Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Kronos/Gaea
Depths of Tartarus
"NO, NO, NO! What the hell is all this?"
Kronos’s screams echoed through a large part of Tartarus. It was clear to anyone who could hear him that the Titan King was not having the best of moments.
In his rage, he tried to stand, but the chains around his body tightened immediately, reminding him exactly where he was. Kronos lowered his gaze toward them, his eyes filled with hatred, before clenching his teeth hard. "Damn fucking chains," he growled through his teeth.
"How is it possible that, of all times, that bastard had to return now?" Kronos shouted, not directing his words at anyone in particular. He had just learned from one of the monsters that Damon had returned to Olympus. The creature had repeated what it had heard from Ares: Zeus was no longer on the throne, and Damon had taken his place. The simple news had chilled the Titan’s blood, though he would never admit it out loud.
The worst part was not that Zeus had lost. Kronos did not expect much from the Olympian gods at this point. In fact, the reason he had chosen this moment to accelerate his return was precisely because the Greek pantheon was at its worst.
Divided, weak, full of internal problems, and too busy with their own failures to notice what was moving beneath them. That was what Tartarus had told him, and Kronos certainly did not have many reasons to doubt a primordial who had already helped him before.
But Damon was different, and Kronos knew that perfectly well. The god of war had not directly called it a massacre, because his pride probably would not allow him to say it that way, but the way he described it left little room for doubt. Damon had entered Olympus, subdued the gods, and taken the throne. Simple as that.
And what bothered Kronos the most was that Damon had been moving inside the Greek pantheon for some time without him realizing it. If he had known beforehand that Damon was already moving within the pantheon, he would not have been so careless. Kronos narrowed his eyes. He was sure Tartarus knew. He had to know. And still, he had not told him anything.
"Champion of Chaos, huh..." Kronos murmured, pressing his fingers against the stone beneath his hand. "What the hell are you involved in, Damon?"
That detail was what truly kept circling in his head. Damon had not only returned. He had not only taken Olympus. He was also connected to Chaos, and if that was true, then many things could become complicated in ways Kronos had not calculated.
The Titan clicked his tongue.
"Tch. It changes nothing," he muttered, though the way he said it did not sound completely certain. "My return is guaranteed. I know it. The prophecy says so."
The Titan lowered his gaze toward his chains again, but this time there was a twisted smile on his face. It did not matter how strong Damon was. It did not matter if Chaos had claimed him. It did not matter if the Olympians had knelt before him.
Tartarus was on his side, and if Tartarus handled the part that belonged to him, Kronos had nothing to fear. After all, he had already dealt with Uranus before, hadn’t he? Uranus was also a primordial. How much difference could Chaos make when he had the abyss itself backing him?
That thought was enough for madness to return to his eyes. Kronos quickly dismissed Ares’s warning about the new king of Olympus. The god of war could fear whatever he wanted...
The results would be different. After all, fate was on his side. The prophecy was on his side. And Damon, no matter how powerful he was, did not have the power to face that.
Right?
XXXXXX
While the Titan of time was losing himself in his own wrong conclusions, Damon was having the relaxation of his life.
He was currently in his new temple on Olympus, enjoying a spring bath after spending a fairly long day at Camp Half-Blood. The water was warm, the place was quiet, and for the first time since he had arrived in Greece, no one was trying to attack him, complain to him, or put a new problem in front of him. Damon had his arms resting on the stone edge, his head slightly tilted back, thinking about literally everything that had happened in such a short amount of time.
"Ahhh... I really needed this," he murmured.
"Ha, you don’t say," Kurama replied from his mental space, lying down as if he were also enjoying the relaxation. "Even I would be stressed if I were you. You’ve barely been king for one or two days and too many things have already happened. And from what we’ve seen, this is barely the beginning."
"Besides," Shukaku added, shaking his head, "don’t forget that you have to help that primordial recover and stabilize the earth. Ha, the gods know how much effort that’s going to take."
The tanuki lifted his face with a mocking grin. "Ah, but you’re a god, aren’t you? Everything under control for Damon."
Shukaku began laughing with his usual annoying laugh until one of Matatabi’s tails hit him on the head.
"You’re interrupting Damon-kun’s relaxation, you damn raccoon."
"What did you call me?" Shukaku shouted back.
And just like that, another argument between the bijuu began forming in his mind. Damon closed his eyes for a second and cut the mental connection without thinking too much about it. He did not want to hear any of that. He already had enough headaches outside his head to deal with them inside it too.
Silence reigned for a while.
"You seem to need a little help," a voice said, interrupting his thoughts.
Damon recognized the voice instantly.
