The years passed, each day bringing them closer to an inevitable war. Zeus left his childhood behind and grew into a tall, strong man under his mother, Rhea's watchful eye. She followed Gaia's advice and trained him—and fed him—as well as she could to prepare him for what was coming. Rhea knew she was running out of time; she could feel Kronos searching for her desperately.
The mark her mother had placed on her still worked, but not for much longer. Every day Kronos drew closer to their location, forcing Rhea and Zeus to move farther away whenever they sensed trouble—but she knew it wouldn't last much longer.
Zeus had a plan to free his siblings, and he was making the final adjustments to carry it out. He knew he had to free his brothers and sisters. He knew there were seven of them in total, and that the Titans outnumbered him. He had already chosen a place where they could plan strategies for the coming battle—a main base: Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain he had found, high enough for them to avoid ambushes and gain an advantage if attacked.
Now he needed weapons and more help for the battles ahead. Only one thing came to mind: the Cyclopes, known as geniuses at forging weapons and as powerful fighters. But there was one problem—they were imprisoned in Tartarus, and Zeus knew he couldn't go alone and come back with the leverage he needed to make freeing them his number one priority.
"Alright… now the problem is how to trick him into drinking it," Zeus said to himself as he covered what looked like bottled wine.
"The hard part is making the mixture. The easy part is getting him to drink it," Rhea said to her youngest son.
"Mother!" Zeus said, startled because he didn't know she was there. Seeing his reaction made Rhea laugh. Zeus quickly grew serious again. "Everything is ready. I'm leaving now—we can't wait any longer. I can't let him find you," Zeus said, worried about his mother.
"Be careful, Zeus," Rhea said anxiously. She didn't like having to leave her son to do this alone, but she knew it was the best option. If Kronos saw Zeus alone, he wouldn't attack him directly. But if he saw Zeus with Rhea—after she had been gone for so many years—he would attack the moment he saw them. He was a paranoid king, after all.
"I know, Mother," Zeus said, looking at her. "Go to Mount Olympus before the mark stops working," he finished.
Rhea nodded and hugged her son, wishing him all the luck in the world—luck he would need right now.
Kronos' Stomach
We are in a kind of cavern surrounded by darkness, with a yellowish light glowing from the walls—enough illumination for the adapted eyes of those inside to see.
Six. There are six humanoid figures. Four of them are fighting while being watched by the other two. One of the two observers doesn't miss a single movement from the four fighters, searching for mistakes and unnecessary motions.
"Hera learns very fast," said the female figure watching the fights.
"I know, Hestia, but she still lacks strength," said the male figure, one hand on his chin as he thought of a way to increase his sister's strength.
You might wonder why these two weren't training like the other four siblings. Simple: they were the eldest brother and eldest sister of the group. One was the first to be swallowed; the other
was the second-born. They had far more combat experience than the other four because the two of them had spent a long time training alone. But once the third sibling arrived, there wasn't much of an age gap between the rest—so they preferred to focus on improving their younger siblings' abilities rather than their own.
"Alright—stop," Damon said as he approached the four, who immediately halted the moment they heard his words.
"Hades, you use too much force in your strikes and too little speed. You're lethal if you manage to land one hit, but if your opponent is faster than you, it'll be very difficult for you to touch them," the man said.
Hades was an attractive man—tall, with well-defined muscles, long black hair as dark as night itself, and pale skin that contrasted with his hair. His eyes were very light brown, almost yellow, seeming to shine in the darkness. He wore a black outfit that matched his hair.
Hades nodded as he looked at his brother, searching for a way to improve his speed.
"Poseidon, you're strong and fast, but you throw yourself into the attack without thinking. That creates openings your opponent can exploit and use to take you down. You need to think before you act," the man told his other brother, tapping Poseidon's temples with two fingers as he said he needed to think.
Poseidon was a man similar to Hades, though not as muscular. He was also attractive, with light-brown hair that wasn't as long, greenish-blue eyes that could hypnotize any woman, and skin a shade darker. He wore a simple light shirt and white pants with blue touches that gave him enough freedom of movement to fight comfortably.
Poseidon smiled confidently at his brother's words. He knew his brother always worried about them—often acting more like a father than a brother.
The man returned the smile to his younger brother and stepped in front of one of the women.
"Hera, you're fast, agile, and you don't make unnecessary movements, but you still lack strength."
Hera was one of the most beautiful women you would ever see in your life—her body well-formed with soft curves that would leave any man stunned, thick chestnut hair almost blond, very long down to her hips, pale and flawless skin that made her beauty stand out even more, and very beautiful blue eyes that could make anyone lose themselves in her gaze. She wore a white dress with red decorations that reached the beginning of her muscles, letting her long legs show in a V-shape and revealing part of her well-formed chest.
