After Rhea infused her divinity into the orb, it began to glow with a faint red light—a signal to Aetherion that the time had come, that the birth was near, and the plan could now commence.
The orb had been crafted by Metis during her time with them, designed specifically to alert Aetherion to the exact moment when Rhea was ready, but also as a tracker to know where she is.
Rhea, being a deity, had a general sense of when she would give birth—such things came naturally to divine beings—but the precise moment was more difficult to predict.
Now, with the orb glowing, she knew it was time.
She turned to her handmaidens—her friends, companions, and trusted allies—and spoke with urgency.
"It is time to leave. We must hurry and deliver the child before Kronos senses anything!"
The others nodded in unison, their expressions tense but resolute.
Without waiting, Rhea raised her hand and opened a portal with her divine energy.
It led to a dense forest filled with towering trees, their canopies thick enough to hide them from the sun's gaze.
That was especially important now, considering it was Hyperion who rode the chariot of the sun across the sky.
Any light could expose them.
But in this moment, they were fortunate.
Night had fallen, and the moon had risen—Aetherion's domain.
That alone brought a measure of comfort and security.
Rhea glanced once more at her companions.
"Follow me. Let's leave before it's too late."
With that, she stepped through the portal.
The other three exchanged brief, solemn looks before following her into the shadowed forest.
All of them bore expressions tight with tension and determination.
The plan had begun.
***
On the highest peak of Mount Othrys, within the grand throne room of the King of the Cosmos, sat Kronos—the Titan King—upon a seat carved from frozen moments, its shape ever-shifting, impossible to look at directly.
The air itself trembled around him.
Every breath he took echoed through the very veins of the mountain palace.
But on his face, there was only frustration—and in his eyes, madness.
'Where is he?'
Kronos thought bitterly.
'Why haven't I found him yet?'
He had searched the whole earth.
Even space damn it!
He had torn through the fabric of time, using his dominion to peer into the future—desperately scanning for any moment where the boy might appear.
But still, nothing.
His son, Aetherion, had vanished—erased from the world, as if he had never existed.
And that terrified Kronos more than anything.
Because of the prophecy.
Because of the child foretold to be his undoing.
He couldn't allow it!
He wouldn't allow it!
He had already consumed his other children—every last one.
He had sacrificed everything to stop this fate.
And now his wife, Rhea, was due to give birth again.
But he didn't care about that.
Not really.
Not anymore.
The prophecy never revealed which child would bring about his downfall.
It did not say when the child would be born, or which of them it would be.
Kronos didn't even know how many children he was destined to have—only that one, or perhaps all of them, could be his undoing.
But in his mind, he had already made his decision.
It could only be Aetherion.
He refused to believe any of the others posed a true threat.
Perhaps they might become dangerous in the future, once they were grown—but even then, none compared.
Because only one child had managed to escape him at the very moment of his birth.
Only one had shown the will, the power, and the cunning from the very beginning.
To Kronos, Aetherion was the child of prophecy—the one destined to end him.
And that made him obsessed with him.
Haunted by the shadow of his own downfall.
"I must find him. He has to exist somewhere. The twelve great Titans themselves have found nothing—how?!"
His fingers curled tighter around the Scythe of Doom, his divine weapon, and the throne beneath him rippled in response to his fury.
And then—
BOOM!
The massive doors to the throne room burst open.
A Titan and a young god ran inside, panic etched into their faces.
"My king! My king, you must listen!"
they cried in unison, not daring to meet his gaze.
"Silence,"
Kronos said coldly, his voice like ice sliding down the spine.
The air froze.
His two piecing-golden eyes locked onto them—indifferent, yet simmering with wrath.
Immediately, both of them dropped to their knees, bowing low to the ground, trembling.
"This is urgent, my king,"
one said cautiously.
"Yes, something has happened, we must inform—"
"I did not give you permission to speak yet,"
Kronos snapped, still seated on his throne.
The two exchanged a fearful glance.
They hadn't thought this through.
They had acted on panic—now, before him, they realized the weight of their mistake.
Especially as their eyes flickered to the Scatterer—its edge already glowing.
"Speak,"
Kronos said finally.
His voice dropped even lower, but every word carried the weight of divine fury.
"Now."
The first stammered,
"It's… It's—"
The second found his courage first and blurted,
"My king, Lady Rhea has disappeared from Mount Othrys. She is… gone!"
A heavy silence fell across the chamber.
"What did you say?"
Kronos whispered, his tone dangerously quiet.
Neither dared raise their head.
"Y-Yes," the first continued. "She vanished. We don't know when exactly, but she took three of her handmaidens and escaped the mountain… without a trace."
Silence again.
And then—swish—
The Scatterer moved.
The two barely had time to gasp before their heads fell to the marble floor.
Their bodies began to disintegrate into divine particles—erased from existence, as though they had never been.
And then the mountain roared.
"RHEA!!!"
His voice thundered through the peak, down the slopes, across the land and sea.
Every deity, every divine beast, every nymph, dryad, and lesser god heard it.
The King of the Cosmos was furious.
And an angry king… was a terrifying king.
Across the world, deities scattered into hiding.
None wished to be caught in his storm.
None dared to be seen.
Kronos rose from his throne, his entire form glowing with fury.
"I will find you, wretched woman," he growled. "And when I do…"
With a flash of golden light, he vanished.
And in the silence he left behind, the empty throne room whispered with his final words.
"I will make you suffer."