Especially Prophecy, having experienced firsthand the terror of fate, the Lord of the Nine Hells held it in a certain awe and kept his distance.
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On the earth, in the blink of an eye, the sun and the moon had taken their turns several tis, and the tides of the eastern part of the continent were rising higher and higher.
Low mountains were subrged, rivers either widened or redirected; torrential rains seed endless, as if there was no end.
But amid these tumultuous waves, there was a small exception, a simple wooden raft. The tides ceased around it, strange beasts stayed far from its presence, and so it drifted aimlessly upon the flood, carrying the two aboard without a destination.
There was no drinking water on the raft, for the downpour from the sky avoided it, and that from the sea was undrinkable; there was also no food, for the birds of the sky had drowned in exhaustion in the water, and no fish or shrimp survived in these tides that defied the laws of nature.
Fortunately, the two on the raft were not mortals, they were children of gods. Though the divinity within them was near absent, making their strength barely greater than that of mortals, this ultimately spared them from death by hunger and thirst.
So, adrift, several more days passed. It seed the waters might be receding, and one day, after an accidental collision, the raft ca to rest upon an unnad mountain peak.
Enduring their exhaustion, Deucalion and Pitha climbed onto the only piece of land they had encountered in their drift, but when they reached the summit, they witnessed an incredible scene.
The waters abruptly halted at this mountain peak as if so invisible force had severed them. On one side of the mountain was an expansive plain, untouched by a drop of sea, while on the other, relentless waves continued to pound the mountain's body, causing a trendous roar.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that on the plains, there were so structures that were clearly not of natural origin.
"...This is the Panasus mountain range, have we really drifted for so long?"
Finally recognizing his location, Deucalion was shocked despite his disheveled state.
He had heard of this place, even seen images of it, all told to him by his father Protheus. For him, it had been rely myths and legends, until today, when he stood here in person, beholding this ancient land.
Perhaps it was precisely such a place that could bring the monstrous flood to a halt because this was where the Temple of Delphi lay, the resting place of Mother Earth. The Golden and Silver Ages began here; it witnessed the history of the second era, this was truly a sacred ground of exception.
"Anyway, we survived."
Regaining his senses from the shock and unwinding his tense mind, Deucalion smiled bitterly. His father was captured, he could only live with his uncle's family, but then, recently, Epitheus and Pandora left without a word.
When he and Pitha returned to the residence with the garden, it was just the two of them left. They were bewildered for a while, but just as Deucalion was coming to terms with everything, the Great Flood ca.
Now, forgotten exhaustion surged back, and he sat on the ground without any image, while Pitha had already leaned against a boulder atop the mountain.
Looking at the tides cut off by the mountain range, Deucalion felt at a loss. With all spirits wiped out in the disaster, even if the floodwaters subsided, how would he and Pitha go on living?
However, just as he pondered, a faint, hesitant voice ca from beside him.
"Fulfilled..."
"What did you say is fulfilled?"
Deucalion turned to look, only to find Pitha beside him, murmuring to herself. Having encountered such a disaster soon after leaving her parents, she felt an imnse lack of security.
"The calamity. Father once said that one day, the Divine Court would bring down the calamity, to destroy Bronze Humanity and their traces. I always thought it was a scary story he told , but now —"
Viewing everything before her, Pitha's face turned sowhat pale.
"What?"
Deucalion knew his uncle Epitheus well. He was fad among the gods for his foolishness, but now, it seed he had foreseen this calamity?
It could be an accident... and it would be best if it was. Deucalion comforted himself, not because he couldn't accept a non-foolish Epitheus, but because he thought of more.
If his uncle had known about the destruction of humanity beforehand, did that an that the gods had plotted this disaster long ago and that both Bronze Humanity and the creatures of the earth, even he and Pitha, were insignificant sacrifices and pawns?
If this were true, it ant they were still in danger, never far from the threat of death.
"Did he say anything else?"
Collecting himself, Deucalion asked again. At his words, Pitha paused, then seed to suddenly rember sothing.
"He also ntioned... Princess Themis is a god of justice, the embodint of righteousness. If one day we face an insurmountable calamity, we might seek her aid, for among the gods she is the most trustworthy."
"...The most trustworthy?"
His heart sank again. Under her parents' protection, Pitha had never encountered hardship and wasn't sensitive to such things, but Deucalion read between the lines.
Why seek help from the most trustworthy god? Because the others are not trustworthy. Perhaps his guess was right; the real danger for him and Pitha had not yet arrived, and only the witness of the Master of Law could prevent the worst outco.
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