It was a calm night in the skies above; it was peaceful, but that all changed when ten stars broke through the darkness and gave off a light so strong they nearly blotted out the sun's light.

  And all of Olympus felt it, a strong feeling; it was like a sudden change that swept through the world. Something powerful was beginning to be born. This great force awoke Zeus, and he instantly knew it was coming from the Upper Stratum.

  It was go time. All the gods that aligned themselves with the primordial gods quickly did their parts. First, they set up blockades to hinder Zeus; then they grabbed what they could and fled to Tartarus.

  Zeus quickly called for his army, and they started to take down any and all blockades, but they were nearly unstoppable. It took a few minutes when Zeus realized that a majority of the Pantheon had left him. He was even more furious than before, and the Mortal World felt his anger as a worldwide storm raged through the land.

  Meanwhile, Gaia used her plants to destroy the elevator and soon left soldiers to delay Zeus before going up to Cupid’s Palace and creating a thicket of trees to hinder what was to come. Then she met with her siblings, who were all ready to defend their brother.

  Gaia: It’s go time.

  Nyx: Exactly. Gaia Go to Cupid; you have the most experience in this matter, and if we fail, you're the last line of defense.

  Gaia: Right.

  Gaia would then run inside to Cupid.

  Tartarus would then appear; he was armed with a scythe and a look of determination.

  Tartarus: Any sign of that lightning-flinging bastard yet?

  Erebus: No, he’s probably still dealing with the blockades.

  Tartarus: And what of Psyche and Hedone?

  Nyx: Safely evacuated, but I don’t trust Uranus’s barrier.

  Tartarus: Wait, you let that Cloud-loving cripple set up a barrier?

  At that moment the sky barrier around the upper stratum would turn red.

  Erebus: That’s an imprisonment. Veil

  Nyx: That bastard plans on trapping us here.

  Tartarus: Exactly, but he’s a creation of Gaia; he’s just as powerful as her.

  Then it happened: a lightning bolt pierced the veil, leaving a wide enough hole for a small army to pass through.

  Nyx: Damn, he’s here.

  Tartarus: Everyone on your guard. We outmatch that jackass; we just have to hold him off.

  Nyx & Erebus: Right!!

  And soon Zeus would rise through the hole he had created in the imprisonment. Veil lighting circled around him as his eyes glowed with an intense aura.

  Zeus: What the hell is happening up here?

  Erebus soon transformed his arms into blades and flew up to Zeus and performed a spinning slash attack. Zeus shielded himself and punched Erebus, only sending him away by a few feet and doing very little damage.

  Erebus smirked and said

  Erebus: You always were a weak little bastard.

  Erebus then sent a wave of darkness towards Zeus, who took heavy damage and was sent back a good distance. Zeus then sent a beam of electricity at Erebus; it managed to stun him, but not by much. Zeus would then try to capitalize but soon found himself being kicked to the ground by Nyx, who sprouted her four black wings to send the lightning-flinging jackass down to the ground.

  Tartarus would summon Onyx crystals to bind Zeus where he lay.

  Tartarus: Stay down, you jackass; you can’t win this.

  Zeus: Not alone; I can’t.

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  Suddenly there was a battle cry as Athena’s army, followed by Apollo and those still loyal to Zeus, would rise and tried to lay siege to the Cupid’s Palace.

  Erebus, Nyx, and Tartarus began fighting for their lives. Athena led the charge as a tactician while Apollo rode overhead using his power of light to weaken Erebus and Nyx.

  The three primordial gods were strong and proved too powerful for the gods alone, but still the Olympian gods still had a chance—that is, until the sun was forced to set.

  Apollo looked up, incredibly shocked. He didn’t command it to set at all; that only could mean it was Helios, the first sun god.

  And soon the full moon rose into the sky, commanding it was Selene and Artemis.

  Zeus, his limbs still trapped in Onyx, screamed; he swore he would kill Selene and rip Artemis to shreds, but by this point, Zeus’s army was in more danger.

  Erebus and Nyx were empowered by the darkness, and together they unleashed a savage display of their power, and it demolished their army and mortally wounded the gods who allied with Zeus.

  But the ordeal left Erebus and Nyx drained; they hadn’t used power like that since Chaos created them, and even still, they never needed to.

  Tartarus stood between his siblings and the decimated forces, and he armed himself, ready for anything, but Tartarus would soon be in for the fight of his life because soon, like a demon out of hell, Zeus broke free from the Onyx bindings and floated in the air, engulfed in an aura of electricity.

  And he soon started fighting Tartarus, who was incredibly surprised by the level of speed and ferocity that the Olympion King possessed. Tartarus soon created a stone spire made from obsidian and sent it flying towards Zeus, who caught it and soon shattered it.

  Tartarus and his siblings watched on with shock and disbelief; this was power they had not expected from a lesser-born god.

  Tartarus then sent razor-sharp obsidian fragments towards Zeus, who withstood the attack. This led Tartarus to use his Consuming Void Theurgy.

  Soon a large black hole of darkness appears behind Zeus, and it stuns him. Tartarus’s Theurgies are closely related to the void, and to be specific, he can choose what will be consumed.

