Chapter 384

It was so radiant and dazzling that just seeing it made one feel as if their body was being lifted up, and their feet were several centimeters off the ground.

Gradually, her expression became more and more complicated.

"I see..."

"My Lord God..."

As Erica murmured to herself, her gaze remained fixed on Ivia, as if invisible needles were sewing threads that kept her eyes glued to her.

"Are you finally going to kill me?"

The blonde girl's full name is Erica Ainsworth. She is nominally the younger sister of Julian, the current head of the Ainsworth family, and the spiritual daughter of Darius, the founder of Ainsworth, who possessed Julian's body during the disaster five years ago.

In reality, she is Pandora, the first female clay doll created by the Greece gods six thousand years ago. The reason she behaves this way is because Darius completely erased her memories, allowing her to live as a little girl who knows nothing, and named her Erica.

When Ivia arrived, Erica was playing in an abandoned elementary school classroom. However, a fleeting glimmer of light in the sky touched her, causing her, who had lost her memory, to murmur the title: 'God.'

Although she was puzzled as to why she had uttered that name, Erica, out of curiosity, followed her instincts and went to get to it. In the end, in her haste to get on the road, she accidentally got stuck on the wall, where she was seen by Ivia and the others and was brought down.

The moment she saw Ivia's face, Erica remembered all her memories, including the fact that she herself was 'Pandora the Clay Doll'.

She also understood that the Silver-Haired Boy before her possessed the Divine Aura created her, whether it was Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, or Typhon, the Primordial dragon who was an enemy of the gods. It was as if all the Deity of Greece had bestowed Authority upon him.

Pandora had never met this person, nor had she heard of him throughout the long years, but she always understood one thing: her mission was to open Pandora's Box with her own death. This was her duty, but unfortunately, she failed to fulfill it.

Therefore, perhaps God came before me to punish me for failing to fulfill my duties?

After regaining her memories, Pandora, who desperately wants to die, is completely different from the lively Erica she once was; this change in personality is probably due to prolonged loneliness.

"Please kill me."

Pandora's smile turned mocking, as if she were laughing at herself, "I am a useless tool, deserving to be discarded, God. This world is... beyond saving."

Ivia did not answer immediately.

He simply stared silently at Pandora, who was as cold as ice, as if she were silently interrogating him in the blonde girl's gaze.

A gentle breeze blew through the streets of Fuyuki, carrying a faint, peculiar scent that seemed to come from nowhere.

Finally, he spoke.

"Let's put that aside for now and talk about it later. There's something Pandora you need to be careful about."

"... What?"

You should change your pants.

Chapter 414 The Great Flood in Greece: Prelude to the Birth of New Primates

Myths from all over the world include stories of Deity creating humans, and Greek Mythology is no exception.

The earliest record of humans in Greek Mythology is in Hesiod's "Works and Days". The golden race was created by the gods under the rule of Cronus. After the golden race was destroyed, a new generation of silver race was created by the Olympus gods. Later, the Bronze Race and the Heroic Race were created by Zeus.

Then, in Rome 'Ovid Metamorphoses, the five generations of races changed into four ages: gold, silver, bronze, and iron. These four generations of humans never stopped but gradually degenerated. The first humans were created by Prometheus, and the humans he created first began the Golden Age. However, Aesop's Fables also records that Zeus commanded Prometheus to create humans.

In some legends, Athena also participated in the creation of humans, specifically referring to Pandora, because before Pandora's birth, there were no women in the world, and Athena was often portrayed as the Earth Mother Goddess of local tribes who created humans.

As time passed, Athena gradually merged with the Rome Goddess Minerva, resulting in some reliefs depicting Minerva participating in the creation of man by Prometheus.

Unlike in Greek Mythology, Pandora is Zeus's punishment of humanity, in Rome mythology, Pandora is Jupiter's gift.

In the Nasuverse, Pandora is indeed a 'gift'. Her box, as Branch Correction Regeneration Device, is meant to save the world's Fate. However, Pandora, who was in the world of Miyu six thousand years ago, was a unique case and failed to open the Pandora's Box.

To this day, Pandora still remembers the words spoken by the gods when they injected the Nanomachines into her body at the time of her creation.

You will gain the power to be loved by the world.

"This is what Aphrodite, the Spiritrons Intelligence Warfare-type Attack Machine, said, using a large terminal for teaching Intelligent Lifeforms."

Then Hephaestus made her a magnificent Long Robe, Hermes Church her language, and Hera gave her curiosity.

Finally, the omnipotent, Supreme Being, great god, god-king, interstellar combat Annihilation-Type Mobile Fortress Flagship Zeus uttered his last words to her, which could also be called his judgment.

What you possess is --

The girl didn't actually have a name; she was called Pandora simply because she was associated with an item called Pandora's Box.

"We, the Greece gods defined and intermingled with the humans of this Underworld Realm, after eight thousand years of arduous work looking back at our Mother Star, have created the final apparatus of the Greek God for the continuation of this Planet— "

In AD, the Giant God invaded Earth. In 4,000 AD, the Gods of Greece created Pandora's Box to ensure the continuation of humanity on this Planet.

