A Prophet in Greece

"Honored and mighty King of Gods, your fate is so noble that we tried to discern it, yet still found no answer." Eldest sister Clotho's clear voice echoed through the temple, carrying an ethereal quality.

Uranus was somewhat disappointed, yet still unwilling to give up. "Not even the slightest hint? Beautiful goddesses, I need only the slightest hint."

"Your Majesty, King of Gods, our abilities are truly limited. It is not that we do not wish to help you." Second sister Lachesis spoke helplessly.

Gaia watched the scene coldly from beginning to end, finding it somewhat amusing.

Even the arrogant and conceited Uranus could feel fear?

It seemed that he truly cared about that prophecy. He so clearly looked down on Lord Theron, who had given the prophecy, yet could not let go of the words he had spoken.

Thinking of Theron, Gaia's heart suddenly stirred.

She recalled what Theron had said when they parted a thousand years ago.

That weak yet sincere god of prophecy had told her that if she ever made up her mind, she could seek him out, and he would do his utmost to help her.

But... Lord Theron was so weak. What could he possibly do to help her?

Gaia sighed, but still decided that she would secretly visit Theron when she had the chance. At the very least, she needed to ask which child the prophecy had referred to.

Just as she began forming a plan in her heart, the youngest of the Three Fates let out a helpless sigh beneath Uranus's renewed, unwilling questioning.

"Since Your Majesty insists, we shall ask our father god. Perhaps he knows the answer."

The moment those words were spoken, both Uranus and Gaia froze.

Earth Mother's Rebellion

The father god of the Three Fates?

Neither Uranus, King of Gods, nor Gaia, Mother Earth, had ever known that the Three Fates had a father god.

When those three goddesses had first been born, they had clearly sensed only the power of the honored Lady Nyx, goddess of night.

That meant the Three Fates had been conceived by Nyx alone.

As one of the primordial gods, Nyx's strength was beyond question. Thus, it was unsurprising that she could give birth to three goddesses capable of glimpsing fate.

But how could there be a father god as well?

When those goddesses had been born, they had not sensed this being's presence at all.

Uranus and Gaia did not know that Theron had simply been far too weak at the time. He had been so weak that his little power had been completely concealed beneath Nyx's immense divine force, without even the slightest ripple escaping.

Nor would they ever have considered that possibility. In fact, their guess was the exact opposite—

Could it be that he had been too powerful, while they had lacked the strength to peer into him at the time?

After all, Uranus had not yet become King of Gods then, while Gaia had been busy giving birth to the twelve Titans and was in a weakened state from childbirth.

With that thought, the same person instantly came to both their minds: Erebus, one of the primordial gods, one of the twins of darkness born alongside Nyx.

"Honored goddesses, is your father Lord Erebus?"

Gaia spoke up to ask. She was somewhat puzzled. As a primordial god herself, she knew Erebus seemingly held no authority over fate.

"Great and beautiful Queen of Gods, please forgive our rudeness. Our father god does not wish for too many people to know of him and disturb him, so we cannot tell you."

Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos spoke at the same time, so perfectly in sync that they seemed to be a single person.

Gaia nodded and said nothing more.

Uranus, however, seemed to see a ray of hope. He did not care who the Three Fates' father god was; he only wanted to know his own fate.

Thus, he took the initiative to speak. "Then I shall trouble you, goddesses. I will await your answer."

Only after the goddesses of fate agreed did he finally relax. In a better mood, he decided to go "train" his children—the twelve Titans, whose weakness reassured him.

Gaia did not stop him, because she knew she could not. Besides, she too had something to do.

After confirming that Uranus had left the divine mountain, she quietly departed and arrived at the boundless void where Theron resided.

The moment she approached, she saw the handsome, gentle-looking youth in white robes already standing there, waiting for her.

"It has been a long time, kind and honored Lady Mother Earth." Theron spoke first. His voice was neither high nor low, yet it carried a reassuring power.

Gaia could sense that over the past thousand years, Theron's divine power had increased considerably. Though he was still far inferior to her, such growth was already remarkably swift.

But that was unimportant. She had only come to ask about the prophecy; she had never expected Theron to personally deal with Uranus. That would have been utterly fantastical.

"Honored Lord Theron, do you still remember our agreement from a thousand years ago?" Gaia asked, her voice steeped in exhaustion.

Unlike the beautiful young maiden filled with love from a thousand years ago, Gaia, Mother Earth, now looked worn and haggard, as though she had aged greatly.

"Of course I remember, kind Mother Earth. What you have suffered grieves me." Theron sighed. "How do you wish for me to help you?"

"I have had enough of these painful days. I want to end all of this." Gaia's eyes blazed with angry fire, born from the resentment she had suppressed for over a thousand years.

"For all these years, I have endured every day. He has tortured my children until they were covered in wounds. He has demanded endlessly from me. He even personally imprisoned our newborn children. He has violated my law of childbirth."

"I can no longer tolerate this. Sooner or later, he will destroy everything! Great prophet, I want to know—which child in your prophecy can overthrow Uranus?"

Gaia no longer naively hoped that Uranus could coexist peacefully with their children, because such a thing was simply impossible.

Uranus's nature had already decided it: weak children would be tortured by him, while strong children would be imprisoned by him.

As the twelve Titans grew stronger with time, one day they too would be locked within Tartarus. Uranus would never spare anyone who made him feel threatened.

Whether they were his children or not.

