Chapter 53 - The Gift of the Gods

Zeus looked at the girl before him, smiling broadly. He gently said to her, "You are the first woman among humanity, a woman endowed with all talents. I will personally name you—Pandora!" "Pan" represents all, and "Dora" means gift. This perfect woman, possessing all talents, is the "gift" that the gods have bestowed upon humanity. "Hermes, my messenger, Pandora will be the wife of Epimetheus, the new leader I have granted to humanity. Please take her to the mortal realm to meet her husband." "Yes, esteemed King of the Gods," replied Hermes, the youthful god holding a staff entwined with two serpents, bowing respectfully as he accepted this task. Zeus then took out a box from his robes. It was a beautifully crafted oak box, inlaid with dazzling gold and sparkling gems, appearing so exquisite and possessing an unparalleled allure. Here it comes! The gods internally marveled that the main character of the day had finally made her appearance. Hebe looked at the box with mixed emotions. In later myths and legends, the infamous Pandora's box, beneath its beautiful exterior, concealed endless calamities of the world. Inside the box were the dark sides of human nature—jealousy, anger, laziness, greed, lust, slander, and many more. Simply suppressing the emergence of human wisdom was not enough to satisfy or reassure Zeus; he also wanted to corrupt human souls, turning them into a degenerate existence that the gods could not tolerate, thus justifying their eradication from the earth. Of course, Zeus did not intend to wipe them out completely; he left a glimmer of hope at the bottom of the box. When calamity ran rampant on the earth and humanity faced extinction, this hope would personally select a pair of men and women to reveal to them the oracle from the king of the gods. They would then create a new humanity that aligned with his vision. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Hermes brought the newly born Pandora to the mortal realm. Such a perfect woman, upon arriving in the mortal world, naturally attracted the attention of humanity on the earth. They had never seen a woman before, and now, encountering her for the first time, they found her to be incredibly beautiful and charming, with even a single strand of her hair exuding an intoxicating fragrance. They quickly accepted Pandora and welcomed her arrival, eager for her to live among them. However, Hermes did not leave Pandora there; instead, he took her directly to the house of Epimetheus. This seer did not have a temple, but out of gratitude for Prometheus and respect for his status, humans had built him a magnificent dwelling for his residence. "Epimetheus." Hermes called out the name of Epimetheus, bringing Pandora along with him. Soon, two figures appeared behind the door, one tall and one small. The tall one, with a foolish expression, was none other than Epimetheus. The boy beside him was Deucalion, the son of Prometheus and the Oceanid, the far-seeing Pronoea. Like Phaethon, he did not possess any divine status; in fact, he was worse off. Deucalion had not inherited the divine forms of his parents; his body was akin to that of a demigod, and he grew much slower than ordinary gods, remaining in the appearance of a ten-year-old boy even now. After their father was captured, this son of the seer took on the responsibility of caring for his uncle and lived together with Epimetheus. "Your Highness Hermes." Deucalion stepped forward and bowed to Hermes. Upon seeing the nearly perfect Pandora beside him, he felt a strange sense of unease, despite lacking divine status; he had inherited his parents' intelligence and foresight, which made him somewhat resistant to her presence. "Hello, Hermes," Epimetheus greeted as well. Hermes curled his lip, feeling somewhat disdainful of this foolish god. Such a beautiful Pandora was going to be given to him—what a waste! "Following the king of the gods' instructions, in celebration of humanity's acquisition of the use of fire, the gods have prepared a gift for humanity: her, the first human woman, the perfect Pandora. At the same time, she will also be your wife, Epimetheus." Although Hermes, the eloquent god and protector of tricksters, was internally mocking the situation, his expression remained unchanged as he introduced Pandora with a smile. Despite Prometheus repeatedly warning his brother not to accept any gifts from the mountain of the gods, Epimetheus, upon seeing the extraordinarily beautiful Pandora, had long since cast aside all of his brother's admonitions. He stared intently at Pandora, grinning foolishly at the happiness he was about to possess. "..." Deucalion looked at Pandora, hesitated for a moment, and then raised his head to speak to his uncle, "Uncle Epimetheus, our father once said that we should not accept gifts from the mountain of the gods..." Deucalion's words trailed off, as he noticed the gaze of Hermes, the winged messenger of the gods, which was as menacing as that of a venomous snake. It seemed that if he continued, he would lose the ability to speak forever. In the