Kronos could already see the great gates of his father's palace, surrounded by large marble columns. The palace was still under construction and from a distance it looked like a huge, half-finished titanic mass. Flower gardens, olive groves, and endless waterfalls surrounded the palace and the buildings adjacent to it.
A group of soldiers from Uranus' personal guard stood at the gate, led by Hyperion, a tall, strong young man. He wore armor as bright as the sun itself, which he had made himself, and greaves as shiny as his father's stars.
Hyperion perceived the arrival of Kronos as a threat to his father and quickly stood in his way.
"Brother, how good it is to see you. Come, let's have a few jugs of néktar ," Hyperion said in a soothing tone, but cautious of how his brother might react.
"Where is Mother?" Kronos didn't even stop when his brother caught up with him, continuing to walk toward the palace doors. But Hyperion stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"She's with Father... she's his wife and they haven't seen each other in a while, you know... let's go get a drink, I'm thirsty and I've got some good stories from the last campaign. Soon we'll put an end to that line of usurpers."
Kronos turned on his brother, causing him to let go. His gaze was stern. "I have to see Father right now."
"It's not a good idea, he's not in the mood. When we were returning from Scyros, a group of Gorgons and Ladons attacked several of our ships. Oceanus was on one of them, Phoebe and Tethys are with him right now. He may not survive."
"Oceanus? How is that possible? He controls the Aegean. Themis didn't tell me anything about this..." Kronos was petrified at the news that one of his brothers was facing life and death. This was common among mortals but not among immortal deities.
"The descendants of Pontus are sea creatures that live in the seas... and they are the seas... This is a cruel war, brother. Father is a monster, I know that as well as you do, but he is the monster who guarantees our survival. As for Themis, you know how our little sister makes a mountain out of everything. Let's drink and trust that Mother will watch over our beloved brother."
"No, I need to talk to Father."
"Okay, but just so you know, I warned you." He let him leave, pretending not to care much about his reaction, while Hyperion returned with the soldiers.
Uranus had just lain with Gaia, who was still naked on the bed, catching her breath as she stared at Keto's terrified head. While Uranus was still insatiable, he went to get a cup of nektar to quench his thirst and take his wife once more.
"Please Uranus, I beg you, stop this terrible massacre, Pontus has done nothing to us." Uranus was already back in bed. He grabbed Gaia by the neck and as he took her again he said, "I will kill every last vermin that came out of the cock of that usurper and you. You are mine alone, and together we will be the lords of the cosmos. Not even Chaos and his children will overshadow us." Fear was evident on Gaia's face at her husband's words as she felt his thrusts against her, but soon the words were forgotten and the ecstasy of intercourse intoxicated her. Her voice broke into a series of disordered moans, each louder than the last, as if pleasure were pushing her beyond any conscious restraint.