Chapter 45 The Concerns of the God King

'I also have my doubts, Princess Krotto." The beautiful face of the other party made Zeus instinctively soften his expression, and his tone became gentler. It must be said that the king of the gods had a way with beautiful women that could make anyone feel as if they were basking in the spring breeze. 'Fate is unpredictable; it is a combination of determinism and variables. The future is constantly changing, and the outcomes will keep altering," spoke the second sister, Lachesis, who governed fate and fortune. 'Great King of the Gods, the revelations in your dreams may indicate a possible future you are most likely to encounter, but that does not mean it is an inevitable outcome." 'Then how can I avoid that outcome?" Zeus had a deep understanding that predetermined fate could be avoided. He had once escaped the fate of being devoured by Cronus, and later, to evade fate, he swallowed Metis to preserve his position as king of the gods… at least for the time being. '…" At this moment, the Moirai no longer spoke. Krotto and Lachesis exchanged glances and looked at their elder sister, Atropos. They were unsure whether intervening in fate at this moment would provoke the world's backlash. Atropos remained silent for a long time, long enough that Zeus was almost unable to contain his impatience. Finally, the aged goddess sighed. Her gray eyes emitted a faint glow, and dark patterns, thick as ink, silently appeared, spreading around her eyes in an instant. The eldest of the Moirai was using her authority to observe fate. 'Your Majesty, I cannot reveal more to you, except for…" Atropos closed her eyes, and the black patterns faded away. 'Be wary of humanity; be cautious of their potential and possibilities." After saying this, Atropos appeared weary, her already aged face visibly deteriorating at an alarming rate, becoming as unappealing as withered wood. This was the price she paid for peering into the deepest secrets of fate. '…I understand. Thank you for your assistance. Moirai, please remember that there will always be a place for you on the Divine Mountain." With the wisdom of Metis, Zeus understood that he could no longer extract more information from the goddesses of fate. After thanking the Moirai, he conveyed the goodwill and sincerity from Mount Olympus once more before transforming into a great eagle and flying away from the temple. 'Atropos, our sister, you should know the cost of interfering with fate, especially the fate of the gods…" The two younger sisters felt pained for their elder sister's depletion of essence and hurriedly took her hand, channeling their shared divine power into Atropos to replenish the damage she had sustained. 'Sigh… If this god-king had come to inquire about a prophecy concerning himself, we could have simply ignored him. But this matter pertains to the fate of the gods. Although we are the representatives of fate, we are also part of the divine family. Let this be a way to repay the grace of this god-king and the goddess Themis for having brought us into being once more." In ancient times, the great primordial god Chaos created the world, which subsequently gave rise to five primordial deities, the eternal foundations of the world: Gaia, the Earth Mother; Tartarus, the dark embodiment of the abyss; Eros, the primal embodiment of love and desire; Erebus, the embodiment of darkness; and Nyx, the goddess of night. According to the predetermined fate, the first generation of god-king chosen by Chaos was not the starry Uranus but Eros, who possessed a power of love and desire that even the primordial gods could not resist. However, the primordial gods feared his great ability to manipulate minds and desires, especially Gaia, the Earth Mother, who was exhausted from endless coupling and birthing. Thus, several primordial gods banded together to resist and alter fate. They killed Eros and returned him to his primal form, merging him into the omnipresent fabric of rules, so that love and desire would no longer be controlled. However, the cost of resisting fate was undoubtedly heavy. The primordial gods suffered varying degrees of backlash. Nyx, the goddess of night, was supposed to give birth to a daughter who would control all fate, destiny, and time, the fate dominator Ananke. But Ananke was split into three by the backlash from the essence of fate and was trapped within her mother, unable to be born. If it weren't for the identities of Zeus and Themis' daughter helping them evade the punishment of fate, the Moirai would still be trapped in their mother goddess's womb. Atropos closed her eyes and said no more. The divine power of fate flowed from her hands once again, causing the massive stone pillars of the temple to slowly begin to rotate. The judgment of fate rolled forth once more, and those beings who had once evaded the judgment of fate wondered if they still had the strength to resist the corrections from fate again. Zeus quietly evaded the eyes and ears of the Underworld and returned to Mount Olympus. He sat on the throne of the Hall of the Gods, his mind racing with the information he had received. 