Chapter 1989 – 1989. God’S Atlantis
The world swept away by the great flood was silent.
At least in my world, all humans except Pandora had disappeared.
Pandora, the first woman, was pregnant with my child, but there wasn’t enough time to consider it the beginning of humanity. How long would it take for one person to become 1,000?
‘A thousand is far too few to create a myth.’
I don’t know the exact population of ancient Greece. But to create a myth, you need at least hundreds of thousands of people.
‘I need to create humans.’
That was the original intention when I wiped them out. In the actual original history, humans were created anew.
‘Were humans made from stones?’
There was a goddess who was an expert in this area.
I went straight to Gaia and asked her.
“Create humans.”
“…Zeus. You’re the one who wiped out all the humans. Now you want me to create them again?”
“Even if it’s not me, you know that humans have an important role. We need humans to be worshiped.”
“Right. That’s true. But are you going to wipe them out again if you don’t like them? If that’s the case, is there any need to create humans?”
“I swear on the River Styx that I will not exterminate humans.”
The newly created humans would be distinctly different from the previous ones. Pandora’s box had already been opened and spread throughout the world, so humans would not enjoy glory. Now, humans would have to make more difficult choices for survival.
“It’s not that I trust you… but it’s a problem that there are no humans.”
Gaia sighed and gave me stones.
“If you scatter these on the ground, humans will be created.”
“It’s not enough. Give me more.”
“…Okay. Is this enough?”
“Give me more.”
“…Here you go.”
“More.”
“If there are too many humans, the mortal realm could become chaotic.”
Gaia’s face was firm.
Gaia and I had a decent relationship, but it wasn’t exactly a great one. Gaia, in particular, was stubborn. In terms of status, not power, she was far above Zeus.
I had no choice but to go outside. I rode the clouds around the world, scattering the stones Gaia had given me in various places. The stones became people. They were primitive, but with the help of the gods, they would develop quickly.
This world was still the age of the gods.
• • •
「Time is accelerated.」
Various things happened. Even I couldn’t interfere in everything. Just because it was Greek mythology didn’t mean I, as Zeus, had to be involved in everything.
I looked down at the earth from the sky.
I saw humans.
They were building cities, appointing kings, and worshiping gods.
I didn’t like the fact that kingdoms, which were no more than cities, were being established haphazardly. It felt chaotic. Humans had developed, but it seemed like it would take a very long time for them to develop further.
One day.
Poseidon came to Olympus. Soaked in seawater, Poseidon sat in one of the twelve seats without a care. I narrowed my eyes and glared at Poseidon.
“You smell of the sea. Can’t you wash up a bit?”
“Zeus, my brother. The sea is dangerous.”
“What are you talking about?”
I couldn’t understand him when he spoke so abruptly. I checked the sea with my heavenly gaze. The sea was the same as usual.
“I just looked at the sea. There’s nothing particularly special about it.”
“It doesn’t look like it on the surface. The sea is different from the land. All sorts of monsters still remain.”
“I gave you the trident so you could rule the sea. And yet, you still haven’t completely conquered the sea?”
“It’s the same reason you haven’t conquered all of the sky. Many gods have interests in this sea.”
Unfortunately, this world wasn’t just populated by the gods of Greek mythology. It was mixed with Norse mythology, Egyptian mythology, and other regional mythologies. That was why I couldn’t rule all of the sky. I could only rule the sky within the realm of Greek mythology. Similarly, Hades couldn’t rule the entire underworld.
“It’s different for you. I ruled all of the sky within my realm. What about you? You haven’t even ruled the places you should be ruling.”
“Zeus. I only recently discovered this… There’s a monster in the sea. It’s sleeping in a very, very deep place. It’s not just a simple monster. You could call it a god of the deep sea. It existed before we were born… It wouldn’t be strange to consider it a primordial god.”
“If it’s a god, it’s a god. If it’s a monster, it’s a monster. Decide which one it is.”
“It is both a god and a monster.”
Poseidon said seriously. It didn’t seem like he was talking nonsense.
“This god is asleep, but it’s creating monsters. It’s a very troublesome god.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Not really. They’re weak compared to me and my children. They’re only slightly stronger than humans, so as long as I’m here, they won’t be able to come out of the sea.”
“So it’s not a serious matter.”
“Not for now. But I’m worried. If you see that monster, you’ll understand my concern.”
Clack!
