“I see.”

“Yep.”

“No further explanations?”

“Nope.”

“I see.”

“…”

There must be a deeper meaning behind Tea’s actions. After experiencing the lives of the two down on the land of the living, I’ve ascertained that humans were cruelly treated. The Animae, treated humans as nothing more than tools. The Daemon, were even worse; they treated humans as livestock. My memories flashed back to the young Fae woman that I had met when I was living the life of an old woman. She was quite a charming young lady, but I can’t say she represents the opinions of all Fae.

My conclusion: Humanity was in danger of extinction.

That conclusion might be an exaggeration, most likely the human nation would be wiped out and they would be forced to live on as domesticated animals or tools. Currently, I was ignorant of the situation down on the surface, therefore I cannot come to a sound conclusion and these were only my assumptions. I can’t act on just assumptions alone.

“Don’t think too hard about it Little Prometheus. This was supposed to be a gift, so just go out and enjoy yourself.” Tea exuded a genuine and motherly aura leaving me awed.

“I can’t not think about the current situation of Humanity…”

“Mm… Fine, we’ll do it this way.” Tea gave a long sigh and lifted a finger up, “I’ll give you the chance to decide what you want to do once you have arrived in the Overworld.”

That seemed reasonable. Once I have arrived, I’ll be able to understand the circumstance and make a sound decision. “Alright.”

Right after hearing my confirmation, Tea’s gaze narrowed in concentration. A brilliant flash of light engulfed my and I feel my consciousness fade away into the light.

Afterwards…

Altear had just sent down Prometheus’ soul into the Overworld, strangely enough, it took more power than what she had imagined. The thought lasted on her mind for a short moment before she waived it off as Prometheus possessed a divine soul.

“Are you fine with this?” She spoke off into the emptiness.

“Yes.” Right before her eyes, a mature woman, dressed in a divine white toga materialized. “That child works too hard.”

“Un.” Altear nodded in agreement. “Were you perhaps watching what Little Prometheus was doing earlier?”

“I was watching.”

“Do you think what I did was cruel?”

“No, I would’ve done the same thing if I were you.” The woman’s gentle features shook curved into a smile. “Never has a god forsake their divinity to become a mortal. It’s no surprise that you made my Prometheus go through that to try and convince him.” The woman went up to Altear and patted her head, her gaze was motherly and gentle as she warmly smiled at Altear.

“Gaia! I’m not a child!” Altear stubbornly tried to pry herself from the motherly figure.

Gaia only let out a chuckle and removed her hand.

After fixing her hair, Altear asked, “Why did you lie to Little Prometheus? Humanity doesn’t need him. I have already made plans for what I want to happen in my world. Even if Little Prometheus wasn’t sent here, Humanity would’ve still survived for ten more millenniums.”

“Well Altear, you are still new to this, you wouldn’t understand yet.” Gaia stared down onto the Overworld, her gaze was melancholic, as if she were reminiscing of the past. “Seeing such a strong soul sacrificing so much for someone else, don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

“You’re right, I don’t understand.” She shook her dainty head.

“You haven’t given birth to a direct being, it’s understandable that you won’t understand. All divine beings are selfish. They all crave power and authority, that greed was later shared and dispersed onto the mortals. The only one not affected from this was my Prometheus. I’m sure it was partly due to his ability of forethought; nothing lasts forever, not power, not authority, and definitely not gods. Prometheus ignored power and instead focused on exploring the horizons. This led him to sacrificing everything for the sake of Humanity back in my world. I just felt that such a strong soul deserved something better.”

“You sent Little Prometheus here on the pretense that Humanity here needed help, just so that he wouldn’t become entrapped in Tartarus?” Altear recalled that Tartarus sent Prometheus to her after convincing him not to give up.

“Correct. I can’t have such a noble soul waste away in the abyss. If my Prometheus has given up here, then I will just send him away. That’s why I wished for you to save him. Provide him a fulfilling life, it doesn’t matter what you do, just please take care of my little one.” The motherly woman bowed deeply.

“Alright, alright. If you are the one asking I can’t say no, now can I?” Altear rushed forward and helped Gaia up. “Then, do you want me to erase Little Prometheus’ memories of your lie? After all, I don’t think it’s right to leave him convinced that Humanity needs him.”

“Please do. It was a simple white lie to make him come to your world. Can you also seal his memories of his life back on Olympus? I don’t want his past to interfere with his development; knowing my Prometheus, he’ll most likely do something righteous, I just want him to enjoy himself.”

“Alright, that shall be done. Is there anything else you want me to give him? I’m in the mood to do something big, so I’ll take some suggestions.”

“My Prometheus always fancied the power of creation so…” Gaia stretched out her arm, after a flash of yellow light, a small rod appeared in her palm.

“The Scepter of Phanes?!” Altear yelled out in shock after witnessing the object that had just materialized. “You couldn’t possibly be…”

“It’s exactly as you’ve imagined. I wish to grant him a part of this.” Gaia handed over the rod, as soon as Altear received it, the rod disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

“U-understood. However, with this much I’m not sure if his mortal body would be able to withstand the power.”

