"

Future assistance was a matter for the future, and the price could be discussed later. Kronos's retreat, however, was already an established fact, so he decided to settle the reward for this matter first.

Yet what he had not expected was for Theron to say, "You have already paid that price in advance."

Seeing Zeus's puzzled expression, a mysterious smile appeared on Theron's face. He said, "You will know very soon."

"Remember what you have said today. For future victory, some sacrifices are necessary."

Zeus nodded in confusion. At that moment, he still had no idea what awaited him.

An Attempt

When Zeus finally left the void, he still could not understand what Theron had meant.

What did it mean that he had already paid the price in advance? And what had that final hint meant?

He felt that this matter did not seem so simple, but he could not think of anything for the moment. Still, the benefits were real, and that was enough.

At the very least, from this day onward, the gods of Olympus had completely gained a foothold in this world. The most difficult step had been easily overcome. All they needed to do next was withstand the pressure from the King of Gods.

He comforted himself like that, only to see Kronos waiting at the entrance to the void, his expression icy and grim.

Zeus: "?"

In a single instant, Zeus understood. The price that had supposedly been paid in advance was actually himself!