Greece: I am Zeus!

Chapter 304 The Crisis of Losing the Flame

As soon as he returned to the temple, the god-king dismissed all the gods, leaving only Clymene behind. He then gave her a severe "lesson" in a very angry manner!
Clymene, though aware of her mistake, did not dare to plead for Prometheus at all, but simply did her best to appease him, letting the god-king "punish" her.

She also deeply understands the supreme principle that "doing more is worse than talking more".

No matter how angry, ignorant, or foolish a child is, a mother can't just ignore them.

As long as one's spirituality is not extinguished, as long as one is not banished to Tartarus, then nothing else matters.

There is still a chance to salvage the situation.

Gods are immortal and indestructible; as long as they "exist," there is always hope.

Everything is the will of His Majesty the God-King. Thunder and rain are all divine grace.

His Majesty is always kind and benevolent; His Majesty is hope itself.

If we serve His Majesty well, it's not impossible that once the thunderous wrath subsides, sweet rain will fall again.

As for the suffering the child endured...

This is a good thing!

If this rebellious son doesn't learn a lesson, he'll end up like his foolish older brother, completely hopeless!
Having regained her senses, the resilient Great Mother Goddess had already devised a plan on her way back to Olympus. Even if His Majesty the King of Gods did not take the initiative to punish her, she would take the initiative to "apologize"!

Her Majesty the God-King wanted to vent her anger, and just as she wished!

Of course, the consequences she suffered this time, and the "lesson" she learned, were also very serious.

At least, the arrogant and cunning storm goddess Arke, who was "eavesdropping" outside the palace, was so frightened that her legs went weak.

After all, the goddess Clymene's "screams" and "wails" lasted for far too long.

Moreover, the sound... was far too loud.

Although, in that voice, it seemed... it wasn't all pain?
This greatly shocked and corrupted the little goddess's pure (not really) divinity.

The number of the little goddesses who were eavesdropping outside the palace so great that their legs went weak was countless.

In the mortal realm, night quietly descends.

Without the illumination of the sacred flames, the moonlight poured down like mercury, appearing exceptionally cold and desolate.

A cold wind howled past the treetops, carrying with it the harshness and desolation of the wilderness, piercing straight to the heart.

The night had never been so deep; the evening breeze had never been so biting cold.

It was a cold that seeped from the skin all the way to the bone marrow.

For the first time, humanity will truly feel the bone-chilling cold of this world.

And, hidden in the endless darkness, there were all sorts of dangerous beings that we dared not approach because of our fear of the holy flame.

Once the flames faded, danger became a reality.

Prometheus was ashamed to face humanity.

He truly took Epimetheus's words to heart.

At least, in this moment of deep regret, I have heard what's in my heart.

He dares not directly intervene in human life for the time being.

After all, he had just been punished by the gods. If he were to mingle with humans now and be seen by the King of Gods and the gods of Olympus, it would certainly not be a good thing.

If the God-King were to take his anger out on humanity because of this, then everything would truly be over.

He chose to temporarily leave humanity.

He himself needs to calm down and think through all the causes and consequences of this whole thing.

It's also necessary to experience what it truly feels like to be "down-to-earth".

His body and divinity, having been rejected by the energy of the entire universe, are unlikely to recover easily.

Severely traumatized, he desperately needs a deep sleep to alleviate the profound pain that has penetrated to the divine.

He could only temporarily suppress his divinity and wander aimlessly alone on this land that was both familiar and strange to him.

Of course, even in his current state of destitution, there is no way that anything foolish would dare to provoke him.

Even if the great gods of Olympus were in dire straits, they could not be disturbed by mortals.

Even ordinary gods and fairies dared not show him any disrespect.

Who knows when such a master might go back to his old ways?
Even if He really can't go back, He has plenty of relatives and friends.

None of them are ordinary gods or fairies who can afford to provoke them.

Before the Olympian gods, no one would question calling him a "sinful god," and no one would dare to stand up for him.

But how should ordinary beings in this mortal world treat him?

There's really no need to think about this problem too much.

And far above Olympus, the gods were not entirely indifferent bystanders.

Some deities, though expressing both lament and pity, can only remain silent for the time being.

They could only observe the plight of mortals from the shadows.

Some gods, however, looked disdainful and watched coldly from the sidelines.

