A single slender hand belonging to a remarkably beautiful woman, tan of skin, dark of hair, raised up high. An expression of disbelief created stress lines across her face. Her lips quivering in anger.

Her hand lowered.

"Useless. How useless." She bemoaned her situation. "There is no hope."

She turned away from a little silver haired child sitting on his bottom. His wide eyes looking directly up, his hands busy gathering the scattered pieces of a flower wreath.

"Why is fate so cruel to me. It was supposed to be better after father…"

She walked off in a daze. Her voice trailed off until it could barely be registered by the boy.

After she disappeared from sight, the little boy heard a thud. He didn't see it, nor did he use his extraordinary senses to view it. But he knew the woman had fallen to her knees.

He gazed down at the mess of flora, an unreadable expression on his person. The children in the primitive village said this would cheer mothers up.

"Wow little white, it's so pretty. You mater is gonna love it." He remembered a soft childish female voice tell him.

"Ugh, this is too girly. Are you sure you're a boy? But whatever, if Persi says it's good then it probably is." He remembered childish male voice tell him.

"Hm? Where did he go? I blinked and he was gone? Oh well, I hope he comes back to play some time. It's so boring."

The little boy stared at the mess until he slowly raised his undeveloped hand. It was small, still full of baby fat.

THUD!

The cave he lived in shook from the force of his punch. A small crater was made below his tiny fist.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

…

THUD!!!

Fists impacting in water made the uncharacteristic sound of hitting hard a surface. A step behind that was the crackling sound of electricity and the booming roars of thunder.

Zeus' punch was not only electrifying, it was filled with enormous power. It was less like the punch thrown by a man, cultivator or not, but closer to a metallic weapon being swung.

They may not possess the explosive might of a Keraunos Lightning Bolt. But each punch was packed with all the strength Zeus could muster. For an Olympian with infinite stamina, he could stay like that in his assault.

Each time he punched, it was as if time slowed. Each strike became akin to travelling stars in the heavens.

It was apparent to Da Hai that Zeus had never stepped in the path of cultivation. Yet why did he exhibit myriad Dao manifestations?

To Da Hai, whose gaze was unfiltered by any layer of falsehood. Zeus' form overlapped with a winged humanoid who wore something on his head. It was no only that however.

The more Zeus boxed, the more Da Hai saw silhouettes of other people. Perhaps not as prominent as the winged one, but still large and exotic. Some were shapes he swore he recognized.

Yet Zeus was not aware of any of this. In front of Da Hai, he appeared a mix of fear, as well as excitement. His blows came fast as a result.

He did not seem to care if he left openings. One would think he was baiting Da Hai. An action born of an extreme drive to be rid of the eight headed serpent and a lack of a fear of death.

But that was not all of it. Everyone Da Gai exchanged blows with Zeus, their mind, one filled with many domains and the other a consolidated Dao, brushed past each other.

The glimpses became more apparent as a result.

"Come on! Where did your fighting spirit go?" Zeus called out to Da Hai. Up until this point, Da Hai went entirely on the defensive.

For all his power, the godfiend did nothing more than avoiding Zeus' blows. Weather it be jabs or grapples, or even the odd godly domain based attack, Da Hai did not deign to fight back.

If anything, he appeared more bewildered by Zeus. It grated on his nerves, yet Zeus cannot squash the excitement in his mind.

"What happened to all those threats huh? Where's your bloodlust? Aren't you gonna fight me to the death?" Zeus challenged.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Even if he didn't possess much of the bearings of a god when they first met, he wasn't like this. The Zeus of current was more of a wild barbarian who'd discarded all his perceived elegance.

Like a bull seeing red, Zeus continued his barrage. Lightning curved around his head, seemingly making a crown that resembled horns. Perhaps if the White Bull had not been destroyed, they would've solidified into real horns.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zeus roared in Da Hai's face after a successive series of blows. His fist brushed past water, smashed through stone, tore through the wind. But all he could see was the formation of pity on Da Hai.

