The Reign of Cronos Ch. 07

Chapter 7: The Titans' Legacy

"Change is the only constant in life." - Heraclitus of Ephesus the Greek Philosopher

The little baby Poseidon was much brighter than his sisterly siblings. He had some understanding of where he was upon his birth despite his infancy.

He grasped that Rhea was his mother and the Mad King Cronos was his father. While there were other Titans and Primordials in existence, Poseidon could not see them because they were not on Olympus, so the baby was unaware of their existence at that time.

When he was swallowed and fell into the depths of Cronos' stomach, he had fallen on some sort of land mass.

"W-Where...?" The child struggled with words. He was new to the world, after all, but he was nevertheless divine, pure and true.

"You're in a place bereft of hope," a deep, booming voice echoed. The voice came from the shadows of the abyss within the confines of the belly.

The infant Poseidon looked around in confusion. He could see the stomach acid around the ground from where he stood. There was dissolving food bits being digested. That was not the direction of the voice though.

He turned in that direction. At first, he could see nothing through a black void of nothingness. From those shadows, a tall, strong being came into sight with long black hair and unhealed scars along his body and face. It was as if he had been burnt, cut, bled, and tried to heal to no avail many times.

"You are no doubt curious about what you will find in this place," the man said to Poseidon with ominous voices. "I am your brother, Hades. And here, in Cronos' belly, you will only find blood; blood and darkness."

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Iapetus was learning that perhaps the fact that things lived and died was not so terrible. If all things lived forever, things would stay the same. Through death, change was possible. By Ouranos' passing, Cronos became King. After he became King, the other Titans felt comfortable having children.

Iapetus was among those Titans, not being so alone anymore. He had found love in one of Oceanus' children: Clymene.

By Iapetus' estimation, time on Olympus seemed to slow. While Cronos, Rhea, and the palace stayed the same, the Realm of Greece continued to grow. What might have been five years on Olympus was nearly a century in the Mortal Realm.

That was what it was: mortal. That was part of the beauty that Iapetus had been looking for. Iapetus was coming to realize that the changes in Greece were the point to life.

Spring came, and life was abundant, if not tenuous. In summer, life was running rampant, enjoying the ample heat of Helios' light. But it always cooled a little less than spring before returning.

There was something else, something felt off, as if an entire season or two was missing.

Helios, a new divinity made by Hyperion and Theia, sat in the sky. Hyperion had taken the primordial flame to Cronos as a gift. It was supposed to have been blessed by Chaos to hold the fires from the dawn of time. It burned, giving life and warmth to any who visited the godly mountain. Though with how Cronos devoured his children, it was a surprise that anyone ed. In Iapetus's view, Cronos would be a problem sooner rather than later.

Greece was filled with nymphs, dryads, and naiads. Iapetus had found a wife in Clymene thanks to Oceanus and Tethys. Oceanus had seen Iapetus' loneliness. His union Clymene brought Iapetus a happiness that dwarfed all of his loneliness to where it was a laughable memory. Together, Iapetus and Clymene fathered four children. It was among these children that the twins, Prometheus and Epimetheus, came to be.

These Titanic children were unique among the divine beings. It was these twins who filled the lands of Greece with even more new life. Where divine beings were born through a sexual union, Iapetus' sons created life with materials from Greece, fueled by their imagination, and empowered by their magic. With every creation, they were more efficient and creative.

Through cattle and bison, there was food. With birds and fish, there was company when one flew or swam. Each addition to the world made Iapetus beam with pride in his sons. On the other hand, he was worried they might be overfilling the world. They told him of their grand finale of life that they wanted to create.

It was these lesser beings, humanity, that had Iapetus pondering the future.

His sons spoke of a perfect creation in the image of the Titans themselves, but without the divine spark from the Progenitor and the use of magic.

The problem Iapetus had was: If these mortal humans were made, what would be the roles of the Titans?

With everything else occurring, Iapetus considered if the day would come when humanity overthrew the Titans, as Cronos overthrew Ouranos. He was distracted by Selene, Hyperion's daughter, rising in the night sky as the moon to shine light on the Realm.

He did not know what tomorrow would bring, yet he could not bring himself to become overly concerned. There was too much joy in his life today for him to care about the problems of tomorrow.

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Rhea got up from her throne; her bulging abdomen told of yet another royal child of Olympus was going to be brought into the world. It seemed strange to her that she was the daughter of the daughter of the most fertile being in creation, and Rhea had only had five pregnancies while the other Titan couples had dozens of children and a multitude of grandchildren by extension.

She could not dwell on the subject for long as the aforementioned fertility deity was a guest in her private throne room.

"Mother Gaia," Rhea said in surprise.

"Hello to you as well, Queen Rhea," Gaia smiled.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Rhea held back her emotion. Their last conversation had left a lot to be desired.

"Since we last spoke, it has become clear that Cronos will continue to devour his children, and he might fall into deeper depravities," Gaia said with calm wisdom. "I think it's best I should help you."

