Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

A sculpture, a female sculpture. She is exquisite, like a real living thing. When she was placed in the center of the hall, the gods could not help but fall for her.

"This is."

Keenly aware of the difference of this statue, Hera felt the touch of power.

Zeus had not told him about this so-called gift, and she did not know the existence of this sculpture in advance, if she was really a sculpture.

As the god in charge of [fertility], the Queen of Heaven felt a similar power in her. If nothing unexpected happens, it is reproduction, the source of new life.

And a dead object should not have such power.

"She is the gift I prepared. I asked the Cyclops to carve her carefully, and let our new friend, the embodiment of love and beauty, give her peerless beauty. And I gave her a beautiful heart-a desire to explore and learn everything. I think this is not a bad thing, right."

With a smile on his face, Zeus looked at the gods present.

"Prometheus created men, so we will create women today. And you, Epimetheus, will be the beginning of all this."

"You will wake her up yourself, and then marry her under the witness of me and Hera."

"Thank you for your gift, Your Majesty."

Giving a creature to a god as a wife is not really a reward, but considering that Epimetheus and his brother have always liked to be with humans, it does not seem to be an insult.

In short, the fool who realized it later seemed very satisfied with this. He bowed slightly and thanked the God King.

"As long as you are satisfied, then who will go first?"

Nodding, Zeus looked at his sister, who was also his wife.

She looked at Zeus for a while. Although Hera was very dissatisfied with his previous concealment, she still didn't say anything.

After all, the God King has always been like this. At least this sculpture is not prepared for him. Just feeling Aphrodite's blessing, Hera couldn't help but be wary of the goddess.

Zeus had actually talked to Aphrodite about this privately before today, and this is what Hera really cares about. Although she is very confident in her beauty, the other party is the embodiment of love and beauty.

Not to mention her own appearance, just the artifact belt that Aphrodite accompanies can make the wearer the focus of all male eyes. Hera doesn't want Zeus to have another child.

"I wish her a loyal and happy marriage and will never be betrayed."

With a double meaning, the Queen of Heaven took the lead in blessing the statue of the girl.

With the first one, the rest of the gods also gave their own unique gifts.

Demeter gave her youth and vitality, and flowers bloomed wherever she passed; Hestia gave her shelter and warmth, and there were few things in the world that could hurt her from then on; the Sea King, whose real body did not come, also gave her different gifts with his authority. He made her walk on the water as if it were flat ground, and he could stop the waves.

Finally, when each god gave his blessing, the King of Gods was also ready to give her an additional gift - wisdom. Because he found that extraordinary wisdom may not necessarily be a good thing, it will breed arrogance and arrogance.

But just when he stretched out his hand, Zeus's face suddenly changed.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing that something was wrong with the people around him, Hera couldn't help but ask.

".Nothing, I just have a headache."

With a forced smile, Zeus withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened. The gods present did not care about this little episode, only Hera looked a little suspicious.

Just now, she felt a very strange breath on Zeus' body, just like when her sister was pregnant.

After Demeter gave birth to her daughter, she hid her in an unnamed valley and let her grow up there instead of coming to Olympus. Hera knew that the other party was guarding against her, but she knew about it a long time ago.

If as a god in charge of fertility, he didn't even know the children born by his two closest people, it would be a bit ridiculous. But considering that she was just a weak goddess, she pretended not to know.

"Where is His Majesty Hades? Do we need to wait for him?"

The gods finished blessing, but as if they noticed something, one of them reminded them.

Just like every time in the past, Hades did not come to Olympus, and he was still alone in the underworld.

"That's not necessary."

Shaking his head slightly, Zeus had suppressed his previous discomfort.

"Although Hades did not come in person, he had long been grateful to the hero who created humans. He and the gods of the underworld have created a treasure together. Let it be a gift for your marriage."

After speaking, an exquisite and gorgeous pottery jar appeared in Zeus's hand, covered with a copper top cover and inlaid with gorgeous gems.

Yes, a jar rather than a box, this is its original appearance. It's just that in the dissemination and translation of later generations, its image has gradually changed. Holding it up with his right hand, Zeus handed it to Epimetheus.

"This is a gift from Hades to you. All the gods in the underworld have contributed to it. It can absorb all the disasters and misfortunes that approach you, but Hades has specifically warned you not to open this lid."

"Otherwise, he may come to collect extra rewards."

With a slight smile, Zeus gestured with his hand.

"Now, it's up to you to give life to your future wife. She was born because of you and will be your other half."

".As you command, Your Majesty."

Epimetheus responded respectfully after staring at the pottery jar in his hand with clear eyes.

Everything today should end, and he approached the sculpture standing on the ground.

Cut open his palm, Epimetheus let his blood stain the stone statue, and it was visible to the naked eye that the girl gradually gained vitality from a dead object.

The skin became rosy and bloody, the heartbeat began to sound, and finally, when her eyes became smart, she completely gained life.

The newborn blinked her bright big eyes, she looked at the gods standing in front of her, and said her first words:

"Who are you, who am I, and who are they?"

