The sky burned red — not with sunset, but with ruin. Lightning fractured the clouds, splitting the heavens as five gods stood against one.
Their enemy didn't move. Power rippled from him like gravity itself, crushing the ground beneath.
Zeus stepped forward first, eyes blazing, thunder dancing across his hands.
"We end this now!" he roared.
He hurled a storm. Lightning struck… and bent backward, tearing the air instead of his foe.
Apollo's radiance cut through the ash, his smile steady even as fear tinged it.
"Light can't blind something that created it."
He fired a beam that could have split the sun — yet the being swallowed it whole.
Hermes blurred forward, a streak of silver and flame.
"Then I'll steal his breath before he steals ours!"
But his speed faltered under the god's gaze — time itself froze around him, his laughter turning silent.
Athena's shield shattered before she even raised it. Blood traced her chin.
"He's reading us," she whispered. "Every move — before we make it."
Artemis loosed her final arrow, blessed by the night itself. It never reached him. He caught it midair and crushed it between his fingers.
Silence fell.
Zeus reached toward the sky, seeking something beyond even the gods.
"If this is divinity," he said through clenched teeth, "then perhaps the heavens chose wrong."
The being smiled, stepping through the wreckage.
"No," he said, voice like the end of a dream. "The heavens chose me."
A shattering flash consumed the planet. When it faded, he was gone.
"Teleportation, or some kind of illusion," Athena marked off the possibilities.
"Don't let your guard down, it's waiting!" Zeus barked.
"Teleportation? That's my thing! No fair," Hermes quipped, though his voice trembled slightly — half jest, half fear.
They weren't friends, not really. Calling them acquaintances would be generous.
"There he is!" Zeus roared.
"Let's go, baby!" Hermes jazzed himself up, running with hands unleashed, swaying with the wind.
Hermes appeared before the forty-foot giant. He flicked himself forward, delivering a kick of immense force.
CRACK!
Bones shattered like glass.
"Rewind time, Chronos!" they shouted.
"Alright," Chronos said, but… nothing happened.
A great gloom fell across their faces.
Gaia's voice trembled, though her power was prodigious.
"I can't control that thing! It's transcending even my rule over life. I've never been this nervous… this battle is unwinnable."
The thought of fleeing crossed them all — but before they could, time rewound to the start of the battle. Chronos hadn't triggered it.
"The thing… it copies us. Our abilities, our traits," Athena deduced. "But time is external. It cannot be manipulated — only rewound or advanced. That means the giant has lost the stolen powers. Quick, Chronos — follow my plan. Everybody, run!"
"Hermes, Gaia will boost your strength and size you up!" she commanded. "Carry us to the farthest planet from here. Don't wait!"
The gods bunched together, leaving almost no room to spare. In the center, Chronos and Gaia radiated their cosmic power.
"Chronos, start. Gaia… just before his incantation ends," Athena instructed. Her voice calm, precise.
‡‡x‡xTargeted Temporal Manipulationx‡x‡‡
★★Transport★»
Purple voids and distortion enveloped them. Space and time collided. One eventually dominated.
Apollo tried to speak — nothing came out.
Everything warped. Gravity twisted. The gods clung to one another for survival. For a single instant, Athena and Apollo's lips brushed. It was accidental, fleeting — a ghost of contact in the chaos.
Athena did not foresee this. She knew everything, but not exactly everything. That was the limit of even her wisdom.
Meanwhile, Zeus' foot nudged Chronos' nose, barely — a small humanizing moment amidst cosmic catastrophe.
They had flung out of the universe.
Darkness. Warmth. A heartbeat that stretched like forever.
Inside the womb, seven tiny sparks of consciousness flickered, each separate, each aware. Seven unborn gods, already alive in a way the world wouldn't understand.
They were the septuplets — Athena, Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Gaia, and Chronos. Even here, they were themselves.
Hermes wiggled. "Ugh, this is boring!" he thought, though no one could hear him. "I can't move. I can't run. Seriously?!"
Athena's spark shot back. Focus. Every moment counts. Even unborn, she was already calculating. Patterns. Probabilities. The tiniest mistake could echo across centuries.
