Rhea understood Metis’s dilemma.
If there truly was a second child, then a being who could threaten all three brothers would be born.
She herself had suffered something similar…
So Rhea gently tried to persuade Metis.
“Go to Poseidon. After the war, that child has earned the respect of every god and nymph and monster in the sea through his uprightness and fairness. And you are a nymph of the sea as well, aren’t you? Poseidon publicly said he owes you a debt, so at the very least he won’t turn you away at the door.”
Metis acknowledged Rhea's words.
The sea governed by Poseidon was at that moment more peaceful and orderly than at any time before.
Sometimes he was unpredictable, but that was simply the nature of the sea. And the fact that, ever since the Great War, every sea-dwelling being supported and respected him was remarkable.
And on top of that, Poseidon had openly declared at a public assembly that he owed her a favor.
“Yes. I should ask Poseidon.”
* * *
With Rhea's help, Metis slipped out of Olympus without Zeus noticing and headed toward Poseidon’s palace.
During that process, Rhea persuaded her daughters to stall Zeus long enough to prevent him from catching Metis.
Zeus eventually ordered the North Wind god Boreas to pursue Metis, but she had already slipped into Poseidon’s dominion.
“Boreas, this is not a place you can enter whenever you please.”
“Tsk, Thetis. I’m here under Lord Zeus’s command.”
“That still won’t work. This is Lord Poseidon’s domain. If you want to enter, get his official permission.”
“Poseidon forgives you once and you give him your undying loyalty, I see.”
“Ha! If your master Zeus had caught me, he would probably have hung me upside down and locked me away.”
Thanks to Thetis—who had awakened and begun moving about again—blocking Boreas, Metis was able to safely reach Poseidon’s sanctuary.
“Metis.”
“Hello, Poseidon.”
“Tsk, I can already guess why you came.”
“Gaia must have told you.”
“Yes, Gaia told me you would come here.”
“Good, then this will be quick. Save my child. I don’t know whether there will be one or two in my womb, but I will exercise the right you gave me before.”
Poseidon felt a strange sensation at Metis’s words.
He too had heard the prophecy from Gaia.
Prometheus had also come and delivered it, and Poseidon knew the prophecy would inevitably come true.
“You came here assuming there will be two children in your womb?”
“No. I still don’t know. But I at least know how Zeus will react.”
Poseidon nodded at Metis’s words.
He agreed with her judgment.
‘Yeah… Zeus would absolutely do that.’
But Metis herself didn’t know that Poseidon already knew her child would be Athena alone.
‘If things go as I think, this is actually an incredibly simple matter.’
From Poseidon’s perspective, it would be foolish not to accept her request.
“If you help me this time, your name will spread even farther. They’ll say you are a god who values promises and honor. And even if twins are born, I swear on my name I’ll stop the child myself, even if the cost is my own death. I can even swear on the River Styx.”
Metis, unaware of the truth, was desperately earnest.
Perhaps because of her desperation.
Before they realized it, the gazes of nymphs and sea-creatures around them were focused on the two.
“If I make a declaration here, there will be no backing out.”
“……”
* * *
Seeing Metis grow more anxious under the weight of all the watching eyes, Poseidon decided not to overthink it.
No matter what happened, the situation would favor him.
“Fine. Metis, the promise between us will be honored. I promise I will not harm the child, even if twins are born.”
At Poseidon’s words, Metis placed a hand over her belly and spoke.
“I swear on the River Styx. My children will respect Poseidon and never act to damage his honor. Also, my child will never undermine Poseidon’s authority. Should such a thing happen, I will take my own life.”
Thus the contract between Poseidon and Metis was sealed.
After completing the contract, Metis cautiously studied Poseidon’s expression.
‘Poseidon seems certain that twins won’t be born. I must be careful. Until the children grow up, I must….’
If Poseidon's mind was trapped by the original myth, there was one thing he failed to consider: the goddess before him was the Goddess of Wisdom.
If there truly had been only one child in her womb, would she have gone so far as to come ask Poseidon for help?
He hadn’t considered that possibility deeply.
He merely assumed he was lucky and made a light decision—never imagining how much of a headache it would become later.
* * *
Time passed, and the day finally arrived when Metis’s labor began.
During that time, Zeus’s envoys came several times, but all of them had to return without even seeing Metis’s face.
Zeus himself still hadn’t moved, apparently wanting to observe the situation for a little longer.
“Poseidon… you must… keep your promise…”
“Metis, don’t act as if you’re about to die. Focus on delivering properly.”
“Pfft, fine, you’re right.”
Thankfully, thanks to Hera’s help, the goddess of childbirth Eileithyia was already present in Poseidon’s undersea palace, so there were no particular problems.
This Eileithyia was essentially a clone born from Hera herself—one of the goddesses who played the biggest role in Hera becoming the goddess of home and children.
Soon Metis’s childbirth began.
Aaaaah!
With Metis’s agonized cries, the sea trembled and thrashed in shock, and even Mount Olympus far above shook as if frightened.
Kkkgh—!!!
And then—
The child whose birth shook the world entered it.
