Changing Fate

The divine body slashed by the Sickle was constantly healed by the power of rebirth, becoming the gods' staunchest support.

This was the first time the group had fought together, yet their coordination was flawless. Zeus, powerful and commanding, and the hot-tempered Poseidon led the attack. Hestia, goddess of the sacred flame, and Hades, lord of darkness, struck from the flanks, while Hera, goddess of fertility, and Demeter, embodiment of agricultural abundance, supported them from the rear.

It was also the first time they had displayed the laws they commanded in this world. Their divine power had yet to fully recover, but the strength of their laws was already apparent.

Working together, they managed to hold off even the mighty King of Gods!

Kronos's eyes flashed with shock and fury. He could sense that these rebels had yet to fully master their laws, but even so, they had managed to hold him back!

Yet that wasn't even the most alarming part. The last time he had fought Zeus, he'd been able to defeat him. Now, when he used the same tactics, they had no effect at all!

Zeus was far more cunning than he'd imagined, and his growth was astonishingly rapid. At this rate, it wouldn't take many years for the rebel to become an opponent Kronos couldn't afford to underestimate!

At that thought, Kronos finally couldn't sit back any longer. He wanted to summon the six mighty Titans and have them join the fight, so they could finish off the rebels once and for all.

But before he could speak, Zeus saw through his intentions and laughed aloud. "Your Majesty, are you afraid? Have you felt fear? Are you even afraid to face us on your own?"

"You should put on your armor and take up your Sickle, meeting our challenge with the courage of a hero! If you're so cowardly that you have to resort to calling for help, then you don't deserve to wear the crown that rules the cosmos!"

"You should get off that supreme throne of the King of Gods and wander the world, apologizing to the earth and the gods!"

His voice rang out, loud and powerful, imbued with divine power as it echoed through the Void. For a moment, neither Kronos nor the six ancient Titans, who had been preparing to help him, could bring themselves to ask for help or offer it.

Kronos knew all too well that many great gods were watching. Now that Zeus had said all this, if he called for help, wouldn't he lose face as King of Gods?

Wouldn't he be admitting that he was afraid of these rebels?

He could only hope that the six ancient Titans would act on their own. If they intervened of their own accord, it wouldn't reflect on him as King of Gods.

But he'd overlooked one thing: his actions over the years had weakened the Titans' support for him.

And so, in tacit agreement, the six Titans chose to watch. They, too, wanted to see how strong Zeus and his allies really were.

The battle lasted seven days and seven nights.

By the end, Kronos had gained a slight advantage, but on his own, he was no longer capable of swallowing the rebels again.

He couldn't even defeat them—he'd only gained a slight advantage! In the end, all he could do was watch as Zeus and the others departed in style, returning to Mount Olympus to celebrate in grand fashion!

The outcome of the battle surprised every god, and made one thing clear to them all: the young gods of Olympus really could stand against the mighty King of Gods, Kronos!

No wonder even Fate was on their side. No wonder Theron had chosen to support them!

In no time, many gods began to consider their options. Those who had long been dissatisfied with Kronos took action at once. They understood one thing clearly: if they were going to pledge their support, they should do it early. The sooner they did, the greater the reward!

The gods began making their moves.

Wise Metis realized what was happening as soon as she heard the outcome. Before Zeus and the others had even returned, she had prepared a lavish banquet. It was also meant for the gods who were planning to come and pledge their support.

Zeus admired Metis's cleverness even more, and praised her without holding back.

Metis was a little embarrassed by the praise, but it also filled her with a sweet warmth. Yet as the two of them flirted and waited for the gods to arrive, they discovered a harsh truth.

Namely—

No one came to visit Mount Olympus. Every god who had been considering their options went to the Void instead.

The discovery caught Zeus off guard, and even clever Metis was stunned. They had underestimated Theron's standing among the elder gods.

The good news was that the gods really were ready to pledge their support.

The bad news was that they weren't pledging it to Zeus. They were pledging it to Theron.

Chapter 60: Changing Fate

This battle marked the first time the Olympian Gods had set foot in this world and faced the King of Gods directly.

Though they hadn't defeated him, to Zeus and the others, simply avoiding a crushing defeat counted as a victory.

And they had undeniably given an impressive performance. In the eyes of the gods, the two sides had been evenly matched.

After all, one side was the King of Gods, who had ruled the world for ages, while the other was a group of young gods who had only recently been born. If they could fight to a draw, didn't that mean the outcome would inevitably change once Zeus and the others had more time to grow?

Now every god had seen the potential of the Olympian Gods, and those who had been considering their options acted at once.

But Zeus and Metis had both misunderstood one thing.

They thought that if they were strong enough, others would support them. But they'd forgotten that strength wasn't everything—especially in the eyes of the elder gods.

Hadn't Uranus, the first King of Gods, been powerful? And yet he'd ultimately been defeated by the weaker Kronos.

Theron had once possessed only lesser godly power, yet he had foreseen what was to come and even personally ended Uranus's final curse.

To the elder gods, the difference in strength on the surface had never been the point. What mattered was which side Theron, the one who represented Fate, supported.

They hadn't dared to take sides before because Kronos was too powerful, and they feared being punished. But now Zeus and the others had displayed their strength and gained the means to stand against the King of Gods. Of course they could finally declare their support.

When they reached the Void, they found that they couldn't pass through the barrier and that six Titans were watching them warily. Disappointed, they left and headed to Mount Olympus to pay their respects to Zeus.

In the end, the Divine Banquet came in handy, though the atmosphere was rather strange. It was as if Zeus weren't the host, but merely a junior assistanting the host by welcoming the guests.

