In the huge conference hall, only the sound of the wind remained.
The clouds gathered in the sky, as if foreshadowing that rain was about to fall, but no one in the conference hall took it seriously at the moment.
This is not only because of the words of the two players just now, but also because they believe in Athens' technology.
It is rumored that in the distant Silvermoon City, the local people have mastered a magical skill called [Magic Lock], which can tilt the strings of the magic net in a local area, forming a huge semi-permanent barrier, thereby resisting disasters and manipulating the climate.
Of course, Athens does not have this ability. Even the maze of Silvermoon City is an isolated case. It is said that it was made by the goddess of the magic net for Artemis who once lived there. Some people also say that it was a gift from her to the first generation of wizards. In short, the existence of the maze is not replicable, but the rune barrier that simply resists heavy rain is not that difficult.
It cannot be used for military purposes because it covers too large an area and cannot actually stop the knight's sharp lance. But if the object is to resist rain, it is very easy.
"As expected, compared to a gorgeous appearance, a brilliant heart is more impressive. And how many people in this world have both?"
Without paying attention to anyone else, Odysseus had already put the other players aside.
These wise men from various countries may have some abilities, but this conference was held too hastily, and they may not represent the peak of their respective countries. And with their level, how can they compare with himself? Fortunately, he still has opponents. Before, Odysseus still felt sorry for the three abandoners, but now, he only felt challenged.
"Ms. Leah, even though we are opponents on the debate stage, I still want to applaud your speech. However, my answer to your final question is the same."
Speaking loudly, standing on the debate stage, Odysseus' voice echoed throughout the venue.
"You asked me, 'From a human perspective, is the destruction of the Bronze Age fair?' But in fact, even if we refer to human customs, cognition and history, I still think that the destruction of the Bronze Age was not unfair. And the reason is what I explained at the beginning."
"First of all, I am very grateful that you acknowledge the difference between God and man, and acknowledge that there are objective but incomprehensible differences between man and God, just like there are between man and birds, beasts, insects and jackals. Your character is so noble that you are willing to admit remarks that are unfavorable to you, but what I want to say is that the gap between God and man is not just that. The difference between God and man is actually incomparable to the difference between man and all other life in the world, and this is precisely the reason why the destruction of the Bronze Age is so 'fair'."
"I have heard that a good craftsman would use the most suitable tool, so the forging hammer of a caster should be suitable for his strength and material, and he would constantly change it as he grows older; an excellent musician would use the most suitable instrument, so the strings of a poet would constantly adjust and change the material according to his own habits. People would not blame the caster for abandoning the old forging hammer, because the forging hammer was born for it, and they have the reason to recast it. People would not blame the poet for changing the strings, because the strings sound because of it, so naturally he has the right to change it."
"Isn't this the biggest difference between gods and humans? Gods are immortal, unlike other lives, but isn't the reason they are superior to other lives that all spirits in the world were created by them?"
"Humans are different from birds and beasts, but humans can only kill them; gods are different from humans, but gods can create life! Since the ancient times, everything that can move in this world has been created by gods; everything that can grow in this world has come from the hands of gods. If you use human justice to judge gods, then you must naturally use the same standards to treat them. If humans can do something, then gods can also do it without being blamed. Therefore, humans give up imperfect creations and create perfect ones, which will not be blamed; gods give up imperfect creations and expect perfection, which should also be recognized."
"The imperfect Bronze Age was destroyed, and our generation was born. This is proof that our generation is superior to the Bronze Age, and it is also a manifestation of the justice of the gods. The purpose is not to destroy humanity, but to replace the corrupted creations with excellent creations. You use human justice to measure the gods, but have you forgotten that the birth of bronze humans came from the will of the God King? And how could the corruption of humans in the Bronze Age be due to Prometheus's wrong teachings?"
With a loud and powerful voice, Odysseus once again hit back at Andrea's remarks, and this time, he also thoroughly developed one of the supports for his point of view.
Andrea uses "human justice" as the standard, believing that human debates should naturally measure everything by human standards, but Odysseus points out another key point, that is, in this mythological world, humans are not born naturally, but are created by gods like other lives. No one can deny this.
The status between the creator and the created is inherently unequal, and even from a human perspective, we cannot forcefully assume that there is no difference between the two. Moreover, with this as an argument, Odysseus cleverly avoided a question, which is, "If the gods intend to destroy the fourth generation of humans in the same way, do you think this is fair?"
Because they did not want the emergence of more "gods who created humans" like Prometheus, the king of gods did not arrange for the gods to create the fourth generation of humans themselves, but delegated it to humans. Therefore, Odysseus' argument can be applied to the Bronze Age, but not to their generation.
There is a bit of sophistry in this, but that's what debate is all about. It's not about arguing the issue clearly, but about expressing one's own views and showing the art of language and one's own talent.
After these words were spoken, the situation on the field stabilized again, but no one thought that Andrea would be stumped.
This contestant who suddenly rose to fame like a comet has already proven her ability, and everyone is looking forward to her response.
