Within the Sky Divine Domain, Uranus opened his eyes. The pressure radiating from the Crown of the God King surged with his awakening, and the entire divine realm trembled.
His gaze fell directly upon Nairmis on the ground, weak, lowly, like an ant.
Him again. Sparing him last time had already been a concession to the laws and Nyx. Yet this creature who courted death had made declarations again and again, each one shaking the laws, each one interrupting his healing.
How dare an antlike Third-Class God disturb his slumber so frequently? How dare he make declarations beneath his very eyes, time and again? How dare he?
He did not need to ask why, nor did he need to know the reason. He needed to know only this: someone had defied his command and was doing so repeatedly, without the slightest fear.
The God King slowly raised his hand, supreme divine power gathering in his palm.
At the foot of the mountain, Nairmis felt it. He stood amid the parchment sheets, his golden hair blown upward by the surging air overhead, and felt his legs weaken.
He had been careless. After his previous declaration, Uranus had merely glanced at him before looking away. He had thought he was so weak that the God King simply did not care.
Now it seemed that it had not been indifference; he had merely been gathering enough force. That killing intent was even heavier than last time. His mind went blank.
Run? Where could I run?
Block it? With what?
He had a pile of divine authorities within him, but not one could withstand an attack like this.
Call for help? From whom?
One thought flashed frantically through his mind. My future self, where are you? Can't you send messages through time?
Then come save me!
Deep in the Underworld, in the Night Divine Domain.
Nyx abruptly rose from her divine throne, the divine power of night surging around her. Nothing could happen to Nairmis. He was the sole existence outside fate, the only variable that had escaped Chaos's predetermined course. She raised her hand and was about to fly toward the sky when a warning from the laws instantly bound her like iron chains.
It was not nighttime now. The Goddess of Day was on duty. Last time, she had been permitted because she was stopping the God King. This time, if she forcibly sent down her divine power during the day, tearing apart the ordered alternation of day and night, the laws would not allow it.
Gritting her teeth, she tried another approach, attempting to tear off a small patch of night and send it as an avatar. But this time, vast power of fate surged from deep within her, instantly entwining her body of fate, as well as night itself, preventing her from acting.
Her gaze abruptly sharpened. What was going on?
She sank her consciousness into the river, parting layer upon layer of ripples to trace its course. This was actually a destined event, yet before this, she had never seen this scene in this timeline.
She calmed down and carefully sensed it for a while. The flow of fate's power told her that Nairmis's birth had cracked what had once been the sole fate, and the variable had temporarily caused it to lose its direction.
Now the power of fate had stabilized itself once more. It had returned to correct those diverging trajectories.
And Nairmis, this God of Emotions whom fate had targeted, was not the main character. He was merely the catalyst. Its target was her elder sister, Gaia. Fate wanted her to leave the Earth Divine Domain, to leave that ancient land that allowed her to retain her reason and clarity.
Nyx clenched her fists. She knew everything, yet was powerless to change any of it. The exalted status of a primordial god seemed so ironic at this moment. As the Goddess of Fate, she could only watch helplessly as that great river swept her sister downstream.
She sat back down, leaning against her divine throne, and closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. For the first time, utter helplessness surfaced in her gaze.
Within the Earth Divine Domain, three ancient stone pillars radiated a steady divine light. They were the Delphic Oracle, inscribed with three maxims born from chaos.
The central pillar, inscribed with "Know yourself," was giving off a gentle, continuous glow, keeping Gaia's consciousness rational and wise.
She could sense the killing intent gathering in the sky. Suddenly, she had a realization: fate was offering her a choice.
She could choose to remain here, under the protection of the Delphic Oracle, preserving that clarity as she watched Nairmis turn to ashes at the God King's hands.
But she could not. That golden-haired young man was the only variable, their only chance of escaping fate, and she could not keep hiding here forever.
She had to step forward, even knowing that fate was forcing her to leave her own divine realm, even if the reason and wisdom she lost might never be recovered.
She slowly rose and lightly touched the stone pillar with her fingertips, drawing out a strand of clear reason and infusing it into the pillar bearing "Know yourself," leaving herself a way back.
Then she turned, passed through the earth, and headed toward the sky.
In the Sky Divine Domain, all twelve Titans had already prostrated themselves. Not one dared raise their head.
They felt the God King's fury soaring, pressing down on the entire divine realm until it could not breathe, and could only hope that fury would not sweep over them.
Just as the divine power in Uranus's palm was about to be released, a figure appeared at the entrance to the divine realm.
As Uranus's mother and wife, as the Queen of the Gods, the Sky Divine Domain had never been forbidden to her.
Gaia stood above the clouds, holding an ancient, sacred bottle. Its surface shone with a gentle golden luster, and a faint liquid glow flowed within it. It was the Bottle of Life.
She wore an earth-colored robe, but the ancient majesty of a primordial god filled the entire Sky Temple the instant she stepped into the divine realm.
The twelve Titans raised their heads at once, a glimmer of anticipation flashing in their eyes. That was their mother. She had finally come, come to save them.
The divine power in Uranus's palm paused slightly. He looked at Gaia, then at the Bottle of Life in her hand, and his expression eased somewhat.
Gaia smiled faintly. A warm, forgiving aura of the earth spread from her, its warmth gently filling the entire divine realm.
"Your Majesty, great God King Uranus, eternal Lord of the Sky, my supreme husband, who looks down upon all things." Her voice was gentle and unhurried.
"Why grow angry over a mere little god? Your wounds have yet to heal, yet I have seen you expend divine power on outside matters time and again. It pains me deeply. Let your wife heal you. Let me use the Bottle of Life to brush away those traces of pain."
Her tone was full of concern, everything perfectly measured. Uranus's expression finally softened. It had been a long time since his wife had spoken to him in such a tone.
The divine power in his palm quietly dispersed, and a smile that could be called gentle rose at the corners of his mouth.
"My earth, you have come at just the right time."
He reached out to welcome his wife.
Gaia walked toward him. Just as she stepped within the range of Uranus's divine power, her mind suddenly went blank for an instant.
When she became aware of her surroundings again, that primordial clarity and wisdom had already been covered by something soft.
As she looked at Uranus, that almost instinctive love, a mixture of a mother's and a wife's, surfaced in her eyes once more.
She approached him and tilted the Bottle of Life. Pale blue water of life slowly flowed from its mouth, falling upon the cracks in Uranus's body that had yet to heal completely.
At the foot of the mountain, Nairmis finally felt the killing intent overhead disperse. His legs gave way, and he dropped straight back onto the grass.