Chapter 7: Of Night and Sky

“The Underworld is old ... It’s not like Olympus. There are rules and magic that existed well before I got here and will exist long after the mortals have forgotten me ... Being King of the Underworld is not like being King of the Heavens or the Seas.”

— Hades, Lore Olympus, Episode 164: “Eat,” written and illustrated by Rachel Smythe. Originally published on WEBTOON on July 4, 2021. Later collected in print in Lore Olympus, Volume 7, published by Del Rey Books / Penguin Random House on October 1, 2024. © Rachel Smythe and WEBTOON Entertainment. All rights reserved.

In the darkness of night, the moon was high in the sky. Metis was reclining at the entrance of Olympus.

She was a unique individual in the arrangement of Olympus. She was one of the many Oceanids, who were children of Oceanus and Tethys. However, she was one of two advisors to the Three Kings; though, she suspected with Zeus’ planned ascension to the position of King of Olympus, her circumstances would lead her to only advising him.

Beyond this, she was Zeus’ primary lover, and she believed that she was his one great love aside from himself. In time, she might yet become his wife, as Rhea was the wife to Cronos and Gaia was the wife to Ouranos.

The union would promote Metis in the ranking of Olympus. As matters stood, she was important to others, but she was not second to Zeus. Prometheus was seen as better at planning for a future of peace while Metis was more of the advisor for war. Furthermore, Demeter was frigid and somewhat abrasive as the middle daughter of Rhea, but some would have preferred that Zeus marry a sister, as Ouranos was Gaia’s son-brother, and Cronos was Rhea’s brother.

The family tree for the royalty of Mount Olympus was quickly turning into a circle. For that, Metis scoffed at the notion. She, too, was related to Zeus. There was no escaping that truth. Her mother and father were true-born Greater Titans, which made them the children of Gaia and Ouranos, same as Cronos and Rhea, so Metis would be Zeus’ cousin.

Did that distinction make her any better of a fit for Zeus than someone like Demeter?

The stone barrier on the stony mountain-in-the-cloud city was Metis’ safe place to consider such questions.

And they were inquiries worth taking. After all, a part of her wondered if she even wanted to be his queen.

While she enjoyed her escapades with Zeus, there was only so much to be had with him and his energetic lovemaking. Where she flourished was when she was left to think, to plan, to wonder of the future.

As queen, she would be his second, which worked, but would she be able to have an identity of her own. As a regular subject, yes she was beneath Zeus; however, she retained certain freedoms that would be locked away should she take the honor of being his wife.

Cause for concern was a phrase she thought of when she considered matrimony with Zeus. He was not at fault, but her brow furrowed in contemplation when she considered how Rhea and Gaia had acted while Cronos was in power. Metis regretted that action being needed, but she understood that the necessity had been a symptom born from the problem.

Queens were extensions of their husbands, not individuals in their own right. Their influence spawned from their husbands, which in Gaia’s case was funny to Metis. Gaia was properly born from Chaos themselves, so Gaia was older, wiser, maybe even more powerful, but society loved Ouranos as the great power, and so Gaia was relegated to a lesser position.

As she gazed out over the tranquil landscape of the divine realm, Metis would not allow herself to be some lesser position whether all was peaceful on Olympus, with the gods going about their affairs without strife or conflict, or they were at war, and all of the gods were at each others’ throats.

Metis pondered the state of affairs in Greece and beyond. Monsters roamed the wilderness, animals grew fat, but within all of this, a strange complacency had settled amongst the gods in their victory.

This contentment was a peace born not of harmony, but of apathy, which was a dangerous stagnation that threatened to dull the senses and weaken the resolve of the kingdom. Metis had thought war would destroy Olympus, but perhaps it was victory that was the problem.

These were the dangerous storm of thoughts that conquered her mind when she was alone. She enjoyed the puzzles, for by considering every possible problem, Metis had the ability to create solutions that would save the kingdom.

