The Death of Metis, the Birth of Athena
The Death of Metis, the Birth of Athena
Metis.
If Hera was a beauty perfectly tailored to my tastes, Metis was a beauty I actively wanted to acquire.
I was convinced that if office-wear ever came into existence, it would be made for this woman.
Stockings, miniskirts, blouses, glasses—every last piece would suit Metis to an almost unfair degree.
Metis was the first woman I took freely, without any burden, without any hesitation, as a complete stranger.
Strictly speaking, aren't we cousins?
What matters more is how I feel.
What matters more is what my heart holds for her.
And I expressed that directly to Metis with my body.
Lick. Lick.
Every time my tongue lapped at her insides, the response came back rich and vivid.
I deliberately lifted her hips just a little from below, and Metis twisted her body, trying to squirm free of me.
"Easy there. Stay still. You ought to take it as an honor when a man sucks your ass."
I meant every word.
What man in all of Greece would ever tongue-polish a woman's anus?
And not just any man—the chief god who overthrew Cronus and became the commander of all gods, personally burying his face between her cheeks to give her a rimming.
"Metis, are you embarrassed?"
"Yes..."
Metis covered her face with both hands.
She wasn't peeking down at me through her fingers. She was genuinely hiding her face, on the verge of tears.
"Hic. Because I'm so inadequate... haah... Lord Zeus has to go this far just to comfort me...!"
"You're not wrong, but I'm doing this because I want to."
Something I would never have done in my past life, back in Korea.
And something I would absolutely never do to a mortal in this life.
Goddesses don't use the bathroom.
Therefore, this hole in the back is simply another hole for a man to thrust his cock into—yet at the same time, it is a somewhat unclean hole.
You can't get pregnant through the back, so coming inside is just about satisfying carnal desire. In Greece, sex is valued primarily for procreation. Sex that doesn't result in procreation is perceived as a vulgar act that purely indulges carnal lust.
Exactly.
This is nothing more than an act to slake each other's lust.
Shoving it into her ass and coming doesn't get her pregnant. To a Titan goddess, her anus isn't a womb-bearing pussy—it's just a Rear Pussy meant for sex.
And yet I sucked Metis's anus without a trace of shame.
'A goddess's anus is simply a Rear Pussy.'
They're nothing like humans.
Nothing like those filthy mortals where, mid-doggy, a stench so foul it makes your dick wither comes wafting up.
Licking a Titan goddess's Rear Pussy?
That ought to serve as physical proof of just how deeply I love this woman.
"Metis."
I lifted my head from Metis's trembling anus and pressed a kiss to her pussy.
"Don't worry. Just give birth. If you love me."
"Saying that... is cowardly...!"
Tears spilled between Metis's fingers.
"You know I... hic... can't refuse...!"
"So you were planning to refuse in the first place? And don't even think about dying alone. If you give birth to our child and vanish... I won't just sit still either."
I buried my face against Metis's belly.
I spoke directly to the womb where our child rested.
"Whether it's a son or a daughter, I still can't be certain. But you must not fear fate. If you turn out to be the child of the prophecy... I will change fate itself so that we can all move toward a happy future."
"Fate is..."
"Can't be changed? No, I can change it."
I left a kiss-mark on Metis's belly.
"Because I'm Zeus. You trust me, right?"
"...That's why I keep telling you I'm not calling you that. ...Haah. Fine."
Metis grabbed my head as if ruffling my hair and pushed me downward.
"...I don't know what's going to happen anymore either. I'll just... trust you."
"Of course."
As a man.
I took Metis with a sense of responsibility.
Until she shook off every last trace of her anxiety, I held her, and held her, and held her again.
* * *
Not long after things with Metis were settled, I went to visit the person who had delivered the Oracle to her.
"It has been a while, Zeus. Great ruler of Olympus."
Gaia greeted me with deference.
She had spoken down to me before, but ever since I overthrew Cronus and became the ruler of Olympus, she had begun to treat me with respect.
"It has been a while, Gaia. I've come today because of the prophecy given to Metis."
"...Could we not sit and talk for a moment?"
Gaia indicated the tea table with a glance.
It was obvious she wanted to share a cup of tea and have a teatime with me, but I chose to be tactless.
"I'm a little pressed for time right now."
Ever since the Othrys campaign, I had been forced to work even while cutting back on sex.
I did have sex as part of my 'duties,' but the time I had to personally have sex with the women I actually wanted was woefully lacking.
"Eos, what's my next schedule?"
"Ah... At Lady Neptune's request, you're to deal with an unidentified monster near the ravine. You really could spare time for just one cup..."
"I see."
I tipped the tea set before me straight into my mouth in one shot.
It was hot enough to scald the inside of my mouth, but the regenerative power of a Titan god heals that in no time.
"Thank you for the cup, Lady Gaia."
"...You truly are busy, I see."
"Yes. I've locked away so many bastards in Tartarus that I'm desperately shorthanded. I'll have to keep running around for the foreseeable future."
And keep my hips busy too.
Once my children are born and reach an age where they can help with the work of Olympus, that will be when I can finally sit on the throne, live large, and start enjoying some leisure in life.
"I've come to learn more about the prophecy pronounced upon Metis. Is it true that the Oracle you delivered to Metis, Lady Gaia, was: 'If Metis bears a son, he will usurp the throne of the chief god of Olympus'?"
"...That is correct, Zeus."
Gaia smiled bitterly and turned her head away.
"He would be the son of the great Zeus's power and a goddess more brilliant and wise than anyone. With your power and Metis's wisdom combined into one, he would surely become a god surpassing all others."
"And what if a daughter is born instead of a son?"