And sure enough, under the gaze of the audience, Andrea remained as calm as before.
"As before, although I do not agree that 'creation' is equal to 'possession', especially when the object of creation is a being with wisdom and thinking ability, but since humans are still unable to create intelligent life, I will follow your line of thought."
"You said that God created man, so it is normal for God to destroy the old human race, just like humans replace old tools. However, people with character only deal with their own tools, and do not cross the arms of others to deal with other people's tools. People with good character do not feel ashamed after their actions cause the destruction of other people's property."
"You believe that God created all living things, so God naturally has the right to replace them; but does the life in the Bronze Age really belong to Olympus?"
Facing her opponent, Andrea's voice continued on the wide platform.
I'm afraid it will be difficult to determine the winner of this debate about fairness for the time being.
·········
The clouds gathered more and more, bringing a hint of water vapor in the air.
In the huge conference hall, the speeches of several debaters spread to every corner with the help of the effects of alchemical props.
In addition to Odysseus and Andrea, several other contestants also spoke from time to time. Considering the humanistic level of that era, this was undoubtedly a rare debate event in the world.
The audience gradually got over their shock at Andrea's views and began to appreciate the confrontation on stage.
In a corner of the stands, far away from where Iapetus was but where he could vaguely see his position, a man and a woman were also quietly listening to the speech on the stage.
From time to time, the taller men would applaud softly, as if to offer their praise for the contestants' wonderful performances.
"It seems that people still remember things about you very clearly even after so many years."
At this time, the person speaking in the center of the venue was the contestant who spoke in front of Andrea at the beginning. He was elaborating in detail on the proof of the "inferiority" of the Bronze Age, but compared to Odysseus, his language seemed much more empty.
But this does not mean that his ability is really so poor. In fact, those who can defeat all opponents and stand on the final stage basically have a good level.
But for a debate, if you are not only thinking about the topic on the field, but also being affected by the pressure outside the field, it is normal to not perform at your best.
Obviously, this player has given up on winning, and all he wants to do now is to show his "piety".
"If he were in the Bronze Age, he would probably be the first priest to support deceiving the gods and enjoy it - provided that he could really be chosen."
Epimetheus made a light comment, thinking that the possibility of the other party being chosen was still quite high.
He understood Prometheus, sometimes even better than he knew himself. As a god who was born late, and having followed his brother for so many years, Epimetheus already knew what kind of person the other person was.
If it were Prometheus back then, he would definitely favor the other person because he was smarter than others, and even accept him as a student... However, the most ridiculous thing is that the student he valued most neither appreciated his kindness, nor was loyal to him, and even did not show any wisdom.
If he had really gained immortality through betrayal, Epimetheus would have looked up to him. However, from beginning to end, that human was a joke.
"…Just tell me, what are you going to do?"
Pandora looked listless, with her long hair scattered on her shoulders and neck. She leaned back in her seat like a mortal who was sleepy after staying up late.
Her voice was lifeless, as if she had no interest in anything. Her body had not changed much from before, but her spirit seemed to have changed a lot.
"The reason why my story has spread so widely is because of you, isn't it?"
"A strange sect, strange sacrifices... After trying so many times, you should give up. Whether it is the methods of the righteous gods, the evil gods, or those of foreign gods; baptism, burnt offerings, or human sacrifices under cruel torture, they are useless to me."
"I am not you. I cannot draw strength from it, nor can I become a god. Perhaps this magic jar is just a joke, a joke made by the Lord of the Spirit World. It has no power to change fate or create miracles. Even though it has been so long since I made a wish for it, what is the result?"
She gritted her teeth slightly, not knowing whether she was resentful towards the Moon Goddess who gave her this gift, or the gods who tricked her into opening the magic jar, or maybe she was simply venting her anger towards her nominal husband.
Pandora felt that perhaps she herself was Epimetheus's experimental subject rather than the jar.
She had wanted to give up more than once and suggested that the other party find another person to experiment with, another human being, but each time the other party flatly refused.
"I don't know whether your act of giving up the magic jar to others will have an impact on your fate, and thus make the magic jar no longer belong to you - and no longer belong to me. I won't take unnecessary risks. As an immortal, no matter how small the probability is, it will be realized before the eternal time. You don't need to lose faith in it so early."
He said so and did so. Then, Pandora felt that he had gained nothing except more useless work.
"Don't worry, I feel there is still a chance this time."
Epimetheus said with a smile, still enjoying the debate.
"This time, we relied on you tossing coins and branches to determine the direction and distance we were going. As a result, we just happened to come to the Acropolis and encountered this seemingly abnormal debate. Do you think this is the guidance of fate?"
"Maybe I interfered too much before...so this time, I will do nothing."
"Everything follows your steps, see who you meet, and what happens in between."
Chapter 341 The Second Broken One
"If you think so, then so be it. It's fate's guidance... After all, I can't resist you, right?"
Pandora spoke coldly, without any further response, and gently closed her eyes.
