"How cunning," Ares's main body exclaimed, "Prometheus is truly cunning."
"Why do you say that?" Hecate glanced at him.
"Athena giving those concepts bestowed by the gods to Epimetheus could be attributed to her unfamiliarity with Epimetheus's character. But Prometheus and Epimetheus are close brothers who have spent every day together. Would he not know his younger brother's reckless nature? I don't believe he wouldn't know what would happen if Athena gave the gods' concepts to Epimetheus." Ares explained, "But he still did it, which means he intended for this to happen. What he actually wanted was the concepts Athena gave this time."
"Oh—" Hecate drew out her voice, "You see things quite clearly, disciple."
"I'm too lazy to put on an act in front of you, teacher," Ares said, spreading his hands. "We have no conflict of interest, and besides, I left my main body here for you to strike as you please. We won't harm each other, right?"
The Moon Goddess smiled at Ares, then said, "Hey, you're right."
The two continued to watch, and sure enough, after Athena's declaration, Prometheus immediately showed a surprised expression:
"You're really willing to give it?"
"Creation is a duty Zeus bestowed upon me. If your creations fail due to my oversight, I would be blamed by Zeus." Athena said, walking over to the clay figures. "Now, I shall bestow upon your creations the most precious blessing—the Goddess of Wisdom Athena's wisdom."
With that, she pursed her delicate pink lips, her fragrant mouth slightly open, and gently blew a breath towards the clay figures in front of her.
This breath, a mixture of divine power and concepts, transformed into a sky full of hazy light after leaving Athena's lips, descending upon the clay figures. After the light descended, these previously lifeless clay figures seemed to become full of spirituality. Seeing this, Prometheus quickly added his divine power, and immediately, the clay figures on the ground rapidly grew under the influence of his divine power, then transformed into a group of creatures, all male, with appearances similar to the male gods.
The future primates, the race that would replace the gods as the new overlords of Earth—humanity, was finally born.
Seeing this scene, Ares widened his eyes, trying his best to clearly see how Prometheus and Athena created humans. Afterwards, he turned to Hecate and asked, "Teacher, did you see clearly?"
"Mhm, it's about what I expected." Hecate nodded. "Clay is Gaia's flesh, and river water is Gaia's blood. When these two combine, they become the offspring formed from Gaia's flesh and blood."
As she spoke, Greece's most powerful witch manipulated the earth and river water flowing from an unknown source, mixing them together and molding a clay sculpture out of thin air.
"Then grant it divine power, use the divine power to activate the life factors within its body, and it can become a true human." Hecate raised her small hand, purple divine power infused into the clay sculpture, and the sculpture immediately transformed into a robust, handsome, living male human body, though without hair.
"Incidentally, the main components of this body are carbon and water, and it also contains various trace elements."
Ares's main body looked at this physical form, carefully recalling the process Hecate used to create humans, while his clone simultaneously multi-tasked, looking at the living humans on the ground and asking in a rough voice:
"Prometheus, are these your creations? What are their names?"
"Humans." The God of Forethought replied with a benevolent, parent-like smile, "They are called humans."
He looked up at the sky, as if prophesying to someone, "They will become the smartest, most vibrant, and most powerful race since the world's inception. They will be the gods' most loyal believers."
Then, he turned to Athena behind him, "Athena, thank you for bestowing the most precious wisdom upon my creations. In return, I will give you a prophecy. Come with me."
After speaking, Prometheus restrained the naked, newborn humans in place, then turned and walked back into his cave.
Upon hearing his words, the Goddess of Wisdom's face showed an expression of pleasant surprise, but she quickly composed herself, said something to Ares, and then followed Prometheus back into the cave.
Watching their retreating figures, Ares's main body asked Hecate, "Teacher, let's follow them again."
"No need, I probably know what Athena asked." Hecate replied.
"What?" Ares looked at Hecate in surprise. "Does studying too much magic make one omniscient?"
"Why do you always think of such illusory things?" The Moon Goddess rolled her eyes. "Of course I know because Athena came to ask me before, just before you and she left."
"Then what did she ask? Can you tell me?" Ares inquired very sincerely.
"It's not impossible to tell you." Hecate pondered for a moment, then said, "But you must swear that you won't tell anyone else that I told you this secret."
"Alright, alright." Ares nodded quickly.
After he finished swearing a magical contract oath, Hecate didn't keep him in suspense. She cleared her throat and began to speak: "The thing Athena is searching for is called 'Hope'."
"Oh?" Ares's heart stirred. He remembered the story about Athena, Epimetheus, and the legendary witch Pandora. In the story, the most precious thing Athena bestowed upon humanity, sealed at the very bottom of Pandora's Box, was "Hope."
However, after interacting with Athena, and even fighting her, Ares did not believe that Athena herself could bestow such a level of power. If she could, Olympus would have long since changed its dynasty.
Now, judging from Hecate's words, Athena's "Hope" was indeed something she found elsewhere.
"Do you know why Metis was eaten by Zeus?" Hecate continued. "It's because she discovered this 'Hope', which aroused Zeus's apprehension and even fear. However, what 'Hope' specifically is, even I don't know. I only calculated the exact location of that thing afterwards by deducing Metis's whereabouts before her death. Athena came to ask me about the location of this very thing."
"Then, Teacher," Ares thought for a moment and asked, "Can you tell me the location of this thing?"