The tides rolled steadily, grasses swayed gently, and a fresh sea breeze carried fine grains of sand glittering like stardust.
In Zeus's eyes, the Aegean Sea looked unchanged. Greece, accompanied by the gods, had journeyed through a thousand unaltered years—the last real upheaval being Uruk's sudden arrival a millennium past.
Yet even that had eventually settled into stability.
The gods—especially God-King Zeus—loathed change.
At his core, Zeus was still a Machine.
Machine Gods were rigid, unyielding, eternally seeking a permanence of cold steel rather than the flowing chaos of water or flame.
But now, walking the mortal world once more, Zeus distinctly sensed a shift.
He strode through wild grasses, crossed hills, and moved steadily toward the distant silhouette of humanity.
If the scenery remained constant—
Then what had changed could only be the people themselves.
Soon, Zeus saw the solemnly adorned city-state of Olympia looming ahead. Among Greece's many city-states, Olympia was unique—the sacred meeting ground of gods in the mortal realm and the direct seat of divine governance.
If Athens was Greece's commercial heart and Sparta its military might, Olympia was undeniably its spiritual core, closest to the divine. Here, Greece's shifting faith would be most clearly revealed.
Annually, representatives from countless cities gathered here for great festivals dedicated to the gods—the early model of what would one day be known as the Olympic Games.
This was precisely why Zeus chose this city as the destination for his humanoid terminal.
To grasp the broader picture from this focal point—he needed to see firsthand what changes had occurred among humans without his knowledge.
Within the city, priests instantly felt the God-King's presence and knelt reverently in their respective temples.
Zeus entered Olympia unimpeded.
He observed the Spartan warriors standing firm in defense, and the bureaucrats from Athens overseeing administration. Olympia was nominally a city-state, yet it was in fact an amalgamation formed by all of Greece's cities.
"Welcome, mighty god from the heavens!" a voice called respectfully from the far end of a broad avenue.
"The King of Olympia, I presume?" Zeus's voice rumbled. The king, an elderly man whose white beard trembled with reverence, could not clearly see Zeus's visage but felt his overwhelming divinity—surely a god at least of major god-tier.
"It is I," answered the old high priest, bowing even lower.
"Then walk with me. It's been a long while since I last walked among mortals. Tell me—has anything changed lately?"
A hidden god...? The old king's heart stirred cautiously. "Some things have changed, others have not."
...
"Since the founding of Rovi City, travelers from north and south have gathered there. They helped build that city and received wisdom and prosperity from it. In that city, the Sage and the gods reached an accord: Athena granted people mature thought; Demeter granted freedom in cultivating fields; Hestia lifted her hand from the arts of food and drink; Apollo permitted lighting candles in the night; Poseidon relinquished his hold on the ocean winds…"
"Through their own power, mortals raised city walls, harvested plenty, and lifted great stones skyward without restraint."
"They praised the Sage who built the city, and respected the gods who set them free."
"Now is utterly different from before."
—Records of Olympia
...
"Rovi City? Science and technology? The gods stepping aside?" Zeus's first reaction was absolute fury.
Thunder boomed violently, clouds darkening the sky. The old king trembled violently, nearly crushed by oppressive gloom. Fortunately, Zeus quickly regained himself, suppressing his rage.
"You say mortals still honor the gods above?"
"Yes, mighty god." The old king struggled for breath, forcing himself to remain composed. "We have never lost our faith in the gods."
Zeus closed his eyes. No words could ever match personal experience. Standing now in Olympia, sacred land and hub of faith, he would sense the truth firsthand.
In that instant, Zeus perceived humanity's faith clearly.
It indeed remained.
In fact, devotion was stronger than ever—more fervent, more genuine.
Faith in Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, was most profound. Following her were Artemis of the Hunt, Demeter of the Harvest, and Hestia of the Hearth.
Behind them came Apollo, Ares, and others.
But—
"Where's my faith?"
"Where is it?"
"Where has all faith in me gone!?"
Zeus—was enraged.
If belief had diminished equally among all gods, it might've been attributed to the inevitable march of human progress.
But if only a single god's worship had faltered?
If it was Zeus's alone?
There could only be one explanation.
"Those bastard traitors actually turned their backs on me!"
"They dared abandon me—the mighty King of the Gods!"
Zeus's fury erupted.
His persona shifted instantly. Wild winds whipped violently, forcing the king to collapse, trembling. Above, lightning rent the heavens, black clouds blanketed the sky, and the people of Olympia watched, awestruck, as brilliant bolts shattered the firmament.
Zeus's human form vanished.
But at that very moment, his true Machine God Frame unleashed its full might.
The God-King would reassert his majesty.
The gods who betrayed him, the mortals who abandoned him, Rovi City itself, and the Sage who built it—all would become targets for destruction.
Zeus would demonstrate the supreme power of the God of Gods.
Even if it meant destroying the civilization he ruled.
He would remain the eternal God-King.
He tolerated no defiance.
...
Inside the completed city of Rovi, within the academy, Rovi stood abruptly.
"Tell all the gods residing in this city to return immediately to their domains," he ordered sharply. "The God-King is coming."
"Hm?" Hestia, who'd been absorbed in a book nearby, lifted her head in confusion, only to see Rovi vanish instantly.
The Hearth Goddess, secretly enjoying her quiet study sessions in Rovi City, blinked in bewilderment.
"Where's Rovi?" Athena strode into the room, silver hair flowing behind her—but Rovi had already departed.
He sensed that the moment had come.
He headed toward Greece's highest peaks.
To see a certain someone.
Or rather—a certain god.
A Titan.
"Hwahahaha! So, that guy finally snapped!" On the summit of the Caucasus Mountains, Prometheus the fire-thief laughed uproariously. "Zeus! God-King Zeus! My foresight tells me clearly—your reign will soon crumble!"
"Because, Lord Rovi—you have finally come!"
"Whether soon or not depends on Heaven's will," came a calm reply. Long robes whipped in the wind as Rovi climbed the steep path, crossing sharp mountain ridges until he stood before the mighty figure chained to solid rock.
"Prometheus, we finally meet."
"And I finally meet you as well, Ancient Sage—Hwahahaha!" Prometheus's booming laughter echoed, uncannily similar to Cronus's own.
Yet that resemblance made sense—Prometheus himself was Titan-born, grandson to Cronus.
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T/N: i wonder if odyssey even happened :o