She received the gift of God [Greek mythology]

Genadios unlocked the door, and Pandora was already standing at the door, smiling at him.

He held his breath in surprise, stared blankly at her for a moment before looking away awkwardly.

"I know you are on duty." Pandora's voice lowered, "Only you will open the door and say a few words to me."

Genadios cleared his throat and pulled out a fig that had been wiped clean.

There was no fresh fruit in the two meals brought by the maid, and the stew became porridge.Pandora guessed that fruits and vegetables have become rare these days, and shook her head: "You keep them for yourself."

"I've already eaten one."

When the young man answered, he swallowed unconsciously.He is lying.But it would make him happier to accept it.

Pandora took it, grabbed the hard stem at the top of the fruit and twisted it; then she carefully peeled off the peel and began to eat in small bites.Compared with grains, she originally preferred fruits and vegetables, and this seemed to be the first time since she was locked in this small room that she felt the real feeling of eating.

Her tiny joy magnified on Gennadios' face.Watching her eat the figs seemed to give him more pleasure than tasting them himself.But the way he watched her finish eating the fruit without blinking caused a thin chill to pass through Pandora's back.It was the expression of staring at another creature in amazement and fascination.

She felt more and more that she was a domesticated beast.Because of the danger, her gentle and submissive attitude, as well as her unquestionable performance of eating what was fed, made people ecstatic.

But it doesn't matter, for Pandora, there is no difference in means.

"Thank you." She licked the corner of her lips, savoring the aftertaste of the last bit of juice.Before the young man's breathing became short of breath, she asked calmly, "What day is it now?"

She was asking, of course, the time that had elapsed since the battle of the gods.

"It's the night of the third day."

Hearing this, Pandora was a little distracted.Only three days?She bent her lips: "I thought it had been at least ten days and a half months."

"Everyone feels the same." Gennadios bit his lip like a slip of the tongue, this young little gesture made him more like a teenager.But compared to the last time, and when he first saw him, the young man's face has changed noticeably with the naked eye.His physical body is growing rapidly, or aging, as if making up for the previous stagnant time.

Before an awkward silence spread, the youth guard retreated and closed the door.

But he didn't immediately return to his original position on duty.He was always more relaxed when talking to Pandora through the door panel: "Hera and Demeter also sent divine punishment. Now the plants on the land in the city can no longer bear fruit. Many families are suddenly broken."

Pandora didn't respond.

"Ah, I don't mean to blame you. I just thought maybe you'd like to know that."

"Really?" She leaned her forehead against the door and smiled lightly.

Should she be elated?Whatever the Harvest Goddess and Mistress on the Silver Throne did, it was not for her.

That's the end of the conversation.

Before falling asleep, Pandora prayed habitually, and then drew the symbol of the staff of two snakes.

It didn't take long for her to wake up with a start.Someone was shaking her vigorously.

"Gennadios...?"

The young man was very close, and his warm breath sprayed anxiously on her face: "Get up, run away!"

Pan Duo got up in a daze, dizzy for a while: "What happened?"

"Someone proposed to that adult that you should be offered as a sacrifice to God Gaia."

She trembled wide awake.

"Get away before it's too late."

"Where can I escape to?"

Genadios was questioned: "It's too dangerous outside the city, but—"

But staying in Epimea was just as dangerous.

"Can you run away with me?"

The young man's eyes flickered in struggle, and then he shook his head with difficulty: "I have to stay and guard outside the door."

"But in that case..." Pandora didn't continue.She stared at him quietly for a moment, then leaned over and gently pressed her lips on the young man's cheek.

"Thank you and goodbye, Gennadios."

Pandora blackened her face with plaster, wrapped her in a ragged long shawl, walked through the deserted kitchen following the route directed by Gennadios, passed carts piled with garbage, and walked out through the small gate of the palace.It went so well that she was uneasy.She couldn't help wondering if this was also a trap of Epimetheus.But even if it was a trap, she would try to escape.

Pulling the shawl covering her hair down to her eyebrows, Pandora lowered her head, and quickly walked towards the lower city center.The long-lost sky is so vast, but it is a pity that there is no difference between day and night, and the dark red sky shines on the empty streets.The thunder and fire that fell from time to time split the city into patches of flashes and shadows.

The city was so quiet that Pandora's heart palpitated.There were very few pedestrians on the road, not even patrolling soldiers, and the doors and windows of the houses were closed.There was a person sitting on the corner of the street. Pandora almost choked on the strong smell when she passed by. She glanced hastily and saw maggots wriggling on her bare toes.

There are only a few people around the central square.

