She received the gift of God [Greek mythology]

The dazzling light flickered on and off, she sat up, and found that the flaming sunset was slanting into the cave by the sea, and a certain huge raven was flapping its wings and combing its feathers, causing the light and shadow in the cave to flicker.

"I didn't expect you to need sleep. I don't know if your strength is not complete, or because you have this strange physique." Raven said in a rather spicy tone, "But you woke up at the right time. It didn't take long. It's getting dark, you can get ready to go." As for who was waking her up by flapping his wings and performing a light and shadow show, this guy didn't say a word.

She wasn't angry either, she just smiled and stretched her arms and limbs.

"What should I call you from now on? Alpis, or—"

Names hold great significance on a mystical level.

"Until I get all my power back, I'm still Alpis."

Raven hopped two steps forward, turned around and looked at her: "You have recovered all your memories now?"

Alpis didn't answer.

When she woke up on the beach and was picked up by the old fisherman Peglas, she really didn't remember anything.

Until nine years ago, after sending away the arrogant man who came to propose marriage, she had a dream.

In the dream, she gave birth to many arms, smashed the eaves of the big house at the head of the village, and mercilessly wrapped around the neck of the hated person.The eldest son was especially repulsive to her, and she attacked him most violently.This dream undoubtedly contrasted with what happened in reality later.She knew that the family's bad luck was related to her, so she had many speculations about her identity.

Also unexplainable is the black cloth that can be produced without raw materials.After having that unpleasant dream, she faintly felt that the two were related.She kept it from the old fisherman, and after the young Meliti fell asleep, night after night, she quietly spun black threads from her fingertips, and then weaved them into cloth.When the first volume of the unspeakable black cloth was formed, she gradually recalled her life in Ilysion, and mistakenly thought it was her past.

Shortly before the old fisherman's death, the raven in the form of Kires suddenly visited her room frequently at night, claiming that as long as she dies once, she can restore her memory and infinite power.She was dubious and put it on hold as a backup plan.After all, sane people generally don't take a talking crow's death invitation seriously.

It was only after her body died and sank into the sea just now that she recovered most of her memories, and also retrieved some new knowledge from Chaos.

But there are many more unexplained mysteries.

Why did Chaos let her go, but seal her memory?Is it just so that she can die and be resurrected again, so as to fulfill her newly acquired godhead?Or is it that the original god was kind enough to help her realize her wish and let her experience what it's like to live an "ordinary" life?

Chaos really didn't have any malice towards her.He has no likes and dislikes at all.Maybe these ten years of quiet and trivial time were just a gift from him on a whim.

"What are you thinking again?" The raven jumped up and down impatiently, almost flying in front of her and beating her with its wings.I don't know if it is affected by the form of the entity, the spirit of disaster has become extremely noisy. "Isn't it enough to play house games for ten years? Hurry up, we can't wait to go to the other side of the sea to take a look. There is nothing in this remote place like Plegola, but there are still a lot of temples. It will be troublesome for any guy who smells the scent and chases after him."

"Kires, from the outside world, how long have I stayed in Chaos?"

Raven tilted his head innocently, apparently unable to answer.

"So when did you wake up?"

"Calculating on a mortal scale, more than ten years? More than 20 years ago? We suddenly felt abnormal fluctuations and regained consciousness. But you haven't disappeared yet, and you don't know where you are sleeping."

"Abnormal fluctuations?"

"You were rampant at that time, we—" Kires changed his words abruptly, "Your power was lost along the way. Such a strong force of disaster is enough to open up a different world. Probably some god entered one of them , woke us up. It took us a long time to finally find you after that, and you don't remember anything."

It seems that Kiris knows little about changes in the outside world.But there was still a hint of grievance in this guy's tone.

Alpis nodded and stood up.

Seeing her walking out of the cave, Kires immediately flew to her shoulder and asked, "So? What are you going to do next?"

She squinted sideways: "Need I explain?"

Raven shook its feathers angrily, but admitted honestly: "Now we can't hear all your thoughts directly."

"I'm going to do what Chaos said for the time being."

——Slept deeply, then woke up, fulfilled the godhead, recovered the scattered power, and revealed the real name.

"I can roughly feel where the missing power is."

For this reason, the first thing she has to do is to cross the Selmay Gulf, where there has been no boat traffic for a long time, leave the Plegola Peninsula, and go to the opposite bank where the mysterious Montenegro is located.

According to the fishermen, about 30 years ago, there was a storm that lasted for ten days in the long and narrow bay, as if the sea god was fighting something.After that, the sea became impassable.As long as you go to waters where you can't see the coastline, the boat will be swallowed by the black waves.That is the so-called "black water".Survivors also claim that it was actually a dark sea monster.In short, the Plegola Peninsula, which was originally prosperous and rich by waterway commerce, has become increasingly impoverished, and can only rely on fishing and hunting to survive.

Elpis stepped out of the cave.On the empty coast, the sound of the wind was exceptionally loud.

