The Reign of Cronos

Book II: The Reign of Cronos

The Cast:

Chaos: The Progenitor Deity of formless, infinite, and undifferentiated chaos. Chaos is the source of all creation and existence.

Gaia: The Primordial Deity of the Earth. She is a child of Chaos and represents the physical, living world.

Eros: Eros is the Primordial of love and desire, born from Chaos.

Tartarus: The Primordial of the deepest abyss. He is a child of Chaos.

Erebus: The Primordial of darkness and shadow. He is a child of Chaos and represents the primeval darkness before creation.

Nyx: The Primordial of Night. She is a shadowy and enigmatic deity, mother to various beings, including Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death). She is Daughter of Chaos.

The Sisters of Fate: Also known as the Moirai or Fates; these three powerful deities are in charge of the Tapestry of Fate. The Tapestry controls the destinies of gods and mortals alike. They are Clotho (the Spinner), Lachesis (the Measurer), and Atropos (the Cutter). They weave the threads of life, measure its span, and cut the threads to determine when it would end.

Ouranos (Uranus): The Last Primordial, representing the sky or heavens. He is the child of Gaia. Deposed King of Olympus. He was the First Death in the land of Greece

Cottus, Briareos, Gyges (Hecatoncheires): The Hecatoncheires are monstrous giants with a hundred arms and fifty heads. They are the children of Gaia and Ouranos and represent chaotic and destructive forces.

Brontes, Steropes, Arges (Cyclopes): The Cyclopes are one-eyed giants known for their craftsmanship. They are the children of Gaia and Ouranos and represent various aspects of natural forces.

The Titans: The Rightful Children of Ouranos and Gaia.

Oceanus: Titan of the Ocean and all bodies of water.

Coeus: Titan of intelligence and the inquisitive mind.

Crius: Titan of constellations and heavenly bodies.

Hyperion: Titan of the sun, light, and heavenly wisdom.

Iapetus: Titan of mortal life, mortality, and human nature.

Cronos (Kronos): Titan of time, harvest, and the ages. Current King of Mount Olympus.

Thea: Titaness of shining light and divine splendor.

Rhea: Titaness of fertility, motherhood, and generation.

Themis: Titaness of divine law, order, and custom.

Mnemosyne: Titaness of memory, remembrance, and the arts.

Phoebe: Titaness of prophecy, intellect, and the moon.

Tethys: Titaness of the sea, freshwater, and mother of rivers.

Other Characters:

Aether: Son of Rhea.

Atlas: Son of Clymene and Iapetus. Titan of Might and Strength.

Clymene: Daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. Wife of Iapetus. Mother of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Atlas, and Menoetius. One of the Oceanids.

Demeter: Eldest daughter of Cronos and Rhea. Adept at magic related to the weather.

Epimetheus: Son of Clymene and Iapetus. Twin to Prometheus. Titan of Hindsight.

Hades: Eldest son of Cronos and Rhea.

Hera: Youngest daughter of Cronos and Rhea.

Hestia: Middle daughter of Cronos and Rhea.

Menoetius: Son of Clymene and Iapetus. Titan Destruction and Rage.

Poseidon: Middle son of Cronos and Rhea.

Prometheus: Son of Clymene and Iapetus. Twin to Epimetheus. Titan of Foresight.

Rhea: Mother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. Titan.

Zeus: Youngest son of Cronos and Rhea.

---

Chapter 1: The Birth of Aether

As the storm raged outside, casting dark shadows across Olympus, Rhea screamed in her bedchamber within the Grand Palace. Thunder roared, and lightning flashed ominously, illuminating the room with sporadic bursts of light. The Titaness Queen was in the throes of labor. Her face was etched with determination and a hint of pain as she clutched the edges of the bed. For all the joys of conception, she was discovering birth would be an agonizing experience.

Gaia, the Primordial essence of Earth, served as the midwife, helping Rhea bring forth the first of the next generation of Titans. Cronos, the Titan King, stood nearby, his eyes fixed on Rhea. His features were tense, reflecting apprehension and unease. He stared intently at the child being brought into the world. Finally, amidst the storm's mayhem, a cry pierced the air, echoing with power and fragility. It was the first cry of Aether, the newborn child of Rhea and Cronos. The room fell into a reverent silence as all eyes turned towards the source. Gaia carefully gave the firstborn to Rhea, who reached out joyfully for him.