Lost in those thoughts, Metis was startled by the sudden appearance of Rhea.

The mother of Hestia, Demeter, and Hera appeared troubled.

“Rhea,” Metis greeted, rising from her reclined position to face the Titaness. “What brings you to Olympus at this hour?”

With the surprise, Metis was sure to add with an edge of conspiracy: “And away from the island?”

Metis had not been proud to advise Zeus to exile both Gaia and Rhea. It had been necessary though. If the former Queens tried to exert their will on Zeus, they might have succeeded. After all, Zeus was malleable, and Metis knew that Gaia had lain with the Thunderer, and Metis suspected that Rhea had as well, and if she had not, Rhea would have slept with him in order to endear herself to Zeus.

Rhea’s eyes held a shadow of concern as she spoke. There was concern mixed with uncertainty. For a moment, Metis wondered if Rhea would speak to on the matter at all.

“Ouranos has returned to the land of the living,” she explained, her voice tinged with urgency. “He seeks a way to return to life.”

Metis listened intently to the two statements; quickly, she had to consider that Ouranos’ spirit had come, not his physical body. While Rhea did not not expand on the matter, the implication that Father Sky would come back to reclaim what was his resounded in Metis’ mind. The resurgence of Ouranos after the Olympian gods had just defeated the Titans was a threat unlike any other.

His power was vast. If the stories were to be believed, he was second only to Chaos. The Titans spoke of Ouranos as some impossibility. Still, he had been so powerful that it had taken all of his sons fighting him to fall. Metis did not like the odds of a divided Olympus fighting Ouranos.

A frown etched itself onto Metis’ features as she considered the implications of Rhea’s warning. The peace of Olympus was newly earned and fragile. A looming specter of conflict and discord could be the thing that broke it. What could it mean if Zeus sat upon Ouranos’ Throne and Ouranos returned to life? The other gods and titans might turn their backs on Zeus.

Metis returned her gaze to Rhea. Metis accepted the gravity of the situation. “I believe you, Rhea,” she said solemnly. “We should see Zeus immediately.”

Moonlight did not reach into the private bedroom of the mountain’s king, and Selene would be grateful that this was true, for she would have witnessed Mnemosyne and Themis laying in Zeus’ bed.

Groans of satisfaction bounced off the walls. Clothes were discarded and forgotten in the action of necessary desire.

Zeus’ sexual efforts earned him the sound of Themis’ moan. Her gaze was filled with a mixture of reverence and longing as she grabbed the sheet on his bed.

The air was charged with palpable anticipation of what was to come. Zeus had already had his way with Mnemosyne. His hands had left marks on her hips and chest. She was out of breath from all of actions.

Zeus smiled at the results of his work. Semen glistened like a liquid white-diamond down her leg. While he had deposited his load into her womanhood, he could not help its leaking when he withdrew his cock.

Mnemosyne reached out towards Zeus in her slumber. Though she would never reach him, Zeus smiled. He pulled back from Themis and positioned himself in front of her. The thing he was learning is how good it was to be the King of Olympus.

As he drew closer to her, a sense of reverence filled the air. Themis would give him all he desired since he was King. As with magnetism, Zeus possessed a cosmic pull that would fulfill all of his wants.

He plunged himself into her and instantly felt the reward of her wet womanhood. Every inch of him was accepted. Her hymen had broken as no other being, Titan or god, had been within her moist crevice. Such a prize was not something that the King of Olympus took for granted.

The ichor mingled with her lubricating juices, telling Zeus that his lessons with Gaia were being put to good use.

Before him was a Titaness prepared to give her most intimate parts of her sex to him, and to know that no one had come before him brought him joy. More than that though, he understood that his performance was the single-most important act of her sexual life because everyone else would be compared to him.

He could feel her pleasure mounting when he heard the sound of someone banging on his door.

“Not now!” Zeus shouted through gritted teeth.