"I just got a new temple and you’re already interrupting, Gaia," he said, opening his eyes and moving his gaze toward the entrance of the spring.
The primordial was standing there, calmly leaning near the stone frame, as if entering the private temple of the new king of Olympus was the most normal thing in the world.
"You were the one who told me to look for you when you presented yourself before the gods," Gaia replied, looking at him calmly. "I don’t see a better moment than now. There’s enough privacy. Unless you would prefer me to appear in front of all the Olympians."
Damon let out a low laugh.
"No, no, not at all. Actually, I should thank you for saving me from that headache."
Damon knew very well that Gaia’s presence would have caused another unnecessary commotion. Not only because she was a primordial, but also because, to many on Olympus, she was still the same one who once tried to destroy them. Explaining that things were not that simple would probably have taken too much time, and Damon did not have the patience for that right now.
"Hmph. I’m glad we’re on the same page," Gaia said.
The primordial separated herself from the frame and walked toward the spring under Damon’s attentive gaze. She did not seem to be in a hurry, nor did she seem worried about invading his space. In fact, she acted as if the temple belonged to her too.
Damon watched her in silence, noticing how her fingers brushed the edge of her dress before the fabric began to slide down her shoulders with a clearly intentional slowness.
"Gaia," Damon said, his tone a little more serious, though not exactly annoyed.
The primordial simply looked at him as she undressed in front of him with the most absurd naturalness in the world.
"Yes, dear?"
Damon raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to tell me this is also part of the conversation about the earth?"
Gaia tilted her head, clearly amused. "Well, let me tell you, the earth also needs attention."
Damon let out a low laugh at how shameless the primordial could be when she wanted. "How convenient."
Gaia set the fabric aside and dipped one of her feet into the water, testing the temperature without taking her eyes off him. Then she entered completely, letting the steam from the spring cover part of her body, but only enough to leave the rest to the imagination.
Gaia’s confidence had always intrigued Damon. From the moment he met her, he knew she understood perfectly well the effect she had on others, and worse, she had no problem using it when it suited her. Damon did not look away. Not at all. He simply remained leaning against the stone edge, watching her approach with a mixture of amusement and expectation.
"I’ll warn you now, you’re playing with fire, woman," Damon said.
Gaia reached him and placed a hand on his chest, slowly caressing him as she leaned in enough to make it clear she was not trying to be subtle.
"Then stop me," she murmured. "Although I don’t think you will."
Damon looked into her eyes. "Oh, no?"
Gaia softly shook her head, sitting on his lap with such slowness that any other god would have lost his composure instantly. Her arms wrapped around his neck while her green eyes stayed fixed on his.
"I’ve been thinking about how I should reward you for your help," the goddess said, moving her hands slowly over his shoulders. "I know you said I didn’t have to give you anything, but my pride won’t let me leave you like this, just like that, when you’re being so good to me without asking for anything in return, when no one else has."
Damon only looked into her eyes. One of his hands moved to the primordial’s waist by pure instinct, and Gaia noticed the gesture, her eyes shining with clear satisfaction.
"I would be the biggest fool in the world if I said you shouldn’t," Damon said. "But let me warn you about something. After this, there’s no turning back."
Gaia looked at him with shamelessness. "Then you’ll have to prove it to me."
For a moment, the tension between them stopped feeling like a game. Damon could see the attraction in her eyes, but also something deeper that she was not saying directly. Gaia brought her face closer to his, enough for him to feel her breath near his lips.
"You’ve done a lot, you know?" Gaia murmured, her fingers moving slowly along the back of his neck. "Even now, I can feel that part of you is still thinking about all of that."
Damon did not look away from her. "It’s hard not to when all the problems seem to end up in front of me sooner or later."
Gaia moved a little closer, lowering her voice. "Then let me take care of that in Amaterasu’s absence."
Damon watched her carefully, clearly feeling the provocation in her words. The desire was there, direct and without shame, and the worst part was that he had no intention of backing away.
And Gaia knew it. That was why her gaze became a little more satisfied when Damon’s hand slowly moved up her back, pulling her even closer to him.
Gaia barely brushed her lips against his. "Come on, we both want this."
Damon did not need to hear any more. Without thinking twice, he closed the distance between them, and his lips met the primordial’s.
The kiss began slowly, almost as if both of them were measuring how far they could go before losing patience. Gaia wrapped her arms around his neck more tightly, but within seconds, what started as a simple touch became deeper, until the primordial let out a small sound against his lips.
The water of the spring moved around them when Damon pulled her closer to his body. Gaia responded immediately, her fingers tangling in his hair as the kiss became wetter and filled with that tension they had both been provoking since, literally, the moment they met in the Great War.
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