Aetherion looked down, then slowly met Rhea's gaze.
"It's risky, and I won't lie—I don't like asking you this. You've suffered enough. But I think the best move we can make now… is to use your position."
"My position?"
Rhea echoed, confusing appearing on her face.
"You're still Queen,"
he said.
"Of Mount Ohrys. The court of Titans still respects you—even if they fear Kronos. If anyone can move freely there, it's you."
From his explanation, understanding is starting to appear on Rhea's beautiful face.
He had been thinking about which approach he should take in his plan to bring down Kronos.
Aetherion himself had considered many possibilities.
For a time, he even thought about following the script of the original myth.
But he didn't like the idea of waiting and letting his siblings suffer even longer.
He wanted to take action—he wanted to shape his own plan.
So he hesitated.
"If you could… talk to them. The people and some of the great titans on Mount Othrys . Persuade them of rebellion. Some of them must be tired of Kronos and his madness. We need allies. We need Titans and other deities who still have a conscience."
Rhea's gaze grew thoughtful.
"You want me to become a spy?"
"I'd never call you that,"
Aetherion said quickly.
"And if it's too much, if you'd rather stay here—Gaia and I would understand."
And Aetherion meant it.
He didn't want her to think he was using her—not after everything she'd been through.
He had spoken deeply to Gaia, asking whether it was possible for his mother to remain in this realm.
She told him it was, but warned that neither she nor he could rely on it for long.
So he spoke with Gaia about it—especially about the nature of this realm.
She told him that the moment he began to interact with other deities, he would no longer be able to use this place as a staging ground.
The moment he started to rebel against his father, Kronos, would be the moment he could no longer remain here.
They would need to find a new post.
A new place to hide.
But that was something to worry about later.
Right now, he needed to focus—on his mother.
Whether she chose to help or to hide, he would understand.
She'd suffered under Kronos—especially given his strength.
It must have been incredibly hard for her.
But Rhea only smiled.
Gently.
Lovingly.
Unbothered about the quest, he asked her.
"You're worried about me."
"Of course I am."
She reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
"It's alright. I've lived in the shadow of Kronos for too long. I'm ready to do more than just survive."
Then she added,
"Prometheus and Themis already suspect something. They've grown cold to Kronos. I believe I can sway them. They'll listen."
Aetherion leaned forward.
His lips began to stretch into a smile.
This… this was a good start for them—especially since his mother had just given him information about two who were already dissatisfied with Kronos rule.
And the Two of them were even among the great Titans.
There couldn't have been better news than this.
"Then that's where we start."
Rhea's face shifted—grim now, serious.
"Kronos is unraveling. Since your disappearance… he's changed. Paranoid. Violent. He's lost control of himself. He's begun purging deities who speak against him. Executing divine guards. "
Aetherion's breath caught.
He hadn't thought his disappearance would have such a big impact on Kronos.
But listening to what his mother said—especially about Kronos growing more paranoid and starting to lose his mind—he was beginning to understand.
He could understand the paranoia; he had expected it.
But he'd assumed it would fade with time, that Kronos would eventually shift his focus to the other children, his siblings.
Now, though, he was starting to realize just how much had changed.
He was beginning to believe that Kronos didn't really care about his siblings and their birth at all—that his entire focus, his soul focus, was on him.
But what truly worried him… was what his mother said last.
"But… divine beings can't truly die, can they?"
His head turned toward Gaia, hoping for some explanation—or at least confirmation of what he had just heard.
After all, she had never told him anything about that before.
"No," Gaia said. "Not normally. But Kronos possesses a weapon made with Maretrial—blessed by me and forged by the Elder Cyclopes Brontes, Steropes and Arges. a weapon capable of breaking the physical form of any deity', even primordials. The Scythe of Doom, Thanatou. The weapon that took down the sky, Uranus ."
"The only thing that can destroy a deity's divine form," Rhea added. "Truly destroy it."
Aetherion was silent, left speechless by what he had just heard.
He looked at Gaia, not knowing what to say—or even how to respond—to the mention of a weapon capable of slaying the immortal.
Thanatou was truly a frightening weapon.
But then he remembered:
He was the Titan of Life.
Who knows—maybe it wouldn't affect him.
Maybe he could even bring people back to life.
Still, that was something to think about later, once he had mastered his domain.
But now, everything has changed.
This wasn't just about freeing his siblings—this was war.
And just like in his former life, when war broke out in the mortal realm, people died.
The same would happen here, in this war of the immortals.
wherever war is, consequences follow.
After a long moment, he exhaled slowly and looked up at the two women before him—his mother, and his mentor.
"For now, I keep training," he said. "I push myself further to master my divine form and fully command my domains. And when the time comes…"
He clenched his fist.
"I'll be ready."
Rhea looked at him—her son, now holding the future in his hands.
And Gaia, her amber eyes steady, nodded.
"Then so it begins."
"Oh, right—I almost forgot."
Aetherion turned to Rhea, a brilliant smile stretching across his lips.
Rhea's expression shifted to confusion, not understanding what he was getting at.
"Say, Mother… Do you know anyone who can brew a potion strong enough to make the Titan King throw up?"