She received the gift of God [Greek mythology]

"This is Zeus, this is the just judgment issued by Olympus!"

The proclamation from the king of gods ended, and the coercion that forced the hearer to kneel on the ground disappeared.

Pandora sat slumped on the terrace, panting softly and quickly.She tried to prop up her upper body, her movements were extremely stiff.The moon-covered ground was icy cold, and a layer of trembling pimples appeared on the surface of the skin of her legs separated by thin firs.

She didn't want to look at it, but the exquisite box still broke into her field of vision.

The engraved texture on the surface of the magic box reflects the beautiful silver light.

This seemingly harmless streamer reminds Pandora that she opened the gift from Zeus to mankind and let the shadow fly out.She instinctively sensed that these black figures were evil and terrifying, and closed the lid in a panic.

But it's too late.She only had time to trap what was placed at the very bottom of the box.

The highest palace in Epimea was still silent.Crying and howling replaced the singing and applause of celebration, over the palace wall, and got into Pandora's ears, every sound accused her of guilt.Because of her arrival, because of her actions, misfortune scattered in the world, and God's punishment has come.

Is this what she was born for?

So... Hermes lied to her?

If the origin is a lie, is everything after that also a lie?

So no matter how she called, he didn't come to pick her up as promised?

Thoughts stagnate.Pandora already knew what conclusions would be drawn if she continued to explore.She just didn't want to keep thinking about it.The outlines of the magic box and floor tiles melted in the moonlight pond, dripping from the eyes to the cheeks.But strangely, she couldn't feel anything.The mortal body looks up at the bright moon beyond its means, and is naturally burned by the light. The overflowing tears are only the body's self-protection reaction, and have nothing to do with the mood.

She refuses to identify the feelings that are rampaging in her chest, and even suddenly becomes optimistic: Hermes must have encountered some obstacles.For example, when Zeus makes a will, he must remain respectful and cannot act at will.He can't abandon her.As long as he comes to take her away, nothing else matters.He will be here soon.It must be so.

A tall shadow looms over her from behind.

Pandora looked back.

Epimetheus, who was sent to sleep by the sound of the piano, had already woken up. He silently looked down at her, his expression hidden in the shadows.

And behind the Titan Protoss, human guards appeared.Not long ago, these youths were full of vigor, smiling shyly at Pandora, watching her walk into the depths of the palace.Now they looked tired, but their eyes were enough to pierce her.

Panicked, innocent and pitiful pawn of the gods, that was all she could play; she would cry for forgiveness, she would live until Hermes came to her rescue.Pandora immediately understood this matter.

She shrugged her shoulders, lowered her head and sobbed incoherently: "I... I don't know what's in the box... I, I just follow orders... Please... please forgive me..."

Epimetheus took her by the arm.Pandora gave a shock.

He seemed to suppress his sigh, and pulled her to stand up, his tone was still gentle: "I see."

Not scolding, but not forgiving either.She watched him uneasily, hoping that her "husband" would be merciful with Aphrodite's blessing.

Epimetheus stared fixedly, then he nodded to the guards.

"Take her away, and—" he added, somewhat hesitantly, "don't hurt her."

The guards surrounded her from left to right, but Pandora didn't struggle.Probably because in front of the gods, their movements were relatively restrained, and they only pushed her forward with the wooden handle of the spear.But they didn't allow her to turn back.

Pandora was taken to a small remote room.There was no light inside, so she staggered and was pushed in, and the door slammed shut behind her.Then there was the clang of locked metal.

She leaned against the door panel, took a deep breath, mustered up the courage to take a half step, and reached out to explore the situation in the room.

The next moment, she suddenly lost her balance and hit the wall directly.

It wasn't something that tripped her, but the floor of the room and the whole palace began to shake.

The earth is shaking.

Pandora leaned against the wall, hugging her head and screaming in a low voice, but her voice was covered by the mournful scream from the deepest part of the soil.There seemed to be a thunderstorm underground, and there was a loud roar, and something was about to break through the ground.

Then, the goddess of the earth declared her rebellion.

The roar of thunder was deafening, and the wall was covered with a pale snow light.It turned out that this room had a small window.

Someone in the city was crying sharply, and the sound stopped halfway, as if seeing a terrible scene.

Pandora suppressed her shock, and immediately went over to look around.Gaia's oracle oppression is not as great as Zeus, she can barely move, maybe she can escape in the chaos.

