Guest: Sorry for being late. But hey! Better late than never!

Joanna: Thank you so much for your compliments! I a glad I gave the motivation to start writing. It is really fun! Ho! And thanks for complimenting me on my english skills! Believe or not! I was once so fucking terrible at it, I even stuggled to command my food at McDonald in New York City! Now, I write novels! (And I gotta say that I love english just because it doesn't possess the grammatical nightmare that French does!XD)

Thank you for your reviews!

Gigantomachy part 3

Don't move. Stay calm. Delphina repeated to herself as she faced.

She never met the primal deity before but she had seen enough accurate paintings and sculptures of her appearance to not be mistaken even with the simple light of the moon. No other goddess possessed hair green like grass with leaves of diverse trees and mosses embroidered through it. Being close to her face, she could distinguish the texture of her skin that reminded her of fertile ground. She literally was the embodiment of Earth.

However, why was she here? In the current situation, what purpose she could have by coming at Delphi among many places?

Gaia snapped her fingers and the candle all magically lit. Delphina could see better the face of the intruder. No malice or animosity expressed. Quite the opposite, she appeared like a mother wanting to be reassuring.

"Now, I will take off my hand from your mouth and you will not scream at all. Understood? Anyway, you have nothing to fear. I am not going to hurt you."

Delphina relaxed a little as the hand left her face. She was inclined to believe Gaia. Obviously, the primal deity would have harmed her in the time to blink an eye already had she any bad intentions.

However, taking in account the tense context, to fall in the temptation to lower her guards would require a high naivety she didn't possess thankfully. She stayed calm but maintained her attention really high. Gaia had a purpose for being here. She had yet to discover it but she guessed she will very soon.

Gaia took two chairs and placed them face to face near the balcony then sit down on one of them while pointing the other one. "Please, sit. Make yourself comfortable. I would like to converse with you."

Delphina sat while maintaining her stare on Gaia. She looked for any body language hints that could betray her real intentions. All she could see was Gaia direction her eyes toward the sky with a slim smile, as if she was melancholic.

"I will not make you lose your time. I know your first thought. Why did I decide to pay you a visit? Well, don't think of yourself being so special. It has nothing to do with you. It is all about the place." She sighed. "I needed to come here."

Suddenly, Delphina remembered. Of course!

"I know… I know this sanctuary used to be yours." Long ago when it was still called Pytho. "I can understand it means a lot for you." Delphina chose to play it diplomatically. She needed to choose wisely her words.

She laughed. "I am the Goddess of the Earth. All lands are dear to me. All the high mountains, all the deep valleys, all the vast plains, all the long coasts, all of this constitute who I am. From the moment Chaos created me, I worked on building this world, to give it a structure, a harmony and a purpose. At first, it wasn't as complex as it is today but you should have seen this. Watching the first green leaves grew from the ground when there was still no forest. The first pearls of water shining on rock when there was still no ocean. Beside me, few entities were born. There was Tartarus who represented destruction and misery but I could provide beauty and life.

"Of course, I couldn't do it alone for so long. Loneliness is a feeling I tasted and absolutely wanted to free myself from. Therefore, I began to produce the Titans. The first was Uranus, God of the sky. He became my consort and together we procreated so much more children. Rock would grow to become mountains; water will expand to turn into oceans. I saw the first forests, the first fields, the first rivers, the first caves… Can you imagine how full of pride I was in front of such creation?"

"I can." Delphina only needed to recall the day she created the dolphins.

"Of course, things began to become complicated as the number of children only increased. Uranus became paranoid. As my consort he considered himself as the ruler of the Universe but feared his own offspring who could usurp him. So, he imprisoned all of them in the depth of Earth, my own body!"

"And he continued to mate with you against your own will. Forcing you to have more children just to steal them once again away from you."

Gaia smiled. "You know the story."

"Who doesn't?" Every single immortal grew up learning about the history of the birth of the universe until the end of Titanomachy. It was basic and very important knowledge. "I also know you helped your son, Cronus, God of Time, to lead a rebellion against Uranus alongside the other Titans. He cut the genitals of his father to punish him and prevent him to mate with you again at your own request. Then, he became the new king of the universe."

Gaia looked at the sky as if her former husband could still watch her from there.

"Things were done as they had to be done…" Then, she turned to Delphina with morosity in her face. "You know what happened next."

"Yes. Cronus betrayed you by refusing to release some of your children, among them the cyclops. Also, he became as paranoid as his own father. He devoured his children soon after their birth fearing that one of them may dethrone him."

Gaia sighed. "I want to be clear. Since history is written by the victors, you have certainly been told your whole life that Cronus was a tyrant. Here is the truth: his reign was known as a golden age. He was very fair and he blessed his subjects with prosperity no matter their status. He doesn't deserve the reputation given by the Olympians. However, what you said remains true. After all, nobody is black or white. Sadly, he inherited enough of his father's ruthlessness to send me back to a state of pure chagrin. Watching my daughter, Rhea, crumbling with the loss of every single of her children without any empathy of Cronus, her failed husband... Go ahead and tell what happened next."

"You helped Rhea to hide Zeus, still an infant, from his father by raising him inside a cave. Once he reached maturity, he went into war against Cronus, freed his siblings from his belly and triumphed. He became the new King of the Universe." Delphina didn't want to go into details. The Titanomachy was a very long saga and it was nighttime. She was tired and just wanted to be over with whatever Gaia wanted. Hoping she will make it safely.

