As we exited the palace, we were greeted by an unusual sight.
Kyler stood before the pegasus that had previously reached out to me. He seemed to be talking to the beast.
As Leo and I approached him, his eyes widened and he backed away from the pegasus.
However, adamantly, the pegasus approached him. "We were talking, boy. Do not back away from me."
My jaw dropped. They could talk in our language?
Kyler motioned for the pegasus to back away, but the latter was stubborn. "Tell me about your familial conflict, boy. It is my only source of entertainment."
As if noticing my presence, the pegasus turned to me before snorting.
"That boy, Prometheus, told me not to talk to you. He said I have a loose mouth. Do you agree with that?"
The pegasus stared deeply into my eyes as if awaiting an answer. It was like my life depended on my answer.
My heart raced as its topaz eyes locked onto me.
"Do you?" the pegasus persisted, approaching me before pushing my chest with its hooves. "That boy Prometheus has gone out of line, hasn't he? He told me not to tell you that Hell is planning to attack Othrys…"
As if realizing its mistake, the pegasus's eyes widened. It quickly covered its snout using its hooves.
Its face turned beet red.
"That boy may have had a point," it muttered to itself in deep sorrow.
"It seems so," I replied before quickly shutting my mouth. The pegasus narrowed its eyes as they locked onto me.
"What did you say, boy?"
When I didn't respond, the pegasus snorted. "Prometheus may protect you, but he can't deny my orders."
I nodded respectfully before approaching Kyler.
I activated [Void Mind], staring into his eyes while threatening to reveal my insignia. "I will ask you one question. Answer me truthfully, or I will be forced to expel you from Prometheus's palace."
Kyler's face paled. He spoke calmly, though. "You cannot do that. Under what grounds are you going to expel me, even if I lie?"
"Under the authority of the Prophetic Child," I responded.
"Your orders don't overrule Prometheus's."
"No, but I got his permission. According to Prometheus, you are my personal guard alongside Leo. You're obligated to fulfill my needs at all times."
Kyler scrunched his eyebrows. "That never happened."
"Did you think we twiddled our thumbs inside for a few hours?"
Kyler gritted his teeth before resting his arm on the carriage. He glanced at Leo, who didn't display a change in emotion.
"Okay," he said. "Ask away."
"Was what you did in the carriage intentional?" I asked. "Or were you just being a dick?"
Before Kyler answered, I turned to face the pegasus. His amusement was practically evident through his playful grin.
"Will you?"
"Sure, son. I'll verify his truthfulness."
After getting the go-ahead from the pegasus, I turned back to face Kyler, who seemed pale.
It seemed he wasn't just being a dick. If he was, he could've just admitted it. But now that the pegasus was verifying his answer, it was difficult to lie.
Impossible would be the best word to describe it.
"That boy, Prometheus, gave him pretty strict orders."
The pegasus's amused laugh resounded across the area, and Kyler's face turned paler.
Had Prometheus instructed him not to tell anyone? But now he was stuck, since the pegasus was personally verifying his answer.
He had to offer up his loyalty.
I had put him in a difficult spot. Sacrifice his loyalty towards Prometheus or save himself.
"Are you sure you want to persist, son?" the pegasus turned to me, raising an eyebrow. He was basically asking if I was heartless enough.
I knew there was no correct answer to the question. If I said I wanted to persist, Kyler would have to make the choice.
The pegasus wouldn't give a shit.
His job was simply to verify.
"Don't cross the line, son," spat the pegasus. "Your thoughts are dark."
Oh, great. He can read my thoughts. Just what I wanted.
"Your sarcasm is leaking," said the pegasus, narrowing his eyes as if daring me to think anything similar.
All right, I won't.
The pegasus revealed an expression of satisfaction before staring into my eyes. "Are you going to persist?"
"No," I responded, letting out a sigh. I couldn't back Kyler into a corner. Forcing a warrior to break their loyalty was too much.
