Time passed.
One year.
Two years.
Three.
Four.
Five.
For the immortals, it was but an instant.
For Zeus, it was five years of preparation.
Five years of training.
Five years slowly approaching the future he wished to build.
During that time, Metis continued researching the substance capable of forcing Cronus to banish his siblings.
It was no easy task.
Many of the necessary ingredients were extremely rare.
Some grew only in dangerous regions.
Others were guarded by ancient monsters.
And a few weren’t even recorded in the knowledge of the Titans.
Therefore, Zeus spent much of those years traveling.
Mountains.
Primordial forests.
Forgotten shores.
Abysses where few creatures dared to venture.
On each journey, he fought monsters.
Beasts born from primordial chaos.
Creatures that terrorized lesser gods.
And each victory strengthened his power.
The ability he had discovered years before was still working.
Slowly.
Steadily.
Each defeated monster left behind a small amount of divinity.
An insignificant amount on its own.
But thousands of tiny drops eventually formed an ocean.
Zeus could feel the change.
His divinity had become denser.
More stable.
More powerful.
Though he still kept that secret between himself and Metis.
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It was too dangerous a power.
One afternoon he returned to Metis’s residence with several ingredients she had requested.
The Titaness was reviewing scrolls when he appeared.
“I found the Twilight Flower.”
Metis looked up.
“The one that grows on the western cliffs?”
“That’s the one.”
“It’s supposed to be protected by a giant sea serpent.” “I was.” Metis shook her head.
“I’m beginning to suspect you enjoy fighting monsters.”
“Only when they try to kill me.”
“Then you must have quite a bit of fun.” Zeus chuckled.
These conversations had become commonplace over the years.
So commonplace that they sometimes forgot they had once been strange.
As they arranged the ingredients, Metis glanced at Zeus.
He had changed.
He was no longer the young god who had appeared before her five years earlier.
He was stronger.
More confident.
More mature.
And, to her surprise, he had also become more attractive.
She immediately pushed those thoughts away.
There was no point in dwelling on them.
However, she found it increasingly difficult to ignore them.
“Is something wrong?” Zeus’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
“Nothing.”
“You seem distracted.”
“I’m thinking about the formula.”
“Sure.” Zeus’s amused smile made it clear he didn’t believe her.
Metis rolled her eyes.
“You’re not as clever as you think.”
“I never said I was.”
“You’re constantly implying it.”
“That’s different.” The Titaness let out a small sigh.
Five years ago, that attitude would have irritated her.
Now she found it strangely endearing.
And that was a problem.
Because she was beginning to realize that she no longer saw him solely as an ally.
That became even more evident one night.
They were both stargazing after a long day’s work.
The silence between them was comfortable.
Natural.
As if words weren’t necessary.
“You’ve changed.” Zeus looked at her.
“For better or for worse?”
“For better.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Although you’re still too trusting.”
“And you’re still worrying too much.” “Someone has to do it.” A small smile appeared on the god’s face.
For a few seconds, their eyes met.
Metis was the first to look away.
Her heart was beating faster than normal.
And that was deeply unfair.
Because she was beginning to fall in love.
Slowly.
Without realizing it.
Year after year.
As she watched Zeus fight for his siblings.
As she saw him shoulder responsibilities no one else knew about.
As she discovered the person behind the future king.
Zeus, for his part, smiled faintly.
It was no secret to him.
He had long since stopped seeing Metis merely as an ally.
He trusted her more than anyone.
He enjoyed her company.
And with each passing day, he found new reasons to admire her.
Five years had passed.
Five years of preparation.
Five years gathering ingredients.
Five years increasing his power.
Five years building a relationship that grew stronger with each passing day.
And although the moment to face time hadn’t yet arrived, they could both feel it drawing near.
Destiny was beginning to move.
And when it finally did, the world would never be the same.