20 Harsh Truth

Dare to dream, then decide to do.

—Annette White.

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"Will you marry me?"

Those four words. Those. Four. Words. They slashed into his mind like cosmic lightning, rattling his actual being for a split second.

"No," Hypnos immediately replied. He didn't even bother to consider it. To him, the answer to her question was as clear as a dream.

Hera appeared shaken, her hands resting heavily on the armrest for support as his answer weighed heavily on her. "Why?" she exclaimed, her gaze fixed on him, desperately searching for an answer.

"What why?!" Hypnos felt the outrageousness of this situation. "This is marriage we are taking out!" he reclined in his seat, placing his hands over his face in exasperation. "Do we love each other?" he continued, reconsidering everything.

"First and foremost, what are we?"

He should have anticipated this. The logic of his previous life could no longer be applied to these past times, much less to the gods. And given that Hera was the Goddess of Marriage, it was not strange that she pulled something like this on him.

Nevertheless, this was unacceptable to him. It was also fast—far too fast for a relationship that had only begun the day before.

'First and foremost, what are we?'

That question hung in the air, making both of them fall into a heavy silence, gazing at each other heavily.

"Love…" Hera ruminated forlornly, breaking it. "I like you," she admitted truthfully, her tone quaking with a myriad of emotions.

"That's the issue, Hera." Hypnos was not surprised since he expected it; after all, love was love—it is not something that can happen so easily. Then he slowly began to explain his point of view to her. "Marriage is an eternal bond between partners. Something sacred like that cannot be built solely on affection..."

"I know. I know." Hera muttered coarsely. "I know what a marriage means, what it entails, and what it holds better than anyone else."

"For Gaea's sake, I am the Goddess of Marriage!"

"Then why are you doing this?" Hypnos frowned.

Hera remained silent, her figure shrouded in hesitation and indecision.

"It's fine, Hera," Hypnos sighed, gently holding her hand. "You can tell me." he reassured her firmly.

Hera squeezed his hand tightly. "I was just afraid, you know," she whispered lowly, "that everything was just a dream… you would turn out to be just like those… men who saw me as nothing but just another trophy for them to collect….and not the man who only held me in his silver eyes… it began to haunt me, and I felt fear… because whatever this is between us... I've never felt anything like it before.... I don't want to lose it..."

"Hypnos, I don't want to lose you."

"I understand," Hypnos peered solely into her eyes. "I like you too, Hera," he said, imbuing all of his emotions for her into his voice and conveying them all to her. "We are in a relationship."

Hera finally smiled, a smile that spoke volumes about her happiness and relief.

Hypnos smiled, infected by her. He put his hand on her cheeks. "I should not have left you right after the banquet..."

"It's fine," Hera placed her hand over his, composing herself back together.

"It's not fine," Hypnos said, shaking his head. "Look at what happened."

"Hypnos," sighed Hera. "Leave it be. All that matters is that we are here together now."

Hypnos nodded heavily, and they just sat there, gazing into each other's eyes, enjoying the brief, comfortable silence before the elephant in the room was addressed.

"So," Hera finally said, twirling her black hair. "How are we going to proceed now?"

"Well," Hypnos immediately suggested. "Dating."

"Dating?" Hera blinked her eyes in confusion.

"To put it simply." Hypos said, smiling at her perplexity. "We are going to have fun and fall in love with each other."

"Are you fine with that?"

"Yes," Hera said, rising from her seat and pacing around him. "Yes," she said again, and then a storm of solemnity swept across her brilliant brown eyes. "Can you elaborate on the term 'fun'?"

"Fun," Hypnos repeated, getting up from his seat as well. "We can do whatever we want—travel around the world and to the stars—as we learn more about our expectations, feelings, and, ultimately, ourselves."

"So, Hera, what do you say?" Hypnos finally asked, peering into her eyes.

Hera fell silent, savouring his words in her heart. "I couldn't ask for anything more," she said readily, a brilliant smile on her lips. "Let's see who can make whom fall in love with whom first."

"We really don't have to turn this into a competition," Hypnos smiled, but she was too caught up in her excitement, so he just grabbed her by bringing her into his arms. "Well then, let's have it your way…" he smiled subtly, his eyes trailing her supple figure. "I'm going to make the first move, Hera."

"Wait, what?" Hera blinked, then noticed his burning eyes. "You—" she scoffed, but her body in his embrace told a different story to Hypnos.

Hypnos bent down, pressing his lips against her cheek, brushing it lightly—and still, that light touch sent shivers through her nerves, shivers that made her whole being tremble. "If you want me to stop, tell me now," he whispered. When she still said nothing, he brushed his mouth against the hollow of her temple. "Or now." He traced the line of her cheekbone. "Or now." His lips were against hers. "Or—"

But Hera had reached up and pulled him down to her, and the rest of his words were lost against her mouth. He kissed her gently, carefully, but it wasn't gentleness she truly wanted, not now, not after all that happened, and she knotted her fists in his chiton, pulling him harder against her. He groaned softly, low in his throat, and then his arms circled her, gathering her against him, and they moved towards the wall, tangled together, still kissing in this unending moment.

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The afternoon sun shone through the colossal pillars of the main hall, illuminating Hypnos, who sat in the head seat of the silver table in the centre of the hall, his fingers tracing his lips, savouring the aftertaste of their kiss.

