Scene 1 — Ten
"What did you just do?"
Apollo's staff pushed me back.
At the same time, I felt my father open his domain and seal it shut.
That meant Bale had finished on his end.
"Fight you," I said. "Why are you getting scared?"
Apollo's eyes sharpened.
He understood something had happened. He did not know what, but his instincts were enough to tell him the board had shifted while we fought.
"No," he said. "You did something. Or your followers did something to my brother."
His staff came down with reckless force.
"Where is Ares?"
The weapon expanded as it fell, growing heavy enough to crush the mountain beneath us. Wind laws screamed around its edge, turning the air into blades.
"Training for an endurance race, most likely," I said, grinning. "I don't know the details. But since you annoyed Juris, he gave Bale his own plans."
Apollo's expression darkened.
I could not avoid this.
I had been trying to remain gentle with the new domain, but the moment passed. I mixed more of my Dark Sun into the Sun-Force surrounding my fists.
The prototype shattered under the pressure.
A one-time use.
I could reproduce it later, but it would take just as long as the first attempt.
Fine.
I drove both fists upward.
My goal was simple.
Break the artifact.
My fists met Apollo's staff.
Wind and flame exploded between us.
The impact drove me into the ground, stone cracking beneath my feet as the enlarged weapon pressed down. Apollo kept pouring power through it, using weight, wind, and Fate to bury me.
Then his eyes lit fully.
"FATE HAS DECREED THAT YOUR FAT—"
"No such record shall leash the End!"
Juris's voice tore through the battlefield.
My connection to him surged as he jumped in defense of our shared domain being invaded. The words struck like law, not sound. Apollo's link to Fate severed for a breath.
That was enough.
His body weakened.
I forced the staff upward.
For the first time in the clash, Apollo stumbled.
"Polo, it's time to go before you really get caught!"
Hermes appeared behind him.
The family trickster grabbed Apollo before Juris could retaliate properly, yanking him through his domain with enough speed that even the backlash missed them.
Apollo vanished.
The pressure disappeared.
A victory.
Not a clean one.
But enough.
Scene 2 — Ten
"Ten, we finished up on our end."
I calmed myself and folded the surrounding energy back into my domain. The earth forced the sun back into its correct place. Traces of Fate still lingered in the sky like purple cracks fading from glass.
Bale appeared through his Death avatar after I finished absorbing the leftover power in the area.
That body was the unborn pestilence slowly becoming his True Body. His Life avatar, a gift from Gaia, had been shaped from the Dryads within her underground grotto.
The Life side was already back in the underworld, recovering after nearly burning itself to death to use my Sun laws. His Death avatar had used its connection to draw my father's attention and retrieve the vessel along with Ares.
"Good," I said. "It will be a while before they try something more desperate."
Killing each other was useless when most of us could be reborn within ten thousand years.
Diverting whatever plans Zeus had for Ares by removing him from the board was more effective than letting Adam kill him.
I stretched my arms and recounted my losses.
The Force prototype I developed from Adam could not endure my full domain. It worked well with single-element laws, but not with the weight of the Dark Sun.
Still, it gave me a hint.
A possible method to use my Death laws more cleanly.
"We can start bringing our mortals over," I said. "The first city will be built in the far north."
The place came to mind immediately.
Frozen tundras.
Harsh winds.
Land soaked in Death and Life laws because of its conditions and its proximity to Gaia's domain.
The plan was to move the mortals from my minor worlds into this world so they could assimilate into the main world's Golden Cycle. They would find it easier to create methods of advancing past the hard limit placed on Earth-born mortals.
Ayin and Eli had already proven how difficult that barrier was to breach.
Minor-world mortals revealed a loophole.
Half Golden Cycle.
Half Silver Cycle.
Living in an age where future mortals would call regular apples divine food.
"Also," I said, "give the order to your tribe. The king will be selected from the mortals who journey from Gaia's domain to the location of the city."
Bale nodded.
His head lowered more than usual.
We began walking back.
We hunted our way through a continent-sized forest instead of rushing.
There was no need to send the order directly. Bale's body functioned like a two-way interface for the same mind. His Life side could begin everything while his Death avatar remained here.
Ayin and Eli had already retreated to focus on their own journeys through their homelands.
Eli had even received permission to hunt down the tribes that brought her people to the brink of extinction before Eris ordered Ayin to save them. Eli was the child of the woman Ayin treated as the elven leader, the same woman who had sent Eli to train with Ayin during my early days in this forest.
Ayin had a different focus.
She wanted to find more hidden races like the fairies and remove them from Earth.
She understood what I did.
The future cycle would be the bloodiest for races that failed to suit the universe's standard.
Mortals would call this rescue a miracle.
For me, it was another chance to increase the supply we had been building from, instead of relying only on naturally forming gods.
Scene 3 — Apollo
"No. I'm not coming back for now."
Hermes sat at the table as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
"I'm still training, and this war is largely pointless. I only came because Artie asked me."
"Hermes," I said, refusing to back down, "it is not pointless. Dionysus may have misled us at first, but there is still logic in his stance. Tenebris and CuelJuris are threats."
Hermes only shook his head.
Then he vanished faster than any of us could react.
The chair remained empty.
Dionysus stared at the spot where he had been sitting.
"Seems like we're really losing now, Apollo."
For once, his face was grim.
"I might be a trickster, but losing Ares will harm our ability to handle both Ten and Adam unless one of us deals with him."
Good advice.
From Dionysus.
That alone proved how bad the situation was becoming.