"This is a life and death battle isn't it? Pathetic!" Zeus demanded Da Hai's attention, growing more desperate as a result.

He did not miss how Da Hai's eyes narrowed, and his gaze slightly turned away.

"Why?" Da Hai finally muttered.

From an outsider's point of view, no matter if they were a hero, a monster, or even a god. Even if they were an Olympian god or a Titan god. None of them could perceive the two.

To borrow a phrase from the Three Realms. The gap between Da Hai and Zeus, and the rest, was the difference between heaven and earth.

The thunder god and the godfiend were akin to two streams of starlight. Blitzing around the landscape of the Peloponnes without care.

But from a personal point of view, the fight couldn't be called a fight. If Da Hai wanted to, he can end Zeus' existence like he did to so many others before him.

"Are you just insane? Do you not fear death? Or do you enjoy fighting so much that you don't care?" Da Hai said to the silver haired god with no small amounts of grief.

Zeus chuckled in response. Not an arrogant one, or an excited one. He stood in opposition to the image of the battle junkie Da Hai had built in his mind.

"Heh." An accepting laugh that was also what drew Da Hai's curiosity, more so than his power.

Da Hai had to mentally correct himself. He could see Zeus had the fear of termination that any lifeforms had. And while there's some excitement in going all out, there was no bursting joy in combat.

"At the beginning, you were only going through the motions. Then you tried your absolute best. And now they…want to die?" Da Hai tried to make sense of him, each time returning speechless.

"Why do you care?" Zeus said mid punch. "This is what I'm meant to do. Either you die, or I do. Hahaha, yeah."

He quietly chuckled to himself at the end. The thought of complete annihilation had been on his mind alongside his duty as Olympus' first and last line of defence.

And in that line of work. If he meets his end? Sure.

"Sure," Zeus finally said with a light shake. "Whatever happens."

Bit by bit, Da Hai felt his fighting spirit die.

Looking directly at Zeus, he was reminded of himself in a strange way. Not completely as there were surely huge differences. But it was the acceptance.

He didn't know the full story, he didn't know the circumstances, he can't even truly claim to know Zeus that well.

But a long long time ago, there was a period of time lasting tens of thousands of years, where the eight headed serpent lusted for revenge.

In that utterly primordial era, a single goal nested in that brain. Yet even back then, he understood deep down, that the very end of that goal was his own demise.

Beneath all the bluster and rage, he didn't really think he could obtain what he sought.

He never said anything to Wangshu, but meeting his end at the hands of Hongjun was about what he expected.

And most crucially of all? At the end of that maddened tunnel, the pain would finally subside.

This was why Da Hai stayed his hand for so long. The disturbing similarity of this mindset upsetted him to his core.

Alongside his turmoil, Da Hai's snake heads had already receded back to its spongy blond follicles. His scales turned back into skin.

Blades of water that would've swirled around him, or leaked off his body had faded as well. Even his Dao fruit was receding from active combat.

"Junior," Da Hai said slowly, carefully weaving his way between Zeus' punches. "What made you like this?"

Just why would the prospect of ending in annihilation motivate the king of the Olympian gods into fighting like a maniac.

It was difficult to swallow. Da Hai had long since changed from that version of himself.

"Stop avoiding me!" Zeus roared back angrier than ever. "Enough with these words. Just fight damn you. Fight. Fight. Fight!"

"Pity." Da Hai sighed. The pain was infectious every time he glanced at Zeus.

He didn't feel any desire to kill the man. Even the bits that arose from his annoyance had been quashed into nothingness.

'I want to understand.'

Da Hai knew he shouldn't do this. He had more pressing matters. A realm to reach, a secret to find, a disciple to protect. So many things were more important than some stranger.

And yet…he couldn't help himself.

The action just felt right.

Da Hai's figure emitted Dao radiance. A normal occurrence for any immortal about to start fighting.

"Yes." Zeus didn't smile in a wide maniacal way, but he was grinning in satisfaction.

No more declarations of predestiny were uttered. Zeus welcomed Da Hai's killing blow with open arms.

