Greece: I am Zeus!

Chapter 98 A loving father and a filial son
Prometheus's earnest advice was to no avail. Before Iapetus could speak, Atlas had already rebuked him angrily:
"Enough, Prometheus! What honor do you have left after betraying His Majesty the King of Gods?!"

"Have you forgotten how you earned your honors?!"

"Our entire family of Iapetus, all the gods, have received honors bestowed by the King of Gods!"

"How could you betray His Majesty the God-King?! How dare you betray the God-Lord who bestowed glory upon us?!"

Upon hearing this, Prometheus immediately retorted angrily, "Atlas! My brother! What honor has the King of Gods bestowed upon you?!"

"Our father god is the great primordial Titan Iapetus! Our mother goddess is the ocean goddess, the wise and gentle Clymene!"

"But what are these so-called honors you've received?!"

"You are the raging force that deconstructs the starry sky, Menotius is the arrogant force that collapses the starry sky!"

"You are merely power at the mercy of the God-King, tools he manipulates!"

Prometheus suppressed his grief and anger, and pointed at Atlas: "The Mother Goddess has arranged for you to marry Pleone, the daughter of the gentle Oceanus. You have given birth to seven kind and gentle daughters, the Pleades. We are becoming more and more friendly with the great Oceanus. How wonderful this is!"

PS: (The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, are one of the best deep-sky object groups visible to the naked eye. These seven goddesses represent the seven brightest stars in the cluster, and are seven of the most beautiful, brightest, and most radiant star goddesses. At least three of them had sons with Zeus.)
"But what honor did His Majesty the God-King bestow upon Pleades and the others? It was still the honor of the stars!"

"For this reason, we have clashed with the powerful cosmic framework!"

"But that's not all!"

"After that, you gave birth to the obedient and lovely Hyades (the rain nymphs), Calypso (the sea god), and Hyades (the mist god), and the king of gods bestowed upon them the authority over rain, sea, and mist."

"And so we have offended both the great sea god Pontus and the boundless ocean Oceanus!"

Prometheus then turned his gaze to Menotius, his voice filled with exasperated anger: "And you, reckless and arrogant Menotius!"

"The Mother Goddess arranged for you to marry Elinia (the goddess of peace), the eldest son of Pontus and the kind and gentle daughter of Nereus. Together you gave birth to the beautiful Hesperis (the glow of sunset)."

"But what did Hesperis receive? The glory of the stars!"

"For this, we have once again made an enemy of Hyperion, the Lord of the Heavens!"

Prometheus looked back at Atlas, his eyes filled with the disappointment of someone looking at a fool: "And you! Foolish, muddle-headed Atlas! You hopeless idiot! What do you even know?!"

"You even secretly had the Hesperides sisters with Hesperis!"

"These gentle and kind children still receive the glory of starlight! The Iapetus family and the Hyperion family are now sworn enemies!"

PS: (The three Hesperides sisters – Egle, goddess of the radiant sunset; Erythia, goddess of the crimson sunset; and Hesperaretusa, goddess of twilight).

Prometheus cursed fiercely: "You utter fool! You brute! Why don't you think about why you, Pleone, and Hesperis were able to give birth to laws completely unrelated to your origins?!"

"The bright path that the Mother Goddess paved for you has been destroyed in an instant!"

Prometheus unleashed a torrent of curses, suppressing his grief and indignation as he hissed, "Look at this! What kind of honor has the King of Gods bestowed upon us?!"

“Our once close brothers and friends have now become our enemies!”

"Is the honor bestowed by the God-King truly real?! Why do I only see isolated schemes?"

"Look at this! Does the Iapetus family still have any true friends?!"

The impetuous Menotius was thoroughly enraged by Prometheus's words, and he roared furiously, "Enough! Prometheus, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

"The universe belongs to His Majesty the God-King, and everything is under his rule!"

"The God-King did not claim the honor of the gods themselves, and the gods did not actively create the laws! Are we not allowed to create them?!"

"All I see is the Iapetus family growing stronger and more powerful under the leadership of His Majesty the God-King!"

"You have to give to receive! Is there anything in this world that can be obtained out of thin air?!"

"To be loyal to His Majesty the God-King is a matter of course!"

"As long as we remain loyal to the God-King, he will bestow upon us an endless stream of honor and power!"

