Chapter 1995 – 1995. God’S Atlantis
The god of the sky, the king of Olympus, sent lightning down to the humans.
All the humans were both delighted and bewildered.
It was all so sudden.
Still, since it was lightning sent by the god of gods, the humans offered sacrifices in gratitude.
Zeus was the most revered among the humans. At the same time, they knew he was a tremendous tyrant. They just didn’t speak ill of Zeus because they feared the thunderbolts from the sky.
Even if they skipped sacrifices to other gods, they couldn’t skip sacrifices to Zeus. Even cities that worshipped other gods made sure to offer sacrifices to Zeus. If they accidentally skipped a sacrifice for Zeus, that city would be destroyed.
Perseus, the king of Argos, faithfully offered sacrifices of gratitude to his father, Zeus. This was because his father, Zeus, was not the type to go easy on him just because he was his son. Although, he had never actually seen Zeus.
“Lord Zeus has sent down lightning. All the temples have announced the oracle at the same time, so it’s certain that lightning has been given to humans.”
Perseus said to his vassals. Lightning had been given to humans, but the humans didn’t know how to use it. Even the most learned scholars were at a loss for words.
It was like the past. Prometheus stole fire from Olympus and gave it to humans. The humans were grateful. And they used the fire without much thought. Fire was intuitive. But lightning? How could humans dare to handle lightning that struck from the sky?
“Did the great master of the sky only give us an oracle?”
“My father gave me this.”
Perseus held something in his hand. It was something transparent and round. The vassals were momentarily captivated by the unusual beauty of the object, but soon they thought rationally.
“Perhaps that object is related to lightning.”
“Isn’t it an object that summons and controls lightning?”
“Maybe it can drop lightning to kill animals!”
“Or use lightning to punish humans!”
Only crude methods came out of the mouths of those intelligent vassals. No matter how smart the scholars were, they were too ignorant about lightning. The lightning that struck from the sky belonged only to Zeus. No one even thought of studying it.
Perseus was disappointed with his retainers, who were all spouting the same things. He sighed inwardly and carefully fiddled with the object in his hand.
‘If this is really a tool to control lightning… I’d like to send a thunderbolt to these useless vassals. How should I use it? Should I shout, “Lightning!”?’
Even so, he was a king, so wouldn’t that be too undignified?
Click!
Perseus’s finger touched something, and a light came on.
“Fire?!”
Startled, Perseus almost dropped the bulb he was holding.
The vassals who were watching gaped.
“To hold fire in your hand… Your Majesty. Aren’t you hot?”
“It’s not hot. But is this really fire?”
“…It doesn’t seem like fire. Lord Zeus said he would send lightning… Could this be lightning?”
“Does this look like lightning to you?”
“……”
The vassals closed their mouths again. No matter how they looked at it, that shining thing was not lightning. Lightning was more ferocious and terrifying.
“Hoo. I’ll have to offer another sacrifice to my father. Priests, prepare the sacrifice.”
Even in this situation, Perseus consistently called Zeus, whom he had never met, his father. It was for the sake of his own power.
Two days passed.
The priest announced that the preparations for the sacrifice were complete. The people gathered around the temple for the sacrifice. They also seemed curious about the lightning that had been given to humans.
‘Oh dear. I didn’t expect so many to gather.’
Perseus’s face hardened.
Even if a sacrifice was made, the gods did not necessarily respond. Most of the time, they were ignored. Especially Zeus, who ignored most of the sacrifices, except for one or two out of a hundred. As for Perseus, his own son, he was lucky to get a response about five times.
‘If my father doesn’t react here… my authority will fall.’
It was burdensome that so many people, who usually didn’t gather much for sacrifices due to being busy, had gathered like this.
‘Damn it. I can’t stop here either…’
The sacrifice proceeded. Originally, he was only going to offer two cows, but he offered one more.
‘Please. Please respond! Father!’
Was it because of his sincerity?
It was felt that a certain being had descended upon the temple.
The overwhelming presence made it hard to breathe. Perseus was in a better state. The priest was sitting on the floor, trembling. His eyes were spinning, and he didn’t seem to be in his right mind. The vassals were no better. They were prostrate on the floor, their eyes tightly shut. It seemed like someone had wet themselves somewhere.
The people outside the temple were the same. They instinctively knelt and worshipped Zeus. No one opened their mouths. They just worshipped.
“Father, I offer three cows! Please grant us great wisdom!”
-What are you curious about?
“We have received great grace from you, Father, and have been given lightning, but we are foolish and do not know how to handle it! Please bestow upon us your great wisdom!”
