(Greek Mythology) The Abyss
Chapter Thirty-Four
Cronus felt that everything was going wrong lately.
First, his wife Rhea was pregnant. For any other god, this would be a cause for celebration. Although gods with eternal life don't care about bloodline continuation, having a child is still a good thing.
But Cronus was different. He had ascended to the throne after overthrowing his father, Uranus. Uranus, as the first god-king appointed by the laws of the gods, was a ruthless character. Seeing that defeat was inevitable, he decisively sacrificed most of his divine power—irreversibly—to curse Cronus, cursing him to be overthrown by his own son, just as he had been.
So, how could Cronus not be wary now that Rhea was pregnant?
But his fear was useless. Gods are protected by laws, and killing a god would inevitably bring backlash, albeit to varying degrees. Although Cronus possessed the divine status of a god-king and didn't need to worry about his demise, the power of that divine status had been weakened. Not only was the amplification of his power less noticeable, but the effect of reducing the backlash was also less significant.
Cronus dared not kill his own child under such circumstances and suffer a severe backlash, especially considering his troublesome brothers.
Unable to find a solution, Cronus remained in a state of agitation. So, he decisively destroyed all of humanity with a flood.
*^_^* Destroying something really does make me feel better. —by Cronus
Then, in a much better mood, Cronus decided to swallow his child whole after birth, thus avoiding the worry of being overthrown.
Cronus thought himself incredibly clever for coming up with this plan.
Then, the quick-witted Cronus was soon dealt a critical blow. The water gods, who had been forced by the King of Gods to flood the land, surprisingly united for once, and within a few months, they publicized Cronus's disgraceful act to the entire world.
#Nobody's stupid enough to take the blame for you#
#You have the guts to give the order but not the guts to admit it#
#His Majesty the King of Gods hasn't taken his medicine lately, what to do? Waiting online, it's urgent#
So when Cronus sought out the gods to recreate humanity, everyone declared, "No way! Your Majesty, we're not doing this! We're too weak and lowly to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. Your Majesty, you're so wise and powerful, surely you can handle this little matter, right?"
Could the prideful Cronus say no? Obviously not, so he could only send the gods back amidst a chorus of praise and flattery.
Although Cronus longed to create humanity himself, as a god of destruction specializing in space, he simply couldn't do it. This was his second major setback.
Denise, of course, wouldn't tell him that the news spread so quickly because of her secret help, that the gods' unanimous refusal was fueled by her influence, and even that tactful reason for refusal—one that supposedly averted retaliation—was her idea.
"Better to sacrifice a friend than myself. For my better life, Your Majesty, you can continue to suffer." —by Denise
So now the question arises: who's the best at creating humanity?
Answer: Gaia at the Temple of the Earth.
As the only creation-type deity among the five creator gods, and the creator of the Silver Humans, Gaia, while only average in combat among her siblings, surpasses all the other gods combined in creating life. Therefore, after being rejected, Cronus's first thought was of his mother, Gaia.
Gaia scoffed at this.
"Cronus, you unfilial son! I haven't even settled accounts with you for the damage to the earth yet. The power consumed to repair it, though not a small amount, wasn't insignificant either. Now you want me to create humanity for you? Forget about it, there's no way you'll get a chance."
So, before Cronus even reached the Earth Temple, Gaia quickly packed her bags, stuffed them into her alternate dimension, and left. She was going on vacation, she was going to relax; in short, no one was to come looking for her for a while.
But he was her son after all, and Gaia couldn't directly refuse. Leaving her son behind, she decided to make a move.
Cronus arrived at the Earth Temple to find it empty. The gods there knew nothing, so he had no choice but to go find his brother, the god of growth, Cress.
Everyone knows Cronus is a cross-dresser, so his luck with goddesses... is zero.
What a tragic statistic! But Cronus never cared about this before; he was happy to have one less god competing with him for women. But now he needs something from someone, so Cronus says: "You create humans for me, and I'll marry Eurybia to you, how about that?"
Eurybia, the Greek goddess of the sea, symbolizing the power of the sea, daughter of Pentheus and Gaia, an icy beauty, is Cronus's wife in mythology.
From this, we can see that Cronus not only lacks intelligence, but also emotional intelligence. What's the difference between this and mocking someone's effeminate appearance? Such a blatant attack on someone's sore spot is bound to earn him resentment in an instant.
However, the first to lash out wasn't Cronus, but Iapetus, the god of death.
The onlookers weren't surprised at all; they already knew there was something going on between the two of them.
Chris (exploding): You're the one who's not right with him! Your whole family is not right with him!
Onlookers: We understand, we all understand. Don't be shy, it's nothing.
Chris (frustrated): Shy my foot! There's really nothing between us.
Although he gave up on finding a girl to marry long ago because of that face, that doesn't mean he has to find a guy, right? Who the hell wants to be dominated? (Can you stop being so spineless? Can't you think about dominating others?)
Here's some background information: Iapetus, God of Death, male, transmigrator, additional attributes:
A transmigrator with the "protagonist halo," a must-have for male protagonists in online novels. Logically, his life should be about gathering followers, building a harem, defeating bosses, overthrowing all reactionary forces, and then reaching the pinnacle of life amidst everyone's admiration, leaving behind countless legends for future generations to admire.
However, there's such a thing as an accident. Even the most incredible aura can't overcome Iapetus's fact that he's a complete lunatic and a severe case of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), the kind that can't be cured by medication. So, it's not surprising that the character's personality underwent a complete 180-degree turn!
Therefore, for Iapetus, he doesn't mind having more underlings, pawns, or cannon fodder. He believes those who have always regarded him as their faith will be happy to die for him. As for girls, sorry, in his view, their only use is to cause trouble. They're fine for the enemy, but for himself, forget it. And the boss? Let's talk about how to destroy the world!
Chris: So he really has nothing to do with Iapetus. Who the hell is paired with this lunatic? People will die, okay? (Don't worry, you're not human, you won't die.)
"Oh, really?" Iapetus smiled gently, a melancholic smile tinged with sadness as he looked at Chris. "You really don't want to be with me?"
"...No, I do." Feeling the chilling force of the dagger against his neck, Chris, who had never been as cunning as Iapetus in his past life, and was now completely powerless and utterly crushed, burst into tears.
This story teaches us that relationships should be approached with caution. If you're a normal person, don't provoke those with traits beyond your control, such as being mentally unstable, having delusions of grandeur, being a pervert, or being a yandere. Otherwise, your life will become a tragedy like Chris's.
Therefore, Chris was devastated by Cronus's proposal. What to do? He couldn't help but imagine how Iapetus would react to this news, and he felt his fate was grim.
#Cronus, you're such a jerk, betraying both your father and brother! What did you do to deserve this?#
#Is this how you beg for help? Is it? Believe me or not, I'll go on strike!#
However, Chris's strike plan ultimately failed because…
"Chris, agree to him." Iapetus said calmly.
"Huh?" Chris looked at Iapetus as if he'd seen a ghost.
"I said agree to help Cronus create humans."
"Oh, and what about Eurybia?"
Turning his head, Iapetus smiled broadly. "What do you think?"
"I will definitely refuse." Chris snapped back to reality and answered immediately.
"Good boy."
Satisfied with Chris's answer, Iapetus smiled even brighter and brighter at the Temple of the Gods, putting Chris at ease.
Ah, it really is the same seemingly virtuous but actually twisted (in other words, two-faced) lunatic he knows. It seems he doesn't need to guess Cronus's fate; he can just light a candle for him.