Cronus withdrew his gaze and fell silent, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Of course he could not bear to part with it. The Vitality Godhead was his innate godhead, a First-Class Deity Godhead bound to him from the day he was born, granting him the authority to bestow vitality upon all things.
Stripping it away would greatly weaken his strength.
Nairmis kept smiling on the surface, but inwardly, he was already ranting furiously.
You're about to lose your life, and you're still worrying about strength? However good you are at fighting, can you beat your father? If you can't, that first-class divine power of yours is just for show.
Stay alive first. Only by surviving can you talk about growing stronger, taking revenge, or having a future. Is that so hard to understand?
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but his inward rant continued. With brains like these, no wonder you later did something as stupid as eating your own children.
While Cronus was still hesitating, wails rang out from the sky and the earth at the same time.
Up in the sky, Uranus was dealing with the last of the Titans. Gaia's roar came from deep within the earth as she endured another round of pain.
The two wails overlapped. Cronus's body abruptly tensed, and he made his decision at once.
"I agree. You can have the Vitality Godhead. Tell me how."
Nairmis's smile relaxed a little. "It's very simple. Stop running, Your Highness."
Cronus froze for an instant, looking as though something had caught in his throat.
"What did you say?"
"I said, stop running, Your Highness," Nairmis repeated calmly.
"Beneath the sky, there is nowhere to run. Every possible hiding place lies within His Majesty the God King's perception. Goddess Nyx might be willing to shelter you, but she cannot stop the God King."
Cronus's expression grew uglier and uglier, his anger surging. "Are you playing me? I pay the price of my Vitality Godhead, and this is all I get?"
"Hear me out, Your Highness." Nairmis shook his head. "Going back willingly and being dragged back will lead to completely different outcomes."
Cronus's anger stalled.
"If you return now and voluntarily beg forgiveness in submission, His Majesty the God King's anger will diminish at least a little. He will think you are afraid and have submitted completely."
"Arrogant as he is, he will not give another kick to an ant lying trembling on the ground. That way, you will suffer much less, Your Highness, and I will help you escape your predicament."
Cronus fell silent for a moment. His anger ebbed little by little, and he began to consider the proposal seriously.
"You say you have a way to get me out. You're a third-class god. How could you possibly get me out under the God King's surveillance?"
Nairmis took a deep breath. He mobilized the Prophecy Godhead and the Divinity of Wisdom within him, setting both into motion at once.
"I have already seen a vision of the future."
His words carried a certain convincing assurance.
"With my wisdom, I can free you from your predicament, Your Highness." He paused, then added something deeply tempting. "Not only that, I can also help you ascend to the position of God King."
The air went still. Even the five Nymphs stopped breathing for an instant. What had they just heard?
Cronus's expression turned to shock, his voice changing pitch. "Do you have any idea what you're saying?"
Nairmis looked up at the sky. Uranus was almost finished dealing with the last of the Titans.
"I merely saw a glimpse of the future ahead of time. If you are interested in that position, Your Highness, I can help you."
Without waiting for Cronus to digest those words, he immediately added:
"You have no other choice now anyway, Your Highness. You might as well try and take a chance. If you succeed, you become the God King. If you fail, things won't be any worse than they are now."
Cronus's chest heaved violently. He stared at Nairmis. In some hidden corner of his heart, something was being kindled-a desire he dared not contemplate.
He wanted that position, but the thought was too dangerous. Every time it arose, he forcibly snuffed it out. Now it had been rekindled, and this time someone else had lit it for him. He could justify that ambition with someone else talked me into it. He could even tell himself, I'm only trying because I have nowhere else to turn.
But that little flame was burning, sizzling in his heart.
"What do you plan to do?" He heard himself ask, his voice steadier than he had expected.
Nairmis looked toward the sky again. Uranus's figure had reappeared, and quiet had returned to the Sky Divine Domain.
"First, do as I say, Your Highness. Go back, willingly beg forgiveness, and return to your mother's side," Nairmis said. "As for what comes afterward, I will come to find you."
Cronus also looked toward the sky. His father stood above it, his imposing figure seeming so lofty, so unshakable.
He could not win. He could not escape. Only one path remained: trust the third-class god before him, and trust that those words about the future God King were not empty talk.
He had decisiveness, too. After all, he would later raise a sickle and sever his father; there was a ruthless streak in his bones. Now that ruthlessness was taking effect, overcoming his doubts, his wariness, and his arrogance.
"All right."
Space began to warp around him, his figure blurring in the distorted light. "I'll wait for you to find me. I hope you aren't lying to me."
Then he disappeared. All five Nymphs collapsed to the ground at once.
Nairmis let out a long breath. Their transaction was understood to require payment afterward. Only once Nairmis's plan truly freed Cronus from his predicament would that godhead pass into his hands.
Nairmis had not asked Cronus to swear an oath. In Greek mythology, the most reliable binding force was the river of oaths in the Underworld. Even gods could not violate it.
But while that restraint would work on the present Nairmis, it might not work on the future Cronus.
Once Cronus ascended to the position of God King, he would have plenty of ways to circumvent an oath's restraints.
An oath would be useless. Nairmis could only gamble that Cronus had his own pride as a Titan god and would at least keep his word.
Even if he broke his word, Nairmis narrowed his eyes. He had other methods. He would always be able to find a way to make Cronus obediently hand over the godhead.
What he had to worry about now was something else. He looked up at the sky. His meeting with Cronus just now could not have escaped His Majesty the God King's notice.
"I wonder how he'll react..." Nairmis murmured to himself, a little nervous, but no longer very afraid.
Because he remembered those messages from his future self. Since his future self could send messages, that meant he would at least not die.
"I probably won't die..." He nodded to reassure himself. "At worst, I'll get a beating. Hopefully not too hard."