Gaia exchanged a worried look with Cronos. "Aether," she muttered. "His name is Aether."

The Titan siblings gathered to celebrate their new Prince. While the others excitedly looked at Aether, Cronos flashed Rhea a glance of disapproval. She could sense her husband's agitation, but to her, the baby was far more important than he. For all the pain and exhaustion of childbirth, Rhea found a radiant joy in holding her son. That was all that mattered. Aether was her baby boy, a wonderful life who would bring so much to Rhea's.

**********

Gaia and Cronos met in a secret room, away from the others. Gaia stood tensely, doubtful of how to feel about the situation but confident of what Cronos would say.

"That is not my son!"

"You can't be positive of that," Gaia countered hastily. "You and Rhea made love many times around the same time of conception."

"His power, his bearing... "

Cronos struggled to say in his rage. He motioned to the other room with his enormous hand. "That's the son of Ouranos! He is not mine! I won't raise him, Gaia!"

"Do you really feel comfortable taking his life like you took your father's?" Gaia asked coldly.

Cronos froze at the accusation. After a moment's pause, he looked at the Primordial mother of the Titans.

"What would you have me do?"

"Prove the child's paternal half."

"How?" Cronos asked suspiciously.

Gaia looked from Cronos to the world below, indicating what she meant.

"But Father was undone by them."

"The way I comprehend it, Ouranos was outdone by believing he could control them. If I come to them respectfully, they might be willing to help me."

Cronos sat and waved his mother away. "Go. Go to them. If it can yield the truth, it will be worth it."

**********

Gaia found the Realm of Tartarus to be far less lonely than the world above. When she was in the Underworld, Gaia felt wrapped up in the love of her brother..

She heard the gigantic steps of another Primordial being, and when she looked in the direction of the sound, her husband, Ouranos, came into sight. She reached out for him before stopping herself. He seemed too pale to be her husband, emptier, lesser somehow. She could not understand what it was. Shaking her head, she turned to the Palace of the Fates.

Gaia walked into the edifice and looked upon the beautifully lit home. The tapestry of the Fates was laid out on the wall. "This is... amazing," Gaia breathed, seeing the battle of Cronos and Ouranos, followed by Gaia crowning Cronos as King, even as Chaos had once crowned Ouranos.

"We thank you," the three Sisters said at once.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Clothos asked.

"Do you not know?" Gaia asked.

"We do," Lachesis replied, motioning for Gaia to sit. "But it is always nice to ask."

Gaia accepted the seat Lachesis summoned for her to sit on. The Fates were all so small in comparison, but stature meant nothing when it came to the power of the divine.

"Who is the father of little Aether? His paternity is important for the future of Olympus."

"You wonder who the father of Aether is?" Clothos asked. Her voice tinged with a hint of maddening joy.

"The Prince's father is Ouranos," Lachesis remarked. "He who was cursed for trying to command the power of Fate."

Gaia paused, unaware of a curse and tried to determine its meaning. "May I ask about this curse?" Gaia asked.

"It is not for us to say," said Atropos. "The destinies of others are for them to discover. If they share their destiny with you, we might be willing to tell you more. As it stands, Great Queen, you have been told what you were sent to learn. Tell your King of Olympus what you have heard, but you should be warned his actions will demonstrate whether he shall be meant to reign on Olympus."

The Sisters all waved Gaia away. The chair they had summoned for her vanished. Gaia stood; their dismissal was the last word. She would have difficulty explaining everything to Cronos yet was undecided about telling him.

**********

Moonlight cascaded through the chamber, casting a gentle glow upon the sleeping figure of Aether in his crib, a vision of infantile divinity. Rhea stood in quiet contemplation. The air was heavy with emotions--joy, longing, and a burning desire for change. Her eyes traced the contours of her son's face, finding solace in the resemblance to his father, Ouranos. She could not admit to the similarity to Cronos. After all, that would reveal the depth of her descent into depravity.