'Ragnarok…" 'Hera said something about humans in the dream…" 'The Moirai also warned me to be cautious of humanity, to be wary of their potential?" What exactly was the problem with humans? When Prometheus created them, he had promised that they would be the most loyal servants and the most reliable assistants to the gods. Just recently, he had been pleading with Zeus to grant humanity the fire ignited by the divine artifact 'Thunder." The wise god had sensed something was amiss and had refrained from agreeing on the spot, only promising to seriously consider Prometheus's suggestion of bestowing divine fire upon humanity. What was so special about humans? Why did this Titan god go to such lengths for them? He had not shown much interest in the previous generation of golden humans. With these thoughts in mind, Zeus stood up and used his authority as the king of the gods to quietly descend to the mortal realm. He wanted to see for himself what made Prometheus's creations so concerning to the gods. The master of thunder concealed his tall figure and hid his divine radiance, easily blending into the crowd. Under Prometheus's care, these humans appeared carefree. With the blessing of Hebe, the goddess of life, their bodies remained in peak condition, strong and agile, brimming with power and beauty. Aside from lacking divine power and immense size, they resembled the gods in many ways… Zeus felt a chill run down his spine, inexplicably developing a sense of dislike for these human beings. They strolled in groups by the seaside, seemingly discussing something. Zeus quietly approached them and listened in on their conversation. 'Are the gods eternal?" The king of the gods felt his heart race at this question and leaned in to hear the humans' answer. 'Of course! The great Prometheus and Hebe created us, and the gods protect us. In our belief, they are eternal." This answer eased Zeus's heart somewhat; the newly born humans still held respect for the gods. 'But the gods look almost identical to us. How can we tell humans from gods?" 'You ask a strange question. The gods possess divine power and divine artifacts, which of course makes them different from us." '…So, does that mean if we obtain power and artifacts, we can become gods?" '…Shh! Be careful with your words! If the gods hear you, they will bring down divine punishment!" The son of Cronus, hidden among the crowd, chose not to follow the group of young people any longer. Their conversation sent a chill down his spine. Without alarming anyone, he transformed into a wisp of smoke and returned to his throne. The new humans, when Prometheus bestowed upon them souls, were gifted with all the beautiful qualities. This made their hearts pure, unblemished, and good, filled with genuine gratitude and reverence toward the gods. However, they were too intelligent. Their various admirable qualities propelled their wisdom to continuously evolve. They began to explore, experiment, and contemplate the essence of humans and gods. That question—whether humans could become gods if they obtained power and artifacts—was truly alarming to him. Zeus had a vague sense that if humanity's wisdom continued to develop unchecked, their faith and reverence toward the gods would eventually become precarious. The Moirai had warned him to be cautious of humanity's potential and possibilities… In that moment, the wisdom of Metis came into play. Zeus shuddered as he suddenly understood. There were so many sparks of fire in the world: Hestia's hearth fire, Hephaestus's volcanic fire, Apollo's solar fire. Why did Prometheus specifically point to his thunder fire? Because he had consumed the primordial goddess of wisdom, Metis. He absorbed and fused with her, and thus his thunderous divine power was naturally infused with her divine essence—a form of the most primal and pure wisdom. Only his flame could accelerate the awakening of human wisdom. Zeus felt a deep anger, an anger at being mocked. Prometheus was attempting to create a being free from divine control. Humans were merely servants for the gods to provide faith; they did not need wisdom. Only ignorant and chaotic beings could be more easily manipulated… The king of the gods, the master of thunder, sat upon his throne, and the storm flickered in his azure eyes.