end, Pandora stayed in the mortal realm, living with Epimetheus as his wife, thus officially laying the groundwork for the future calamities that would befall humanity. On Mount Caucasus, the bound god shifted his gaze toward the direction of the mortal realm and sighed, murmuring to himself, "Zeus, do you think you've won this easily…" At that moment, three esteemed guests arrived on the mountain of the gods. The ruler of the underworld, Hades, the lord of the dead. The powerful and mysterious primordial goddess, Nyx, the embodiment of night. And the mother of the gods, the embodiment of the earth, the source of all creation, Gaia, the Earth Mother. They came, silently and without announcement, bringing with them the details of the "reincarnation" that had finally been discussed and agreed upon. The purpose of their visit was to address the last two issues left by reincarnation: the guidance of the souls of the deceased on earth and the reanimation of those souls. Hades was one thing, but for the primordial goddesses Nyx and Gaia, the very ground would tremble at their approach. Zeus immediately felt a sense of urgency and hurriedly prepared the highest honors to welcome them, summoning all the major gods who had just dispersed and other deities from the mountain to convene in the main hall. A meeting? Another meeting? It seemed these meetings were happening too frequently lately. Were the gods no longer allowed to catch their breath? Recent events had been overwhelming, leaving the gods of the mountain, accustomed to indulgence, feeling somewhat disoriented and grumbling. However, when they arrived at the main hall and saw the two primordial goddesses seated at the highest divine thrones, their status surpassing even that of King Zeus, all expressions of discontent vanished, replaced by respect and an attitude of attentive listening. This was the status of the primordial gods; even the king of the gods could not compare. "To the esteemed primordial goddesses, embodiments of night and earth, we are curious about the matter that has brought you to Mount Olympus," Zeus inquired with a warm smile as all the gods gathered. "Your Majesty, we have come because there is a matter concerning the ascension of the world that requires the cooperation of several deities on the mountain," the gray-eyed goddess explained to Zeus in a gentle tone, showing no signs of superiority despite her divine status. In her pale, cool hands that radiated divine light, a golden fleece scroll appeared. This scroll resembled the one that Pallas had presented earlier but was larger, as the discussions among the gods of the underworld regarding the concept of reincarnation had added many details that the previous scroll could no longer contain. The goddess Nyx tossed the golden fleece scroll into the air, and brilliant divine light shone forth, revealing the concept of "reincarnation" to the eyes of the gods. The deities present were shocked by this unprecedented grand concept, and some clever gods began to ponder what benefits they could extract from it. However, the concept had been proposed in the underworld, and the main stage was also in the realm of the dead. Various details had already been agreed upon by the gods of the underworld, leaving the gods of Olympus at a loss for how to intervene. Even if they could, it would only be for scraps that were as unappetizing as leftovers—worthless yet regrettable to discard. Zeus looked at the concept of reincarnation before him, his expression shifting between light and dark. His sky-blue eyes couldn't help but glance at his brother Hades, who sat beside him with an impassive expression. If there was one among the gods that he feared the most, it was not Prometheus, nor Athena, nor Poseidon, but rather his taciturn elder brother. Hades always remained calm and composed. Even when he was assigned to the harshest environment, under the oppression of three primordial mountain gods in the underworld, he showed no reaction, silently accepting this outcome and taking on his duties in the realm of the dead. At that time, the gods all believed that among the three rulers of the heavens, seas, and underworld, Hades had the worst situation. Yet, unexpectedly, the one who fared the worst among the three was Poseidon. Although the realm of the sea that Poseidon ruled was vast and rich in resources, it was filled with the three thousand sea goddesses birthed by the ocean goddess Thalassa and nearly all the river gods, along with the ancient sea god Pontus, and his many offspring. There were also the benevolent elder Nereus, who symbolized the kindness of the sea, the miraculous Thaumas, the wrathful Phorcys, the dangerous Ceto, and the mighty Eurybia... These two factions of oceanic deities had nearly divided all the sources and divine offices within the ocean. Poseidon, an air-dropped sea king, would have struggled to establish even a palace of the sea if it weren't for his powers as the earth-shaking god, his mastery over tsunamis, and later marrying Amphitrite, the beloved daughter of Nereus, known as the sea nymph of the deep-sea pearl.