The Prophet's Freedom
I tucked away the letter from Pandora and the golden necklace she had given me, then set off to find Lady Styx. She was bathing in the River Styx and slowly rose from the water the moment she saw me. Her thin garment clung to her wet body, tracing soft, alluring curves… but I had something important to say, so I forced my gaze away.
“Hades, that necklace in your hand…”
“It is exactly what you think, my lady. It is Pandora’s necklace.”
I explained to the puzzled goddess about Gaia’s prophetic powers and everything concerning Prometheus. I told her I would temporarily leave the Underworld to persuade him, leaving nothing out.
“So I’d like you to watch over the Underworld for a short while, my lady.”
“Mmm… I’ll let the other gods know as well. Persuading Prometheus, huh… I hope it goes well.”
“If Tartarus opens or any emergency arises, tell Thanatos to—”
Persuading Prometheus was something that absolutely had to succeed. It was the only way to deal with Gaia’s prophecy.
“Then I’ll be heading to Mount Caucasus, where Prometheus is bound.”
“…Don’t you have anything else to say to me?”
“Ahem. It’s cold out, so please change into dry clothes quickly.”
She’s been doing this more and more lately… I quickly turned my head and started walking. Behind me, I heard a small, grumpy mutter.
I crossed the River Lethe and dashed straight past the River Acheron toward the entrance of the Underworld. Mount Caucasus was quite far from here, so I had already asked Olympus in advance and borrowed Iris.
As soon as I stepped into the living world, the goddess of the rainbow bowed her head in greeting.
“Lord Hades. Shall I take you straight to Mount Caucasus?”
“Yes. Open a path to that place.”
Beyond the passage created by Iris’s gesture lay a towering rocky mountain. Prometheus would be bound at its peak.
Whoooosh—
The moment I crossed through space and arrived at Mount Caucasus, a biting chill hit me. The icy wind blowing from the high altitude stung my skin like knives. Even from the base of the rocky mountain, I could feel all kinds of divine energy. It made sense—this was where Prometheus was bound. Barriers meant to stop the Gigantes, Gaia, or ignorant humans were visible everywhere.
An owl peeking out from between the jagged rocks was clearly Athena’s sacred beast; I could sense its clear, gentle divine power. Even though it was a barren rocky mountain, Demeter’s sacred tree stood tall. There was even a barrier that would cause ordinary humans who weren’t heroes to lose their way and wander endlessly.
Saaaaah—
I passed through the barrier at a moderate pace and continued climbing the mountain path. Hmm. Olympus had clearly set up tight security. I was quite satisfied.
Near the summit, I made a lion sacred beast that bared its teeth at me back off, then rounded a large boulder. There he was—Prometheus.
The Titan god was bound to the rock wall with his arms and legs spread in a giant X, shackled by iron chains personally forged by Hephaestus. His head hung low.
“Oh… Hades. The great God of Mercy has come to visit. Clclcl…”
As I drew closer, the middle-aged-looking face slowly lifted toward me. A playfully twisted smile accompanied his venomous words.
“How does it feel to be worshipped for showing those pathetic humans a few scraps of mercy?”
“We haven’t seen each other in a long time, Prometheus. Must you joke around like this…?”
“Clclclcl…”
…This old man is at it again. This was exactly the same personality Prometheus had during the Titan War, when he fought alongside the gods before falling out with Zeus.
“Hah! If you go that way you’ll get caught by the Titans… Clcl… Go ahead if you want…”
“Ah… Well, if it’s a prophecy, there’s no helping it.”
“That wasn’t a prophecy, it was just a gut feeling. A gut feeling.”
“Tsk tsk… If you use your divine power like that, you’ll end up getting beaten by Cronus.”
“…Another prophecy?”
“Who knows? It depends on what you think, Poseidon.”
“Hey now! You’re going to get hit hard one of these days!”
“Mmm… If it’s a prophecy…”
“No? That was just my feeling.”
“……?”
Back then we were inexperienced rookie gods, while Prometheus was a seasoned Titan deity and the greatest asset with the power of prophecy. Everyone trusted his words, but his personality… well… I had a reasonable suspicion that it might have been one of the reasons Zeus chained him up.
“No, how have you been receiving punishment for such a long time yet your personality hasn’t changed at all?”
“What, now that you’re the Lord of the Underworld you won’t even accept my jokes? Show me some mercy.”
Prometheus laughed with a keke for a while before stopping and speaking seriously.
“You’ve come to persuade me to oppose Gaia’s prophecy, haven’t you?”
“As expected, you already knew.”
“I’m curious what method the Lord of the Underworld has prepared. Speak quickly.”
