Marcus met Kronos in the prison Athena built.It existed in a pocket dimension, designed specifically for beings too powerful to hold anywhere else. The walls were made of compressed reality itself. Nothing got in. Nothing got out.Except Kronos had found a way to make a phone call."How did you contact me?" Marcus asked, standing outside the energy barrier holding the Titan King.Kronos smiled from his prison. He looked smaller than before. Weaker. But his eyes still burned with ancient power."I am thousands of years old," Kronos said. "I know tricks your gods never imagined. A simple communication spell was easy.""Why contact me?" Marcus asked. "What do you want?""To help," Kronos said simply. "I can stop the Unmaker. Permanently. Not Yuki's five hundred year delay. Forever."Marcus felt suspicious. "How?""By becoming the cage myself," Kronos said. "I am primordial. Old enough to match the Unmaker's power. If I merge with Yuki's device, I can create a permanent prison. One that

Marcus stepped toward the cage.Elena's gun stayed pointed at Rachel. Her finger on the trigger. Tears streaming down her face but her body controlled by Yuki's commands."Please," Elena whispered. "Do not do this for me.""I am not," Marcus said. "I am doing it for everyone."He reached the cage. Metal clamps waited to lock around his wrists and ankles. Once he connected, there was no escape. Forever trapped. Forever powering the device."Smart choice," Yuki said from her ship. "Step in. Connect yourself. Save your friends."Marcus looked at his team one last time. Zeus, standing proud. Athena, calculating even now. Bjorn, ready to fight. Hephaestus, holding the daughter he almost lost again.And Rachel. Young. Brave. Terrified."I am sorry," Marcus said.Then he activated Hephaestus's dagger.Not to cut his bonds. To cut Elena's.The blade flashed. Divine energy shot out, invisible to cameras but real to those with power. It hit Elena like lightning.She gasped. Stumbled. The gun fe

Three days after saving the universe, Marcus was drowning in paperwork."Sign here," Director Chen said, pointing to another document. "This establishes divine and mortal cooperation zones. And here. This creates the joint council. And here...""How many more?" Marcus asked, his hand cramping."Seventy three," Director Chen said without sympathy. "You wanted gods and mortals working together. This is what that looks like. Bureaucracy."Marcus groaned but kept signing. Around him, the new Divine Council building buzzed with activity. Gods and mortals working side by side. Planning. Building. Creating something that had never existed before.A true alliance."The first joint council meeting is tomorrow," Athena said, entering with her own stack of papers. "All pantheons agreed to attend. Even the Forgotten Gods.""That is progress," Marcus said."It is chaos waiting to happen," Athena corrected. "But yes. Also progress."Elena entered carrying coffee and looking tired. "The UN wants you

Two weeks later, Marcus stood in front of an old military base outside Chicago."This is it?" Elena asked, looking at the run down buildings and cracked pavement."This is what we can afford," Director Chen said, checking her tablet. "The government donated it. No cost. But also no repairs. No utilities. Nothing."Marcus walked through the empty base. Barracks that had not housed soldiers in decades. Training grounds overrun with weeds. A mess hall with broken windows.It was perfect."We can work with this," Marcus said. "The new gods need a place to learn. This gives us space. Privacy. Room to make mistakes without risking civilians.""It needs everything," Elena pointed out. "Power. Water. Heat. Walls that do not leak.""Then we fix it," Marcus said. "Together."He sent out a call. Every new god. Every marked one. Everyone who wanted to help.They came. Sixty people with divine powers they barely understood."We are building a school," Marcus announced. "A place where we learn cont

Marcus stood before the Fates in the white room one final time."You have made your decision?" the first Fate asked."Yes," Marcus said. He had thought about it for three days. Weighed every option. Considered every consequence."Speak it clearly," the second Fate said. "Once spoken, it cannot be undone."Marcus took a breath. "I choose to keep the power."The third Fate tilted her head. "You understand what this means? Three months maximum. Then you cease to exist. Erased completely.""I understand," Marcus said. "But those students need me. The Bridge Academy needs leadership. The alliances between gods and mortals are still fragile. Three months of making a difference is worth more than a lifetime of safety.""A noble choice," the first Fate said. "Or a foolish one. Time will tell.""There is something else," Marcus added. "Something I want to try. You said my thread is breaking because reality does not know what I am. Mortal and divine mixed in a way that should not exist.""Corre