On Olympus in the other world, an unprecedented tension hung in the air.
The rage of the King of Gods, 'Zeus', was like a living thunderstorm, suspended over the divine realm.
He had abandoned all kingly poise and restraint, transforming into a golden lightning bolt that streaked across heaven and earth, centering on Olympus, radiating furious probing waves across the entire world.
Every cloud, every mountain, every river trembled under the scrutiny of his consciousness.
"Find him! I'll tear him apart!"
'Zeus's' roar echoed amidst the thunder, sending countless birds and nymphs fleeing in terror.
His eyes blazed with the madness of one whose absolute domain had been violated—he was the one who toyed with others' wives; no one dared to impersonate him and defile his queen!
This was not merely betrayal; it was a complete blasphemy against his authority as King of Gods.
What infuriated him further was that this bastard hadn't just come; he had chosen the very night 'Zeus' had been lured away by Alaya Noah's message!
"This was premeditated!" 'Zeus' gritted his teeth, each wave of his thunderbolt scepter turning innocent mountain forests into scorched earth.
"It must be Hermes! That cursed thief of a messenger! Only he could have timed it so precisely!"
But then he dismissed the thought—Hermes was dead, killed by Alexander's forces.
'Zeus' had personally confirmed that Hermes's soul had scattered.
If not Hermes, then who? Who could mimic his thunderous aura so perfectly that even Hera could not tell the difference?
A name 'Zeus' least wanted to consider surfaced in his mind—Kronos.
His father, the deposed former King of Gods, was indeed capable of such a feat.
But Kronos was supposed to be suffering in the abyss of Tartarus itself, under guard. How could he have escaped?
Unless... someone had released him.
A far more terrifying hypothesis formed in 'Zeus's' mind: Hades.
The brother who had always been the most deeply hidden.
If Hades had freed Kronos and helped him disguise himself as—
"No," 'Zeus' shook his head, lightning dancing at the tips of his hair. "Hades wouldn't be so... crude. He desires power, but he wouldn't humiliate me like this."
Well, only one possibility remained—another Zeus.
"Another me..." 'Zeus's' golden eyes flashed with a dangerous light. "Is that truly possible?"
At that moment, the sound of beating wings came from the sky.
An eagle—Zeus's sacred bird—descended through the clouds and alighted on 'Zeus's' outstretched arm.
The eagle's eye reflected an image: near Corinth, a mortal city-state far from Olympus, an anomalous fluctuation of thunder had been detected.
"Found you." The corner of 'Zeus's' mouth twisted into a terrible arc.
He transformed into thunder and raced towards Corinth.
---
In a hidden valley outside Corinth.
Zeus had been waiting for a very long time.
---
The valley outside Corinth was ultimately ravaged by thunderstorms for three days and three nights.
By the time the dawn of the fourth day barely pierced the thick clouds, the landscape within a ten-mile radius had been completely transformed: mountain peaks were leveled, rivers evaporated, the scorched earth still flickered with undissipated arcs, and the air was thick with the sharp tang of ozone.
The two Zeus' hovered above the canyon, a hundred feet apart.
Zeus from Chaos was in slightly better condition.
His bare torso was crisscrossed with burns and cuts, golden ichor tracing lines down his brow, but he still gripped his thunderbolt scepter firmly, a mocking, arrogant smile playing on his lips.
The other world's 'Zeus' was in far worse shape.
His divine crown was shattered in two, his magnificent robes were scorched with holes from his own thunder, his left arm hung unnaturally, the bones clearly badly damaged.
What infuriated him most was that the thunderbolt scepter in his hand felt... lighter.
"What have you done?" 'Zeus's' voice was hoarse with rage, thunder crackling in his eyes. "My thunder... you tampered with it?!"
"Oh? Only now you notice?" Zeus chuckled, twirling the scepter in his hand—the scepter now radiated an unprecedented sense of power, each tiny dancing arc slightly distorting the surrounding space.
"For a King of Gods not to notice his own artifact being swapped... you really are quite careless."
Three days prior, when 'Zeus' had traced the trail to the valley, he had found Zeus leisurely roasting a wild boar on a boulder—using thunder as a grill, an act that in itself was a slap in the face to 'Zeus'.
The battle had begun instantly.
The first clashes were pure divine combat.