"Oh?" Rhea asked, antagonizing anger overtaking her. She truly tried to restrain her temper, but to hear that her mother finally understood was a brick of clay slammed atop the straws that would break the horse's back. "Now! When you see the consequences, you want to help me."

Rhea could not hold back the vitriolic loathing she felt for her mother. Gaia was lauded amongst the younger immortals as the wise mother and grandmother to be sought out when they needed advice. She was placed in a position of honor, but when Rhea had come to her, practically begging, Gaia had become blind because Cronos was her son.

"Daughter... do not take that tone with me!" Gaia warned.

"I was right!" Rhea exclaimed. Vindication exploded from each word announced.

Gaia tried to hush Rhea, but the current Queen of Olympus would not be silent for her mother. "He is not here. He is with Crius, discussing how the Realm flourishes, not that I get to see the Real. He believes if I leave, I might conspire with his brothers to overthrow him. For that risk, he imprisons me, but you saw fit to do nothing about my imprisonment."

Gaia nodded at the accusation laid at her feet, but she did not address it directly. "And yet, he allows you to be alone with me?" she wondered instead,

"You put him on this throne, just as Chaos put our father here," Rhea said, waving it away. "He believes you are loyal to him."

"One act makes him believe I do not recognize the danger he presents?" Gaia asked, disturbed by that conclusion.

"We will have to use that blindness to our advantage," Rhea remarked strategically. In her reply, Rhea came to a sad realization about her mother. Gaia would not admit the fault was her and fully apologize, but if Rhea wanted her help, Rhea would have to be the one to let things go to further her goals.

Gaia nodded in agreement. "You're right. But how, considering he devours his children?"

"With Hera, I had been perfecting some of my magic," Rhea admitted. "With the right timing and blessings from you, we could hide my next child."

"To what end?" Gaia asked. She could not connect the dots that Rhea saw so easily.

"For you to train him," Rhea said definitely. "This next child could break the cycle of usurpation. If we teach him to be fair, not to murder his family, and understand what it means to rule, he will defeat Cronos and be better."

Gaia looked at her daughter. She contemplated what that would entail, how long Rhea had deliberated about it, and if the plan would work. Cronos did not invade Gaia's privacy, but they would need help.

"I do not know if that will be the end of it," Gaia remarked. She contemplated her daughter's plan, seeing the insight that Rhea had put into it. "We will need someone to help us."

"Who?" Rhea asked, suspicious of her mother's intentions.

"Leave that to me," Gaia implored. "With time, we might be able to put your plan into motion. Wait. I will return to you."

Rhea could see her mother was asking for trust. That was a luxurious commodity that the Primordial was asking for, but both women were quickly realizing that they could not complete the tasks ahead without one another.

With that in mind, Rhea said, "Make it fast. Cronos intends to eat this next child very soon after his birth."

"Why?" Gaia asked, suspicious of the explanation.

"There was a thunderstorm. Cronos believes Ouranos might be able to reach out from the dead and is sending omens to defeat him," Rhea said as if Cronos were insane.

Gaia exhaled before the mother of the Titans nodded in agreement about the degradation of Cronos' sanity. "I will return before the birth."

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Poseidon and Hades grew older within the belly of Cronos despite Cronos' initial hope of them staying as children within the cavern that was his stomach. Because of Poseidon and Hades' divinity, Cronos could no longer shrink to the size of his Titan Brethren. If he did, the sons would burst free from within him. The Titan King had the intelligence not to risk such a thing.

The two sons had very different views. Poseidon made a makeshift board to ride the waves of Cronos' stomach acid. He laughed at his gloomy brother. "Come now, Hades! It's not so bad. These waters are full of life!" He remarked, landing on the small island where he and Hades had made a home for themselves.

They sustained themselves on some of the food the Titan King ate. Whenever ambrosia fell into Cronos' stomach, it turned into light and was absorbed by his very essence, so the divine sons never had the chance to partake of such a luxury. But when Cronos ate fish, deer, or had wine, the sons made short work of catching some of their father's meals before the digestive nature of his body took over.

"It is filled with death," Hades said coldly. Despite what Poseidon believed of his brother, he knew that Hades found his bright happiness to be trivial and his contracting of words to be childish. That never stopped Poseidon from trying to cheer up his brother even when Hades was sitting on the island's darker side within Cronos. "All there is in this world is blood and darkness."

"You have been all doom and gloom since my childhood, but there is still joy to be found. Someone will try to free us," Poseidon remarked with lighthearted, infectious fun.

"Free us?" Hades exclaimed, looking back at his brother. "Who would free us? Our mother allows our insane father to eat us! You told me as much. And what of our aunts and uncles? I can sense them sometimes, as well as you do! And what do they do?"

Poseidon did not say anything to the interrogation.