Hera pouted, looking adorable in her older brother's eyes.
"Don't worry about that—we'll find a way to fix it," Damon said as he gently squeezed Hera's cheeks with his fingers, puffing them out a little. Then he stepped in front of his youngest sister—the last to arrive.
"Demeter, it's like you were born for this: fast, strong, and you always know how to get out of situations that don't favor you. You just don't like fighting," the man said, watching his sister's reaction as she let out a defeated sigh.
Demeter was also very beautiful like her sisters, with a well-formed body but shorter than the rest of her siblings. She had long, dark-blond hair—silky—reaching the middle of her back, and eyes almost the same color as her hair, which made her look even more beautiful. Her skin was tan and well cared for, highlighting her beauty even more. She wore a light-brown dress that made her eyes stand out even more, long down to her ankles, a little tight at the waist, making her slim stomach noticeable and her well-formed chest stand out.
"It's not that I don't like it—it's who I'm fighting against that I don't like," Demeter said, defending herself from her brother's words.
"I'm right here, you know," Hera said at her little sister's words.
"No, I mean—you understood me, Hera. I don't want to hurt the people I love," Demeter said while looking at Hera.
Damon, who had been listening to the conversation, gave a wide smile at Demeter's words. He stepped forward, gently took Demeter's cheeks with both hands, and kissed her forehead, making Demeter blush from the affectionate gesture.
"Then fight to protect what matters to you," the man said as he looked into Demeter's eyes, making her smile.
"I know," Demeter said, flashing a big smile.
"What do you think, Hestia?" the man asked, looking at his sister as she walked over to everyone.
Hestia, the second child of Rhea and Kronos, was one of the most beautiful women the world had ever known. She had a very well-shaped body with stunning curves, long dark-brown hair that reached her hips, and brown eyes with a reddish tint—some of the strangest, yet most beautiful eyes anyone could ever see. Her pale skin made her dark hair stand out even more, adding to her beauty if that was even possible. She wore a red dress with white adornments that reached down to her thighs, revealing part of her precious legs and matching the color of her eyes, cut in a V-shape that showed a perfect neckline.
"I think the same as you, brother," Hestia said, smiling even more at her brother's actions with the rest of their family—something she loved more than anything. Her family was the most important thing in her life.
"Alright. Then with that said, let's move to what matters," Damon said, growing serious. He fell silent for a moment so the others could absorb his words. "Several years have passed since Mother tricked Father, so I assume it won't be long before we finally leave this place."
He paused. "We need to form a plan, so that once we get out, we can escape without being detained."
"Escape? I thought we were training to fight," Poseidon said, confused by his brother's words.
"And that's what we've been doing. But tell me something, Poseidon—how much do you know about the world out there?" the leader asked patiently.
"Nothing," Poseidon said, now understanding where the conversation was going.
"We're at a total disadvantage. We don't know the terrain. We don't know what awaits us outside. We don't know who else we'll have to fight besides Father, or how strong they are… and we don't even have weapons like they do," the oldest brother said, looking at everyone to see if anyone had questions.
"I assume… I hope… that our younger brother who's outside has something in mind. I don't think he'll free us just like that. He must have a place where we'll go—defenders or something similar," the oldest brother said. "I think the best thing is that once we leave, you go with him to protect him from any attack. He knows the terrain best and we need him to make sure we don't take unnecessary damage," he finished.
"But that will make them chase us to wherever he planned to go," Hera said, worried because she could already see how the plan would end.
"I'll stay behind. I'll hold them off as long as possible to give you enough of an advantage to lose them," the oldest brother said simply.
"WHAAAT!?" all the siblings shouted in unison.
"You're crazy if you think we're going to leave you behind," Hades said, getting nods of agreement from the others.
"There's no other way," the oldest brother said plainly.
"Yes there is—there has to be," Demeter said, worried about her brother's safety.
"Trust me. I don't plan on coming back here. Please don't make this harder than it already is," he said with a confident smile, trying to calm everyone's nerves.
"It'd be better if you come with us, or I'll come back here with you and beat you senseless," Hera said, cracking her knuckles to make sure he understood she wasn't joking.
Just as she finished speaking, a massive tremor shook the entire area, shocking everyone. They snapped out of it instantly, and nervousness flooded the room.
"Looks like we're getting out sooner than expected," the oldest of the six said, making his brothers and sisters even more anxious. Then he flashed a wide smile. "Relax. Everything will be fine."