"History seems to repeat itself constantly." Gaia laughed.

"And yet, you are doing it again. Even if you overthrow Zeus, what is telling you that the giants will not turn their back to you again?" Delphina remained serious. She had to hide her nervosity.

"Don't think I didn't contemplate this scenario. I am not stupid. My goal is not to make the giants in position of power… I want to get back mine. I want to free the Titans and allow the Olympians to pursue their existence in peace alongside with them. Don't you think it would be amazing? After all, you are yourself the daughter of a Titan who got sentenced by Zeus."

Delphina replied sharply. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Ho? Then, forgive me for my lack of delicateness. But my position remains: I will put an end to all feuds between immortals and force my children to cohabit. If I have to take the throne of the Universe, then I will take it."

"There is a flaw in your plan. How do you think you will be able to maintain loyalty among immortals? Even if you succeed, how can you be sure that none would try to rebel against you if you let them wander freely around?"

After such sentence, Delphina got cursed with a sharp and cold glare from Gaia, no more amused. If Apollo had been there, he would have probably congratulated her for her use of cleverness. However, watching the primal deity holding her breath to keep herself calm prevented her to add any words. She was still her enemy and stronger than Delphina will ever be. Carelessness was a luxury she couldn't afford right now.

After a long silence that felt like lasting for an eternity where Gaia seemed to think deeply about how she would punish Delphina while she tried to remain calm, the Goddess of Earth finally broke it. "I am tired. You should go now."

Delphina calmed down. What a relief. This tension was over… Until she realised something wrong. "I…should go?"

"I don't like to repeat myself. You understood me."

"But this is my home." She didn't like where it was going.

"Ho! Really? Just because it was named after you? Do you have a short memory?"

"Hum… What do you mean?" Her heartbeat increased. She guessed where it was going.

"Just think harder." Gaia's voice became so deep that it sounded like a loud echo. "What was the first name of this place? Whose was the original deity to be worshipped here?"

Delphina froze as Gaia displayed her halo of power while still sitting in her chair, not moving. It became difficult to breath and she felt obligated to face the threatening stare of the powerful goddess.

"Well. I'm waiting. Admit it."

A tear escaped Delphina's eyes. "It was Apollo who killed Python." She trembled. This pressure hut her in her throat. "It is him who took over your sanctuary."

"Indeed, but you are still living in that stolen place. Can you deny it?"

"He… He invited me. I… I'm sorry." Delphina's voice broke as her fear took over her mind.

"You are sorry? Of course, you are. You are wiser than most gods. You can pride yourself with that fact. And I know you are wise enough to give me back what belongs to me."

"You…will throw me out of here?"

Gaia laughed. "Ho! No! My dear. Here it's what will happen: you will leave on your own will. You will stand up and you will walk to the door. You will exit this room, ignoring all your servants on your way. You will continue on your way toward outside without looking behind, without an ounce of hesitation. You will proudly put your feet out of this sacred place, purifying it from your presence and won't blink an eye when others, fools enough to stay loyal to Apollo, will follow you. Do you understand?"

Delphina nodded her head.

"Perfect. Now, do."

Ten minutes later, Delphina was outside with her nightdress and one blanket on her shoulders to keep her warm. Really soon, the Muses and some of her servants exited the palace. Just like Gaia said. They all looked at her, confused or upset. Even the Muses didn't dare to say a single word.

But what could she do? Gaia was way too powerful. Trying to fight her would be useless. She couldn't risk bringing harm to the people of this sanctuary she cared about.

How Apollo will react when he will learn what happened? Clearly, he will explode with fury. She simply hoped he will not have the temerity to go against Gaia on his own. This was a real war that involved strong entities.

And now, as she was freezing outside, accompanied by plenty of nymphs looking at her for guidance, surrounded by danger anywhere in a climate of huge tensions, one question haunted her: what should she do now?

…

Gaia smiled as she looked at the sky full of stars. She spent the nights reorganising the whole place not that much familiar to her. When this sanctuary was hers, no palace existed. She didn't need one as she already lived within Earth but now that she claimed it back, she could admit the place was…very nice. Worthy of the center of her own body. Maybe she could establish officially here instead of Olympus. She never liked that mountain. Way too close to the sky, representation of her previous husband.

She sighed. She had succeeded. She got back Pytho… Except it wasn't Pytho anymore. Python had been dead for a long time.

A tear slid on her cheek. This child will never be brought back. Of course, it was a monster. She couldn't deny how much problems this snake caused to mankind. It never truly helped the shrine to shine. Quite the contrary.

But every mother would understand this: no matter what, whether it was positive or negative, your child will always be your child. He could be a monster but you would still love him.

Just like she still loved Zeus whom she raised herself.

She sighed. She needed to relax. Everything was going according to her plans. She got back the Oracle and the beneficial powers that came with it.

The sun rose.

She heard footsteps.

Gaia smiled. "You arrived quicker than I thought you would." She turned around and faced the golden bow pointing at her.

"Tell me what you did to her?" Apollo asked.

Thank you for reading!

Yes! I know! This chapter was really short! I just hope it was still good! I really wanted to take the time to develop Gaia as a character.

Also, take notes, I may still take my time for writing the future chapters. It is not just that I am editing the main story at the same time. It is simply that this story doesn't have a plan that I can easily follow (unlike the main one)! The Gigantomachy takes a lot of research and I need more time to dive into the minds of the characters.

Anyway! I try to work hard and hope I can provide good stuff you can enjoy!

See you soon!