The newborn’s arrival was so intense that even gods who had not cared about this situation turned their heads toward the bursting surge of divine power.
Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!
Fresh from the womb, the beautifully radiant child cried with a bright, powerful voice, announcing her birth to the world.
“Oh my, you’ve given birth to a beautiful princess, Lady Metis.”
“Put her in my arms. I want to see her face.”
“Yes.”
As Metis caressed the newborn lovingly, the gods watching felt a wave of relief—only one child seemed to have been born.
A girl, at that. If the child were merely a powerful, wise goddess, then there was nothing to fear, and everyone should rejoice.
But then, just as they all prepared to celebrate the birth of a new god, the pains struck Metis again.
“Ugh.”
“Oh dear! There’s one more!”
Aaaaargh!!
With a cry even more agonizing than before, Metis delivered another child.
Waaah! Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!
The sudden second birth caused the gods to feel shock, worry, fear, and anxiety all at once.
But—
Unlike the gods, the mountains, the fields, and the sea themselves began to sing in celebration.
Seeing that reaction in real time only made the gods’ faces grow grimmer.
It was far too similar to the prophecy.
Soon, Eileithyia—who received Athena’s twin—looked at the loudly crying newborn and spoke with difficulty.
“It is a boy.”
WHAT?!
* * *
The news spread instantly.
With every god in the world watching, it was impossible to hide.
The sea gods nearby froze in shock.
The Olympus gods spying on the area also froze in shock.
Then—
KWA-RRRRRUNG!!
Lightning flashed across a cloudless sky with deafening crashes.
Even the afterimage of each bolt left scars across the heavens, and the electric traces spread down into the sea itself.
Meanwhile, Poseidon—who had been watching all of this without thinking—had only one thought.
‘Yeah, I’m screwed….’
* * *
Right after giving birth to her second child, Metis quickly grasped the situation outside.
She immediately sent Eileithyia away.
Then she activated every defensive mechanism in Poseidon’s palace—prepared in advance—and laid down layers upon layers of magic for a siege.
After locking the palace doors completely, she sent a letter to the only person who could help her: Rhea.
“Huh? This is my house…”
A side note: because his home was seized in an instant, Poseidon reportedly had no choice but to eat and sleep outside his own palace for quite some time.
“This is way too much, seriously.”
* * *
Worse than Poseidon being unable to enter his own home was the atmosphere in Olympus.
It was no different from a mourning hall.
For days Zeus had been striking Olympus with lightning, and every god was terrified.
The stress was unimaginable.
“Hera, shouldn’t we do something?”
“Yes, everyone is so scared that no one can even act.”
“The mortal races on the surface keep asking too.”
Especially Hestia, Demeter, and Hera—who had helped Metis escape at Rhea's request—were taking the matter seriously.
They had helped because their mother asked, but if things went wrong, they could be branded traitors.
Not that they were afraid of Zeus, of course.
“Hmm… do we really need to react? It’s not like we’re Zeus’s subordinates.”
“It’s not Zeus I fear. I’m afraid my children might get harmed.”
“Demeter is right. I don’t have any children I made myself, but if hers died, Demeter would be devastated.”
“……”
Hera paused at Hestia’s words, then made her decision.
“Then we need to move Poseidon.”
“Huh? That kid lost his whole house and has been sleeping outside.”
“Yes. He looked pitiful, so I tossed him a few coins. If we hand him a couple of coins right now, he’ll probably move easily.”
Hera pressed her fingers to her forehead.
Even after all these years, her sisters—and that brat Poseidon—had not changed at all.
“Were you two playing around in the middle of this crisis?!”
* * *
Meanwhile, Poseidon—still homeless—understood how serious the situation was, but also knew it was not yet the time to move.
He wasn’t the thinking type, but after living several hundred years, he had learned that sometimes the best way for beings of great power to solve a problem… was to do nothing at all.
With that enlightenment, Poseidon simply…
Used the coins and bread Demeter and Hestia had given him and wandered around the merfolk marketplace looking for something to eat.
Though he behaved like an annoying customer.
“Hmph… Hey! Why do you have nothing? Look here. Demeter, you know—she gives dwarves and goblins houses, temples, bread, everything!”
The merfolk, long used to Poseidon’s constant complaints, simply waved him away like a bothersome vendor.
“Lord Poseidon, if you’re not buying anything, please leave. You always come and complain without purchasing.”
“Right. And stop comparing us to the surface world. Everything in your palace—including the wards you lost—is something we built, you know.”
“Oh really? My mistake. Wahahaha!”
Watching Poseidon banter with the merfolk, two figures sighed deeply in exasperation.
The goddesses Hera and Rhea, who had arrived from Olympus.
“Honestly, when will that boy ever become a proper god?”
“And yet, every child of the sea loves him.”
On her way to the sea after receiving Metis’s letter, Rhea had run into Hera, and the two came together.
“That may be so… but I still say he has not a shred of dignity.”
Hera spoke that way, but she couldn’t deny it.
Every sea-dwelling creature here revered Poseidon.
“We need to speak with him quickly. Zeus’s patience won’t last much longer.”
“Indeed. Even Hades has begun to move, according to the goddess Styx.”