After everything that happened with Athena and Kibele, Zeus realized one thing.
The need for capable children — and the need for women who would support and assist him.
Up until now, even when he had affairs, he had not bothered having children…
But from Athena, her twin younger brother, and from all the powerful goddesses who had helped Poseidon during Kibele’s rise, he saw clearly how useful such exceptional offspring were.
Of course, it wasn’t something he could think about too simplistically, but with Metis gone, Zeus’s own wisdom — the part of him that she embodied — was as good as missing.
“Beings who are moderately wise but not strong… I need those.”
Zeus believed that combining with a goddess as powerful as himself would eventually produce someone who could threaten his own position.
“It would be best to form relations with appropriate goddesses and even have children.”
And with Metis — the woman he truly loved — no longer there, Zeus behaved like a horse that had slipped its reins.
Thus Zeus roamed across the entire world, forming relations with various women.
One of the most notable was Themis, goddess of Order and Law.
From her, he fathered the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons.
These children became the gatekeepers of Olympus and one of the pillars of the world order Zeus established.
Next was Mnemosyne, the goddess of Memory, who had helped Zeus and his siblings during the Titanomachy.
From her, he fathered the Muses, goddesses of art, and the Muses’ artistic power was one of the reasons Olympus was revered by the creatures living on earth.
In this way, Zeus formed relations with many goddesses and strengthened Olympus and his own authority.
Ironically, it was precisely these actions of Zeus that created the firm foundation of Olympus.
After living that way for a long while, Zeus suddenly became fascinated with the beauty of mortal beings living on the earth.
But most of them already served other gods.
“Aah… they say elves are so beautiful…”
But unfortunately, elves worshipped Gaia and Poseidon, so he could not easily touch them.
“What am I supposed to do…”
Zeus spent a long time lamenting this frustration — until something suddenly came to mind.
“The seat for the Golden Race is empty, isn’t it? And besides, we need beings who’ll serve us gods…!”
Zeus immediately summoned Prometheus, the wise advisor, prophet, and craftsman, and made a request.
“Prometheus, I ask of you. Create for me the most perfect race, the one most similar to the gods. I shall make them rule the world.”
Prometheus was not surprised by Zeus’s sudden request.
‘Considering Zeus’s history with women… now he must be wanting those who aren’t goddesses. After Athena’s case, he won’t get involved with strong goddesses anymore…’
And of course, the fact that there was no race on earth who admired Zeus and Olympus themselves also played a part.
Prometheus understood Zeus’s intentions, but even so, bowed his head and accepted.
“As you command, King of the Gods. I shall create a race most similar to the gods.”
Thus began the signal fire of the Silver Age and the Age of Heroes — the ages of humankind.
With Zeus’s request, Prometheus took his brother Epimetheus and began creating the race that would follow the Golden Race.
“Epimetheus, did you bring the materials we gathered?”
“Yeah. Here. The bones and flesh of the Titans, and the earth soaked in their blood.”
Prometheus examined the materials Epimetheus had brought and nodded, beginning in earnest to create humans.
He had gathered these things beforehand, anticipating this day.
With Gaia, he could perform perfect prophecy — so it was possible.
Soon…
Using Titan bone to form the pillars, and mixing Titan flesh with clay, they created beings who looked exactly like gods.
But there was something missing: in their current state, they were nothing more than constructed golems.
“We need Lord Poseidon’s help.”
“Eh? Why? We’ve already finished making them.”
“For the final completion of humans, water and soul are absolutely necessary. If they, like the Golden Race, knew no death, no hunger, no starvation, then they would simply repeat the same actions forever.”
* * *
Poseidon’s palace.
There, Poseidon, Athena, and Kibele were in the middle of an intense sparring session.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Athena’s spear and Poseidon’s spear clashed, each aiming directly for the other’s vital points.
Athena’s spear moved like a salmon fighting its way upstream against the current of Poseidon.
But just as most salmon die trying to swim upstream, Athena’s spear began to lose strength —
And at that moment, Kibele came in from behind with her spear lifted.
Swhik—
With a sharp sound tearing through the air, a powerful thrust aimed for Poseidon — but Poseidon seemed to have predicted even this. He caught the spear under his arm and flung both Kibele and Athena together out of the way.
Crash!
“Uugh—”
“That hurts…”
Athena and Kibele collapsed on top of each other.
As they groaned in pain, the sound of applause came from somewhere.
Clap clap clap clap clap—
“Impressive. To think you two already possess such skill at such a young age.”
The one applauding was Prometheus.
“Hm? What’s this? Were you here to see Nereus?”
Poseidon was puzzled by Prometheus’s sudden visit.
Normally, except when visiting Nereus or the daughters of Oceanus, Prometheus never came to the sea.
“Ah. No, not this time. I came because I have a request for you, Lord Poseidon.”
“Huh? For me?”
“Yes.”
Though puzzled by Prometheus’s words, Poseidon led him inside as a proper guest.
“Then follow me.”
He glanced back at Athena and Kibele.
“We’ll end the sparring here. We’ll make up for what we didn’t finish today — tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Hand in hand, Athena and Kibele ran off happily.
Watching them, Prometheus smiled with a meaningful expression.
“So that is the child of the prophecy.”
