Scene 1
"My Lord this is the perfect—"
"That's enough!"
The pressure in the room snapped instantly.
"Lord Poseidon has forbidden any attacks first. If the boy doesn't strike and is only journeying as a godling… then we will not be the ones to break an unwritten rule."
Stepping forward as my voice carried across the chamber.
"Do you want to answer for His Majesty's prestige being stained in history because of your reckless behavior? Grow up. We're Pseudo Kings now. Act like it."
Silence.
Heavy. Immediate.
Rhettos' words had already landed, but the weight behind them made sure no one dared speak again.
Mareon and the other knelt, heads lowered, pleading without sound.
Yet my mind was already elsewhere.
Focused on the brat.
Causing chaos through the Seas.
Living among my mortals as if he belonged there. Pranking them. Moving freely. Laughing. All while walking beside the son of Pontus as if the tides themselves answered to him.
"…Interesting."
Tapping my finger once against the arm of the throne before leaning back.
"Leave the boy be."
A few heads lifted.
"If the regret of the Three Kings was our inability to do what he's doing at his stage… then it's even more pressing to let it be."
Letting the words settle.
"Hades sent him here for a reason."
Not a guess.
A certainty.
"Let us observe how the tides turn this time."
A pause.
Then—
"Rhetto. Go and ready your plans for Olympus. You may begin when you see fit."
A shift.
The room understood.
This was not inaction.
It was patience layered over movement.
Closing my eyes slowly as my senses spread outward, threading through currents, pressure, and distance.
Watching him.
While another pair of eyes from beneath the Sea did the same.
"…So you're watching as well."
A faint smile.
"Hello, brother."
And just like that—
I shut everything else out.
Scene 2
"Hello Hera. To what do I owe the visit?"
Smiling softly as I watched my little sister step into my domain.
Her eyes moved first.
Not to me.
But to Eris.
Standing calmly with the Big Four of my Court, each of them already pressing down on the space around her. Not enough to act. Just enough to remind her where she stood.
Then she looked back at me.
"Prometheus told me you've regained your Authority over the Underworld. I came to trade for something of equal value."
Good.
Straight to the point.
Watching as she revealed the object in her hand.
The StarHeart of the Astral Realm.
A relic Father's records spoke of as hidden. Guarded. Untouched.
Yet here it was.
In her hands.
"Well… sister."
Leaning forward slightly.
"I am the God of Deals, as some in Olympus like to say."
The pressure in the room deepened.
Subtle.
Controlled.
"What is it you seek?"
The court held itself back.
Not because they had to.
Because I asked them to.
Because she was still family.
"Access to Father. A personal escort into Tartarus. I want to confirm he's dead."
A small chuckle escaped me.
Stepping forward—
No.
Already in front of her.
The StarHeart gone from her grasp before her eyes even caught up.
"I can answer that for you."
Turning the relic in my hand as if it had already been mine.
"He's not dead."
Letting that settle.
"And it's because of our dumb baby brother… and Gaia."
Her expression tightened.
Good.
That meant she was listening.
"The Golden Cycle isn't his."
A small glance toward her.
"It's Zeus's chance."
"To take Gaia's Crown."
"But only if he can house an Earth Mother inside himself long enough to do it."
Silence.
Heavier now.
More dangerous.
"Chronos…"
Pausing for a fraction of a moment.
"…comes later."
Closing my hand around the StarHeart.
"But I'll still take you."
A step back.
"We'll depart in ten thousand years."
Turning away.
"Return when the appointed time arrives."
A pause behind me.
Her glare.
Sharp. Controlled. Angry.
As if she had been played.
As if she hadn't.
Because she had still gotten what she came for.
Truth.
Access.
And a path forward.
Just not on her terms.
Just as she liked to do to others.
Only this time—
I collected first.
Scene 3
"Lady Rhea."
Bowing slightly as I recognized the presence that entered my temple.
A place kept far from Olympus.
Not by distance.
By nature.
My affinities. My priorities.
None of them aligned cleanly with theirs anymore.
"Brother Prometheus."
Her voice was light.
Too light.
"I see you're still hiding behind wisdom. Avoiding the leap of fate I once offered you."
Her smile widened.
Because she knew.
Because she held the advantage in this moment.
Zeus had given her unrestricted movement across Gaia.
Meaning she could stand here without consequence.
"I wish it was wisdom I was using as a shield."
Lifting my head slowly.
"How to describe it now…"
A breath.
"…would be closer to the madness your eldest fell into."
Letting that sit between us.
"What brings you here, sister?"
Cutting the path before she could turn this into a sermon about unity under Chronos.
"Not everything is out to get you, brother."
A soft laugh.
"I came to give you a way out."
Chaos.
That word alone carried weight.
"That's something we didn't offer our uncles and aunties."
Stepping closer.
"Take a trip to the Sea."
My eyes shifted slightly.
"Maybe you'll find a path back to the Gates you've lost sight of here."
A pause.
"Your role in fate was never dependent on my sons."
That one—
That one landed.
Hard.
"After all… among the Divine Trio of Wisdom…"
Her voice slowed.
"Only your fate was ever meant to differ."
"Mnemosyne was always destined to betray Chronos for Gaia."
"Metis…"
A small smile.
"…will bear the next Earth Mother the world chooses."
Then her eyes locked onto mine.
"You."
A beat.
"Your path of aiding mortals as a way to reach God-King…"
A shake of her head.
"…was never going to work."
Silence filled the temple.
"And I don't need to explain what happens to those who reach for the Primal Fire that none can claim."
My jaw tightened.
Not in anger.
In understanding.
Because she wasn't wrong.
And that made it worse.
Turning away.
Before the anger settled too deep.
My gaze drifting west.
Toward the Sea.
Toward rumors.
Toward movement.
"…I see."
No goodbye.
No dismissal.
Just action.
Leaving.
The islands.
Massive.
Spanning like empires.
A place far enough from Olympus.
A place close enough to something else.
Enlightenment.
Chaos.
Or failure.
Didn't matter.
I needed movement.
Anything but standing still.
Even Time—
The one thing we possessed in endless supply—
Could not be reshaped.
Not even by Chronos.
God King of the four realms.
Underworld. Earth. Sea. Sky.
Primordial of Time.
And still—
Bound by it.
"…Maybe enough time has passed."
The thought came quietly.
"Maybe those four children have already been born."
A shift.
"Maybe guiding them now… changes something."
Instead of letting Uranus's plan unfold.
The Sky.
Always watching.
Always preparing.
Perfect vessels.
Half mortal.
Half divine.
Prepared for his return.
"…I'll verify it myself."
And with that—
I stepped into the West.