"Finally, you have co."
Along the path marked by Ande, Heracls avoided the nurous challenges near the center of the Sea Eye.
Only by experiencing it firsthand did Heracls realize that the true danger of this oceanic trauma was not on the surface.
The Divine Fla leftover from the Great Day, the lingering resentnts of the countless beings that had perished in the ocean over the millennia, and even the twisted and undying spirits of evil creatures...
All things that the ocean could not accommodate had slowly converged here, becoming part of the Sea Eye.
Of course, perhaps due to these forces being loose and chaotic or possibly so other reason, with Ande's help, they were unable to breach the protection of the divine power.
Thus, the great hero Heracls safely reached the hollow at the center of the Sea Eye and t the person he wished to see.
Just as the legends recorded, the sinful god was imprisoned beneath the Sea Abyss, his hands bound by chains, and a Divine Nail piercing his chest.
However, it was such a captive who spoke words that should not have been spoken.
Finally, you have co... No matter how you look at it, such words should not have appeared here.
Since Heracls had decided to search for the Creator Protheus and had only recently learned that he was the Son of the Divine King, he had never consulted with anyone.
Except for one exception.
"Do you know a human nad 'Aiven'? Did he tell you of my existence?"
"If so... please tell , what is the purpose of having co here?"
Heracls spoke gravely, imdiately thinking of that scholar from Athens.
It was he who had inspired the thought of searching for Protheus; if anyone were likely to have predicted his actions, it would be him.
"Aiven?"
The bound deity slightly startled upon hearing the words, seemingly taken aback.
But it was only for a mont before Protheus regained his composure.
Indeed... He shook his head with difficulty as the Forethinking God looked at the wary yet hopeful great hero and spoke slowly and gently, "No, child, I do not know him."
"But not long ago, soone did tell that a child living in lies would co here; I also witnessed your valiant fighting on the sea surface."
"You are brave, yet also reckless—these may not be good traits, but for a young man, they certainly are excellent qualities..."
"Rest assured, whatever questions you have, I can answer them—including about the one who t with , what he gave , and what he spoke to about."
"Whatever you wish to know, I will tell you everything."
"Why?"
Silent and sowhat feeling surreal.
At that mont, Heracls was certain—his innate intuition told him that this ancient god was truly not deceiving him.
Not attempting to fabricate lies or masking concealnt with lofty reasons, as every other individual he had questioned before led others to guess their thoughts.
So, on impulse, the great hero unknowingly asked,
"Probably because I have already made the sa mistake once—my mistake taught that concealnt only leads to suspicion, and suspicion leads to conflict."
"It causes the greedy to forget the risks, and the cautious to miss opportunities."
"Rather than having people walk down the wrong path in speculation, it is better to tell them the cruel truth from the start."
"The destruction of the Bronze Age originated from this."
"If they had known their insignificance early on, fear might be closer to survival than arrogance."
Whoosh—
Perhaps he had spoken too much in a short ti, as Protheus took a slight breath, causing the chains on his wrists to lightly clink.
Regaining his composure, Heracls then rembered the other's current state.
He took a step forward and solemnly said,
"Regardless, Prince Protheus, whether or not you can answer my doubts."
"I believe in your morality and am willing to help you escape from this prison."
"I'm not sure if stealing the Heavenly Fire is indeed a sin, but including myself, every human now living should not use this as a reason to condemn you."
"You've been here long enough... and today is the day you will be released."
Stepping close to Protheus' side, Heracls thought he would encounter so hindrance, but to his surprise, he easily approached the captive god.
His hands reached for the Divine Nail in Protheus' chest, powerful strength flowing with the movents of his chest.
Ande, who had been silent until now, also covered him with divine strength; a sense of unprecedented power rose in Heracls' heart at that mont.
"One nail... cannot stop ."
"—Rise!"
With a loud shout, like a sovereign pulling up mountains.
Perhaps it was the effect of will, or perhaps his lineage was truly powerful.
When divine power was bestowed upon him, Heracls seed to possess a deanor capable of wrestling with the Divine King for a mont.
Responding to the call, the Divine Nail in Protheus' chest buzzed, vibrating slightly in the Creator's chest.
Even though Protheus was initially ready to speak out to stop him, he was sowhat astonished at that mont.
Incredibly... The Divine Nail, embodying the Divine King's will, was not ant to be removed so easily.
Apart from the initial shaking, no matter how hard Heracles tried, it remained immobile, with no possibility of being pulled out.