In their view, any spirit that dares to trample on God's majesty, regardless of the reason, must pay the heaviest price!

The price paid was undoubtedly heavy.

Humanity will pay the price for the deception sown by Prometheus. The once burning, inextinguishable sacred flame was a blessing bestowed by the Lord of Warmth and the Supreme God-King.

Fire not only brings the aroma of cooked food, but also warmth to the night, and is a wheel of truth that drives away evil, purifies darkness, and illuminates the soul.

Whether in a deep cave or a vast forest, the warm and sacred campfire made of ash branches is an insurmountable barrier, preventing all danger from approaching.

Under the firelight, fear will not spread, people will not be suspicious, thoughts will not wander, danger will retreat, and people will find peace.

Fire protects all mortals.

But now, the barrier... has disappeared.

Aside from humans, who possess true intelligence, the mortal beings on earth include all sorts of ferocious beasts and poisonous insects. Even many seemingly harmless plants are extremely dangerous.

Not only animals can be carnivorous, but even some plants can be carnivorous.

They will even take the initiative to attack, and are more bloodthirsty and greedy than ordinary wild beasts.

Beyond these mortal beings, there are also "gods and monsters" that are extremely difficult for humans to resist, or even completely impossible for them to withstand.

These gods and monsters, born from the blood of the gods or due to various special reasons of the deities, are mostly violent and cruel.

They are terrifying beings that no human being with any supernatural power can withstand.

Most of them are of low intelligence, but extremely strong, and possess all sorts of strange and unpredictable skills.

Once, under the radiant glow of this sacred flame, they dared not show themselves.

But now...

In the darkness, countless greedy eyes, for the first time, dared to be cast upon the human tribe that had once been protected by the sacred fire.

There are also some even more terrifying beings, namely the evil gods, malevolent gods, and violent gods on earth.

Many of these deities possess divine blood or are manifestations of divine power.

They are not qualified to ascend to heaven; some lack the ability or the will to travel to the cosmos.

But as divine beings, they are naturally entitled to live on earth.

These gods, though they all behaved more obediently and docilely than anyone else in the presence of the Olympian gods.

However, they are quite "willful" in front of mortal spirits.

They were not entitled to enjoy the divine wine and delicacies of Olympus; they relied almost entirely on mortal spirits for their daily meals.

They were already tired of eating ordinary mortal spirits.

Human beings, these rare mortals exuding the fragrance of "wisdom," are, in their eyes, the freshest and most tempting "snacks."

They had long wanted to taste this new and rare creature, humankind.

However, under the protection of the gods, they could only dream about it.

but now……

In addition, there are many wild beasts that have undergone physical or spiritual mutations due to various special circumstances, and they are also extremely dangerous.

Such beings are often unable to control their own mutations.

Even though they did not intend to take the initiative, they have inadvertently caused great harm.

In the past, such a strange entity could not get close to human tribes at all.

Within the protective range of that eternally burning flame, such mutated creatures would absolutely not appear.

Even among humans, there are individuals who mutate.

However, under God's various blessings, these changes often do not cause any major problems, and may even develop in a positive direction.

Even if there were any problems, under the warm glow of the fire, these changes could be greatly suppressed and would not deteriorate rapidly.

But now, all of that has changed.

After a brief discussion, the tribal leaders and elites returned to their respective tribes as quickly as possible.

Because the situation was too urgent, they didn't have time to bring back the other half of the offerings that should have belonged to humans.

They dared not leave it in the temple to decay, as that would be yet another act of "disrespect" to the gods.

In the end, they could only neatly place all the offerings outside the temple.

The fate of these foods was already sealed.

The food that Prometheus painstakingly "left" for mankind could neither be offered to the gods nor, ultimately, reach mankind.

Upon returning to their respective tribes, they immediately recounted everything that had happened to all their panicked, fearful, and bewildered members.

Of course, the retellings all became different versions, and most people "embellished" these events.

Humans have a remarkable ability: to learn bad habits, and to learn them very quickly.

Prometheus had just demonstrated "deception" and "concealment" before the supreme god.

And now, they are using this "divine magic" they learned from God on their own people.

Is this a "white lie"?
K.

In such a momentous and drastic change, it may not be a good thing to frankly reveal all the cruel truths.

But deception is deception, and a lie is a lie.

It was a "political" lie.

(End of this chapter)