Chapter 205: Surrender Your Authority
Deep in Phoebe’s heart, even though she was extremely unwilling, she still deeply bowed to Zeus in respect and said in a low voice: “Thank you for your forgiveness, tolerant Zeus.”
Zeus merely smiled lightly and continued: “The purpose of my visit to see you this time is very simple.”
“As long as you are willing to admit your guilt, acknowledge the decay and wrongdoing of the old order, and hand over your own laws authority, I am willing to forgive you, release you from Tartarus, and allow you to live in the beautiful world.”
As soon as Zeus said this, Coeus and his wife immediately changed their expressions! They became extremely ugly!
Their brows were already tightly furrowed together, and they couldn’t say a word.
They forcibly suppressed the fury in their hearts and quickly thought about Zeus’s condition.
But before they could think much, a roar filled with endless anger had already come from the side: “Shut up! You shameless little thief!”
“You are delusional! Absolutely impossible!”
“You want our authority?! Never ever, impossible!”
Cronus had also recovered.
In fact, he wasn’t much slower than Coeus and his wife.
This extremely cunning old god king, even though his heart was filled with rage to destroy everything, did not immediately turn hostile after recovering, but instead secretly tried to undo the seal.
He exhausted all his efforts to see if he could break through the thunder seal set by his rebellious son and let his own divinity return to the laws.
But the outcome was predestined.
Like all those countless failures before, this time’s outcome also ended in failure.
But even though he failed, he wasn’t anxious. He wanted to know what purpose this rebellious son truly had, so he kept pretending not to have recovered.
But after hearing that Zeus actually wanted the laws authority they wielded, he could no longer endure it!
For all law gods, they are the incarnation of the laws!
Taking their laws authority is no different from taking their lives.
After all, they had already entered Tartarus—what could be more terrifying?
The already broken-jar-falls-hard Cronus immediately roared in anger!
“Zeus! You despicable and shameless little thief! Greed, utterly shameless!”
“Hahaha! You, relying on that shameless sneak attack, so what if you became the god king? Without our authority, even if you sit on the god king throne, can you control this world well?”
“Without my ‘creation’, ‘growth’ and ‘harvest’, without Iapetus’s ‘death weaving’ and ‘cycle of recurrence’, how can your rule last long!”
“I’m waiting for you! I’m waiting for you! Waiting for you to be overthrown by the new god king!”
“By then, who will still be in Tartarus is yet to be known! Hahaha—”
Hearing this, Zeus merely sighed lightly and said nothing more.
The old god king locked in the endless void chaos had no idea what the order of the current universe was really like.
He was even more unaware of how invincible he had become now.
He was still viewing himself with that old narrow gaze, completely unaware of how many version updates and iterations had occurred.
Zeus turned his gaze to Iapetus, who had recovered but remained silent.
He said softly: “Respected weaver of death, your child, Prometheus, is now by my side, serving as my advisor.”
“I entrusted him and Epimetheus with the task of creating universe life to make the universe more prosperous.”
“Atlas is with the ocean god, receiving his teachings. And his children, I have also granted them the honor they deserve.”
“Only your incorrigible second son, Menoetius. To save you, he tried to hold my beloved goddess hostage to force me to release you. Now, he has been thrown into Tartarus.”
Iapetus let out a deep sigh, and even on his immortal and indestructible divine body, a layer of twilight sorrow appeared.
He slowly spoke, his voice hoarse and fatigued: “Respected son of Cronus, thank you for your tolerance and generosity.”
“As for Menoetius, having done wrong, he should accept punishment—this is only natural, nothing more to say. No matter who it is, they must bear the price for their actions, whether they can ultimately endure it or not.”
Zeus nodded lightly, his gaze calmly sweeping over the four ancient Titans: “My objective is very simple; you can see this as a transaction. As long as you publicly admit the wrongdoing of the old order and voluntarily hand over the laws authority you each wield, I can pardon your crimes.”
