Circumstances

You know, sister, I was there. Watching Uncle Dream and the Old Fates negotiate is always good entertainment. Like two supernovas debating whether or not to explode.

—Apollo

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The morning sun shone brightly on a colossal hall supported by massive columns. In the centre of it all was a long silver table with floating projections of battlefields from Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic. They glowed in argent light together, displaying the present situation on all fronts—surprisingly, there was nothing but order everywhere. Chaos, on the other hand, seems to have vanished from the face of the earth.

However, Hypnos knew that this was merely the calm before the storm. The world would soon be engulfed in the bloody embers of a catastrophic war.

The Primordial of Sleep dallied around the war table, his pale finger tracing the information on the battlefield projection. He was brooding lone in the main hall of Olympus—which had been completely concealed by him to obstruct any precognitive abilities—and waited for his council to convene for the epochal meeting.

He and Hera had returned to Olympus the day before. His beloved joyfully reunited with her mother and sisters, telling tales and stories of brilliant Egypt.

Meanwhile, Hypnos gathered all of his essence back to himself, except the one in his domain, to complete the last steps of his creation. He intended to open his realm to the world before the final battle of Gods and Titans, gaining a firm foothold over all of his concepts.

You may be wondering: why did it take him a year to frame the laws and regulations of his realm? You see, his realm was truly endless in proportions, and to maintain that infinity, stable and fixed laws were absolutely necessary. He desired for his realm to have some independence, to grow and thrive without completely relying on him. He didn't want to see it just crumble into pieces without his support.

Altogether, Dreaming was nearing completion, and he couldn't help but be excited. If his predictions were correct, the opening of his realm will increase his powers significantly while also allowing it to grow independently of his efforts. He needed strength now more than ever to face the chaotic future ahead of him and to realise his dreams.

'Heaven…' Hypnos mused, his gaze drifting over the projection of Europa in reckoning silence for a few depressing moments before shaking his head away from the dismal thoughts and focusing on the task at hand.

Aside from his dreamy times with Hera, a lot had happened in the previous year. The ascension of Zeus, his ever-proud disciple, was the most noteworthy of these.

Zeus successfully ascended to the position of Cosmic God, the highest echelon of the divine, under his training and guidance.

His cosmic endeavour was not without its own setbacks and failures—the God of Lightning suffered so much that many others would have relinquished if they were in his shoes, unable to bear the excruciating burden of the cosmos, but Zeus never gave up, pushing through it all and finally taking the first step in his cosmic path.

Despite his flaws, Hypnos was proud of Zeus. Nothing could ever deny his sheer will and determination, which allowed him to impress Hypnos time and time again.

Ultimately, Zeus had grown significantly stronger in the previous year. To a limited extent, he could tap into cosmic power, creating cosmic lightning with only his divinity. And with that alone, the God of Lightning surpassed almost all gods in power and might.

Hypnos thrummed the edges of the war table, his gaze turning towards the largest divine mountain in Greece—Mount Othrys. 'It should be enough,' he thought, his eyes filled with an imperceptible uncertainty.

The fated battle between Zeus and Kronos, two cosmic gods wielding the concepts of lightning and time, would define the outcome of the final war.

For all intents and purposes, the concept of time topped the concept of lightning in the infinite cosmos. But since Kronos had just scratched the surface of the power of time, the Zeus taught by Hypnos could easily overwhelm his father with his sheer conceptual power. Not to mention, his student even had the backing of Destiny.

So, why was Hypnos still uncertain? Kronos, the Crooked One, should have the backing of a Primordial. He was certain because his previous attempts to pry into the secrets of the Crooked One had been foiled by metal barriers that encased the mind of the Titan King like an eternal and impenetrable fortress.

The said primordial should be none other than Chronos, the personification of time and arguably the most powerful primordial in existence.

After determining this, Hypnos went to consult with his aunt. Gaea assured him that her brother would not interfere with the Titanomachy. And if Chronos supposes did, she'd be the first to know.

Hypnos, though, felt dubious. Even an indirect intervention from Chronos would completely tip the war in favour of the Titans. If the Primordial of Time granted Kronos greater access to his domain, Zeus would be completely defeated; no amount of training could prepare Zeus to match Kronos wielding the true might of time.

He must deal with this uncertainty before the final battle, though it could be said that he was just overly worried about this case. In the end, he did not want to take any chances. There was nothing wrong with being cautious.

The gods cannot lose, since if they did, Hera would lose with them. Hypnos would be able to protect Hera in the aftermath, but he could not guarantee her family's safety, and he could only imagine how devastated Hera would be if that happened.

He took command of the war out of obligation, but it was gradually becoming personal to him....

Hypnos sighed and walked around the table to the section with the gleaming, floating projections depicting various plans and strategies.

He drafted them all for the final battle, along with Metis and Prometheus. The most important of these was how to effectively destroy the seats of power on Mount Othrys.

To be honest, Hypnos never understood why immortals felt the need to anchor their power in something foreign. It indeed has the potential to greatly increase their power, but it could also end up being their Achilles' heel.

