Epimetheus was greatly displeased by his elder brother's dismissive attitude and immediately raised his voice to retort, "Prometheus, have you never made a mistake?"
"Aside from these mortals, I also offered to His Majesty the great God-King the unicorn that symbolizes beauty and purity!"
"And I took inspiration from the eagle His Majesty personally created; combining the eagle's divine grace with the majesty of the lion I shaped, I perfectly fused their strengths and created the griffin (gryphon)—the most formidable and resilient extraordinary creature upon this earth!"
"They all symbolize His Majesty the God-King's sanctity and transcendence, representing His Majesty's nobility and justice! But you, my dear brother—what have you done?"
"You wanted to create the perfect guardian, but you modified the eagle's head and forcibly set it upon a bull's body, then whimsically gave it a pair of wings, even gave it the ability to spin silk, and endowed it with what it imagined was a nimble, pleasing voice!"
"You wanted to create a creature full of wisdom, but in the end you made a thoroughgoing fool that knows only slaughter!"
Epimetheus grew more animated as he spoke, a gloating grin on his face. "Your so-called 'perfect creation,' with its incorrigible logic and a brain as clever as yours, arrived at the final conclusion about 'guarding.'"
"The most thorough 'guarding' is to eliminate all potential threats within its territory, whether or not they are threats."
"Thus the nimble, pleasant voice meant for communication became its deadly lure to entice prey; and the tough web-silk meant for concealment and defense became a cruel shroud to wrap corpses!"
"I named this ugly monster that brings only death and weeping 'the Wailing Binder.' Dear brother, do you like the name? Hm?"
"Ah! Right! And that one! The even more outrageous one!"
Epimetheus nearly burst out laughing as he continued to jeer, "You wanted, once and for all, to solve the problem of clearing the earth's remnants, so you created a so-called 'ultimate decomposer.'"
"You gave it a jackal's ravenous, never-sated body, transformed an eagle's wings into vast membranes to let it glide; you gave it the compound eyes of countless insects so it could see, without blind spots, every edible thing on the ground!"
"You also fitted it with the ugliest mouthparts that can gnaw through anything, and it can even secrete highly corrosive digestive fluid."
"Most terrifying of all, you made them live in swarms. A single colony can number in the tens of thousands."
"And the result?"
"Wherever they pass, no grass grows and all falls silent, leaving only ground scoured clean by digestive acids."
"They become a black cloud of death, a roaming 'end-time.' Wherever they go, whether life or death, nothing remains."
"Yes, they did become the most thorough and efficient 'terminators'—only they terminate all life along with everything else!"
Epimetheus rubbed his chin with mock seriousness, grinning wickedly. "Tell me, shall we call it the 'Scouring Sky-Locust'?"
"My dearest brother, pray tell, when you made these two 'masterpieces,' how exactly did you account for that matter of 'cyclical operation'?"
"Wouldn't your behavior carry, perhaps just a little, the taint of rash, conceited foolishness? Hahahaha—"
Epimetheus finally couldn't hold it in and burst into triumphant laughter.
Prometheus's face burned at his words, flushing red all over, and he could only insist, "I did this to— to solve those problems you caused before!"
"Exploratory creation, for the sake of ultimate perfection—how can that be called rash?"
Then followed some rather hard-to-understand remarks.
Such as, "How can a creator's work be deemed reckless?"
And, "The pioneer's exploration cannot be called rash and conceited," and the like.
His dear brother's somewhat feeble defense only made Epimetheus guffaw all the more.
For a moment, the empty woods were filled with merry air.
Just as Prometheus was about to fly into a mortified rage and all but wrestle Epimetheus to the ground,
a voice neither cloying nor cold, like fine tea sliding down the throat and warming the heart, a richly magnetic voice of a mature lady, sounded unhurriedly at their side: "Oh—two great sons of Iapetus, it seems you are quite merry indeed."
"I wonder, though—do you have any concrete, workable plan for the heavy charge His Majesty the God-King has entrusted to you?"
At these words the two brothers turned in unison.