They ended with just a kiss, deciding not to go any further for the time being. Hera then declared that it was time for her to make her move, storming out of his room to prepare for it. And so they parted reluctantly for now, but Hypnos was still excited for what she would have in store for him.

After that wonderful morning, Hypnos took a few moments to gather himself before going to meet with Metis, the de facto strategist of the war, to get details about all sides in the war. Unlike Aunt Gaea, he intended to become more involved in the war, albeit not directly, since this was a war that the Gods had to fight and win for themselves; he could not rashly interfere with their war.

There was a limit to how much primordials like him could help the gods; not that they were restricted, but if they chose to directly enter the war of lower beings, the situation would quickly escalate to their level one way or another—Destiny always aims for balance in everything.

Hypnos thrummed his fingers on the armrest, his mind streaming with plans to deal with the disadvantageous situation on their side.

The greatest obstacle that the Gods faced was Kronos, the Crooked One, in their path to victory. His powers were very strong for an immortal, but it didn't matter much in the end because he would be vanquished by the Zeus trained by Hypnos.

Metis had told him that Kronos was originally only the Titan of Harvest, but just before his rebellion against Ouranos, he miraculously gained the powers of time without anyone's knowledge.

Hypnos had some obvious assumptions as to whence Kronos had gotten his powers; therefore, he didn't want to take any chances by underestimating Kronos.

His musings were suddenly interrupted by the creaking of the door. And as he looked up at the opening doors, a divine figure emerged from behind them. He was tall and muscular, with shoulder-length black hair and a neatly trimmed grey-and-black beard. He had brilliant blue eyes, streaking with sparks of lightning. He was dressed in a white chiton, and his presence made the air in the hall smell like ozone.

He was none other than Zeus, the God of Lightning and Thunder.

Zeus…. Hypnos fixed his gaze on the future King of the Gods. In his perception, the God of Lighting was very powerful for a god, and when compared to his siblings, he surpassed them all by a margin. Is this a benefit of being favoured by destiny, or is it just a product of his own efforts?…

"Sit down, Zeus," Hypnos pointed at the foot of the table.

Zeus nodded, his electric-blue eyes darting neutrally towards the chair, though Hypnos clearly saw the apprehension and wariness hidden deep within his eyes.

The power of the mind always comes in handy. Hypnos mused as Zeus took the seat at the end of the table. He should really focus on them more.

"Do you know why I summoned you?" Hypnos inquired, his chin resting on his hand.

"No," Zeus said, clearing his throat. "But I suppose it has something to do with the war..."

It seems Gaea really had not gone behind his back to inform Zeus of their decision. Well, this makes things a lot easier for him.

Hypnos leaned back in his seat. "Do you think you're strong, Zeus?"

Zeus was slightly taken aback by his sudden question. "Yes," he still replied, his confidence radiating from every fibre of his being.

Hypnos curtly nodded. "Do you understand the extent of your power?" he narrowed his eyes at the God of Lightning.

Zeus shifted in his seat under his steely gaze. "Um…" he said. "Yes.."

Hypnos continued. "Do you want to overthrow your father and become King of the Cosmos?" he asked facetiously.

"What—" Zeus' blue eyes widened, but he was cut off by Hypnos, who teleported directly next to Zeus, picking him up by the shoulder at a speed Zeus couldn't even comprehend, and then slamming his palm into his chest.

Zeus looked dazedly at his own body falling in slow motion, followed by a thunderous boom, as he floated above it in illusory form.

Hypnos went around the body Zeus towards spectral Zeus. "You know, Zeus, your dream is actually admirable. There's nothing wrong with setting a goal for yourself, but," he smiled gently, but in Zeus' eyes, that smile was as chilling as his father's. "It's crucial that you comprehend what you're getting yourself into for your goal," he paused. "So, do you really understand the Cosmos that you want to rule over?"

Zeus looked down at the spectral form. "What did you do to me?" he demanded, ignoring his previous words altogether.

"As expected," Hypnos shook his head with faux disappointment. "Your dreams are built on mere delusions and fallacies. And your mind is so clogged with hubris that you can't even comprehend the simple truth." he waved his hand, drawing Zeus back to his body.

Zeus wanted to summon his master blot right away, but he found himself completely frozen. All he could do was stare at Hypnos, unable to move a single muscle or fibre of his divine body.

For a split second, Zeus seemed to be transferred back in time to the moment he first faced his father—he'd never felt more helpless in his life. All of his might was useless in the face of Kronos, who froze him in time with a simple gesture as if he were nothing more than a fuss to him and then swung his scythe at his sister, Demeter.

The same helpless sensation that he so despised flooded every ounce of his divine being as he gazed at the terrifying primordial being standing in front of him with a kind smile.

Hypnos continued gently, starting down at Zeus, frozen within the confines of reality. "You are literally nothing in the face of the infinite cosmos, Zeus," he paused. "Harsh, isn't it? But, more often than not, truths are like that. What is more important is that you learn to accept and live with it," he wagged his fingers. "I don't mean you should give up on your goal; on the contrary, with the truth now in your mind, you're all set for your cosmic path. And who knows, you might even be able to realise your dream?..." he concluded, waving his hand at Zeus once more.

Zeus felt the restraints on him slip away. "Why are you doing this to me?!" he immediately growled at Hypnos. His form flashed with hundreds of streaks of lightning, illuminating the room in an electrifying glow.

"To show you how much you don't know," Hypnos placed his thumb on the glabella of Zeus.

"Open your eye."

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