Anyway, he didn't waste time dwelling on their follies and began devising plans to strike the Achilles' heel of the Titans with Metis and Prometheus. If they succeeded in this endeavour, then it would potentially seal their victory. Even the uncertainty that comes with Kronos would no longer matter that much.

Along with deliberative meetings with Metis and Prometheus, Hypnos supervised the progress of the Gods and Titans in Olympus. They were training and preparing for the final battle, pouring everything they had into it.

He even began to give some off-handed advice to Titans and Gods—especially to Themis, Helios, and Demeter. Their abilities, particularly those of Themis, Titaness of Divine Order, had a lot of potential to be unearthed. Her power of order could easily turn the tides of battle in a chaotic war.

Then there was Hades. Hypnos gave him a few instructions on the power of darkness, sparking some motifs in his dark mind. And it appeared that Hades had finally accepted his chthonic path, but he had yet make any action on it.

In terms of training, his subordinates, Mnemosyne and Hecate, also advanced on their cosmic paths, though not as far as his student, Zeus.

Mnemosyne truly battled to enter the cosmic path. It was far more difficult for her than for Zeus or Hecate since she lacked their talent. But she didn't give up, and she managed to push past the failures and take her first step on the cosmic path; however, even this took her most of the previous year to achieve, and she was clearly burdened by it, but the Lady of Remembrance refused to stop, so Hypnos was forced to make her by telling her: It's fine. Take your time. You've got an eternity ahead of you (and yes, she was still pregnant with her nine daughters at the time, having only given birth to them the previous month).

As for his other subordinate, Hecate, the Lady Magic, she was already aware of the cosmic aspect of divinity and had begun to work on it ever since she entered his realm with more freedom in her being.

Unlike Mnesmosyne, she did not actively seek his guidance and intended to walk her own path. Hypnos respected her decision, but he did catch a glimpse of her ambition when she sought him out: Hecate wanted to tap into the raw power of cosmic magic, bending reality with her imagination and will with no limitations or restrictions; to put it another way, she wanted to become the Primordial of Magic. She was ambitious, to be sure, and if she continued on this path, she would face a lot of enemies.

Ultimately, this year was a year of transition; personally, this year was truly inedible for him, and it will remain so in his eternal existence...

Hypnos strode back to his seat at the head of the table, his hands rhythmically thrumming along the table, his eyes squinting at the battlefield projections.

There was still something bothering his otherwise serene heart, something he didn't consider until his meeting with the Fates.

It was Chaos.

The final battle between gods and titans would lead to global chaos on an unprecedented scale. The fight between Zeus and Kronos alone would be catastrophic; for his student with his current might, destroying a planet would be as easy as pie. Even if the Primordials worked tirelessly to mitigate the damage caused by the war, there was a good chance that chaos would spread throughout the world, weakening the order.

And if that happens, they will almost certainly intervene and use force to end the inevitable war.

They were known by several titles and honorifics, including the Seven Heavenly Virtues, the Seven Great Seraphs, the Weapons of God, the Generals of Heaven, the Winged Ones, the White Ones, and the Judges.

Finally, they were none other than the Archangels of Heaven, the First Born of God.

Hypnos took his seat as the ominous words of the Fates began to resound in his mind, especially the last words of the Mother.

'Always remember, dear—to destroy heaven, chaos must once again rise.'

Yes, they meant it literally. The Fates were hoping that he would awaken Khaos, the Progenitor of Primordials, from "Her" eternal slumber. Their words were truly prophetic, after all who was better wake their creator from "Her" slumber than he, the Primordial of Sleep.

Hypnos wryly smiled, but he took a breath and shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being, focusing on the urgent problem of the potential chaos of the ultimate war. 'It appears that I need to consult with Gaea again,' he decided glumly.

The door creaked open, and from within, immortals began to enter slowly, led by Metis and Prometheus, bringing a veil of solemnity and graveness to the main hall.

Restraining his flying thoughts, Hypnos looked ahead and curtly nodded to their grave greetings.

Out of the crowds, Hera bolted out towards him, her lips set on a smile that contrasted the somberness of the hall, melting it into an ephemeral serenity.

Hypnos returned her smile, rising from his seat and lightly kissing her. "Take your seat," he guided, and she nodded gently, treading to her seat at the long silver table.

The immortals didn't even bat an eye at them, as they also took their seats. It was old news that Hypnos and Hera were together on Olympus, though many suspected at first that their relationship was nothing more than a fling. But those voices quickly fell silent as time proved them wrong yet again.

The silver table where the immortals sat had been specifically redesigned for the council that was about to begin so that it could seat all the immortals—from every titan and god—and this was an epochal moment; every single soul in Olympian Hall felt it deep in their bones, a juncture that will determine the fate of the world.

Hypnos rose from his seat of honour, bringing resounding silence throughout the table. "Last year was a memorable year for all of us," he began, his gaze passing through Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and finally settling on Hera. "It was a year of happiness and love, of change and progress, of serenity and tranquilly."

"However, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, confronted by the harshness of reality."

"So here we are, gathered for the final council that will determine the fate of our pantheon, of our world, of..." He paused in pensive silence, looking at the earnest immortals. "You."

"So, let's begin, shall we?"

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