Escape, to Tartarus (4)
Escape, to Tartarus (4)
Under the protection of Tethys, goddess of the sea, and her daughter Metis,
we were granted a brief stay on land under Gaia's stewardship.
'Brief'.
"I behold the Earth Mother Goddess, the Mother of All Life."
In the heart of the temple,
I bowed before the golden-haired goddess who awaited me in a dress of pure white.
Gaia.
This was probably the first time I'd seen her 'true form'.
If I mentioned I had a fleeting memory of suckling at her breast as an infant, she would be mortified, so I decided to treat her simply as my ally.
"Yes. It is good to meet you, my true hero."
Once,
her hero must have been her own child, Cronus.
But after dealing with Uranus, Cronus cast Gaia's children into the abyss of Tartarus.
Her fury toward Cronus must be immense, so for now she had no choice but to treat me—who had shown no sign of wickedness—as a hero.
'I don't plan to chuck anyone into Tartarus either.'
Gaia's children, the true living beings known as the 'Gigantes'—not the Golem Gigas—were not people I wanted trapped forever in Tartarus. I would judge based on the situation.
The Gigantes were also victims of Cronus, potential allies.
I had no intention of becoming another Uranus or Cronus.
Though if they did great harm to the gods' domains or the lands we must rule, I would take appropriate measures then.
Until then, I'd take no special action against them—in fact, I'd need their help.
"Let me... hold you once."
Gaia opened her arms wide.
I approached and held her.
A swell of emotion.
A maternal warmth deeper than Rhea's pressed against my chest.
Gaia closed her eyes and buried her face in my chest. Out of anyone's sight, I gently cupped Gaia's buttocks.
'Thank goodness we're in a temple.'
Who would dare gaze upon a god from behind?
No one was behind Gaia, and thanks to that, I could touch her desirable rear.
And besides, no one was watching us right now.
My younger sisters and Rhea had retired to their rooms for rest, and Gaia had summoned me to the temple alone.
Now was not the time for 'that'.
"...You really have grown well."
Gaia pressed her lower belly against my lower body, her body rubbing against mine.
From behind, it would look only like tender affection, but in truth it was just a signal of mutual lewd intent.
"This is all thanks to Lady Gaia's protection."
"Yes, I congratulate you on succeeding in the great task despite the hardship. And... I also congratulate you for escaping Cronus and reaching this place."
"We had Lady Tethys's aid."
"...Tethys's daughter, the nymph—you said you would take her as your wife?"
Gaia stepped back from me, her eyes narrowing.
"That child is certainly clever and wise. But... is there a reason you are taking her as your wife?"
"There is only one reason."
"What is it? The wisdom to devise a secret stratagem against the chief god? Or perhaps her body suiting your taste? Or maybe her background, with Tethys as her mother?"
"Because she is lovable. I love her."
"..."
Gaia said nothing.
Instead, she pulled my face close and studied my eyes intently.
"...I see no such trace."
"Trace?"
"It is nothing."
Was she implying that I was acting as if I'd been enchanted by some strange poison, tossing around the word love?
No matter how little I knew of the myths, I knew about that.
Eros!
Aphrodite's son, also famous as 'Cupid', Eros.
His arrows could make even gods fall into a love that leads to ruin.
Gaia must have suspected that such an effect was working on me—that I had been struck by Cupid's arrow for no reason, which made me declare I loved Metis and would take her as my wife.
Absolutely not.
In part, among those nearby, Metis was a woman I could marry and have sex with without resistance. But also, Metis herself was a beauty who perfectly fit my tastes.
I want to live my whole life with this woman.
With this woman, I felt I could share talk of 'modern knowledge' and be fully understood.
Even during sex, our compatibility was the best—second only to Hera. Since I felt no aversion to marriage itself, she was the ideal bride.
'Most of all, she turns me on.'
A woman with whom I could later share modern talk and hold a real conversation, who also had innate sexual talent and looked like she'd conceive well?
Absolutely yes.
A woman you have to marry.
"...Let us discuss the matter of Metis later."
"Is it something that must not be overheard?"
"Yes. On the day you defeat Cronus and become king of the gods, I will ask you then."
"...Could it be that if I marry Metis and have a child, that child will become like Cronus and me?"
"!!"
Gaia's expression turned pale.
A son who usurps his father's throne and rises to a higher place.
If my child turned out to be the child of such a prophecy, how should I look upon my own offspring?
"...Well, to be honest, I have no great desire for the divine throne. To be precise, once I have pacified the world and an era of peace arrives, I will hand the kingship to my child."
"You..."
