Chapter 4: Resonance of Thunder

Zeus readied himself to go to Olympus. He thought about how best to confront his father. While Gaia could give Zeus advice, she could not fight this battle for him. Zeus understood that quite well. After all, if Zeus failed with Gaia visibly helping him, the other Titans would turn on her.

As such, Zeus would need to do this himself. Gaia should only intervene if there was a moment where Zeus would be close to victory. He started teleporting to look at Olympus in the distance.

Titans came and went. Only Rhea and Cronos seemed to permanently reside on the grand mountain. All the others seemed to stay away. Was that perhaps because Cronos had lost himself to his madness? If Zeus ever became king, he knew he would not lose himself to madness.

Zeus also believed that he would never lose his throne. No matter the cost, he would cultivate a kingdom where the others served him. They would not all serve him to empower him or even please him like Gaia, but they would know that all power, divine or otherwise, stemmed from him.

As he watched every so often, Zeus could see what he was looking for. There was a pattern to Cronos’ life. That was where Zeus’ options would come in.

In the private rooms of Rhea, in the grand halls of Olympus, two Queens talked, knowing that Cronos was away.

“How much longer will we wait?”

“These things take time,” Gaia said slowly.

Rhea bristled at the comment. Rather than losing her temper, she tried to focus on other events. “Very well. How does his training progress?”

“I think if he were to battle Cronos, I believe this new power would win, but his path ahead is going to be far more complicated than we realize.”

Rhea shook her head with a knowing smile. “You know what I meant, Gaia. How has been his preparation as king?” Rhea motioned at the discoloration of Gaia’s body. “It looks like you have been having fun.”

Gaia blushed at her daughter’s directness. “I have been. He is relentless. If he does not stop, you might have some siblings.”

Both Gaia and Rhea understood since all of the Titans were related, they would prioritize the older deity’s relationship to the child over the younger. Otherwise, they would be calling Zeus’ offspring both Rhea’s grandchildren as well as her siblings.

Rather than upset her, Rhea smiled. Her womanhood stirred at the idea. To Rhea, there was something arousing about her son taking her mother. He was the true prince of Olympus, and his ability to have what he wanted showed his strong virility. He had every right.

Fuck ... Even thinking about it, Rhea wanted to slide her hands between her legs at the thought of letting Zeus take her. She knew she would not be having any more of Cronos’ children because she refused to lay with him anymore, and Hera would bear Zeus’ more legitimate children, but Rhea would have Zeus between her legs.

She would enjoy all of these relentless lusts that Gaia claimed Zeus possessed.

“What should we do if that happens?” Gaia asked.

“Zeus will most likely have a place for the children here,” Rhea thought.

“I don’t think he should,” Gaia said coldly.

Rhea looked confused.

“We might need to plan if we need to supplant any king if they become corrupt. We have to plan ahead. I think that is what was the mistake with both Cronos and Ouranos.”

“I can agree to that,” Rhea said.

“Then, moving ahead, we might need some divine children that can safeguard against any king.”

“Where would we hide them? The new power knows of your island, and let’s face it, we can’t hide them with Chaos or Tartarus.”

Gaia considered the question. “I will ensure no one’s seed plants until we find a place for any potential offspring.”

“You realize for this to work; we would both need to lay with this power.”

Gaia chuckled. “I suspect you would enjoy that part of things.”

Cronos lay on his throne, resting in the middle of the day. As his eyes grew heavy, he found ruling his kingdom boring. All of Greece seemed to be in order. There was nothing to do, but lounge.

Rhea was no longer interested in his advances. In a way, Cronos was glad for it. If they had no more children, then Cronos could beat the Fates’ prophecy.

With Hyperion’s stories, and knowing he could not be defeated, Cronos wondered about expanding the borders of Olympus. With their might, the Titans could conquer the world. Olympus could rule over all of the pantheons.

Quickly, he retracted that thought. Crius would need to heal his hands if Cronos wanted his plan to advance as he wanted. It was a nice idea. As he closed his eyes, Cronos imagined more realms under the command of Olympus. So many gods under his heel.

In the mortal realm of Greece, Iapetus sat down with two of his four sons: Atlas and Menoetius.

While Prometheus and Epimetheus were busy working on creating more things, Atlas and Menoetius seemed aimless.

“Children, I want to discuss with you our purposes in this realm. I know sometimes it feels like you are without purpose.”

Iapetus was a forty-foot-tall giant of a deity. His sons were smaller. Atlas was the largest at ten feet. While they could use their divine powers to make themselves grow, the children often felt less than their father because of his natural immensity.

“But we aren’t like them, Father,” Menoetius remarked, slightly offended.

“You are not meant to be. They create and preserve,” Iapetus pointed out. “But Atlas is strong and can protect, and you, Menoetius, can be aggressive and destructive. Those things can be used to ward off those that might harm us.”

“But who will we ward off?” Atlas wondered.

“There are other lands, Atlas, and we cannot pretend that Cronos’ rule will last forever. What if he is supplanted by an unworthy king? What if he has a son or daughter that would mean to do harm to the Titans or your brothers’ creation? We will need warriors, protectors. You two have roles to play.”

“Yes, Father,” Menoetius and Atlas said, lowering their heads in deference to Iapetus.

Oceanus was not one to cause problems. He was very much a go with the flow kind of Titan. When he saw a tower of lightning come and go from Gaia’s Island, however, he was aware that something was afoot.

That left him with choices. He could argue with his mother ... That was never going to happen. He could tell Cronos, which was almost as unlikely given how insane Cronos had become since discovering that he might be supplanted. Or ... Oceanus could look the other way.

Swimming back to the small, ever growing island that was his home with Tethys, Oceanus decided that whatever wave was about to crash against the mountain of Olympus was for Cronos to deal with.