Chapter 1: The New King

No one dared to look Cronus in the eye at that moment.

Even Hyperion and Oceanus, who once had designs on the throne of the Divine King, were now silent.

The curse Uranus had uttered before leaving was heard clearly by all the gods.

If it were any other curse, they might have ignored it, but this one was different.

It was not only because of the identity of the curser, but also because it reminded them of a warning given centuries ago in the Underworld by a being once considered the God of Prophecy.

'Rise by this means, fall by this means', Cronus had sought his father's position with schemes and force of arms, did this also suggest that he would be betrayed by his own children and lose his reign to force?

No one knew, but no one dared to guarantee that it wouldn't happen.

One should know, the throne of the Heavenly Father had been bestowed by the world, so mere force could not replace him. But if Cronus became the Divine King, this throne gained through strength no longer had the world's endorsement.

However, time did not stop because of the gods' silence. When no deity raised an objection to Cronus's claim to the throne, in the unseen, authority began to shift towards him.

Since there was no world-recognized legitimate Divine King, a leader acknowledged by the gods was passable. If within five hundred years, no one challenged Cronus, then he would become Chaos's second-generation Divine King.

In the meantime, although he could not fully enjoy the authority of a Divine King, that great power was already starting to be transferred to him.

"Children, you have won."

In the quiet, the scar-covered Mother Earth walked over from afar.

In the previous battle, the injuries she had sustained were no less severe than those of her children. She had not appeared on the front lines, but instead had continuously mobilized the power of the earth to stop the descending sky.

She had heard the curse too, but she acted as if she hadn't.

At a moment like this, she didn't want to worry about a future that was unknown how far away.

Hearing this, the gods all reacted. Their faces were no longer taut; they began to celebrate the victory and Cronus's ascension to the throne.

Regardless of what they thought inside, faced with the strongest of the Titans who also held a high-grade artifact, Cronus, they all expressed agreement with his position as the Divine King.

"You're right, mother. We should hold a feast to celebrate today's victory."

Listening to the gods' congratulations, Cronus forced a smile and said to the Titans.

"But I think we should first deal with one matter, Cronus!"

Suddenly, Mnemosyne, who was beside them, spoke up.

Her body was still covered in blood, and her wounds were slowly healing under the influence of divine power. She had hurried over from a distant hole in the ground, one that she had created herself. But at that moment, Mnemosyne seemed to have forgotten her pain as she looked angrily at her former brother, now elder.

"That God of Prophecy, that thief! He stole my godhood of Memory."

"You all felt it, didn't you? At the beginning of the battle, Chaos's consciousness exposed his deception! He is the God of Spirit, and he has done something that angered the world."

"We should go and punish him!" she declared. "Right there in the Underworld, the place where the world consciousness informed the gods."

"Indeed, before we celebrate our victory, we should go and discipline a sinner," Iapetus also added his support.

He thought that everyone would think the same, given that it was Laine's prophecy that caused them all to suffer. But to his surprise, after he spoke, no one picked up after him, and the expressions on everyone's faces were somewhat awkward.

"Ahem, my brother," Hyperion said, "The awareness of the world only appeared seven days ago. Even if we punish him now, there's no reward to be gained."

"Yes, the consciousness of Chaos is always so inflexible. Once his offense against the world is done, the world's 'bounty' on him is canceled,"

Thaesis also agreed. This elder sister among the Titans rarely spoke.

"But what about my godhood?" Mnemosyne didn't quite understand.

Was there a need for discussion about punishing a weak God of Prophecy? Even without the world's reward, it would still be beneficial to assert the new Divine Court's authority by using him.

"I want him to become my Sub-God. Although godhood cannot be transferred, there can be a long-term 'loan' between a Principal God and an inferior god."

A twitch formed at the corner of Cronus's mouth. He had thought the same about the non-transferability of godhood back then.

"But he is not as simple as we thought, Mnemosyne," the Lord of the Ocean seemed unwilling to beat around the bush any longer. He addressed his sister directly: "Just seven days ago, while we were still in battle with the Father God, the Twin Gods of the Dark Night had already visited the Underworld."

"Your divine power is too weak, so you couldn't sense it. On the previous Divine Birth Day, two Ancient Gods hastened the birth of new gods with their Origin. It is evident that they have gone to trouble the God of Spirituality."

Upon hearing this, Iapetus fell silent. He understood his elder brother's point—if two Primordial Gods had taken action personally, then either Laine had already been cast into the Abyss to receive the World Will's punishment and they wouldn't find him,

or the opponent had used some method to make the Twin Gods of the Dark Night return empty-handed. In that case, they would be even less likely to find a solution.

Including Gaia, all the gods here combined were not enough for The Dark Overlord to handle with one hand.

After all, The Dark Overlord's strength could contend with Uranus at his peak, whereas they previously faced only a Heavenly Father whose power had been greatly diminished, not even one-third to one-fifth of his full strength.

"Let's leave it at that," Cronus said, glancing at his sister who was still somewhat unwilling to let go. He didn't want to delay any longer.

If possible, he wanted to take action against that one who had devoured his Origin more than anyone else, but he had no choice but to give up now.

Not to mention the opponent's consistently mysterious approach and the means that made the Primordial Gods yield. Just his prophecy alone was unsettling for him.

He now understood his father. The Heavenly Father had, countless times, treated the Titans as playthings, yet he had never laid a hand on Laine. This was the deterrence brought about by the mystery of destiny.

The other Titans might not care, as they never asked Laine for a prophecy, but Cronus was different. He was beginning to regret asking Laine about his own future. If he hadn't known, at least he wouldn't be in such a difficult position as he was now.

"Let's go, back to Mount Othrys, mother's creations are ever so tempting."

His mood darkened further, the future Divine King who should have been triumphant at this moment, forced himself to appear cheerful as he led the way towards Mount of the Gods.

"Let's go, we'll talk about the godhood later,"

Seeing her sister, Rhea, the only one who seemed to notice Cronus's state, also spoke out.

Seeing that everyone said so, Mnemosyne could only suppress her reluctance and choose to fly with the Titans to the Mount of the Gods.

She dared not act alone. Even Laine before, who was a Level 9 God of Chronology, was much more formidable than her, a Level 8 God of Script and Language.

The gods dispersed, and as the divine war ended, the earth too regained its calm. With the passage of time, it gradually recovered from the damage it had suffered.

Half a day later, atop Mount Othrys, the banquet celebrating the coronation of the new king began.