Compared to Epimetheus, she was in no mood to watch this so-called debate, because as the years passed, there were more and more beliefs lingering around her that she could not absorb.
Even though there was no direct contact, the countless pleading, cursing, hatred and fear tormented her all the time as the number of contacts accumulated.
Whenever the world encounters natural disasters and diseases, she is mentioned by humans as the embodiment of disaster. Even if the number of beliefs she receives for a single disaster is not as high as that of the gods in charge of the corresponding authority, when added together, she is more than that.
In this situation, even though the blessings of the gods had never been taken back, Pandora still felt pain and exhaustion from the bottom of her heart.
For a moment, she felt a little regretful.
She didn't regret opening the magic jar, because she had figured it out, maybe the meaning of her birth was to open it. What she regretted was that thousands of years ago, during the first snowfall that enveloped the world, she pretended to accidentally reveal her name during her journey.
The woman who brought disaster thought that the existence of Pandora would attract the attention of the gods, who would then find her and Epimetheus. She wanted to pray to the gods to forgive her sins and end her aimless wandering on earth, but the result disappointed her.
No god paid any attention to her, as if she had done nothing. Instead, the God of Later Awareness seemed to have gained inspiration and established a so-called church for her.
Of course, this church that has been labeled a cult is equally useless.
"Once the tools are used, they can be destroyed. If you don't know where they went, then it's okay to just consider them missing."
"Perhaps the gods did not take back their blessings on me. Not only is this troublesome, but more importantly, they have forgotten me."
"In Olympus, few people would remember the existence of Pandora."
Not sure if it was a dream or reality, Pandora hadn't slept for a long time. With her eyes closed, the debate and occasional applause in the conference hall seemed to be getting farther and farther away.
It was unknown how long it had been, perhaps a long time, or perhaps just a short while. At some point, Pandora seemed to hear Epimetheus's low cry, and then the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
Even the interference brought by the various beliefs seemed to be blocked. She had not felt this kind of peace for a long time.
"Are you Pandora?"
A female voice sounded from in front of her, and Pandora opened her eyes.
A woman who looked to be in her forties was standing there, wearing a brown robe embroidered with various patterns. Her long hair was gathered up on her head, with a crystal clear wooden hairpin passing through the middle. Pandora didn't recognize this woman, but she knew she was definitely not an ordinary person.
Because Epimetheus was standing quietly by at this moment, just like when they first met.
"I am."
Pandora nodded and acknowledged her identity. After all, she had the blessing of the gods, which was a clear sign.
"That's good. I've been looking for you for a long time."
It was not an illusion or an accident. Just as Iapetus saw, Gaia really came to Athens, but not for this conference, nor for the god of speech.
After looking Pandora up and down again, Gaia smiled with satisfaction.
"Tools will indeed be destroyed after use, but even as tools, no one would want them to disappear without a trace."
"…What do you want me to do?"
After a moment's silence, Pandora spoke as if resigned to her fate.
"I have no idea."
Shaking her head slightly, Gaia stretched out her hand and a sphere with twinkling "starlight" and light spots of different sizes inside appeared in her hand.
With just one glance, Pandora seemed to see the collapse of all things, the end of matter, and some desperate and twisted cry.
She felt a little familiar. This special state... How could it be a little like what Epimetheus had said, those fragments of divinity belonging to the ancient sun god scattered on the earth?
At this moment, many speculations flashed through Pandora's mind. Could this be the belated fate of the magic jar? But this did not match her prayers.
She had seen many beasts that had integrated divine fragments, but not only were they constantly contaminated by the spiritual power in the fragments, but none of them could become gods by doing so.
Even after the Typhon disaster ended, when the three "artificial suns" with power rose into the sky one after another, Pandora discussed this matter with Epimetheus. The other party told her with certainty that even if someone could withstand the mental impact brought by the three suns and hold the corresponding power, they would not be considered true gods.
After all, the authority of the true God cannot be taken away by beings outside the world, but if that fragment of divinity is taken away by others, the power that originally belonged to you will also be lost.
So Pandora was very sure that what she had prayed to become was a true God who was immortal and had power that could not be taken away from her. Could it be that this was the fate in the magic jar that could not be achieved, so she had to settle for the next best thing?
Or maybe this actually hints at something, such as if one wants to become a true god, and this fragment of divinity can play a key role in that...
For a moment, Pandora's mind was in turmoil, but Gaia obviously couldn't tell what she was thinking.
It was normal for ordinary people to be stunned by shock when seeing this scene, after all, they had little knowledge to begin with.
"I don't know if you understand this kind of thing, or what kind of power can bring about such a result, but it doesn't matter. I can tell you - it is Perses, the god of material destruction, a true god who is arrogant and rude to his parents and elders, and has no mercy on his own children!"
"But all this is in the past. Now, he is what you see."
Gaia narrated calmly and Pandora listened quietly. At this moment, Epimetheus didn't know what to say.
