Tyche left with a heart full of thoughts, her questions unanswered by Rhea.
Tyche once again arrived at Kronos's temple, connected by the waterways of Mount Othrys.
Kronos, seated expressionlessly on his throne, lowered his gaze indifferently upon the goddess.
Tyche suddenly smiled, "Though I've said it before, this phrase is even more fitting now!"
"Should I call you Your Highness Kronos or Your Highness Rhea?"
The King of the Gods remained silent. After a long pause, Rhea emerged from behind the throne. The Queen of the Gods looked at Tyche with an unreadable expression and asked cryptically, "Haven't you already gotten what you wanted? Why aren't you staying out of our affairs as you said you would?"
Tyche's smile widened, "Your Highness Rhea, you are truly the most terrifying deity I have ever encountered! And I have faced the abyss!"
"While I don't know why you've meticulously deceived me, I know it cannot be for anything good! To avoid being dragged down with you, I feel it's best to clarify things with the one who truly decides everything. What do you think?"
Rhea also smiled, "State your demands. What will it take for you to not interfere?"
"No rush, no rush. I'm very interested to hear your reasons for doing all this."
Rhea's cold gaze locked onto Tyche, as if trying to discern the motive behind her words.
After a long silence, Rhea, with a sigh of resignation, lowered her head first.
The Queen of the Gods walked to Kronos's side, affectionately caressing her husband's face and leaning into his embrace with a contented sigh.
"It's a very ordinary story, not as moving as your mutual devotion with Helios."
Tyche remained noncommittal, her eyes silently urging Rhea to continue.
"It all began with my father, the deceased first King of the Gods, Uranus."
"To my father, we were merely accidental byproducts of his pleasure with Gaia. He never loved us. Even when we served him with utmost humility, like servants, he still treated us like lowly insects, trampling on our dignity! If not for his companionship, I would have ended my life long ago, unable to bear such humiliation!"
With that, she tightly clasped her husband's hand, gazing deeply into his placid eyes.
Tyche, having witnessed Uranus's brutality and cruelty through Nyx's eyes, looked impassively at Rhea, lost in her sweet memories.
"Uranus accused us of stealing his power with our birth and was so enraged that he wanted to cast us into the abyss! It was Kronos who stood up and saved me. I can never forget how he shielded me from harm, just like he holds me now!"
Tyche's scalp tingled, and she averted her gaze, afraid to look at Rhea, whose demeanor was clearly unsettling.
Rhea continued recounting what were, in her eyes, cherished memories, "Uranus whipped him fiercely with his lash, but no matter how Uranus struck him, he refused to let go of me!"
Rhea's eyes seemed to pierce through the river of time, returning to the past, completely immersed in that memory, "From that moment on, I knew he would be my husband."
"He took the sickle from Gaia like a hero and overthrew Uranus! He became the King of the Gods with the support of all the deities! That day, he held my hand and, amidst the blessings of my sisters, walked to the summit of the divine mountain, smiling as he told me he would make me his wife!"
"But slowly, his gaze began to shift away from me. I thought he was merely worried about Uranus's curse."
Terrible furrows appeared on the Queen of the Gods' beautiful face, tears streamed from her eyes, and she roared with a distorted voice, "But he actually wanted to leave me!!!"
"I loved him so much, I was willing to do anything for him! I would have died for him, but he actually wanted to sever our marriage!"
Rhea wailed in grief, and Tyche cautiously retreated a few steps, ready to open a portal and escape at any moment.
"I could tolerate everything he did, but I could not accept that he didn't love me!"
"You're insane!" Tyche stated with absolute certainty.
"I can tolerate him swallowing those children, but he actually distanced himself from me because of it, no longer believing in my love for him!"
Rhea was on the verge of tears. Her fingers, stroking her husband's hand, dug fiercely into his eyes. Golden divine blood flowed down Kronos's expressionless face. The sobbing Rhea quickly channeled divine power to heal her husband's wounds, tenderly kissing Kronos's restored eyes. She paid no attention to Tyche, who had retreated further, and kept apologizing for her actions.
Tyche's hair stood on end. She shivered involuntarily and moved closer to the temple entrance.
Rhea's agitated emotions finally calmed down. She leaned back into her husband's embrace and shyly recounted the aftermath, "I thought he no longer loved me. This pain was driving me mad."
"Until that day, when I had prepared everything and was merging with his essence, I discovered he still loved me. You cannot imagine my excitement!"
Hearing this, Tyche couldn't help but interject, "So, you made the first move."
"Yes. I was driven to the brink of madness by the pain then, and this was the only way. Whether I succeeded or failed, I would become one with him, never to be separated again."
Rhea seemed remorseful, pressing her husband's hand to her chest to feel his warmth. Her slender body clung to Kronos like a vine.
"You stopped?" Tyche asked, confused.
"No, I want him to belong to me forever."
All emotion drained from Rhea's face. She turned to Tyche by the door, "But I didn't want his soul to leave either. To preserve his consciousness, I traveled back through time and brought back the past Kronos."
Tyche, finally piecing everything together, had a sudden realization, "So you grew old because you suffered the backlash of time!"
"Kronos finding a way to evade the curse was also part of your plan! Do you really believe I would give you a prophecy?"
Rhea smiled, "Tyche, you are too soft-hearted! Among the three Fates, only Asteria still possesses mid-level divine power. For a friend's safety, you would surely step forward!"
"Was it worth it? Just for a man?"
Tyche looked at Rhea seriously, "For him, you abandoned your children, endured the backlash of time, and deceived your caring sisters, all for a man's love?"
"It was worth it." Rhea said without hesitation, "If not for Kronos, I would have ended my life long before being cast into the abyss!"
Tyche sighed in disbelief, ceasing to speak with Rhea, whose stubbornness and obsession were deeply ingrained. Pale words could not move her.
Turning to leave the temple, she was stopped by Rhea.
"Aren't you going to exchange something for this?"
Tyche paused, her hand on the door, and turned to look at the anxious Rhea, "Our transaction ended long ago, didn't it? Now, Kronos owes me something. I think I understand what he possesses but doesn't know."