As if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over my overheated imagination, Zeus's deep, commanding voice once again echoed in my mind.
"Boy, you can only enjoy life with overwhelming power… if you survive the coming invasion of the Abyss dwellers."
Those words made me jolt upright from my bed. My heart pounded like a hammer in my chest. The weight of his tone wasn't something to take lightly—he wasn't warning me, he was stating a fact.
I swallowed and gathered my courage. "What are these Abyss dwellers you speak of? How could they be so strong that even you—a Divine King—had to self-destruct? In every story I've read, Divine Kings are the strongest beings in existence!"
Zeus didn't answer right away. Then, a thunderous laugh rolled through my mind, followed by a long sigh heavy with both pride and sorrow.
"Self-destruction, huh? Boy, it wasn't an act of desperation—it was a plan. We God Kings sacrificed ourselves willingly to contain the Abyss dwellers and seal their Overlord. You see, Divine King isn't the highest realm of power in the cosmos. There are realms far beyond—realms even gods revere."
I frowned, intrigued yet nervous. "Far beyond…?"
"Yes. Two more lie above us: the Divine Emperor, and beyond that… the Illusionary Supreme. I've experienced a fragment of Emperor power once—shown to me by my predecessor before he passed the Throne of Thunder to me. But the Supreme… that's only a legend, written in divine texts older than time."
I froze, jaw slack. "W–wait! WHAT?! You're just dropping this info casually like it's some bedtime story! Divine Emperors? Multiverse? Supreme beings?"
Zeus chuckled again, completely unfazed by my panic.
"Boy, calm your mortal heart before it bursts. I have no reason to lie. This is the truth of the heavens."
It took me several breaths before I managed to calm down. My mind still raced through all the terms he'd thrown at me—Abyss dwellers, Divine Kings, multiverse wars—it sounded like something straight out of a fantasy epic, yet it all felt real.
Finally, I asked again, more cautiously this time."What are the ranks of divinity? Who are the Abyss dwellers really? And what happened in your war?"
Zeus went silent. For a long moment, only the faint hum of energy filled my head. Then his voice came, softer this time—steady, grave.
"Very well. I shall explain from the beginning."
And with that, the tale of gods and the birth of the Abyss began to unfold in my mind.