The first time he let Pandora follow her 'fate', she ran into the long-lost Earth Mother... He could think of what Pandora could think of, and this encounter did seem to have an effect on fulfilling her 'wish', but it was definitely not the effect he wanted.
"Huh - at least I have learned two lessons."
"Making a wish into the magic jar does work, but it probably only works on the wish itself. I'm afraid it doesn't take people around you, like me, into account at all."
'Besides, water always flows along the path with the least resistance, and destiny, after confirming its destination, may only flow along the most direct path. As for whether this is the original intention of the wisher, no one knows.'
Epimetheus knew the name of Perses, the god of material destruction, but he could not judge how Pandora's wish could be fulfilled through him.
He once fantasized about the power after the sun was shattered, so he studied those divine fragments. He had a general understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of this thing... His intuition told Epimetheus that he was not sure whether Pandora could become a true god, but even if she did, it would probably be completely different from what she imagined.
······
The Sea of Pontonoris, in the palace of the original sea god.
Be it the arrival of Gaia or the existence of Iapetus, these 'accidental' participants in the conference were not noticed by the gods who were watching the phantom.
Only Zeus, the caster of the spell, seemed to have noticed some traces of the God of Speech, but he said nothing and just pretended he didn't exist.
However, Zeus's lack of reaction did not mean that the gods who were watching the game would react the same way. As Andrea's increasingly sharp words were revealed to the gods through the phantom, some gods could no longer hold back.
"Your Majesty, I didn't know before that there was such a blasphemous existence in the world, and she could stand at the grand event held in Athens to spread her ideas to more mortals."
Looking somewhat excited, Ares took a step forward and looked at Zeus on the golden throne.
"I think such a person has no right to continue living in this world. She should be punished forever like Tantalus. Please allow me to go to the human world and personally give her the punishment she deserves!"
Even without saying it out loud, the gods could hear that the reason Ares was so eager to try was simply because it was Athens.
While he was speaking, he even kept looking in the direction of Athena, but unfortunately, the other party didn't even look at him.
"Ares, this is a debate. The position in the debate does not represent the speaker's own position. If you really do this, it will only damage the reputation of the gods."
Hestia spoke softly, but was addressing Zeus.
Ares's opinion was not important, what was important was what the King of Gods thought. According to past experience, Zeus might not give his opinion directly, but he would definitely hint at something.
The goddess of fire didn't know whether her advice was meaningful, but she still said it. However, unexpectedly, this time, Zeus didn't seem angry at all.
"That's right, Ares. It's just a debate among the people. Since I have promised not to punish them for their words, I will keep my promise."
Zeus spoke lightly, and seemed to be in a strangely good mood.
"Not only that, if she wins in the end, then according to my previous promise, she will come here and be the judge of the golden apple."
"If she can achieve the final victory in such an unfavorable situation and by standing on the unreasonable side, then her wisdom is undoubtedly the best among mortals. Zephyrus, it's getting late. Why don't you set off early?"
"As you command, Your Majesty."
It was also unclear what Zeus was up to, but the God of West Wind never thought about things that he couldn't figure out.
He did not even consider whether he, as the Lord God, should go and greet a mortal. Zeferos simply stood up, bowed, and disappeared in a gust of air.
"It's really rare."
Glancing at Ares below the stage, Hera also didn't quite understand what Zeus was doing.
According to past experience, he would keep silent, and then some god would 'spontaneously' go and cause trouble for that mortal, and then the king of gods would come out to mediate, such as what happened to the queen whose seven sons and daughters were killed by Apollo.
But this time, he was actually so decent...
"So that's how it is, Zeus. I'll be watching you."
After thinking for a while, Hera suddenly realized.
She looked at Andrea's appearance in the phantom and seemed to understand something. No wonder Zeus was not angry, it turned out to be this reason.
"...You think too much, Hera. I am just maintaining order in this debate."
Zeus was a little speechless and shook his head. Beside him, Hera just sneered.
"It would be better."
"Of course it is."
Ending the topic, Zeus didn't want to argue with Hera anymore.
He looked at the phantom he had summoned, his eyes searching the audience.
He still felt the power of Iapetus, even if it was only with the help of his believers.
The God King didn't know that this was because someone was letting him win. He just kept looking for the other party while secretly sighing that his plan had worked before it even started.
The first ancient god who had opinions about the gods and was disobedient appeared in Athens. Sure enough, his idea was correct.
Solve them once and for all and divide the world into two camps. And the final winner will of course be him.
Chapter 342 The Road
The Wind God left the temple, but far away in Acropolis, Gaia and Pandora's conversation continued.
Perses, god of material destruction, son of Crius and Eurybia, and father of Hecate.
Strictly speaking, if the priesthood of [Material Destruction] existed in other worlds, it should be subordinate to [Death]. But just like Thanatos, the god of death whose birth possibility was directly strangled, was just a soul-catcher in the original mythology, because of the imbalance between Chaos' life and death, Perses' actual priesthood was closer to 'destruction' and 'collapse' rather than 'death' and 'the end'.
