"Time flows strangely," Zeus said. "Days seem to stretch as if they would never end, only for the nights to suddenly darken the sky and force you to sleep."
"That's because you spend your days sleeping, Zeus. Your daydreams are legendary. I am starting to believe that you are Hypnos' child," Gaia answered with a smirk, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she watched him with an amused twinkle in her ancient eyes, while knitting or sewing something. Zeus wasn't quite sure.
Five years had passed since being 'born/reborn', and Zeus had used his time well. He had not allowed himself to 'be' a child and instead focused on training. Gaia had been with him, taking care of him and watching over him, almost the entire time.
Zeus chuckled. "Oh, I doubt that. I'm too noisy to be his offspring. Besides, I'm not really sleeping anyway."
"Then what are you doing?" she asked, raising a brow.
"Training," he said simply, looking up at the clouds. "The sky talks to me. The wind hums with memory from places far away, telling me interesting stories. The electric energy inside the clouds makes my hair stand up. Every time I close my eyes, I start to see more and feel more. The world is teaching me."
Gaia's knitting slowed.
"Is that so? Interesting. I didn't know you were training. I thought you would tell me something as important as that," she said with a sharp tone.
Her eyes had a dangerous glint in them. Zeus blinked, seeing it, and then smiled apologetically, scratching his head.
"I uh... wasn't trying to keep it secret. It just felt... instinctive. Natural. Like breathing, you know. I didn't realise it was something I should explain," Zeus chuckled, trying to hide his nervousness.
Gaia's hands rested on her lap. Her knitting forgotten for now as she looked into Zeus's eyes. When her eyes met his, he felt his throat tighten and sweat begin to pour out.
Her smile looked calm, soft even, but the intent behind it made his skin prickle. There was heat in that gaze, not just of chastisement, but of hunger, raw, simmering, restrained only by her ancient discipline. Her fingers flexed slightly, as if resisting some ancient impulse.
Zeus had never seen something like that in his previous life. If he had bothered to watch anime or read manga, he would recognise that. All he knew was that the stupid Essence of the Ultimate Chad was a curse for him at this stage. He wanted to flee from there.
"Instincts," she said at last, her voice silken and low, "are potent in gods. And yours are... especially strong."
Zeus felt a bead of sweat trail down the back of his neck as his eyes tried to look for an escape route. Her voice wasn't just warm, it was maternal with a twisted undertone, a kind of fierce possessiveness. The sort of anger only a mother could carry: not wrathful, but disappointed... and hungry.
He gulped and felt his body shudder under the very few fabrics covering only the most important parts of his body.
"Th--aaat's why I listen. Yes, yes, I listen," he said quickly, almost too quickly. "To the world, to the wind... and to you, of course. So, I- uhh... need to go now. There is something I want to try and, well... yeah..."
Zeus turned away, pulse quickening. "I'll see you... later then, maybe tomorrow. I have quite a few things I want to try and see until--"
"We will eat soon. Don't be late."
"... alright."
.
As soon as he was alone, Zeus let out a long, strained breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Primordials, she's terrifying..." he muttered. "Curse her looks, my looks and these hormones."
But there was no time to dwell. Training was calling to him, literally. He hadn't lied when he told Gaia that he trained his senses. The sky called out to him; it pulsed with electricity, welcoming him. Lightning sparked above the treetops as a thunderstorm was rolling in. Zeus felt thunder in the distance like a drumbeat urging him. It was time to move forward in his training.
He started that day's training, as he had each morning since he was three years old. Even at five, his divine body, while small, moved with speed and ease. He sprinted across stone ridges barefoot, faster than deer. He jumped from boulder to boulder, using a new move he had come up with: microbursts of static beneath his feet to boost his leaps. He had hurt himself in the beginning, which thankfully healed right away. Gaia and the Nymphs would have been all over him if they had known.
Each step left behind faint arcs of fading blue. After reaching the top of the mountain, the focus exercise started. He sat down in a meditative position.
Zeus raised his hands and reached out to the clouds, not with his hand, but with his will. As Zeus, he had dominion over lightning and the sky for now, which meant that training in those aspects came easily to him. The air prickled his skin as he summoned lightning sparks between his palms, coaxing the atmosphere like a lover or a loyal subordinate into responding.
*Lightning SFX*
A small bolt leapt between his fingers. Zeus grinned.
"Again."
Each attempt became better and easier for him. Zeus went further and tried to have the lightning change direction slightly, making it bend, coil, and move in circles. But he went further. He shaped it into orbs, threads, and arcs. The sky was his teacher but also his willing subordinate, and the feedback was instant. When he succeeded, the clouds seemed to purr in delight. When he failed, thunder was heard. It took a while for Zeus to realise that it was merely responding to his emotions.
Zeus continued to push himself and his control over lightning further. He altered the shape of the lightning ball, aiming to make its surface smoother, despite its volatile nature. In the end, he realised that there was only his own imagination stopping him from making progress. No one was there to tell him what was 'wrong' or how to do it 'right'. So he came up with his own approach.