Poseidon struck the floor with his trident. Immediately, a barrier of seawater appeared. The seawater didn’t splash everywhere; it flowed from below to above and circulated. The surface of the seawater showed a video like a TV.
In the very depths of the sea.
There was a giant fish-man. The fish-man was curled up deep in the sea, like a fetus in its mother’s womb, asleep.
As soon as I saw him, I gasped.
‘It’s Dagon from the Cthulhu mythos.’
Why is he here? It was so surprising that it was absurd.
‘Was he always here? Or did the system mess with it?’
If the system messed with it?
‘This could be the real purpose of the trial.’
I thought about Dagon. It’s not like I know the Cthulhu mythos in detail. But I do know that those gods are all ridiculously strong. However, Dagon didn’t seem that strong. If all the gods of Olympus joined forces, wouldn’t they be able to kill Dagon?
“Poseidon, have you tried attacking him?”
“Of course, I have. But my attacks didn’t work. An unknown force was protecting him. I think I could hurt him if I forced my power, but… I didn’t bother.”
“Why?”
“It felt ominous. I had a bad feeling.”
An ominous premonition.
If a human had said that, I would have scoffed. But if the owner of the ominous premonition was Poseidon, I couldn’t ignore it.
“It’s not dangerous right now, so let’s watch it for now. But don’t let your guard down.”
“I think all the gods should join forces to kill him.”
That was why Poseidon had come to Olympus after so long.
“We lack information. It’s not too late to act after we get enough information.”
There was a lack of information.
Too much of a lack.
• • •
In the real Olympus, which existed somewhere in the universe, Hades and the twelve gods were all gathered. But no one spoke easily.
A variable had occurred in Sung Yu-jin’s trial.
I had predicted that a variable would occur. Sung Yu-jin, who had become Zeus, had a personality that was different from ordinary people. Moreover, Sung Yu-jin already knew the future of the myth. It would have been stranger if a variable hadn’t occurred.
It was more surprising that there weren’t any major changes in the content.
“System.”
Zeus broke the silence and spoke.
「Master of the Heavens, speak.」
“The content of the trial has changed. The trial we set should not involve any gods other than us. Of course, it’s absurd that there are any traces of that. Did you dare to change the content of the trial?”
「The trial reflects all of your opinions.」
“Are you daring to play tricks?”
「I do not lie. Sung Yu-jin’s trial was created by reflecting your power and opinions.」
Zeus swallowed his groan.
If the system wasn’t broken, it wouldn’t lie. Zeus was also present when the system was created. Zeus was one of the gods who knew the most about the system.
“It seems like there’s a traitor among us.”
“……”
The gods looked at each other.
There were no loud voices among them. No one uttered a suspicious word. Only a cold silence lingered.
Nothing is eternal. The gods are no exception. Countless years were enough to change the gods.
Then, Apollo spoke.
“Can we call this betrayal? To me, it just looks like a prank. That’s all I see.”
Aphrodite crossed her arms. Her face was uncomfortable as she glared.
“A prank? It’s not just any god, but an outer god that intervened. Does this look like a prank to you? You know the otherness of the outer gods well, don’t you? The thought that one of us has joined hands with an outer god makes me sick. Apollo. Is it you?”
“Lady Aphrodite. I will not tolerate any more insults.”
Apollo and Aphrodite glared at each other.
Next, Artemis spoke.
“If the system created the trial by accepting our power and opinions, then it must know the culprit. Let’s ask the system. System. Who is the traitor? Who brought another mythology into the trial?”
「I cannot tell you because I respect the rights of all divine seats. Also, my duty is to manage Atlantis. I cannot interfere with matters outside of Atlantis.」
Artemis gripped her bow. But that was all. Even she couldn’t physically do anything to the system.
Ares rested his chin on his hand and said, as if annoyed.
“It doesn’t seem like a big deal. Even if the influence of an outer god entered the trial, it doesn’t seem like we’re losing anything, right?”
It was Athena who refuted Ares.
“Our reputation is at stake. If this fact leaks out… the other gods will laugh at us. Ares. You’re always short-sighted.”
“You think too much for no reason. Have you figured out the traitor with your great wisdom?”
“……”
Wisdom and omniscience were different. No matter how wise Athena was, she didn’t know all the answers. Especially when it came to matters related to the gods. Athena and Ares glared at each other. The half-siblings had not been on good terms for a very long time.