However, this is consistent with his identity as the former weather god and son of Crius. The essence of Perses' authority is the part of weather that tends to disaster and destruction, the collapse of the natural material structure. He shares the field of "natural disasters" with Poseidon, the earthshaker and storm lord who was born later.
In terms of family lineage, he is one of the twelve main gods of Olympus today, the uncle of Zeus' most trusted god of the wind, Zephyrus, the son-in-law of Coeus, the god of the lightless celestial body, and the grandson of Pontus, the ancient god of the sea.
In terms of power, he himself is an existence that has access to powerful divine powers simply by virtue of his innate divine duties. He is even stronger than the former sun god Helios who only controls the movement of the sun.
From the outset, Perses had everything he wanted. He was also one of the second generation Titans with the best innate conditions—until the day Hecate was born.
On that day, Perses, whose priesthood was similar to that of Poseidon and inclined toward natural disasters and destruction, spoke out at the banquet of the second generation of gods. He expressed his dissatisfaction with his wife, the goddess Asteria, and mocked Kronos for "sinning the heavens," which led to the birth of a god without a priesthood.
His anger was not without reason. After all, his marriage to Asteria was essentially an exchange, and it was a medium for the God King to win over the God of the Lightless Celestial Body to fight against the ancient sun god. But regardless of whether there was a reason or not, Perses still paid the price for such arrogant remarks.
Coeus, the god of the lightless celestial bodies, immediately gave up this son-in-law whom he disliked in the first place. Crius also began to hate this son. Needless to say, Kronos, who originally felt guilty, was very restrained in not turning against him at that time.
After destroying his own connections at the beginning, Perses realized that he didn't care much, because although his power had not reached its peak at that time, he was already a true god of medium power. He was unwilling to be inferior to others just like Poseidon, and as long as he had power, there was no place in the world that he couldn't go.
So Perses immediately went to the underworld under the desolate and lonely land, under the moonlight. The laws there were also in line with his duties. If he could subdue the gods of the underworld, then when he was promoted to a powerful god, according to the situation in the early and middle stages of the Second Age, he could be regarded as a local lord.
But ideals are always beautiful, but reality is cruel.
Although he is not a peaceful god, he has been missing since the Second Age. Not only has Hecate never heard of him, but even when she asked Leto, she only got a vague answer. There is certainly a reason for this. (See 3-88)
Because not long after arriving in the underworld, Perses met Gaia. In other words, before Hades was born, the underworld was originally part of Gaia's power.
"So... he has been imprisoned by you for an epoch since then?"
Pandora asked quietly, looking at the starlit orb in front of her.
She never expected that such a powerful god would end up like this.
"That's not the case. At first, I just wanted him to help me go into the abyss to find the whereabouts of those children... Unfortunately, in the end, he proved with facts that the existence imprisoned by the God King can only be released by the God King - at least this was the case in the abyss of the first two eras."
"Later, he seemed very dissatisfied with my letting him enter Tartarus, so I kept him for a while longer, intending to let him reflect on his mistakes before letting him go. But after Zeus was born and Kronos' power grew day by day, I focused all my energy on the ground and forgot about him."
Gaia spoke lightly, and did not show any embarrassment when talking about "forgetting".
She didn't mean to do that. In terms of treating her children, Gaia had always been quite nice to them. So it wasn't until Perses had a falling out with his father that Mother Earth asked him to be a laborer in exploring the abyss. And when Zeus became a substitute, she put him aside.
According to the original plan, Gaia was going to let Perses go after Zeus rescued the giants. However, plans could not keep up with changes. From the day Zeus released the giants, the ten-year Titan War and the catastrophe of the change of eras, Gaia fell asleep for hundreds of years, and just after waking up, she attacked Olympus, was defeated in person, and then gave birth to Typhon... For Gaia, she almost never had a moment of leisure.
After Typhon was defeated, she finally realized that Zeus could no longer be overthrown by sheer violence. Looking back, thinking of Perses, who she had forgotten for so long, and listening to his curses and hatred in captivity, Gaia, who had somewhat turned evil, decided to go all out.
At the moment when Typhon completely fell, the Earth Mother had not appeared because she was busy with this matter. She used the power left in the Outer Gods when the Nine Realms were destroyed to shatter the existence of Perses and create a situation similar to that of the ancient sun god.
"...Then I...should...?"
Does she want to integrate this authority? But she is very clear how difficult it is to integrate such a thing.
Although she didn't know that facing the source power directly was something that only a truly complete great divine power consciousness could do, Pandora still understood that it was not something she could do safely.
She subconsciously took a half step back, but the cold touch behind her told her that this was the venue of the debate conference.
She had no place to retreat, and she couldn't run away from Gaia... Pandora looked at Epimetheus, and of course she didn't receive any response. She looked at the pottery jar she was holding, and just like every time before, it was just like an ordinary jar, without any reaction.
"Well, yes, it's just as you thought, but just take it step by step - you'll succeed."
Nodding in acknowledgement of Pandora's guess, Gaia ignored her pleading look.
