The God of Madness, Dionysus (4)
"Health."
"Clap!"
"Health?"
"C-clap! Clap, clap!"
Clap, clap. Sisyphus rhythmically slapped his palms against Dionysus’s. The intensity grew with every strike. Ow, that hurts. It was overwhelmingly negative, yet the applause poured out. Dionysus’s entire face contorted in agony.
"Why don't you explain the oracle?"
"Alright, alright. Please, stop the clapping. I simply cannot overcome the strength of your hands."
"Do you dare try to best a human, god?"
Dionysus shook his head frantically and said, "Do you even know what fate truly is?"
"Isn't it just the future you bastards decide on a whim?"
"That is not entirely accurate. Fate is governed by the three goddesses who spin the threads of destiny. When a soul is born into this world, what it becomes, when it dies—these are absolute and immutable. No one can touch them."
"Hades changes fate regardless of that, killing people who aren't supposed to die. What about that?"
"That is the power of an Oracle. Do you understand? An oracle is a high-ranking grand magic. It is the core that allowed Olympus to manipulate the continent. An oracle imposes a 'condition' upon fate."
"A condition?"
"For instance, suppose there is a human destined to die in ten years. You issue an oracle to that human. They will live as a human for ten years, but if they become a hero, they will die honorably in one year!" Dionysus spoke with fervor. "An oracle balances the scales and twists fate. It is a contract made with a god. A mere human or hero's mana can never resist it. Because it interferes with the rules of the world, it requires an immense amount of mana."
Sisyphus understood a little. The person most closely affected by such a contract was right beside him. It was Clea.
'So that's how it is.'
Originally, Anticlea had the potential to be a hero. However, if she were paid as compensation for collective guilt, she would live as the wife of the Corinthian family. By placing such 'conditions,' they restricted and dictated human behavior.
'Then, the oracle Hermes used...'
If one were a 'hero hostile to the gods' in this place, they would be forced to kneel. That, too, was possible because of such constraints. But after that, an oracle was triggered stating that Corinth would perish.
"Are there oracles without conditions?"
"I-I can't use them. That's practically designing fate from scratch. Even most Olympian gods don't use such oracles. No, they can't. The larger the scale, the more mana it demands. If you used an oracle of that magnitude, your mana would be completely drained."
Hermes had truly been backed into a corner back then. That was why he had eventually chosen to turn into a demonic beast.
"Then what about the oracles given to heroes? You know, telling them to go somewhere and slay something."
"That isn't magic. It's just playing with heroes. It’s mostly just assigning them the quests they want handled."
"Why not do it yourself?"
"Would you catch a cockroach in your palace yourself? You'd make a maid do it."
Perseus had been deceived all this time. Sisyphus felt pity for him inwardly. On the other hand, it was an unpleasant thought. It meant his own fate had been decided since the beginning of time. If nothing else, the fact that his date of death was recorded in a ledger of lives left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Fate is unavoidable. Even the gods of Olympus cannot change that."
"So the death of the Olympians is also determined by fate?"
"That is correct."
"Ho."
That was quite an interesting story for Sisyphus. Of course, gods were not immortal beings. Even those mighty Titans, even the apex beings like Uranus or Cronus, had perished as history flowed. It meant there was a way to win, whether by using an oracle or a powerful technique.
"Then, how do you break that oracle?"
"An oracle is also magic. You have no choice but to crush it with more overwhelming mana..."
"Other than that."
"I-I don't know! I didn't create it. Ask the god who made the oracle!"
"Who is that?"
"Hera! Goddess Hera created all the magic that Olympus employs!"
Indeed. Was that the reason why the womanizer Zeus could never escape Hera's jealousy despite touching so many women? If Hera was a grand mage, she would be an talent Zeus could not afford to lose.
Sisyphus understood to some extent how Olympus functioned. 'Zeus rules, and Hera builds the system. Hermes and Dionysus are the ones doing the grunt work at the bottom.'
To use an analogy, Zeus is the Emperor; Hades and Poseidon are the Northern Grand Dukes and Border Lords. Ares, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis are the central nobility. Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus are the civil servants. Their governing system, which spans the entirety of Greece, runs without a single flaw. Gold comes second. The first is through the resource called mana. It is the very life force of humanity.
"How is it? I've answered all your questions. Now, the clapping is over, right? Yes?" Dionysus asked obsequiously.
Sisyphus nodded and turned his back on him.
"Good. I have no more business with you."
'Gotcha!' Dionysus cheered inwardly. He still had a trump card. He stealthily picked up his staff, which he had dropped on the ground. Sisyphus must not have seen it because of the fog.
Click, click. There was one more set of footsteps echoing in the fog.
'Hero Theseus. I don't know about you, Sisyphus, but there's no way this one could have endured!'
Dionysus channeled mana into his staff. Theseus must have been consumed by madness. He just needed to control her with brainwashing magic.
'Theseus, attack Sisyphus! Let the heroes destroy each other!'
Dionysus’s plan was to escape while the two were busy fighting. He had no more business on the island of Crete, where the labyrinth was already ruined. He had even set up a plan to sink the island and recover all the mana.
Just as he was filled with joy,
"Oh, but one thing."