Zeus felt it, too — pride, deep and constant. I am king. Even here, I am king. A storm hummed faintly inside him, waiting for release.
Apollo glowed softly, calm and steady. Patience. Observation. Timing. His light brushed the others, subtle, warming.
Artemis twitched instinctively, tiny hands curled. Hunt. Survive. Wait. Even here, her instincts sharpened, sensing shapes and movements in the void.
Gaia stretched inside, the raw pulse of life thrumming through her. I will grow. I will shape. I will endure.
Chronos drifted in thought, folding time gently around the seven sparks. Patience. Endurance. Your eighteen cycles will teach you more than you can imagine.
The womb pulsed, fluid shifting around them. Even unborn, they could sense one another — curiosity, rivalry, trust. Tiny sparks of connection wove between them, invisible but real.
"Systems," Gaia whispered, though no sound passed through the womb. The word hummed inside the consciousness of each. "You will each have one. Some shine. Some destroy. Some twist reality. You don't know them yet. But they wait."
Hermes snorted. Systems? Play with them? Sounds fun.
Athena's spark snapped back, sharp and cool. Not play. Systems are survival. Wait and learn.
Zeus pressed outward, testing boundaries. Even now, I feel power. Storms I cannot yet summon. Command I cannot yet wield. But it will come.
Apollo radiated calm, small and steady. Light, knowledge… I will understand before the others. Patience is everything.
Artemis twitched, instincts alive. Hunt, strike, endure. I will survive.
Gaia pulsed with life. Everything around me is potential. The world waits. I will shape it. I will protect it.
Chronos folded time again, subtle and careful. You will age slowly. Your minds intact. Systems dormant. When eighteen, the ceremony will awaken them. Until then, observe. Endure.
The septuplets shifted, tiny sparks brushing against one another. One curious, one cautious, one mischievous, one patient. Already, relationships formed, threads that would stretch across centuries.
Hermes wiggled again. This is so boring! I'm going to annoy them all.
Athena cataloged the tiny movements. Probability of survival: increasing. Potential cooperation: high. Individual strengths and weaknesses: noted.
Zeus pressed outward, imagining storms he could never yet summon. I will not yield.
Apollo hummed, radiance curling around the others. Patience, knowledge, timing.
Artemis crouched instinctively, ready. I will survive. I will strike when necessary.
Gaia felt life around her, raw and unshaped. The world is waiting. We are bound to it. I will grow into what I must.
Chronos folded time like a blanket, stretching seconds into hours. Every moment is preparation. The systems are encoded in your souls, waiting.
Faint sparks of power flickered within them, unknowable but distinct. Athena's strategy, Hermes' mischief, Zeus' storm, Apollo's illumination, Artemis' instinct, Gaia's life, Chronos' time.
The first contractions came, gentle tremors at first, then stronger, shaping the passage ahead. Gaia felt the world beyond, raw and alive. Chronos slowed time just enough to ease their journey into reality.
Then came the first breath. Fire and water, wind and light, life and potential — all at once. Seven tiny bodies, fully aware, systems dormant but encoded, ready.
Athena opened her eyes first, scanning, thinking. Everything is a variable. Everything is probability. The ceremony will come. And when it does…
Hermes squealed, wriggling, excited. Finally! Freedom! Fun! Chaos!
Zeus growled, tiny fists raised. I am king. Even now, even like this, I am king.
Apollo radiated calm. Patience is a gift. Knowledge endures.
Artemis crouched, instincts sharp. Survival first. Hunt later.
Gaia stretched, feeling Earth's pulse beneath them. Life flows. Potential waits. I will shape it, guide it, protect it.
Chronos folded time around them subtly. The world will test you. The systems will awaken. Endure, grow, awaken.
Above, the sky stretched infinite. Untouched, unspoiled, ready.
And in the center, seven tiny sparks — Athena, Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Gaia, and Chronos — poised to grow, to awaken, to define destiny.
The systems waited. The ceremony waited. And Earth, unshaped and alive, would become their arena.