Eresh—or rather, Ereshkigal—was not an unfamiliar name to Athena. The arrival of Uruk's Hero-King in the past had caused the Greek gods to seriously consider this previously unknown neighbor.
The Olympians had carefully studied Uruk's civilization and thoroughly examined its mythology.
Athena thus knew that Eresh was mistress of the Netherworld in Uruk's pantheon—a goddess analogous to their own Hades. She also knew well how, in the great divide between humanity and divinity on that land, this mistress of the Netherworld had ultimately sided with Rovi and Uruk's Three Kings, expelling the gods from human affairs.
But beyond all this, what occupied Athena's attention most was, naturally, the rumored romance between Rovi and Eresh.
It was said that, before Rovi fell into the Imaginary Number Sea, he had visited the Netherworld countless times to meet the goddess there.
It was said that this goddess was the only deity to whom the Sage openly professed affection.
So many legends flashed through Athena's mind in an instant.
Though the brief glimpse of that portal connecting to another corner of the world had vanished swiftly, Athena's heart still swirled with tangled thoughts.
"The North, huh... I'll remember that." Rovi murmured softly, then turned toward the tightly bound Cronus. "So you've been conspiring with them?"
"Heh—hahaha! This time I admit defeat. Telling you won't matter now." Cronus burst into mocking laughter.
As the deepest layer of the Greek cosmology and the planet's furnace, Tartarus connected to every corner of the world. Ever since Zeus imprisoned the Titans there and ignored them, Cronus and his kin never ceased yearning to reclaim the surface. Yet, wary of Zeus and Olympus's strength, they sought help elsewhere through Tartarus itself.
"We discovered beings north of Greece. Their world is structured around a World Tree, divided into nine realms: the top is ruled by present-day gods, while the lowest layer belongs to their original gods—existences much like us Titans, likewise called giants."
"I made contact with their progenitor—Ymir. We agreed that, should they aid us in reclaiming the land above, we'd help them destroy the gods ruling atop the World Tree."
"The giants you saw earlier were replicas formed by combining their bodily templates and the power of us Titans!"
Thus, the Titan Giants were essentially Nordic giant bodies infused with Titan powers—two origins melded into one.
Rovi understood immediately. "Are you telling us this in hopes that Olympus might shift attention to an external threat?"
"Precisely," Cronus admitted without hesitation.
A foreign menace always took priority over internal turmoil—especially among Olympians, still scarred by the chaos of the White Titan Sefar. If alerted to the Nordic giants' threat, they'd surely wage war against them, giving Cronus the chance to retreat and recuperate once again.
"Regardless, neither you nor they can truly kill me," Cronus declared smugly. "We Titans are inseparably linked to Tartarus itself!"
"Unless you truly devour Tartarus completely, you'll never erase our existence!"
Cronus's roar echoed through the abyss, flames surging like waves crashing violently upon rocky shores.
Yet, truthfully, Rovi felt disappointed.
Cronus had given up.
No longer willing to fight nor eager to kill Rovi, he merely wished to slink away again, gathering strength for another day.
And that was exactly what Rovi didn't want.
"It's such a shame. But..."
"You will do."
Rovi's voice echoed through Tartarus's depths, punctuated by the stirring of countless Titan Giants who rose from molten rivers and closed in upon Cronus, responding faithfully to Rovi's command.
"You will do," he repeated.
The Chains of Heaven tightened fiercely, golden light blazing brighter as the Gate of Babylon's radiance intensified.
Again and again, the words echoed ominously—"You will do."
Cronus's disdainful sneer soon turned to confusion, then outright terror.
Despite being a mechanical god, his iron visage twisted into a vividly human expression.
He... was afraid.
Rovi had turned Cronus's own Titans, infused with Cronus's Authority, against him. He siphoned away Cronus's power through the Chains of Heaven, channeling it into the Gate of Babylon's abyssal maw. And above all, Rovi's primordial aura, vast as the sea itself, began devouring him directly.
"Turning your own spear against your shield, Cronus..."
"Perhaps I alone can't consume Tartarus. But what if I add you into the mix?" Rovi grinned coldly. "Since you won't fight me head-on, then stay here and let me devour you alongside Tartarus!"
To swallow an abyss, Rovi needed greater magnitude—a sufficiently vast "foundation."