But the window faced the towering white walls of Epimea.The opening was too small, and it was difficult to poke her head out. Pandora could only see a sliver of the sky, other than that, the neatly piled stone bricks came into view.

The falling thunder fire is like a dazzling rain of light, attacking with enough power to burn everything.

The city of Epimea was bathed in the wrath of Zeus, but remained unscathed.

"Oh, supreme God Gaia!"

"Praise the earth—!"

She saw the guards on the wall bow down and began to pray and praise loudly.

And the declaration of the goddess of the earth is not over yet:

"... My reliable ally Epimetheus will abide by the oath, and from this moment human beings are forbidden to pray and worship the gods of Olympus."

Pandora gave a shock.She folded her arms across her chest and looked back at the locked door.

Epimetheus an ally of Gaia?That is to say... He has long been wary of Zeus's revenge, wary of her "gift" from Olympus?

A hunter who thinks he is setting a trap is walking into a trap the moment he steps into the forest.

It was she who was deceived.

What would Epimetheus do with her?

"Zeus, you, like your father Cronus, will fall from the throne of the sky!"

The inhuman roar was mixed with the rolling thunder, and there was also the muffled sound of giants falling.

The ground began to shake again, the ceiling on the four walls of the door and the windows were shaking, Pandora retreated into the corner, and the line of sky above the wall that could barely be seen was also trembling.

Outside the white city walls of Epimea, stone fragments and burning wood fell one after another, mixed with arrows from the gods from time to time.The giants containing the power of destruction are like comets rushing to the bull's-eye, lighting up one after another bursting light balls on the earth.The farmland was sunken into a deep pit, the village was instantly annihilated, the vineyards on the hills became a sea of ​​fire, and the harbor was swallowed by the tsunami...

At some point, the sky was dyed a fiery crimson.

The sun, moon and stars are gone.There is no distinction between day and night.

As if the world was ending.

No announcement is needed, and those who witness this scene understand immediately: the war between the gods has begun.

In the city, screams of fear and cries of pain gradually fell silent.

The citizens who surrendered to Epimetheus are already lucky people. They failed to escape the divine punishment from Zeus and lost their easy life forever. But at least at this moment, the eaves above their heads are still intact, but they are constantly Tremor.

When praying to the gods who live in the sky, mortals should raise their arms and call out the name of the gods.Now, however, praying to the Olympian gods is forbidden by Gaia's oracle.

Mortals don't even know how to worship a primordial god who has been silent for so long and has been all but forgotten.

Someone poured wine on the ground, slaughtered cattle and sheep and buried them in the ground, offering them to Gaia.Someone was prostrate on the ground, muttering a wish to the soil.Some people went to the edge of the temple, which became a pit in an instant, to spy on it, trying to pick up treasures from the ruins.Others smeared themselves with mud, believing it would protect them from the diseases that began to ravage the city...

Most people ducked into their homes, locked their doors, and waited quietly.

The will of mortals is of little importance in a battle between gods.No matter noble or mean, rich or poor, everyone is equally helpless at this moment.

But there is also a difference between a helpless person and a helpless person.Those who can seek refuge at home wait for the War of the Gods to end, hoping that by then the white city that sheltered them will still stand.They believed that just as Prometheus brought fire to the night on earth, so his brother would open up an oasis in the flames of God's War.And those who are homeless due to illness, the old people who were attacked by aging and fell to the ground on the way home, foreigners and slaves who were driven out... For them, no matter whether human beings can survive in the disputes between gods , their world is over.

Pandora was still locked in the small room.

Epimetheus never came to see her once, but apparently never forgot her presence.

Pandora was not sure how she would be treated. If she was a criminal waiting for the death penalty, Epimetheus seemed to be too lenient to her.Although the space in which she can move is extremely cramped, two meals a day are delivered on time, and the maid who brings food and water will clean the hut and clean up the filth.They even brought up the tub if she wanted a bath.The water was horribly hot, but still expensive hot water.

The only thing that remains the same is the door that will be locked immediately, and the guards standing outside the room.Although there is only one guard, the rotation is all elites who have not contracted the disease.Even indoors, they wore helmets and stood mostly with their backs to her, refusing to exchange a word with her.

