Under the authority of the Divine King, when the decree was issued, transformation ensued.
The 'Fire' Zeus referred to was naturally not just about the flame; in fact, the flame was only an insignificant part of it. It's a term rich in symbolic meaning.
For the flame was a gift to humans from Hestia, one of the deities most friendly towards humans; yet the first act of deception against the gods took place in her temple, and the goddess was not only in charge of [Fire] but also held the divine authority over [Guardianship].
Therefore, the Divine King's decree was in fact severing the relationship between gods and humans, as well as cutting off all divine protection towards them and, conversely, cursing them.
From that moment on, deities would no longer answer the prayers of humans, and all the gifts previously bestowed upon them by the gods were withdrawn one by one.
Even beyond that, humans not only lost the fire given by the gods, but they would also be incapable of kindling fire on their own; humans lost the bountiful harvests given by the gods, and the crops they planted would no longer germinate; humans lost the favorable weather given by the gods, and natural disasters would henceforth be a constant companion.
This was the Divine King's punishment for this act of deceit, but he cleverly left some leeway. By using 'Fire' to represent all this, as long as humans regained fire, the divine protection would not be restored, but the divine punishment would also no longer continue.
At that moment, some deities understood, while others did not; however, standing on Mount Olympus, Prometheus undoubtedly understood.
He not only understood but also discerned even more.
"Give it up, brother, this is meaningless."
"Zeus is not kind, even if you save humans this time, he will find other reasons to punish mortals. This generation of mortals is no longer what he wants."
Standing outside the temple of the Goddess of Law on Mount Olympus, Epimetheus once again urged his brother.
Before, the two had not been able to meet Themis here. According to the Nymphs stationed here, the goddess had left in haste after returning.
The laws of gods should not be applied to humans, nor should the statutes of gods necessarily suit humans, and at that point, humans actually had no law. The goddess destroyed the temple because her name was misused by humans since she had never allowed such an act, but in reality, besides this, humans hadn't really violated any rules—because she had never set any rules for them.
Therefore, the goddess decided to set a standard, defining under what circumstances a mortal could claim the justice of judgment in her name.
The Goddess of Law was first the creator of the law, then the enforcer of it, and she could not enforce what she had not decided. So she left Olympus, planning to seek the help of an old friend and trying to establish the initial standard for humans' 'courts'.
As for what specifically constituted guilt and innocence, that was up to humans themselves. Her responsibility was only to ensure that the trials she witnessed conformed to regulations.
If someone dared to violate her set criteria in a court after she had established the standard, she would also administer punishment according to the regulations she had outlined.
Therefore, the brothers planned to wait here until the goddess returned. But the wait ended before it even began.
Zeus knew everything, he had brought down punishment upon humans, and now, he was waiting for Prometheus to trap himself.
"Perhaps, but I no longer ask for more. As long as the divine punishment is taken back and they can age peacefully, that's enough," said Prometheus, his mood somewhat complex as he looked towards the East. His most trusted student had betrayed him, yet he couldn't muster any blame towards him.
After all, Ossen was his creation, his pupil; if the student turned out this way, wasn't it caused by him as well?
Now, the student had met his deserved fate.
"It all originated from me, Epimetheus. Deceit against the gods was for humans, but now when I think about it, I was merely showing off my own 'Wisdom.'"
"And perhaps I am not smart at all, just like—"
Just like Metis, the Goddess of Wisdom.
Prometheus left these words unspoken. With the goddess having disappeared for a hundred years and Zeus having married the new Heavenly Empress, the deities had vaguely guessed something.
They didn't know the exact fate of the goddess renowned for her intelligence, but it likely wasn't wonderful.
"But what can you do, brother?"
Though knowing it was futile, the Afterthinker still spoke.
"Zeus has taken away the 'Fire' from humans, the only one who could defy his will is the supreme ruler of [Fire]."
"Goddess Hestia will not help you against her own brother, the Goddess of the Magic Net who controls the element of Fire is unpredictable in her movements, and the Lord of the Spirit Realm will not answer your call. You have no place to attain the right to use Fire."
With a somewhat sad expression, and even appearing less foolish than before, Epimetheus hoped his brother would listen to his advice.
But Prometheus was not paying attention to his brother's change at the moment. Or rather, even if he had noticed, he would not have changed his decision.
Zeus had uncovered everything, he had punished humans, but had ignored the instigator of it all. Prometheus knew, as the creator of humans, that it was time for him.
He could have evaded it, but he didn't want to.