"Dealing with Adam will be nearly impossible," I said. "And pointless unless we can find clues to his exact location. Using Fate will only lead us astray."
I placed both hands on the table.
"Instead of responding and attacking, we'll use this chance to consolidate our domains while Hebe organizes Ares's followers."
Dionysus watched me carefully.
"I will focus on grasping the Strength domain," I continued. "Ares can't be trusted to grasp it by himself anymore, and it will aid me in handling Ten's unnatural styles. If we can build a force worth discussing, then we can do more than lose pieces one at a time."
It was time to accept Rhea's offer.
We were not catching up like this.
I stood and began my journey to her temple.
I needed the forces and domain she promised me.
My own force.
One capable of contending for the Sky Seat.
Scene 4 — Ten
"Zeus."
I came to a halt.
The worst possible enemy stood inside Gaia's domain, wearing the skin of one of his gods.
The Minor God's body burned from the inside out to sustain the war-body. Lightning moved beneath the stolen flesh, cooking it slowly while Zeus used it as if it were no more than clothing.
"Bale," I said, keeping my eyes forward, "do your best to escape, please. Ares was cake compared to this."
Bale ran without hesitation.
Good.
"This is the first time we have spoken," Zeus said. "Yet you are already preparing for battle?"
Confusion touched his face.
I refused to ignore the simple fact that the siege in my youth had not needed his direct order to happen. His system had made it possible. His people had come for me. His acceptance had given them a place afterward.
"Spoken," I said. "You used the right word. I'll give you that."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I have no desire to work with you or under you. So take whatever offer you have and leave."
The only way out was full force or nothing.
My domain manifested behind me.
I commanded the dead races to open the void.
A crack began forming from their side, the Dark Sun burning behind me as the dead prepared to march if I called them.
Zeus frowned at the sun.
Then he focused on me again.
He raised one hand.
Lightning gathered above.
"One strike," he said. "Survive this, and I will grant you a rewa—"
"Grandson."
The earth rose between us.
Gaia emerged from the ground, standing directly in front of Zeus.
Rocks and tree roots covered her body in a rare balance. Not fully Earth. Not fully forest. Something older than both and more awake than she had any right to be.
"Do I need to destroy Olympus for you to understand you are not welcome here?"
Zeus smiled.
"If he accepts."
He looked past her and at me.
I immediately shook my head.
No.
Absolutely not.
I stepped farther behind Gaia.
I was not risking my head for whatever idea he had just produced.
"Nyx," Gaia said. "Come and get one of your children."
Hands grabbed my ankles.
A familiar sinking feeling hit me.
I looked down.
Deep violet eyes stared up from the shadow beneath me.
A smile formed.
Then I was dragged into the Dark Realm.
Gaia had sent me to my first teacher.
Scene 5 — Ten
"Do you have to be so rough every time?"
I rubbed my head as I stood in the center of the throne room.
Nyx and Erebus were playing another game Juris had created.
"No," Nyx said, laughing softly as she dropped her piece onto the board. "But then you would lose respect for the level you must reach before your real plans can even begin."
Erebus kept his eyes on the game.
"Then again, the boy is outperforming everyone in his generation."
One of his pieces pulsed with his divinity while he thought through his next move.
"Meanwhile, that lightning beast has played right into Gaia's hands. Planned or not, Zeus using a vessel the way he did against Juris revealed too much to ignore. This one does not even appear to be a separate vessel. Just a new skin suit covering him."
His mouth twisted.
"Truly despicable."
I took a seat beside Nyx.
"Juris mentioned our uncles almost coming to blows in the Sea," I said. "Zeus is trying his best to take the True Throne. Even going out of his way to take Gaia's seat feels pointless compared to replacing Uranus as Pantheon Leader."
Their realm shielded us from the eyes and ears of the other Primals.
So I used the chance to learn more about the higher board I was only helping shape.
"He wants the title of Creator God," Erebus said. "It is still one shell above us and could actually pressure us into becoming part of his kingdom. Something only Gaia and Chaos can claim through their domains."
He moved one piece forward.
"As for Uranus, that is pure stupidity at its finest. Chaos, like many pantheon creators, is not interested in leading lesser beings who feed directly into him. He is closer to an animal than a god or mortal mind."
Nyx hummed a soft tone.
It sounded like one of Abi's.
"So when it comes to actions outside the cycle," Erebus continued, "Uranus is usually the leading figure. That was true until Chronos usurped Fate. Since then, no one has truly bothered guiding the cycle alongside Chaos."
He looked at me.
"Once Chaos has seen enough of this timeline, he will likely wipe it fresh and start over around my generation, as usual. Chronos, Hades, and recently Poseidon are the only ones qualified to be given a choice in the future."
I did not speak.
"We can either attach ourselves to one of you if we see you as worth supporting," he said, "or stay behind and keep watching the timeline. That is why most of us retreat into our domains. Our children were either born into Earth or born outside it, like Uranus's children, who live in the conceptual plane."
Erebus leaned back.
"They are fine with a king who gives them room to operate. That is why my children have attached their domains to you. Through you, they gain access to operate within the world, and some even within the stars."
Nyx placed another piece.
"That is one of the perks of each generation of divine families," Erebus said. "The responsibilities are not as heavy or strict, so you offer us chances as elders to place our support behind the right candidates."
His eyes darkened.
"Or we face figures like Poseidon and Hades, who can and will take any piece on the table. We are not safe from being devoured either. As you have already seen."
I looked down at the board between them.
The game pieces had shifted while we spoke.
Only then did I realize I had not been invited here to recover.
I had been brought here to understand what came after victory.