" Are you the one they call Prometheus? " A refined voice rang like a bell from behind the pre-occupied Titan.
" Oh, yes. And... you are Athena, I presume? " Prometheus replied as he slowly led his gaze away from the horizon.
" I am. " The now revealed Athena answered succinctly. She was was roughly three times smaller than the Titan, which was to be expected. She had shiny, light auburn hair that was styled formally. Her features were delicate yet hardened with maturity, expression permanently neutral and expressionless. She had deeply brilliant ocean blue eyes that shone with unspeakable wisdom. Athena was clad in regal golden armor, with a plumed helmet that rested lightly on her head. She didn't seem to be wearing it though.
" Ah, then if you would please, walk with me. " Prometheus says as he guides Athena to the location where they are to work. It was decided that they would create the 'humans' just a ways away from Olympus. After that, with help from some other Gods, they were to spread them throughout the world!
Normally, they would travel there with another more practical method, like warping. Unfortunately, proper decorum and manners were to be upheld, since this was the birth of a new race that all pantheons would host. Carelessness could be easily interpreted as mockery and not taking the other pantheons seriously, or so it was said. Politics were as weird as ever, the Titan thought.
After walking for a short while, Athena asks from the blue,
" Prometheus. " She calls out, breaking the silence between them.
" Yes? " He asks, mildly confused.
" If you do not mind me asking, you were one of the Titans present during the Titanomachy, yes? " She inquires carefully. Each word was carefully phrased to be as neutral as possible.
" Why yes, I was. What about it? " He casually responds. He was never one for anything beyond basic manners after all.
" Then you must have bore witness to the famed Hydra? The Chaos-born primordial that devoured time itself? " She asks, traces of genuine curiosity leaking from her usually unfeeling expression.
" I have... It was a very... interesting experience... why the sudden interest though? " He barely holds back a shiver, but still manages to respond.
" My father, Zeus and the other Olympians do not seem to be keen on revealing much. " She responds curtly.
The Olympians tended to not want to talk about the Titanomachy other than the fact that they won... mostly because they were a peanut gallery for most of the important battles.
" I see... Well, if I had to summarize it, I would say that they were a monster of unimaginable power. The beast was vicious, and did as it wished. Sigh... I could never forget that sight. " He sighs.
" If I may ask, what... sight... are you referring to? " She responds, her curiosity at an all-time high.
She always sought knowledge, especially about things pertaining to history, and she was quite displeased whenever her Aunts would refuse to tell her how the Titanomachy ended other than that Kronos was sentenced to a fate much, much worse than death.
" Did your father not tell you? The reason why Kronos was never held personally accountable and captured by the Olympians? "
" No. " She responds, phrasing her words to be as direct and efficient as possible.
" Curious... Well, I did not see much, for I was much too exhausted back then, but I still saw what happened very clearly. The reason Kronos is not in Tartarus... is because he was personally escorted into the terrible jaws of the Hydra. " He recounted with a shiver.
What he saw was a constant reminder, for him and the God's. The Gods were not as superior as they thought they were, and he doubted they would ever. That kind of existence... was just different.
" So he is dead? Then how is the River of Time undisturbed? That would surely be impossible, no? " Athena was all questions at this point.
" Eh, 'dead' is a very vague term, especially to us divine. And I am not sure if Kronos is still alive in... there... but, I do know that the Hydra had done something completely beyond logic. " He sighs out, they were near their destination now.
" And what might that be? " Athena asks with tinges of excitement of her voice. Such knowledge, such mystery. She was enraptured in the narrative, and the implications of the great Hydra's feats.
Unknown to the Hydra, they were extremely famous now... or rather, extremely infamous. Even among the other pantheons, many have heard tale of the primordial beast that usurped Time from the Mad King Kronos, who was revered to be one of the strongest beings on the planet.
They gilded the beast with numerous titles, "Jailer Of Time" and "The Fair Destroyer" were most prominent for their feats of killing one of the world's biggest tyrants. The tale of the Hydra's legend had spread to every corner of the world!
" The beast... It... It ate him... and usurped his own divinity. " Prometheus confessed.
" How is that even possible?! To take one's divinity as their own... and such a powerful one as well... ?!- Ah, forgive me, that was improper of me. " Athena was very unsettled by the news, so much so that it broke her ice-cold composure. Of course, such a mistake was rectified immediately.
" Ah... It is quite okay, I remember I had reacted much more... expressively, back then. Ah! It seems we have arrived! " He exclaims as they near their destination.
Two pairs of footsteps sounded through the now-revealed destination. It was a beautiful field with nature sprawling all throughout. They had picked this location because of it's proximity to Olympus. Zeus had Demeter even bless the place to nurture the soil and fauna.
" How will you proceed with this? " Athena inquired, having moved on from the previous topic.
" I decided that I wanted to make them from the soil. I want them to be connected closely to the nature around them. Since it was decided they were not to live long, I thought that if they were born from the Earth, and in death returned, it would become a beautiful cycle of life. " He explained with barely restrained enthusiasm.
" Intriguing, and it seems you are quite passionate about this. " She pointed out.
" Ah, so it would seem... I had been dreaming of this for quite some time now after all. Phew... I will start now. " He says as he gets on one knee, and reaches out to the soil.
Athena steps away as he personally pulled soil and mud from the Earth and started to mold it delicately. Each movement was careful and with intent. His touch was gentle, and sometimes forceful, kneading and molding with outmost attention. First, he made the head, then the torso, and then the limbs. but he did not stop with one, after he created the first, he moved on to another, and another until there was enough to count as a crowd. Each figure was molded differently, but they all seemed to be masculine.
" Phew... Lady Athena, if you would... " He requested as he wiped a drop of sweat from his brow.
" Of course. " She says as she steps closer, until she was in front of the crowd of humans.
" ... What will you call them? " She asked softly, interested in the potential and future of this new race.
" Humans. I will call them humans. " Prometheus whispers out with conviction, taking everything in.
" Humans... It's a good name. I look forward to their future, perhaps I could share my knowledge with them someday. " Athena says before also falling onto one knee.
" Humans... I give you... the gift of life... and the gift, of wisdom. " Athena breathes, blowing softly in the figures direction. It was the breath of life. One by one, the figure started twitching softly. Within a few minutes, they had already started opening their eyes, getting used to the surroundings for the very first time. They notice two figures, and instantly look towards them. One was beautiful beyond compare, while one was towering.
As they looked on, Prometheus welcomed with welcome arms,
" Welcome to life, my dear humans. " He says fondly.
--- To Be Continued ---
( I really wanted to put " so you're finally awake. " in there lmao. Sorry for the dialogue heavy chapter, but I wanted to take the time to really set up the next phase of the Hydra's legend/story. Remember to support the novel if you like it. Power stones, comments, reviews especially, anything is appreciated! That's all bye! )