"Pandora's Branch Correction Regeneration Device."

After saying these words, the girl came to the surface of the earth. Holding the box, all the joy she had experienced since birth turned into emptiness, because she understood that she was only a 'key' to open the box. One day, the human race would come to an end, and the box could not be opened until that moment arrived.

"My God, my cold, reasonable, and heartless father, why did you subject me to this treatment? When was that moment...?"

In a world where the gods have departed and only humans remain, the girl is merely Monster, an appendage of the gods. Because her death is contained within a box, she cannot die unless the box is opened.

"Why must I protect humanity...?"

The blessing that the Love God had given to the maiden failed. People developed a hatred for the inhuman Pandora, so they burned her and then shattered her to pieces. After experiencing all sorts of painful ordeals, she was finally buried deep in the ground.

A mixture of mud and a liquid that could be either rainwater or tears choked the girl. She was powerless and could only endure this torment.

This immense powerlessness, physical pain, and mental torment ultimately coalesced into a single thought—

"Why don't we just destroy humanity already...?"

This girl's wish has been passed down for thousands of years, and it was finally 'resolved' as this world was about to come to an end.

Pandora believed she had finally seen the gods again. Although none of them matched the appearance of the Twelve Gods in her memory, the Authority hidden within her body and spirit could not lie. This meant that every Deity was among them, and that was enough.

Of course, Pandora also understood that the Age of Gods had ended and that the gods could no longer reach the mortal realm. Therefore, this Silver-Haired Boy must be acting as the current Executor of the gods.

At the same time, she also believed that if that was the case, then this person could definitely kill her and end her meaningless life. It didn't matter whether the box was opened or not, it didn't matter whether humanity was destroyed or not, but it would be best if it were destroyed. In short, as long as she could die, that would be fine.

However, this wish, which had lasted for thousands of years, was briefly interrupted because of something that happened to the blonde girl for the first time, which forced her and Ivia's group to find a place to deal with it first. They eventually went to the former residence of the Sakatsuki.

Therefore, in the bedroom where she was changing clothes, Pandora unusually showed a hint of bewilderment.

Isn't this feeling incredibly embarrassing?

I only wanted God to kill me, but I accidentally did this. Is it my fault? No, it's Darius's fault. He sealed my memories, so it was 'Erica's' doing, not 'Pandora's'... right?

That's what she thought, but Pandora also knew that it was just her way of comforting herself.

At that moment, God's gaze did indeed catch me. There was nothing else in his eyes but my reflection. However, just imagining what I would do in his gaze was enough to make me sad and bring me to tears.

This is a failure I'll never forget; it's the ultimate failure.

Thus, Pandora returned to the mindset she had when she was first born, a simple mindset that allowed her to proudly tell ordinary people, "I am a special human created by the Deity, and my role is completely different from yours." Therefore, she couldn't help but blurt out her true feelings.

I want to die.

Of course, this "want to die" is a completely different concept from the "want to die" that Pandora thought of before.

Then, taking a deep breath, the blonde girl, her expression returning to indifference, walked out of the room.

"I'm very sorry for my inappropriate behavior just now, but I've changed now, so you can forget about it."

Pandora's monologue sounds like something from a distant dream.

Well, for Ilya and her two companions, this blonde girl who suddenly appeared, calling Ivia "God," and claiming to be Erica but being called Pandora by Ivia, was a bit hard to understand at first. However, considering that Ivia had said before coming to this world that "this world was destroyed because Pandora failed to open the box," they could somewhat understand that the blonde girl in front of them was the "Culprit."

However, because of the inappropriate behavior that only a child would do, the three of them surprisingly didn't feel any ill will towards him.

However, it was different for Tanaka. She had an instinctive aversion to Pandora, so she openly and without any attempt to hide her laughter at Pandora, who had changed her clothes and come out.

"Hehe, how old are you? Over six thousand years old, right? You still couldn't hold back like a kid, how embarrassing! Does Zeus know that his so-called final device will be such a disgraceful thing?"

"This is none of your business, Gaia."

Faced with Tanaka's taunts, Pandora calmly propped her head up with one hand, gazing indifferently at Tanaka making a funny face, as if she didn't care at all.

"Unrelated! How can you say it's unrelated? I talked to the 'me' from other worlds and that's how I realized how this world is gradually dying out. Turns out it was you who was being unconventional!"

"Ha, don't you also think it doesn't matter whether humanity goes extinct or not? In that respect, we're still the same kind of people."

"That's true, but I don't want humanity to go extinct and I to die with it. At the very least, I should die a natural death. Who wants to die with something on their body? Even humans wouldn't willingly let the microorganisms on their bodies develop consciousness and drag them down with them, would they? What kind of nonsense is this?"

"Die..."

Upon hearing this, Pandora paused, then looked outside. "This is such a wonderful thing for me."

