Marcus did not sleep that night.He stood on the roof of Elena's safe house, watching Chicago's skyline. The city looked normal. Cars moving. Lights on. People living their lives. But he could feel it underneath. The earth trembling. Gaia stirring."You should rest," Elena said, joining him on the roof. She carried two cups of coffee. "Tomorrow is going to be impossible.""Tomorrow is always impossible now," Marcus took the coffee gratefully. "How is Rachel?""Asleep. Finally. She had nightmares about the transmission." Elena leaned against the railing. "She asked me if we are all going to die.""What did you tell her?""That I did not know. That we would fight." Elena looked at h

The emergency facility was built in three days.It sat on neutral ground in Switzerland, constructed by mortal engineers working alongside gods of craftsmanship. Hephaestus had designed it. Mortal corporations funded it. Volunteers from fifty countries helped build it.Marcus stood in the main research lab, watching scientists and gods work side by side. It should have been impossible. Two weeks ago, they were hiding from each other. Now they were humanity's last hope."We have a problem," Dr. Lisa Park said, approaching with a tablet full of data. "Gaia is not just sick. She is fragmenting. Her consciousness is splitting into pieces. The damage is affecting her mind, not just her body.""What does that mean?" Marcus asked."

Marcus stood alone in the rain outside the Swiss facility.It had been three days since Hephaestus and Zeus died. Three days of funerals, grief, and gods questioning everything. The pantheons were in chaos. Zeus's throne sat empty. Hephaestus's forge had gone cold.And Marcus felt responsible for all of it."You cannot blame yourself," a voice said behind him.Marcus turned. Chiron stood there, his ancient eyes full of understanding. The old trainer had seen countless heroes rise and fall over millennia."They died because of my plan," Marcus said. "I told them to sacrifice themselves.""They chose to sacrifice themselves," Chiron corrected. "You gave them the option. They made the decision. That is not the same as you killing them.""It feels the same.""It always does." Chiron walked to stand beside him, both of them getting soaked by the rain. "I trained Achilles. Hercules. Perseus. Dozens of heroes who died too young. I bla

Two months passed in a blur of rebuilding and healing.Marcus stood on the rooftop of the newly constructed Divine Council building in Chicago. The structure was a marvel, half modern architecture and half ancient temple, representing the new partnership between gods and mortals.Below, the city had changed. Divine districts were now official. Signs marked where god territory began, with rules posted in a dozen languages. Mortals and gods walked the same streets, wary but learning to coexist.It was not perfect. But it was progress."Deep in thought?" Rachel asked, joining him on the roof. She had grown in the past months, not physically but in confidence. The scared girl he saved was becoming someone stronger."Just thinking about how much has changed," Marcus said."Is that good or bad?""Both." Marcus watched the sun setting over Lake Michigan. "We saved the world. But we lost people doing it. Hephaestus. Zeus. Nine others in the void battle. Sometimes I wonder if the cost was worth

The Harvester's dimension exploded with divine fury.Athena came through first, her spear crackling with wisdom and war. She drove it into the cage holding Marcus, shattering the void bars like glass."Took you long enough," Marcus said, stepping free."We came as fast as we could," Athena replied. Behind her, hundreds of gods poured through portals. "This place exists outside normal space. Finding it was nearly impossible."The Harvester roared, a sound that made reality shake. Its form expanded, growing massive, filling the chamber with its presence. Tendrils erupted in every direction, attacking the invading gods."You dare enter my domain?" it bellowed. "I will harvest you all!"Apollo dodged a tendril and fired arrows of pure sunlight. They struck the Harvester but barely slowed it down. "This thing is ancient! Our attacks are not doing enough damage!"Marcus looked at the thousands of caged gods. All that stolen power, flowing into the central core. That was the key. The Harvest