Deep in the Underworld, in the Night Divine Domain.
Nyx sat on her throne, her abdomen radiating a dark purple glow. Within it, a slowly rotating mass of essence could faintly be seen taking solid form.
Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead, and her fingers gripped the armrests of her divine throne tightly.
A new god was being born within her. This child was not one she and Erebus had conceived together.
When the power of fate bound her, it had taken advantage of the moment when she gave her essence to Gaia, leaving her essence damaged and her defenses weakened, to forcibly thrust a mass of fate essence into her abdomen.
Under the combined effects of the law of procreation and her identity as a mother, she could not prevent that mass of essence from taking root within her, growing, and drawing on her divine power.
Through this, the power of fate had locked her firmly into an even deeper predicament. She was not only the one who governed the River of Fate; she had now also become the mother of the vessel the River of Fate was gestating through her.
This child had been draining the divine power of her fate essence day and night without pause. Now, that draining had finally reached its end.
Nyx lowered her head and looked at the mass of light taking shape within her abdomen. She could sense something very familiar in its aura: fate essence.
She raised her eyes to the God of Darkness beside her. Erebus had remained at her side all along. He said nothing, but there was concern in his silence.
Just then, both of them turned their gazes beyond the Underworld.
The killing intent of the sky was rapidly approaching. That aura made no attempt to conceal itself, heading straight toward the Night Divine Domain.
Every god in the Underworld went on alert at that instant. Thanatos, the God of Death, abruptly rose from beside the Styx. Hypnos, the God of Sleep, sat up, a grave look appearing on his usually calm face. The ferryman of the Styx set down his oar.
Erebus turned, then glanced back at Nyx. Nyx nodded to him.
Erebus vanished. When he reappeared, he stood on the ground outside the entrance to the Underworld. His body looked especially dense along the Underworld's boundary, where it met the earth's energy. His hands hung naturally at his sides, and he assumed no attacking stance.
But the aura around him, which could not be seen, approached, or touched, was more effective than any attacking stance.
A golden figure landed before him in the next instant, the resulting shock wave sweeping away all the dust for several miles around.
Uranus came to a stop, his bare upper body enveloped in golden divine power, his eyes glowing with scorching golden light.
The God of Darkness looked at him and spoke, his voice hoarse and cold. "Go no farther."
Uranus looked past Erebus, his gaze falling on the aura of the new god that was taking shape.
His golden pupils flickered. The aura emanating from the god about to be born contained something akin to correction, a subtle vibration capable of affecting the God King's standing, faint but distinct.
This made him unable to sit still. If this new god was born successfully and truly possessed some authority capable of shaking the God King's supremacy, his rule over the sky would face another hidden threat he could never eliminate.
The laws did not permit him to destroy gods who were important to the world's essence, but if he intervened during a god's birth, that would not count as a direct violation of the laws.
He could forcibly disrupt the birth or cause it to fail. Failing that, he could severely damage that mass of essence before it left its mother's body, causing it to be born as an incomplete existence.
The corners of Uranus's mouth lifted slightly. He had just dealt with the Twelve Titans and subdued Gaia. The authority of the sky was at an unprecedented height.
The increase in divine power that suppression had brought him far exceeded his expectations. At this moment, the divine power within him was almost at its highest point ever. He was confident that even if he faced Nyx and Erebus at the same time, he could remain undefeated.
Besides, he only wanted to prevent the new god from being born whole, not truly fight the two Primordial Gods to the death. Nyx, moreover, would have a great deal of her essence drained while gestating this new god. He felt certain of victory.
He could not be bothered to speak again. Two great gods who stood at the pinnacle of the world would not yield over a few words. Only strength could determine the boundaries.
A brilliant golden light shone in Uranus's eyes, and all the divine markings on his body lit up. The entire sky unfurled behind him. He raised his right hand, and a golden spear condensed in his palm, its tip aimed at the entrance to the Underworld.
Darkness appeared around Erebus, growing denser and denser. It surged in from every direction and enveloped his body, condensing around him into a ring of fathomless black light that directly blocked Uranus's attack.
Two primordial-level divine powers collided before the entrance to the Underworld. There was no thunderous crash, no burst of light. The clash between sky and darkness was more like a collision on the conceptual level.
As the golden spear pierced the black halo, space shattered layer upon layer at the point of contact, cracks spreading in every direction. Tiny golden and black fragments spilled from those cracks, each carrying enough power to tear apart an ordinary god's body.
This was the sight that greeted Nairmis when he arrived.
He stopped high above, still some distance from the entrance to the Underworld. From that position, he could see the full confrontation between Uranus and Erebus without being caught in the aftershocks of the Primordial Gods' divine power.
He hovered there, his eyes widening slightly as he watched the golden figure in the sky contend with the black figure.
Nairmis did not hesitate. He opened his parchment, picked up his pen, and began drawing to record the scene.
Just as he was about to finish, an unusual tremor came from deep within the Underworld. Nairmis's hand stopped, and he raised his head to look toward the Underworld.