She received the gift of God [Greek mythology]

The war of the gods entered its seventh night.

The loud noise like the collision between the earth and the sky in the distance did not stop, but the furious thunder no longer continued to bombard Epimea.The city finally gained a brief period of peace.

Before the thunderstorm abated, every corner of the city was permeated by a quiet fog.

Then, the crisp and melodious sound of the pan flute pierced the silence.

Note pried open the locked doors and windows, walked through the ruins, got into the cellar, and broke into the palace.The listener is mesmerized, and the spirit falls into a dream, but the body is drawn by the invisible silk thread.The surviving citizens opened their homes, jumped out of the windows, climbed out of the temporary shelters in the ruined walls, set foot on the abandoned streets, and joined their dream parade partners, marching in groups towards the city gate with slow and erratic steps.

The soldiers on duty also fell asleep, opened the city gate in a daze, dropped their spears, and walked out first.

One by one, the descendants of humans under the control of Epimetheus left the shelter of the white city wall and came to the wilderness that was repeatedly burned, then melted and then solidified.

The black-haired piper didn't touch the ground, but hung in mid-air, looking down at the gathered crowd.Then, he put down the musical instrument, opened his right arm and held it empty, and a shining golden staff appeared.

His emerald eyes quickly swept over every face in the crowd as if searching, and he squinted for a moment, the dark golden circle surrounding his pupils suddenly radiated light, and the undead's unique crown of light and coercion were instantly released.

"Here is Hermes, the envoy of Olympus! The staff of the envoy wrapped around two serpents is proof."

The citizens woke up like a dream, and were forced by the coercion of the gods, and a large number of people immediately fell to the ground in panic.

"Honorable Messenger of the Gods, please be merciful!"

"Please, please forgive me..."

There were also those who gritted their teeth and fled towards the city, trying to return to Gaia's shelter.

The crowd fell silent suddenly, watching, wanting to witness the fate of those who had turned against the gods of Olympus.

Hermes sighed: "If a mortal bears the punishment originally sent down by my father Zeus, accepts a body that will age and get sick, and the hard work of hard work, instead of colluding with Epimetheus, how can he be reduced to such a miserable situation? I will not stop those who insist on returning to Epimea to accept Gaia's protection. But—”

He smiled, and spit out the harsh words in a tone that could be called kind:

"There is only one chance to choose. Olympus will not fall, and Gaia's rebellion will end in failure. Those who gather here and submit to Olympos will be free from the thunder of the sky seat. Gaia, Guigan When the rebellion of Theses and Epimetheus is over, the white city will be bathed in flames.

"Choose. If you choose to surrender to us and accept Zeus' judgment, pick up stones and build them up high, use them as altars, and pray to the gods of Olympus. If your prayers and repentance are sincere, Then my compatriots will also listen to the prayers of believers and return them.”

Crowd|Exchanging eyes, each made a decision.

Some people chose to walk back to the city of Epimea, and more people began to pile up stones, light a fire with dead wood, chant the name of Olympus, and send the smoke of prayer to the blood-red sky.

Hermes did not leave.He should go into the city immediately, looking for a way to destroy Gaia's protection, or break into the palace directly to persuade Epimetheus to surrender.But he just stayed where he was, staring at the crowd in silence.

Olympus' god anchor on the earth is recovering, and Gaia's power here will continue to diminish.He could hear prayers again.But none of that was what he wanted to hear.Pandora is not in the crowd, is she still in the palace of Epimetheus?Or……

An unfamiliar chill stirred ferociously in his body, making him want to shiver.

The messenger of the gods landed on the ground and walked into the crowd.The mortals stopped their movements and bowed down, but they didn't wait for a long time, and raised their heads in confusion.

Hermes looked equally confused, as if he didn't know what and why he was asking: "The bride given by Olympus... Where is she now?"

"She seems to have escaped..."

"Yes, God Epimetheus ordered the guards to search for her whereabouts, but I don't know if they found her later. Probably not?"

"No! Everyone who lives on Main Street knows that she was taken back."

"Yes, I saw, Epimetheus took her away, in his chariot—"

Hermes interrupted: "How long ago was that?"

The crowd looked at each other in blank dismay, giving contradictory answers.Without the rising of the sun and the setting of the moon, the timing of the day loses its meaning.

In an instant, Hermes was gone

Trace.

He skimmed the city wall and flew directly to the towering palace complex at the highest point.

After entering Epimea, Hermes' flying speed did not slow down, but Gaia's protection of this land repelled any invaders from Olympos, and he was covered in sticky discomfort, breaking Going forward is like swimming in muddy water in a swamp.The closer to the palace, the stronger this stagnation feeling.

Anxiety of unknown origin is like a faint flame smothered in embers, vaguely absent, but lingering.Hermes couldn't help but fly faster.

The gate of the palace was closed tightly, but with a light wave of the double snake staff, the unmanned bronze gate opened.

Hermes went straight into the hall at the end of the long steps.

Epimetheus sat on a stone throne, as if sleeping.He opened his eyes and looked at the visitor, not surprised, and even said first: "Son of Maia, if you come to persuade me to surrender, please go back. Even if you take all my subjects away, even if the giant warrior bred by Gaia You are all defeated, even if I am the only one left in this city, I will never bow down to your father!"

"That's a great pity." Hermes narrowed his eyes, and the calm attitude of the Titans made him unhappy. "Epimetheus, you surprised me. I am not a stranger to you, and I often communicate with you, but I I have never realized that you have such ambitions and strategies. You can deceive my eyes."

