She received the gift of God [Greek mythology]

When she woke up again, darkness flowed around Pandora.

Sitting up, the first thing she did was touch her throat, open her lips, and breathe in vain.

Standing unsteadily, she groped in the dim light.

After walking three steps, she touched the same cold rock wall from one rock wall to the other.There is a faint light far away from the top of the head. I don't know if it is the sun, the moon, or something else.Accustomed to the thunderstorms and roars that shake the earth, the quietness here makes her hair stand on end.Except for the echo of her own breathing, she couldn't hear any sound.She is the only life here.

Pandora quickly understood her situation:

She was abandoned deep in Gaia's realm - at the bottom of a long cavern underground.

Losing her voice and unable to call for help, Pandora turned to the dumbest method, slapping the rock face with her palm.

The reverberation was low and dull, and even if someone passed through the distant ground entrance and exit, they would definitely not be able to hear it.

So she bent down and groped on the ground, collecting the broken stones that had fallen on the ground over the years, and then threw them towards the stone wall above.She hoped that someone would notice the sound coming from underground.Every time you breathe and throw, stones collide with stones regularly.When the stones fell back to the ground, she picked them up one by one again in the dark.Repeatedly.

Occasionally, the falling stones would hit her, which might scratch the skin and sometimes hurt, but Pandora didn't care anymore.

She knew it was a miracle that she was rescued in this way.But she has to do something.By physically moving and repeating the same thing, she can stop thinking about anything else.

Stretching her sore arm, Pandora changed direction and threw another stone.

puff.

There was only a sound of falling on some surface, and the stone did not fall back to the bottom of the cave.

Pandora's heart jumped wildly: there is still room in that direction!

She moved half a step to the side and threw again.The stone went away again and never returned.After several attempts, she concluded that there was quite a large space where the stone disappeared.Looking carefully, the faint light from the high place seems to come from a deeper place, because the angle is skewed, the light source seems to come from a more distant top at first glance.

The exit might not be as far away as she thought.As long as she finds a way to go up, she might be able to escape.

Her eyes gradually adapted to the dim light, and Pandora tried her best to distinguish the outline of the rock wall.Although it is steep, it is not completely vertical, and there are some protruding points on the surface that can be exerted.She can give it a try.

After careful and careful observation, she selected a place to start climbing.

The ankle-length skirt was inconvenient to move. Pandora removed the pins used to fix the clothes on the shoulders, poked a series of holes in the fabric, and then tore it hard for a while, finally tearing off the skirt below the knees.After thinking about it, she rolled the torn hem into a long strip and wrapped it around her waist as a rope.She knew that she might not have the ability to hang a short cloth rope on the rock wall, but it was better than nothing.

After calming down for a while, Pandora began to climb.

The rock surface at the lowest end is rough, and it is easy to apply force. As long as you hold on to the protruding stone above, it will not fall.But her knees and the front of her calves bumped and rubbed against the rock wall, causing burning pain immediately.She bit her lip, and then remembered that she couldn't actually utter whether it was crying or whimpering.

As you go up, the rock surface gradually becomes smoother, and there are fewer and fewer places where you can borrow strength.And that's not the worst.Climbing was more strenuous than Pandora expected, and the broken wound came second. She gasped for breath, her body felt faintly hot, her weak arms and back became sore and trembling, and her legs became like lead. as heavy.

Shimmer was still so far away, she wanted to turn her head to confirm how high she had climbed, before twisting her neck, she almost let go and fell.She gasped, her body gripping the rock face tightly, not daring to move any more.

After resting for a while in the gecko's weird and uncomfortable position, she resumed her upward movement.

From one foothold to the next interval, she had to stop and accumulate energy for a long time each time.

The already dim vision was shaken and blurred, and the sweat dripping from his forehead flowed into his eyes.Perhaps for this reason, the surroundings seem to be brighter than before.She blinked hard to squeeze the water out, and looked up.It wasn't an illusion, she was closer to the source of the light, and she could even see the outline of the cave where the rock wall ended.

Pandora suddenly gained strength again.She grinned to herself, stretched her arms, and struggled to reach the raised edge of the stone slanted above.Go out a little more, a little more... move your palm up, and squeeze your fingers together to grab it.

She grabbed it, but the distance was too wide, her feet reached the highest point and then slipped off.

