The icy air of the canyon filled his lungs with the breath of earth and stone, and for the first time since his birth, Hades inhaled free air that did not belong to the belly of Cronus.
The moonlight was cold, reflecting on his pale, youthful face. Those eyes, which should have symbolized the wealth and luster of the underworld, were now deeply shuttered with the exhaustion of his ordeal, and with a certain melancholy and coldness beyond his years.
He needed power, guidance, and a way to shatter the game.
Cronus sat on the throne, having seized it by violently overthrowing his own father, Uranus.
Gaia, the Earth Mother and progenitor of the gods, who had orchestrated the fall of Uranus, could never be content with the cruel reign of the current king-god, Cronus.
She was the most likely, and the most capable, of providing shelter and counsel at this critical time.
The best place to contact Gaia was the Delphic temple.
It was said that Delphi, the navel of the world, was where Gaia once delivered oracles through her priestesses, revealing fate. It was one of the most sacred places, where the power of the earth converged, the most ancient, and where Gaia's influence was most direct.
Go to Delphi! As soon as this thought arose, it was like the only beacon in the darkness, firmly seizing Hades' mind.
He had no time to hesitate. Now that the concept of burial was nonexistent, Subterranean Wealth granted him very little divine power.
With his divine power so meager, Cronus might at any moment notice the anomaly of his Double, or become alert due to Poseidon's fierce struggle. He must reach the Delphic temple and obtain the Earth Goddess's protection before he was discovered.
Hades once again held his breath, and the power of [Secrecy] operated silently, merging him with the canyon's shadows and the night's stillness.
He was no longer a god radiating the brilliance of divine power, but rather an unseen wind, racing across mountains and forests; a vague shadow, gliding over the earth.
He avoided all places where intelligent beings might gather, and guided by his innate affinity for the concept of the 'subterranean', he vaguely sensed the flow of ley lines, following a faint pull toward the earth's energy core that led to Delphi.
The journey was long, and for one so drained of divine power, it was a trial of his will and endurance.
He crossed wastelands, traversed mountains, and witnessed the harshness and primitiveness of this world ruled by the Titans. He saw the lumbering giant spirits, the ignorant nature spirits, and the dissatisfaction with and undercurrents against the current theocracy, lurking in the corners of the world.
Finally, after an unknown number of days and nights of trekking, the sacred place, surrounded by steep mountains, appeared before him.
Delphi.
Even before he drew near, Hades felt a majestic, ancient life and prophetic power. The air was filled with a faint scent of sulfur and an indescribable feeling of sanctity.
He approached cautiously, using his power of [Secrecy] to its utmost limit so as not to be noticed by any guards or curious eyes.
The outline of the temple emerged in the twilight—simple and solemn, not as magnificent as in later generations, but possessing its own power to connect heaven and earth.
Hades did not seek the man-made structure, but what lay beneath it—the most powerful core of earth force itself: the legendary sanctuary where Gaia issued her oracles, often associated with a cave or a chasm in the earth.
Like a fish gliding into the depths of the water, he silently slipped into the temple precincts, avoiding a few drowsy, low-ranking nymph servants, and headed straight for the source where the earth's spiritual veins converged.
It was a natural cave entrance, located in the deepest part of the temple—deep, dark, emanating a strong earthy and stony atmosphere, and the ancient vibration of wisdom. The cave mouth was shrouded in a faint mist, like an opening leading to the earth's womb.
Standing before the cave entrance, Hades clearly felt a faint resonance from the divine spark of [Subterranean Wealth] within him. Here was the edge of his 'domain' and the direct embodiment of the Earth Mother's power.
He took a deep breath and dispersed part of his [Secrecy] concealment, allowing his divine aura—especially that aspect of his divinity belonging to the category of the 'subterranean'—to ripple out like a stone cast into a still lake, gently undulating and touching the depths of the cave.
He did not shout, did not pray, but quietly manifested his existence and the essence of the 'underworld' and the 'secrecy' that had been born and tempered in his desperate situation.
He believed that if Gaia were listening, she would perceive it.
Silence enveloped the cave entrance, broken only by the sound of wind whistling through the rock crevices. Time passed, grain by grain, and Hades' heart gradually sank. Perhaps Gaia was unwilling to pay attention? Or was his judgment wrong?
Without hesitation, he knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and unconditionally expressed his profound respect and supplication.
"Great Earth Mother, your poor grandson, Hades, begs for your protection."
There was no sound, but a message, like the pulsing language of the earth itself, resonated directly within Hades' heart:
"Little Hades, you have freed yourself from Cronus's maw not through violence, but through wisdom and concealment. Tell me, child who escaped the cage, why have you come to my sanctuary? Why do you think I would protect a child who was meant to be devoured by the God-King?"
Hades raised his head, his gaze fixed firmly on the core of the mist, as if he could pierce through the stone and look directly upon the great being who gave birth to all things.
"What I bring is proof of Cronus's atrocities, and the herald of his downfall!" His voice was unusually calm, his words clear.
"I have heard the prophecy that Cronus will eventually be overthrown by his son. I, Hades, am the firstborn son of the God-King. Now that I have escaped from Cronus's mouth according to that fate, is this not proof of the prophecy?"
He paused, feeling the silent acknowledgment within the earth's will, and continued, his voice taking on a note of somber sincerity.
"Earth Mother, you aided Cronus when he overthrew my grandfather, Uranus. Now, in the face of a Cronus who is even crueler and shows no mercy to his own blood, are you willing to sit idly by and watch him continue to defile this world, until even the power of the earth is encroached upon?"
He bowed again, his voice low and earnest: "I do not ask you to be a direct enemy of Cronus. I only ask you to grant me a place to dwell, a chance to grow strong beneath your aegis. I will honor you as my sole guide, and my power, which springs from the underworld, belongs to your realm. My very existence is a spark of resistance against the tyranny of Cronus."
A long silence. The vegetation around the cave seemed to cease its swaying; even the wind held its breath. The Earth Mother was weighing.
Finally, the immense will pulsed again, with a faint trace of barely perceptible approval and a deeper resolve.
"A clever boy... Your escape is indeed an unexpected, yet crucial, node in the turning tapestry of fate."
Gaia appeared before Hades, a matronly figure with long, flowing hair, manifesting from the mist.
"I will shelter you, Hades. Not only for you, but for the children who are being devoured, and for the new age that is inevitably to come."