"Exactly! They do nothing for us! We will live our everlasting lives here! Maybe, like our brother, Aether, our divine spirits will dwindle until we are destroyed, and our bodies will become part of this island only to raise the next set of siblings that Father consumes."

"I can't live with that kind of sorrow," Poseidon replied after a moment. Though he seemed uncertain, Poseidon would never stop trying to cheer up his elder brother.

"Then you will die with it," Hades remarked in his dark, sullen portion of Cronos.

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Cronos sat in the Mortal Realm of Greece, trying to think. Despite the attack from the Furies a few years back, Cronos felt he could think best in the lands of Greece. The crisp salt water, trees rustling in the breeze, wheat growing (reminding Cronos of the time he grew food), and the blades of grass growing were all culminating to relax his senses.

Any day now, Rhea would deliver another son. He could not imagine all he had given up, and there was no going back now. Hades, his oldest, was in his belly. Had Cronos given up his seat of power to Hades, the curse supposedly would have been broken, but Cronos would not concede it. He would rule as long as he wanted to take his revenge on Ouranos for having Rhea.

Sitting on the cliff where he had castrated his father and later battled the Furies, Cronos stared at the world. He hoped it would give him an answer.

"How did I lose to someone so weak?" The voice of Ouranos crackled from the heavens above.

Cronos stood, seeing a mirage of his father made of clouds. The image, for all of its details, stopped just above the waist.

"You're dead!" Cronos exclaimed. Though he had been king, had five children by Rhea in the world, he hesitated with concern. He had ruled with power and might, but somehow, his father's visage returned Cronos to his childhood. "I killed you myself!"

"You did," Ouranos replied without worry or fear. "After Hyperion and Crius weakened me," he went on with a laugh. "Had you faced me alone, with your little tool, you would have fallen, and I would have had Rhea again."

"No!" Cronos exclaimed. He tried to slow time, but his father's ghost merely laughed. Images swirled before Cronos in a vision: Rhea's naked body slayed out on the floor within the throne room of Olympus, her lips willingly given to Ouranos, illustrating the difference between Rhea's love for Ouranos and Cronos.

Cronos stared, powerless. He could see Rhea take Ouranos' manhood into her mouth with excited anticipation. From the sparkle in her eyes, she burned to feel Ouranos's sex within her body however she could have it. She wanted him inside of her, even if it meant cheating Cronos of his prize of Rhea's virginity.

Cronos, enraged, threw a pulse of energy at the cloudy visage. The bolt flew through the images, harming nothing.

That did not stop Rhea from gasping in ecstasy from Ouranos' touching of her body and begging Ouranos to take her. She was pleading with joy; her orgasm was mounting by the second from something as simple as her father's hand between her legs, and she was desperate for Ouranos in whatever form she could get it.

Withdrawing his cock from her mouth, he refused her the joining of their bodies in the full carnal bliss, but Rhea would not be denied in her fervent need. She climbed her father, making her intentions crystal clear. When she wrapped her legs around him, Ouranos was pulled closer, taking him as deeply as possible. She cried out, "Yes! Yes!"

Powerless to destroy the clouds, Cronos shouted, "I killed you!"

"That won't prevent her from being taken by another lover. It will not stop you from losing your throne," Ouranos laughed at the impotent rage, "or you from becoming like me. This will not keep you from losing Rhea."

Cronos growled at his deceased father. "Olympus is mine!"

There was not a single drop of fear on Ouranos' face. "For now," Ouranos taunted.

The image of Rhea with Ouranos suddenly shifted. The clouds swirled and dissipated until it reformed into new imagery.

Cronos could see a younger deity with Rhea, who was slightly older than before but was still a vision of beauty and grace befitting a Queen of Olympus. She laid on her back for this young, powerful sky god. There was thunder in his eyes, and he looked into hers with fervent passion.

"You will give me Olympus?" This god asked. He rut himself into her with animalistic intent. Where Cronos had loved Rhea, this god saw her as a means to the end. She was content to be someone's tool for success.

She was screaming out, "Yes! Yes! You will be King! Fuck!"

The unspoken comparison of Cronos's sexual prowess versus this younger male did not need to be voiced. As Cronos watched his wife intently, Rhea was giving this young god more than her sex. There was a surrender that superseded her affection for either Cronos or Ouranos.

Cronos balled his fist, but as he was about to throw another bolt of power, Rhea screamed, "Another one? That's four times! Fuck!"

She clawed the young deity's back, and he grabbed her hips. "Who do you belong to? Who is King?" His powerfully intense slamming of his body into her was possessive in totality.

"You!" Rhea proclaimed as she surrendered to the guttural scream of pleasure. Her single word was as binding as magic itself.

That was enough for this newcomer. He gripped her hips and pulled her onto him, ensuring his divine seed would go as deep in her as possible. She could get pregnant from this ejaculation, but that was not the point. His semen deposit into Rhea was this god's way of telling her, and Cronos by extension, that she belonged to him.

Cronos would never allow this future to come to pass.

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