The System message only added to Zeus’s anger. Odin was probably just as furious, but he had always been the more controlled of the two. He was more than willing to leave the tantrums and mortal lust to Thor while maintaining the image of the concerned but aloof father.

Danu responded by taking a step back. Her action confused Odin and triggered Zeus’s hunting instincts. Danu taking that step backward was interpreted by Zeus as a weakness, one he intended to capitalize on.

The room began crackling with Divine energies as Zeus summoned his [Lightning Bolt]. It would seem that this Avatar was no different than the one on Urt. Before he could release the [Bolt] he was forming, the [System Administrator] joined the gathering, and Zeus’s attack was contained.

“Athena and Loki,” the [Administrator] said, her voice a quiet concentration of power. Her ability to neuter Zeus demonstrated her power, showcasing the difference between real power and Zeus’s bellicosity. “You have signed and sworn an [Oath], a brokered agreement with the System as the witness.

“Your [Oath] was to remove Odin and Zeus from their positions as Heads of their respective Pantheons if certain conditions were met. Those conditions have been met. It is now time for you to fulfill your side of the bargain or face [Sanctions].”

“The terms have not been met,” Loki argued, his resentment evident. I would almost accuse him of sulking. “Teigh has bargained in bad faith. He never intended to gather and bring the [Eye of Odin] and Zeus’s [Thunderbolt] to us.”

“That was not the agreement that was brokered,” [Justice] interrupted. “The agreement was clear. Teigh would collect the [Eye of Odin] and Zeus’s [Thunderbolt] and deliver those items to Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, and Loki, God of Magic, with Set and Coyote to bear witness to that delivery.”

“Those actions have been completed,” the [Administrator] added. “[Justice] herself was witness to that event. And if her word is not good enough, perhaps you would accept the word of [Order] and [Chaos?”

Check and mate.

There was no way that any God, even one so powerful as the Head of a Pantheon, would challenge the validity of [Justice’s] word. It was inconceivable for her to give false testimony. The Universe itself would come to an end before something so anathema to the tenets of [Universal Law] and [Justice] she represented. There was no power under Heaven, not even the Alpha and Omega, that could coerce her into making false statements.

“What exactly did you agree to, Athena?” Zeus asked, his anger stymied, his fury contained for the moment.

“And what could you gain that would be worth making an agreement that would see the Tuatha de Danann wake from [Sleep]?” Odin demanded to know.

Instead of answering, Athena acted. The conclave of Gods stood witness as she searched across the multi-verse, looking for that Avatar of Athena that had been gifted with the [Eye of Odin]. Loki, realizing what she was doing, copied her actions, searching for and finding that other version of himself.

None of the Gods, [System Administrator], or [Justice] moved to stop what they were doing. There were many constraints that each Pantheon was bound by, and one of those bindings was non-interference if a God or Goddess decided to cede their position within the hierarchy of Avatars.

And that was what Athena and Loki had decided to do. They would swap places with their Avatars, ceding their right to stand as the Avatars in control of the Nexus.

Athena and Loki began to vibrate in and out of existence. Each fluctuation heralded a change in primacy. The Athena and Loki that had served as the fount for the Avatars of this Nexus of the multi-verse trading position and [Authority] with their Urt duplicates.

Each Nexus had an Avatar that was considered primary. A God or Goddess that themselves were only copies of and embodiments of the concepts that they embraced and the [Domains] that they controlled. But Nexus Avatars had a heft and weight to them, a Divine resonance that was more than their clones.

At the top of this hierarchy, there must be the penultimate God for that [Domain]. The original that all others were based on. But it would take a Cosmic entity like [Justice] or the [System Administrator] to find and confront them. Their divinity and essence were dispersed across the multi-verse, giving form, structure, and [Authority] to the Avatars that represented who and what they were.

Athena finalized the transfer seconds before Loki. In her place was an Athena who had been scared by battle. Her armor was damaged, and her sword broken, but she maintained her determination and focus. Qualities she had needed to fight the Titans of her universe for the last two thousand years.

Loki, in comparison, appeared to be unchanged. His Pantheon hadn’t been embroiled in a war with the Titans. His relationship with the Jotunn had allowed for thousands of years of unprecedented peace as he assumed Odin’s throne.

Both Gods acted in concert, almost as if it had been choreographed. A small dart instantly released, targeting Odin and Zeus. A dart that contained a synthetic version of Elfshot.

Danu and I had recognized the substance the instant both Avatars released each dart. Elfshot was a Sidhe invention, and the Tuatha de Danann would recognize any permutation of that poison no matter how much the formula had been modified. And there were differences. But there remained enough of the touch of the Tuatha de Danann to allow us to see the differences between the two substances.

The difference was enough that the barbiturate would have little effect on Sidhe or Tuatha de Danann, so we did not need to interfere, restrict, or proscribe its use. The poison they had developed might cause a moment of drowsiness for the Sidhe, but their monstrous healing abilities would soon see the substance flushed from their bodies.

On Odin and Zeus, it worked with the same efficacy as [Elfshot]. Both Gods dosed with enough of the sleeping draught to place them in [Sleep] before they could react.

“And so, it is done,” Athena announced. “My part in this drama revealed, my [Oath] fulfilled. I claim the position as Head of the Olympus Pantheon by right of combat, inheritance, and usurpation.

“Zeus will remain in [Sleep], unable to interfere in the workings of Gods and mortals alike. His body will be hidden, guarded by my priestesses. He will be kept safe but continually dosed with enough of [God’s Bane] to keep him from waking.”

Loki quickly followed suit, without the flowery words, publicly claiming the throne of Asgard and fulfilling [Oaths] made. He spirited the body of Odin away before anyone could react and moved to take Odin’s position as Lord of Asgard.

Thor and Baldur might eventually challenge Loki’s usurpation, but with the removal of Odin’s body, they would wait. They were almost hard-wired not to do anything that might risk the safety of the All-Father.

I was rather disappointed at the way events had unfolded. I had hoped for a battle between Gods of epic proportions. A contest of wills that shook the very foundation of the Asgard and Olympus realms.

I should have known that Athena and Loki would find a way to invalidate my scheme. Still, I had accomplished waking the Tuatha de Danann, and that was a good starting point.