Greece: I am Zeus!

Chapter 250 The God King's Blessing

"My dear children, accept the gifts from our Father!"

The God-King slightly raised his hand, and golden and white lightning patterns spread out in the air, and the Heavenly Dao began to slowly turn like a loom.

Zeus’s sacred and majestic voice rang out: “Aglaia—my glorious daughter.”

"I bestow upon you the honor of 'Radiance'! From this day forward, all beauty in clothing, objects, and palaces will be created because of you!"

"In the vast starry sky, you can throw the crown in your hand, and wherever it lands will become your exclusive domain palace."

"I command the Cyclops to forge for you that glorious crown. I bless you, that beneath your crown all things may gain fame, receive their due light, and obtain their due glory!"

"Euphoresis—my beautiful and good daughter."

"I will bestow upon you the office of 'Harmony'! From this day forward, all festivals, ceremonies, and oaths in the universe shall be performed under your blessing! May solemnity never wither, and may joy be measured!"

"On that vast earth, I will grant you a 'Fountain of Laughter.' Any living being that drinks from this spring will be filled with happiness and joy, and any sorrow that reaches your hem will be transformed into songs and dances."

"Cyclops will also forge the most suitable artifact for you, and the Bell of Joy will be delivered to your hands. I bless you, for this beautiful music can awaken the joyful instinct hidden deep within the hearts of all beings. Under your music, all living things will gain hope and peace."

“Talia—oh, my beautiful jewel.”

"I hereby bestow upon you the honor of 'feast'! From this day forward, all public banquets, memorial services, and celebrations shall be held in your presence, and you shall have the right to be the first to enjoy all the offerings!"

“My dear child, I will designate a special area for you on Olympus, and build you a bountiful granary that encompasses all kinds of flowers and grains from the past, present, and future.”

"As your private garden, it will be a paradise of perpetual abundance and never fading."

"Of course, my darling, your own divine artifact is also indispensable. The Flower Vine Scepter will serve as your symbol."

"Where this scepter points, barren land can be transformed into a feast; flower buds can bloom and instantly bear abundant fruit. When you wave the scepter, the 'Garden of Everlasting Bloom' will appear before you, becoming a feast garden under your exclusive control!"

“Talia, this is your own private realm of joy. I promise you that you will forever possess untainted, authentic joy.”

"I will also grant you three sacred and inviolable privileges: your names shall not be dishonored, your love shall not be coerced, and your palaces shall not be trespassed upon!"

"Finally, I will bestow upon each of you thirty star fairies to form your choir; and upon each of you thirty young ocean fairies to serve as your attendants!"

"May the starlight guide your way, and the waves harmonize for you—may there be songs to sing and roads to travel wherever you go!"

Zeus's voice echoed through the heavens, transforming into a vast and final declaration: "My dear children! I tell you, and all living beings in this universe! Uphold the justice and goodness I have established, and honor, joy, and happiness will follow!"

Kindness will surely be rewarded! Virtue will surely be honored!

As the God-King finished bestowing a series of generous rewards, the Temple of Wisdom was momentarily silent before being filled with overflowing joy.

Metis's eyes sparkled, his heart filled with indescribable joy and relief.

Eurynome's divine heart was thoroughly permeated with the sweetest divine honey, and every inch of his divinity exuded fragrance.

The three newborn goddesses, Mei Hui, were already beaming with joy and dancing with delight.

They looked up at their Father God, their three clear eyes filled with pure, unadulterated devotion and worship.

With a whoosh, they transformed once again into three of the most beautiful springs, surrounding the Great Father God and offering the most joyful and melodious words of gratitude, like strings of pearls.

The family was so happy and harmonious; the scene was so heartwarming that it could melt even the hardest ice in the universe.

After a brief moment of intimacy, Zeus issued the most solemn announcement to all the gods in the universe via the divine network:
Firstly, it proclaims that Eurynome, the daughter of the ocean and the lord of clear, pure water, has officially become His fifth wife, witnessed by all the gods, and that her status is sacred and inviolable.

Secondly, it proclaims the sacred honor and duties of the Three Graces—Aglaia, Euphrodite, and Thalia—who will bring glory, joy, goodness, and abundance to the universe.

The divine oracle resounded throughout the universe, and all the gods heard these two pieces of good news.

Then, atop Mount Olympus, He invited all the gods of the universe to a grand celebration and solemnly introduced His beloved wife and lovely daughters to all the deities.

Even the Oceanid couple, who were confined to their homeland, were still invited and allowed to come to Olympus.

From that day onward, a brocade called "Beauty" was gently laid upon the foundation of the universe's order.

Gentleness will bring abundance, and glory will protect laughter.

The law is remembered, beauty is embodied, goodness bears fruit, and glory shines.

The universe will only become more beautiful in the future.

The scale of this feast was so grand that even Prometheus and Epimetheus, who were far away on earth busy with the newborn humans, as well as Zeus's nine Muses, were all summoned back to Olympus.

After nearly two years of careful instruction from these eleven powerful deities, the newly born humans have finally begun to learn how to stumble and struggle to survive on this vast and dangerous land.

Furthermore, given that the laws governing death are still imperfect, none of the more than one million newborn humans from that time have died.

Because the newborn was still young, and because he was protected by the "heavenly fire" bestowed by Zeus and Hestia, as well as personally cared for by eleven gods.

Although some poor humans encounter all sorts of strange and unheard-of things—all because of their precious, wisdom-based curiosity.

This led to some people encountering situations that were not easy to accept, such as being missing some parts or having some extra things, but fortunately, no irreparable tragedies occurred.