On the side of the square opposite the city gate originally stood a magnificent temple dedicated to Zeus.On the night of the wedding, when the guard of honor passed by, Pandora was greatly shocked.But now, the tall pillars and shining roof tiles are gone, only the deep pits with crooked walls and crumbling walls left.Among the broken boulders, there are figures curled up with the ruins to shield them from the wind.

Soldiers were stationed at the gate of the city and by the well. Pandora just took one look, then turned around and hid in the shadow of a certain memorial pillar.Wait for the city gate to open at dawn before finding a way to get out.

But what if...the gates are no longer open?

The thunder from the Sky Seat became stronger.Near the open square, the roar of electric light pierced the eardrums. Pandora covered her ears and curled up, muttering to herself: "Hermes, if you can hear my call..." She paused blankly for a moment, her eyes closed. Suddenly it started to get wet, she hurriedly buried her face in her knees, and begged with sobs: "Please respond to me... just one sentence. Please... please don't abandon me."

Nothing happened.The thunder and fire continued to smash down the sky, but Epimea stood still.

A terrible thought suddenly came to mind.Hermes didn't answer her prayer because she already had doubts about him.

It's not like this!Pandora shuddered.She still believed he would come.The frightening light in the sky, and the continuous and distant loud noise all indicate that the battle between the gods is still going on.He'll come whenever the situation improves.Until then, she will try her best to survive.

What Pandora dared not and could not conceive was: what would happen to her if the god of Olympus was defeated?

The sleepless night was coming to an end, and the displaced people in the ruins of the Temple of Zeus walked towards the square, vying to line up in long lines.At some point, the locked door of the residential building was quietly opened, and pale-faced men and women joined the team.Everyone holds containers in their hands, silently waiting for something.Someone tried to sneak into the front of the line, staggered away in the rain of stones.

Pandora hid where she was and observed.

After a while, a man who looked like a guard approached with a cart.The waiting crowd erupted in commotion.

There were several large clay pots on the car, and they were surrounded in the blink of an eye.At first, the situation was quite orderly, and the people at the front of the queue left in a hurry.Pandora caught a glimpse of someone stuffing a piece of bread into the folded pocket of his clothes, and the bowl in his hand contained thin and clear soup.

But the bread and soup and porridge ran out in a short time.

The crowd who hadn't received the food boiled instantly.The clay pot was overturned and shattered, someone shouted "It's mine! Give it back to me!"; two old men fighting for bread wrestled on the ground; a child fled into the depths of the ruins with his chest tightly hugged Anxiously chasing after him, he tripped over a stone...

Pandora was suddenly thankful that she hadn't taken out the bread hidden in her clothes rashly just now, otherwise if someone found it, it would cause a commotion—she stole it from the kitchen.

Soldiers distributing food tried to maintain the situation, shouting: "Calm down! There will be more in the afternoon!"

"Don't lie! There are so many refugees in the city. I heard that more than half of the flour and wheat grains stored in the barn were used up two days ago. Come back in the afternoon? Will there be bread by then? Xiu Ke Weng might be as thin as water!"

"Quick, look, the city gate has opened again, and someone has entered the city again!"

The city gate was wide open, and the refugees who looked extremely embarrassed rushed in.

"Don't let them in—!"

"But Epimetheus, our patron saint, has promised to give a home to any mortal who comes to seek refuge."

"Noble spirit cannot be turned into bread, if the preparation is not sufficient, if this continues, we will all starve to death."

"I understand what you're thinking, but there's nowhere for them to go other than Epimea..."

Pandora stayed away from the several citizens who were arguing endlessly, and approached the city gate from the side.Going against the crowds to go out of the city is not only difficult, but also attracts unnecessary attention.Judging from the haggard faces and tattered clothes of the fleeing people, it is very difficult to survive outside the city due to the battle of the gods.But this may be her only chance to escape.Just because it was dangerous outside, that also meant that Epimetheus would not come after him right away.

She lowered her head, away from the guards, and moved forward little by little.

Going a little further, she could see the scene outside the city wall.

But at this moment, thunder fell from the sky.This time, Zeus's thunderfire did not aim at the city of Epimea, but intended to burn the land under the city wall.

The protection from Gaia should have benefited at least half a mile outside the city walls.

But the sky master's disciplinary thunderbolt crashed to the ground.

The power of the Earth Goddess is fading.

Those who did not have time to enter the city turned into scorched dust in an instant.

"Close the door! Close the door!"

The guards guarding the city closed the door blankly.

