"Not enough!" Tike narrowed her eyes. "Pledge your glory, and if you harm me, you will fall into the Tartarus abyss and never escape!"
Cronus frowned, looking at the fearless Tike, his voice chilling. "The same applies to me. You must also swear not to use this to threaten me, nor tell anyone about our oath! Whoever breaks this oath shall fall into the abyss!"
"I acknowledge your concern. Swear by the Styx!"
The Styx responded to the oaths of the two deities, and an invisible restraint connected to the divine fire.
Tike did not wish to speak another word with the deity before her. After making some preparations in the temple, she solemnly opened her radiant eyes.
Following the trajectory of fate, Tike saw the lost Rhea and the image of a mad Cronus falling with Mount Othrys.
Stumbling back a few steps, Tike leaned against a stone pillar in the temple to steady herself. Meeting Cronus's anxious gaze, the goddess spoke her prophecy.
"Cronus's youngest son will be the successor to the king of the gods! As long as your sons continue to be born, the destined fate will not arrive!"
Ecstatic, Cronus burst into laughter. He paid no mind to the pale-faced Tike and strode out of the temple.
Tike, unseen in a corner, donned her silver veil and silently returned to the Invisible Island.
The goddess, no longer appearing weak, unhesitatingly plucked a handful of lilies and returned to the temple humming a tune. The oath of the Styx indeed held unquestionable authority, and Tike had truly glimpsed the future, but she had not broken the established fate, nor had she spoken a prophecy.
This time, she had gained immensely. Tike danced with joy. Constantly bearing children could indeed ward off Uranus's curse, but the problem was that she hadn't explicitly stated that the throne of the king of the gods would not be overthrown.
A cunning smile spread across Tike's lips. Holding the lilies, she twirled lightly before diving into the soft bed.
Tike deeply agreed with the saying that a thief can steal for a thousand days, but a guard cannot guard for a thousand days. No matter how well one guarded, a single mistake could be fatal. It was better to take the initiative and, by seizing control, resolve all these troubles at once.
Her divine position as the protector of women and children afforded Tike a certain degree of pity for Rhea. It was foreseeable that if Cronus had children with other goddesses, it would surely provoke Rhea's emotions. Then Rhea would be saved, and Cronus would be too preoccupied with the retribution of the queen of the gods to attend to anything else. Tike would be the ultimate winner, a truly harmonious situation!
The goddess could not wait to witness this grand spectacle up close. Lying on the bed, Tike could already imagine Cronus's surprised expression when he was overthrown, believing himself to be in complete control.
Unable to resist, Tike rolled over on the bed, contemplating what she could gain from the king of the gods' oath. New divine positions were out of the question; she already possessed enough, some of which Tike had even voluntarily sealed and refrained from using.
As she pondered, the drama on the divine mountain began. Tike immediately jumped out of bed and went to the pool, lightly touching the surface. The water rippled, revealing the silhouette of the divine mountain. From the sky's perspective, Tike saw clearly how Rhea, struggling desperately, was struck to the core by Cronus's constant pronouncements about having children. The long-silent queen of the gods, to the delight of all the gods, slapped the king of the gods across the face.
Tike couldn't help but applaud Rhea, as the spectacle of the divine king and queen fighting each other was finally being reenacted.
In the dispute between the two deities of time, the queen of the gods surprisingly gained the upper hand, demonstrating the intensity of her rage. The Titans, who were constantly monitoring the situation, were both surprised and delighted by their sister's fury. Regardless, it was a good thing that they could awaken from the deathly silence of returning to their origins, and Phoebe and Asteria could also breathe a sigh of relief.
The jewels worn by the queen of the gods were carelessly discarded during her fight with Cronus. Rhea, with her hair disheveled, roared in fury, resembling a mad lioness. Although Cronus sensed his wife's anger, he could not understand its source, and he defensively parried his wife's attacks with confusion.
The fear of losing his throne was dispelled by Tike, and the wisdom blinded by power returned to the king of the gods' mind. True affection flowed from their connected origins into Rhea's heart, and the queen of the gods' raised arm involuntarily stopped mid-air. The king of the gods took his wife's hand, and sweet words rained down upon Rhea. Cronus, with his intellect back online, soon soothed his enraged wife.
The gods watched the embracing couple with regretful eyes. Tike pouted and, greatly disappointed, dispersed the figures of the couple nestled together on the water's surface.
The ripples on the water gradually subsided, and the moonlit, clear pool reflected the goddess's shadow. Tike reached into the water and retrieved a scabbard. The light reflecting off the pool shone on her hand, making the golden patterns inlaid in the enamel gleam brilliantly.
Servants brought a white falcon chariot for the great deity. Tike drove the chariot to a mountain valley in the north. Following the ceaseless groans of the giants, the goddess found a rift leading to the abyss.
Ordering the birds to stay away, Tike donned her invisibility cloak and leaped into the unfathomable darkness. The divine power of fate bypassed the slumbering Tartarus. In this abyss devoid of support and light, Tike pursued a flicker of fire and found the three Cyclopes.
The giants huddled together cautiously, cherishing the rare light and warmth in the abyss. They extended their arms to carefully shield the campfire, their giant eyes on their heads vigilantly scanning for Tartarus's tentacles, ready to flee at the slightest disturbance.
Mist silently spread, and in the darkness beyond the firelight, the mist sealed off the entire area.
Tike, removing her invisibility cloak, clearly startled the giants. The eldest, Argus, immediately extinguished the campfire and retreated into the darkness with his brothers. The disorienting fog caused the fleeing giants to inexplicably return to their original positions. Tike lit the campfire and looked at the flustered giants with a half-smile.
Brontes held back his brothers, who were still trying to escape, and asked in a booming voice, "Unknown goddess, why have you come into the embrace of Tartarus?"
Rubbing her ears, which were numbed by the giants' voices, Tike couldn't help but complain, "Can't you be a little quieter?"
Seeing that Tike seemed to have no hostile intentions, the curious giants couldn't help but approach the campfire and form a circle again, obscuring the firelight.
"Noble goddess, do not attract the attention of the abyss. Tartarus's tentacles will absorb all your emotions and strength, driving you mad without you even realizing it," Steropes kindly reminded them, clearly mistaking Tike for another unfortunate soul trapped in the abyss.
"The monsters born from our suffering will hunt all living things, so you must remain calm and not let them smell your fear."