9 Cronus, the Titan God of Time

"Legend states that no one knows when Cronus was born. He just came to be. It was said that when the clock of eternity was wound, upon the first stroke, Cronus appeared."

"But that is not true! It's just a pile of bullsh*t to deceive children! Just like every other life form, Cronus was born. But unlike any other life form he was a great schemer! His parents were Uranus and Gaia. His father Uranus, was the ruler of heaven and his mother Gaia, was the overlord of the earth. Cronus was the youngest of the titans, born as Uranus's 12th child."

Mane, just like the other mountains, listened intently to the words of the 1st. Even the 3rd who was famed to be the most knowledgeable of the nine, knew nothing about this god called Cronus. They all listened quietly, each holding their breaths like little children being told an exciting story.

"However, although he was the youngest, he had the wildest ambitions. As a titan Cronus was powerful. His body was extremely tough and he had great strength. His power towered over his older siblings, leaving them in the dust! His father, Uranus, had even proclaimed him the next in line to the throne. But Cronus knew better. He knew his father only proclaimed him as the heir to prevent him from having any designs on the throne. His father was an immortal, just like the rest of the titans! Unless they were killed, they would live forever! Cronus had always wanted to be the ruler of the titans and for that to happen, he had to kill his father! He sought his mother's council to find out a way to his defeat his father. And he did!"

"Uranus was powerful, but like every creature, Cronus believed that he had a flaw. As one born of the heavens, Uranus was blessed with abundant vitality and supreme strength. A wave of his hand could lead to a change of seasons and a casual stomp could destroy the earth. But he was a cruel king who had gone so far as to imprison some of his own children. So tyrannical was his rule that even Gaia, could tolerate it no more. Gaia, believing that Cronus would be a better king, told Cronus that Uranus had never been circumcised. As long as he found a way to use Uranus's weakness against him, he'll be assured a smooth victory."

"It took Cronus an entire year to understand his mother's words. All he needed to do was search for the right moment to enact his plan. He did not have to wait for long. At the end of every year, Uranus held a ceremony to celebrate another successful year of his reign. On that day Cronus put his plan into action."

"Cronus used his father's ego against him. 'If you are indeed the king of the titans, then you must prove it. You must undergo a feat of strength. You have been king for so many years. Prove to us that you have not grown weak. If you fail, you will step down.' Confident of his strength, Uranus agreed."

"The test was simple. To prove his strength, Uranus had to be circumcised. Cronus, who had also not been circumcised, agreed to do the same. But there was a condition. Cronus stated that since he issued the challenge, he will be circumcised first. After, Uranus would follow. Thinking nothing of this, Uranus agreed."

"As per the agreement, Cronus was circumcised first. As a powerful titan, his period of weakness ended after just three hours. Uranus, seeing that Cronus was finished, agreed to be circumcised. Cronus convinced his brother, Iapetus to use a blade made of mythril- a metal so powerful that it could even harm gods- to perform the circumcision! Just like the other titans, Iapetus was not pleased with Uranus's rule. He immediately agreed."

"Uranus did not sense anything wrong with the blade Iapetus held. So he allowed Iapetus to circumcise him. Unlike Cronus, Uranus experienced weakness for five days! It was pretty astonishing that he recovered so quickly from a mythril blade but he did not know that. As per the agreement he had with Cronus, Uranus gave up the throne. Thus his son Cronus, became king."

"Cronus's rule was short-lived. Now that he was king revealed who he really was, showing his brothers cruelty greater than that of his father, Uranus. But Cronus had forgotten something vital. He did not became a king on his own. He had help and that help could be easily taken away. Tired of their brother's oppression, the titans, led by Hyperion and Theia, told their father the truth of his loss."

"Uranus was furious. He confronted Cronus and demanded that he abdicated his throne. Cronus, unsurprisingly, refused. So they fought. A son against his father, a titan against a titan! Their battle shook the skies, the earth suffered under their wrath, and the seas parted, giving birth to the islands. They fought for three days! On the third day, Cronus was struck down. He was then banished to the dark realm! But… he survived!"

"What!?"

The collective voices of the other mountains was so loud that Mane had to cover his poor ears. He could clearly sense the shock and disbelief in the voices of the mountains. Curious about their reaction, he asked, "What is the dark realm?"

The mountains were stirred awake from their shock when they heard Mane's voice, with the 3rd opting to answer his question. "The dark realm is the deadliest place in the entire universe! It is an independent space that cannot support life. The laws of destruction of that exist in that realm are so powerful that no one can survive in that realm. No matter who it is, gods, demons and even devils who have boundless vitality will die when they attempt to explore that realm!"

Mane was startled when he heard the 3rd's explanation. So there was such a dangerous place in the universe! Mane finally understood why the mountains were so surprised. If this place was as dangerous as it sounded, then how did Cronus survive it? Fortunately, his question did not remain unanswered for long. Seeing that the ruckus had died down, the 1st continued with his narration.

"As I was saying, Cronus survived the dark realm. You see, Cronus, just like his siblings was blessed with an ability. He was blessed with a time based bloodline! Unfortunately, he focused on training his body and neglected his bloodline ability. This led to him having a vague understanding of the time laws."

"Still, even with his negligent studies, Cronus had understood the concept of time stop! And he could maintain it for a full three minutes!"

The mountains were shaken for the second time in a few minutes. They understood the difficulty of being a time cultivator. Time stop was an ability that only a few individuals in history had been able to comprehend! Yet someone who was not a hardworking time practitioner, had awakened this skill. And he could use it for three minutes no less. The 9th was one of the very few time practitioners who could use time stop and he could only maintain it for 30 seconds! Finding out that there was someone who did not practice just as hard as you yet was better would unnerve any cultivator.

The 9th sighed in resignation as he asked the 1st to continue with his story.

"Under normal circumstances, this would have meant nothing. But Cronus had fate on his side. The dark realm was actually the home of one of the weapons of antiquity! These were weapons that were born with the universe, each controlling a different law of the universe. Cronus received the acknowledgement of the clock of eternity, becoming the titan god of time!"

"With the clock of eternity, Cronus escaped the dark realm. He returned, stronger than ever, and defeated his father. He once again became the king of the titans and took his sister Rhea as his consort."

"I don't understand. His was someone who ventured into the dark realm and escaped unscathed. If he was so powerful, how did he die?" Mane asked the question that was on every one's mind at the moment. If there was ever such a figure, who would be powerful enough to kill him? If they heard this story from someone else they would have found it unbelievable but not the 1st. The nine believed him unconditionally and that was because they knew his identity.

A soft laugh of derision came from the 1st.

"He was killed. Killed by his very own children!!"