The Eleven awoke aching. Their emblems throbbed faintly, raw from yesterday's training. Every muscle screamed as if their young bodies had been beaten by storms. Hyperion groaned loudly, muttering about fire burns. Tethys whimpered that her legs felt like stone. Even Iapetus, who laughed through pain, clenched his jaw in silence.
Chronos sat up slowly, his palm glowing faintly. The silver hourglass pulsed as though mocking him. His chest still ached from forcing it, his head still throbbed. Yet when he touched the emblem, he didn't just feel pain. He felt… waiting.
Gaia's shadow fell over them.
"Good," she rumbled. "You ache. You bleed. This is proof of growth. But today, you will not train your limbs. You will train your minds."
The siblings groaned, but fell silent under her gaze.
Gaia lowered herself, her colossal form pressing against the cavern walls. Her molten eyes swept over them, heavy and unyielding. "Yesterday, you pulled at your emblems. You forced them. That is not enough. Do not mistake your emblems for tools. They are not weapons you hold. They are you."
Chronos froze. Me?
"You are not children with gifts," Gaia continued. "You are fragments of eternity. Your father, Uranus, is the Sky. I am the Earth. We do not wield power—we are power. The Sky is his body. The Earth is mine. That is why we clash. That is why you exist."
Her words pressed into them like boulders.
Oceanus' ripple-mark shimmered faintly. He raised a trembling hand. "So… I won't just call rivers? One day… I'll be the sea itself?"
Gaia inclined her head. "Yes. Your emblem is the seed of your realm. A realm is not a place you enter. It is you, made manifest. Each of you must forge it until there is no difference between what you wield and what you are."
Hyperion's star burned faintly. He smirked through exhaustion. "So I'll be the sun? Sounds about right."
"Until you burn yourself out," Mnemosyne said flatly, her glowing eye narrowing.
Hyperion scowled. "You just like being the know-it-all."
"I remember things you forget," Mnemosyne shot back.
Their bickering almost escalated, but Gaia's voice cut like stone. "Enough. Realms are not games. Fail to become them, and you will remain half-born forever. Succeed, and you will stand even against gods."
Phoebe's crescent mark glowed faintly. She folded her hands. "But Mother… if we are to become our realms, then what of others? Surely we are not alone."
Gaia's expression hardened. "No. There are others. Many. Pantheons of gods who build their own realms—of flame, frost, death, and storm. They will come, because they always come. But hear me well—you must not waste yourselves fearing who strikes first. Do not chase shadows. Do not crumble beneath fear of the unknown. You must shape yourselves first. One step at a time. Stone by stone."
Themis' scales pulsed faintly. "So… foundation before ambition. Judgment before action."
Gaia inclined her head. "Exactly."
Her voice deepened, shaking the cavern. "Do not wander in thought about who will be first to challenge you. Your minds will betray you with fear and pride. You must not stumble into complacency. Plan. Build. Prepare. And when the others come, you will not tremble—you will stand."
The siblings lowered their heads, the weight of her words pressing into their bones.
Gaia placed her massive hand on the cavern floor. "Now. Sit. Close your eyes. Do not pull at your emblems. Do not force them. Feel them. They are not separate from you. They are you."
The Eleven obeyed.
Oceanus sat cross-legged, his ripple-mark glowing faintly with every breath. His lips moved as if whispering to unseen tides. Hyperion clenched his fists, sparks flashing before dimming as he tried to still himself. Mnemosyne's glowing eye brightened as her memories sharpened, each inhale anchoring her. Crius' constellations flickered like stars behind stormclouds. Coeus muttered fragments of words, his scroll-mark glowing faintly as truths brushed his mind.
Themis exhaled slowly, her scales shimmering as though weighing her own heart. Iapetus growled, restless, but his blade-mark pulsed steadily despite his impatience. Phoebe's crescent moon glowed with a calming light, helping Tethys steady her trembling breath as water shimmered faintly around her.
Chronos sat in silence, his palm open. The hourglass pulsed, steady and endless.
At first, he felt only the ache from yesterday—the crushing weight, the hollow exhaustion. But beneath it, something deeper stirred. Not a symbol. Not a curse. Something vast. Something endless.
Time isn't a tool. It isn't a curse. It's me.
His eyes snapped open, breath caught in his throat. Terror and awe tangled in his chest. To wield time was already unbearable. But to be time? That was a burden beyond comprehension.
Gaia's molten gaze met his.
"You feel it," she said. Not a question. A truth.
Chronos swallowed hard and nodded.
"Good," Gaia said. "Hold that fear. Hold that awe. They are proof you understand. One day, you will not only carry it—you will be it. And when that day comes, even the Sky will tremble."
The siblings opened their eyes slowly, their emblems glowing faintly. Some looked afraid. Others determined. But all of them understood now: they were not just children playing with gifts. They were heirs to eternity.
Gaia's final words rolled over them like prophecy.
"You are not merely Titans. You are pillars. One day, you will hold the weight of a pantheon. Step by step. Stone by stone. Do not stumble into fear. Do not rush toward pride. Build yourselves, and when the world comes—you will not endure. You will rule."
Chronos pressed his glowing palm to his chest. For the first time, he didn't just feel cursed. He felt chosen.
And a dangerous thought whispered within him: If I am time… then perhaps I can rewrite fate itself.
———
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!! I'll be taking a short break from my other novels to fully focus on this one. New chapters will be released every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday—so stay tuned!