Primordials. Primigenials. Titans.
They were known by many names, but all of them signaled towards one common theme.
They were ones who came before anyone or anything else.
They were the beings who created and consumed countless universes, all for fun. Were they the creatures of absolute darkness? No, it wasn't like that. They did all that because they could and also for revenge.
Arnold wasn't the only one who had problems with Zeus and his Olympians. Nearly every pantheon did.
But once he did a good thing: defeating the primordials.
Well, it wasn't much of a defeat, as it was a stab in the back. After all, Zeus or his siblings weren't strong enough to defeat the Primordials, even with the help of other pantheons.
If it hadn't been for a spy in their midst, the Titans would remain undefeated. Yet Cronus, the leader of the Titans, put his faith in someone he shouldn't have: his wife, Rhea.
Titan or not, Rhea was a mother who had seen countless of her children get killed by their father. Although she never showed it, every time Cronus ate one of their children, her hatred for him grew.
However, when Zeus miraculously survived certain death, she wanted to escape with him. But she couldn't. Rhea knew if she left with Zeus, Cronus would destroy everything and everyone to hunt her.
Years passed, and she saved a multitude of her children from the cruel fate. But she didn't dare to mention or even think about them. As much as she hated Cronus, she knew his strength. Hence, she acted like an ideal wife and empress.
And then it happened.
Her children returned. But not out of love. They were there to repeat what Cronus and his sibling had done to their forefathers.
They were there for a war.
However, the war did not progress in the way Zeus had imagined.
As each day passed, the Olympians got pushed back further. After years of discouraging defeats, the Olympians were teetering on the edge of defeat.
However, Zeus devised a plan that turned the tide of the war.
Chronos was strong, perhaps the strongest being to have ever lived. But he wasn't strategically intelligent. Hence, he wasn't the one leading his army. That role belonged to his nephew, Atlas.
But Atlas had one big weakness. His loyalty to Chronos knew no bounds. He was a symbol of trust for the Titans, and Zeus wanted to eliminate that.
After careful planning, Zeus secretly approached Rhea, appealing to her maternal instincts and her disdain for the oppressive rule of her fellow Titans. Through his charm and Rhea's urge for vengeance, Zeus convinced Rhea to abandon the Titans, setting the plan in motion.
Chronos viewed Rhea as an ideal wife, thanks to her sacrifices. Hence, she had his complete trust. That's why when she began whispering falsehood to him, Chronos readily believed her.
Rhea told him Atlas wanted the throne for himself and was using the war as an opportunity to prove his worth. She claimed that Atlas's growing influence among the Titans was a sign of ambition and that he was conspiring with the rest to overthrow him once the war was over.
She went so far as to suggest the prophecy of Chronos' defeat by his children might be inaccurate. In her words, the genuine threat came from his siblings and their offspring, not Zeus and his Olympians.
Consumed by the paranoia of destiny, Cronus fell for the lies.
Blinded by rage, Chronos confronted Atlas amid the war. While the Titans fought the Olympians, Chronos charged at Atlas, vowing to kill him for his treachery.
Atlas tried to calm the enraged king, but failed. Hence, the two titans clashed in the middle of the battlefield.
Atlas, unwilling to strike back at his king, fought defensively but was ultimately overpowered. Cronus beat Atlas to near death, leaving him broken and bleeding on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the Olympians took advantage of the situation. Without Atlas's strategic intelligence, the overwhelming strength of the Titans proved useless against the cunning Olympians.
That marked the beginning of the end for the Titans.
Cronus's brutal attack on his most loyal general sent shockwaves through the Titans. They began to doubt their leader because of his instability. If Cronus could betray Atlas, none of them were safe.
Meanwhile, the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires, who had already suffered under Cronus's rule in Tartarus, saw a way out of his tyranny and switched sides. Accepting Zeus's deal for help in exchange for freedom.
Within days, the tide of the battle flipped.
Cronus and the remaining Titans were defeated and exiled under Rhea's pleas.
Even though she hated Chronos and the Titans, they were once her siblings. She couldn't bear to see any more deaths.
But now, that decision had come to haunt those who remained.
With Cyclopes and Hecatonchires lost with time, there was no one to stop the Primordials from reclaiming what they had lost… or so they thought.
Soon they met the multiverse's new protectors.
Four uncanny men, ready to tear them apart once and for.
Another war was inevitable when [The One Before All] came across [The One Above All].