I Am Zeus

The smoke still curled over the ruined mountain when the storm inside Zeus hushed for the first time. His fists lowered, his chest rose and fell heavy, and the silence that followed the clash was heavier than thunder. The battlefield lay in ruin—scorched stone, rivers turned black, chasms splitting Olympus in ways that would never heal. And among the wreckage, two vast forms were undone.

Erebus's void had scattered into ribbons of dying shadow. Tiamat's body had collapsed into the sea, her five heads limp, her brood dissolving into steam. The gods stood battered, bloodied, but breathing.

Then it came.

A ripple in the air. Light written across nothing.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

New Quest Generated

Title: The Primordial Hunt

Description:

Your victory over Tartarus has broken the ancient balance. The Primordials have deemed you a threat to their existence. Their eyes are on you. Some will strike soon, others will wait, but they will come.

Objectives:

– Survive the first assault. (1/1)

– Locate and eliminate any Primordial who moves against you. (3/Any)

– Secure power equal to or greater than a Primordial. (1/1)

Rewards:

– Title: Storm Over Creation, Breaker of the First Dawn

– Primordial Authority Assimilation (Passive: gain fragments of a Primordial's dominion upon their defeat)

– Unlock Hidden System Path: [The Throne Beyond the Sky]

– Unknown Reward: ?

Failure Consequences:

– Loss of divine authority.

– Erasure from all realms.

– Olympus will fall.

Zeus's storm pulsed in his veins as the letters seared into his vision. He clenched his jaw and stepped closer to where the air shimmered above the ruins. Floating above the wreck of the battlefield were two prizes—one dark, one radiant.

The essence and the core of Tiamat, swirling like a living sea, scales and silver light still writhing as if her brood had not yet died. And opposite it, the essence and core of Erebus, shadow bleeding from it like smoke, its void still whispering promises of silence. Both hovered in the air, waiting for his hand.

Zeus raised his palm, and the storm bent them closer. They hovered before him, one dripping venom and water, the other leaking night.

He did not keep them.

His eyes swept the battlefield, over his bloodied children. Artemis stood with her bow still drawn, silver hair plastered to her cheek with sweat, her arrows spent, her breath sharp. She had not faltered. She had been the moon in chaos, the hunter who cut the brood's numbers in half.

The essence of Tiamat pulsed brighter in his hand. He turned to Artemis.

"Daughter," he said, his voice low but carrying over the ruin. "This belongs to you."

Her eyes widened as he pressed the swirling core and essence of the Sea-Mother against her chest. It sank into her, burning silver against her skin. Artemis gasped, her bow flaring in light. Scales glimmered briefly along her arms before fading into her skin, her aura exploding outward in a surge of primal power.

The system's voice whispered only to Zeus:

[Primordial Authority: Oceanic Brood — transferred.]

Artemis's eyes snapped open, glowing faint silver-blue. Her bow had changed, the string humming like waves against a shore. She bowed her head slightly, words caught in her throat, before stepping back into formation.

Zeus's gaze turned to Hermes. The god of thieves was still catching his breath, his sandals sparking faint, blood dripping from cuts across his arms. He had darted through shadows and survived where no one else could. His wit and speed had kept the line from collapsing.

The shadow-core of Erebus writhed in Zeus's palm, dark tendrils curling like smoke. He did not hesitate.

"Hermes."

The messenger god looked up sharply as Zeus thrust the void into him. It sank through his chest, and Hermes staggered, his grin faltering for once. Darkness bled across his veins, his sandals glowing black-gold, his blades bending in shape. His body flickered, not just with speed now, but with absence—he stepped forward, and for a heartbeat he wasn't there at all.

The system whispered again:

[Primordial Authority: Abyssal Night — transferred.]

Hermes exhaled sharply, his grin returning, wider and sharper than before. "I think I just stole the dark itself," he muttered, flexing his hands.

The gods murmured at the sight, awe rippling through the battered ranks. Artemis and Hermes—both carrying fragments of Primordials. Olympus had changed in more ways than the mountain's scars.

Zeus's storm pulsed once more, then dimmed. He had given what he could. The fight was not over.

A shout broke through the ruin. It was Thanatos, wings tattered, his face pale as death itself. He dropped before Zeus, bowing low though his breath shook.

"My king," he rasped. "The underworld—" He swallowed, his voice sharp. "It is under attack. Wraiths not of Erebus, but older. They pour from cracks deeper than Styx."

The gods stirred, voices rising in alarm.

And before Zeus could answer, the sea roared.

Poseidon appeared in a surge of water, his trident dark with blood, his hair matted. His voice thundered across the ruin.

"The seas burn!" he bellowed. "Foreign gods walk my depths, not mortals, not Titans. Something older. They rise from trenches that have never opened before. My domain is breached!"

The hall of Olympus trembled. The Primordials had not struck once and retreated. They had split the war. The underworld bled. The seas churned. Olympus had only survived the first storm.

Zeus's storm flared, his jaw set, eyes burning with light. He looked at his children, his siblings, his allies. Their armor was cracked, their blood was fresh, their breaths ragged—but their eyes were fire.

The system whispered once more.

[Quest Updated.]

– Survive the first assault. (1/1)

– Locate and eliminate any Primordial who moves against you. (3/Any)

– Secure power equal to or greater than a Primordial. (1/1)

Bonus Objectives:

– Defend the Underworld. (0/1)

– Defend the Sea. (0/1)

Failure of either will fracture Olympus's authority.

Zeus lifted his hand, lightning hissing across his knuckles. He did not speak long. His words cracked the air like thunder.

"Then we march."

The gods roared as one.

Olympus bled, but Olympus was not broken.

And now the war was spreading.