I Am Zeus

The hum of the plain still lingered as Zeus drew his hand back from Ouranos's face. The storm inside him raged, louder than it had ever been, but his expression stayed unreadable. Gaia's tired smile followed him as he straightened, lightning faintly snapping around his shoulders.

Then, it happened.

The air before his eyes rippled, as though the fabric of the world had been pierced. Text burned into the void, glowing blue-white, not seen by Gaia, not felt by the earth. Only Zeus.

[Name: Zeus]

[Title: Stormborne King, Son of Fate, Sky Incarnate]

[Divine Tier: 7 → 10 (Primordial Class)]

[Faith Level: Expanding → Ascendant – Recognized in all realms touched by storm]

[Divine Power: 768/1000 → 19,800/∞]

His breath slowed. The numbers were not mortal, not Olympian. They were something else. He didn't move, didn't let Gaia see, but his storm surged in his veins, fighting to break free.

The next line appeared.

Skills Updated

[Lightning Flicker – Lv. 7 (Ascended)] → [Cosmic Flicker – Lv. 1 (Primordial)]

Speed surpasses the fold of space. Each flicker tears the boundaries of dimension. Reflexes elevated beyond light, into causality itself.

[Thunder Shout – Lv. 5] → [Cosmic Roar – Lv. 1]

Unleash the voice of the sky. The roar bends matter, erases sound, collapses divine barriers within kilometers.

[Smite – Lv. 6 (Divine Tier)] → [Cosmic Verdict – Lv. 1 (Primordial Tier)]

Condemns chosen targets in the name of the Storm. Verdicts manifest as bolts that carry authority of creation and destruction. Cannot be resisted by lesser gods.

[Aether Step – Lv. 5] → [Voidstride – Lv. 1]

Chain movements through non-space. Step through existence, collapsing enemy defenses. One stride equals the horizon.

[Stormcaller's Wrath – Lv. 6] → [Cosmic Tempest – Lv. 1]

Summon the original storm of the heavens. The hurricane consumes realms, fueled by lightning, voidfire, and chaosflame inherited from Surtr and Tartarus. Cannot be contained once fully unleashed.

[Divine Presence: Storm Crown – Lv. 3] → [Primordial Authority: Sky Sovereign – Lv. 1]

The field of Zeus no longer disrupts lesser divine magic—it dictates cosmic law. All who walk under sky feel his will. Primordial monsters born of chaos bend instinctively or shatter upon entering his presence.

[WORLD BREAKER STRIKE – Lv. MAX (Primordial Authority)]

Allows the user to channel the totality of their divine authority, fused with the Primordial Sky, Tartarus's abyssal fragments, and Surtr's chaosflame, into a single strike. This attack does not simply wound—it fractures existence itself. Space, time, and causal threads can be torn open, shattering the barriers between realms. Once unleashed, it echoes across eternity. Usage is heavily limited; each strike risks rewriting the wielder's essence and destabilizing entire planes of reality.

Zeus's jaw tightened. The words burned into him like fire. Every pulse of his storm was different now, heavier, older. The lightning no longer felt like lightning—it felt like the very fabric of the sky itself, unbound and infinite.

His hand twitched once, then stilled. He kept his pace even, walking beside Gaia across the endless stone plain. She glanced at him, thinking only of Ouranos still sleeping behind them. She didn't notice the light crawling faintly along his veins, or the pressure of his aura slowly bleeding into the world.

Another ripple appeared.

Inherited Authorities Integrated:

Tartarus's Cosmic Fragments – Authority over confinement, abyss, and decay.

Surtr's Cosmic Flame – Authority over eternal fire and destruction.

Ouranos's Sky Link – Direct connection to the Primordial Sky, amplifying all storm and cosmic-based powers.

Warning: Containment required. Full release may destabilize realms.

[Primordial Access – Tier Ω]

The user no longer merely perceives primordial flows—they stand inside them. Full integration achieved. The Sky Incarnate can influence, redirect, and command the streams of origin energy that underpin creation itself. Current access: 87% and rising.

Effects:

Direct manipulation of cosmic threads (space, time, fire, abyss, storm).

Authority to stabilize or collapse dimensional boundaries.

Passive augmentation: all divine skills now scale infinitely within the primordial layer.

His teeth ground once behind closed lips. He drew a slow breath through his nose, steadying the storm before it bled outward. He couldn't show it now. Not yet.

The notifications did not end.

[System Recognition Updated]

You are no longer merely King of Olympus. You are acknowledged as:

Primordial God of Sky, Storm, and Thunder.

The storm does not answer you. You are the storm.

The last line pulsed once, then faded. Silence returned, leaving only the weight in his veins.

Gaia walked slowly, her roots brushing across the stone as though she were guiding them through a dream. She looked at him once, her eyes tired, searching, but she saw only the calm mask he wore.

"You see now," she murmured, voice quiet but heavy, "why I brought you. Ouranos cannot wake, but he can still reach. You carry him with you now. You are closer to him than any living thing."

Zeus nodded faintly, the storm inside him screaming against his calm face. "I understand."

Gaia's roots coiled tighter, as if reassuring herself. "You must hold that connection. For when the Primordials rise, you will need it more than anything else."

Zeus's gaze drifted back, just for a moment, to the massive form lying across the plain. Ouranos's chest still rose and fell in its slow rhythm. The weight of the sky pressed across his shoulders, not crushing, but binding.

Inside, however, Zeus knew the truth.

The storm had changed.

It was no longer lightning, no longer thunder. It was cosmic law. His veins hummed with it, the authority of fire, abyss, and sky tangled together. The storm inside him wanted to tear free, to show the world what he had become.

But his face didn't change. His steps didn't falter.

"Thank you," Zeus said at last, his voice quiet, level.

Gaia turned to him. "Do not thank me yet. This power comes with a price. Ouranos does not give freely. If he truly rises in you, the world itself may tremble. Olympus may not survive."

Zeus's eyes narrowed, but he didn't answer.

They walked until the plain dimmed. The stone underfoot rippled once, and the swirl of gray sky faded. When the light returned, they were back in Olympus—on the ruined balcony, the night air sharp with the scent of smoke and lightning.

The gods below were still gathered, whispering. Nyx was gone. Rhea lingered near the broken steps, her eyes cautious. Apollo and Ares still glowed faintly from their new flames.

None of them knew what had just changed inside their king.

Zeus stepped forward to the railing again, his hand resting on the cracked marble. The storm in him surged, begging to be seen. He clenched his jaw and pressed it down, hiding it in the cage of his veins.

Lightning sparked faintly along the horizon, but no more.

Gaia stood behind him, her eyes tired but steady.

"Hold it close, child," she whispered. "Do not let them see it yet. Not until the moment comes."

Zeus's eyes burned with stormlight as he looked across the heavens, his face calm, his body still. But inside him, the cosmos itself was awake, pressing against the skin of the world.

And he carried it in silence.