“Whoever said that my Prometheus ever had to be a full-blooded mortal?” Gaia hinted.

“That’s… Understood, I shall make it so. Should I use you or myself as the template?”

“This is a selfish request, but I want my Prometheus to take after me. Is that too much?” Gaia guiltily looked at Altear.

“Not at all, I just hope that this doesn’t cause too much of an issue down on the Overworld. After all, even Aphrodite pales in comparison to you. Down on the Overworld, sadly the female gender isn’t treated too kindly, if Little Prometheus were to be born as a female, I fear people will take advantage of that.”

“The same could also be said over here. After the issue with Pandora there was a lot of unrest amongst the mortals. It’s fine if we make my Prometheus into a man or woman, as long as my Prometheus lives a fulfilling life, it is fine by me.”

“I guess I’ll leave it to chance. After sending Little Prometheus down, we cannot interfere anymore. Are these your final decisions?” Behind Altear was the gentle transparent image of Prometheus’ soul. Unlike most souls, Prometheus’ soul had a strong golden color to it.

Gaia slowly walked towards Prometheus’ dormant soul, every step seemed as if it were a tear drop into a pool of water. Even the seas of Poseidon cannot withheld the amount of tears Gaia seemed to shed with each footstep. Gaia’s shoulders seemed to droop the closer she got to Prometheus’ soul, her usual gentle smile was replaced with a set of quivering lips.

“My Prometheus…” Her barely audible voice echoed out into the emptiness, “I hope you can forgive me for what I’ve done to you. I only lied for your sake, so please… live a fulfilling life for me. Goodbye.” She reached out and caressed Prometheus’ head and placed a kiss on the forehead before quickly stepping back.

“The preparations are finished. I shall be sending down his soul now. Please stand back.” After watching Gaia’s quivering figure, Altear sighed a bit and concentrated on guiding the soul down onto the Overworld. Unlike earlier, where she tricked Prometheus, this time she was actually sending down the once divine being.

The process was a long and arduous procedure. Unlike death and birth in the Overworld, which had its own autonomous system, Altear had to directly interfere with the system and prevent a different soul from entering the new-born child and placed Prometheus within instead. Luckily no incidents occurred and the implementation went smoothly.

She decided to confer the strong soul onto a young couple. It was a warm family. Satisfied with her work, she decided to return to Gaia and ask if Gaia was satisfied with her decision. Even if Gaia wasn’t satisfied, it was too late to change anything. However, after Altear returned, Gaia had already returned to her world.

I guess that’s fine too. It must have taken a lot of control not to cry. Altear thought.

Altear was still in deep thought when a strange occurrence began happening in the Overworld. Over the house that Prometheus was born into, the air fizzled with frightening energy. A large storm was gathering. Dark ominous clouds soon enshrouded the surrounding landscape and unleashed their devastating firepower unto the land.

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This is strange… Altear finally began to investigate the unnatural phenomenon.

*Bang!*

Right after the first thunderous roar rang out, a huge amount of similar explosions rang simultaneously after. Altear’s heart shook with fear.

“Prometheus!” She screamed out and raced back down.

Arriving at the humble house that was in ruins, Altear immediately dispersed the flames and removed the debris. Please be safe! She thought as the debris began to clear, revealing three figures underneath.

A young couple were huddled together, both covering the body of a new-born baby. Blood was leaking from both their mouths, a result of large internal hemorrhage. It doesn’t take a medical specialist to understand that they had already entered the cycle of rebirth. Altear choked back her breath and separated the two and looked at the baby underneath.

“Who would do something so cruel?” Altear shook with fury. All over the world storms gathered and the ground rumbled causing mass hysteria to erupt throughout the world. Turning her attention back to the child in her arms who was barely a month old, she felt deep pity for the child’s future. “Little Prometheus, I promised Gaia that I would take care of you. Life may be harder after what has happened, but bear with me. I promise great things will come soon. Just bear with me…”

Altear had already lost the perpetrator that had caused the incident. The best she could do was to be on guard and be ready in case another attack occurs. Meanwhile, she had to decide who she would give the baby to.

The mother’s side, although well off, I don’t think it will be a good idea for the child’s mental growth. The father’s side however… They are nice people, though they are constantly struggling to make ends meet, they are always loving and caring. It’s decided, Little Prometheus, you will go live with your Uncle. I’m not sure what name your parents have given you so… from now on you’ll be Garett. I hope that with this name, you’ll live a loving and caring life.

She caressed the child in her arms and disappeared from the wreckage of the house. Immediately appearing before the doorstep of a small village house, Altear gently sat down and just like Gaia, kissed Garett on the forehead before knocking on the door.

POV of Galen

It has been many months since the harsh drought, even though it’s already gone, the farm has suffered greatly. The problem with making ends meet was keeping him up at night, countless times he would ponder what he should do. If it weren’t for his two sons and daughter that had already grown up and married, Galen and his wife, Rhetti, would’ve been starved to death.