The original location of the fishing village is only an open space.But upon closer inspection, a faded old fishing boat ran aground near the disappearing pier.

Elpis couldn't help teasing: "So you didn't eat all the boats."

Kires protested to land on the tilted bow, with his head held high: "I'm not as impulsive as you."

She leaned over and pushed the fishing boat into the shallow water, the bow of the boat was bumped and shaken, the raven couldn't bear to take off, flapped its wings in the air and complained: "Speaking of which, there is obviously a better way to erase your whereabouts. If you don't come back, they will When you are already dead. Even if someone's eyes and ears detect the news and chase you, we will have already run away by then."

Elpis retorted lightly: "You have to be picky when you eat."

"That's not true, we had a good meal," Kires paused for a moment, "It's just that we were a little worried about whether you would have excess sympathy for mortals. After all, you are of the same kind in a sense. .But I didn't expect you to be cruel to them, just with—”

Raven didn't go on, but the subtext was obvious.

"If even one person stood up and tried to protect me at that time, I wouldn't have done it."

"Even if some people really think that way, there are so many people who want to kill you viciously. In order to save their own lives, they dare not speak out. After all, the village is so small, and everyone is good neighbors, so we will inevitably have to deal with them in the future. Kires chuckled. "But unfortunately they have no future."

As if afraid of her thinking too much, Kires added: "Of course, for us, it's good that you are like this, that's right."

Elpis bent her lips and did not answer.

The boat swayed into the water, the sails were spread out, and without the help of the sea wind, the bow of the boat cut through the sea surface sparkling with the setting sun, and moved forward.

After the shoreline disappeared, all I could see was the blue-black ripples of the water in the darkening night.Tonight, Selene's moon chariot is hidden behind heavy clouds, and staring at the dark water for a long time will inevitably arouse some thoughts.

Before leaving Chaos, she hurriedly asked: "If it is a god, can it reverse time and change the past?"

"Cronus can. But he has lost the power to cut the shape of time at will." Chaos replied indifferently, even if it was the secret of the Titan King, it was just a casual answer for him.

"So--"

"Since you have chosen to leave me, you are not satisfied with meaningless chance," Chaos's words were calm, and as she fell towards the outside of the void, she became distant, but she felt him smile for no reason, "then you It was necessary to prove to me that truth isn’t everything and that your search for answers has meaning. Isn’t it?”

Chaos was right.

The truth is not so difficult to guess.

She did die once.Hermes probably tried to find her, but couldn't make it in time.

Not only that, but like her, Hermes also traveled back in time.He restarted at an earlier moment, and his actions changed accordingly, so that more memories that contradicted the impression appeared in her mind.But she came back at the worst possible time, driven by a vivid and desperate near-death experience, opened the magic box directly in Olympus, and sacrificed herself.If Hermes had any plans, she would have overthrown them herself.

A chill ran down the back of his neck.

Too coincidental, not by accident.

It was as if someone's hand was hiding behind the smoke and flicking the thread of fate, deliberately making them miss it again.

Who will it be?What is the purpose?If Hermes does not send her to Chaos, if she dissolves in it, to what good is it?Gaia?Or is it another god who wants to subvert the Olympian gods?

"Acheron River..." Alpis whispered.

Kires looked puzzled, but she didn't explain.

At the moment of parting, Hermes mentioned the Acheron River, but she didn't remember anything related to the underworld at all.Her memory ends at the moment of death.She mistook the life of Ilysion in the past, was it a hallucination, or did it really exist?After she died in that burrow, what else happened?

I'm afraid only Hermes can give her the answer.

Mount Olympus is now known as the Black Mountain, and villagers took it for granted that the gods lived alongside mortals on the land.She was sure Hermes hadn't disappeared, she just didn't know where he was.In any case, showing up in front of the Olympian gods is definitely a bad idea.To do this, she needs to increase her strength first, and gain the confidence to face the god of Olympus face to face.

As for the behind-the-scenes man who led the situation to this day... If there is such a pusher, was her return from Chaos an accident or expected?She is unwilling to follow the arrangements of others, but acting impulsively may fall back into the woven web.

After a long silence, Elpis suddenly said: "Kakoy."

Raven tilted his head and looked puzzled.

Now Kakoy, Ponoy, and Nosoy are one, and it is more appropriate to call him Kires.

"I know that you are the one who dominates Kireth's consciousness."

No longer denying convenience: "What's the matter?"

"Why didn't you give me the third trial then?"

Using her bitterness as a thread, weaving her pain into a robe, that was the test that the toiling Ponoy gave her.After that, Kakoi directly recognized her and gave her the crown of thorns.

The raven jumped two small steps forward, with its tail spread out towards her, and it took a long time to reply: "I am the embodiment of misfortune, no matter what test I give you, you will definitely pass. Why don't you just admit you directly?" qualified to harness our power."

Without waiting for her to respond, it said again: "You will soon enter the so-called black water area, what plan do you have?"