  In this instance, he is choosing to consume Zeus’s newfound wellspring of power, but Tartarus is surprised to see Zeus standing his ground and vigorously fighting against the consuming void.

  Erebus: How is this possible??

  Nyx: I don’t know, but I am not letting him get into the palace.

  Nyx soon stood up and used her power to create tentacles of darkness to bind and restrain Zeus. These tentacles were fashioned with razor-sharp thorns that started slashing at Zeus’s skin, leaving him bleeding and brutalized, but that didn’t stop him.

  Erebus then joined the fray and started summoning bolts of black lightning to strike down upon Zeus and Tartarus, creating more razor-sharp onyx shards to assault Zeus with. With their combined efforts, they can only do so much until exhausting themselves. Zeus now freely walks into the palace. Though the three primordial gods had failed to stop Zeus, they had succeeded in delaying and draining some of his power.

  Zeus soon walked inside the palace, seething with rage for what he was about to find. He busted through walls, turned tables over, and nearly destroyed everything.

  The Olympion King was not expecting to be sent flying by the strong punch of Philia.

  Philia: You will not lay a hand on my master, you lightning-flinging bastard.

  Zeus: You will regret that.

  Zeus would then stand up but soon found himself buffeted by ruinous wind that quickly took effect in ruining Zeus’s stamina.

  Zeus: How the hell??

  Agape would then appear; she smirked, saying

  Agape: Your end is nigh, you petulant child of a king; you deserve everything that will happen to you.

  Zeus was about to throw a bolt of lightning at Agape, but he soon had to suffer through an eruption of dark blood-red thorns that pierced through his body. The culprit was Eros, who was preparing another spell, and above, Storge was using enchantments to buff his fellow Vassals.

  Zeus soon causes an explosion of electricity and soon goes after Eros, who manages to go a step above Zeus’s pace just to stay ahead. Eros soon starts to throw spell after spell at Zeus, slowing him down as he weathers every attack that comes his way. Zeus is once again hit by Philia’s fists of fury, and Zeus turns his attention towards Philia.

  The two go toe to toe, matching each other blow for blow, but Philia manages to get the better of Zeus and soon throws him through five walls of the palace as he gets up panting heavily. Zeus falls victim to another one of Agape’s attacks.

  Agape rushes towards Zeus, charges up energy into her hand crossbow and flamingo folding fan, and unleashes a combined attack called Demonic Sting.

  Zeus would feel the full brunt of the attack and would soon feel the cursed status effect fall upon him.

  He felt his godly powers diminish as he tried to stand up but soon found himself hit by a blast of mana, forcing him to the ground.

  The Four Vessels then went into full force, trying to shatter Zeus’s fighting spirit completely. The Vessels combined all their powers and did all they could, and they even managed to break his left arm.

  But then the Four Vassals were hit by a bolt of water, pushing them aside. They tried to react but were hit by another bolt of water. Unable to cope, Zeus then looked over and saw his brother Poseidon.

  Poseidon: I am sorry for being late, dear brother, but I had just gotten your letter recently.

  Zeus: Better late than never. Now let’s see what’s going on. Zeus, now accompanied by his older brother Poseidon, would sweep through the meager resistance of Cupid’s servants and pawns, rooks, and knights.

  The two soon came across a long hallway, and on the other side was Gaia, their grandmother.

  Gaia gazed upon her grandsons with a look of apologetic shame and sorrow.

  Gaia: Forgive me, Zeus and Poseidon, but I cannot let you pass. I do not wish to harm the both of you, but I will do what I must to atone for my mistakes.

  Zeus: Grandmother, why do any of this? Why align yourself with this facade? Why not just let us go? You're the one who cared for me when my parents couldn’t. I, too, don’t want to fight you.

  Gaia: My choice has already been made, my darling grandson. You both shall not pass; I can promise you that.

  Zeus let out a rough sigh and soon armed himself for a fight. Poseidon, seeing the pain within his brother, takes the lead and starts using his trident to fight off Gaia, who manipulates large elephant-sized roots to combat Poseidon’s trident and water attacks.

  The King of the Sea would soon find himself overwhelmed, mainly because for so long he would use hydromancy to fight, so his fighting experience was greatly limited while outside the water.

  Gaia’s roots quickly subdue Poseidon and then subdue a heavily weakened Zeus.

  Without even dropping a bead of sweat, Gaia exclaims

  Gaia: It’s over now and forever.

  Zeus: Let me go, Gaia.

  Gaia: I will not let you have committed so many horrible things, Zeus, and I might be partly responsible for it, and I raised you better only for you to go around and abuse women. You and your brother Poseidon are both horrible, and I refuse to let it continue.

  Then it happened like a wave of fresh air being released upon the world: a new lineage of gods came to be, and Zeus, for the first time in his life, felt threatened.

  Gaia would form a warm, relieved smile on her face as she said

  Gaia: At last I might be able to atone for the sins I have witnessed. Your reign, my dear grandchildren, is coming to a close as a new lineage of gods has successfully been born, and I will do all I can to protect them only to see the future they will bring, and I will teach them to be better.

  Gaia soon left behind the double doors, leaving her grandsons to dangle helplessly.

  All the while, Zeus could only think of one phrase.

  “Could I lose my throne?”