Epimetheus said: "I know that I am not as good as Prometheus. I lack foresight, and I don't have the ability to deceive the gods of Olympus. It is impossible for me to cause any storms. So I asked Gaia for help. It was she who helped me to make plans, and it was she who gave me the potion made from the water of the Lesser River, and asked me to drink it after making a covenant with her. Then I forgot what I wanted to forget-everything I had agreed with her , including hatred for Zeus and Olympus."

His handsome eyebrows were distorted by vicious ridicule.

"So I will happily accept Zeus's gift, and be hypnotized by Pandora's music. And when Zeus issued a divine punishment declaration and Gaia's potion lost its effect, I naturally remembered everything. Hermes, I can fool you, Not because I'm better at deception than you, but—"

Hermes ran out of patience, took a step forward, and put his hand on the hilt of his sword: "Where is she?"

Epimetheus was stunned and silent for a moment before he understood what he was asking.

Hermes

Even more surprised than the other party, he stroked the hilt of the sword helplessly and let go.He cannot explain his behavior.Although he was worried about Pandora's safety, wasn't the main purpose of his confrontation with Epimetheus not to find out what happened and ensure that his dignity as the god of deceit was not violated?

There was an eerie moment of silence.

The Titan Protoss let out an "ah" as if suddenly recalling something, and slowly shook their heads: "Pandora? I guess what promise did you make to her? Poor little guy, she shouted at the end that the powerful messenger of Zeus I will definitely come to rescue her."

At last.

Hermes' chest, which was pierced by the golden and lead arrows and should have been calm, suddenly began to ache.Something began to boil under the flames of anxiety, and the wound cut by the eye of a word burst into a spring, from which feelings that did not belong to him and should not exist gushed out.

With a flash of his figure, the golden light came out of its sheath, and the sharp blade hit Epimetheus' throat.

"I thought envoys wouldn't use violence."

Hermes had no expression on his face, he just asked, "Where is she?"

Epimetheus stared at him in disbelief. After a while, he suddenly laughed out loud, "She's not here. I sacrificed her to Gaia."

The blade trembled abruptly, piercing through the air protecting the body of the Titan Protoss, drawing a bloodstain.

Hermes heard himself say, "You're lying."

"I haven't," the owner of the palace issued a provocative invitation, "you might as well use your ability to weave and unravel lies to confirm whether I am lying."

A sharp cold light emanated from Hermes' body.Epimetheus shuddered and lifted his chin even higher.Hermes maintained a coercive posture, and his quiet voice was like an echo from the depths of an ancient well. Every syllable penetrated the barrier of mental layering and pretentiousness, and asked the soul directly: "What did you do to Pandora?"

Under his power interference, the respondent can only tell the truth.

"She charmed the guards and fled, but I captured her. She also tried to incite mortals to doubt me with her words, so I deprived her of her voice with a potion."

Hermes' pupils shrank suddenly.

It was he who gave her the voice, how could she allow it to be taken away so easily.

The fluctuating cold light in the envoy's eyes pleased Epimetheus, and he began to confess in detail:

"Then I found a very deep cave, and discarded her there, and sealed the exit with a boulder with special engravings, preventing any breeze from the outside world from passing through. She will wake up underground, even if she wants to call out loudly Unable to be heard by the gods, and then dying slowly in fear, in resentment against fate and Olympus, and became an offering for Gaia to draw power from."

After a pause, Epimetheus changed the subject and let out a sadistic laugh: "That happened almost two days ago, maybe she still has the last breath left, struggling in the dark."

Hermes tried his best to suppress his thoughts, refusing to follow the other party's words to imagine the situation.He took a deep breath and repeated the original question: "...where is she?"

Epimetheus smiled and did not answer.

Rage turned to destructive urges.

The golden short sword suddenly turned its direction, and with a muffled sound, it sank into the shoulder of the Titan Protoss, nailing him firmly to the throne.Hermes turned the hilt of the sword, the sharp blade stirred in the wound, slowly and cruelly cut the flesh, and moved again before the wound grew back to its original shape.

Epimetheus gritted his teeth without making a muffled grunt.

"I'm not sadistic, I don't get much pleasure from torturing you. Answer my question. Where's Pandora?"

"I do not know."

"Where is she?"

Epimetheus gasped, but smiled triumphantly: "I can't tell you."

"Answer truthfully. Otherwise, I will propose to lock you in the Caucasus Mountain, right next to your beloved brother, and let you share the cruel punishment." Seeing that the other party was unmoved, Hermes bent his lips and smiled. Looking into the bottom of his eyes, "Is that not enough? Then I will persuade Father God to increase the punishment of Prometheus. After all, your actions are all due to him in the final analysis. It is not enough to let the eagle eat the liver raw? Let me think about it. What can I add..."

When it comes to Prometheus, Epimetheus completely loses his composure.He yelled: "Zeus despicable lackey!"

Hermes' face remained unchanged, and he followed the temptation: "In contrast, if you are willing to tell me where you locked Pandora, I can say a few words for you and Prometheus."

Epimetheus raised his head and laughed hoarsely.

"Hahaha, I really don't know."

He looked Hermes straight in the eyes and declared victory: "I forgot."

Hermer

Si suddenly understood something, and there was an angry voice like a snake spit out a warning from his lips.

Epimetheus's smile deepened, and he revealed almost triumphantly: "Gaia's potion has not been used up, so after dealing with Pandora, I drank the last bit of potion, forgetting that I hated Zeus." Where did I throw away my gift. And this time, I didn't set the conditions for retrieving the memory, I just simply forgot it all. So unfortunately, I really can't tell you more.

"I don't know where Pandora is either."