This was good for him, since using his divinity to hurl around lightning bolts would have been easy and crude. But controlling an element as powerful as lightning and making it bend to your will was not as easy. Thankfully, Zeus was immensely talented in all things concerning fighting. Fate loved him, in more ways than one, so he made tremendous progress.
.
After hours of playing around, Zeus went on to train his physical body and other attributes. He trained his reflexes, using his aura to heighten his speed, dodging between tree branches at impossible angles, running up Mount Ida's walls before gravity pulled him down, and he had to climb the rest. Every time he did that, he grew stronger, more dextrous and faster. But he didn't simply do this to become the brawn and no-brain type of Zeus. He was different.
More than strength, Zeus trained his understanding. The principles of electrical charge, flow, and resistance came to him now. He was not just calling lightning; he was becoming one with the law itself, increasing his understanding further and making it easier for him to use it. That's why his initial two years of simply 'feeling' lightning and the sky were so beneficial for him.
Hours passed with Zeus running around, up and down Mount Ida. His body glowed faintly with a light blue electric sheen, and small lightning bursts were seen from his eyes. Even at five years old, the Essence of the Ultimate Chad meant he looked like a young, manly walking wet dream, no matter in what state he was in.
By the time the sun began to set, Zeus stood at the top of the mountain, his hands lifted to the storm, calling it to him with authority. He was the god of lightning and the sky. So naturally, the sky answered.
One bolt shot from the sky and hit Zeus.
The power of the natural lightning was impressive for Zeus, and it hurled him to his back. A second later, he opened his eyes, which crackled with blue lightning and a big smile was seen on his face. He stood back up and repeated the process.
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
Instead of one, this time two bolts of lightning fell from the sky and hit him.
Zeus didn't stop. Three, four... then five.
Each one struck his body, and he took them in stride, laughing as he felt their raw power dance along his nerves and make his muscles contract. This was only the beginning, Zeus told himself. This was nothing. He still had years to grow before the world would tremble at his name. Years before, he would grow to become the most powerful and surpass his grandfather.
The sky responded to Zeus' excitement, and the storm grew more intense and powerful. The five lightning strikes, combined into one, hit Zeus with five times the potency. The maniacal laughter was cut short as the lightning hit. The energy contained passed through Zeus' body and into all his cells. He started to spam as his nerves sent electrical energy to his muscles. This made Zeus angry all of a sudden.
He was angry at himself for having allowed this to happen. Not because it hurt, that was just part of his growth, but because he had momentarily lost control, and it showed that he was still 'relatively' weak. That was unacceptable. He was Zeus now and... He suddenly stopped. He realised that his pride was hurt, which made him angry. It wasn't that his ego was hurt as much as he was still weak, so the lack of strength hurt him more than anything. It seemed that he was truly Zeus now. He would also need to work on reigning in his emotions and not acting irrationally. Nevertheless, he was the storm. And as the storm, he needed to grow more powerful and not stumble.
With a growl, he forced himself to his feet, steam rising from him as the last of the powerful electrical charge and energy crackled off his skin. His breath was heavy but even, eyes glowing with renewed determination.
"Again," he snarled into the sky.
And the heavens, answering the young god, struck once more. This time, Zeus didn't brace or flinch. He opened his arms wide, chest bared to the sky, and welcomed the natural lightning.
The bolt struck. It wasn't just light and heat; it was an experience for him. Each time he was hit, he learned more about himself, his divinities and the law of lightning and electricity. The moment it hit, Zeus' mind burst open with a series of new ideas. His nerves carried not just pain and electricity, but inspiration, if you will.
He understood how to condense lightning further without losing power, and instead make it more pure and more energetic. He realised how the electrical charges behaved and how he could replicate that. How to channel energy through his body like a circuit and either redistribute it for control or enhance it with his divine energy. How to move the charges in the air, manipulate polarity, and, in the future, form temporary electromagnetic fields.
When the crackling ceased and the glow faded, Zeus was kneeling in thought. He rose slowly, a new idea already forming behind his eyes. He was a god, so normal physics shouldn't apply to him, or at least, his divine energy should allow for some 'bending' of the rules of physics, he thought. He called down lightning again.
As the lightning hit his body, Zeus closed his eyes and focused on the task he had set out to do. He willed his body, all of his cells to absorb the energy which was released through the powerful lightning. He felt it working, but then the remaining energy still burst out and caused him to bloat slightly, bursting his blood vessels and skin.
"Urghhh... that needs more work..."
.
When Zeus finally made his way back to the cave where the food had been waiting for him and had since grown cold, he couldn't hope to imagine that the training he had put himself through would be nothing compared to Gaia's wrath.
"So you finally decided to show up?"
*gulp*
"Grandmo--"
"Silence! Where have you been? And... is that blood??"
"..."
"..."
"I can explain..."
Famous last words.