It was simply inhumane. It wasn't like Kyler was a human, but I couldn't do that to him regardless.
Kyler breathed a sigh of relief at my words, practically collapsing atop our carriage.
I didn't converse with him. I headed towards Leo, who gave me a fearful glance.
"What's up with you?" I asked, noticing his peculiar behavior.
"You lied about receiving permission from Prometheus," said Leo. "Do you know the penalty of framing a Supreme-Ranked God?"
"It's not really framing, is it?"
"It clearly is. If you weren't the Prophetic Child, you would have died hundreds of times in Prometheus's palace, simply because of your behavior."
"But I am, aren't I?" I chuckled, to which Leo sighed in disbelief.
"Maybe this attitude is why you're the Prophetic Child in the first place."
"Not really. It's because I'm Chaos's s–"
"Yes, it's a metaphor," Leo formed an expression of exasperation. He shook his head before ending our conversation.
A few seconds passed in silence, and someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned around to see one of the guards guarding Kronos's palace standing right behind me. My eyes widened.
If he wanted to, he could've killed me right there. He didn't have a presence.
To be fair, anyone could kill me without lifting a finger. I wasn't even a God yet. I was only surviving using my authority.
"Yes?" I asked, addressing the guard directly.
"Lord Prometheus and his majesty have summoned the Prophetic Child and his personal servant to his majesty's personal residence."
It seemed Leo had become my personal servant.
I glanced at Leo, who nodded.
I nodded towards the guard, who returned to his position. Then, I approached the pegasus.
"Could I ask for your name?"
"Divinus, son. Remember it well," said the pegasus before waving his hoof at me. "Now go. The guards here are stubborn as hell."
I chuckled before relenting. Along with Leo, I passed by the guard before entering the palace.
The guard followed behind us, refusing to display the slightest bit of emotion, regardless of what I did.
His eyes remained on our destination.
As he led us through the majestic and grandiose halls of Kronos's palace, I was able to get a glimpse of the rich ancestry.
Kronos's birthdate was unknown, and it was close to the birth of the universe.
Who knows how many years. How had his mentality not crumbled? A human would have gone crazy in barely a century.
Were Gods really that powerful, in both physical and mental capabilities?
As I walked through what seemed like a guest room, I was met with a picture.
In the picture, there were warriors dressed in pearly, white armor. They wielded silver swords while riding pegasi.
They flew through the skies, dominating the lands beneath.
I glanced at Leo. He seemed just as confused, if not more, at the unusual scenery. It seemed it was his first time in Kronos's palace, too.
Finally, after walking for what seemed like eternity, we came across a door decorated in several hundreds of unknown jewels.
Beside the door, there were two pictures. One was a portrait of Kronos, while the other was a portrait of a peerless beauty.
The peerless beauty possessed an expression of deep sorrow. Her lips were curled into a frown, while she seemed to be on the verge of breaking into tears.
My gaze remained on the portraits before the guard knocked on Kronos's door.
"Come in," an authoritative reverberated across the area, and the guard gently pushed the door open.
He held it open while Leo and I entered the room.
As the two of us entered the room, it was like we entered a completely different space. A sense of invigorating washed over me.
I relaxed, but simultaneously felt my strength increase severalfold.
It was amazing.
Judging by Leo's reaction, it was the same for him.
The air inside Kronos's residence was different, and so was the entire feel. It was like we weren't in the Divine Realm anymore.
It was better. I felt my divinity and mana be enhanced significantly.
As I looked around, I found his residence to be… interesting.
It wasn't like a room. It was a dark, empty space akin to outer space back where I was from. Except, the only form of lighting was Kronos himself.
His body was encased in a layer of light which cloaked his true appearance.
Weird fetish, I guess?
Wanting to become the star of your own world… It was a nice dream, but only when kept within a certain boundary.
This… It was weird.
"Welcome to my humble abode."