Chapter 16: The Great Prophecy

"Thank you for your generosity,"

Faced with Laine's invitation, Cronus responded seemingly with pleasure, completely unaffected by the influence of his elder siblings beside him.

At that moment, within Mother Earth's womb, Crius was expressing his disdain for that 'net.' Beside him, the other Titans concurred with his opinion, equally convinced that they needed no assistance from the elements.

Even Cronus thought so; as a deity with potent divine power, he could achieve anything he desired with his divine power. Yet, since he was asking for a favor, he still expressed his concern.

"What do you plan to weave this net from? If you need, I could tan the fabric of space into strings to present to you as a gift,"

"No need, I have a better option."

Laine shook his head gently, then smiled as he gazed at Mother Earth.

The request being made, it was time for the other party to act.

"We will do as you wish, Your Highness," Mother Earth answered Laine's look: "But don't disappoint us in a while."

As her words fell, Gaia reached out her hand. In the silence, a peculiarly shaped bottle appeared.

Its form resembled the organs of a female nurturing offspring. The vase was inscribed with profoundly mysterious divine patterns, and right in the center was inlaid an unknown gold-green gemstone, from which Laine felt an endless breath of life.

This was the Life Vase, a symbol of life, fecundity, and propagation. Even Gaia herself never possessed these divine authorities; it was the treasure bestowed upon Mother Earth by the world, and she had once used it to water vegetation and nurture new gods.

"For the next thousand years, it is yours. Though it holds the origin of life from Chaos, let me remind you that your absorption of its essence is meaningless. Like the origin of a god that eventually returns to its master's hands, the life you take from the vase will revert to the world."

With some reluctance, but Mother Earth still handed over the Life Vase to Laine.

"Thank you for the reminder, I have taken note,"

Laine took the Life Vase in his hands, examining the legendary divine artifact: "But it seems that the origin of life can be absorbed by mere mortals, at least that's what you did when you created plants."

"Because mortals inevitably decay, and the birth of new life also strengthens the power of the divine artifact," Gaia explained calmly.

Nodding, Laine looked towards Gaia's womb, where Cronus and his eleven siblings were located.

Under his gaze, the surrounding chronology began to fluctuate, and a mass of gold and silver source power slowly emerged. This was most of Cronus's space-time origin, and given the uniqueness of the powers of chronology, even with the origin separated from his body, he still retained most of his strength.

"It can only be maintained for five hundred years," Cronus's somewhat weary voice reached them: "This is the limit of what I can do, after which, it will uncontrollably revert to me."

"That is sufficient," Laine replied while securing the mass of origin.

Chronology is the foundation of the world, if the Life Vase represents most of the world's origin of life, then at most, Cronus represented thirty percent in the space-time continuum.

What Laine had in his hand was slightly less, roughly over twenty percent of Chaos's space-time source power, but this was already far beyond his expectations.

"I swear to the world, if you can tell me the true meaning of the prophecy, including how to truly overthrow my father, once I become the new Divine King, I will immediately uphold our previous agreement,"

Cronus's voice came once more, his tone a bit urgent, and Mother Earth also followed closely with her oath.

The initial exchange complete, they were eager to hear the answer.

Smiling inwardly, Laine knew that under the influence of destiny and the push of the world, even without him, Gaia and Cronus would have thought of the key to the problem.

But such is reality, sometimes knowing something just a minute earlier can bring immense returns.

Without urgency, Laine leisurely explained the reason Uranus became the Divine King. Among the three generations of Divine Kings, he was truly 'righteous in his rule,' for it was the reward given to him by the world.

"Heavenly Father's divine authority came from the world; he was the first existence to use union to reproduce deities. When he took this step, he obtained the symbol of masculinity, and when the Titans were born, he became the origin of paternal authority. For such achievements, the world crowned him king, allowing him to rule the sky, the seas, and the land."

"So, how can we make him lose the world's favor?"

Ignoring the mention of 'Titan,' a term of disgrace, Cronus hastily inquired.