"But if my child tries to steal my 'wife', I will respond with absolute firmness."
I meant this from the heart.
The throne? Whether by abdication or usurpation, that doesn't matter.
But no matter what else happens, I will not forgive anyone who touches my 'wife (or wives)', my women.
"Anyone who touches my woman will find no forgiveness from me—not even my own child."
"...Didn't you already commit such an act?"
"That's a different story. I didn't steal my father's woman. I merely rescued a wife suffering from domestic violence."
"Words... Hah."
Gaia scratched her head and let out a sigh.
"...It is not a prophecy that your child will steal your woman, so set your heart at ease."
"Then that's fine. Heh-heh, well... honestly, if the throne I fought Cronus for is taken from me, I'd feel a little stomachache over it. But couldn't I just build a temple somewhere with my wife and live happily and joyfully? Even in a shabby cave, if two are together, there's plenty of happiness."
"...Truly, you are a strange child."
In a place overflowing with nothing but olive oil, a crisp hint of kimchi drifts by—of course they'd find it strange.
It's not that I'm particularly modern or cultured.
It's just that Greek men are all history's greatest rape fiends; by comparison, I was a decent man.
"...Then, for that happiness, there is somewhere you must go first. I wished to raise you safely here, but you are already grown. And now, this place has become too dangerous for you."
"Pardon?"
"You know well that Cronus has tried to attack this place for a long time. Since you fled the island of Crete, Cronus will attack here even more fiercely."
"...Even if Lady Gaia can protect us, those beneath you will grow discontented."
At my words, Gaia smiled bitterly and nodded.
No matter that everyone is kin connected by blood inherited from Gaia—blood ties lose their meaning before the overwhelming power Cronus displays.
Fear, and the wealth and glory of betraying Gaia, seizing Rhea and my younger siblings, and handing them over to Cronus.
"Perhaps... there are even those who would capture my sisters, offer them to Cronus, and then demand to marry this woman."
"Shameful as it is, yes. Greek men... are all like that."
Seizing a woman, violating her, and then taking her as a wife is common in Greece.
In this land where you never know what Greek men will do, the only ones we could trust were our family.
Or those incapable of betraying me or my family, those who owe a great debt.
—Lady Gaia has countless children born from her union with Uranus. There are Titan deities, but also those not born through the pain of childbirth.
According to Metis's wisdom, when Uranus's genitals were severed, Gaia created countless lives from the spilled blood.
It didn't mean she personally became pregnant; it meant she used the earth as a surrogate womb to transform them into new life.
Because of that, their forms were often quite different from ordinary gods or Titans—frequently taking the shape of 'monsters'.
—In order to defeat Cronus, you will need their help. Especially if you seek trustworthy ones... those who suffered greatly at Cronus's hands. You must rescue them from Tartarus.
Those imprisoned in Tartarus.
Rescue them and make them our 'strength'.
"You must depart for Hell. Will that be all right?"
"Yes. But I will not go alone. I will go together with my younger siblings. So..."
I took both of Gaia's hands.
"Please take good care of my mother, my wife, and Amalthea, Lady Gaia."
"...Of course. Go, trusting in me. Those children are my children, too. Take this. They will believe you are sent by me."
Gaia handed three small beads into my hand.
Slightly larger than eggs, they possessed a gem-like beauty. Gaia used plant-stem-like threads to weave the gems into a necklace and hung it around my neck.
"This will serve as your token."
"Thank you, Lady Gaia. Then... I will be on my way."
"Wait."
Gaia caught my wrist.
"...There is a small room within the temple. Wait there a while. Amalthea will be waiting for you."
"...Pfft."
I clasped Gaia's trembling hand and whispered softly.
"If it's a room no one will discover... wouldn't it be fine even if it's not Amalthea?"
"..."
Gaia said nothing.
Only.
"...That is for later."
Leaving only her lingering presence, she vanished into the temple.
* * *
"...Hah."
Zeus had left the temple.
Left alone on the bed, Amalthea felt the fullness of life within her belly and lamented.
"Why is that kind of man..."
"You there... Lady Gaia..."
Beside Amalthea, another Amalthea lay down.
She, too, carried the same kind of life inside her belly.
"Right now... you're making a terrifying face."
"...Fufu, it is nothing."
Gaia, transformed into Amalthea, stroked Amalthea's cheek and smiled.
"If... someone is to open a new horizon for the world, it must be Zeus. Is that not so?"
"Yes, yes. It is... yes?"
"Yes. It must be so..."
Stroking Amalthea's cheek, Gaia's eyes were deeply sunken.