He wasn't going to meet it defenceless of course. He'll perish fighting. He was born all powerful, all encompassing, a superior man among celestials. He was anything but humble.

Then a splash of water enveloped him and his electricity bound charge. A quick blow to his back, striking his everything in a decisive act.

He felt the shockwave course through him. His divine essence being shredded by blunt force. An overwhelming presence, not dissimilar to what he felt when he pushed Nyx back down to the depths.

What did she call it as she tumbled? Limitless principle? Her insane ramblings never made sense at the time.

"It's over," he whispered before everything went dark.

…

The world south of the Aegean was a desert. Harsh and unforgiving to all those who did not live along the life giving river, Nile.

The land felt cursed. Constantly sucking away the vitality of people and animals. Culture had regressed, barely resembling the hieroglyphs still found in decaying ancient temples.

Even the heavens reflected this. The sun hadn't been seen in eons. Dark clouds marred the sky, allowing only dim light to pass through.

The days of glory had long faded from the minds of mortals. Even those long lived priests cannot recall a time before.

Those who still worshipped would say, "Ma'at had been lost."

At a palace further down the Nile. A city grander than most sat as a hub for activity. Waset was the seat of he who bears the twin crowns after all.

And inside the palace of the Pharoah, within a throne room, a single man kneeled before an empty throne. His head dipped low, not daring to look up.

The light flowing in from outside lit most of the room up. Not in the brilliant sunlight of legends, but a hollow dim one. Bright enough at least, to cast shadows.

"I…I bring news your excellency." The man was stuttering with barely concealed excitement. "The signs from the northern skies were seen in Heliopolis.

"I've verified it through my own calculations. The Hammer of the sea peoples has fallen."

Before him, there was an empty throne shrouded in darkness. Evidently covered in shadow. But that wasn't quite right.

There was nothing covering the throne from the direction where light shone in. Anyone could tell that it was an unnatural shadow.

The man who bore the message was a high priest. His spirit blazed with happiness at the words he uttered. He did not fear for the eeriness of a shadow covering the throne.

The shadow stirred, like an invisible man sitting on a throne fit for a king.

"Ah…"

…

The world was ocean, convulsing in storms, crashing against a single platform of rock. Da Hai knelt there on one knee, his other raised up alongside one of his arms in support of a shape.

Golden dust like, white and cloud like. It appeared like water vapour in the vague shape of a person. A mortal's hand would've went through it.

Da Hai did not look up at the beings casting their wrath atop him. Their shadows neither bothered, nor angered him.

A horse made entirely from the sea that had risen. A hound made entirely of darkness that growled. A scythe covered in wheat, frozen inches from his neck.

"It took that long for you three to react, and that long to respond. But I can't blame you, this world is large." Da Hai said without glancing up, too focused on helping the shape in his hand.

With his free one, he gently pushed the scythe away. He noticed that it was a treasure comparable to low grade xiantian spiritual treasures.

"You three don't need to worry. I have no desire to harm him," Da Hai said with compassion lacing his voice. He allowed his power to move away from them, stopping his entrapment of the three.

"I'm not your enemy. I don't want to harm any of you anymore. I just want to understand. You can all trust me on that."

The horse, the hound, and the scythe shook angrily. The distrust was evident. They cursed themselves for being too slow, too weak, powerless to support him just as they had been for so so long.

A gentle ring of fire caressed the three after Da Hai said his words. The gentle comfort seemed to ease the three.

Eyes met, soundless communication was held. The horse neighed in anger, unwilling to back down. The hound snarled, but ultimately stopped its tense posture. The scythe also retracted.

"Thank you."

"We don't understand either." A woman's voice said. "We tried, but every time he just… it was like fate did not intend for it. The sisters didn't see it in their design. And we…"

Da Hai signed at her words. He cradled the mass of clouds, stepping through a pool of ichor and out into the ocean. The horse wanted to attack, but it couldn't command its own domain.

This being who also came from the ocean was too terrifying. He could only helplessly watch Da Hai leave for the mainland.

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