Galen and Rhetti lived in a decently sized village with a population over 300. Due to its close proximity to a large town, the village was prosperous and rarely had any troubles. The troops of the large town would have routine patrols, guaranteeing the village’s safety. The only problem was the taxes that came along with the protection, combined with the recent drought, it had caused the two married couple to suffer.

Luckily his children that had already moved out sent some money, just enough for him and his wife to live. Galen was thankful, thankful for the love that he and his children all shared. Within the village, there was a small shrine dedicated to the Goddess of Fertility. Ever since the drought, this being was soon created in hopes of reversing the dire circumstances. Therefore, Galen would often wake up early in the morning and pray at the shrine before he began his work in the fields.

It was this particular morning, before the sun was out, a knock surprised him. Normally, no one would be up at this hour aside from farmers, Galen kept his guard up and opened the door.

“Aga~”

“A baby? And a girl?”

Galen stared at the little bundle of joy that was someone else’s child. Memories of his own children surfaced in his mind. However, before he could say anything else, the girl spoke out. “Are you Galen Zoel? Older brother of Eilen?”

“That is I, yes.” Galen was on guard. The girl appeared in the early morning, bearing a child that seemed like it was born just recently. If that wasn’t suspicious, then he must be an idiot.

“That is great, I finally found you!” The girl immediately broke down crying while clutching the child in her arms. Galen’s guard softened a little seeing such a young girl cry. She looked no older than his own daughter when he married her off at the age of 16.

“What’s wrong little girl? Why were you looking for me?” Galen reached out and wiped away her tears.

“It’s just… it’s just…” She continued to sob uncontrollably. Without hesitation, Galen brought her inside.

“Take your time, you’ve found me now, so it will be alright.”

“Eilan… Eilan… He passed away!” The little girl managed to cry out before returning once more into uncontrollable sobbing.

After hearing the little girl mention his little brother, Galen’s mind blanked out. His little brother that had just sent news of his marriage a couple months back is dead. Impossible! He thought.

“Tell me you’re joking!” He heavily shook the girl, forgetting that she was holding onto the baby.

“Wahh~!”

“Tell me it’s a joke!” His hands were tightly clenching the arms of the girl that was sobbing. It was at that time that Rhetti was woken up by the noise.

“Why is it so noisy in here?” She walked in while yawning, immediately upon seeing the scene she slapped Galen’s hand away from the girl. “What are you doing? You’re hurting the poor child!”

“Rhetti! This girl is saying that Eilan… He’s… He’s dead!” Galen struggled to get the words out of his mouth.

Rhetti also was shaken after hearing Galen, but she managed to somewhat keep her calm. “Firstly, child, please give me the baby to hold. I’ll try to calm the baby down and then we can get this all sorted out. Is that alright?”

“Un.” The girl manages to nod and reluctantly hands over the baby.

After everyone has calmed down to a manageable level, the questions began to fly from everyone’s mouths.

“First, who are you?”

“I am Tea, a close friend of Eilan.”

“How did you find me here?”

“Eilan loved to talk about his family a lot. He always mentioned you when he talked to me. That’s how I managed to find you.”

“Finally, i-is what you s-said true? Eilan…” A complex atmosphere enveloped the room.

The girl didn’t give a verbal answer, but silently nodded. “After the fire, only their child remained. After I arrived, I was given the child by the townsfolk that were there first.”

“…”

“I can’t believe it…”

“Dear, this must be hard on you. You two were so close, even closer than brothers… It’s hard to think that Eilan isn’t here any… more…” Rhetti’s shoulder trembled slightly and she suddenly rested her head on Galen’s shoulder, sobbing quietly.

Galen felt that a large lump had formed in his throat, preventing him from speaking. Rhetti had handed him the baby before she cried into his shoulder. Taking a glance at the baby that was quietly drinking goats milk, Galen could discern Eilan’s sharp gaze in the child’s eyes. There was no doubt about it, this child was Eilan’s. Though he had never seen Eilan’s wife, Eilan would always write and tease him about how beautiful she was; now he could see why, the child was really a work of a god, peerless beauty.

“I think Eilan would’ve wished for you to raise his child if he wasn’t here anymore…” The girl named Tea spoke softly.

By now Galen’s tears were staining his beard. The shock of finding out his brother is gone still hasn’t fully set in. He could only blankly admire the baby that he held in his arms, finding all the similarities of his late brother in the child.

The silence drew on for a long period. The sun had long arisen, but the people in the small house were still grieving silently. It wasn’t until the girl stood up that the grieving ended.

“I have to go.”

Rhetti quickly called out, “Please, at least stay until you’ve rested. It must be a long journey to arrive here.”

“No, I cannot stay. I still have to tell inform Helen’s family. I’m sure they would want to know what happened to her. By the way, Eilan decided to name the child Garett, after you and your wife. I hope that you raise him up well, give him the same amount of love and care your brother would. Also… please, don’t tell him about the truth. Raise him up as your own.” Without another word, the girl named Tea disappeared from the house.

“Rhetti…”

“Yes, Dear?”

“Let’s give Garett the love and attention Eilan and Helen couldn’t give.”

“Yes, Dear.”