The sky churned above Mount Olympus as Kronos stood before us, his massive figure cloaked in a mantle of time itself. The winds screamed, twisting into impossible shapes, slowed or sped by his will. His scythe gleamed, humming with the echoes of ages lost and futures stolen. He was not just a warrior. He was an era.
And we were six newborn gods, barely shaped by the world.
We attacked as one.
Hades moved first, vanishing into shadow, the Helm of Darkness rendering him as a phantom. His blade struck from below, but Kronos turned time on its head the wound reversed, knitting shut before it ever happened. A casual swing of the scythe nearly tore Hades in two, forcing him to vanish again.
Demeter and Hestia struck next. Vines erupted from the stones around Kronos, massive and barbed, as fire curled up from below to ensnare his limbs. But the Titan King was undeterred. He whispered an incantation in the language of ages and the vines withered to dust, the fire froze and cracked.
"You are children," he said. "Infants grasping at stars."
Hyper-fast, he appeared behind Hera.
She barely raised a shield of light in time, but it shattered under his strike. She screamed, flying backward and crashing into a jagged pillar. Kronos raised his scythe to finish her.
Then lightning split the heavens.
Zeus.
He landed between Hera and the Titan, his Master Bolt cleaving Kronos' next strike in two. The backlash thundered across Olympus.
For a moment, they locked eyes Zeus and Hera. Her breath caught. She had always felt like the weakest among us. Demeter summoned jungles. Hestia wielded fire like breath. The brothers were walking weapons. But Zeus…
He glowed with fury, power, and something else.
He turned his head slightly, just enough to shield her. And she stared, eyes wide, as if seeing him for the first time. Her heart thundered.
And something subtle shifted.
"Together!" I shouted.
I hurled my trident with every ounce of power I had. Kronos deflected it with a laugh, but I had moved with it. Blink-fast, I struck from the left, then above, then behind. Dozens of thrusts in the time it took him to blink. Each one scratched his skin, cut his robes, drew blood.
Time faltered. He tried to reverse it but Hades locked him in shadow, freezing his temporal flow.
Demeter summoned thorned trees that pierced his armor. Hestia lit the air ablaze, forcing him to guard his eyes. Hera hurled spears of divine energy.
And I held him.
I gripped him with arms and water-born force and yelled, "Now!"
Zeus leapt, storm incarnate, and hurled the Master Bolt straight into Kronos' chest. The Titan screamed. His body convulsed as time fractured around him.
We took his scythe.
And with the power of all six gods, we shattered his form, cutting him apart. Limb by limb. Essence by essence. Each piece sealed in chains of shadow and vine, ice and fire, and thrown into Tartarus.
Kronos was no more.
---
The battlefield fell silent.
The remaining Titans, those not sealed away, knelt or stood in shocked silence. The Age of Titans had ended. Before them stood the new rulers of the cosmos.
"What now?" Hyperion asked, bruised but alive. "Who leads?"
We all looked to one another.
Zeus stepped forward.
"We divide the world. Three thrones. Three brothers. But one king."
Hades raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You want the throne, little brother?"
Zeus shrugged. "Do either of you want it?"
I laughed. "God-king? Sounds exhausting. Keep it."
Hades rubbed his chin. "You know, I kind of liked it down there. Tartarus. Quiet. Dark. Morbidly homey. Fits my complexion."
We chuckled.
Zeus grinned. "Then it's settled. I will rule the skies. The heavens will be my domain."
Hades nodded. "Then I take the Underworld. I will guide the dead and keep the balance."
I gestured out to the horizon. "And I take the sea. All of it. Every drop of water, every ocean, every lake. You better stay hydrated."
Demeter smirked. "You will hoard the bathwater."
"And the wine," Hestia added.
"Especially the wine," I said solemnly.
A laugh echoed across Olympus.
The Titans bent knee. Most of them, anyway. Some refused.
Atlas scowled. "I will never bow to children."
Zeus glanced at me. I nodded.
Together we lifted him. With our will, we forced him down on his knees, and then onto his back.
"Hold the sky," I said. "Forever."
A pillar of endless weight descended upon Atlas' shoulders. He cried out, crushed by it, cursed to bear the weight of heaven for all eternity.
Others fled. Some we hunted. Some we forgave. But the Age of Gods had begun.
---
Apparently there was something between Zeus and Hera because they decided to marry.
The celebrations lasted days.
The Cyclopes drank and roared songs that hadn't existed. The Hecatoncheires danced awkwardly, arms tangled in joy. Nymphs filled the mountains with music. Even Amaltheia, the goat who raised Zeus, was there, chewing laurel with approval.
Rhea came too. Our mother. She stood proud, her eyes wet with quiet joy as she watched us build what she had only dreamed of.
And at the center of it all, stood Zeus and Hera.
He in a robe of white lightning. She in a gown of stars and gold. Their hands clasped.
Zeus looked strong that day. Not just with power. But with purpose. Hera looked like a queen. Like someone who had been wounded, but now knew her value.
Their union was a thing of awe.
The stars burned brighter.
The winds stilled.
And the gods crowned them: Zeus as King, Hera as Queen.
We all knelt not out of fear, but respect.
They had earned it.
Even I felt a twinge of pride for my brother.
And yet, in the quiet of the celebration, I pondered. Hera, our sister. Our Queen. And Zeus, her husband.
Was it strange?
To mortals, perhaps. But to us?
We were born of the same chaos. Born into the same cage. We had eaten death and vomited rebirth. What did blood mean to gods?
I watched them kiss beneath a sky we had claimed.
And I felt no disgust.
Only hope.
The Age of Gods had begun.
And I would carve the oceans into kingdoms of power.
But tonight, we danced.
And the stars sang.