Zeus stated the core issue: "The God-King is a foundational law of the world; he can never be destroyed. My Division can only separate out the laws he devoured later."
"As for the God-King's own laws, I tried—I couldn't move them in the slightest. Moreover, laws cannot be destroyed. Father is the world's foundation; if he were destroyed, the world itself would even collapse."
When Zeus finished, the gods looked at each other in silence.
They had not considered destruction—that was nearly impossible.
But how to deal with him—that was indeed the greatest problem. Defeating a god was easy, but destroying a law-god was far too difficult.
Especially since, once a law-god abandons the body and the spirit returns to the essence of the world's laws—returns to the formless and imageless—then no one can do anything.
Aside from the sovereign of spirit, the embodiment of the sky, whoever wishes to eradicate a law-god completely finds it no easy task.
In other words, it is almost impossible.
At this moment, the always-silent Hades spoke: "Then there is only one way." His voice was low and calm, carrying a peculiar, icy indifference.
"Imprison Father's spirit within his divine body, and cast the body into Tartarus—just like the six giants."
Hades's proposal was cruel, but it was the only feasible method for now.
All the gods nodded. It was a good idea—difficult, but at least a direction.
But how could they imprison the spirit within the divine body?
They all turned their gaze to Mother Rhea.
Rhea, of course, understood their intent. She did not mind consigning Kronos to Tartarus. At this point, it was a fight to the death; there was no third path.
Choose the children or choose the husband—this was no longer a question.
She shook her head lightly and said, "I cannot do it alone. We will also need the Lady of Night's help."
"And if we wish to restrain the God-King, we can only do it when he has no power to resist whatsoever."
"When he has no power to resist, the Lady of Night and I will strike together. I will cut off all of his movement, and the Lady of Night will sever all his links to the world."
"Then we take the opportunity to cast him into Tartarus. The chains are under the Night's control—by then it won't matter if he recovers."
"So long as no god lends aid, no one can escape Tartarus."
"To achieve this will be extremely difficult. Not only must we defeat him, we must also leave him with no ability to resist, and act before he slips free of his body."
All the gods knit their brows—only Zeus nodded slightly.
He smiled and said, "It's fine if the method is difficult, so long as there is a method."
"So long as Father still wants to be the God-King, he will not lightly abandon his body. As long as we don't make him feel total despair, he won't give it up at the first moment."
"We will have one chance—but only one. We must be absolutely certain before we act."
Zeus looked around at the gods and said solemnly, "The gods should already know what has happened. First, hide yourselves well, familiarize yourselves with your power, and build up divine energy. I will go seek the help of the other gods."
Mother Rhea volunteered: "Zeus, I will go with you. That might be better."
Zeus pondered briefly, then nodded, and the other gods also nodded in agreement.
The gods were not the dithering sort. Once the matter was decided, each went to their task.
The first stop, naturally, was Oceanus.
This eldest of the Titans was formidable, with great influence, and—rarely—good-tempered. Many Titans respected this god who circled the world; his prestige was immense.
Better still, he and his wife were sworn enemies of Kronos. That was excellent.
And this success owed a crucial debt to the help of Metis, daughter of the ocean. Now that the deed was done, in both sentiment and reason they ought to visit the sea god first.
If they could gain Oceanus's support, that would mean three of the Twelve Titans already stood with them.
Add to that the near-certainty of the Earth Mother and the Lady of Night, and, openly, they could already wrestle with Kronos.
Moreover, Oceanus could not possibly be unaware of Metis's help. So long as it happened within the ocean current, nothing could be hidden from that couple.
Since they knew and did not stop it, that already expressed their stance.
By now Zeus had made his name by treading on the God-King, tearing away the mask of invincibility.
With the pieces on the board now plainly set and war imminent, the sea god ought to make the correct choice.
This earth-shaking event had already spread across the entire universe. There was no god who did not know; one could say it was known everywhere.
The supreme, towering Mount Othrys had collapsed by half, and the whole world had trembled, that crashing roar like the universe's own lament.
What followed—those loud cries, that swaggering laughter—carried the victor's wildness, reaching clearly the ear of every god.
Then came the God-King's furious bellow, shaking heaven and earth.
Though the great gods did not yet know the details, they knew what had happened.
For the first time in countless years, a god had stepped forth to oppose the God-King.
He had grievously wounded the God-King—and escaped successfully.
All the gods understood that a war none could stand apart from was about to begin.
This would be the final battle over the future course of the universe.
Would a new era arrive—or would the old continue?
Amid these changes, where should each god go?
For a time, a great many gods were beset with complex thoughts and storm-tossed hearts.
They gathered all their focus, held their breath, and watched for whatever might come next.
They waited for the storm that would sweep across the cosmos to finally descend.
Zeus and Rhea headed straight for Oceanus's divine palace.
As long as they could see Oceanus, they could, of course, find Metis.
But to Zeus's great surprise, when he came to the ocean current this time, he received an exceptionally warm welcome.
Many daughters of the ocean were very enthusiastic—even more so than those he had met before.
He felt moved: the daughters of the ocean were truly full of ardor. Having helped their father vent his anger, they were all so proactive and warm—each one a passionate good girl.
Zeus did not yet know that, aside from the reason of helping Oceanus vent his anger, there was another important reason: the flower crown Metis received made them intensely jealous.
Nowadays, male gods like Zeus were far too few.
Strong and handsome, with a good temperament, and so generous—giving gifts that were literally the only one of their kind in the world! Truly a rare species among the gods.
The daughters of the ocean were already exuberant by nature, open and unrestrained—so, naturally, even more proactive.
The instant Zeus and Rhea stepped into the ocean current, Oceanus and Tethys already knew of their arrival.
They personally came to greet Zeus and Rhea, making their own stance very clear.
The God-King Kronos was no friend to the ocean.
But Kronos's son—Zeus—was.
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