Menotius scoffed dismissively, “So what if it’s Clios? His children are not allowed into the world!”

"So what if Hyperion? His children are not allowed to shine upon the world!"

"Honor belongs forever to the God-King and the Iapetus family! It belongs to those who dare to fight for it!"

Atlas was somewhat embarrassed when his affair was exposed, but now that Menotius had confronted Prometheus, he finally spoke up.

He snorted coldly, "What do other families do to us?!"

"Prometheus, you should know what kind of god you are! Whose child are you?! Whose family should you strive to strengthen?!" "Do you think that by befriending Him, you can enhance your own glory?!"

"Honor must be earned!"

"We already possess so many honors, encompassing power, the stars, light, the sea, and the ocean! And we will possess even more in the future!"

"These are all things we received for our loyalty to His Majesty the God-King. Do you think you can get them by befriending His God?!"

Atlas sneered, his voice laced with mockery: "Prometheus, what have you gained by pledging allegiance to that rebellious traitor Zeus? What have you been given?"

"You're nothing but a traitor, you have nothing!"

Who in this world truly values ​​a traitor?

Even Prometheus, with his usually calm temperament, could no longer tolerate it; the foolishness and stubbornness of his two brothers had exceeded all his imagination.

He roared angrily, "Enough! You two fools! I may not have it yet, but I will not lose everything I have because of it!"

"In the long run, I can find ways to have even more!"

"And you, though you have gained some false glory and power for now, when you look around, the universe is full of enemies. Can you really keep them for long?! Can you hold onto them?!"

Prometheus no longer wanted to speak to his two utterly foolish brothers, and turned his gaze to his father, Iapetus, with pleading and hope in his eyes.

“Father God, do you, in your wisdom, also believe that they are right? Can you not see the great trend that is about to unfold?”

Iapetus's cold expression revealed not a trace of emotion or thought.

His deep and firm voice slowly rose, carrying a meaningful message: "Prometheus, what you want to gain, you must give."

"This is the ultimate truth of the universe."

"However, this effort is sometimes required before you get it; sometimes it is the price you have to pay after you get it."

"The future is always uncertain. If you are afraid of losing it and don't strive for it, isn't that the same as never having it at all?"

Iapetus's calm gaze fell upon Prometheus: "You have inherited the wisdom of your mother goddess. You are so clever that every god praises you in this way."

"But you've forgotten that cleverness is a compliment for children. A truly knowledgeable God, a mature being, should possess clear and pure wisdom."

"You always want to gain without giving anything in return, or you get a lot by paying a tiny, insignificant price."

"Prometheus, my child, you are not the only wise god in this world."

"You are smart, but not decisive enough."

"You will pay the price for this later."

"You may understand this principle in your heart, but you will always have a sense of luck because you are too smart and always think that you can easily avoid risks."

"Although your two elder brothers are not as smart as you, they understand better than you the simplest truth that you get something in return for your efforts."

Prometheus's hopeful eyes dimmed, but he still pleaded, "Father, this is a war that is destined to be lost, but it is not too late."

"Even if we choose to pledge allegiance to Zeus, the son of Rhea, will we lose the honor that our Iapetus family deserves?"

“You are so great and powerful that the forgiving Zeus will not refuse your loyalty. The heart of the Son of Rhea is as vast as the universe, and He will accept you.”

“We are different from Coeus and the like, and we have no fundamental conflict with the Sons of Rhea.”

Even if the universe implements a new order, even if we may lose some honor, it is only temporary. In the new order, can't we gain even greater honor?

"Only by possessing the present can we possess the future, but if you continue to act willfully, you will lose both the present and the future! You will lose everything!"

Iapetus frowned slightly, his deep voice carrying an undeniable authority, and rebuked, "Enough, Prometheus!"

"There are no wars in this world that are guaranteed to be won or lost, only the invincible will of the brave!"

"How could you possibly know the God-King's great courage and invincible divine power!"

"Even the invincible and immortal Heavenly Father, the spiritual ruler, was sent by the God-King to eternal slumber high in the sky!"

"We are the sons of Uranus! We are the original Titans, the foundation of all existence in the universe!"

"When have you ever seen a defeated Titan?!"

"Titans will never lose!"

(End of this chapter)