Gaia's Cavern – The Roots of the World
The quiet stretched between them, broken only by the distant drip of water from the roots above. Gaia's breathing was slow and deep, like the pulse of the world itself. Her eyes drifted closed for a time before flickering open again, pale green and clouded with age, but still seeing everything.
"…tell me," she rasped softly, her voice dry like old earth shifting under deep roots. "What… has been happening… up there?"
Zeus exhaled, rubbing his jaw as he looked at her. His thumb traced circles over the back of her hand, feeling the faint warmth beneath her cracked skin.
"Where do I even begin…" he murmured, his voice low.
He paused, listening to the cavern breathe around him before speaking again.
"Typhon is gone," he said quietly. "Sent him back to Tartarus. Nearly tore me apart, but… Olympus still stands."
Gaia's lips twitched faintly, her eyelids fluttering as if in relief, though her breathing remained slow and laboured.