They saw, upon a thick bough not far off, a peerlessly handsome and valiant eagle, her wings black as night, standing in proud poise.
She stood about half the height of a person, her sharp raptor's eyes glinting with wisdom and insight, and she looked at them with a charmingly teasing tone.
At the sight of her, Epimetheus exclaimed in delight, "Kelaunia, it's you!"
"Come, come—you're just in time! Help us judge between us: which of us brothers has truly done more for the world's prosperity and for His Majesty's charge!"
This magnificent eagle was the very first eagle in this world, personally created by Zeus in the Underworld.
She was named Kelaunia, meaning "Messenger of Thunder."
This was the name Zeus himself gave her.
After Zeus brought her out of the Underworld, he released her to the skies and personally bestowed upon her the law of "flight."
Though she often kept her eagle form, in truth she had long since become a true deity.
She had likewise created for herself a god-body conforming to the divine form, but ordinarily she preferred her original eagle body—personally made by Zeus—which symbolized swiftness and freedom!
Because it had been crafted by none other than the greatest His Majesty the God-King himself!
Zeus also casually gave her a job: to keep an eye on Prometheus and company as they created life, and not let them slack off.
Commonly called—overseer.
If not for this overseer sent by the God-King, the two brothers would hardly have felt such pressure, nor would they have been so "active" in creating so many creatures in so short a time.
In hopes that Kelaunia would put in a good word for them before His Majesty and to keep her from urging them so hard, they even gifted her those two potent endowments—"piercing eyes" and "swift motion."
Mm.
Call it using authority granted by His Majesty to "bribe" the overseer His Majesty had sent.
At present, the two brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus wielded immense authority, for Zeus had specially permitted all the gods to assist them in creating life.
One could say that across the Three Realms and Three Domains, no god failed to aid them and none withheld blessing.
Whatever materials or endowments they needed to create life, the gods would generally approve.
Even composite gifts that fused the authorities of multiple deities would be granted generously so long as the request was reasonable.
In today's heavenly system, whatever they lacked, they could file a request, and so long as it wasn't too outrageous, the gods would bestow it.
After all, creating life is no simple task.
It requires mobilizing the gods' power; otherwise, relying on just the two second-generation Titans, they could toil another ten thousand years and still not produce many passable, successful beings.
As for the brothers' "bribe," Kelaunia accepted it without the least hesitation.
However, she still recorded the whole matter, meticulously, in her little notebook.
Later she would report everything, down to the smallest detail, to His Majesty the God-King.
She was not so naive as to think she would conceal anything from His Majesty on their behalf.
She was very clear on whose eagle she was.
At this, after hearing Epimetheus's words, she gave a light laugh and said, "This is not for me to judge. Only His Majesty can judge your merits and faults. My duty is merely to report exactly what I see to His Majesty."
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, like the lightest feather teasing the listener's heartstrings, truly alluring and enchanting.
Only, the content of her words did not please the two brothers in the least.
Prometheus exhaled a heavy sigh and said helplessly, "Dear Kelaunia, we have created many creatures already, both mortals and those intelligent beings with some divinity."
"The sky, the earth, and the sea are all far more flourishing than before. Only..."
"I still feel that all this is not complete."
"Upon this earth there is yet lacking a race that can, among mortal beings, hold a lordly station."
"They should possess substantial wisdom and be able to take the place of the gods high in heaven in managing the fussy, trivial matters on this earth."
"Only with such truly intelligent life born can this universe become truly 'prosperous.'"
"But regarding this most crucial step, we truly have no idea where to start. Dear Kelaunia, do you have any good suggestions?"
Kelaunia gracefully flicked her black wings and shook her head without hesitation.
Her voice remained calm and richly magnetic. "Honored Prometheus, you and your brother are close ministers to His Majesty the God-King, great gods of Mount Olympus, and sons of the Primordial Titan Iapetus."
"If even you have no clue, how could a small deity like me possibly have good advice? My wisdom is far from sufficient to offer the least guidance for your great work."
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