Elpis said frankly: "There is no plan."

"what?!"

"Both you and I have been sleeping for too long, and what we know right now is very limited. Then we can only go directly to investigate the true face of the black water and adapt to the situation."

Raven was a little distraught, but for lack of a better offer, he hopped around in the shadow of the sail on the deck.

Seeing this, Elpis deepened her smile: "Besides, since it is a powerful disaster spirit, it would be difficult for me to cross the sea? I don't think it should be like this?"

"Provocation is useless to us!" Kires muttered cursingly, his neck shrank and shook, and this action made it look more like a pigeon. "I didn't realize that you have this kind of personality before..."

"Really?" She didn't expect to get an answer, and turned to look forward.

Kiris also suddenly fell silent.

Crossing a line that cannot be captured visually, the sea surface is still the sea surface, seemingly unchanged, but Elpis clearly felt that something suddenly changed in the air against the skin.

Gululu bubbles formed in groups, like the breath of a huge sea monster, spewing upwards, the water surface became cloudy and dark in an instant, the waves beat back and forth restlessly, and the fishing boat vibrated violently.

Elpis grabbed the side of the boat to stabilize her body, staring at the rough sea.

Under the violent beating of the waves, the poor fishing boat made a strange noise like wailing.The little boat won't last long.And between the roar of the waves, she faintly heard other voices.

It was like a mournful howl, like an unwilling cry, and like a call to her, coming from the deeper depths of the dark water waves, the source of the storm.

"Kires, I'm going down."

"Aha???"

She grabbed the raven, without any hesitation, she rolled over from the edge of the boat and jumped into the water.

The vortex engulfs Elpis downward, and its strength is strong enough to tear the most solid battleship to pieces!Without the protection of the big black robe on her body, she would probably be knocked down by the ferocious current as soon as she fell into the water.

The raven immediately changed its shape after entering the water, elongated its body like a water snake, wrapped itself around her waist, pulled her away from the most fierce water area, and dragged her down deeper.

--It's our breath!The black water was indeed caused by the power left behind!

Calamitas' thoughts were open to her.Kires became excited, his body elongated again, only the tip of his tail was left wrapped around her, his mouth was wide open, and the giant whale sucked in the water directly like eating.The sea water where Kires devoured immediately became clear.Its size expanded accordingly, and in just an instant, it became as huge as a giant dragon swimming in the ocean.

Not only that, Elpis immediately felt that her perception became more and more acute, and she could clearly see the thick and flowing undercurrents in the deeper depths.But she was able to breathe freely, and she didn't feel cold at all, instead, warmth flowed from her limbs and torso.Even without Kireth's help, she was able to dive powerfully against the current—through Kireth's recovery, the power was pouring into her.

Immediately, the bottom of the sea trembled, and the water waves surged wildly.

——Something is coming!

She heard cries that were vaguely caught above the water.

This time it was closer, right in the middle of the black mist of the underwater storm.

"Come," she whispered, and a string of blisters carried her message.

With another roar, the Kuroshio separated from it, and a huge group of black and red flew out, rushing directly towards Elpis and Kires!

--This is? !

The water snake swam extremely fast, pulling Elpis aside, narrowly avoiding the frontal impact.

She only needs to pass by for a moment, and she can clearly see the true appearance of the attacking giant:

It was an indescribable mixture of limbs. Countless arms and heads were glued together in groups, wrapped in weirdly swaying hair like seaweed, with snake-scaled legs and feet mixed in from time to time.

Looking at where the monster came from, it was a crooked and cracked submarine crater.The fiery magma cooled after spewing out, and then overflowed from the gullies on the seabed. The inconceivably high heat even resisted the seawater, and the erupting lava did not cool down, but maintained a flowing state.In this harsh sea where water and fire collide, let alone fish, there are almost no signs of life.

This place looks familiar.

--here we go again!

Elpis dodged again, and the monster rolled in the water angrily, turning around faster than last time and pounced.

——What the hell is this?It's like a piece of meat... and it's all our breath, but it looks like it's going to eat you.

The calamity-turned water snake opened its mouth, flew past, and tore a piece off the monster.

— Bah, it wasn't all us, there were other dirty things mixed in.

Alpis stopped suddenly.

--Hello!what are you doing!

She looked at the ugly monster coming straight towards her and opened her lips to call:

"Gigantes, the giants created by Gaia, a god-made creature polluted by disaster."

The monster's movements stopped abruptly.

The water became very quiet.

The looming faces opened their mouths together, and this time they let out a silent wail.It's like a stone falling into the water, making circles and ripples.This mixture has lost the ability to spit out the words of God, but she can understand.They were responding to her, proving her suspicions correct, begging her for their relief:

They were the remains of Guigantes, defeated and dissolved by Kires, and mixed with the disaster left here, became a disaster that disturbed fishermen and boatmen.

And this also means that this fiery land under the water originally had another name:

Field of Fire.