Chapter 57: Subverting the World
"Fate can be twisted, but destiny must be obeyed."
A lazy voice echoed. Even the darkness of the eternal night couldn't obscure the goddess's enchanting gaze. She looked Tarun up and down, letting out a soft laugh.
"And you're trying to break destiny. Should I call you courageous, or naive?"
Tarun looked at the goddess before him warily, momentarily unsure how to respond.
Before traveling to Greece, he had occasionally heard that Nyx, the goddess of night, possessed a trio of deities:
Ananke, the goddess of inevitability; Adrasteia, the goddess of natural law; and Heimarmene, the goddess of cause and effect.
This suggests that destiny, chance, and the law of cause and effect are all manifestations of fate.
There's even a theory that Nyx gave birth to the three goddesses of fate because the fate created by Ananke, the goddess of destiny, needed to be sorted out, maintained, and woven.
Taren only filled the role of Fate, which wasn't related to destiny. Therefore, the three Fates couldn't be born, and thus couldn't influence Ananke.
However, Taren had interacted with Nyx for thousands of years before, and hadn't discovered these three deities. Therefore, he had no idea what form they took, or even if they truly existed.
But now, it seemed as if they were present within Nyx, like the multiple facets of a single deity, or perhaps a multifaceted entity.
As an ancient, primordial deity, Nyx herself was barely personified. She seemed uninterested in anything, representing only the tranquility of eternal night.
But Her Highness Ananke, upon her appearance, revealed distinct personality traits.
Her dark dress of eternal night enveloped her, yet her voluptuous and graceful figure remained visible even as she moved.
The goddess slowly approached Tarun, finally stopping at a perilous distance. She asked with interest:
"You have violated the rules of this world, and you have also violated my laws. How do you think I should punish you?"
The two were so close that Tarun felt as if she were practically touching him. He could even sense the warm, tranquil aura of eternal night, which made his scalp tingle.
He would not forget that this was an extremely powerful primordial deity. In some ways, she could even rival the God King Kronos.
"Goddess, you're joking." Tarun forced a smile. "I didn't mean to violate destiny. I was simply trying to protect myself."
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Ananke tilted his head slightly, his smile growing more pronounced. "I've seen everything you've done over the years."
"Why do you think Nyx has repeatedly helped you? Actually, you should thank me. It's because I'm very interested in you, and that's why Nyx has been keeping an eye on you."
With these words, many of Tarun's doubts were instantly clarified. He had always felt that Nyx treated him differently. The indifferent goddess, who clearly never questioned matters between gods, was exceptionally accommodating of his requests. She even made requests of him, which was essentially a form of attention. But...why was Ananke paying attention to him? As if sensing his confusion, Ananke chuckled softly, his voice filled with the joy of seeing something new and surprising:
"You are the only variable beyond the destiny. Of course I pay attention to you. In this entire world, only your fate is beyond my grasp, and only you can influence me."
"You seem unaffected by destiny. So, the moment I saw you, I knew you would bring many interesting changes to this world."
Tarun's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.
He probably knew why. Perhaps it was because his soul didn't belong to this world, and the original destiny of this world didn't include him, so he became the only unexpected event.
It was truly embarrassing. He had always thought his thoughts were discreet, his attempts unknown, yet this goddess had been watching him the entire time.
But he quickly calmed down, because Ananke showed no ill will. She didn't seem to be about to attack, but rather showed interest.
It was like finding a very novel toy.
After a moment of careful consideration, Tarun said, "I was offended. I just wanted to see what impact I could have on the destiny."
"Since you know I've offended..." Ananke tilted his head. "Then how will you compensate me?"
"What do you want?" Tarun, now calm, asked directly. "You're not here to talk nonsense with me."
"If you're here to punish me, there's no need to explain so clearly, beautiful goddess. Simply tell me what you wish to see."
"You're very clever, worthy of being the god I've watched for so long," Ananke said with a smile. "You're also very interesting. You're the only joy in this boring world."
She thought for a moment. Then he said, "Once upon a time, you invented the concept of gambling. You made a bet with a generation of God Kings, and ultimately, you won, usurping the priesthood of fate."
"Now, let's make a bet."
At these words, Tarun's heart instantly grew extremely alert, but he remained silent. He calmly asked, "What's the bet?"
"You want to know what you can achieve. To be honest, I want to know too."
"In that case, let's bet on whether you can overturn the destiny of this world. If you can, you win. If not, you lose."
Ananke slowly finished the bet that could overturn the entire Chaos. Her beautiful, alluring eyes remained fixed on Tarun, like a charming siren, alluring his mind.
"So, what's the bet?" Tarun wasn't tempted at all, instead focusing on the important question.
"If you lose, I want you to be my servant," Ananke said slowly, his tone thinly veiled in playful amusement. "I've been interested in you for a long time."
"What if I win?" Tarun asked.
"Then I'll be at your mercy," Ananke's voice remained seductive. "You can also make me your servant."
"A very fair bet." Tarun also smiled. "Excuse me, but influencing the variables is a blasphemy against your divine office, isn't it?"
"What's the point of everything being predetermined? It's as boring as this world," the beautiful goddess shrugged.
She paused, a momentary look of discontent in her eyes. "And this so-called destiny isn't set by me. I really don't like that; it makes me feel like a puppet."
"So, go over these damned destiny, or even overturn this boring world altogether, if you can."
"Of course, I'd be happy if you can't." The beautiful goddess winked and smiled.
"And remember the two conditions you owe Nyx. Don't try to renege on them; she's got them."
Tarun: "..."
Just as Tarun and Ananke were reaching their bet, the God King Kronos was also busy on the other side.