In the stillness of the night, Rhea's mind wandered to Cronos, her husband and Ruler of the Titans and the murderer of Ouranos. When she contemplated Cronos's actions, Rhea could not help but compare the two.

Baby Aether, in his slumber, seemed to embody everything Cronos lacked. Where Cronos was absorbed by his father's legacy, fear and envy clouding his judgment, Aether exuded untainted potential. Rhea saw in him the promise of a new era, a Realm free from the shadows of Cronos's reign and his mistake of removing Ouranos from it. A soft smile graced Rhea's lips as she whispered to the slumbering Aether, "My dear child, you shall be Ouranos reborn." She gently brushed a lock of hair from his forehead, her touch filled with tenderness and maternal love. Leaning over, she kissed Aether's cheek.

Her gaze shifted to the heavens outside, the celestial bodies shimmering in the night sky. Rhea's heart swelled with longing and determination. She yearned for a future where Aether would rise and ascend to his rightful place, overthrowing Cronos and ushering in a new era of harmony and enlightenment. With a deep breath, she vowed to do whatever was necessary to secure Aether's success. She would nurture his potential and protect him from the shadows of Olympus. One day, he would be King, and Rhea would be there for this next rise.

**********

In the Grand Chamber of Olympus, a tension-laden silence hung in the air as Gaia, with despair, approached Cronos, Ruler of the Titans. The knowledge given to her by the Fates could shatter the fragile peace within the Realm. She went to Cronos, aware she would be changing Olympus again. Cronos, engrossed in his thoughts, turned to face Gaia with an expectant yet wary expression.

Gaia took a deep breath, her voice steady but laced with a hint of sorrow. "Cronos..."

"Don't hesitate. Just tell me, Mother," Cronos asked, angrily crossing his arms.

"Aether is the son of Ouranos, not you," Gaia said with a careful slowness.

Cronos's eyes widened in disbelief, and his temper flickered within them. His body tensed, his fists clenched tightly. He punched one of the stone pillars holding up the ceiling, and the material shattered instantly.

"Dammit!" Cronos cried out. Gaia held her ground but said nothing as Cronos shook in his rage. "I will not allow Ouranos's bastard to poison Olympus."

Gaia's gaze bore into Cronos, her voice calm but stern. "Cronos! If nothing else, Aether is your brother. You are the Ruler of the Titans, not him. You cannot allow your hatred of Ouranos to blind you to the love you have."

"Blind me?" Cronos asked, wrath overtaking him. "He fucked my wife, Gaia! She claims it was against her will, but they still made a child. I will not allow Aether to be a Prince of Olympus!"

Gaia stared at her son, her eyes filled with disappointment and concern. "Cronos, your actions will shape the course of Olympus. The Fates may have told me as much, but it is up to you to be fair to your half-brother, even if Rhea was your father's lover."

After she said her piece, she vanished from the room. Cronos waved his hand to restore the pillar he had destroyed. Alone in the Grand Chamber, Cronos stood still, the weight of his choices bearing down upon him. His ire and insecurity battled within his mind while the future of Aether and Olympus hung in the balance.

Ouranos had taken everything from Cronos when he had laid with Rhea. She was meant to be Cronos's wife, and he was meant to be the only man to touch her. Still, she had been taken by the last King.

**********

Days passed without a decision while Cronos struggled back and forth with indecision. Gaia would not have cautioned him unless there was a reason for doing so. Perhaps the Fates were warning her if Cronos overreacted, he would lose the throne Gaia had given him. It was unclear if the Fates influenced the future or only reported it. Ultimately, he decided the power of choice was his alone to make.

Cronos found Rhea, where she had been since giving birth, in the baby's room.

"Cronos!" Rhea said, slightly startled.

"Hello, Rhea," Cronos said harshly.

"What is the matter?" Rhea questioned, taking her eyes off baby Aether.

"I know," Cronos said, ignoring her question. Before she could ask what he was talking about, Cronos went on. "I know... what you did."

"I haven't done anything."

"You went to bed with Ouranos willingly."

"No," Rhea stammered weakly. "I told you what happened! He forced me..." Tears formed in her eyes.