For a moment, Pandora's body was almost suspended in the air, her whole body weight was pressed onto her arms.In the confusion, she suspected the crisp sound of joint dislocation.It could also be that she kicked debris from the face of the rock wall into the bottom of the cave.

She didn't care about anything, she slammed her body against the rock wall, rubbed her other hand and both feet indiscriminately, trying to find a fixed point before she couldn't bear the fall.Her right foot first stepped on the slightly sloped slope, and then her fingers accidentally inserted into a small hole in a stone.

Driving the arms that seemed to no longer belong to her, Pandora panted and stretched her hands upwards, touching the entrance of the cave that was already in sight.First right, then left.She struggled embarrassingly with her hands on the edge of the cave, curled up her back, bent her arms, imagined that she was bouncing upwards, and finally her upper body lay down on the flat ground.Forced to move her arms forward, she dragged her lower body up the rock wall, lost all strength, and collapsed on the uneven ground, coughing uncontrollably.

Eyes darkened, Pandora bit the tip of her tongue.

The light, she could see the light, was deeper in Douzhe's cave, behind a corner broken in the rock.

She climbed to the side of the cave on hands and feet, stood up while leaning on the rock wall, and walked forward leaning on it.

And one last point, as soon as you turn this rock, you're outside—

Drilling out of the gap leads to another cave, long and narrow, like a corridor.

The white light that guides Pandora to climb all the way here is at the end of the passage.

She walked over unsteadily, stopped, and looked blankly at the scene in front of her:

Here is indeed the exit.Or, once the export.

Huge blocks of stone, of a color and texture very different from the interior of the cave, sealed the end of the cave.And on the surface of the smooth gray-white rock, a series of mysterious patterns form circular stone carving patterns, quietly shining.No need to understand spells, Pandora also immediately understood that the stone carvings were some kind of seal that locked the underground cave and her ominous monster.

This is the true face of light and vitality that she tried her best to pursue.

Her legs were weak and her knees fell to the ground weakly. She slumped down, groped almost habitually, grabbed a piece of gravel on the ground, and threw it towards the stone carving.

The moment it hit the seal, the stone turned into powder.

She laughed silently.

At this moment, Pandora suddenly noticed that in this cave, whether it was in the darker bottom or in this tunnel, she had never heard the sound of wind.This is not normal.

She soberly made assumptions, ruled out the unlikely ones, and concluded:

Unless... the purpose of this boulder is not only to block the entrance and exit, but also to seal the flow of air elements.

Is it better to touch the stone carving and expect her to be burned immediately, or is it better to climb back to the cave and jump down?Pandora couldn't help thinking to herself.But she didn't even have the strength to jump back the way she came. In fact, it won't take long, and she probably won't be able to breathe.She didn't know what else she could do.Ah, of course, she can continue to pray, hoping that Hermes will find here in time.

She worked hard, desperately begged to live to give him time.But enough is enough, you don't have to continue to deceive yourself.Pandora said softly in her heart.He will not come.

Of course he would have many reasons for not being able to pick her up.Maybe it was really helpless, or it was originally planned to renege on the promise.But the result is the same.He didn't take her away.

Pandora lay down slowly.The pain in her limbs began to recover, she squinted her eyes to bear it, and the cold light of the stone carving turned into a cloud of white smudged between the eyelashes.Where has she seen a similar scene.

It was the last day in Ilythion.

Yi, Li, Xi, Ang, Zhifuleyuan, what a pleasant pronunciation, what a distant dream.

She sat on the edge of the cliff behind the Temple of Hermes, plucked the strings of the lyre, and practiced the magic song that lulled the listener to sleep.Thinking that this beautiful time that made her heart palpitate will come to an end for the next day, she was a little absent-minded and played a few wrong notes.

"What are you thinking about?"

Her waist tightened suddenly, and Hermes leaned over and blew on her face.He has obviously lived for a long time, and he always acts childishly in front of her.Before she could answer, he complained again: "I told you, don't come to the edge of the cliff again. What if you accidentally fall off?"

Pandora replied with a smile: "I will scream, and you will immediately fly over to catch me."

Hermes raised his eyebrows.

She put down the lyre, winked at him, and pushed with her hands behind her back.

Breaking away from the cliff tip, she quickly fell towards the reef and the blue water waves.