She had seen this offspring of Iapetus when she had created the Silver Generation. He had no courage to do anything, just as he had no courage to save his two imprisoned brothers.
As for the magic jar...
"Relax, this is said to be a gift from fate. I chose you because of it."
"If there is any power in this world that the primordial gods fear, then true destiny is one of them. I don't know if it is really useful, but this kind of thing that would never be accomplished under normal circumstances can only be hoped for by fate."
"But this is a gift for mankind." Holding the clay pot that brought her a brief moment of glory but more pain, Pandora tried to persuade Gaia: "It will not work for your request!"
"No it will, Ryan owes me this!"
The voice suddenly became high-pitched and the face was distorted for a moment, but the next moment, just like changing his face, Gaia returned to normal.
"It will." The woman in her forties said with a soft voice and a smile, "People say this is 'hope', isn't it?"
"Perhaps it will only take effect and pull you out of the abyss of despair when its master is facing a catastrophe?"
Her whole body was cold, but Pandora knew she couldn't refuse.
She didn't know what she had done wrong and why everyone in the world was deceiving her and taking advantage of her.
The gods created her, and she woke up in the palace of the gods on Mount Olympus. She thought she was the darling of the gods, but later she found out that the reason for her birth was to be a tool and one of the excuses for destroying the Bronze Age.
Epimetheus married her, the Graces came to flatter her, and she lived happily on earth for a while, but later she learned again that the Later Enlightened One had never loved her, he only used this human woman created by God as a pawn to achieve his own goals.
Later, the fourth generation of humans who received life from her children spurned her and cursed her, so she had to put all her hopes on the pottery jar in her hand. However, "hope" is like a ball of light in the darkness, you can only see it, but you can never touch it.
Until today, "hope" not only did not bring her any help, but instead led her into another abyss.
Looking back on her past life, Pandora suddenly discovered that she seemed to have never been loved.
Perhaps when she was born, Hestia had it? After all, she was the only one who gave Pandora protection, rather than those talents that seemed useful but were actually the source of trouble.
No, it was probably just pity.
"You call this 'hope'?"
Pandora raised the clay jar in her hand and smiled brightly.
"I think it's a curse."
"No one will curse you, and you don't deserve the curse of the Lord of the Spirit World."
Gaia spoke lightly, not caring what Pandora was thinking.
"Now, take your first step. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but the shattered fragments of divinity seem to have strict size restrictions. Except for the most core authority, its size is divided into nine types."
"5, 3, 1. Every time an odd number occurs, a qualitative change occurs. Since you are the first generation of humans created by God, just skip the first five and go directly to the sixth level. With me here, no one can affect you."
"... Then come on."
Nodding, knowing there was no second choice, Pandora stretched out her hand and touched the crystal clear sphere directly.
She was no longer afraid.
'If this is a curse, then I am a curse.'
"How can there be a disaster that would cause one to be afraid of destruction?"
When her palm touched the authority from Perses, a certain intuition arose in Pandora's heart.
Perhaps the wish she made was not distorted, and she would indeed become a true god who truly held power and could not be taken away, and her future power would not really come from the legacy of Perses.
She seemed to see another path that fate had pointed out to her.
It's just that it's still very vague now, because true fate is fair. What it takes away, it will give you, and what it wants to give you, it will first take away the price.
And everything she had gone through in the past...perhaps was just a tiny insignificant remnant of this price.
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"Um?"
With a slight movement in his heart, Ryan, sitting in the audience, suddenly felt his spirit being touched for a moment.
It seemed like something good was happening, but it also brought some negative effects. However, when he tried to explore this sensation, he got no results.
"What's wrong?"
He was trying to do three things at once: on the one hand, he was giving orders and debating with the scholars on the stage, and on the other hand, he was alert to Gaia's existence. Iapetus still had time to pay attention to the guy next to him.
His origins are still a mystery, and the God of Speech will not believe him so easily.
"Nothing, maybe... I got a revelation from fate? I am a prophet after all."
Shaking his head, Ryan evaded the question casually.
"…This debate is almost over, so let's just say goodbye from now on."
After staring at Ryan for a while, Iapetus said calmly.
"Please go ahead, but I personally suggest that you stay a little longer."
Ryan smiled and pointed to the sky. Iapetus looked up and was confused at first, then seemed to have discovered something.
"Zeferos? So it's him. His ability to spy on others is still so average... but he has really good luck."
Shaking his head, Iapetus recalled the time when he had gone to Delphi under the other's nose, while Ryan smiled without saying anything.
Over the years, as he gained a deeper understanding of fate, he actually began to understand Zeferos' situation a little.
Fate is always fair. Whatever it gives you, it will take away; whatever it takes away, it will give you.
After all, Ryan is not the master of fate. He is the god of spirituality, not the god of fate. Even he cannot violate this iron rule.
So, from another perspective, the curse that Zephyrus suffered might actually be a special kind of luck.
Chapter 343 The End of the Debate
'Sure enough, this debate is not that simple.'