Cronus, once supreme among major gods, possessed exactly such a foundation. Even weakened and hollowed as he was, Cronus's nature alone sufficed as the vessel Rovi needed.
And by devouring Tartarus—
Rovi could finally step toward death!
It was power no living being could withstand, yet he'd always chased after it relentlessly.
Like the act of Creation itself, sacrificing oneself once could buy eternity.
But Cronus wouldn't submit easily.
An immense force surged again—the power of Dominion reasserting itself.
Both sides strained in a brief stalemate.
"Human—"
"For your blasphemy against the gods, you will repay it ten-thousandfold!"
"Kill him, Goddess of Olympus!" Cronus struggled desperately but could only maintain equilibrium. Each moment weakened him further.
He had no choice—
"If I cannot dominate you, I'll dominate her instead!"
Cronus abruptly directed Dominion toward Athena, who had fallen strangely silent since Eresh's appearance.
Dominion was essentially a subtle manipulation of consciousness, exploiting hidden thoughts to transform one into an obedient puppet.
Instantly, Cronus felt Athena's turmoil, her inexplicable anxiety stirred by Eresh's presence.
"What troubles you?" a dark voice murmured in Athena's mind.
What troubled her? Was she afraid that Eresh's return would draw Rovi away? Was she afraid that the wise Sage would abandon the Goddess of Wisdom?
"Why such unease?"
Why? Because, by nature, a goddess of wisdom and war would be drawn to a hero renowned for brilliance and courage?
Yet she'd met heroes before, and always remained indifferent. Never before had she felt like this.
"Face your feelings. Cast aside the chains of your identity."
Her identity—Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War, patron of Athens, who'd vowed eternal chastity before Zeus. A virgin goddess?
Was that what bound her?
"Now—trust me." Cronus's voice brimmed with delight. Athena had yielded: "Obey your true desire. Approach that man before you—"
Athena stepped forward slowly.
Rovi turned slightly, observing her quietly.
Olympus's goddess remained solemn, yet her scarlet eyes glistened with a strange, misty glow.
She had succumbed to Cronus's Dominion.
Though ineffective against Rovi, Cronus's Dominion worked perfectly on Athena!
"Kill him! Kill him! End him!"
"Use your most powerful weapon—"
Cronus exulted.
Rovi considered thoughtfully. Being killed by a controlled Athena wouldn't exactly be glorious, but perhaps it was still worthy of note?
It wasn't… bad, exactly?
Rovi's eyes widened suddenly as soft warmth brushed against him.
Instead of attacking, Athena rose gently on tiptoe and kissed him.
Cronus: "?"
Who was the crazy one here, exactly?
Yet Rovi saw clearly—in that moment, Athena's eyes regained absolute clarity.
She was awake!
Facing her heart honestly, casting aside her identity's shackles—
"I like you, in the way humans love," Athena whispered happily, smiling openly.
She embraced Rovi, cold armor dissolving, soft robes pressing warmly against him. Her slender waist arched, her hips rose invitingly, seeking something deeply intimate—while Rovi, locked in struggle with Cronus, stood momentarily paralyzed.
No more excuses, no more disguises. She simply loved him.
At once, something lifted from her. Her future opened clearly ahead.
She saw herself—not Olympus's revered goddess, nor one of the Three Virgin Goddesses, nor Athens's guardian—but the prophesied successor to Zeus himself:
Athena, fourth-generation King of the Greek Gods!
At that very moment, strength surged from Athena's future self into Rovi, completely overwhelming Cronus's resistance.
Crack… Crackle… Cronus's ancient Atlantean machine-god persona fragmented, consciousness slipping away like a human losing hold of reality.
Cronus stared dumbly at the embracing pair, and muttered only one baffled phrase: "Well, fuck."
"Well, fuck!" echoed Zeus atop Mount Olympus, having just returned and not yet swapped personalities. "Motherfucker! Athena became God-King?"
Beside him stood Hera, Queen of Gods, speechless:
Who's this giant idiot? I don't know him.
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T/N: WELL ILL BE FUCKING DAMNED SHE BECAME A GOD KING? herres the chapter name btw lmao
Chapter 112: I'm Done Being a Virgin Goddess, Rovi!
i usually dont do titles because one: spoilers, and two: people like to skip lots of chapters to find a chapter name that they find interesting