A Prophet in Greece

In the end, the gods came together to the void, only to be stopped outside by a barrier.

Metis was, after all, Zeus's only formally wedded wife so far. Though she had not been acknowledged as queen of the gods, she still stepped forward at this moment and spoke respectfully and devoutly:

"Great Lord Theron, this world has fallen into an unprecedented crisis. We wish to seek your guidance, to seek the guidance of fate."

The barrier slowly opened, and a figure in white robes emerged with a sorrowful expression. He looked helplessly at the gods and said, "There is nothing I can do about this either."

"After all, as you know, fate is not skilled in battle. I am better at prophecy, so I warned Zeus. Unfortunately, he apparently did not take it to heart."

The moment those words were spoken, the expressions of the gods changed.

So Theron had warned Zeus long ago, yet Zeus had failed to take it seriously and still allowed this near world-ending disaster to sweep across the land.

For a time, many gods felt resentful, especially Poseidon. Being kicked around like a ball by Typhon had been truly humiliating; he felt as though his dignity had been trampled into the dirt.

Now that he knew it could have been avoided, yet had still happened because Zeus had not taken it seriously, dissatisfaction welled up within him.

Metis keenly sensed the thoughts of the gods and quickly spoke up to stop the unfriendly atmosphere from spreading. "Lord Theron, do you still have a solution?"

Theron immediately showed a troubled expression, but it was not for the gods to see. It was for Chaos.

He could feel the world's recognition of him growing stronger. It seemed the unconscious Chaos World was bargaining with him.

"Beautiful goddess, unfortunately, I am not skilled in battle." Theron sighed and said helplessly, "I also wish to help you, but I truly have no way to do so."

Almost before his words had faded, Theron discovered that he had gained nearly one-third of its recognition. The progress was extremely gratifying.

Yet he still did not relent. He wanted to see how much he could ultimately gain.

Meanwhile, seeing this, the gods looked at one another, unsure of what to do. Poseidon and the others even believed deep down that Theron simply could not do it.

Only Metis, the goddess of wisdom, faintly realized something and spoke sincerely. "If you are willing to help Zeus this once, the great God King will certainly show sufficient sincerity."

Theron froze for a moment. He had not expected the beautiful goddess of wisdom to be so perceptive. Was she telling him to profit from both sides?

Still, Theron did not relent. Only, his resolute expression gained a touch more hesitation.

Seeing this, the gods understood as well and began offering benefits one after another.

The gorgeous goddess of fertility, Hera, even said directly that she was willing to do one thing for Theron, even bear him a child.

Seeing this, the goddess of childbirth immediately added that she would protect Hera and Theron's child and ensure its safe birth, and that it would definitely be an outstanding and powerful child.

She looked so eager that it was as if she could not wait for Hera to get together with Theron.

Upon hearing this, the other gods, especially the male gods, immediately revealed extremely envious expressions.

That was the beautiful Hera. She was so gorgeous, and she was the goddess of fertility herself. If one could have a child with her, what a wonderful thing that would be.

Moreover, the child she bore would certainly not be weak either, and would possess another powerful law.

Theron could not help finding it rather amusing. What was this? Beautiful Hera, you wouldn't want your beloved to be beaten to death by Typhon, would you?

Just as he was about to tease the two goddesses competing jealously with one another, he suddenly noticed a dark flicker in a distant corner.

At the same time, a cold gaze seemed to fall upon him.

Theron: "..."

Theron instantly became righteous. "Beautiful Hera, please conduct yourself with dignity."

"I am not that kind of casual god. Let us discuss something practical instead. For example, how about having your child Hephaestus forge a weapon for me?"

"Oh, and I only wish to save the world. It is not because of your rewards, so do not misunderstand."

Athena's Arranged Marriage Before Her Birth

Typhon was still wreaking havoc. After conquering Mount Olympus, this powerful monster, the ancestor of all demons, led his army of monsters in nearly overturning the entire world.

Under such circumstances, the gods scarcely dared to land. They could only watch from afar in the sky. When they saw that Theron had finally agreed to their request, they could not help becoming worried again.

"The ground is now filled with monsters. How will you rescue God King Zeus?" The frail Leto could not help asking anxiously. "How can we help you?"

"No, there is no need. The great goddess of night will conceal my tracks, so I will not be discovered."

As Theron spoke, he even put on a show of asking the goddess of night for her blessing.

As usual, Poseidon could not stand him. He whispered to Hades beside him, "How could a great primordial god possibly bless him? He is so weak, yet he likes to bluff and deceive others."

Hades gave Poseidon a look as though he were an idiot, then remained silent.

Poseidon did not think there was anything wrong with speaking ill of someone to his face. After all, everyone knew that he disliked Theron.

Theron heard Poseidon's mockery, but merely smiled calmly and did not take it to heart.

Ignoring the gods' worried, curious, and probing gazes, he calmly descended to the lower realm.

By then, the entire world had been covered by dark clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder roared everywhere, and even the gods' gazes could not penetrate them. Thus, they did not know that the moment Theron landed, he entered a stretch of darkness.

Nyx's power was indeed formidable. Even a God King possessing the great power of creation could not perceive her power of concealment.

Though Typhon was powerful, he was still a creature of this world and could not surpass its power. Therefore, he likewise could not detect Theron.

Thus, Theron silently arrived at the cave where Zeus was imprisoned without drawing anyone's attention.

Zeus was in a miserable state. The tendons in both his hands and feet had been severed and pulled out, and he had been bound inside the cave, unable to move at all.

When he saw Theron appear, Zeus's eyes immediately lit up, and he could not help asking excitedly, "Lord Theron, have you come to save me?"