"...There would be no great difference. Are you worried, Zeus?"
Gaia looked me straight in the eye with a grave expression and spoke.
"If so, you could do as Cronus did."
"Bullshit."
"...Excuse me?"
Ah, damn.
The profanity slipped out before I knew it.
Behind me, Eos had clapped both hands over her mouth in horror that I had uttered such rough words to Gaia.
"Are you telling me to swallow my own child? The way Cronus tormented my mother Rhea? Out of fear that my throne might be taken?"
But I don't regret it.
"No, Gaia. Even if a son is born, I will raise my child with love. Because he is Metis's son, and my own flesh and blood. In fact, I'll teach him the prophecy outright as he grows. Tell him that one day he is the rightful successor who will take—no, inherit—my throne. And on the day Olympus flourishes and welcomes its golden age, I'll hand over the seat of the chief god and spend my twilight years cozily in some little house."
"Zeus, just what in the world are you...?"
Gaia staggered, looking at me as if I were some kind of creature beyond comprehension.
"How... can you even think such a thing...?"
The mere fact that I could think it shocked her.
No wonder.
From her husband Uranus to her son Cronus, and every one of Gaia's countless creations—they all showed the same wretched behavior, killing their own flesh and blood, killing their own children, to protect their power.
And now here I was, saying that I would abdicate to my own child of my own free will—that I would effectively accept being usurped. She was stunned.
"Because I love Metis, and I love Metis's child too."
I stated my feelings calmly.
"So I implore you, Lady Gaia, please help me. Are you not the only one Metis turns to for counsel? If Metis comes to you talking about whether she should die or not... please simply tell her this."
I clasped both of Gaia's hands and entreated her.
"Tell her just to trust her husband Zeus. That even if the future is guaranteed to bring my downfall, I will humbly accept it, so long as it is by you and our child."
"Zeus... you... how can you...?"
Gaia caressed my hands as tears streamed down her face.
"Why... were you born so late...?"
"...That, too, must be fate."
If it was my fate to be born as the child of Cronus and Rhea.
"Lady Gaia."
If Gaia's prophecy held true, and my son with Metis was destined to usurp my throne.
"Please choose one of the names for my son. Would you prefer Arthas, or would Kratos be better?"
Gaia could give no answer.
* * *
Ultimately, I gained nothing substantial.
I lay with my head resting on Eos's thigh as her Dawn Chariot sped along on its own.
"Fate, huh."
"Lord Zeus. If a son truly is born... will you really hand over the summit of Olympus to him?"
"Of course. Why?"
"Well... it's a position you worked so desperately to attain."
"It's precisely because I fought so hard to seize it that I want to hand it over willingly to my son."
I continued speaking while fondling Eos's breasts from below.
"I just want him to reign as king over a happy, peaceful world without suffering the way I did."
"Truly... this is why everyone falls for you."
Eos stroked my head and smiled brightly.
"Would you like to have sex?"
"Is that an offer? Not you tempting me because you want it?"
"Fufufu, then just lie still. I'll handle it and shake my hips from on top. The hip technique I practiced against the Attachable Lord Zeus..."
Screeeeech.
An eagle came flying toward us from afar.
The bird, dispatched from Olympus, beat its wings urgently and extended the letter tied to its ankle.
"That's... Metis's...?"
I shot upright and unfolded the letter.
Eos seized the reins and spurred the horses toward Olympus.
[To my beloved Jupiter.]
It was a letter from Metis.
[I'm sorry for going ahead without discussing it with you. You always said it yourself—forgiveness is easier than permission. Forgive me, Zeus.]
"Wh-what is this...!"
My hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.
I didn't know what she had done, but there was no doubt Metis had committed something enormous.
Knowing Metis's temperament, this letter had surely been sent only after she had already finished every one of her actions.
"Metis!!"
The moment we arrived at Olympus, I leaped from the Dawn Chariot.
I rushed my steps toward Metis's quarters.
Wah, wah.
From inside came the sound of a baby crying.
I pushed through the murmuring goddesses and went in.
"Ah..."
There was an infant girl.
A baby who looked exactly like Metis lay crying in Hestia's arms.
And Metis, lying on the bed, lay with such a serene face.
In a tranquil state utterly devoid of any trace of life force, she lay there expressionless.
"Metis...?"
Crumbllle.
The instant I reached out my hand, Metis crumbled into powder.
As if everything inside her had drained out and the remaining shell had hardened and turned to dust, she crumbled away, leaving behind only the white dress that was her shroud.
"Ugh, urgh..."
My head ached.
My vision swam without warning, and the inside of my chest hurt as though it were being torn apart.
"Metis..."
"...She transferred all her power to her daughter. Everything she possessed."
At Hestia's words, the strength drained from my legs.
I knelt before what had been Metis, and for a long while, I reached out my hand toward the traces of her.
"...Before you left, I should have told you one more time."
I kissed the spot where Metis's lips had been.
"I love you, Metis."
I—what a bastard. What a pathetic piece of shit.
"Dad. Were you really that sad when you thought I was dead?"
"Be quiet, Athena. You want me to spank your butt?"
"But I still remember you crying back then, you know? 'I love you, Metis...' Ow! Who just does that out of nowhere...?!"
"Shut it. You went and got yourself reborn without saying anything either. Hey, Metis. I'm going to come inside without permission."
"Th-that, ah, no...! I-I'm not Metis... I'm Athena...!"
"I'm coming inside, Athena."
"...♡"
If I had read the letter all the way to the end, I wouldn't have made such a complete fool of myself.
To avoid bearing a son, Metis was reborn as Athena.