The Eleven left the arena still trembling, their breaths heavy, their limbs shaking. The sparring had tested them in ways they had never imagined, pushing their newborn realms outward for the first time. Their emblems glowed faintly stronger, yet the exhaustion that followed was bone-deep.
Gaia's molten gaze lingered on each of them. Her vast shadow stretched across the canyon floor as she spoke.
"You bled. You endured. You touched the edge of what it means to be Titans. But sparks alone cannot survive the storm. To grow, you must be nourished. To endure, you must be strengthened."
Her words rumbled through their bones. Then she raised one colossal hand, pressing her palm against the ground.
The earth split.
The Eleven gasped as stone cracked and folded, revealing a spiraling stairway carved of obsidian and lined with glowing veins of molten gold. Heat rose from below, heavy and rich, carrying a scent both sweet and earthen.
"Follow me," Gaia commanded.
They descended together. The further they went, the warmer the air became, thick with a hum that resonated in their emblems. The walls pulsed faintly, alive, roots twisting like veins through stone. Every step felt like walking deeper into Gaia herself.
At last, the stair ended.
The chamber before them stretched vast as a city, a cavern of gold-veined stone. In its heart stood a grove of silver-barked trees, their leaves glimmering like emerald flame. From the branches hung fruit glowing softly—golden apples, radiant as miniature suns. Their scent filled the air, rich with power, stirring hunger and awe.
Tethys clutched Phoebe's arm. "This… this is impossible. A garden under the earth?"
Gaia's molten eyes softened faintly. "This is my temple. My resting heart, where I sleep when the weight of creation grows heavy. No god, no Sky, no curse has touched this place. And here grows my gift to you."
She extended her hand toward the trees. The apples glimmered brighter, casting rippling gold across the cavern walls.
"These are apples of the Earth. They carry fragments of me—my strength, my memory, my essence. Eat, and you will nourish your realms. Your bodies will harden. Your minds will sharpen. But beware: this is no shortcut. The apple feeds the spark—you must still grow the flame."
The Eleven stood silent, the weight of her words pressing against their hearts.
Gaia plucked the first apple, its light rippling like water. She placed it in Oceanus' hands. "For you. To deepen your rivers, to make the current within you steady and unyielding."
Oceanus bowed his head, clutching the apple reverently.
The second glowed like fire. She handed it to Hyperion. "For you. To steady your blaze, so it burns without consuming itself."
Hyperion smirked, but even he looked humbled as the apple's glow sank into his palms.
Phoebe received one that shimmered silver. "For reflection and calm. To sharpen the moon's quiet strength."
Tethys' apple shimmered with waves. "For courage. So your tides will no longer tremble."
Tears welled in Tethys' eyes as she accepted it.
Mnemosyne's apple glowed like crystal, steady and bright. "For clarity of memory. To make your halls brighter and unbroken."
Crius' gleamed like a star. "For stability. To bind your constellations even when storms rage."
Themis' apple shone gold. "For judgment. To weigh truly, beyond rage or fear."
Iapetus' pulsed with molten iron. "For control. To make fury your weapon, not your chain."
Coeus' shimmered with shifting letters. "For restraint. To keep knowledge as river, not flood."
Finally, Gaia plucked an apple that glowed with pale silver sand swirling within. She pressed it into Chronos' trembling hands.
"For you, my son. To steady your grip on time. To slow the sands enough that they do not consume you."
Chronos' breath caught. His silver hair gleamed in the apple's light. He bowed his head, words breaking in his throat.
"Eat," Gaia commanded.
The Eleven raised the apples to their lips. With the first bite, golden light surged through their bodies.
Oceanus gasped, his inner river widening, its flow endless and strong. The roar of current filled his chest.
Hyperion roared, his sun-core blazing steady, light radiating without collapse. His fire no longer threatened to consume him—it obeyed.
Phoebe's moons multiplied, their glow bright and sharp, orbiting calm around her spirit. She felt serenity ripple outward.
Tethys' tide surged. No longer trembling, it rolled steady, confident, vast.
Mnemosyne's halls expanded, thousands of orbs glowing brighter, memory as clear as crystal water.
Crius' constellations steadied into flawless arcs. The stars no longer flickered in chaos but bent to his will.
Themis' scales grew vast, golden plates gleaming, her judgments sharper, her balance unshakable.
Iapetus' fortress strengthened, bone and iron thicker, fury no longer cracking walls but forging them.
Coeus' library swelled, scrolls alive yet calm, breathing knowledge that no longer drowned him.
And Chronos—
He shuddered as the apple's silver sands poured into his veins. The hourglass within him exploded, its grains cascading faster, harder. His lungs seized, his mind screamed. For a moment, he thought it would break him.
But then—the sands slowed. They flowed steady, not crushing but carrying. His vision filled with endless streams of silver light, stretching beyond worlds. His lips trembled as he whispered, "Time… endures with me."
One by one, the Eleven fell to their knees, trembling as golden light faded. Their emblems glowed brighter than ever, pulsing in rhythm—not chaotic, but steady, as though the apples had woven them into harmony.
Gaia lowered herself, her gaze molten but gentle. "Now you carry a piece of me. Guard it. Grow it. These apples are not weapons, but seeds. With them, you will endure longer. Heal faster. Think clearer. But never mistake them for destiny. That still belongs to you."
Her voice deepened, heavy as stone. "Remember this: you carry me now. If you falter, it falters. If you rise, it rises. One day, this gift may be the difference between survival and your end."
The chamber pulsed faintly, as though the earth itself bowed with her words.
The Eleven looked to each other, their eyes burning brighter. For the first time, they felt less like children fumbling in shadows—and more like Titans stepping toward eternity.
Far above, thunder rumbled faintly across the sky, as though Uranus himself had stirred, sensing the power shifting beneath the earth.