In the city, Samuel and Mary never truly knew what happened on that road. Only that the attacks stopped. For now.
The world went on, unaware of the microscopic correction in the universe's script.
I walked back into the night, feeling something rare growing inside me.
Not power.
Responsibility.
The next universe didn't need a glorious Zeus.
It needed one who finally learned to stop breaking everything just because he could.
That night, I got to know Mary better. Samuel was already treating me like one of them.
"Hello, you're Samuel's daughter, right?" I showed my best smile. "Sorry for the compliment, but you're beautiful."
"Thanks—and you're quite handsome yourself," she replied, flirting back. "What does a man who clearly isn't even forty have a son who looks twenty-seven?"
She meant the vampire. Smart and beautiful—fishing for answers.
"I became a father young. Thirteen," I said with a fake sad look. "My father was an asshole. My mother tried, but failed miserably. She left me with a maid who… let's just say she liked boys."
Mary grimaced in disgust.
Something twisted in my gut. Damn it. You're still there, aren't you? I'm sorry for that mistake. One day I'll free you—just not now. If you're the original, I'll be destroyed, and so will this universe.
"Got it. So how are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Like a father who failed his son and had to kill him," I replied, sad and false.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, looking down.
I laughed. "Don't worry. I've been preparing for that for three years. But tell me about you."
I grabbed a bottle of vodka and took a shot. She understood I was pushing the sadness away and drank with me.
She told me her story. We talked all night.
At dawn, we were embracing and kissing. Slowly, I kissed her neck, and she gave herself to me. Clothes came off. Bodies tangled. Fast and slow movements blended with memories—mine and my avatar's.
I made Mary cry out in pleasure all night. And finally, after two hours, I planted my seed in her womb.
Dean would be special too—not just Sam. Mary would have two truly powerful sons. But I wouldn't make him a demigod.
No. That would be too dangerous.
I limited the power in the seed. It wouldn't be a direct child of mine—more like a descendant. Part God. Enough to be like Sam. A stronger, more useful Dean.
___
I looked at Mary lying beside me, stroked her forehead. She was sweaty and exhausted—but still beautiful.
I wanted to leave. I didn't want to leave.
Something in me claimed her as mine.
Maybe it was my past self—Zeus, lord of the skies, the true one.
But I knew I couldn't stay. I couldn't grow attached. She was human. I was a god. She was the mother of the protagonists, and I couldn't destroy the narrative like that.
I sighed and altered everyone's memories. Made it seem that after that night, I killed myself and left a letter saying I wanted to be with my son.
—
"You're just going to leave her?" Artemis asked as she walked beside me. "You seemed to like her. I thought…"
"That I could become a better god?" I said, looking into Artemis's eyes. I grabbed her chin—not hard enough to hurt, not soft enough to let her pull away. "Look at me, daughter. I never changed, and I won't. I am Zeus. Just because I developed a bit of conscience doesn't mean I'll become my brother Hades."
"I understand… sorry," Artemis said, accepting my grip and looking away.
"Come on."
She didn't notice, but when I held her face, I gave her a bit of power. A blessing that lets a mortal access a god's domain.
But she was already divine.
I saw her touch the domain of the moon and felt Selene writhe and resist.
No.
I shook my head. Selene was resisting only in soul. She had been dead for a long time. The original died. What remained was an avatar—not nearly powerful enough to claim the domain.
Thank you, God, for messing up this world. If you hadn't, I'd have a divine-level problem right now.
—
Years passed.
Dean came back to the past. I felt it—many felt it. Mary met John.
I sat in a bar, drowning my frustration at having "lost" to a mere human.
"Who are you?" I looked up and saw something that made me smile. "Why are you disguised as a god? You should be sleeping, primordial…"
"Gabriel… Gabriel," I said, looking at him and feeling his fear and anger rise. "I'm not looking for conflict."
"I doubt it. You primordials always seek conflict—ever since the war, when you abandoned your duties," Gabriel snarled, pointing a blade at me. "Because of that, angels had to take on roles that weren't ours. And everything went to shit."
"Shouldn't your father be enough to fix things?" I asked sarcastically. Chuck couldn't even fix himself. "Yet you blame the primordials. You even dress like our descendants."
"It's not my fault your descendants have the freedom and life I always dreamed of," he said with hatred.
I looked around. Some deities were guarding the area. None were Loki's sons.
"I see you found a new family. It'd be a shame if Heaven found out," I threatened, narrowing my eyes.
"Don't you dare," Gabriel growled. "If you do anything to them—even calling Heaven—I'll kill you. Remember: even with infinite power through domains, you weren't born to wage war like we were."
His eyes glowed.
He was right. Primordials were made to rule. Archangels were made to fight and defend. In theory, they were stronger in offense and defense, even without infinite power.
"Then don't make a scene and don't draw attention," I said calmly, tossing him a glass. "Drink. Let's talk."
We talked for hours. I made sure Artemis was away—she couldn't hear Gabriel thinking I was a primordial.
Primordials must be forgotten. No deity, angel, demon, monster, or human can remember them.
After a lot of drinking, we reached an agreement. An alliance.
If Heaven discovered him, I'd save his divine family—who didn't know who he really was. And if the primordials awakened, he'd help me eliminate them.
A good deal.
—
Artemis
Artemis was hunting in the forest when something struck her.
It wasn't physical. It was metaphorical.
"Ahhhh!" she screamed, dropping to her knees, clutching her head. "What's happening? I have to return to Zeus—no… if he sees me like this, weak… no, he changed… but…"
She cried, the pain overwhelming.
"You seem fragile for the tough goddess I once knew," a voice said.
The pain vanished.
She looked up and saw a beautiful woman, taller than her, with colorful hair.
"Who are you?" Artemis growled, pulling her bow and firing.
But the arrow simply—
(To be continued)