"Honorable Divine King, before the prophecy, I hope you can understand one fact, that prophecy has always been observation, not creation."
After taking another sip of the sweet juice, Laine solemnly explained:
"I cannot change destiny, I merely observe it, and sometimes only a part of it."
"Moreover, observation is not without cost. When you know it, it knows you too."
"What do you mean?" The Divine King, facing an unfamiliar realm, was somewhat puzzled, "What does 'it knows me' mean?"
"Destiny is originally undefined; although it has a fixed trajectory, it is not necessarily unchangeable."
"But if you try to observe it through prophecy, then destiny, on the contrary, becomes a predetermined, unchanging outcome. You can only delay its arrival, twist its meaning, but you cannot make it disappear completely."
"So, do you still wish me to make the prophecy?"
In the end, Laine asked the Divine King in return.
The words before were not fabricated by Laine; this information he acquired after he received the Prophecy godhood.
When anyone tries to directly observe destiny, whether with the aid of other gods or not, he himself becomes part of destiny.
Just as one cannot lift oneself off the ground by pulling on one's hair, so no being can escape the shackles manifesting from their very essence.
Knowing this, Laine decided he would never prophesy about himself.
As for the "prophecies" made by some gods in later generations, Laine would rather call them the curses of destiny.
On the other side, after hearing Laine's explanation, Uranus breathed a sigh of relief, but then hesitated again.
The cost of prophecy was high, which made him less wary of Mother Night, who controlled destiny, but he still wanted to know his own outcome.
'The first Divine King.'
Thinking of the title Laine had used for him down the mountain, Uranus made up his mind.
"I believe in my own strength," Heavenly Father said, looking Laine in the eyes. At this moment, having just acquired the position of Divine King, his immense power filled him with confidence.
"Make the prophecy, Prince Laine. No matter the outcome, I promise you one reasonable condition in the name of the Divine King."
"I believe that under my current power, nothing is destined to remain unchanged."
As the first Divine King, a symbol of patriarchy, Uranus, already at the pinnacle of divine power, took another step upwards.
Now he stood on equal footing with the Primordial Gods, and even Gaia, who was not adept at combat, was no match for him.
This filled him with boundless confidence; he believed that even if the outcome of the prophecy was not favorable, he could, as Laine had said, delay its arrival, warp its meaning.
'Heh, the god of Chaos, always so confident.'
Laine chuckled inwardly, the events unfolding just as he had anticipated.
Meeting the gaze of the Divine King, Laine nodded slightly, his dark eyes suddenly flashing with a mysterious white light in the next moment.
This was not a feigned prophecy to deceive; Laine was truly probing Uranus's future.
But the result was clear; the godhood gained from a single prophecy was very weak, far less powerful than even the spirit-based godhoods by several times.
In a void of nothingness, Laine saw nothing. With his current power, he was far from able to glimpse the Divine King's destiny.
But this did not hinder him from making his first great prophecy.
"An era." Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Laine said, "You will rule the world for an era."
"You and Mother Earth will also bear new progeny, but they will not be like us, with divine and perfect appearances."
"One day in the future, your eldest son will raise a knife against you, and your reign shall thus be shaken."
Bang!
"Nonsense!"
Before Uranus could react, Oceanus, standing beside him, could no longer tolerate Laine's words.
Though only born three days ago, the eldest of the twelve Titans already possessed near-mid-level divine power. The savage force surged within him as he brazenly pressed towards Laine, attempting to stop this strange deity's madness.
He indeed succeeded, for Laine fell silent; but he also failed, because the Heavenly Father spoke up.
"Stop, my child." With a wave of his hand, Oceanus's divine power was easily quelled, and Uranus's gaze turned towards him.
"You shouldn't strike a guest."
The tone of the Divine King betrayed no joy or anger, but all present felt his skepticism at that moment.
"Father, I swear to the world, I will never challenge your position as the Divine King."
Seeing his father speak, the Lord of the Oceans knelt on the ground, expressing his loyalty to his father.
Uranus was noncommittal.
Oaths truly bound deities, but they were not fatal.
Even now, before the authority of oaths had been decreed by the world, breaking an oath would at most cause a fall in divine power and instability in godhood. But if one could ascend to the position of the Divine King, all could be reclaimed.
"Honored Foreseer, is that the entirety of the Prophecy?"
The Heavenly Father ignored his son, instead continuing to inquire of Laine, whose speech had been interrupted.
If that was all, then the Prophecy was nothing special.
He would divide his eldest son into three and cast him into the depths of Tartarus, the dark void, and the deep Earth, to ensure he could never oppose him.
"No," but Laine's answer clearly did not align with his desires.
Under the angry gaze of the Lord of the Oceans, Laine smiled at the Divine King and said, "Prince Oceanus will certainly not be the true assailant, Your Majesty."
"The Prophecy shows that the one who will overturn your throne will receive assistance from another of your kin."
"Where it all began, so shall it end."
"And the eldest son holding the blade will surely not be your oldest child."
As soon as the words were spoken, the remaining eleven Titans in the hall had a change in their eyes, only Oceanus breathed a sigh of relief.
Although in the complete Prophecy, he too had the potential to be an accomplice, Oceanus would definitely not be the main culprit.
If everyone is guilty, then no one is guilty; he was very clear about this. Unless his father wished to sit on the throne alone, he would not be punished.
The hall fell silent for a moment, until Mother Earth broke the stillness.
Her gentle face was full of worry; at this moment, Gaia was not yet the calculating Mother of All Gods.
She looked towards Laine, who had just uttered the Prophecy, and asked with a serious tone:
"Honored Prince Laine, wise Foreseer, may I ask if you can provide any further clues?"
"Because of your prophecy, suspicion will riddle the relationship between father and child, and the nascent Divine Court will know little peace. I presume you would not wish to witness such a scene."
But facing Gaia's veiled threat, Laine calmly shook his head.
"I am truly sorry, Honored Mother Earth."
"It's not that I am unwilling to interpret, but in this respect, the foreteller himself is often less wise than the listener."
"After all, I am but an observer, a relayer; the true essence of destiny is still far from me."
At last, Laine offered a reply that Gaia could not refute.
"If you still have doubts, you may go down to the domain of night."
"I believe in the realm of destiny, one of the three aspects of Lady Night, the Destined Ananke, will provide a more detailed interpretation. As her elder sister, you will surely not return empty-handed."