Prometheus (2)
Shock.
Prometheus had stolen the divine fire!
'I knew it.'
I'd already anticipated this crime. With my knowledge of the original myths, I'd recognized his name the moment we first met. Ah, the guy who steals fire, gets chained to a cliff, and has his liver pecked out by an eagle forever? I knew. I knew it all. I knew that Prometheus, foreseeing Olympus's victory, had surrendered in advance and even arranged his sister's feigned surrender.
But I didn't reproach Prometheus.
I never relied on his prophetic power, and I let him assimilate into Olympus on his own terms.
And Prometheus did his absolute best for Olympus. Though he was no longer the prime prophet and his power of prophecy was fading, he threw himself fully into whatever field he could. So, was I supposed to cast him aside now? Absolutely not. Nor was I going to tell him that after all his work, he could spend the rest of his days in Tartarus. Prometheus had helped save my mother Rhea. He was not someone I could handle carelessly, nor someone I had any intention of discarding.
But the very fact that Prometheus had been a 'prophet' became the problem.
I didn't seek him out. However, those who had known him from before would quietly track him down and ask about the future.
- Will my child be a daughter or a son?
- Uh, um...?
- Tell me. You're a prophet, aren't you? It will be a son, right? Surely, the first son of Lord Zeus. Ah, what talents will he have? Will he be handsome? Tell me! My child will have a seat among the Twelve Olympians, right?! Yes!? Yes?! Yes?!
- ...That, that is.
Prometheus was in agony. Under the siege of questions from goddesses anxious about their children, the last tufts of hair on the sides, once like flower petals, fell out completely, and he went perfectly bald from the stress.
- Lord Zeus! Please save me!
He implored me to fix the situation.
- As you decreed, I swore not to speak of fate anymore! But the goddesses you impregnated keep secretly seeking me out and asking! What am I supposed to do?
He'd been telling them that Zeus had forbidden it. But it was useless. A mother's love for her child was stronger and greater than the stern command of a chief god.
I understand the wish for one's child to succeed. In my past life, I beat my chest in sorrow when I learned my kid's percentile rank in a MOBA game was higher than their mock exam scores, but even so, when they finally started studying with a hundred days left until the college entrance exam, my parents went around praying for them to do well. I'm the same. As my children multiply, I too hope that none of them are ever slighted, that they all bloom with their own talents, and they are all my beloved children.
But sometimes, anxiety creeps in. What if something goes wrong with my children? What if one day, some worthless bastard can't control his lust and lays a hand on one of my precious daughters? I resolved not to gaze upon fate, not to see the future, but at times like that, the temptation of foresight kept pricking my ears. How peaceful would it be to kill a man who would rape my daughter fifteen years before the act, rather than fifteen years after?
However, metagaming fate required control.
Currently in Olympus, there were three beings who could know fate and the future.
One was Gaia.
One was the Moirai. They were Themis's second set of triplet sisters, but since they were always together, they could be counted as one.
And the last, Prometheus.
- Since the day Olympus was victorious, my power to see the future has begun to fade. Now, all I can see is... what tomorrow's weather will be like!
His power as a prophet was vanishing. Yet because he alone had been the first to support Olympus while everyone else backed Cronus, his name had spread far and wide as a great prophet. He even took insults for it, accused of being the only one to suck up all the honey.
And so, Prometheus was utterly stressed. The loss of his former ability. The subtle and overt censure from the surviving Titans. The goddesses who, despite my discouraging any reading of fate or future, still came seeking Prometheus out of worry for their children.
- To know the future is poison.
Prometheus ultimately wanted a decisive measure. He was willing to resort to extreme methods so that no one would ever seek him out again and he could end his life as a prophet.
And so, to make prophecy impossible for him, Metis and I devised a scheme.
Exactly.
Prometheus stole the fire. From the hearth managed by none other than Hestia, from the fire of Olympus, he stole the embers and spread fire to humanity.
Was that possible? Impossible. Hestia always manages the hearth. Even during sex, she stays near the hearth, making love in the warmth of the flames. Without Hestia's permission, no one can take fire from the hearth. I don't know how it was stolen in the original myth, but that's how Olympus works now.
Yet Prometheus stole the fire. He taught them how to kindle embers, and humanity mastered the use of fire.
The necessity of spreading fire to humanity was something I'd been pondering for some time. But simply handing it over could lead to misunderstandings, like, "Even if he is Zeus, he recklessly gave divine things to humans." It risked inciting public outrage that the right of fire, the right of the gods, was granted solely to humans.
- Haha, if that's the case, it's fine. I'll bear it all.
Prometheus. He wished to become a criminal of his own accord. Knowing my consideration for humanity, he took the lead and "shared" the fire with them.
What he gained from this was just one thing: the praise of humans.