"I wondered why you risked carrying his child over this last year. Then, I realized you must have wanted it. The only reason to do that is because you loved him. If he forced himself onto you, how could you love him? Unless you wanted him to take you to bed."

Rhea stepped back from her King and husband. "Cronos... it is not like that. He was King. How was I supposed to deny him?"

Cronos looked at her intently and grabbed her by the dress, tearing the fabric from her shoulder. "I am King now. Would you deny me?"

"No... Cronos. Don't make it like--"

Cronos's lips crushed his wife's with feral yearning. "It was wrong for Ouranos to have you. He was not your husband!" Cronos used his immense strength to throw Rhea to the ground. "I relieved him of his cock after he had his way with you. You gave him a son. Maybe it is time I had a son by you."

"Cronos! No! You don't want to do this."

He threw her to the ground, holding her to there. "Don't I? Don't I deserve to have my wife? You gave yourself to him! Give yourself to me."

Instinctively, Rhea opened her legs for her husband despite her husband's actions. Cronos moved onward, pressing his manhood at her entrance. "Is this how he had you? Is this what makes a King?"

"Don't--" Rhea cried at her husband. "Don't ruin us."

"You already did that," Cronos declared, sliding himself into his wife.

Her reaction was not revulsion to the penetration. On the contrary, Rhea was more passionate about his forcefulness, and with every thrust into her, Rhea screamed, "Then give me a son! Give me a Prince, my King!"

Cronos pushed all of himself into her. He did not care about her enjoyment. He was rutting her like a stallion rutted a mare. She was for his purposes, to give him children, more beautiful and powerful than little Aether. She would love them more and forget the existence of Ouranos. He kissed and bit at her neck and could not help himself from squeezing her breasts. She gasped out in joy and want.

"Are you a King?" She asked, moaning. Heated passion in her eyes told Cronos if he did not proclaim his position, Rhea would never look at him the same.

"I am King!"

"King of Olympus!" Rhea cried out

"King of All! You will give me a son, Rhea!"

"I will!" She screamed as she felt him in the deepest parts of her womanhood.

He did not slow or stop. Her words were the catalyst for his motivation. They both grunted, groaned, and moaned together, obsessed with a dead King. Rhea fantasized her husband was Ouranos, giving her another son, and Cronos claimed his wife, believing with every forceful insertion of his throbbing meat, he was taking back what was always his.

Together, in their heat, the climax was so loud it was heard in the Mortal Realm of Greece. He flooded her body with his ejaculation. When he was done, Cronos exhaled from his pleasure. Withdrawing his manhood from Rhea's body, he looked from the baby's room, on the other side of the wall, to Rhea. "You better hope it is a boy, for Aether's sake."

All of Rhea's rationality returned to her. Her love for her son came before all else. "Don't harm him," Rhea said desperately.

"If it is a boy, he will be safe. If not, I will do to him what I did to Father."

Rhea wrapped her hands over her stomach. She prayed to Gaia and Chaos, pleading for a boy to be in her womb.

---

Author's Notes: I apologize for the delay. The Holidays were far more than I expected, and not to get into it, but life happened, and I needed time to focus on my mental health. I only recently got back into my writing. Thankfully, this story and the next are already in the hands of my editor.

While I will try to catch back up, I know my editor can only really handle one story at a time, and she has other stories from other authors, so please bear with me. I have tried looking at other editors here on Lit, but either they did not have interest or they said the project was too large, which I understand, so I will be doing the best I can with the tools I have.

Finally, I am fixing some minor mistakes in 'In the Beginning', and after I have put up The Titanomachy, there should be a combined version with extra scenes. However, that takes time, and I like the feedback you all give me, and I want the full long versions here, but I might self-publish them if there is enough interest and I can find the right artists and illustrators.

All that being said, those are just goals. I am focusing on the stories here and now as this is a hobby for me as of right now. I do want you all having an idea of the trajectory of what I am planning though in case there are delays like there have been.

Thank you for reading, and as always, please leave a review and rating as you see fit. Like all artists, I get better from constructive criticisms, and I am fed on praise.