Ranker Who Lives Twice

"…it's our plight? What does that mean?" Hades could not understand Rhea's words.

Hades had been thrown into the emptiness and was later rescued. He had assisted others in ousting his father from power, and his mother was trying to find her missing husband. What could be worse than this current reality?

But Rhea only gave a bitter smile and did not continue speaking. Instead, she just looked at Hades with a sad gaze. "Hades."

"Yes, mother."

"I know it's been tough for you to mediate between me and Zeus."

"That's…!"

Hades tried to say something, but Rhea shook her head. She added, "No. You don't have to pretend otherwise. To be honest, Kronos was not a good father to you. Moreover, you probably don't understand why your mother is so intent on finding and saving your father… Yet you've remained by my side and helped. I wanted to mention this."

"…Mother."

"However, I have to ask you for another favor. If… And this is only an if… If you meet someone who exudes an aura like mine after I'm gone…"

"Why are you saying such things? Stop. No, I'll just pretend I didn't hear anything." With a stiffened expression, Hades tried to turn around…

"…at that time, please don't pretend you don't know me." Rhea finished her sentence amid Hades' cries.

"…" Hades did not answer.

Thinking that Hades must have been angered by her words, Rhea gave a small bitter smile and bent down to pick up, one by one, the pieces of her sculptures and paintings that Zeus had destroyed. It seemed like it would take her quite a long time to put the broken pieces back together.

However, halfway out the door, Hades' footsteps stopped. "But mother…"

Rhea tilted her head as if she wondered what Hades was going to say.

"…I never resented father. Even if I missed him at certain times, I never resented him."

Rhea remained seated in place for a long time after hearing Hades' parting words.

***

『When you took over for Hades, didn't he tell you that he was only returning something back to what it was?』 Like Rhea, Kronos had stared at the door through which Hades had left before turning to Yeon-woo to ask a question.

'Yeah.' Yeon-woo quietly nodded his head.

Hades did not say it directly, but the message was clearly stated in the legends Hades had transferred over to Yeon-woo. Hades was just returning to 'him' what he received from 'him'. Who the 'him' Hades was referring to…would soon be revealed without anyone thinking too deeply about it.

『Hades must have known. He must have recalled your mother's request.』 Yeon-woo was clearly reflected in Kronos' eyes. Kronos continued to speak.『Among her children, you and Jeong-woo resembled your mother the most.』

'…Did Hades notice from the beginning?'

『Probably not. But, having gotten to know who you are, wouldn't he have recognized it at some point?』

Yeon-woo nodded heavily. Beings like Poseidon and Zeus did not give Yeon-woo any brotherly vibes, but it was different for Hades. Yeon-woo was grateful for Hades' guidance, especially during his early years in the Tower. That was when Yeon-woo was narrowly focused on somehow finding his brother. It was not an exaggeration to say that Hades was like a teacher, father, and older brother to Yeon-woo.

Like Kronos, Yeon-woo had no choice but to stand still and stare for a while at the door through which Hades had left.

***

Rhea pushed aside everything, even eating and drinking, for a few days so that she could concentrate on examining the materials Hades had brought her.

Yeon-woo and Kronos closely watched Rhea as she organized her thoughts in writing. And as time passed, Yeon-woo became more and more surprised. Rhea's inferences were so accurate that Yeon-woo wondered if she had derived them through a Precognition ability.

• The battle of whose 'wheel', the Heavenly Demon's or the Black King's, has already been conducted to an unfathomable extent.

• A 'wheel' is often expressed as a 'dream'. The former is an expression mainly used by the Heavenly Demon and the latter by the Black King.

• However, this 'wheel' battle is now nearing its breaking point, and the two feel the need to put an end to it.

• So, the Heavenly Demon built a 'Tower' and sealed the Black King deeply beneath it. However, it is unknown what measures the Black King took to counteract this.

…

• The darkness never releases its target. The darkness will completely take over and utilize its target until the target completely collapses.

• Assuming that Kronos is still alive, Kronos has no choice but to be dragged along by the darkness and attracted to the vicinity of the Tower.

• The Tower is somewhat of a façade. Behind the Tower, it has been observed that there is a civilization called 'Earth,' where numerous legends are being reproduced.

• The chance that Kronos' spring will land him on Earth is more than 80%, and in that case, based on Kronos' personality, the possibility that he'll repeat his past life to build up achievements will also be about…

…

• However, the darkness only made Kronos an 'Apostle', not an 'Executor'. Here, the initial question arises again.