Iapetus looked clear and was only surprised for a moment, but then he got used to it.
It didn't seem like Zeus's main purpose was to change the topic of the debate. It was just a convenience at best. He must have other ideas, and Zephyrus' arrival proved this.
But these are all internal affairs of Olympus... Trying to do three things at once, Iapetus couldn't help but ask,
"I saw someone waiting above the venue, but what does this have to do with me?"
Yes, whether on the surface or in reality, the arrival of the God of West Wind has nothing to do with him.
Although Iapetus, through Andrea's mouth, said many things that were inconsistent with the harmony and values of the God Court, as a first-generation Titan, he should not let the King of Gods bring him to justice just because of a debate in the human world.
After all, he was only standing up for his son, and no matter how you looked at it, Zeferos didn't come for him.
"It doesn't seem to matter, if we talk about it according to common sense. But fate tells me that what is about to happen here is closely related to you - so I suggest that you at least watch the entire process of this conference, what do you think?"
"…Then wait a little longer."
Although the God of Speech did not know the existence of the golden apple, nor did he know that many goddesses were best at venting their anger, he thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Iapetus felt like he had fallen into a trap. He had only come to watch a debate, but how did he meet Gaia?
Meeting Gaia was fine, he just wanted to avoid her and not get involved, so why did he personally participate in the debate?
He didn't take it seriously, but why did the King of Gods intervene? Obviously, something else was going to happen later.
But no matter what, the debate is not over yet, so the God of Speech, in line with the principle of starting well and ending well, will focus on his hobby first.
It must be said that this human prince named Odysseus is quite capable. If he had not been affected by some other things, he might have performed even better.
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Outside the arena where the contestants were fighting, whether in the depths of the sea or in the audience seats, the conversation between the gods was still going on.
On the floating platform, the verbal battle over the fairness of the destruction of the Bronze Age had lasted for several water clock hours.
If it weren't for Apollo's temporary dereliction of duty, it would have been afternoon on Earth.
However, as the clouds gathered, the scorching sun was blocked and the cool autumn breeze took away the heat in the venue.
During the debate, the focus of both sides changed several times. When Odysseus used "God created all spirits" to counter "human justice", Andrea decisively pointed out the loophole of the other party.
First of all, do the gods admit that "whoever creates living things has ownership of them"? Obviously not. After all, bronze humans were created by Prometheus. If this is the case, then bronze humans undoubtedly belong to the gods of foresight rather than Olympus.
Furthermore, if the gods believe that "giving orders" is also considered participating in creation, then the King of Gods ordered Prometheus to create humans, and therefore the bronze humans also belong to the King of Gods, then two problems will arise at this time - first, the world-destroying flood killed not only humans, but also other lives created by the ancient gods. Then the gods' arbitrarily killing the property of other gods should not be considered fair.
On the other hand, if "giving instructions" is also considered as participating in creation, then the current generation of humans is still created by God. After all, according to legend, Deucalion and Pyrrha, who survived the flood, created a new generation of humans under the guidance of God. So if God's destruction of the Bronze Age is fair, then if God destroys the current era, it can also be called fair.
Andrea's words were sharp, but as his opponent, Odysseus naturally responded. A debate is not about right or wrong but a war of words. So he also refuted Andrea's points one by one.
First of all, the gods destroyed the Bronze Age because of the deception of Prometheus and the Bronze Age sacrifices. This is not without reason or cause. In today's era, there are no such gods who are guilty of crimes, and there will not be a situation where all kings and nobles rebel against the gods together. Therefore, the destruction of the fourth generation of humans by gods is a false proposition.
Moreover, he had heard that the heaven and the earth had no will of their own, but they could give revelations through fate and let gods and humans walk on the right path; nature would not teach knowledge to living beings, but humans could learn the principles of advancing civilization by observing the changes of all things and the movement of stars.
From this we can see that revelation does not necessarily contain subjective will, and the truths understood by humans themselves may also be the embodiment of rules. Therefore, although Deucalion and Pyrrha were guided by the gods, the creation of the fourth generation of humans may not have a direct relationship with the gods, so Andrea's accusation is naturally untenable.
As for the death and injury of other life forms in the Bronze Age, humans certainly don't know whether the gods who created other life forms agree to destroy the world, but they also don't know whether they resist, right? Moreover, it is said that in the distant Silver Moon City, the residents there claim to be the survivors of the Bronze Age - does this prove that the Olympian gods consulted the opinions of other gods and killed the creations of those who agreed, while leaving the creatures favored by those who disagreed?
After completing this round of defense, Odysseus naturally could not give up. Simply breaking the opponent's offensive would only put him at a disadvantage, so he decisively turned from defense to offense, shifting the topic from "the justice of the God's court" to "why to question the justice of the God's court".
He said that Andrea thought the actions of the Bronze Age God Court were unfair, and the accusation of injustice in the Bronze Age explained more about the wide range of divine punishment and the large number of deaths. Later, Andrea even questioned him - if God also destroyed the fourth generation of humans, would you still think it was fair?