"He is a male deity, so he represents masculinity. He is a father, thus he holds the power of patriarchy. Aside from me, aside from the Primordial Gods and his brothers, by now, all beings in the world are his offspring, which is unalterable."

"Therefore," Laine put away his smile and looked solemnly at Mother Earth, and at the King of Time and Space within his womb, "you must use the Sickle to sever his symbols as a male deity and a father."

"Once he loses these symbols, he will no longer be a male deity; the power of masculinity will depart from him, once he loses these symbols, he will be sterile, and the power of patriarchy will crumble and disintegrate. Without them, he will still be the ruler of The Sky, but no longer the Divine King who is beneficial to the world."

Gaia was shocked, and Cronus and his siblings also seemed to have lost their ability to speak. Up until a moment ago, they were still pondering the purpose of the Sickle.

There was no doubt that it was a Divine Artifact, but it was not sufficient to threaten the supreme Divine King. However, as Laine elucidated its use, they finally understood its purpose.

The Sickle was nurtured in the earth, so it naturally wouldn't harm Gaia; it could exist within her body and flesh. As long as Cronus wielded that blow at the appropriate time, everything would be over.

"Is this destiny?" Gaia scoffed, not knowing if she was mocking the Divine King or herself.

"He personally positioned the one to hold the blade in the most suitable place; he buried the seeds of calamity for himself. Oh my sister who presides over destiny, I wonder if she has foresaw this scene long ago."

To this, Laine did not comment. He knew that Lady Night was different from Gaia; she and The Dark Overlord only personified a very small part of themselves. Even in the myths of later generations, they often lacked any presence.

"Choose the appropriate time," Laine said. "Not now, not soon, but when the Divine King has completely relaxed and believes that the Prophecy has been thwarted."

"I will," Gaia replied. Having gotten the answer, she no longer wanted to stay here.

To her, Uranus was hateful indeed, but Laine also made her reluctant to draw near. In front of this Foreseer, she always felt like a puppet being manipulated.

"Wait a moment, mother."

Seemingly sensing Gaia's intention to leave, Cronus suddenly spoke up.

His voice was formal and powerful; ever since he was confined within his mother's womb, he had stopped concealing his edge. Especially after listening to Laine talk about the key to overthrowing the Heavenly Father, his confidence surged within him.

But before that, he wanted to ensure his own insurance.

"Before we depart," he said, "before we go to accomplish this great deed of toppling the Divine King."

"Respectable Foreseer, creator of Chronology; Lord of the Moon, God of Prophecy, as the future Divine King in Your Prophecy, I tentatively ask You in the name of the Divine King."

"In Your eyes, with this Sickle destined to be engraved in history in my grasp, can I achieve the common wish of my mother, my brothers and sisters, to overthrow the cruel old master and mount the throne myself?"

"Can I create deeds greater than my father's in the future, and rule permanently over The Sky, the earth, and the seas?"

After a moment of silence, Laine did not know what to say. This was the fate of Chaos's lineage of Divine Kings; even having witnessed the horrors of the Prophecy, they were still so obsessed with destiny.

But since Cronus had asked, Laine might as well satisfy his request. Since they liked Prophecies so much, he would make one last 'great Prophecy' before merging with the Godhood of Prophecy.

Having made the decision, Laine nodded to Mother Earth, and immediately his eyes glimmered with a faint light. Gaia and the Titans all quieted down, no one wishing to disturb the Foreseer's observation of fate. With different thoughts, they waited quietly for the final result.

After a while, the glow in Laine's eyes had just subsided, and Cronus couldn't wait to ask.

"What did You see? Will I succeed?"

"You will succeed," returning to his senses, Laine said calmly, "You will succeed in defeating your father. Although the process will require a battle, victory will ultimately be yours."

"But I hope you remember—" he looked straight at Mother Earth, as if gazing directly at the future Divine King within her womb.

"Nothing is eternal, Cronus. You will succeed, but you won't succeed forever."

"One day in the future, when life and death trade places, you will understand what I mean."

"The way you obtain it is how you will lose it. A ruler rises by it..."

"—will assuredly fall by it!"