- Lord Zeus, may I utter one irreverent word?
- Speak.
- Someday, the age of the gods will draw to a close, and the day will come when only humans remain to run the world. The last future I saw was a world where the gods no longer existed, filled only with humans.
- It's irreverent, but I permit it. You are one qualified to dare speak such words.
- Thank you. And when that time comes, humanity will forever praise the achievements of the Titan gods and Lord Zeus. Therefore, I have a request. Dare I... steal one of your achievements?
To distribute the embers to humanity without drawing any complaints from the other Titan gods, the nymphs, and the animals.
To ensure no one would ever be thrown into confusion again in the name of prophecy.
And, though somewhat dishonorable, for Prometheus's "retirement."
- Very well. Steal it. To the Titans, giving the embers to mankind is theft, but to mankind, it will be a tremendous honor. You didn't steal the fire. You have stolen from me the praise you would receive from humanity.
- I am truly grateful, Lord Zeus.
And so.
Prometheus stole the fire.
I commanded him to steal the fire.
For my beloved humanity.
* * *
"Heh, heh heh."
Prometheus was bound to the cliff. With handcuffs and shackles crafted by Hephaestus clamped onto him, he was chained there. That he was permitted to wear clothes rather than be naked was a final consideration from Zeus, in recognition of his service.
All who passed by could witness his disgrace and humiliation. Titans, nymphs, animals, even the very humans he had so cared for could all plainly see Prometheus bound to the cliff. No matter how remote the location, interest in the fire-thief Prometheus never waned.
"It's a little sad."
"What is?"
"That I feel as if I have been betrayed."
The Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, stood quietly before Prometheus. Having counseled Zeus since long before his faction even arrived at Olympus, she couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
"You will feel betrayed. Since Lord Zeus cannot help you right now."
"No. It's not Lord Zeus I feel betrayed by."
Prometheus let out a deep sigh.
"No matter how much Lord Zeus permitted it, even if he had forbidden it, I would have stolen the fire for humanity."
"Why? There were so many things you could have given them. Gills to breathe underwater, wings to fly in the sky."
"Can you, the Goddess of Wisdom, say such a thing? What humanity needed was fire. Everything else they could craft with their hands, but utilizing fire was impossible. I am a prophet. I believed that the prosperity of humans was the very prosperity of us Titans."
Prometheus drew another deep sigh.
"I was initially gladdened that Lord Zeus thought as I did. But afterward, I felt disillusioned with myself. The reason Lord Zeus cared for humanity was different from mine."
"A different reason?"
"I sought the worship of humanity for the authority of our Titan race. The day will come when humans worship, offer tributes, and through it, we Titans can solidify our authority even further. Heh heh, don't you know this as well? That's why, on the choicest plots of land... Ahem."
"What are you implying? Hmph."
Athena smirked, tracing her lips with her index finger.
"Does Lord Zeus know?"
"He knows everything. He even went so far as to designate a good piece of land for me."
"Favoritism."
"Because it's me."
"That is true. Yes. Lord Zeus's love has no ulterior purpose. He loves purely. You, women, goddesses, and even... humanity. Truly, he is a great being."
Prometheus shook his head from side to side, as if conceding.
"Please convey one last message to Lord Zeus."
"What is it?"
"In exactly ten years. Bubbles. A shell."
Athena tilted her head quizzically. Prometheus simply smirked and raised his thumb.
"Tell him it is a prophecy and a gift from this Prometheus."
"...Is it a woman?"
"Who knows. Heh heh, I'm not sure myself. It was supposed to be clear, but... it's been coming out blurry for a while now."
"I see. ...Ah, here they come. Take care. Enjoy the rest of your life."
"Of course."
Athena departed. Prometheus closed his eyes for a moment, then lifted his head toward the sky.
Flutter, flutter.
"...Heh."
At the shadow spreading across the sky, Prometheus smacked his lips. From above, women wearing hats shaped like eagle heads began to descend one after another. Their arms, from the middle down, sprouted into white wings.
"Are you the Titan Lord Zeus spoke of?"
"I am."
"I feel a little sorry, receiving a gift from your sister and then doing this to you."
"It's fine. I wished for it."
Prometheus leaned back against the cliff and shrugged.
"Come. I'll show you the peerless techniques I learned from Lord Zeus."
"Oh my, you're the one being raped by us Harpies. Go fuck yourself."
Prometheus. He had a thing for Harpies.
* * *
"What would you have done if he'd said his thing was nymphs?"
"Locked him away on the Sirens' island."
The Harpy fetishist would spend the rest of his life enjoying sex with the Harpies. The Harpies would receive seed from a male Titan god and prosper their species. Humanity would receive fire and enjoy prosperity.
"A happy ending."