"You are Pandora, 'the woman with all talents'. I am Epimetheus, your creator and your future husband; and they are the gods, the masters of this world."

The blessing of the goddess of beauty took effect more thoroughly. Looking at the girl in front of him, Epimetheus couldn't help but be moved for a moment. Facing the girl's questions, he patiently answered.

"Then why did you create me?"

Pandora continued to ask.

"Because my brother and I created humans, and now there should be women. You are the first woman and will be my wife."

After stroking the pottery jar in his hand, Epimetheus handed it to Pandora.

"The gods gave you all the blessings, and only the Pluto's share turned into this pottery jar. Now, I give it to you as a witness to all this."

After saying that, Epimetheus turned around. With such a beautiful wife, he seemed a little impatient.

"Do you have any other instructions, Your Majesty?"

"No, enjoy your wedding."

If the wisdom given to failure is excluded, everything today makes Zeus very satisfied. He waved his hand, indicating that Epimetheus could leave.

He didn't really "thank" this fool for his "merit", so naturally he didn't mean to say more.

"Then we-"

"Wait-"

Just as he was about to leave, a cold female voice came from outside Mount Olympus.

The gods paid attention to it, because along with the voice came the undisguised powerful power of the comer.

The gods looked at each other, and finally they looked at the God King on the throne, while Zeus had stood up and looked at the door of the hall seriously.

"Welcome, honorable goddess of Hades, I wonder why you come here today?"

The power of the God King was also released without concealment. Olympus was his home court after all. Zeus easily eliminated the momentum of the visitor, but he did not confront him tit for tat, but withdrew as soon as he touched.

"In accordance with the will of the Lord, I will give her a gift."

The voice came before the person arrived. When Lyanna, wearing a purple dress, walked into the hall, the gods present could not help but wait solemnly.

Not only because of her own power, but also because after the previous conflict with Hades, Olympus had re-recognized this goddess. She now represented a being comparable to the Earth Mother.

The messenger of the Earth Mother, Moanda, was just a nymph fairy, and was received by the previous God King and Queen of Heaven, let alone the goddess of Hades in front of her. Regardless of their thoughts, the gods welcomed her arrival.

"Oh, I didn't expect that such a small matter would alarm the Lord of the Spirit World."

Zeus held the armrest unconsciously with his right hand, his heart tensed, but his face showed a happy smile.

"This is Pandora's honor. She will remember the favor of the spirit world for the rest of her life."

······

Although Pandora was the protagonist of the incident, no one really took her seriously. She was a tool, a delicate doll, but she was not treated equally by the gods, even her future husband standing next to her thought so.

After a moment of heartbeat, Epimetheus quickly eliminated this influence. The blessing of the goddess of beauty was not her after all, and it could be isolated if she was vigilant.

In contrast, looking at Leanna who walked into the hall, she was the protagonist of the hall at the moment. He had once met this existence, and he had guessed the identity of the other party, but he did not expect to meet the other party again in such an occasion.

He remembered that there was another person beside Lyanna last time, but when he recalled it now, Epimetheus was shocked to find that he had no memory of the other person at all.

He remembered the conversation between the two parties, but he could not remember any characteristics of the other party.

"Your name is Epimetheus, right? What is she doing here?"

Pandora asked in a low voice, and noticed that Lyanna seemed to be looking at her.

But she was not afraid, because she had just been born and did not know fear, and the blessings given to her by the gods made her feel that there was nothing terrible in this world.

". She is also a god who comes to give you gifts, just wait."

After casually dealing with the woman next to him, Epimetheus could not help but guess Lyanna's purpose.

The king of gods wanted to destroy the image of their brothers among humans, and even use him to give a reason to cleanse the world. These latecomers can understand. But what is the purpose of this uninvited goddess, that is unknown.

And just like Prometheus always likes to confidently judge the future, what Epimetheus hates most is this feeling of knowing nothing about what happened in the past.

"You are Pandora."

The questioning sentence and the affirmative tone, after explaining the purpose of her visit to Zeus, Lyanna did not say much to any other gods, but looked directly at the target of this trip.

This somewhat arrogant behavior made many gods frown, but the other party didn't really do anything, so they had no choice but to remain silent.

"I am."

Raising her head high, Pandora looked at the black-haired goddess in front of her and said affirmatively.

"very good."

Nodding, Lyanna didn't know what was special about the person in front of her. It asked Ryan to give a gift while he was far away from the outside world, but she just had to do it.

Stretching out her hand, an illusory star that flickered and flickered appeared in Lyanna's hand. She observed Pandora for a moment, and her eyes finally fell on the clay pot she was holding.

"Your Highness Lyanna, this is a gift from my brother. He once told me not to open it."

With a twitch in the corner of his eye, Zeus reminded him.

"It doesn't matter."

Shaking her head slightly, Lyanna could tell that what was hidden in this clay pot was not a good thing, but it had nothing to do with her. She just stretched out her hand and pointed lightly, and the illusory star penetrated through the wall of the jar and submerged into it.

