I Am Zeus-Chapter 28: All-Gathering

Mount Olympus – Just After Dawn

The clouds around Olympus still smelled like fresh stone and lightning. The marble columns were newly carved. The gold plating on the throne hall hadn’t even dulled. Everything was still new—a kingdom just born from the ashes of war.

Zeus stood at the edge of the highest balcony, arms folded, cloak brushing behind him in the breeze. His eyes scanned the skies, not for enemies...

...but for what came next.

Then—

Caw.

The air shifted.

A shadow cut through the light. A single black raven, feathers glinting with a faint dark shimmer, circled once overhead and dove down like a spear. Zeus didn’t move.

The bird landed softly on the balcony rail.

Then it opened its beak...

...and vomited a tightly-rolled parchment sealed with strange runes. Its eyes—one normal, one glowing faint blue—met Zeus’s for a long second.

Then it took off again, vanishing into the clouds.

Zeus stared at the scroll in his hand.

It hummed with magic he didn’t recognize.

Old. Cold. From another sky.

He broke the seal and unrolled it slowly.

The handwriting was sharp. Purposeful.

To Zeus, King of Olympus, Lord of Storms,

I am Odin, High One, Father of the Æsir, Ruler of Asgard.

We watched the fall of Cronus. We saw your storm light break the Titan lines.

And now, the balance shifts.

When one pantheon rises, the others must speak.

Come to the All-Gathering, where gods meet beyond borders.

Time bends for us there. The world shall not notice your absence.

But if you ignore this... others won’t.

Bring no army. Just yourself.

The Raven has marked you.

I await your presence beneath Yggdrasil.

—Odin

Zeus rolled the scroll closed. The runes still faintly pulsed at the edge.

He looked toward the far northern horizon. Past oceans. Past stars.

Past worlds.

"Yggdrasil..." he muttered.

The tree of realms. The axis of gods. The roots that touch every sky.

A slow smirk touched the corner of his lips.

"Interesting."

Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance.

He turned and walked back into Olympus.

Because this time... the gods weren’t coming to him.

He was going to them.

Zeus leaned against the rail, fingers tapping the cold marble as he stared out at the open skies.

He had just finished reading the raven’s letter again, even though he didn’t need to. The words were already burned into his mind.

Odin. Ra. Amaterasu.

He barely knew them. Names that sounded like thunder in different skies.

He didn’t even know everything about his own myth. His past life memories were blurry—scenes from books, half-remembered lessons, fragments of old games and shows. Faces of gods he hadn’t met yet... might never meet.

Hermes. Apollo. Artemis. Athena. Ares. Hercules. Dionysus. Perseus.

All names that would one day belong to his children.

He liked the idea of that. Of being a father. Of watching gods rise that carried pieces of him.

Even Kratos crossed his mind—the fictional son from a game he once played. Brutal. Angry. Lost. That one didn’t count, of course, but the thought still made him chuckle.

"He’d definitely kill me," Zeus muttered to himself, smirking.

But this wasn’t the time for idle thoughts.

There were bigger names now. Bigger skies.

Ra. Odin. Amaterasu.

Other kings. Other realms.

Other realities.

He exhaled and turned from the balcony. His feet moved quietly through the golden hallways of Olympus. Pillars cast long shadows across the marble floor as the sun slowly climbed.

He knew where she’d be.

Olympus — Temple Garden

Metis sat by the water basin, her hand gently skimming the surface. A gentle swirl followed her fingertips, little spirals of blue and silver.

She didn’t turn when she heard him behind her.

"You’re quiet," she said.

"I’m thinking," Zeus replied, stopping beside her.

"You’re not good at that," she teased, looking up.

Zeus cracked a grin. "You’d be surprised."

She stood, and he gently took her hand in his.

"I have to go," he said.

Metis tilted her head. "Another war?"

"No. Worse. A meeting."

"Mm. That does sound worse."

Zeus laughed, but only briefly. "A gathering of gods. Odin invited me. Ra and Amaterasu will be there. Others too, I think."

Her brow arched. "You’re not exactly a diplomat."

"I’ll smile," he said. "Once. Then I’ll let the thunder talk."

Metis chuckled softly. "You’ll be back?"

"Before the moon flips."

She leaned forward just slightly. "And if it doesn’t?"

"I’ll make it."

He kissed her.

Not like a king.

Not like a storm.

Just simply.

As a man.

A soft breath. A lingering touch. Her fingers brushed against his cheek as he pulled back.

"Watch Olympus for me," he said.

Metis nodded. "It’s already watching you."

Zeus stepped back. Then he turned—

And in the blink of a heartbeat, his body shifted.

Feathers exploded outward.

Wings spread wide, golden-tipped and massive. His form twisted, surged—

And where a man had stood, now an eagle soared into the air with a screech that echoed through all of Olympus.

He rose like a bolt of wind, breaking past the highest tower, his silhouette shrinking against the sky.

Metis watched from the garden, arms folded. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Because she knew one thing for certain.

Whatever waited at this gathering...

It wouldn’t be just talk.

And Zeus—her Zeus—was flying straight into it.

Above the Bifrost Veil — Crossroad of Realms

A crack in the sky formed like stained glass being peeled open. Lightning danced along its edge.

Zeus spread his wings, slowed his descent, and passed through the tear.

The world shifted.

The colors bent.

Suddenly—

He was no longer in the skies of Earth.

He flew through an endless bridge of fractured stars, a swirling corridor of divine energy that pulsed with ancient oaths and unseen wars. This was the place where gods met gods. Not on land. Not in heavens. But in-between.

The Great Divine Conclave.

Divine Gathering Grounds — Realm of Concord

Zeus landed hard, feet striking white stone that shimmered like polished bone under starlight. His form reverted in a spark of lightning. Cloak fluttering behind him, golden vambraces on his forearms, no crown—just stormlight in his veins and thunder in his step.

A courtyard stood before him, open and endless, surrounded by floating columns that moved with the pulse of the cosmos.

Gods were already there.

Dozens of them.

And three stood taller than the rest.

Odin — cloaked in ravens and shadow, his single eye glowing with runes older than history.

Ra — blazing like a sun wrapped in the shape of a man, with fire wings trailing behind his back.

Amaterasu — graceful and cold as ice, her light not fiery but pure, divine, unwavering. The sun in stillness.

They turned as Zeus approached.

He said nothing.

Neither did they.

Not at first.

It was Odin who stepped forward.

"You came," he said, voice rough like old bark.

Zeus shrugged. "You sent a bird. It spit on me. I took that personally."

Ra chuckled. "At least he came with a sense of humor."

Amaterasu didn’t smile. She simply spoke.

"The world is changing."

Zeus nodded. "It tends to do that after a war."

"You’re not the only one who’s won a war recently," Odin said.

Ra added, "And not the only one who has enemies waiting in the dark."

Zeus folded his arms. "You called me here. Say what you need to say."

Odin’s one eye glowed brighter.

"Your Titans may have fallen, but their echoes remain. And beyond this world—others are stirring."

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on fre ew𝒆bnovel.com