Pandora felt that she was a rare monster that was carefully raised and guarded against.Epimetheus had no intention of letting her die just now, but she suspected that all the favorable treatment now was only because he would need to skin her later for no other purpose.

She had little appetite, and the bread and stew down her throat barely kept her alive.The maid, always hostile as she retracted the barely-touched bowl, gradually became numb to other people's gazes.The frequency of eating is only useful for her to calculate the date.She didn't give up the idea of ​​escaping, but in her condition, it would be suspicious to eat An Ran, and it was hard to say whether there was anything else in it.

At first, Pandora couldn't fall asleep, and lay with her eyes closed for a whole noisy red night.But it didn't take long before even the terrible thunder and roar became a hypnotic lullaby.Her body became so weak that she simply fell asleep most of the day and prayed when she was awake.

Ironically, Gaia's break with the Olympian gods gives her a plausible reason: Hermes must be busy fighting at the moment, but he'll come to her rescue whenever he gets the chance.

So she would call out to him when the thunder roared especially loudly, and then keep drawing his symbol in the air until she fell into a dark sleep.

--she's still here.Please don't forget her.

Things turned around one morning.

Occasionally, Pandora caught a glimpse of a bird passing by the small window, so she broke up a small piece of unfinished bread and sprinkled it on the window sill.

She hadn't had much hope, so it was a jolt when a guest with brown-gray wings actually visited.

The little bird stood at the window and looked at her with its head tilted, as if deciding that she was harmless. It jumped forward and approached, happily pecking at the crumbs of bread.This little guy may have been hungry for a long time, and he was still not satisfied after eating, so he looked at Pandora again.

She carefully pushed the cooled wooden bowl towards the bird.

"There's no more bread, only porridge. If you want it, eat it."

The bird fluttered its wings and combed its feathers, then jumped to the side of the bowl, picked up the unground wheat crumbs in the porridge with its sharp beak, and ate them.

If only she had wings to fly out the window too.Pandora was thinking wildly, looking out the window at the flickering city wall.The battle continues.If she didn't pay attention, she wouldn't notice if the ground was shaking.

A whimper.

Pandora followed the sound and covered her mouth.

The little bird was lying on the table, its legs and wings twitched feebly, and its eyes had lost their luster.

She stood up and stepped back, carrying the pitcher and stool.

There was a sound of the lock, and the door slammed open.

"what are you doing!"

Pandora met the guard who broke in.It was a young man.He was visibly taken aback.She hugged her arm, turned slightly to the side of the table, and deliberately avoided her eyes.

The guard didn't say anything, turned around and went out to call someone in to clean up.

When the maid wrapped the bird's body in rags, Pandora's heart suddenly twitched.Then she realized that she might not have felt as much for the palace, for the inhabitants of Epimea, as for a bird.It wasn't supposed to be like this.She is almost indistinguishable from them, with a similar appearance and the same language.

Is it because...she thinks she is the god's beloved lover?

Pandora hugged her knees and curled up.Something broke with the jug.

Thunder roared, her lips moved, this time, no sound came out.

After the commotion caused by the sudden death of a bird subsided, Pandora still didn't get a word of explanation.It probably didn't matter who put what in that bowl of oatmeal.

She had nothing for dinner.

The maid took away the dishes and the door closed again.I don't know how long it has been.

The chain outside the door collided lightly, the brass lock was unlocked, and the guard's figure was elongated and slantedly reflected on the ground at the door.He raised his hand, and Pandora shrank in fright.But the young man held a piece of bread in his hand.

He tore off a small piece, put it in his mouth to demonstrate chewing and swallowing, then waited for a while, and said as if to prove it: "It's not poisonous."

Seeing that Pandora was still standing motionless in the farthest corner, the young man smiled wryly.

She suddenly realized that he was different from before, not wearing a helmet.This allowed them both to see each other's faces better.

"This is my dinner. It's not poisonous," the other party reiterated.

Driven by the non-existent voice next to her ear, Pandora walked over slowly, and took the innocent piece of bread with her head down. "Thank you." She said softly, with a melancholy smile on her lips when she raised her head.

"What should I call you?"

boom!

The door slammed shut hurriedly.Then there was the trembling and twisting clang of the chains.

Pandora put away her smile, and looked down at the bread in her hand for a while.

Then, very suddenly, between the thunder and the earth, a voice from the other side of the door spoke a name:

"Gennadios."