"The timing doesn't match up."
"Normally speaking..."
"The birth of the Olympian Pantheon and the fourth-generation God-King should have happened after the true beginning of the Silver Age."
In the Underworld.
In the Elysium.
Here, Erebus and Nyx sat upon their thrones, facing Hades.
Erebus whispered softly.
It was clear that the words just spoken were from him.
"Then..."
Hades pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "The Mythical World wouldn't do something like this. There's no benefit to the development of the world by acting this way."
"Indeed," Nyx nodded in agreement, "The Mythical World wouldn't sabotage itself in such a way."
"In other words..."
Erebus considered, "Aside from her, there's no other deity capable of such a feat."
Erebus and Nyx, as Ancient Gods, were privy to a vast amount of knowledge. They understood much, and in fact, they knew exactly how the Mythical World was supposed to develop, much like sages who foresee the future in other worlds.
But!
Sometimes ignorance can be bliss. Knowing nothing can be the best outcome.
When you understand everything, it becomes a burden.
For these two Ancient Gods, they knew that at this moment in time...
Hmm!
More accurately speaking...
In this era...
For the Mythical World, history progresses in stages, beginning with the Golden Age, followed by the Silver Age, and eventually reaching the Bronze Age. In this cycle, time itself holds little meaning.
Until!
When the year 1 AD finally arrives, that will be when the world truly begins to move forward with the flow of time.
Before that, the Mythical World's development was driven solely by the progression of its eras, while time was a trivial matter.
In other words...
As long as the eras didn't progress, it wouldn't matter how much time passed.
However!
If a God-King tried to freeze time permanently, that would not be allowed under any circumstances.
You could waste a million years, ten million years, or even a billion years on whatever you wanted, and that would be fine within the limits of the Mythical World.
As they say, opportunities are always there. But whether you can seize them is what truly matters.
But.
If you attempted to stop time entirely and make it eternal, the eight Ancient Gods would surely intervene.
When Hestia took the Heart of Space, if not for the preparations made in advance and the immediate replacement afterward, along with Erebus and Nyx secretly hindering her efforts, Hestia would have died on the spot.
This is the limit imposed by the Mythical World. It allows certain actions, but there's a boundary. You cannot push things too far.
The world gives you chances, but if you try to stay frozen in time without advancing, things will not end well.
"The eras don't align," Nyx said softly, "The Silver Age has not yet arrived, but all of this has already happened. Apart from her, I don't think anyone else could have made this happen."
Hades thought for a moment and then quietly said, "If that's the case, why didn't the Mythical World intervene?"
"It's not a major issue," Erebus shook his head. "For the Mythical World's development, the replacement of a God-King is irrelevant."
"Uranus created the primordial age."
"Cronus created the Golden Age."
"And!"
"You and your brothers will bring forth the Silver Age. If the fourth-generation God-King were to replace the third generation and directly create the Silver Age, eventually leading into the Bronze Age, that's still within the realm of possibility."
Erebus explained calmly.
In simple terms!
Every generation of CEO has their own responsibilities. But if the fourth-generation CEO can handle the work of the first three, it doesn't really matter.
"I see..."
Hades pondered quietly.
Nyx, too, murmured curiously, "But it's odd... these actions don't seem to yield any obvious benefits. Given her character, if she intended to resurrect the Twelve Titan Gods, I wouldn't be surprised at all."
That Earth Goddess was known to dote on her children.
She also sought to transcend all limits and cross that final barrier to become a true Absolute God.
For any deity!
The Absolute God is the highest level, the unique and unparalleled being in the entire infinite Mythical World. All their counterparts across different realms would be absorbed into themselves, becoming one singular entity across past, present, and future.
But!
For other gods, this was not the case!
This could be seen with the Seventy-Two Pillars of Demon Gods. They existed not only in Hell but also in many other realms—small worlds, large worlds, and the Mythical World itself.
These versions all existed.
The same applied to Hades. If one wished to transcend from a Creator God to an Absolute God, the most critical step was to merge all versions of oneself to become the only one. Only then could one achieve that absolute status.
If one couldn't do this, they would forever remain stuck at the final step.
And now, Gaia was stuck at that step.
Gaia adored her children—the Twelve Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hundred-Handed Giants. She also hoped to use her children to unify her essence.
But the biggest issue is!
It seems that Gaia's current actions don't offer any visible benefits!
Hades thought for a moment and asked, "Could she be abandoning her children and choosing the fourth-generation God-King instead?"
"This..."
Erebus and Nyx both considered the possibility.
Theoretically.
It seemed unlikely! But if they thought carefully, it wasn't impossible.
For instance!
Pontus.
Pontus was one of Gaia's backup plans. As long as the world didn't fully enter the late stage of the Bronze Age, everything could be restarted.
In other words.
Gaia had countless opportunities, countless ways to try again and again, to see how things would play out.
"If we follow that line of thought," Erebus pondered, "Perhaps she has another plan in mind, or maybe this is just a small, insignificant attempt. If it works, great; if it fails, she has a backup."
"A backup..."
Hades thought about all of this, contemplating her true intentions. What was Gaia really aiming for with her actions?
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