The six powerful Titans, inspired by the God King's alarmist rhetoric and the prophecies of the three goddesses of fate, were also fully resolved.
They could not allow a mysterious and dangerous being like Tarun to hang over their heads, much less would they allow their Titan power to be threatened.
They successfully reached a consensus and decided to act together against Tarun.
But problems soon arose, as they discovered that even the six Titans, plus Kronos, were unable to break the barrier.
It was a sturdy cage that Kronos had erected in a fit of rage, using the might of a Creator-level God King, to prevent anyone from approaching Tarun.
Later, Kronos was ambushed by Zeus and vomited up all the children he had devoured, greatly diminishing his power of law. Thus, facing the barrier he had erected in his prime, he himself became a part of the barrier.
However, in a sense, how could this not be considered a sign of the God King's strength? He had said that no gods were allowed to enter or leave, and now, except for Tarun, all the others were blocked.
In his rage, Kronos could only try various methods. This was a barrier erected by the God King, and only he could break it.
The other six Titans, unable to help, simply guarded the outer void, preventing any gods from approaching, hoping to mitigate Tarun's influence.
While they were desperately trying to conquer the Void, the Olympian gods were also busy.
Zeus approached Rhea and Metis and spoke seriously, "We must help His Highness Talon."
Rhea hesitated, a hint of worry in her eyes. "If we join a battle of this magnitude, it would be extremely dangerous."
Those were the six Titans, and their attention was focused on Talon. If Zeus were to rush over to support them, wouldn't that just draw hatred?
Perhaps Kronos would simply take the six Titans and destroy them.
Metis shook her head upon hearing this, saying in a calm yet serious voice, "We must take action, otherwise, it will be our turn sooner or later."
Facing Rhea's puzzled gaze, Metis patiently explained, "If they attack the void now, there are undoubtedly two possible outcomes."
"If we successfully break through the barrier and go after His Highness Talon, whether we can defeat him or not, they will not let us go, because in their eyes, we are part of His Highness's group."
"And if we fail to break through the barrier, they won't waste their time. Sooner or later, they will realize that His Highness Talon is on our side, and they might attack us, hoping to force His Highness Talon out."
After listening to Metis' explanation, Rhea finally realized the seriousness of the situation. Zeus sighed and said, "I haven't given it much thought. I just think this is a great opportunity."
Seeing the two beautiful goddesses... Looking over, Zeus expressed his thoughts: "His Highness Talon holds far greater weight in the Titans' hearts than we do."
"If we help His Highness Talon now, perhaps some Titans who were originally reluctant to support us will decide to help him out of his favor. Or, more accurately, they will help him."
"That way, we'll be completely bound to His Highness Talon. In the eyes of the gods, we'll be the one favored by fate, and we'll reap even greater benefits."
"Furthermore, as wise Metis said, we're inherently challengers against the God King. What we need to do is show everyone that we're not afraid of him and are capable of standing up to him."
"In that case, now is a prime opportunity to help His Highness Talon."
Hearing both of them say this, Rhea nodded, though still worried.
After all, she was one of the Twelve Titans and had never been one to hesitate. Once she'd decided to help, she thought quickly.
"We can't go there rashly. We can use this as an excuse to visit the other Titans."
Rhea said carefully, "Including the God King Kronos, there are seven Titans now. I think the remaining Titans who haven't taken action are not that hostile to His Highness Talon."
"This is indeed a good excuse. Convincing them to help Talon is actually convincing them to help us."
Zeus nodded approvingly and said, "I'll leave this matter to you, Mother Goddess. I will head to the Void now to stop their continued destruction."
"Are you going alone?" Rhea said anxiously. "We can definitely convince the other Titans before taking action."
"No, Of course, I'm not alone." Zeus smiled. "I'll take Poseidon and the others with me. This period of rest has restored much of their strength, and it's time for them to stretch their muscles."
Seeing Rhea still trying to persuade her, the wise Metis spoke softly, "Respected Goddess of Time, this must be done."
"Only if we demonstrate sufficient strength—not necessarily excessive, but at least not vulnerable to a single blow—will the Titans be willing to support us. Otherwise, even for His Highness Taron's sake, they won't fight those seven powerful Titans."
"Don't worry. We have the advantage in the void," Metis said, giving Zeus a meaningful look.
Rhea was about to ask what advantage, but seeing Metis's gaze, she suddenly understood.
Yes, as long as those guys can't break through the barrier, they can simply ask Taron to pull them in if they're overwhelmed.
This is like having a safe zone.
Thinking of this, Rhea couldn't help but smile. "Your Majesty the God King is truly thoughtful."
After thinking it through, she stopped talking and turned to leave, visiting the remaining Titans who hadn't participated in the battle.
Zeus wasn't idle either. He immediately called the Olympians and headed straight for the void.
He didn't explain who Taren was or how important he was, simply saying he wanted to give the God King a show of force, announcing their existence to the world.
This was Zeus's little calculation.
Zeus didn't want too many people to know about Taren. He didn't want to be like Kronos, who, after becoming God King, found himself being listened to by Taren instead of himself.
Currently, the world's third-generation gods are largely unaware of Taren's existence, which is a good thing. As for the second-generation gods who knew about Taren, they would undoubtedly no longer be the mainstream.
This way, the number of gods who knew about Taren would be even smaller.
Zeus, not yet king of the gods, was already considering how to mitigate Talon's influence.
Compared to the first god king, Uranus, who ignored Talon's arrogance, and the second god king, Kronos, who cautiously eliminated him, Zeus chose to marginalize him.
Clearly, having learned from the experiences of his ancestors, the young Zeus was already taking precautions.