Just as Hades was accumulating strength on the earth and awaiting the call of the Underworld, an undercurrent connected to his bloodline quietly stirred.
At the foot of Mount Othrys, in a valley shrouded by the mysterious divine power of Rhea, two goddesses met in secret.
One was the graceful and majestic queen-goddess Rhea, unable to dissolve the sorrow between her brows; the other was Gaia, the Earth Goddess, manifested in her blonde form, possessing a majestic and heavy atmosphere.
"Mother..." As soon as Rhea spoke, her voice trembled.
Before Gaia, she was no longer the goddess who needed to remain calm before her cruel husband and maintain dignity before the other gods, but simply a wife and mother whose heart was torn by the conflict between a father and son doomed to be irreconcilable.
"What should I do? Cronus... He is becoming more and more suspicious and violent. Every time I see him, it's as if I see the shadow of Uranus. And my children... They still suffer in his belly, and the future... the prophecy of the future..."
She spoke incoherently, and tears finally rolled down her cheeks. She loved Cronus, the heroic companion who had once rebelled against the patriarchal father and established a new order with her. But now, his growing suspicion and the atrocity of devouring her children had long since erased that love.
But as a wife, she could not watch her husband march towards his prophesied destruction; as a mother, she could not bear her children being eternally imprisoned and digested.
This constant torment nearly drove her to madness. She had no one to confide in, so she could only steal away to the earth and ask her mother, Gaia, the grandmother of all gods.
Gaia looked silently at her anguished daughter, her golden eyes a mixture of emotions. There was pity for her daughter, disgust for Cronus's perverse behavior, and an understanding of the predetermined fate.
She reached out and gently stroked Rhea's trembling shoulders, a gentle, heavy earthy power flowing into her, slightly calming Rhea's agitated heart.
"Rhea, my child," Gaia's voice was as calm as the earth itself, "the loom of fate has begun, the threads are tangled, and they cannot be easily cut. Cronus has chosen his path; fear and greed have clouded his mind, and he can no longer heed any counsel."
"But what about my children? Are they doomed to be victims of this fate?" Rhea raised her tearful eyes and asked desperately.
Gaia was silent for a moment, her gaze seeming to pierce through time and space, seeing a more distant future. "Victims... and the newborn are two sides of the same coin. If the old order is not broken, new life force cannot sprout."
She did not directly answer Rhea's question, but uttered a nearly cold prophecy. "What you face is not about whom to save, but about... choosing the side to stand on, and meeting the wave that is inevitably coming."
Rhea trembled, her face growing even paler. Gaia's words had undoubtedly completely torn away the thin paper of the window she had never wanted to pierce.
This meeting ended with Rhea's even deeper confusion and pain. Gaia did not provide a specific solution; she merely pointed out the cruel reality and allowed Rhea to face the inevitable choice herself.
However, after Rhea's departure, Gaia did not immediately return to the depths of the ley lines. She pondered for a moment, and an idea spread like a root, directly transmitting to the heart of Hades, who was focused on deducing divine power on the shore of the lava lake.
"Hades, my child."
Hades suddenly awakened from his thoughts, sensed Gaia's will, and immediately replied respectfully: "Mother, what do you command?"
Gaia's voice sounded in his heart with unquestionable majesty: "Your mother-goddess Rhea just came to see me. She is in great pain—for her husband, but also for her children—including you."
Hades was shocked, and his breath nearly stopped. Mother Rhea... Did she know? Did she know that I escaped? Still...
Gaia did not keep him in suspense and continued directly: "She knows the prophecy, fears Cronus's downfall, and also pities her devoured children. She is trying to find a way to save everyone, but that is doomed to fail. She asked me for help, but I could not give her the answers she sought."
Hades was silent, his heart a mix of emotions. He had complex feelings towards the gentle but weak mother-goddess. There was the pain of being abandoned, and pity for her situation.
"Tell me, Mother, what do you want me to do?" Hades asked cautiously. He did not think Gaia was merely informing him of the news.
"I tell you this so that you know the situation and the pain of your Mother-Goddess. She is caught in the middle, in a dilemma." Gaia's will was emphasized. "But listen, Hades—you, do not interfere."
"Do not take the initiative to contact Rhea in any form, do not try to influence her decisions, and do not take any premature action against Cronus because of her pain." Gaia's command was clear and cold.
"Rhea's struggle is a trial she must face alone. Any intervention from you could disrupt the weaving of your fate, invite unpredictable disasters, and even expose you to Cronus's gaze, wasting all your previous efforts."
Hades clenched his palms, the heat of the lava lake seemingly unable to dispel the chill that suddenly rose in his heart.
He understood Gaia's intentions. Informing him helped him better understand the overall situation and avoid misjudgments due to lack of information; Restraining him was for protection and to ensure that the 'fate' of overthrowing Cronus could proceed along its determined trajectory.
"I understand." Hades calmly uttered these words. He could not comfort the tormented goddess, could not confess to her that he had escaped, and could not act impulsively because of her.
He had to be a true 'observer', watching his mother struggle between the fate of father and son.
"Be patient, Hades." Gaia's will finally came with a faint sigh. "Accumulate strength and wait for the 'right moment' that belongs to you. Rhea's path must be walked by herself."
The connection was severed.
Hades stood alone beside the churning lava, his figure appearing especially solitary in the blazing light. He raised his gaze towards Othrys, his eyes seeming to pierce through the stone, seeing the Mother-Goddess weeping alone in the magnificent temple.
A deep sense of powerlessness washed over him. Possessing mighty divine power, wise allies, and the attention of primordial ancient gods, he still could not change the pain of his loved ones, could not even take a step forward.
He closed his eyes, suppressed the surging emotions, and when he opened them again, only cold firmness remained in his gaze.
He could not interfere. He had to wait. For the ultimate victory, for the sisters who were devoured, and for... the Mother-Goddess struggling in pain, for the future true liberation.
He transformed this helplessness and resolve into a stronger driving force, and once again threw himself into the research and accumulation of power. Yet, beneath the fiery light of the lava, his calm face seemed colder and harder than ever before.