The lightning storms unleashed by the two Kings of Gods collided in the air, the light of the explosions eclipsing the midday sun. The citizens of Corinth were terrified, falling to their knees in prayer, certain the end of the world was nigh.
But soon, 'Zeus' sensed something was wrong. The other's thunder seemed less powerful than his own, yet far more agile. Like a living predator, it constantly found gaps in his defenses to tear open wounds.
And Zeus grew more excited the longer they fought. He realized that while 'Zeus' possessed deeper authority within this world, his fighting style was too rigid, too reliant on power suppression, lacking in adaptability.
"You're like a bull that only knows how to charge with its horns," Zeus had taunted during a close-quarters exchange. "And I am the matador with the dagger."
Provoking the opponent was part of the tactic. 'Zeus' was indeed enraged, his attacks becoming more ferocious but undisciplined.
As the battle entered the second day, the situation began to shift.
The turning point came late on the second night.
During an intensely close confrontation, the tips of the two thunderbolt scepters met.
According to past experience, such a clash would trigger a terrifying explosion that would send both sides flying.
But this time, an instant before impact, Zeus subtly twisted his wrist.
The movement was so subtle that even 'Zeus' didn't register it—or rather, 'Zeus' never expected the other to make such a 'small move'.
The two scepters didn't explode. Instead, like opposite poles of a magnet, they locked together with a 'click'.
Immediately after, a strange force of displacement occurred, and the two thunderbolt scepters swapped places in a thousandth of a second.
'Zeus' felt only a lightness in his hand, then Zeus kicked him in the chest, sending him flying to crash halfway down the mountain.
When he got up and examined 'his' thunder, he realized something was wrong.
"How did you do that?" 'Zeus' stared at the scepter in his opponent's hand—an artifact he had wielded for millennia, now displaying its power in an enemy's grasp. "Thunder recognizes its master. How could it possibly—"
"Recognize its master?" Zeus laughed. "Dear 'me', you are far too superstitious about 'authority'. What is thunder? It is the sky's wrath, the embodiment of rules, the incarnation of destruction. But above all, it is 'power'. And power... always follows those who know how to wield it best."
He raised the scepter, pointing it at the sky.
Dark clouds converged instantly—a swirling purple-black vortex. At the vortex's center, deep crimson thunderbolts began to condense.
'Zeus's' face changed dramatically. "You... you're corrupting the thunder with resentment?! That's blasphemy!"
"Blasphemy?" Zeus tilted his head, his smile dangerous. "What is blasphemy? Is using this tool to its utmost limits blasphemy? Then what do you call using this same thunder to toy with mortal women, kill dissenters, and cement your tyranny? Noble governance?"
He paused, his voice dropping, carrying a note of fascination: "Admit it. We are fundamentally the same. I'm just more honest and more effective than you. Look, your thunder in my hands can manifest power you never dreamed of. Because it has finally met a master truly worthy of it."
'Zeus' clenched his fists.
He could feel it—the purloined thunderbolt scepter in his hand was still powerful, but like a gelded stallion, it had lost some wild, spiritual essence.
And the thunder in his opponent's hand, which should have been his, radiated an aura both familiar and terrifying: familiar because it was his original power, terrifying because that power was tinged with unfamiliar colours.
"Give it back." 'Zeus' ground out the words through his teeth.
"Why?" Zeus took a moment to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Simply because you are the 'real' one in this world? Pity. In my world, I am the real one. And..."
He suddenly suppressed his smile, his eyes sharp as knives: "There's something very interesting in your thunder. About the 'fundamental laws' of this world, about the connection between the King of Gods' power and the roots of the earth... Tsk, your Gaia here is certainly 'generous' enough to the King of Gods, actually weaving a portion of earthly authority into the thunder. No wonder you've been able to rule so firmly for so long."
'Zeus' was stunned.
This was a secret not even his closest divine allies knew: after Kronos was overthrown, the reason he had been able to quickly subdue Poseidon and Hades was not only the support of his mother Rhea, but more importantly, he had secretly journeyed to the depths of the earth to appease Gaia's desires. 'Gaia' had gifted the thunder a portion of power to 'suppress the earth from the heavens', and in return, Zeus had promised that the Olympian gods would never surpass the earth's power and would regularly hold grand sacrifices.
This was one of the cornerstones of the King of Gods' authority.
And now, that secret had been uncovered by another 'himself'.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" 'Zeus' forced himself to calm down.