The crowd that had already entered the city screamed and pushed forward.Pandora couldn't stand steadily, and was almost knocked down.She grabbed the arm of someone in front of her, but he pushed her away.The bread fell out of her clothes. "There is something to eat!" I don't know how many pairs of eyes turned to her.Someone desperately bent down to pick up the fallen bread. The woman who was holding the baby behind her rushed over, grabbed Pandora, and snatched away the bread that hadn't fallen out, but the woman immediately tore and snatched it with another person.

Guards shouted and tried to maintain order.

Pandora couldn't care about anything else, she wrapped her shawl tightly to cover her face, and squeezed out desperately.

She didn't know how she escaped.When she regained her senses, she had already rushed into the ruins of the Temple of Zeus.But when she escaped in embarrassment, she lost her long shawl.

A chill ran down his spine.

Someone is watching her.No, more than one person.

Losing the long shawl that covered her whole body, Pandora revealed her intact woolen dress. Even though it was stained with dust, it was still cleaner than most people.She clearly doesn't belong here.Not only that, but the blessings bestowed by Aphrodite were untimely effective, attracting pairs of eyes hiding in the ruins.

It even includes the eyes of a stray dog.

Pandora took a few steps back, turned around and fled.

The high-pitched bark followed her out of the central square.

She panicked and walked through the winding streets and alleys of Epimea by instinct.

The stray dog ​​didn't know why, instead of jumping directly at her, it followed her so tightly that it couldn't be shaken off.

Perhaps the lightning strike at the gate of the city caused a large-scale commotion, or too many people did not receive bread, and the originally dead street gradually became noisy.Pandora was afraid of running into the crowd again, so she ran along a remote path.She couldn't speak coherently while running, so she could only scribble symbols.

The road ahead suddenly came to an end.

At the end of the alley is a wall.

She gasped for breath and heard footsteps coming towards her behind her.

it's over.thought Pandora.She turned around and saw a whole squad of palace soldiers.The queue parted to make way, and the tall figure approached her with slow but firm steps.

Pandora didn't want to tremble, but she couldn't control it, her lips were trembling: "Epi...Metheus."

The Titan protoss walked up to her, looked down at her, and still did not lose their temper: "You seem to have almost escaped from the city. Only this time, I want to thank Zeus for the thunder thrown."

"I..." She was irrefutable.

Epimetheus smiled.Pandora didn't understand why he could still smile at her as if nothing had happened.Her charms obviously had no effect on him.She... couldn't read him.This frightened her so much that she lost the ability to think.

At the side of the Titan Protoss, followed the stray dog.

Pandora suddenly remembered that Epimetheus had been entrusted with the task of assigning characters to each animal.It is only natural that he can communicate with living beings and even give orders.

He took her by the arm and led her out of the alley, putting her into the same hansom with him.Just like on their wedding day.

They crossed the main street again and headed towards the highest palace in Epimea.

The doors and windows of the houses along the way were opened, and countless pairs of eyes stared at her silently. They all knew that God gave the bride to bring the poison that Zeus gave to the world.Every gift the gods gave her was a crime, and not only that, but she tried to escape.Hateful, indifferent, astonished, as if to overwhelm her were the monster-like eyes of the onlookers.

It's like a scene from a nightmare.

Some strings broke, and it seemed to sink to the bottom of the water, and Pandora fell into a strange calm.

She even thought that if she was the only one walking this road, there would probably be overwhelming stones and pottery shards.Should she be glad that Epimetheus is by her side instead?

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked softly.

"You will be a living sacrifice to Gaia."

Pandora was not surprised.The first grand gate of the palace came into view, and Epimetheus was amazed by the way she silently turned to the front.

"Ah," a broken single sound like a whine suddenly escaped from her lips.

A human head hangs over the door.

She took a deep breath and exhaled, and it took a long time to say: "He is your subject."

"The moment he decides to help you escape, his fate is already decided. Both you and he know this." Epimetheus smiled again at a strange moment, "But even so, until the end , he still insisted that running away was his idea, and you just obeyed his proposal. And why are you so surprised by his ending now?"

Her lips fluttered a few times, but no sound came out.

The impact I saw with my own eyes was beyond expectations.

"It's a pity that he died in vain." Epimetheus finally leaked a trace of vicious anger in his tone.

"I will not die," Pandora announced aloud, her voice becoming high-pitched, "and Zeus will send his mighty messenger Hermes to rescue me in time."

Epimetheus graciously retorted: "No one will come to save you. You are no different from human beings. You are the creation of the gods and can be discarded at will."

"No! He will come!"

"Alright, I'll just look forward to seeing if what you said will come true."

Pandora raised her face, her voice suddenly lowered: "Tell me, what is all this for?"