"Yes, God King." Theron showed a worried expression.

"Are you all right? That monster called Typhon is far too powerful. I barely managed to evade his senses and reach this place."

Zeus gave a bitter smile upon hearing this. "As you can see, not very well."

"I was too careless. I failed to understand your warning, and I lost the power of thunder as well. This is my failure."

Ever since his birth, Zeus had never suffered such a great loss. Even when fighting his father, Kronos, the second God King, he had never fallen into such a miserable state.

This infuriated him, but what he felt more was panic.

He did not know how to clean up this mess. The situation could not possibly get any worse.

Theron stitched all of Zeus's severed tendons back together, then removed his restraints. Zeus regained his freedom, yet still did not know what to do.

As though he had grasped his final lifeline, he looked at Theron with great hope and asked humbly and sincerely, "Great Lord Theron, the current situation is too terrible. I truly do not know what to do."

"That terrifying monster is too powerful. Without the power of thunder, I cannot fight him. How can I reclaim my scepter and defeat him? Please guide me!"

Zeus's final shred of reason told him that rash action would surely end in defeat. His trust in Theron was deeply ingrained; one could even say that, at this point, he trusted no one except Theron.

Upon hearing this, Theron immediately showed a troubled expression. "This... Typhon is too powerful. My abilities are limited, and I do not know how to deal with him either."

"God King, to tell the truth, if not for the beautiful goddess of wisdom Metis leading the gods of Olympus to the void to ask me to help you out of your predicament, and showing tremendous sincerity, I would not have wanted to involve myself in this matter."

Theron sighed as he spoke. "But I truly do not know how to deal with that terrifying monster Typhon."

Upon hearing this, Zeus instinctively asked, "It was Metis who asked you to help me?"

"Yes, God King. Your Mount Olympus is very united. In order to make me help you, the beautiful Hera was even willing to bear me a child. I was moved by their sincerity, which is why I took the risk of coming here."

Hearing this, Zeus felt extremely conflicted, because he had designs on Hera. But he quickly noticed another issue. Theron had not planned to help, but changed his mind after seeing their sincerity...

Zeus instantly understood. Without hesitation, he said, "Great Lord Theron, if you can help me defeat that terrifying monster Typhon, then to show my gratitude, I..."

He thought seriously for a moment. Then, as inspiration struck, he said firmly and sincerely, "I am willing to marry my first daughter to you."

Theron: "?"

Theron had indeed planned to profit from three sides: first taking Chaos's benefits, then the gods' benefits, and finally another reward from the God King.

Thus, he had constantly hinted that Zeus needed to show sincerity if he wanted Theron's help, and Zeus had clearly understood his implication.

But Theron had never imagined that the benefit Zeus ultimately offered would be this!

Metis was already pregnant. Barring any surprises, Zeus's first child would be Athena. Did that mean Athena had been promised in marriage before she was even born?

No, did Athena know about this?

Zeus did not notice Theron's shock and surprise at all. He was still immersed in the excitement of having come up with such an ingenious idea.

In the current mythological order, goddesses had no inheritance rights. They could only become supporters and driving forces behind male gods.

But Theron had sworn that he would never threaten Zeus's position as God King. Therefore, no matter how powerful Zeus's child might become, as long as she married Theron, it would mean eliminating future trouble forever.

Most importantly, Theron was extremely useful. Marrying his child to Theron would also be a political union, one that could greatly strengthen the relationship between Theron and Olympus.

The more Zeus thought about it, the more benefits he saw.

He even wanted to send all the daughters he had to Theron. Then he would only need to guard against those troublesome sons.

However, doing so would obviously make it far too clear that he was using Theron to escape the curse. Zeus did not dare voice that thought, so he could only modestly offer his first daughter.

A hesitant expression immediately appeared on Theron's face, as though he did not know how to answer for the moment.

But Zeus had already made up his mind. No matter what happened, even if only to prevent the curse from coming true, he had to marry his first daughter to Theron.

Most importantly, once his daughter married Theron, they would be family. Could Theron still bring himself to refuse helping him?

"Great Lord Theron, surely you do not think my daughter is foolish?" Zeus deliberately spoke in reverse. "Or do you think my child is unworthy of you?"

Upon hearing this, Theron hurriedly said, "How could that be? If the God King's daughter were to marry me, it would be I who was reaching above my station. I am only worried whether this would go against the goddess's wishes."

"I will decide for her." Zeus said decisively. "This is the oath I have made. No matter what, it will certainly be fulfilled."

"God King, you... sigh!" Theron let out a deep sigh. "You have truly put me in a difficult position!"

"Since that is the case, I can only humbly accept."

Only after seeing him agree did Zeus reveal the smile of someone whose scheme had succeeded. What he failed to notice was the fleeting amusement that flashed through Theron's eyes beneath that troubled expression.

A goddess of wisdom delivered right to his door—refusing her would be rather unromantic.

What could he say? Zeus truly deserved to be called the most generous God King! He had simply given away such an important divine office as wisdom.

He just wondered what Athena's reaction would be after she was born and discovered this oath.

After all, this was an oath sworn by the God King. As his child, she could not possibly defy it.

So what would Athena's reaction be? It truly was... something to look forward to.

Typhon Tells Theron: We're All Good Brothers

Just as Zeus had expected, after Theron agreed to marry his daughter, he indeed felt too embarrassed to ignore the matter.

This delighted Zeus immensely. He felt that he had done something very clever and successfully recruited a powerful ally.

He did not know that even if he had not asked, Theron could not possibly have ignored this matter. After all, saving the world was essential if he wished to gain the world's recognition.