It wasn’t hard to guess Uranus’s preferences.
As the absolute ruler of this world, the heavenly king with the power of creation, Uranus naturally worshipped strength and believed there was nothing absolute power couldn’t solve.
This was also the source of his confidence when he faced Prometheus’s prophecy.
During their short conversation, Prometheus had roughly figured out Uranus’s character.
So when Atlas was causing trouble for him, he deliberately provoked Uranus into saying those words to catch the King of the Gods’s attention.
At that moment, because of the prophecy, the King of the Gods was extremely unhappy with his twelve children and showed them no kindness — but that dislike didn’t extend to his grandchildren.
And sure enough, after hearing those words, he highly praised Atlas.
This could also be seen as a warning to the twelve first-generation gods who had just been suppressed by him — a reminder that he held supreme power and they shouldn’t have any treacherous thoughts.
Thus, the hatred the twelve first-generation gods felt for Prometheus naturally shifted to Atlas as well.
Poor Atlas had no idea he was being used as a pawn.
Feeling proud and pleased with himself, he accepted the title of Heaven-Bearing God.
If it had ended there, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.
But Uranus still thought that wasn’t enough.
This newborn world was so empty — there was nothing in it.
The gods were busy doing their duties, but the King of the Gods had nothing to do.
Simply put, the King of the Gods was bored.
Before this, Uranus would summon his twelve children every year to instruct them, teaching them to respect their father and use the laws to maintain the world, so he could strengthen his position as King of the Gods.
But after that prophecy was spoken, the King of the Gods grew angry at these beings and refused to let them near him.
Moreover, the great Mother Earth Gaia also refused to come near him, showing her displeasure at him breaking the law of reproduction.
Uranus, deadly bored, summoned Atlas, the Heaven-Bearing God whom he had personally appointed as his attendant.
Atlas was straightforward and sincerely respected the powerful King of the Gods.
Surprisingly, after talking with him, Uranus found him likable.
To win the King of the Gods’s approval, Atlas even performed a feat — moving a mountain on the spot — showing off his incredible strength.
Seeing this, Uranus burst into laughter, his wild and mighty voice echoing across the world.
All the gods who witnessed this scene fell silent in fear.
But happiness was short-lived.
When Atlas lifted mountains again and again, the great King of the Gods stopped smiling — he got bored.
At that moment, countless eyes were watching Uranus’s every move.
Seeing that he seemed finally tired of it, one of the gods quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
That god was Ourea, Uranus’s brother and the god of mountains, the divine embodiment of mountains and valleys.
In the beginning, the Mother Earth Gaia had given birth to three gods: the sky, the mountains, and the sea.
Only then did the world take shape.
It was covered by the sky (Uranus), supported by the earth (Gaia), surrounded by the ocean (Pontus), and propped up by the mountains (Ourea).
Since Uranus was so dazzling and favored by Gaia, and later became the King of the Gods, it was said that his two brothers played minor roles.
But that was also because of Ourea and Pontus’s personalities.
Both gods were quiet and down-to-earth, and didn’t want to get involved in battles.
Atlas repeatedly lifting the mountain was basically torture for Ourea’s body — a form of bullying — but Ourea didn’t dare say anything and could only silently endure it.
Seeing that Uranus was finally tired of it, Ourea thought this long ordeal was finally coming to an end.
But before he could catch his breath, he heard Uranus suddenly say:
“Brave Atlas, Heaven-Bearing God, I’ve seen your strength, but it seems that’s not yet your limit.
Can you throw that mountain into the distant ocean?”
Hearing this, Ourea the mountain god, Pontus the sea god, and even Oceanus the ocean god — all their expressions changed.
Atlas paused for a moment, then a confident look appeared on his face, and he shouted loudly: “Of course, Your Majesty the King of the Gods!”
Uranus was even more pleased with him and laughed heartily, saying: “Excellent!
I knew I was right about you!
Go on, Atlas, show me how truly powerful you are!”
Atlas was full of fighting spirit.
He lifted the mountain before him again, then walked with heavy steps to the edge of the world.
Finally, under the horrified gazes of the gods, he threw the huge mountain into the ocean!
In an instant, the roar of churning water and the rumble of colliding laws spread across the world!
The mountain was the embodiment of Ourea’s divine body, and the ocean was the embodiment of Oceanus’s divine body.
Throwing the mountain into the ocean meant crashing these two gods together at once!
Oceanus and Ourea felt their own laws explode inside them, and pain instantly filled them.
Both gods cried out at the same time.
But at that moment, Uranus burst into laughter, as if he had discovered something extremely interesting and new.
He loudly praised Atlas and asked with great interest: “Can you throw it even farther?
Can you throw it into the distant ocean?”
“Your Majesty, I’m willing to try!”
Atlas was also full of fighting spirit and quickly lifted another mountain, while Pontus, who represented the distant ocean, trembled in fear!
Despite the fear, the huge mountain still crashed down, and the loud noise and rumbling spread across the world again — but this time, Pontus and Ourea screamed in agony.
Uranus, watching this scene, gave everyone a very satisfied smile.
He remembered the prophecy that had been troubling him.
His relatives would betray him, and his children would raise blades against him.
His most powerful son was Oceanus, the ocean god, with vast and perfect divine power.
His relatives were Ourea, the supreme god, and Pontus, who — because of Oceanus’s birth — had lost half of his water authority and fallen from the peak of divinity to the level of a supreme god.
These three gods had now become thorns in his side, and he was glad he had thought of a way to torment all of them at once!
After all, they had angered the King of the Gods — so how could the King of the Gods let them get away with it?
Uranus even personally picked up that huge mountain, holding it in his hands as easily as a small pebble, and then threw it into the endless sea.
As for whether it hit Oceanus or Pontus…
it didn’t matter!
After all, the chaos made things more interesting!
And so, the agonizing cries of the three gods spread across the world.
Seeing this, the other gods trembled in fear, not daring to say a word, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.
What’s more, these brutal tortures continued from time to time, lasting for several years.
The three gods were worn out and in unbearable pain from the torment.
Seeing this, Tethys, Oceanus’s wife and the guardian of waters, could no longer sit still.
With tears in her eyes, the beautiful sea goddess arrived at Iapetus’s home and specifically asked to see her grandson Prometheus.
“Child, go save your grandfather.”
She grabbed Prometheus’s hand, her voice trembling with despair: “Please, go tell the great King of the Gods that your grandfather Oceanus really never planned to rebel!”