After all his scheming, Zeus had hoped to use Theron's name to win the gods' support. He'd succeeded, but not entirely.

He had succeeded in gaining the gods' help, but failed because they remembered only Theron, not Zeus.

And the battle in the Void, which they'd fought so hard for seven days and nights, had ultimately only further raised Theron's profile.

The gods could only think:

"See? This is the one chosen by the God of Fate. No wonder Lord Theron chose him. Lord Theron's judgment is never wrong."

But Theron hadn't done anything at all. He was even sealed inside the Void and hadn't shown his face once.

The realization left Zeus deeply frustrated. It felt as though he'd done all that work for Theron.

Still, he tried to console himself. It doesn't matter. Once I become King of Gods, I can turn all this around. For now, the most important thing is to defeat Kronos and become the new King of Gods.

But he soon discovered a problem.

It seemed that everyone... didn't care whether he could defeat Kronos or become the new King of Gods...

"Perhaps we should first consider how to rescue Lord Theron," Oceanid Styx said.

Styx was the embodiment of the River of Oaths, and she valued promises and oaths above all else.

She had four children, the most famous of whom was Nike, the Goddess of Victory. They had all come with her to Mount Olympus, betting the whole family on Zeus.

Zeus almost failed to keep his expression composed.

It wasn't that he didn't want to rescue Theron. He simply felt that the mysterious God of Fate didn't need his help. They'd be doing well if they could manage themselves without causing trouble for anyone else.

Besides... even if they were going to rescue him, did they really need to bring it up in front of everyone?

He was trying so hard to keep Theron's existence under wraps! He didn't want these Third Generation Gods to know, in case he ended up like Kronos, King of Gods in name only, with Theron's word carrying more weight than his.

But he couldn't openly rebuke her. He still needed Theron's reputation to draw more gods to his side, so all he could do was force a smile and say, "I'll give it careful thought."

He didn't want to discuss it any further and tried to hurriedly change the subject. That was when his foolish brother, the God of Tsunami and Earthquakes who always seemed to have a few screws loose, spoke up.

"Theron? Who's Theron?"

Poseidon wasn't the only one curious about Theron. Hestia, Demeter, Hera, and Hades were all curious, too.

But Zeus clearly didn't want to say much, so they'd tacitly agreed not to ask. They planned to privately ask Rhea about him later.

Only Poseidon seemed completely unable to read Zeus's expression. He blurted out the question without a second thought.

"You don't know Lord Theron?" Styx, the River of Oaths, frowned and looked at Zeus. "Lord Zeus, weren't you chosen by Lord Theron? Why, then, does your own brother not even know who Lord Theron is?"

The entire hall fell silent. Every god who had chosen to side with Zeus because of Theron furrowed their brows, sensing that something was wrong.

Poseidon had never been a patient one. He let out a mocking laugh and said dismissively, "Is Theron really that impressive? I've never even met him."

He'd been about to say they only wanted to defeat Kronos and that this Theron had nothing to do with it.

But before he could, Rhea cut him off.

"Be quiet, Poseidon!" Rhea's expression was grave, and her voice was more stern than ever. "Lord Theron is not someone you can question."

Even Poseidon, arrogant as he was, could only obediently shut his mouth when his mother spoke. But his eyes still betrayed his defiance.

Zeus had hoped to gloss over the matter, but when he heard Rhea speak up, he knew there was no getting around it.

Meeting the gazes fixed upon him, he rose and spoke with righteous conviction. "Lord Theron helped me. He is my benefactor."

"King Kronos has defied the will of the cosmos, and he will face punishment in the end. Guided by Fate, we are certain to succeed."

"Before long, we will go and rescue Lord Theron, and put an end to the King of Gods' tyranny!"

With those words, the nature of the matter changed completely.

At first, Zeus had recruited the gods to oppose the old order, overthrow Kronos, and establish a new one with himself as the new King of Gods.

Now, it had become a matter of Zeus opposing the old order that sought to defy the will of the cosmos, with Theron's support. Fate had already judged Kronos's rule to be wrong and Zeus's cause to be just, so the gods had gathered here.

The heart of the matter had changed.

Even their opposition to the King of Gods now seemed to be because they needed to rescue Theron.

Zeus didn't know what consequences his words would bring. He only knew that he couldn't afford to lose the gods' support now.

His importance in all this had been reduced almost to nothing—and he had admitted it himself.

But he had no choice. As always, he reassured himself that the losses didn't matter now. Once he became King of Gods, he could slowly change everything.

Hearing him say this, the gods finally felt reassured. They eagerly began discussing how to oppose Kronos, and threw themselves into it with even greater enthusiasm.

Zeus saw them and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. We're opposing the King of Gods either way. The reason doesn't matter.

But did it really not matter?

Zeus had no idea that with those few short sentences, the outcome that had once seemed certain had quietly begun to change...

And Theron, who had caused all this, hadn't shown his face even once.

A Note on the Upcoming Release

As the title says, the novel goes on sale tomorrow.

Readership has been a little low, so I didn't make it onto the Sanjiang recommendation list and can only put the novel on sale. I suppose the story hasn't been good enough to get much of a response. I'll reflect on that and try to write better after the release.

This is my first time writing about Greek mythology, and there are plenty of things I haven't done well. I'm also grateful to everyone who's been correcting me in the comments. I've read them all, and even worked quite a few comments directly into the story, so some of you may find parts of it familiar, hehe...

Anyway, thank you all for supporting me this far. I hope you'll continue to stick around.

I'll post 10,000 extra words on release day. I'm begging you to buy the first installment—that is, subscribe to the chapters when the novel first goes on sale.

If the first-day subscriptions exceed 500, I'll add another chapter for every additional 100.