After all, Prometheus, their "chief engineer," was right beside them.

Even if some clumsy person is missing a part, or accidentally grows some strange things, it's just a small matter that He can easily fix with a flick of his wrist.

At the feast, under the watchful eyes of the gods, Zeus solemnly introduced Eurynome and her three newborn daughters.

He then solemnly commended the Prometheus brothers, Metis, and the beloved Muses for their great achievements in creating and educating humankind.

And based on their merits, all participants were bestowed with extremely great favors.

Zeus specifically announced the lifting of the previous confinement punishment imposed on Oceanus and Thetis.

Furthermore, the raging Titan Atlas, who had been staying obediently in the ocean, was completely pardoned.

However, He was not granted any honors. As for honors, that remains to be seen. For now, He is still a non-official priest.

For the great gods of Olympus, ordinary material rewards had long lost their meaning.

Therefore, apart from power and honor, there are really not many things that can be regarded as a gift.

The most important thing, and the one that the gods value most, is the opportunity to be forgiven after making a mistake.

After all, most people are rather impulsive and may inadvertently violate the sacred order established by the God-King on a whim. No one wants to be punished for a moment of willfulness, so the opportunity to be pardoned is the most precious and tangible reward.

This was especially true for Prometheus.

He was somewhat self-aware.

He was not a law-abiding god to the core!
In particular, what He always wanted most was to find a way to rescue His Father and his brothers.

Now, being able to use his own merits to get his elder brother Atlas pardoned is already quite good.

As for Father God and Second Brother, we'll find an opportunity later.

Zeus sat high on his throne, and after announcing many matters, his golden eyes swept over the different expressions of the gods, his mind filled with his own thoughts.

In His view, honor is not something that can be given casually.

Because once this is bestowed, it is essentially an eternal blessing.

Unless one has committed a heinous crime, the authority and honor already bestowed upon them will not be revoked.

Even if a deity who has erred is banished to the River Styx to sleep, or subjected to some torment and suffering, it is usually only a temporary punishment and does not directly strip them of their fundamental honor.

Zeus would never easily resort to the method of "stripping away honor".

This is the second most severe punishment after being imprisoned in Tartarus; if abused, it would only damage His credibility and prestige as the supreme god-king.

The scales of royal power have two ends: one holds grace, the other bears majesty. The true art of ruling lies in knowing when to fill which end.

After all, while seeing a gift may inspire longing and lead to obedience to order for all intelligent beings, the fear of losing it often fosters a deeper sense of awe.

Losing what you already have is always more painful and harder to accept than gaining something new.

A deity may covet something, but He would never be greedy in order to lose it.

The power to bestow and to take away is the most important authority in the hands of a king.

However, neither of these are ends in themselves, but rather means to achieve the ultimate goal of "order," and are the reins that make all beings more obedient and proactive.

Whether it is the anticipation of reward or the fear of punishment, their greatest effect always lies before they actually arrive.

Therefore, the way to be a king lies in using supreme royal power prudently.

After the banquet, Zeus gave special instructions to the nine goddesses with golden crowns.

He gently instructed them that after they had taught humans basic survival skills, they should return to Olympus and not interfere too deeply in the autonomous development of humankind.

Under their personal care, humans cannot learn to walk on their own.

As for the Prometheus brothers, they can still go to the mortal world to take care of humanity.

Furthermore, Zeus gave Him a crucial new task: to teach mortals how to respect the gods.

Humans are currently the only intelligent life form on Earth.

Besides these, there is the supreme God.

God doesn't care about those uncivilized, unawakened beings.

The difference between them in any sense is enormous, not worth God's special attention.

Although humanity is not currently receiving much attention from the gods, perhaps after today, some gods will pay more attention.

But for fragile and insignificant humankind, learning how to properly treat God is the most important thing.

God can give; God can also take back.

Only things created by humankind through their own hands and wisdom can truly belong to humankind itself.

Unfortunately, everything that humanity has since its inception has been a gift from the God-King.

Although they also possess the most precious wisdom that can grow freely, humanity is simply too insignificant.

Between God and man, nothing can compare.

What should the relationship between humans and gods really be like?
For humanity, which has just embarked on the path of civilization, this will be the most somber, serious, and important lesson.

However, somewhat to Zeus's surprise, Epimetheus took the initiative to request that he stay in Olympus temporarily.

Regarding caring for humanity, He said He was somewhat tired and wanted to slow down and rest for a while.

This request made Zeus scrutinize Him carefully several times, and the king of the gods' mind raced.

After three thorough mental scans, He finally discovered that this guy's eyes had been secretly glancing at the main characters of the banquet—His three newborn, incomparably beautiful daughters.

This impressed even Zeus, who realized that he could see right through Prometheus's thoughts.

However, Epimetheus was truly a man of peculiar thoughts; it took me at least three glances to understand his strange thought process!

That's right, Epimetheus has changed his target!

He and the nine Muses have been teaching humanity on Earth for nearly two years.

In the past two years, He has devoted three-tenths of His attention to teaching humanity and seven-tenths to pursuing the Muse.

He is truly diligent and proactive, but he is also greedy and lacks perseverance.

For nearly two years, He tried to impress Calliope with his own poorly written, completely unrhymed verses and attempted to please Thersicotry with his clumsy and bizarre dance moves.

He even used his own flawed star charts to "educate" Urania about the mysteries of the universe.

The result was disastrous.

Today I'll pursue this artistic goddess for two days, tomorrow I'll fawn over that scientific goddess for two days, and if that fails, I'll immediately switch targets.

The result, naturally, was that nothing was gained.

(End of this chapter)