"Some god stole from the thief… damn it!!!" Zeus screamed at the heavens, on the verge of exploding. Lightning surged from his body as his spirit scanned all birds within reach.
Then he swore he would kill every bird he saw.
Until he wiped them all out!
"Fuck you, Zeus! You Old bastard!" Strangely, he detected a thunder god among them.
A cowardly god who had fled from battle.
Worthy of death!
Lightning rained down upon them like an apocalyptic wave.
He would kill them all and then destroy this damned world!
Silence.
At that moment, however, instead of satisfaction, Zeus could only grow more furious.
The feeling of humiliation swelled in his chest.
His lightning bolts didn't fall as he wished.
They froze in the air.
Time stopped—or at least, it seemed to.
"You know, I pity you." A new voice emerged. In front of Zeus, an old man stared at him, his face marked by the wisdom of ages. In his eyes, there were infinite realities and boundless knowledge.
He was an immortal like Zeus.
A god like Zeus.
But he came before.
An entity so ancient he had witnessed the dawn of the cosmos.
He was the one who created the first Heaven of the first world.
He was the one Baal called Heaven.
A title only one being had the right to bear.
The god of Heaven—of all Heavens—Ouranos!
"Watch your words when speaking to your king, Ouranos. I'm known for my wisdom and power, not my patience," Zeus said defiantly, sparks still dancing in his eyes.
"Oh, I'm so scared," said Ouranos dryly, emotionless.
"After all, natural lightning is the ultimate weapon against gods, isn't it?" He walked through the clouds, observing a bolt of natural lightning descending from the heavens.
The lightning appeared frozen in time.
But it never was.
The two were simply too fast for it.
And as for power…
BZZZ BZZZ CRACK
Ouranos reached out, grabbed one of the bolts, snapped it like a tree branch, and began playing with it.
"You know something?" he said mysteriously.
"I've never understood this obsession with lightning. Maybe you can enlighten me today, you being one of the gods of wisdom. What should I do with this?" He twisted and bent the lightning like playdough.
"It's not sharp, not hard, and pretty slow as you can see—and the explosion is mediocre at best. Should I eat it? Maybe it goes well in a soup."
"Of course it's mediocre," Zeus scoffed. "That's natural lightning. It was made to kill mortals, not gods." He spoke with disdain.
Whether the disdain was directed at Ouranos or at himself, no one could say.
"Ah yes, natural lightning." Ouranos's expression lit up as he pointed toward Orario, at the center of the world.
"Head that way and look for a guy named John. He knows a thing or two about natural lightning. You might learn a few lessons from him. His lightning, at least, causes a tingle. And yours?" He laughed and tossed the bolt aside.
"That's the second time you've insulted me, Ouranos. There won't be a third," Zeus growled with growing rage.
A god like him, learn something from mortals?!
Mortals used weak and cheap magic, and they were supposed to teach a god who wielded infinitely superior methods?!
"Or what?" Ouranos teleported right in front of Zeus, mere inches separating them.
"I HAD ENO—" Zeus roared in fury, summoning his lightning powers, and then—
SLAP!
Ouranos struck him across the face with the back of his hand.
"You were about to say what, exactly?"Zeus stood stunned for a few moments, a red mark glaring on his cheek.
His rage surged to levels never seen before!
SLAP!
"I didn't like your expression," Ouranos said, hitting him again—this time with his open palm, a satisfied smile crossing his face.
SLAP!
"Oh Zeus, how I've waited for this." Before Zeus could get angry again, another slap landed across his face.
"How many millennia I've waited to knock some sense into that ego-filled head of yours." He kept laughing.
Realizing the situation wasn't improving, Zeus tried to flee—but that's when he noticed a mistake.
"And you're not going anywhere without a good talk with me." This world belonged to Ouranos, and if Ouranos didn't want him to leave, Zeus simply couldn't.
And in that instant, Ouranos was far more powerful than Zeus.
It was another trap set by that damned bird!
"You know, Zeus, all of Olympus was dying for this moment," Ouranos said, full of joy.
"Everyone wanted to see the tyrant fall from his throne. They just didn't think it would be so soon. You see… no slave ever truly believes they'll be free. But now we are."He kept laughing.
"King of the gods—what a magnificent title, isn't it? You said you were my king, Zeus, but now, without your lightning… who are you?" Zeus had a dark expression, clearly plotting how to escape this.
"You don't even need to answer, to be honest. I'll give you the answer," Ouranos added.
"A low-grade, common bully—that's all you are, Zeus. That's all you've ever been and all you are now. At least before you had the glory of having trampled on gods even far beneath you."
"No god had as much power as you, no one was comparable to you! But now?"
"You're out here trying to kill every little bird you see, because you were scared of it. Could anything be more pathetic?"
"Watch your tongue, Ouranos! I will reclaim what is mine and punish all those who dared to look down on me!" Zeus kept roaring and Ouranos kept laughing at him.
"You know what's even better? You're only one side of a three-part story, and the only one who's truly suffering." He laughed, recalling the story that happened in in the divine realm.
He had been watching everything quite closely.
"Thor lost his powers too!" Zeus said, trying to assert himself. "And the bird died!" Ouranos merely nodded in agreement.
"Thor lost his hammer, and yes, he's very upset right now. But so what? He simply went back to the tavern he was in before the fight and is now whining over his beer like he always does."
"Other gods even joined him to drink. No one slapped him in the face like some stray dog." Ouranos laughed as he gazed upon Thor in the divine realm with his spirit.
"He didn't make great enemies. Gods usually don't have true enemies — unlike you."
"Power, to him, was just a safeguard, a kind of security. And even without his hammer, he's still content with his beer." He then projected an image of the bird stealing the lightning bolt and crashing into his world.
"The bird stole the bolt and fell here. His authority over concealment disrupts all searches and more, so it muddles things."
"But it's certain that he died. But how did he die? Like a hero!" He opened more projections, showing the gods celebrating when the bird robbed Zeus.
"We all looked like we'd sucked on lemons before the final fight. Your victory seemed certain, and the tyrant was about to become an even worse tyrant."
"And Even worse! You were going to exterminate trillions of mortals and millions of gods with that last attack!"
"Then, a savior appeared, ending your reign of terror and even offering others the chance for revenge! There are a lot of people waiting for you at home, Zeus — and they're quite eager." He laughed even harder as he looked at Zeus's red face.
"Enemies? So that's all I have then," Zeus scoffed again. "They're just flies drawn to me out of envy for who I am! I've dealt with plenty of them before and I'll deal with many more.
"the path of a true ruler is paved with the bodies of his opponents. I've already proven I'm the strongest once, and I can do it again!" Ouranos sighed.
"You didn't attract enemies — you created them." Ouranos turned his back on Zeus, weary of his stubbornness.
The bird was literally an enemy created by Zeus and the others didn't have very different stories.
"You can replace your avatar in this world, you even already have a granddaughter here… Follow the rules, and you can reside here with your true self. "
"I recommend gathering the bird's feathers and hiding from the gods. And, As you might've figured by now, this world is one of the refugee worlds I created — for gods like you."
"But of course…" he chuckled.
"Worlds like this only exist above gold mines. There's no charity in this world — only exchanges. You'll soon understand why so many powerful gods are interested in this place, and why we have so many refugees." He waved goodbye.
"Farewell, Zeus. I wish you a good adventure."With a wave of his hand, the lightning bolts disappeared and the skies cleared — Zeus disappeared, as did Ouranos.
Only Baal remained with a victorious smile.
"LOOSSSER!!!!" He was a winner.
[End of Part One: Thief of Gods]