Zeus fell to his knees, gasping for breath. When he raised his head again, his eyes had regained their clarity.
"Gamma... Alpha..." His voice trembled with tears. "What have I done... what have I done..."
"It wasn't you." Gamma helped him up. "It was the Lord of the Void."
"But I gave those orders. I controlled those soldiers..." Zeus covered his face in anguish. "I destroyed everything I built with my own hands..."
"There's still time to make amends," Alpha said. "The Dawn Plan has begun, and the Alliance is back in our hands. Next, we need to free everyone under his control, then... strike back at the Lord of the Void."
Zeus took a deep breath and stood. Guilt still lingered in his eyes, but determination outweighed it.
"Tell me what I need to do."
Inside the Supreme Hall, time had fallen into an eerie standstill.
Zeus remained poised to attack, but his body could not move at all. He could clearly perceive everything around him, think, and feel, yet he could not control even a single finger.
What shocked him even more was the unprecedented clarity that emerged in the depths of his consciousness.
The twisted logic implanted by the Lord of the Void and the dark will that forced him to obey orders were forcibly stripped from the surface of his consciousness by the Time Prison, like impurities caught in a filter.
This is... Zeus's true consciousness could finally examine itself in full.
He saw the enormous black seed rooted in his Concept Core, its countless tendrils reaching into every corner of his thoughts. Those tendrils constantly emitted distorted signals, altering his judgment and controlling his actions.
So I've been under this thing's control all along... Immense anger and fear surged within Zeus.
Gamma had already begun.