Even so, the fact that it could cause such a change was still extraordinary.
After all, although the nail was cast when Zeus had not yet stepped into the Great Divine Power of a God-King.
The power of sovereignty has no boundaries; the commands of a King from past days, too, would beco transcendent with future strength.
In such circumstances, that Heracles could make it shake relied not rely on 'strength' but on a certain embodint of 'fate.'
Perhaps he was always destined to surpass Zeus in so aspects, even though he himself did not yet realize it.
"Ahem… enough, stop wasting your energy."
"The punishnt from the God-King is not so easily undone, and what truly traps has never been rely this nail."
"It's rely a symbol, a dium."
"I can break free from it, but as long as the God-King's power persists, soone brought here by the will of Zeus must be forever bound in this Abyss."
Heracles cleared his throat lightly, a hazy halo emanating from Protheus.
The shaking nail imdiately returned to its original state, and Heracles was rebounded from it.
The Hero might not know that just as he had started moving, the waters at the Sea Eye of the East Sea suddenly surged up into frightful waves.
Like a giant deity reaching down from the sky, trying to grasp this handful of the ocean.
The strength of Zeus's sovereignty is also not infinite. It was the sea, over which he purportedly no longer had jurisdiction, that he used to entrap Protheus.
It rged with the nail, becoming a symbol of the God-King's Sea Suppressing.
From then on, the cris of suppressing an Innate God and quelling the turmoil of the Sea Eye were skillfully balanced, ensuring Zeus would no longer need to be troubled by them.
"Your power?"
Protheus, stepping lightly backward from the gentle recoil in front of him. Heracles's eyes shifted.
Just then, Protheus had nonchalantly separated him from the divine nail connected to the sea.
Though both derived from Divine Power, his seed much stronger than that of Ande.
And noticing Heracles's confusion, the Forethinker explained with a smile:
"Faith isn't born solely from prayers... child, if you are a deity, if your deeds can be spread far and wide, then the journey you've made to this point is your best support in gathering faith."
"Alright, now, let give you what rightfully belongs to you."
His body shook, and under Heracles's gaze, the Forethinker's body suddenly split into two.
One body, composed entirely of Divine Power, remained there, while the real body of Protheus departed.
Watching this scene, entirely different from what he had anticipated, Heracles was once again astonished.
And sitting on his shoulder, a tiny puppet suddenly spoke up.
"This is… truly unexpected."
"Even confined here, you've nearly reached the realm of Great Divine Power."
"Heh, no wonder Bronze Humanity was destroyed… If they, like this generation of Humans, had continued to spread across the continent, your power might have been enough to frighten even Zeus of that era."
Had the God-King of the Bronze Age not taken that step, and had the Bronze Age not been destroyed, the Forethinker might indeed have been qualified to threaten Zeus's position.
Thus, even though the actions of the All Gods were rough and seed forceful, they showed no rcy in dealing with him.
"Who is this?"
Breaking free from the chains and Divine Iron, Protheus could not maintain this state for long.
Even for him, being bound to the Divine Iron probably consud less energy.
At this mont, he was both defeating the Divine Iron's sensing and bearing the weight of the Sea Eye, his Divine Power draining every second.
Compared to before, although his Divine Blood continually dripped, even the not particularly strong body of a Titans Deity like Protheus could cope with this minor damage.
"Who am I… I am the Creator of the Bronze Age, I want to ask you, do you rember Ande?"
Raising his head slightly, the puppet's face was expressionless, as it should be.
However, the next mont, Protheus's reaction left it stunned.
"Ande... If you refer to the Ande in my mories, there indeed was one."
He pondered for a mont, Protheus slowly said:
"He was among the third group of created Bronze Humanity, endowed with a soul of kindness, humility, and integrity."
"How so, is he still alive?"
"…"
"No, he died, died from his kindness, humility, and integrity."
"The reason I ca to ask you… was just to see if the legendary Fire Thief rembered the na of each of his creations is indeed true."
The answer was, of course, true, as the outco was evident right before his eyes.
Never having served a day as 'Priest,' nor particularly esteed by those cunning favored by the created beings, he ultimately faced death alongside the creatures of the Bronze Age due also to the foolish acts of the priests, falling in the darkness just before dawn.
Previously, Ande didn't seem so indifferent about this, but now, one of his questions had been resolved.
"I have no more questions, but he does."
The voice stiff, the puppet's tone was flat.
"We've co here to seek you, mainly to understand so secrets about the depths of the Spirit Realm."
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