Zeus looked at Iapetus and continued: “This includes your foolish son Menoetius; after one million years, I can release him as well.”
As soon as he said this, Coeus and his wife’s expressions became overcast and uncertain, clearly unable to easily decide in the face of this choice concerning the origin of the laws.
Iapetus remained silent, merely casting his deep gaze quietly toward Cronus.
Cronus showed no hesitation and immediately burst into an angry shout: “Absolutely impossible! No need to say more!”
He let out a disdainful cold snort and sneered: “At this point, what can you do? Nothing more than sending us back to the endless Tartarus again! But your ultimate objective, I will never let you achieve!”
Zeus seemed not to hear his roar, merely turning his gaze to Coeus and his wife and asking in a calm tone: “Respected Coeus, and Phoebe, what about you? What are your ideas?”
Coeus and Phoebe’s expressions grew even uglier; even though they once possessed wisdom surpassing an era, they still found it hard to make a decision now.
Everything else could be negotiated, but handing over the origin of the laws…
What difference did that make from taking their lives?
At that moment, Cronus shouted sharply from the side: “Coeus, my brother! Don’t believe a word from this rebellious thief!”
“How much of the ‘forgiveness’ he speaks of can be trusted?”
“Even if it’s true, once we lose everything, won’t we have no power to resist? If this rebellious thief goes back on his word then, won’t we still end up at his mercy?”
“Rather than pinning hope on his mercy and letting him slaughter us in the end, better not to follow his wishes now! Worst case, we stay in Tartarus, waiting for him!”
“One day, he will inevitably be overthrown by the new god king! As long as we hold on, there will always be a day when we gain true freedom!”
Cronus’s words immediately made Coeus and his wife feel it made perfect sense.
Yes, holding firm now—Zeus seemed to have no better method for them; perhaps in the long years of the future, a turning point really would appear.
But if they handed everything over now, they would truly place their life, death, honor, and disgrace entirely in his hands, only to be slaughtered at will.
If this new god king did not keep his promise, then
Even if he kept his promise, after losing all authority, any god in the universe could bully them at will, even easily destroy them completely.
If living on in abject misery, better to die!
It’s just that life in Tartarus…
Even Coeus, thinking of Tartarus, felt a fear and pain from the depths of his divinity, his divine body trembling uncontrollably.
The choice before them was actually no choice at all.
Either continue enduring the most terrifying torment in the world, waiting for that slim chance of life that might come after who knows how many long years; or gamble on a vague, ethereal end that might lead to complete annihilation.
Coeus and Phoebe exchanged glances again, both gods gritting their teeth, finally resolving—cannot hand it over!
However, just as they were about to speak, the always silent Iapetus suddenly spoke.
He said in a calm, unwavering tone: “Dear Coeus, and Phoebe, at the moment of the most important choice, perhaps you should be more cautious. Please think it over carefully again; the same mistake in decision-making should not happen a second time.”
Coeus’s heart jolted; he and his wife’s gazes met again. Though silent, their intentions were crystal clear to each other.
They didn’t understand why Iapetus would say such ambiguous words.
But Iapetus’s words always carried great weight.
Thus, they fell into contemplation once more.
Zeus turned his gaze to Iapetus and said slowly: “Respected cyclical recycler, if your children could all possess wisdom like yours, I believe their lives would certainly be happier than now.”
“The children you and Clymene gestated were not originally meant to be like this.”
“So, what is your choice?”
Iapetus smiled faintly; on his heroic and resolute face, though still shrouded in twilight and with divinity wilted, there was a natural air of calm composure.
He said softly: “Respected son of Cronus, thank you for your praise; I truly dare not accept it. I am just an overly stubborn god.”
“And a stubborn god, right or wrong, will not easily change the choice made. I once swore to forever pledge allegiance to His Majesty the God King Cronus. Now is the same. His Majesty Cronus’s decision is my decision.”
Hearing this, Zeus nodded and said no more.