As if the blockade left by Pluto did not exist, it was easily penetrated by the power of time and space she invoked.

"What's this?"

Pandora's curiosity was aroused as her eyes widened. But she still remembered what the God King said that this jar could not be opened. But now, the gift given to her by the goddess in front of her has entered the clay pot.

"It has no name, if anything."

After considering her words, Lyanna said slowly:

"In front of it, there will no longer be an 'absolute' nor an 'impossible' in this world."

Pandora was a little surprised. She wanted to take the pot, but the one who was one step ahead of her was Epimetheus, who was on his side.

Subconsciously holding the pottery pot in mid-air, but then he seemed to realize something. Epimetheus seemed to be just doing it for his future wife, and he immediately handed the gift back to Pandora's hands.

"Does it work for everything, so that whoever holds it can have a different outcome on a given trajectory?"

Epimetheus said like a casual question.

"of course not."

Shaking her head slightly, Lyanna noticed the heated gazes of the gods around her. However, this is a gift given by the Lord, so how can it be privately possessed by others.

"Only humans can use it." Lyanna said lightly: "While it is still in the clay pot, the humans who own it will exclusively enjoy this honor, but only humans."

“This is a gift given by the Lord to His creation, and no god can possess it privately.”

"What if one of the gods gets it and lets humans use it?"

As if out of pure curiosity, Zeus asked.

“‘Whoever tries to fool fate will be fooled by fate’, these are the exact words of the Lord.”

"If you don't believe it, you can try it."

Not every god knows how to hide his emotions, Lyanna can see that some gods still seem to have ideas about this.

She didn't intend to stop it, because Ryan said that without the support of spiritual power, if others want to shake their fate, they will only reap the consequences.

"Put it away. Its final ownership depends only on you."

Finally, he said something to Pandora, which was also what Ryan explained. Lyanna turned around and walked out of the hall.

"How rude."

Coming and going in a hurry, until Lyanna left the hall, a god suddenly said.

"I don't really like the way she looks at us either."

Demeter also said that she was very familiar with that look, just like the way she looked at mortal things when she walked in the world.

"Okay, that's it. This is Pandora's gift."

He stopped the discussion of the gods with his words, and secretly warned the gods who were interested in the pottery pot. Although he was also moved, the other party still had tasks to complete.

"Go back to where you came from, Epimetheus, and together with your wife, put humanity back on track."

"I will, Your Majesty."

Bending to salute, Epimetheus pulled the still somewhat confused Pandora over and followed him out of the palace.

He could feel that when they left, many fiery eyes behind them were staring at the thing in Pandora's hand. But before the two of them complete the plan of the God King, all problems will be stopped by Zeus, and after completing the plan...

Every 'gift' will be released, whether it is given to him by Pluto or sent by the goddess of the moon. Epimetheus assured that all the gods watching all this would come to this conclusion.

······

"Illuminati and post-enlightenment, they all seem to like to do some clever things within the framework of rules."

Rocks, cliffs, and desolate forests, as far as the eye can see, are the scenery of Jotunheim among the nine kingdoms.

But this is not caused by an unknown disaster, because this is the case here.

As the home of mountain giants and frost giants, Jotunheim's environment is quite harsh, but this is nothing to the giants. These powerful beings who can fight against the gods live here, just like humans living on the plains.

"Xianjue and Houjue, are you talking about other gods?"

Mimir, who was floating aside, was also looking at his former home, but he was more concerned about the two names mentioned by Ryan.

"Yes, one of them is considered by the gods to be extremely intelligent and a wise man who is aware of the future. The other is considered to be naive and ignorant and a fool who is aware of the future."

Nodding, Ryan did not mind talking to Mimir about the world of Chaos.

After all, the other party could not run away, and Ryan did not intend to let him leave.

"It sounds a bit like me and Heinir. We were taken hostage together, but only I was beheaded and sent back to Asgard. This shows that pure intelligence may not be a good thing."

"Maybe, but I think that neither they nor you are smart enough."

"I have always believed that intelligence and wisdom are not equal. But every so-called god of wisdom I have seen seems to have only the former, which makes me a little suspicious."

Taking his attention away from Chaos, Ryan looked at Mimir on the side.

"Show me the way, the Fountain of Wisdom that was once named after you, is it also under the roots of the World Tree?"

"Yes, not only that, there is something there that I don't know if it still exists."

Although Ryan didn't seem to approve of his "wisdom", Mimir was not very angry. He just laughed creepily, and his old face showed reminiscence.

"Nine nights hung on the tree swaying in the wind, stabbed by a spear; I was used as a sacrifice to Odin, and I sacrificed myself on a tree that no one knew about. There was no bread to fill my hunger, and no water to quench my thirst. I looked down, picked up the runes, and fell from the tree while shouting while picking them up."

"He sacrificed his own eye, Sir Ryan, and the eyeball that fell was at the bottom of the Fountain of Wisdom, and no one has asked about it so far."