I Am Zeus-Chapter 265: "He’s exactly what we need."

The air on the slopes of Mount Olympus was thin and carried the memory of lightning. Zeus sat on a broken column, his eyes closed, his consciousness expanding outwards. He wasn’t just listening with his ears; he was feeling for the absence Hades sought, sending out a subtle pulse of his own chaotic energy like a sonar ping into the depths of reality.

Hera stood nearby, watching him. The silence stretched, filled only with the whisper of the wind. Then, Zeus’s eyes snapped open. A slow, predatory smirk spread across his face.

"What is it?" Hera asked, her voice casual but her eyes sharp.

"I found someone," Zeus said, standing up. The air around him crackled with anticipation. "An old... acquaintance. One who owes Heaven no love."

"Who?" Hera frowned, scanning the horizon as if she could see what he felt.

"The one who caused them more trouble than any of us ever did," Zeus chuckled. "The Great Sage, Equal of Heaven."

Hera’s eyes widened in disbelief. "The monkey? You cannot be serious. He’s a chaos engine. He’s uncontrollable."

"Exactly," Zeus said, his grin widening. "He’s exactly what we need."

The world blurred around them. The clean air of Olympus was replaced by the oppressive, metallic scent of enchanted rock. They stood before a mountain unlike any other. It wasn’t a natural formation of stone and earth. It was the Five Elements Mountain, a prison crafted from pure divine order, its surface shimmering with golden seals and written commandments. It was silent, a monument to absolute control.

Zeus walked up to the base of the mountain. He placed a hand on the cold, smooth surface. He could feel the immense power binding it, a will that demanded obedience.

"He’s in there," Zeus said. "Bottled rage. I can feel it buzzing."

He didn’t shout. He didn’t call out a name. Instead, he focused the chaos within him. He didn’t try to break the mountain. That would have been a direct contest of power, and the mountain was designed to withstand that. Instead, he introduced a single, simple concept to the flawless divine order of the prison.

Maybe.

It was a whisper of pure chaos, a seed of doubt. The power of ’no’ applied not as a hammer, but as a question.

The golden seals on the mountain flickered. The unyielding surface seemed to waver for a fraction of a second, like a mirage.

It was enough.

From deep within the mountain came a sound. A low, guttural growl that grew into a roar of pure, undiluted fury. The very air trembled.

"MICHAEL!"

The mountain exploded.

Not outwards, but upwards. A single figure shot out of the peak like a cannonball, trailing dust and shattered divine energy. He landed in a crouch a few yards away, his form obscured by a cloud of debris.

The dust cleared, revealing Sun Wukong.

He was exactly as Zeus remembered from their brief alliance in Hell. Fur the color of burnt gold, eyes burning with red-gold fire. He wore the scraps of what was once fine armor, and his hand gripped the Ruyi Jingu Bang, the staff that could change its size, which was currently resting on his shoulder. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, his entire body vibrating with pent-up rage.

He scanned the area, his wild eyes looking for the Archangel he blamed for his imprisonment.

"Where is he?!" Wukong snarled, his voice a crackling mix of simian fury and divine power. "Where’s that winged bureaucrat?! I’ll pluck every feather from his—"

His eyes landed on Zeus and Hera.

The rage didn’t vanish, but it banked, replaced by a wary, calculating confusion. The fire in his eyes dimmed to a smolder. He straightened up, tilting his head.

"Thunder-lord?" Wukong said, his tone shifting from a battle cry to one of genuine surprise. He tapped his staff on the ground, making the earth shiver. "You’re... out. And you got a new look. Less... shiny. More... hungry void."

He glanced at Hera. "And you brought the missus. To what do I owe the honor of this jailbreak?"

"I didn’t do it for you," Zeus said flatly. "I did it for me."

Wukong’s sharp features split into a wide, toothy grin. "Even better! I like honest tyrants. So, what’s the play? You need someone to cause a distraction? Steal some heavenly peaches? Pick a fight with a dragon? You know I’m your monkey."

"It’s bigger than that," Hera said, her arms crossed. "He’s declaring war on Heaven."

Wukong’s grin vanished. His expression became serious, his eyes narrowing. He looked from Zeus to Hera and back again.

"War," he repeated, the word tasting strange. "You’re serious. After all this time? You think you can win?"

"I don’t think," Zeus said, taking a step forward. The chaotic energy around him made the very light bend. "I know. They took everything from me. They erased my family. They turned us into stories. They imprisoned my daughter."

He gestured to the shattered mountain. "They did the same to you. They couldn’t kill you, so they buried you under a mountain of rules. They tried to make you forget what you are." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Wukong’s knuckles were white on his staff. The memory of centuries of confinement was a fresh wound. "They talk too much. All rules and no fun."

"They’re planning to do it to everyone who doesn’t fit their perfect story," Zeus pressed. "They want a universe with no surprises. No rebellion. No... monkeys."

That was the right button to push. Wukong’s tail twitched violently. "Boring."

"Exactly," Zeus said. "I’m not asking you to follow me. I’m not your king. I’m offering you a front-row seat to the greatest chaos this universe has ever seen. I’m going to tear down their gates and let the wild back in."

Wukong was silent for a long moment, studying Zeus. He saw the storm, yes, but he also saw the void. The power that had just effortlessly unpicked a lock that had held him for five hundred years. This wasn’t the Zeus from the war in Hell. This was something new. Something more dangerous.

"You’ve been busy, thunder-lord," Wukong said, a slow, appreciative smile spreading across his face. "You picked up some new tricks."

"I adapted," Zeus replied. "Will you?"

Wukong laughed, a sharp, barking sound that echoed off the remains of the mountain. He spun his staff, and it extended to a impossible length, pointing towards the sky.

"You break me out of my cage and offer me a chance to break all of theirs?" he said, his eyes gleaming with manic joy. "Old friend, you just made my millennium."

He slammed the butt of his staff on the ground.

"Where do we start?"