The region of Colchis, ruled by the Sun God's family, lies next to the Caucasus Mountains.
At the peak of the Caucasus, there's a second-generation Titan, Prometheus, who was punished by Zeus, the King of the Gods, and bound to the rocks with iron chains.
Prometheus is one of the sons of Iapetus, a first-generation Titan, and Clymene, the goddess of fame.
Though he's called the creator of mankind, Prometheus only created the humans of the Bronze Age.
Before Prometheus created the humans of the Bronze Age, Cronus, the King of the Gods at the time, had already created the humans of the Golden Age.
The humans of the Golden Age lived like gods under Cronus's favor.
They were carefree, didn't have to toil, the earth provided them with abundant fruits, and herds of cattle and sheep roamed the lush fields. They barely aged.
When Cronus decided that the humans of the Golden Age should disappear from the earth, they were all transformed into immortal beings on Mount Olympus, honored with the privilege of serving the gods.
The descendants of the humans from the Golden Age became known as the humans of the Silver Age.
After Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades overthrew Cronus, the humans of the Silver Age refused to submit to the new ruler of Olympus—Zeus. As a result, they became the first generation of humans to be destroyed by Zeus.
However, unlike the humans of the Bronze Age, the humans of the Silver Age, though their bodies were destroyed, were allowed to roam the earth as spirits.
After leaving Colchis, Phaethon spread his silver wings and, with godlike speed, flew to the peak of the Caucasus Mountains, landing in front of Prometheus.
This creator of mankind had a tall, imposing figure and long green hair, symbolizing the god of life.
Looking at the iron chains binding Prometheus, Phaethon realized they were just ordinary chains—ones that even a strong human could break.
Phaethon immediately understood that Prometheus had completely lost the will to resist Zeus.
Even if someone were to remove the chains, Prometheus would still remain on the mountaintop, accepting Zeus's punishment.
Sensing Phaethon's gaze, Prometheus, who had seemed to be sleeping with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. Surprised, he looked at Phaethon and said, "Son of Helios! You're still alive?"
Hearing this, Phaethon smirked mockingly and teased, "So much for being the wise one who can see the future. I guess you foresaw my death when I failed to drive the Sun Chariot. Too bad I defied fate and survived, while you, the so-called wise one who tried to curry favor with Zeus, ended up as his prisoner for your foolishness."
When Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades fought the first-generation Titans for control of the world, Prometheus sided with the three gods.
After the Titans were defeated and imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus, the second-generation Titans were also driven out of Olympus. Only Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus were allowed to remain on the mountain.
Perhaps Zeus's special treatment made Prometheus believe that the King of the Gods saw him as a friend and equal.
But after Prometheus created the humans of the Bronze Age, he not only stole fire for them without permission but also reduced the offerings they made to the gods.
Zeus, enraged, not only destroyed the humans of the Bronze Age with a great flood, aided by Poseidon, but also made Prometheus pay the price for using his wisdom against the King of the Gods.
"Prometheus! You're known as the wise one who can see the future, yet here you are, suffering an endless punishment.
Your brother Epimetheus, who's called the fool who only understands things after they happen, gets to live peacefully with Pandora as a godly couple, far from all this conflict.
To me, your tragedy, along with that of Metis, the goddess of wisdom, proves one thing—no matter how great wisdom is, it's always fragile in the face of brute strength.
As descendants of Gaia and Uranus, the primordial gods, we can only control our own fate if we possess power."
Metis, the goddess of wisdom, was Zeus's first wife.
Before Zeus challenged Cronus, the King of the Gods, it was the goddess of wisdom, Metis, who helped Zeus rescue Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia from Cronus's stomach.
After the first Titan War ended, it was also Metis's wisdom that helped Zeus become the ruler of Mount Olympus.
But after Metis became pregnant with Zeus's first child, Zeus swallowed his pregnant wife.
Both Prometheus and Metis used their wisdom to aid Zeus, and both were punished and harmed by him. This is the similarity between Prometheus and Metis.
"Using strength to fight strength—"
Seeing the confident expression on Phaethon's face, Prometheus couldn't help but give a bitter smile and say, "Son of Helios! Both Metis and I know that only power can curb Zeus's tyranny. But even the first-generation Titans, Cronus's brothers, were defeated by Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Now, aside from Poseidon and Hades, there's no god left who can challenge Zeus with strength."
"Prometheus! Just because you couldn't do it doesn't mean other gods can't."
In the world of Greek mythology, aside from the primordial gods who represent the universe itself, even the King of the Gods can only glimpse fragments of the future, not the whole picture.
But after Phaethon awakened the memories of another person, he happened to know everything that would happen in the next few centuries.
By cleverly using those seemingly unrelated events, he could turn the tide with minimal effort—
With this thought, Phaethon flapped his silver wings and soared into the sky.
"Prometheus! Zeus has you punished here on the Caucasus Mountains as a warning to my family, the Sun Gods. You will be our witness—witness whether the Sun God family can resist the oppression from Mount Olympus."
With that, Phaethon sped off toward Greece in the southwest.
Prometheus watched Phaethon's departing figure for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes in shock and said, "What's going on? Why can I only see Phaethon's past but not his future?"
As a seer, Prometheus could not only glimpse the future of humans but also that of the gods.
It was through this foresight that Prometheus saw that the sea goddess Thetis would give birth to a son stronger than his father, and he used this secret as his final bargaining chip with Zeus.
But now, when Prometheus tried to peer into Phaethon's future, all he saw was a blank, white void.
"Even with supreme gods, I can usually glimpse at least a hazy outline of their future.
Could it be that Phaethon, having broken the fate of death, can now, like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, control his own destiny?"