Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

"You should know, when the deeds of your appearance spread, when those human corpses are discovered, your reputation as bringer of disaster will be solidified,"

"And then... those beliefs that swirl around you, yet cannot be absorbed by you, will only grow more and more, leaving you restless day and night,"

"Not intentionally," Pandora said without answering, merely correcting: "I just forgot for a moment about my reputation among humans."

"Well, a momentary lapse, then."

Epimetheus nodded, neither confirming nor denying.

The two continued forward.

They walked for a good while in the narrow stretch at the mouth of the valley until the space in front of them started to widen considerably. Here was no snowstorm, and the white frost falling from the sky seemed to encounter an invisible barrier, still teeming with life just a step away.

Epimetheus stopped here, took a look around, then gestured lightly with his hand.

"You stay here for now."

"...Alright."

Nodding, Epimetheus continued walking inside.

Behind him, Pandora, holding the magic jar that had accompanied her for many years, watched his figure recede into the distance.

...

Crossing over a small stream, just a few steps wide, passing by a small patch of farmland-like area, a delicate wooden cabin soon appeared at the end of the line of sight.

In front of the cabin, there was a stone table, several chairs, and a small flower garden enclosed by a wooden fence. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Everything bore a pastoral charm, even the middle-aged man who was the only one sitting there.

Compared to the figure in his memory, this one seemed much older, but his demeanor was more relaxed.

"Father, it seems you’ve been living well under Mother Earth’s protection,"

Striding forward, Epimetheus addressed the identity of the man before him.

Iapetus, one of the least prominent among the Titan deities. His most lasting impression on the world is probably the fathering of the brothers Prometheus and others.

Of course, all his children now could be considered enemies of the Olympian Pantheon.

"There’s no good or bad, just finding a place to live quietly, I want very little, so it’s easy to be satisfied,"

Reclining and resting with his eyes closed on a rudimentary chair, Iapetus did not seem very enthusiastic about his long-lost son.

"That’s good, since Mother left too, I’ve always thought you might feel lonely,"

Laughing, Epimetheus casually chose a chair and sat down.

"Around this valley, I’ve seen some rather special human tribes. They worship deities with the flesh and blood of wild beasts—gods I’ve never heard of—and they proclaim ’all things have spirits.’

"It seems they believe they are worshipping a tree, a rock, or some powerful wild beast or the like. I didn’t really care about this until I found out those things actually possess consciousness and can absorb faith."

"Do you know what’s going on?"

He asked casually, doubting he would get any answer.

Even though this was happening not too far from here, he was sure his old father wouldn’t take any interest.

Or more precisely, like him, to cautiously steer clear of such unexplained phenomena, particularly when one can’t exert much power in the Mortal Realm.

"I don’t know," as expected, Iapetus responded: "If you’re interested in them, you could stay around a little longer."

And so, the topic ended there, as Epimetheus clearly had no wish to seek additional troubles for himself.

But with the conversation begun, the long estranged father and son started to talk about things both consequential and irrelevant. They talked about the old days, about Atlas who was still upholding The Sky, and about Prometheus who had been sent to the East Sea.

Mostly it was Epimetheus who spoke, while Iapetus occasionally reacted.

It wasn’t until the sun began to set that the Afterthinker unintentionally asked a question.

"I recall... you once made a prophecy, seeing the vision of the Sun falling into the East Sea?"

"That wasn’t my prophecy," Iapetus said softly, shaking his head: "Destiny sought me out on its own."

"Whatever it is, Father, I’m just curious..."

"In your understanding, how exactly does fate take effect, or rather, can someone who holds fate truly control it at will?"

Looking up slightly, Iapetus turned his gaze to his son.

Just like the past, the Afterthinker still didn’t possess any of his brother’s confidence and intelligence. Even now, he still felt the same.

"Probably not, that’s my answer,"

Hyperion said calmly after a while, without giving a reason.

"...I understand."

With a smile still on his face, Epimetheus continued his conversation with his father until the sun had completely set, then he spoke up to say goodbye.

The Moon had not yet risen when he started walking back to the mouth of the valley where Pandora was still waiting for him.

Crossing the boundary between the warmth and the cold wind, the Afterthinker looked in the direction of the sunset. Now, it was not Helios who sat on the golden chariot, but Apollo, who needed to exert all his strength to drive the divine chariot.

One would think that compared to that peeping tom who inherited Hyperion’s title of ’High Perceiver,’ this temporary occupant, Apollo, probably didn’t have the leisure to peer around indiscreetly.

"Let’s go."

With a call, Epimetheus walked back the way he came.

"Let’s go to the Mortal Realm and then establish a church."

"Is that for you? Aren’t we still considered criminals by Olympus?"

"Of course it’s not to establish it openly; use your brain a bit."

Shaking his head, Epimetheus said,

"Moreover, it’s not a church for me, it’s for you... of course, and your jar."

······

Whoosh—

Underworld, the entrance to the Abyss.

Space rippled, followed immediately by a flash of golden light. In the next moment, Helios appeared there, somewhat disheveled.

However, there were no injuries on his body, clearly, although he had just encountered a minor trouble, it was not enough to actually harm him.

"Phew—It seems my guess was right."

"Dozens, even hundreds—I wonder, if this continues, will there be more gods in the Abyss than there are outside? Is this really reasonable?" he murmured with a long sigh, approaching the exit where Helios encountered a life form that had just been born from the corpse of a Demon God.

Unlike the Earth-shaking Worm he had met before, he did not witness the birth process of this entity, therefore he could not learn its title, similar to a divine true name.

Helios only saw a colossal silhouette that appeared silently behind the barrier of what he had marked as the third layer of the Abyss. A spherical body floated in the air with a gigantic, single eye at the very front and center of its head and body, beneath which was a large mouth full of dagger-like teeth.

Yet, the most eye-catching feature was the ten tentacles writhing on the sphere, each ending with a small eye, all of which were fixedly staring at him.

Then he experienced the feeling of being ’killed with a glance’ as a beam of dissociating light emitted from the pupil of that eye, striking him directly—a complete Outsider to the Abyss.

"In the future... there won’t be a future; I’m definitely not coming back to this damned place."

Back in the real world, Helios finally felt somewhat safer. He couldn’t help but relax, but soon after started to worry again.

"So where would Mother Earth be, surely not asleep again?"

If that were really the case, then the God of Sun had no recourse.

The slumber of a Primordial God is difficult to disturb by external forces, at least he didn’t have the power to do so.

"What is it that you want from me?"

"Of course—"

He turned around abruptly, but Helios saw nothing. He didn’t think it was an illusion; someone had definitely spoken to him just now.

"Honorable Mother Earth, may I ask...?"

"It is I."

The voice came again, and in the next moment, a ruddy light appeared before Helios. It then expanded and morphed into a vortex.

"No matter what you seek me for, come here first. And what you encountered in the Abyss, I would like to know as well," said the undeniable voice.

Listening to it, Helios should have been happy. He hadn’t found Gaia, but Gaia had taken the initiative to seek him out. Yet, for some reason, he now felt an inexplicable tension.

Looking at the slowly rotating vortex... it seemed like another Abyss to him.

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