Crowned in the realm of death

From the moment he took his first breath beneath the storm-filled skies of Crete, Zeus was unlike any child born before him.

Unlike his siblings, who had been devoured, burned, and shaped by suffering inside Cronus's acidic prison, Zeus had been nurtured, protected, and trained from birth by divine spirits and sacred beasts. Raised on ambrosia and divine milk from Amalthea, surrounded by the mystical chants of the Kouretes, his body matured fast, and so did his strength.

By the time he was a child, his divine aura was already immense.

By the time he was a youth, he had the power to challenge elite gods and titans head-on.

Not only did he possess natural authority, but he was also born with raw divine power, enough to match and perhaps even surpass those who had endured far more than he ever would.

He was a High-Level God at birth, a rarity among divine beings.

But that ease of power, that lack of true struggle, carved something different into Zeus's soul.

Where Hades forged patience and cunning in agony,

Where Poseidon developed steadiness through restraint,

Zeus was raised in freedom with strength handed to him, not earned drop by drop.

As a result, he grew up with a sharp edge of arrogance. He believed himself not just strong but destined to be king, not because he worked for it, but because the world owed it to him.

He was bold. Charismatic. Commanding.

But also impulsive, lustful, and recklessly driven by ego as much as ambition.

Women were drawn to him, and he did not resist.

Mortals, nymphs, even goddesses he saw them not as equals, but as conquests.

And yet… fate had still chosen him to be the final piece.

The one hidden from Cronus.

The one who would strike the blow that began the downfall.

But fate is not always just.

And power is not always pure.

As the storm-god grew, so did his desires, for control, for love, for recognition.

And while his strength was undeniable…

It remained to be seen whether his heart could ever match the depth of those who came before him.

Zeus, in his youthful pride and unmatched power, strode through the divine realms as though he already ruled them.

He had no fear.

No patience.

And certainly no interest in alliances. My

Driven by this arrogance, he began wandering the world in secret, testing his strength, seeking titans and gods alike not to learn, but to conquer.

One moon night, high in the starlight heavens, Zeus came across one of the four Cardinal Titans

The silent and calculating Crius, Titan of Constellations and the Axis of the Cosmos.

To Zeus, he was merely another obstacle in his destined path to rule.

Without hesitation or formality, Zeus stood tall and called out:

 "You there! Titan! I am Zeus, god of thunder! I challenge you!"

Crius, seated on the ridge of the celestial void, turned his head slightly, his face expressionless.

A deep sigh echoed across the stars.

 "Another hot-blooded godling…," he muttered.

He didn't even rise from his seat.

Instead, he casually reached out toward the night sky, plucked a star a burning celestial body and, without a word, hurled it toward Zeus like one swats a fly.

 "You're a nuisance."

Then, without waiting to see the result, Crius vanished, leaving the heavens still and silent once more.

But for Zeus, the danger had only begun.

As the blazing star roared through the sky, its tail igniting the clouds, Zeus's senses screamed danger.

Far more powerful than he anticipated, it carried the weight of cosmic destruction.

Acting on instinct, he summoned lightning, wrapping it around his body as divine armour, golden arcs of power sparking like a raging storm.

With a roar, he forged a lightning spear, hurling it with all his strength.

The spear shot forward, colliding with the star in a thunderous explosion of light.

But the star was stronger.

The force shattered his spear and smashed through the thunder-armour, striking Zeus and sending him hurtling down from the skies like a falling meteor.

His body was torn and scorched, golden ichor(the blood of the gods) dripped from open wounds.

If not for his swift reaction, if he had hesitated even for a moment, he knew he would have been bedridden for years, perhaps even crippled.

As he lay on the cracked earth, breathing heavily, a strange silence settled over him.

The sky above twinkled gently, as if mocking him.

He clenched his fist, feeling the dull pain surge through his muscles.

"I lost…?"

"No... I was never ready to begin with."

This wasn't just defeat it was a lesson.

A lesson crafted by fate, one he could not ignore.

From that moment on, something changed in Zeus.

The arrogance didn't vanish but it tempered.

He had tasted true power.

And with it, he understood something vital

 Strength alone is not enough.

Even the stars burn hotter than thunder.

Fate had thrown its first strike.

And Zeus had survived.

Now…

He would grow.

Not just into a god of thunder

But into a king.