• The Heavenly Demon made the first move. So, what would be the Black King's response?

• This is a chess match between two absolutes. I need to find out what the plays are.

…

• There are many materials from which I can derive my hypothesized guesses. The fact that Kronos' divine domains were time and death, the fact that my ancestors who once chased after the darkness as the Day had chosen to side with the Heavenly Demon… and… the fact that I, as Kronos' wife, is a descendant of the Day.

• Time and space are the main ingredients in the creation of the universe. Conversely, they are also materials that darkness cherishes yet is reluctant to utilize. To defeat the Heavenly Demon, these two main ingredients are needed.

• Moreover, the darkness' movements so far add credibility to this line of reasoning.

• Kronos and I have six children. They are gifted with the possibility to utilize both time and space. However, they have been largely left alone by darkness' far-reaching hand and influence.

• The exact reason is unknown, but it may be because they were born with a divine nature and because the darkness judged that it would be too difficult to control any of their souls.

• If one looks at the previous cases of executors of the 'dream', most of them had lived a hard time and carried a deep scar on their hearts. And for the most part, the beginning of their unfortunate life and story starts with the frustration and despair that originates from a transcendent existence.

…

• What guess can I come up with when I put all this information together? What will be the darkness' next move?

• Inducing a new offspring between Pneuma and Quirinale, who will experience life as a mortal…

While frantically writing her thoughts and reasoning on the parchment paper up to here, Rhea suddenly dropped her pen. As the pen helplessly fell from her hands, it drew a long line on the parchment paper.

"What is… What is this?" Rhea could not stand the overwhelming dark feelings any longer and covered her face with trembling hands. Her silent sobbing continued.

『Yeon-woo, this is…』

'Yes. Every single line item, infuriatingly, is correct.' Yeon-woo clenched his jaw. Each and every one of Rhea's reasoned projections was something he had gone through.

As one of the Black King's egos himself, Yeon-woo had vaguely guessed these overarching things. Still, the fact that his 'fate' had been decided so long ago and how he was being treated like a chess piece by a transcendent being, Yeon-woo could not help but seethe with anger.

And, his mother, who had expected Yeon-woo's predicament from the beginning, remained still and speechless for a long time. It was as if her heart had frozen over. However, unwilling to give in, Rhea soon clenched her teeth and started writing once more on the parchment paper.

Like Kronos, Rhea's eyes soon became bloodshot. And in those eyes, one could see an obstinate and unyielding spirit.

• If things do not progress in the manner the darkness wants, I can infer two major consequences.

• The first is that my current six children will face a string of bad luck, or their descendants will be placed in a situation where they have no choice but to fall. Second, a greater calamity will befall Kronos.

…

• It is still largely unknown what move the darkness will make. However, I cannot entrust this to anyone else either.

• I have to move and check everything myself.

This was Rhea's conclusion. Even she, as the head figure of Olympus, was no match against an absolute existence, the Black King. If the Black King were to make a move, she would not be able to stop him. All she could do was prepare to reduce the damaging effects of the move as much as possible. Rhea needed to urge the flow of things to gently swerve and take on a different direction.

And…Rhea decided to undertake this on her own. She was not going to tell her children. She would not burden her children, who were still trying to pick themselves up from the disaster that the darkness had given them. On the other hand, what Kronos was going through was a work in progress, and it was also Rhea's business.

Thus, after concluding her thoughts, Rhea quickly organized and cleaned her surroundings. Of course, she moved as quietly and secretly as possible, since she did not want anyone else to know of her decision.

"Popo, Pepe. I have something to ask of you both." Rhea entrusted duties to her two maids, who would later bear the names Freesia and Anastasia.

Rhea requested for Freesia to take care of the Quirinale legacy, and she told Anastasia to go down to the lower world and observe the trends of the Tower. Although the two noticed that Rhea was about to leave, they did not ask about it and silently followed her orders.

Around the time she was planning to leave, Rhea finished the statues and paintings, which she had continuously worked on during her spare time.

While depicting her family's memories of happiness in her sculptures and paintings, Rhea constantly reminded herself of her determination to return to those days. Thus, on the day she chose to leave, Rhea stood in front of one of those paintings. Kronos was smiling broadly and looking back at the pensive Rhea.

Rhea looked at this image of Kronos and smiled. It was a smile she had not made since Kronos was overtaken by Demonism. "You know what, dear husband? Personally, it's enough to protect my children and grandchildren. If I achieve that, then you'll continue to be harassed by the darkness, but considering what you've done, that's still getting off cheap. But…do you know why I'm trying so hard to save you?"