He knew I would come, but he didn’t know the specific method I would use to persuade him? Well, that was how his prophecies worked. He had joined us because of the clear prophecy that we would defeat the Titans, but since he couldn’t see everything, there were times when the war had been difficult.
“Prometheus, don’t you cherish humans like your own children?”
“Me?”
“If not, you wouldn’t have gone against Zeus to give them fire.”
“Oho…”
“The Gigantes created by Gaia are powerful, but they are the worst possible beings for humanity. They devour humans and sacrifice them without hesitation.”
The Gigantes had been created with an emphasis on raw power rather than wisdom in order to drive out us who had defeated Typhon. Their strength rivaled that of the Olympian gods, but they possessed far stronger monstrous traits.
“Hmm…? Aren’t you underestimating me too much just because I’m tied up here? Even if we only look at the humans sacrificed by the gods…”
“They’re still better than the Gigantes.”
“So you admit that the gods are only slightly better than the Gigantes—the lesser of two evils?”
“…Yes. That’s correct.”
“Oho… Zeus would be displeased if he heard that.”
Honestly, how many humans had been sacrificed to the whims of the gods? The Underworld was filled with those who had died because of prophecies, curses, or simply because they were deemed insolent. I could not speak falsehoods to the greatest prophet in the world. What was needed to persuade him was not sweet coaxing, but the truth.
I summoned the greatest weapon of the Underworld, the Bident, into my hand. Then I immediately shattered the iron chains binding Prometheus.
Clang!
Thud. Clatter.
The chains that had bound Prometheus had been made by Hephaestus on Zeus’s orders. But the Bident was also a work of the blacksmith god—crafted with even greater care. The moment the chains that had restrained him for so long broke, Prometheus staggered. He stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“Ha. Will the King of the Gods overlook even this?”
“I already spoke with Zeus before coming here.”
The Titan of prophecy brushed himself off and stood, looking at me with intrigued eyes.
“What will you do if you gain nothing from me by doing this?”
“…Then it can’t be helped. The punishment given to you in the first place was excessively harsh.”
“Hah… You’re really going to release me?”
It wasn’t bad to see the wise Titan god flustered. Then, now was the time…
“What are these? And surely this necklace is…”
“It is Pandora’s letter and necklace. I swear on the River Styx that I did not apply any oppression or threat toward her.”
Prometheus seriously examined the golden necklace I held out, then looked at the letter. He focused on the scroll for a long time, as if dissecting every single character.
Shooo—
Zeus’s sacred beast, the eagle, flew in to peck at Prometheus’s liver. The eagle swooped toward him as he read the letter.
Grab. Flap. Flutter flutter.
But the sacred beast was caught by the Titan of prophecy, who had quietly lifted his eyes from the letter. The playful demeanor from earlier vanished in an instant as Prometheus looked straight into my eyes.
“…Huu.”
A gentle breeze blew between us. He took a deep breath, then spoke again.
“…Hades, as you know, Gaia possesses prophecy on the same level as mine.”
“That’s why I need your help.”
“She knows exactly what she must do to win the war against you all.”
He released the eagle and continued speaking. Zeus’s sacred beast realized that its easy prey had regained its strength and flew away.
“No matter how well you prepare… the gods will still suffer a blow from Gaia. Even if I warn you in advance, it will be the same.”
“Are you saying we will definitely get hit once?”
“Of course. It will be quite a painful blow to your plans.”
Even though Apollo, Selene, Helios, Demeter, and so many other gods were keeping sharp watch… we still couldn’t block a single strike? Was it the final assault of the Gigantes? Or was it something else?
“However, after that…”
The intuition of the three chief gods was telling me that Prometheus would open a path for us. A strange energy leaked from the Titan’s half-lidded eyes. I could feel that a prophecy touching fate was about to emerge from his lips.
“If the living world and the Underworld become connected, the gods will win.”
The living world and the Underworld—two realms far apart—becoming connected… This was a definite prophecy. Power was infused into the words like a curse or a blessing.
“I suppose Zeus told you to make me apologize?”
As if to say he would reveal no more, Prometheus turned his body and looked up at the sky. He loosened his neck for a moment, then shouted.
“Zeus! I apologize for pouring ‘harsh words’ upon you!”
Rumble…
The moment Prometheus’s shout ended, the sound of thunder—Zeus’s symbol—echoed across the sky. It wasn’t a prophecy, but harsh words. The statement that Zeus would be driven out like Cronus and Uranus had fortunately not been a prophecy. It had been Prometheus’s provocation toward Zeus, who had chained him to this rocky mountain. And by acknowledging that fact here… our Olympus had removed one element of instability.
“Ah, and Hades, my friend—you’d better keep your lower parts nice and loose! Clclcl!”
“Wh… what?”
Flap—
Prometheus left behind one last strange remark, transformed into a bird, and flew away.