Odysseus believes that such words may have been influenced by subjective emotions. Does this prove that Andrea's desire to prove the injustice of the gods is actually because she is worried that the gods will continue to destroy mankind, and her accusation against the gods is just out of "sadness for one's own kind"?
This is unnecessary, because the Gods are just, and they destroyed the Bronze Age for a reason, and during this era, the churches of the gods were deeply involved in every aspect of human life. Humans cannot understand the "justice of God", so the gods personally tell humans what their "justice" is through the church.
Today, the morality and culture of mankind are all influenced by the gods; among today's human rulers, few are rebellious and arrogant and blaspheme the gods. Therefore, the disasters of the Bronze Age are destined not to occur in this era.
This statement undoubtedly received a huge response from the audience, because as the debate progressed, many of the audience did begin to feel a little scared. Odysseus' words not only dispelled their doubts, but also gave them a psychological hint - you have to believe that the gods are fair, after all, a fair god will not bring disasters at will, so what I said is right, and the fourth generation of humans will not be destroyed.
On the other hand, if the Gods are not fair and everything I said is wrong, then wouldn't the fourth generation of humans be in constant danger and could be destroyed at any time? Under this psychological effect, even if it is for escape, many people will subconsciously believe in the fairness of the gods.
It must be said that in this classical era, it is rare to find someone who can create such a psychological trap. This alone is enough to show that Odysseus is ahead of ordinary people. Andrea also saw this, but she was not panicked at all.
The other party questioned whether she was objective as a debater and whether she was affected by emotions. Of course, she would not admit it, but she would not argue with the other party on this issue. After all, the influence of emotions is too subjective, and it is difficult to find concrete evidence to prove whether it exists or not. If she really debated with the other party on this issue, she would have fallen into a trap.
So the topic changed, and Andrea was no longer eager to discuss whether the destruction of the Bronze Age was fair or not, but began to break Odysseus' psychological suggestion.
The other party equates 'the justice of the Divine Court' with the 'safety of the fourth generation of humans', trying to lead the audience to believe that 'if the Divine Court is just, we are safe' and 'if the Divine Court is unjust, we are in danger', and then make them believe that the Divine Court has always been just under the influence of the escape mentality. There are actually many ways to deal with this.
For example, the simplest one is that the fourth generation of humans is different from the Bronze Age. In the current world environment, if the gods really want to destroy the world, it is hard to say whether they can succeed. However, such remarks not only conflict with the impression of "the gods are powerful" in most people's minds, but also tend to break the opponent's offensive rather than establish their own advantages while breaking.
So since Odysseus used psychological tricks, Andrea followed suit.
She said that Odysseus believed that the gods told humans what "God's justice" was through the church, which in turn influenced human thought and culture. This is indeed true, but it not only fails to prove the consistency of God's justice, but is a good counterexample.
The Church of the God-King and God-Queen teaches about marriage for humans, which shows what a 'fair marriage' looks like in the eyes of the gods, but the God-King and God-Queen, who set this standard, do not abide by the standards they set themselves.
On the platform, Andrea listed one by one the acts of the God King's betrayal of marriage, and also listed how Hera, as the guardian of marriage, not only did she not point her sword at the God King, but instead she wantonly harmed the women violated by Zeus.
God himself invented the institution of marriage, but on the one hand, he taught humans to abide by it, and on the other hand, he did whatever he wanted. Doesn't this just prove the difference between God and humans?
If harmonious marriage is indeed the "justice" recognized by the gods, then reality proves that the gods themselves can violate it. Therefore, no matter what caused the demise of the Bronze Age, there is no guarantee that the gods will not destroy the fourth generation of mankind.
If mortals cannot understand the "justice of God", it includes both "observing marriage" and "destroying marriage", then Odysseus's words are also falsified, because the "justice" that humans learned from God is also wrong. Humans have learned the wrong things, just like Prometheus taught deception, which became the basis for the gods to punish them? In the conversation,
the psychological suggestion established by Odysseus was easily broken, and even further made the audience doubt the justice of the gods.
Although injustice in marriage does not necessarily mean injustice in other things, people are always willing to believe that the criminal has committed more than one crime.
So, standing on different viewpoints, the debate between the two sides lasted for several water clock hours, and in this battle of thoughts and words, the audience also felt the charm of language.
There is no need to determine the winner in a debate. Unless the difference in level between the two parties is too great, it is unlikely that one party will be speechless. More often than not, one party will be busy defending and fall into a disadvantageous position in the confrontation.
So in the end, as time went on, the debate finally came to an end.
"Now, please give your final speech. After that, the 183,000 audience members will make their choice. They will act as judges and decide the champion of this debate."
The old man who had disappeared for a long time came back to the platform. Looking at his tired face, he probably didn't understand how the question was changed.
But even at this point, he still smiled in front of the audience and contestants.
"Your wonderful debate will surely go down in history, and this collision of wisdom will become one of the most dazzling pearls we dedicate to the goddess."