Due to the immense power of his own divinity, Uranus did not believe Taron's prophecy, nor did he think these children had the ability to overthrow him, but this did not prevent him from using it to vent his dissatisfaction.
Taron's prophecy was an offense in his eyes; as a proud God-King, he could not be pleased.
But it was he who had asked for the prophecy, and Taron was too weak for it to be worth his while to argue, so Uranus could only be magnanimous.
The Twelve Titans, however, were different; these were his children and his subordinates, and whether in the name of a father or a God-King, he had ample reason to "admonish" them.
In stark contrast to the benevolent Earth Mother Gaea, Uranus did not believe there was anything wrong with taking out his anger on innocents; he was the God-King, the ruler of this world, and all living beings in this world should follow his will.
And now he was somewhat displeased, so these gods should offer themselves up for his amusement; this was both their duty and their honor.
The creative power of the God-King erupted without reservation, and the Twelve Titans felt as if their very souls were being torn apart; the terrifying pressure made it impossible for them to even breathe.
Their spirits and bodies were simultaneously ravaged, which terrified them to the extreme as newly born beings.
They all fell to their knees, trembling, prostrating themselves, begging the God-King to cease his anger, to forgive them, even though they did not know what wrong they had committed.
Uranus looked at their disheveled state, his eyes full of disdain, and even his tone carried a hint of mockery: "Is this how you act as gods? Prostrate on the ground, utterly shameless."
"That I should give birth to such children; you bring shame upon me."
He felt even more that this prophecy was absurd; these good-for-nothing fellows before him, were they really prophesied to raise a blade against him and overthrow him?
This was simply an insult to him.
Uranus felt displeased, and so he released the might of the God-King even more wantonly, while leisurely explaining to them what they should do as gods.
He told them how to fulfill their divine duties, how to develop the world, and most importantly, to absolutely obey his commands as the God-King.
And as he spoke, the twelve new gods remained prostrate on the ground, enduring the dual torment of body and spirit, trembling in pain.
They didn't even dare to make a sound, fearing to incur greater punishment from the God-King, and could only endure in Bitter.
Uranus enjoyed this scene, his tone becoming even more deliberate.
He was intentionally using this method to chastise his children, to prevent any thoughts of disloyalty from arising in them.
Time passed bit by bit, and after an unknown duration, seeing his children crying out in pain and begging for mercy because they could no longer bear it, Gaea finally couldn't stand it anymore; she tried to stop Uranus.
"Great God-King, my most sincere love, they are your children, not your enemies. Why do you treat them so cruelly?"
The usually gentle and mild Earth Mother questioned him at this moment; this was the first time she and Uranus had disagreed since they had been together, and the first time she had disapproved of Uranus's actions.
Noticing Gaea's change in mood, Uranus finally withdrew his divine power with lingering reluctance, ending the long "chastisement."
He smiled and comforted Gaea, as if all of this was but a trivial matter, not worth much attention at all.
"My beloved God-Queen, it's about time; let's go visit the three Fates."
Gaea was still somewhat displeased, but looking at Uranus before her, her beloved, those dissatisfactions were eventually suppressed. She nodded, saying no more.
Meanwhile, the twelve new gods, completely exhausted, wore expressions of joyous relief, and when this emotion uncontrollably appeared on their faces, Uranus found it laughable.
Before leaving, he looked at his children and said in a voice full of sarcasm and mockery: "My obedient children, you truly make me feel at ease."
"To reward your obedience, I have decided to bestow upon you the title of Titan. From now on, you shall be the Twelve Titans."
Titan, meaning timid or nervous, was Uranus's way of mocking the pathetic performance of his twelve children before him, implying they were twelve cowards.
Uranus was the God-King recognized by the world, and the moment he bestowed the title, it was fixed, with no possibility of change.
This was an extremely humiliating matter; for dignified gods to be given the title of cowards, the Twelve Titans simply could not endure such an insult.
Yet, looking at Uranus's towering figure and feeling his immense divine power, they had no choice but to endure, unable to muster any thought of resistance.
Although Gaea was displeased by this, she was helpless. She could only place her hopes on the three Fates, hoping they would give a different prophecy, thereby improving Uranus's attitude towards their children.
They arrived at the end of the world, passed through a grey-black storm, and saw the divine mountain where the three Fates resided, meeting the three goddesses atop it.
In the vast palace, three beautiful maidens were processing the threads that embodied destiny; the divinity emanating from them was powerful and unique, revealing an indescribable aura of mystery everywhere.
Although their divine power was not as great as that of the God-King Uranus and the Earth Mother Gaea, it already surpassed that of the Twelve Titans. It was noteworthy that both parties were newly born gods, yet a disparity already existed.
To be so powerful at birth, they were indeed worthy of being deities born from the Goddess of Night, overseeing parts of the trajectory of destiny.
Indeed, this was how a prophet should be: powerful and mysterious, unlike some weakling who couldn't even stabilize his divine position.
"Respected three Fates, we apologize for our abrupt intrusion."
Gaea spoke first, still gentle and polite, "And the purpose of our visit this time is to inquire about our destiny, to know the prophecy about the future."
She glanced at Uranus beside her, gritted her teeth, and finally asked, "We also wish to know if my beloved Uranus is the eternal God-King."
"Great God-King, God-Queen, we regret that we cannot answer this question."
The three goddesses spoke simultaneously, their voices merging and echoing throughout the entire temple, like the reverberation of wind chimes.
"Why not, honored goddesses? Do you find our arrival too presumptuous?" Gaea pressed.
"No, because we have only just been born and are still too weak to perceive the outline of destiny," said Clotho, the eldest of the three sisters.
"Perhaps after some time, when we grow stronger, we will be able to glimpse a trace of destiny's outline," added Lachesis, the second sister.
"And at that time, if you still wish to know, you may come and ask us again," concluded Atropos, the youngest goddess.
Uranus and Gaea were somewhat disappointed, but they had also anticipated this.
After all, how could destiny be so easily perceived, especially the destiny of a God-King?
However... if even the powerful Fates could not perceive it, how could that weak prophet god, Taron, have seen it?
It seemed that this prophecy was indeed inaccurate.
Uranus thought this, finally setting his mind completely at ease.