"I just did what Prometheus would do. He loves humans, and of course I have to protect them."

She shook her head: "You already knew that Zeus had bad intentions, why did you accept this 'gift' from me?"

Epimetheus did not answer.

Before the carriage passed the gate of the palace, Pandora suddenly jumped off the carriage.

I don't know how many spears pointed at her with cold light.

"Listen to me!" Pandora stood up with her hands on the ground. For the first time, she knew that she could make such a loud voice. She was shaking from head to toe, both fear and excitement.She doesn't talk much on weekdays, and the gift of smooth talk and deceit may be for this moment.If her prayers cannot reach the clouds, if she must become Gaia's sacrifice, then this is her last chance to be heard.

"Epimetheus, your beloved king, what he did was not for you or for mortals. Your life or death is irrelevant to him. All he wants is revenge for Prometheus!"

She turned her head to look at Epimetheus, her fearless eyes glowing awe-inspiringly.

She even smiled at him, and the spear-hands of the soldiers surrounding her began to tremble.

"I couldn't figure out what he wanted before. If he had long suspected that the king of gods would bring divine punishment, and had already formed an ally with the goddess of the earth as a backup, why would he accept me? I brought Calamity is the will of Zeus, I can't resist, but as an undead, why didn't he refuse the gift from Olympus? Why didn't he stop me from fulfilling the god's order, why did he let me open the magic box and spread misfortune instead ?

"Epimetheus, are you afraid that I will continue? If you have a clear conscience, let me finish!

"People of Epimea, don't you feel puzzled? Why did your king make a covenant with Gaia, guard against the revenge of Olympus, but did not make sufficient preparations, and let the city be full of famine and death? Why did other city-states get involved in the battle of the gods without knowing it?

"Just now, I finally understood. Because Zeus sent divine punishment is his purpose, so that Gaia will set off a rebellion, and he can use the power of the original goddess to challenge the authority of Olympus, hoping to use this for Brother revenge."

Pandora's voice trembled, and the water in her gray eyes rolled down.

"Everything is mortal except the gods. So at least...if possible, you should choose whom and why you should die for.

"If I'm just a tool for the gods to sow the seeds of disaster, he...them, the powerful gods of Olympus don't care about my life or death, so does Epimetheus. The suffering you suffer is an opportunity he carefully prepared , your accident was created by him! Is this what the wise and powerful god Prometheus would do? You know the answer better than me. If it is Prometheus—”

"Enough!" Epimetheus shouted angrily.

Pandora smiled softly: "Are you afraid that I will continue talking?"

"You accept the gifts of the gods, which of course include rhetoric and deceit. You can slander me at will, but you are never allowed to talk about my brother!"

"I don't mean to discredit Pro—"

"Shut up! I've heard enough." Epimetheus dragged Pandora into the carriage, galloped across the palace porch, and reined in the horse suddenly in the open space in front of the long steps.He dragged her into the palace like a prisoner, and stopped in the middle of the hall.

Epimetheus suppressed his anger, and his tone lacked ups and downs: "I didn't intend to make you suffer unnecessary pain. Although I know what you are, you are indeed lovable. However, you should never incite A mortal heart that is easy to float."

After a pause, he said again: "Also, you don't need to pray to Olympus any more."

The Titans easily pinched Pandora's jaw, forcing her to open her mouth.In his other hand emerged a shallow wine cup containing a dark green liquid.

She writhed and struggled, but Epimetheus' hand remained motionless.With more force, he could crush her head directly.

The spicy liquid rolled down the tongue, burning the throat and chest and lungs.

Suddenly breaking free from the restraints, Pandora knelt on the ground, coughing and nearly suffocating while resting on the ground with her hands.She subconsciously opened her lips, wanting to refute, want to sneer, and want to boldly declare that she will be saved.But all she spit out was a broken breath.

She held her throat with both hands, trying to force it to work.Even with all her strength, she could only make a meaningless sound of "Ah—ah".She didn't want to cry in front of Epimetheus, but the tears still rolled down without disappointment.

The figure of Epimetheus blurred into a hideous color block in her vision.

"Gaia does not like blood. My hands will not be stained with your blood. When you meet Charon, the earth and sky will no longer belong to the gods of Olympus."

She sneered silently, wanting to give him another contemptuous look.

"Take her away."

The back of her head exploded with dull pain, and Pandora lost consciousness.

The author has something to say: *The story about Epimetheus and Prometheus assigning characters to creatures is mainly derived from Plato's "Protagoras", and there is another version in "Aesop's Fables".As always, I streamed magic changes and gave Epimetheus the animal conversation skill.