Black Rose | Greek Mythology

Solitude

Cronus brushed his fingers on the armrest of the empty throne. Though he had learned to subtly manipulate the court to his favor with seemingly innocuous suggestions here and there, a deep dissatisfaction remained in his heart. He had to dance words with his family, even though all he wanted to say was that there should be more chaos in the world.

He finally had a vision of what he wanted. The world his father sought would become stagnant after a certain point. He desired the world to be ever changing, ever growing – to breathe, live, and experience happiness and suffering.

The old must give way to the new, and for every creation, there needs to be destruction.

To make his vision come true, he needed his siblings' support. They were the actual holders of power in the world, not his father. Uranus merely guided their collective efforts. But no matter how much control he held over their father, his foolish brothers still looked at Uranus.

To fix this error on their part, he began to strengthen his ties with the council while Rhea charms their sisters to his side. Coeus and Crius were already enchanted by him so making himself a leader in their eyes was only too easy. Hyperion was a nonissue, but Iapetus and Oceanus could prove difficult to serenade. Iapetus hated him and was opposed to him by principle while Oceanus was too suspicious of him and his motives.

Perhaps he should seek Rhea's advice. A smile stretched across his lips as he thought of his goddess. She was the only one he shared his vision with and still believed in his ability to fulfill it wholeheartedly. She was the one who offered to gather their sisters under his influence, which he found to be an endearing gesture. In other words, Rhea had pronounced herself his queen whether she knew it or not.

"You need to learn your place."

A familiar acerbic voice interrupted his thoughts. There was only one god who spoke to him like that. Cronus turned his eyes to the speaker, his head tilting up. "Oh? And where is that, my dear brother?" he asked with a wry smirk.

When he was younger, he didn't understand why Iapetus hated him. He tried to use kindness and smiles to chase after him but after being spurned again and again, Cronus eventually decided that Iapetus was not worth the effort. He wasn't meant to chase after others. Others should be begging to be spared a glance from him. Though he sometimes reflected the harsh attitude tossed at him, there was no honest venom behind his words and actions. If there were, the god of mortality would speak to him differently.

Iapetus glowered. "You should stay in the shadows where you belong," he growled through gritted teeth. There was something distinctly ominous in seeing Cronus lovingly caress the seat of power. The hunger in his eyes was there for anyone to see. The cheeky brat was one moment away from sitting on it, and he would enjoy it immensely too.

Cronus laughed softly. "Stop making a fool of yourself, Iapetus. It is beneath me to respond to such puerile statements. And it is unbecoming of you to spout such nonsense." He may lurk and control events from the shadows, but it was the furthest away from where he belongs.

"I will when you to stop acting so damn high and mighty! You're nothing but a useless snob."

Cronus usually brushed Iapetus away, like one would a hissing kitten but there was nothing more provoking to him now than being called useless. When he didn't yet have the vision, he could not refute the insult and swallowed the humiliation. Now he was a straight arrow nocked and aimed with lethal precision to an absolute goal. The slight did not apply to him anymore, and it incensed him that someone like Iapetus still dared to call him so.

He fully faced his brother and looked down at him, his eyes slowly staining crimson. "What do you want from me Iapetus? Why do you provoke your god?" he asked in a low, threatening tone.