"So all you have to do is go and open that box."

"If I could open the door to something from six thousand years ago, I would have done so long ago. I wouldn't want to live at all."

Pandora smiled, as if mocking herself. "But humanity didn't perish back then. Now, although we're on the verge of extinction, my function as the 'key' has failed, and I can't open it."

"Wait!"

Hearing this, Tanaka pondered for a moment, "Why is it that only in my world did humanity not face extinction at that time? Why did it happen in other worlds?"

Even if you ask me, I don't know --

"Because the world didn't experience a major Flood in time."

Just as Pandora and Tanaka were confronting each other, Ivia, having cleaned herself up, also stepped out.

The myth of the Great Flood exists in almost every pantheon, except for Christianity, where it is the most famous example. In fact, almost every pantheon includes it, as it is a large-scale disaster that would sweep across the entire world. Buddhism exception is Buddhism, which describes the Great Flood as a Future event.

In Greek Mythology, Zeus decided to destroy everything with Flood to end the Bronze Age. Only Deucalion, son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha knew about this. So, like Noah, the two built Ark to escape the disaster and became the ancestors of the people of the Heroic Age.

According to mythology, Pyrrha was the daughter of Pandora and Epimetheus. In fact, according to Greek Mythology, there were no conditions for opening the box. It is only because the Gods of Greece of Type-Moon had such requirements for the box that it is highly likely that the great Flood was the condition.

"... My Lord, I have never heard of Epimetheus, nor have I ever married him, nor have I ever had any children with him."

After listening to Ivia's explanation, Pandora said this.

This is natural, since the myths passed down to later generations are merely 'distortions' of the past by people over a long period of time, and are not necessarily the original facts.

"I know, but that's not the point. The point is that the great Flood didn't come, and..."

Ivia paused, her eyes fixed on the lifeless Pandora. "You don't want to protect humanity."

Upon hearing this, the lifeless Pandora raised her head, looked directly at Ivia, and asked in a trembling voice:

"Why must I protect humanity? Is it because of those who burned me at the stake after I revealed my identity? Is it because of those who hunted me down after learning of the legend of the Deity gift? Is it because of those who crushed me after capturing me? Is it because of those who, no matter what torture I endured, could not die and ultimately buried me and my rotting flesh in deep, lightless darkness for countless years? Cold, rational, bloodless, and tearless god, tell me?!"

"Yes..."

In the silence, Ivia finally nodded.

The unbroken will of humanity is, in a sense, a blessing, and in a sense, a curse. In other worlds, the vast majority of Pandora were probably loved by people and eventually opened the box during the great Flood that arrived as expected, saving humanity with the idea of 'protecting humanity'.

But for Pandora of this world, as a girl who is unique among countless branches, the world did not experience a great Flood, nor did she receive people's love. On the contrary, she only suffered endless torment. Therefore, even if she could open the box to die, her thoughts were to hate humans, not to protect them.

Since the birth of humankind and the world, every day we have lived has perhaps survived only because of a miracle that happened on some unknown day.

"If I were you and suffered the same fate, I would definitely think the same way you do."

Ivia understood that Pandora's Wrath was justified; in fact, anyone would feel the same way. It wasn't about my pain being greater than yours; it was simply that pain is pain, no matter how minor. There's no need to compare or rank pain.

"Yes, God, I can't live in the human world, but at least let me die..."

Pandora leaned against Ivia, muttering to herself, "If only I could die."

"Whatever it is, as long as it lives in this world, making mistakes is normal. If you want to try, I won't stop you."

Ivia answered in this way.

This is God's answer to Mephistopheles in the "Demon Overture in Heaven" of Faust, with Ivia altering the last sentence slightly.

"But please let me take a gamble first. I will save everything in this world, including you."

Originally, it was 'This is the result,' but this change of tone is like Mephistopheles' words: 'What are you betting? You'll definitely lose if you allow me to slowly guide him onto my path.'

In reality, the Demon believes that once a person makes a mistake, there is no chance to correct it, but God believes that as long as a person takes action, they will make mistakes, but they should still take action and should not stop trying for fear of making mistakes.

The word "gamble" in the language of Ivia means "Demon's gamble," but it actually means "god's" true meaning.

The opening of the dramatic poem "Faust" says that Faust was preparing to translate the Bible when he saw the first sentence, "In the beginning was the Word," and felt that language should not have such a high status. He then changed it to "In the Holy Spirit was the Action."

Pandora was clearly not expecting the 'cold-blooded and ruthless' god to answer in this way. She was taken aback at first, but then she realized what was going on.

"This is meaningless, my lord."

Pandora murmured in utter despair, "I just want to die, just let me die..."

"Erica."

A sound rang out, coming from outside rather than inside, followed by a black-haired man dressed casually in a revealing top, trousers, and Flip-Flops, who clearly didn't dress up much, walking in.

When the man walked in, he first glanced at Pandora, and after realizing the change in her demeanor, he rubbed his eyes as if in disbelief.