The fall stopped abruptly.

Pandora opened her eyes, and Hermes put her arms around her close to her chest, causing her a little pain.

He couldn't tell, he just stared at her, as if he wanted to suck her in and trap her. The dark green he stole from the dense forest in late spring and early summer is emerald that has cooled after melting, and it is a quiet pool that cannot be escaped if he enters the water rashly. .

She pursed her lips and reached out to touch his cheek.As if proclaiming her right, her victory, her blind faith, and a bit of madness they shared.She can jump off a cliff without asking why, confident that he will catch her.It was an excellent metaphor for their plans after leaving Elythion.

Hermes grabbed her hand against his cheek.She saw her reflection in his pupils, like the wind passing through the flowers, swaying almost imperceptibly with his smile.

The strength supporting them suddenly disappeared.

The waves splashed white foam and they fell into the water.

Long chains of air bubbles escaped towards the surface, and they continued to sink to the bottom, toward the clean white sand and colorful coral reefs.

Pandora closed her eyes tightly, and Hermes leaned over to kiss her, and gave her breath one after another.

She felt cold the moment she entered the water, but soon got used to it.She slowly opened her eyes, dazzled by the unexpectedly gorgeous scenery on the bottom of the sea, and a few shots later, she realized that even though she was separated from Hermes, she was still breathing freely in the sparkling water.I don't know what magical trick he used again.

Seeing her eyes widen in astonishment, Hermes laughed, and a series of bubbles carried his happy breath past the tip of her nose.There is only a thin line between being teasing and deceiving. He likes to surprise her, and he likes to appreciate her joy after being surprised.And in his surprise, the "surprise" part is often true, and only because he handles it properly, the danger becomes a harmless aftertaste in terms of results.

Hermes turned his face sideways again and looked down for her lips, as if he couldn't breathe without her.

He was a little out of order the night before, being too enthusiastic but showing despair.

While he seems to have everything in order, he can also be restless.thought Pandora.But she was glad that he was afraid because of her.

Black hair with curly ends swayed in the water, like soft algae that broke into her vision.Now and then, faintly, she saw the sun above the water, a distant, flickering white light.

Only this time, she couldn't float up.Because she is alone, Hermes is not here.

Pandora curled up on the cave floor like a stranded fish, breathing heavily.

If I hadn't spent that time in Ilysion and was sent directly to Epimea as soon as I was born, would the ending be different?Epimetheus needs her to bring disaster, and Gaia will still rebel, and she will probably end up lying in the depths of the gloomy cave without breath and decaying.But if she didn't know happiness, and never had fantasies about tomorrow, maybe she would not be so afraid and resist death, would accept everything now more calmly, would struggle less, and be less painful.

But--

She closed her eyes, then pulled away again, no longer dodging, and stared at the rock that would determine her fate.

Probably exhausted, she didn't even want to lament for herself.

After watching for a while, Pandora suddenly noticed that something was left not far from the exit.Previously her attention had been drawn to the light source and she hadn't noticed it at all.She moved forward on all fours to get a better look.

It turned out to be the magic box from Olympus.

Judging from the random placement, Epimetheus probably thought of it before sealing the hole, and threw this thing in together.

Pandora remembered that there was still something closed in the box.

Judging from the situation in Epimea, the disasters that Zeus intended to bring to mankind have been dispersed, such as misfortune, disease, aging, and labor.So what else is left?

Hermes said that he had prepared a gift for her, so... isn't that a lie?

She slowly dragged her body closer, and pushed the magic box in front of her with her undislocated hand.

When she reached out to open the lid of the box, Pandora realized that her fingertips were unsightly.Not to mention the wound, and none of the nails are intact.But she didn't hesitate.The urgency wasn't because she thought the contents of the box could save her, she just wanted to know.

The blood stained the gift box of the gods, and the red seeped into the engraved patterns on the surface of the box.

The lid is lifted.

Something that Pandora couldn't see flew out.

The cave became bright and spacious, and the huge boulders that blocked the entrance and exit were not so huge.Her body became relaxed, stretched and warm, and there was no longer a blurry double image shaking in front of her eyes.She had the strength to get up again.The pain in body and mind disappeared, and the heart beat faster with optimism.it's not finished yet.She's going to stick to it.

Because he will definitely come to save her.