Yeon-woo looked back at Kronos, who had no idea what Rhea's reason was. Shaking his head, Kronos was also baffled over why Rhea was trying so hard to save him. Why did Rhea love him so much? In Kronos' memory, all he could recall was him hurting her.

"You may not remember, but in fact, you saved me once before."

『Huh?』

"After I was adopted by father, I couldn't adjust to the atmosphere in Olympus and was in the midst of thinking about my identity… The other siblings tortured me terribly. Especially Theia, that bitch was a real killer."

『Hahaha.』

"But you stood in front of me and said to Theia, that bitch, to shut up and stop being so noisy. Even when Theia glared at you, you maintained your position, seemingly inviting her to do something if she could muster the courage… You looked so cool at that moment."

『Yeah, I was pretty cool from a young age.』

"It was funny, though…"

『Though?』

"You were adopted later than me, so it may have been more of a confusing time for you, but you ignored all of that and acted in whatever way you wanted, didn't you? In the end, Theia could not win, so she left. I couldn't have been more envious of something at that moment."

『…』

"It was probably around that time when I started to acknowledge you."

『…Hmm. I don't think I had any thoughts or intentions at that time.』

"So, since then, I have sent you various signs and signals… But how could such a dull person like you read such messages? Rather, you were annoyed by my attention. You looked so stupid back then."

『Ahem… Our son is right next to me, please refrain from saying I'm stupid…』

"But in the end, it was me who defeated you, so I'm the winner, right? And did you know that I was the one who induced you to marry me?"

『Eh?』

"You probably can't imagine it. Anyway, I had to take care of everything, from one to ten. What else could I do?"

『…Ahem.』

"Thus, I'm going to take care of matters again. So, stay there and wait."

『Hmm!』 Kronos exchanged words and expressions with Rhea, as if he was having a real conversation with her. In the end, Kronos even felt shy, scratching his cheek with his index finger. And Kronos had a thought. From the start, he must have been destined to be with Rhea… He was fated to be with Rhea…

『By the way, there's something you don't know as well.』 Kronos spoke as Rhea took her eyes off the painting and turned slowly around.

Kronos started speaking from his heart.『When I inherited father's divine powers and started the civil war… I was scouted by several societies and received many offers. Everyone knew I was the most powerful. Some guy even said we should create an independent society altogether. However, do you know why I didn't go anywhere and I stuck next to you?』

One step, and another… As Rhea slowly stepped forward, a light distribution started shining brightly around her. And soon, the light distribution shattered into tiny pieces and fell onto the ground. Her fall from grace was occurring. She was preparing to go to Earth, where she predicted Kronos would be.

『The reason I caused a ruckus without a moment's rest was to gain your attention. Whenever I was scolded by father, you were always the first to come seek me out and ask why I was acting so immature.』

Rhea sat quietly in front of a table. A faint smile appeared on her face as she gently stroked the tabletop. When was it? For some reason, she could not remember anymore, but she and Kronos had a large argument once when they were young. Uranus was very angry with them at that time and told them to make something together as a sign of reconciliation, so the two of them built a tabletop while grunting and bickering all day long. And from then on…the tabletop in front of Rhea became her number one personal treasure. She would not give it up for the world.

『It was the same when I was on Earth. How many times had I reincarnated? Since I was such a stud, there were many women who threw themselves at me, but I never gave them a single glance. Do you know why?』 Kronos looked at Rhea, who quietly lowered her face onto the table, as he spoke.『It's the same reason that drove me to restore my legends and somehow make my way back to Olympus. At the time, I hated Zeus, but I wished for something beyond simple revenge. Even if it's from a distance, I want to be with you…!』

Due to a surge of emotion, Kronos had trouble finishing his words. He gulped and fought back tears to continue speaking. At that moment, Rhea's eyes were closing. Kronos spoke once more.『I want to see you, at least one last time.』

Rhea's eyes completely closed. Her fall from grace, her surrendering of her divinity…was coming to an end.

"So we must."

『So we will soon.』

"Meet each other again."

『Meet each other once again.』

Poof! The light distribution that emanated from Rhea completely subsided. Her fall from grace had completed. The last thought vestige that she left behind also began to crumble.

Kronos raised his head upward.

['Summon of the Dead' has been activated.]

[Who would you like to summon?]

『Rhea.』Kronos called on the name of the woman who he loved all his life.