But Gaia could not stand by and watch it happen, because the kind Mother Earth loved her children beyond compare, even more than she loved herself. That was also the embodiment of the law of childbirth.

"Fate will guide you to that child. What you must do is bring him to see me."

Theron's voice remained calm and unhurried. Gaia's loss of composure did not cause the slightest change in his demeanor.

"And you must understand that a King of Gods cannot be killed. He can only be defeated."

"I know, but..." Hesitation appeared on Gaia's face, and she could not help asking doubtfully, "Can he truly be defeated?"

No one understood Uranus's power better than Gaia. The strength of this King of Gods had long surpassed that of primordial gods. That world-creating might was likely impossible to shake even if all her children joined forces.

"Nothing is eternal, and nothing cannot be defeated." Theron smiled and said calmly, "You need only find that child and bring him to me."

"Then how should I find him?" Gaia asked instinctively.

"The one who defeats the King of Gods may not need incomparably great divine power, but he must possess courage unafraid of danger." Theron said, "Everything is fated. You will find him."

"Courage..." Gaia repeated the word, finally understanding something. She nodded, though worry still lingered in her heart.

Uranus was simply too powerful—powerful enough to drive one to despair. No matter how confident Theron appeared, Gaia could not fully believe in him.

Theron was simply too weak. So weak that Gaia wondered whether coming to him for a solution had been foolish.

As she wavered over and over, new visitors arrived in the void.

Before the three beautiful, exquisite young goddesses even drew near, their clear, ethereal voices rang out, filled with heartfelt reverence.

"Father god, we seek fate's guidance."

Gaia turned in astonishment and saw the three maidens of fate, who had so proudly sat within the temple not long ago, now respectfully bowing to Theron.

They called that weak fellow... Father god?!

Gaia froze where she stood.

The Challenge of Courage

Gaia returned to the divine mountain, but her heart still could not calm down.

Theron, that weak god of prophecy, was actually the father god of the Three Fates?!

Even having witnessed it herself, Gaia still found it unbelievable and difficult to accept.

This discovery made her think of many things she had never considered before. Why had Theron been born even earlier than the primordial gods, yet remained so weak? Why could he see the fate of the King of Gods despite being so weak?

Because he was fate itself. And fate had never been something that could be controlled. Only events that had already happened could be considered fixed; what had yet to happen could only be called prophecy.

That also explained why Theron had grown in only a thousand years from a weak existence unable even to maintain his divine form into a god with weak divine power. Such progress was actually very fast, because he had always been advancing the course of fate.

From giving prophecies at the beginning to now reminding her how she should act, he had foreseen all of it long ago.

He was not a god of prophecy at all. He was the god of fate!

The divine authority he had been unable to control, which had required the King of Gods' help to stabilize, had not been the weak authority of prophecy, but the ungraspable authority of fate.

That was why he could conceive the Three Fates together with the noble goddess of night. The great ability of those three goddesses to glimpse fragments of fate came from Theron's gift.

How laughable that Uranus had no idea that one casual remark of his had been such a generous gift—a gift that would one day bury his throne as King of Gods.

Yet he knew nothing. Even now, he considered Theron an insignificant nobody, believing even a second glance to be a waste of time. That arrogance and pride would eventually make him pay the price.

After understanding everything, Gaia marveled at the unpredictability of fate, but felt even greater joy.

She finally believed Theron's words. If he was the great god of fate, then the prophecy he had spoken a thousand years ago was destined to come true.

Uranus would be overthrown by his own child, and she would be the relative who helped that child.

Gaia's unease, born from Theron's apparent weakness, completely settled. She chose to believe in fate's guidance.

At that moment, the twelve Titans once again reached their limit under Uranus's torturous amusement. They came before Gaia in a miserable state, weeping and begging for the protection of Mother Earth.

For the past thousand years, it had always been like this. Whenever they reached their limit, they would beg Gaia for protection. Every time, Gaia would step forward and willingly endure painful union with Uranus, buying her children a chance to catch their breath.

But this time, she did not.

Uranus did not wish to openly tear apart his relationship with Gaia either. He was still preoccupied with the prophecy, so he once again went to the Temple of Fate to await the Three Fates' reply.

He did not know that during his absence from the divine mountain, a conversation capable of influencing the world was taking place.

Looking at her children, covered in wounds, Gaia felt only unbearable heartache. She carefully healed their injuries, unable to conceal the sorrow on her face.

"My poor children, your wounds are so distressing. Your father, that King of Gods without the slightest mercy in his heart—how could he strike you so harshly?"

The twelve Titans had each been tortured beyond endurance. They were in terrible condition and could only rely on Gaia for a brief moment of respite.

"My children, I have had enough of these heartbreaking days. I believe you feel the same. Since that is so, why do we not put an end to this miserable life?"

The moment those words were spoken, the expressions of the twelve Titans changed instantly. They stared in shock at Mother Earth, renowned for her kindness, as though they could not believe she would say such words.

"That brutal ruler has harmed you, violated my law of childbirth, and even forced your brothers back into my body to imprison them forever. This defies nature and the will of the world. He is no longer worthy of being King of Gods!"

Gaia coldly recounted everything. The love and sweetness of the past had completely vanished. Nearly a thousand years of torment had left her with nothing but hatred and resentment for Uranus.

The twelve Titans felt Gaia's resolve. They too had not expected that the relative who would help them in the prophecy from a thousand years ago would be this kind Mother Earth.

But thinking about it, who could be closer kin than their own mother?