The battle between Zeus and Kronos lasted for more than a month.
They fought until nearly half the world had crumbled into utter ruin, then surged all the way into the boundless depths of the cosmos.
Both sides let go completely, fighting without the slightest restraint. Every exchange of blows made the entire universe tremble, and endless streams of cosmic elements were churned into turbulence.
Countless dazzling star-rivers were scrambled and shattered by their terrible power, reduced to the most primordial base particles.
They were evenly matched, with limitless stamina and immortal divinity; they simply could not decide a winner. The battle seemed without end.
Even though the entire universe suffered such grievous damage, no god dared to come forward to remonstrate.
All living beings of the cosmos endured heavy losses. If not for many great gods acting in time to shield them, they would likely all have been annihilated.
But even so, only a portion of higher intelligent beings—gods, nymphs, elves, elemental spirits—were protected. As for mortal life, it could only fend for itself.
At last, both sides tired of this endless stalemate.
When Kronos's fury ebbed for the moment, he was the first to stop.
They traded cold snorts and, unwilling though they were, temporarily withdrew from the battlefield.
The gazes of countless great gods likewise vanished at once.
The gods looked upon them in fear.
But faced with two evenly matched deities, how were they to choose?
When the two returned within the world, all that they had shattered was already restored as before, as though nothing had happened.
For Mother of All, Gaia, the destruction or preservation of existing matter is of no consequence—she can restore it at will.
What is truly hard to restore, what cannot be hurried, is only the creation of wholly new, never-before-existing "existences."
Under Gaia's divine might, Mount Olympus was restored as before, and a grand, magnificent palace was even raised upon it.
Mount Othrys likewise was fully repaired, returned to its former towering majesty.
Mother Gaia had no wish to bruise Kronos's face over such a small matter, and no wish to create new conflicts at such a time.
After Kronos returned to Mount Othrys, he immediately summoned all the Titans and great gods. His mood had sunk to rock bottom.
He now had to seek the help of the other great gods—he must not give that wretch any time or opportunity to grow.
The rest of the gods were not worth mentioning, but Zeus was too strong—so strong as to truly exceed his expectations.
This was no petty thief, but a grave, mortal threat. If not dealt with promptly, he would become an eternal menace.
Indeed—
He had held nothing back and truly used all his strength, yet even though Zeus was slightly at a disadvantage, he could not achieve any substantive result, could not truly suppress Zeus.
Loath as he was to admit it, he had no choice but to acknowledge that he could no longer resolve the matter on his own.
This cooled his furious heart completely—and sank it to the bottom.
There was even a trace of fear he did not want to face.
He could not understand why such a great god had grown up, yet he could not harvest any of the other's power.
The other was clearly created by himself and Rhea together; he ought to be able to reap his power.
Though he did not understand, the greedy God-King's heart even burned a little hot. If he could devour a power identical to his own…
Then there would truly never again be any existence that could stand in his way!
The God-King had it all planned out nicely, but he had no idea that as soon as Zeus first took hold of divine authority, he used his own law to sever the harvest-link between himself and the God-King.
All of Zeus's being belonged absolutely to himself. If Kronos wanted to shear his wool, it was simply impossible—not a chance!
When Zeus returned to Mount Olympus, Mother Rhea led the gods to receive him.
Mother Rhea's beautiful eyes shone bright, pride and delight sparkling at their depths.
She herself had not known that this child of hers was so powerful—beyond everyone's expectations, even beyond her own imagination.
Even she could not truly gauge how strong the God-King Kronos was, for the God-King had gone too long without truly taking action.
The power Kronos displayed today left her shaken in retrospect. If not for Zeus, they would indeed have been annihilated to the last.
The gods looked upon Zeus. Though he still bore faint traces of the great battle, his awe-inspiring presence in standing against the God-King was all the more stirring.
Reverence filled every heart; their esteem and admiration overflowed visibly.
Only Poseidon nursed jealousy and resentment, but he dared not say a word now.
Any god who saw this battle would never again dare show the slightest disrespect to Zeus.
Zeus naturally walked at the fore, tall and straight, leading the gods into the grand palace to discuss how next to face Kronos.
Within the temple, Mother Rhea invited Zeus to sit upon the central throne, while she willingly sat below him.
By unmatched might, Zeus won the gods' complete submission and the seat of command.
Rhea gladly relinquished power, entrusting wholly to Zeus the arduous and great work of overthrowing Kronos.
In the face of the strength Zeus now displayed, none of the gods dissented; all regarded him as first among them.
No sooner had the gods sat than the Oceanid Styx and her husband Pallas arrived with all their children.
They had not fully prepared themselves, but their urgency left no room for ceremony; they sped there as fast as they could.
Pallas even harbored some hesitation—he had been frightened by the terrifying power Kronos had displayed in the preceding god-war.
He had known before that the God-King was powerful, but not that he was this powerful!
Was it really wise to be drawn into this unfathomable war? The waters were far deeper than imagined.
The God-King could slap their whole family to death with one hand!
No wonder their own towering, formidable father, when facing the God-King, could only endure despite all his grievance. The God-King's power was a despair beyond imagination.
But Styx thought otherwise. She told Pallas, angrily, "The first god to go and support Zeus will be the one Zeus remembers forever—the one forever recorded in glory!"
"Zeus has already displayed such strength—what is there left to hesitate about? What can we possibly gain by staying neutral?"
"Will the God-King Kronos grant us honor? He will only continue to devour everything!"
"If you want the best possible future, how can you not assume risk?"
"Have you forgotten what Father said? What is there to hesitate about?"
Under Styx's strong insistence and urgent prodding, they raced along and were the first to arrive at Olympus.
They were, apart from Metis, the first second-generation Titan family to pledge themselves to Zeus.
Zeus bid the gods be seated, and went out himself to receive them.
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