The black-haired man added a word.
"I don't know about me, but I'm not sure if that woman will forgive you. She has a rather nasty temper."
"W-what?"
He knew of Theseus's existence? The moment Dionysus fell into confusion, a fierce eruption of mana was felt from behind him!
"Eek!"
Seeing that scene, Dionysus was horrified. Hero Theseus was creating a mana storm strong enough to scatter the poisonous fog.
"Just as he said. I don't intend to let you go."
She was clad in armor made of water. Being able to harden moisture meant she could also decompose it. From the very beginning, she had been decomposing water to supply herself with oxygen and endure the fog.
Heterogeneous red mana surged from her hand and transformed into the shape of horns.
"Not bad, this."
The trait of the Minotaur King. An arrowhead sharpened even further with the horns of the Bull King. A powerful arrow that could pierce even a god. She drew herself onto the string.
"Wait! It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I intended to give wealth and honor to the hero who conquered my labyrinth...!"
"50 paces. I'll take that now."
The merciless arrow of the storm was fired.
Whoosh—!
Boom!!
The storm cleared the fog and evaporated the madness that had been encroaching on all sides.
Morning dawned on the island of Crete. The capital, Minos, with the fog lifted, awoke with a clean sunlight like never before.
"Ugh, my head..."
"What on earth happened all this time..."
The citizens, waking from their drunken stupor, regained their senses and began to restore the city. The gathered defense forces dealt with the remnants of the Dionysus cult.
"You said it was a merchant ship bound for Athens. Can it depart immediately?"
"Yes. It was originally scheduled to depart today."
The objective was achieved. Having finished her business, Theseus boarded the ship leaving the island with her party members. The Sisyphus party was already on board.
"Theseus-nim!"
A voice calling her. It was the First Princess, Ariadne.
"Princess. Or are you the Queen now?"
As Theseus faced her, she bowed her head without even caring about her dignity.
"Thank you. For helping our country... I truly, sincerely thank you, Theseus-nim, and all the heroes."
Theseus scoffed. She stroked the princess's face with both hands, lifting her head to meet her eyes. They were still strong eyes that had not lost hope.
"Do a good job as ruler. It was fun meeting you."
"Theseus-nim."
Ariadne replied with a smile. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Theseus-nim, I know this is an intrusive question, but... couldn't you stay in Crete and rebuild the kingdom with me?"
Theseus laughed lightly.
"You chose the path of a king yourself."
"Yes."
"I'm a hero by nature."
Ariadne also agreed and nodded. "Theseus-nim is coolest when you are a hero."
"You will be a good king."
Theseus boarded the ship. The anchor was raised, and the ship departed. Ariadne saw Theseus off until she disappeared beyond the horizon. If she had chosen to stay in Crete, what kind of life would she have lived? Theseus decided not to think about it.
"Time to work on my lower body."
"I heard someone mention lower body training."
Sisyphus appeared like a ghost.
"Hehe, you're a man I can't let my guard down around. Take this."
Theseus threw something at Sisyphus. It was a small purple orb.
"What is this?"
"I don't know. It turned into this when Dionysus collapsed. It must be something like his mana crystal. I lost our bet on this quest, so consider it the price."
"Did we make a bet?"
Sisyphus tilted his head. Behind him, Cassandra giggled and tapped Theseus on the shoulder.
"Don't expect this person to remember anything. They say he stores his memories in his muscles."
"Shut up, kid. Speak properly if you're going to speak. You take this."
Sisyphus threw a glittering stick to Cassandra.
"Oh my, it's gold! Huh? This... this is Dionysus's staff?! My goodness, with this, I can raise my magic rank by one. Where did you get this?"
"Found it."
"Doing such sweet things. You'd be even cuter if you were just a little more honest."
Cassandra linked her arm with Sisyphus's, overjoyed.
"I didn't just give it to you. Now that you're better at using magic, do your prophecies well."
"Of course. I'll tell you anything you're curious about regarding the future. Hmm... but what happened to the prophecy about the island of Crete?"
Cassandra had seen a future where Crete sank. And her prophecies had never been wrong. Sisyphus scoffed.
"There's no guarantee when that will happen, is there?"
"Ah, that's true, isn't it?"
"Maybe it sinks due to a volcanic eruption ten thousand years from now."
"Hehe, I suppose you could think of it that way. It doesn't necessarily have to be causality linked to the God of Madness."
Cassandra shrugged. "I also found out why the Olympian bastards are so obsessed with mana. Thanks to the war with the Titans, it seems Zeus has fire on his heels. Even Dionysus was sick of it."
At Sisyphus's story, Cassandra snapped her fingers.
"Then internal strife must be breaking out in Olympus, too?"
"Yeah. There's definitely room to exploit it."
"Using a god to slay a god. That's a strategy I never thought of. Your ideas always transcend common sense, Sisyphus."
Theseus clicked her tongue at his insane thinking.
"Then that's perfect."
Cassandra let out a seductive laugh. "When we return to Athens, that goddess who owns the city might be waiting... or maybe not? Hehe."
Sisyphus showed signs of anticipation upon hearing Cassandra's prophecy.