Poseidon smacked Prometheus on the back of the head and stared at him in disbelief.
Whack.
“What are you talking about? You already saw Athena when she brought back the springwater of the goddess. And you’ve seen her whenever you visit Nereus or the other nymphs.”
Prometheus let out an embarrassed laugh at Poseidon’s incredulous reaction.
“Hahaha… It just felt like something I should say…”
Poseidon shook his head at him.
When he first met him, Prometheus had seemed like a mysterious prophet, but the more he learned, the more he realized something was loose in the god’s head.
After giving Prometheus a pitiful look, Poseidon led him to a circular round table room.
Poseidon dropped into the nearest chair and gestured for Prometheus to sit as well.
“So, what is this request?”
“……”
A brief silence.
The playfulness from earlier vanished, and Prometheus spoke in a heavier voice.
“I need the Waters of Panopeus and Lady Gaia’s Psyche.”
* * *
Hmm… Psyche and the Waters of Panopeus, huh.
“Why exactly do you need the Waters of Panopeus and Psyche?”
From the moment Prometheus had arrived, Poseidon suspected it was finally time for the age of humans to begin — after the Golden Race.
Zeus had likely decided to create humans.
“Well…”
With difficulty and earnestness in his voice, Prometheus spoke.
“For the humans we have created to survive, they absolutely need these things. Elves have their keen eyes and agility. Dwarves have strength and precision. Beastkin have acute senses and natural sharpness. Mermen and merfolk are perfect beings within the sea. Harpies can fly through the sky. All these races bear the many blessings of various gods. For humans to survive among them, they require wisdom. And a soul capable of rooting itself in this world.”
Poseidon watched Prometheus speak — strained at first, but growing more passionate with every sentence — and shook his head.
He likes humans so damned much that it’s no wonder Zeus will punish him later by having an eagle tear out his liver.
But Poseidon could not say he failed to understand Prometheus’s passion.
After all, the ones who would enjoy watching the humans the most would be the gods themselves.
And Poseidon was curious as well.
Unlike the original myth, ever since Poseidon created merfolk and mermen, the powerful gods had begun creating races who worshipped only them.
In such a chaotic world, Poseidon was genuinely curious how humans would change and survive.
And Prometheus seemed to be hiding something from him as well.
“Fine. I’ll give you Psyche and the Waters of Panopeus from the storeroom. Show me properly, then — this era of humans you praise so much.”
* * *
With Poseidon’s cooperation secured, Prometheus was able to create the humans exactly as he wished.
“Look, brother. These are the beings I wanted to create — humans.”
Epimetheus, who had helped his brother and still didn’t understand why Prometheus poured so much passion into creating humans, could only nod once he saw them complete.
“Wow… They really look exactly like gods. If they had divine power, they might even be mistaken for actual gods.”
Just as divine power flows naturally through the bodies of gods, the Waters of Panopeus flowed through humans. Together with the help of the soul, humans could produce abilities similar to gods.
Prometheus nodded at Epimetheus’s remark.
“Exactly. If they possessed the power of the gods, humans too could become gods.”
He murmured in a quiet voice.
“What?”
“No, I said they’re well made.”
Epimetheus didn’t notice it, but Prometheus’s eyes were already those of a sage who had seen everything and formed a plan.
* * *
When Zeus saw the humans Prometheus created, he could not contain his admiration.
“Incredible. Truly worthy of the god of craftsmen. I never imagined they would resemble gods this closely.”
Unlike the original myth, these humans included both men and women.
This was due to Zeus’s request — so that the descendants of gods could spread widely and strengthen divine rule.
In truth, even at this point, Zeus planned to have his own children rule the earth in the future.
“At this level, the other gods will be delighted. We will protect them, and they will revere us.”
Zeus walked around joyfully, inspecting everything.
At that moment, Prometheus looked at the happy Zeus and sensed his opportunity.
Now was the moment to give humankind one of their greatest weapons.
“Lord Zeus, there is still something these beings lack.”
“Lack?”
Zeus found this puzzling.
From his perspective, they lacked nothing.
With Psyche — which only Gaia possessed — and the Waters of Panopeus, which resembled divine power, these beings were already tremendously strong compared to other creatures of the earth.
Perhaps sensing Zeus’s thoughts, Prometheus raised his voice passionately.
“They do have weapons. But please look at the races of the earth. Dwarves possess the blessing of Lady Demeter — they can wield her power. Elves can use some of the power of Lady Gaia and Lord Poseidon thanks to their blessings.”
“……”
“And the beastkin races all possess blessings from various gods. For humans to survive, they absolutely require a blessing from the gods.”
Zeus was slightly overwhelmed by Prometheus’s near-mad passion.
Since he was not usually like this, his intensity felt even heavier.
“Then what blessing do you desire for them, Prometheus?”
“……”
Even at Zeus’s question, Prometheus remained silent for a long time.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, Zeus raised both hands and urged him.
“What is it that you want so badly that you must make such a weight of it? Speak.”
Even with Zeus’s insistence, Prometheus remained silent until enough curious gods had gathered to witness the newly completed humans.
Then he shouted in a loud voice:
“They need fire!!!”
And the gods who heard Prometheus’s voice looked at him in shock.
““What?!””