-Ah, I see. I overestimated you too much. It’s my mistake. You were the ignorant, incompetent, foolish, and uncivilized ones who didn’t even know the concept of electricity, let alone lightning….
A surge of something irreverent rose within Perseus, but he tried hard to control it. The other party was a god who could wipe out a city with a single gesture.
=I will grant you wisdom. You’ll need tools to handle lightning well. It would be good to treat Hephaestus well. Also, secure many blacksmiths.
Kwarurururung!
A bolt of lightning fell from the temple ceiling. Perseus trembled with extreme pain, as if his whole body was being torn apart.
‘Wh-why? Am I, am I going to die like this?!’
Knowledge flooded into his panicked mind.
Lightning. Electricity. Generator. Battery, smartphone. Refrigerator, air conditioner, EMP….
Incomprehensible knowledge entered his mind. It was like, even if he tried to delve deeper into that knowledge, the core was empty, making it difficult, if not impossible, to utilize.
‘…I am a king. It’s the blacksmith’s job to make these things, so I don’t need to know them in depth.’
Didn’t his father god also say to use the blacksmiths?
Perseus shook off the pain. He hadn’t become the king of Argos by luck.
“Father! I have a request!”
Perseus said. It was a somewhat rude tone for speaking to the king of the gods. He relied on the bond of blood. At least it would be better than being a complete stranger. Maybe he would be spared a divine punishment once.
-A request?
Fortunately, his father god didn’t seem angry.
-Hmm. There’s also Danae’s request… and Andromeda also looked favorably upon you. I’ll grant you a request.
Danae was Perseus’s mother. Andromeda was a princess of Ethiopia. There was talk of an engagement between Perseus and Andromeda, but in the end, Andromeda was said to have offered her body to Zeus. It was a famous story that the queen of Ethiopia had incurred the wrath of Poseidon, and the king of Ethiopia had saved his country by offering his daughter to Zeus. No matter how powerful Poseidon was, he couldn’t do anything to Zeus.
“There are those who do not believe that I am your son! Please give me proof that I am your son, something that no one can deny!”
-So you want something useful? Well, fine.
Something appeared in the air and slowly fell. Perseus spread his hands and respectfully received it.
Perseus’s eyes widened as he looked at the rod placed on his palm. He had information about this in the knowledge he had received.
‘A lightsaber!’
Zeus had already disappeared. He got up and pressed the button on the lightsaber.
Ziiiiiiiiing!
An energy blade rose, emitting a blue light.
Perseus felt his chest swell with pride as he walked out of the temple.
The people, overwhelmed by the presence of the god, were unable to stand and remained kneeling. Perseus walked in front of them and showed off the lightsaber.
“Behold! This is the divine object that my father god, Zeus, has given to me, his son! As long as I am king, Argos will enjoy infinite glory!”
“Waaaaaaaah! Bless King Perseus!!”
A smile spread across Perseus’s face. The sound of his royal authority growing stronger pleased him.
• • •
With my power and Hephaestus’s, humanity was able to harness electricity and developed rapidly.
At first, it was shaky. It wasn’t easy to educate blacksmiths and scholars. But as time passed, humans developed. It was because of the help of the gods.
‘In the blink of an eye, humanity has developed.’
It was no exaggeration. Due to time acceleration, time passed in units of 10 years. The heroes who had made a name for themselves in the original myths died without much achievement. Conversely, unheard-of names began to shine brightly.
‘The Greek and Roman mythology I knew is gone.’
Right now, I was overflowing with power. It was because all humans worshipped me.
‘Air conditioners, fans, refrigerators, induction cooktops… All the civilization that humans are enjoying now started from electricity.’
Humans, who had become too comfortable, sometimes made foolish choices. In the old days, I would have dropped lightning and killed them all, but now I confiscated their electricity for a week. That was enough.
Taking away the life they had already become accustomed to was no different than sentencing them to death. The humans, who were forced to return to being primitive because they couldn’t use electricity, offered sacrifices with all their hearts. To appease my anger, they offered beautiful women, as well as princesses and queens. Having tasted civilization, they were no longer kings or anything else.
‘For the same reason, Hephaestus’s status has also risen.’
Civilization was by no means complete just with electricity. Hephaestus passed on his knowledge to the human blacksmiths, and it returned as faith. Now, Hephaestus had enough power to fight Poseidon one-on-one and not lose.
“Father!”
Ares shouted and came to find me. His handsome face was twisted in a way that was pleasing to see.
