The Breath of Life

She was utterly exhausted. Over the past ten years, Prometheus had used scraps from his creations to shape various animal forms for her: starting with small ones like butterflies and kingfishers, then moving on to rabbits and foxes, and eventually to tigers, lions, and even mythical beasts. At first, Hebe struggled to accurately depict the life force, and later, even when she managed to outline the life network, she had trouble controlling the infusion of divine power. But now, when she received a clay model from Prometheus, she could carve, infuse, and ignite the spark of life in one smooth motion. The hardships she faced were evident in the weary appearance of this goddess, drained of divine power, and in the pile of ‘dead' clay models around her, each with a tragic fate. A devil, he was simply a devil! Hebe now looked at Prometheus with a different gaze; this seemingly kind god was undoubtedly a dark force in disguise! For ten years, Hebe had not had a moment's rest. The clay models in Prometheus's hands, which required her to bestow life upon them, never disappeared. It was as if she had become a child laborer trapped in a black factory, endlessly working without pause, applying the laws of life. Hebe truly couldn't understand. She had watched Prometheus pour so much effort into those human sculptures, thinking that today he would finally leave her alone, allowing her to rest. But somehow, he managed to conjure up even more clay models from who knows where for her to practice on! Was he a master of time management? Thanks to his devilish training, Hebe had become intimately familiar with the entire process of igniting the spark of life; it had almost become second nature to her. At this moment, she held a miniature human-shaped clay model in her hands. The golden-haired goddess closed her eyes, channeling the laws of life to perform constant calculations. Only by achieving a perfect balance among the values of lifespan, wisdom, reproductive ability, and potential could the spark of life in humanity truly be ignited, which would then allow Prometheus to bestow it with a soul and wisdom. Otherwise, she would only be creating a batch of human-like beasts. The amount of computation involved was undoubtedly overwhelming, but fortunately, the soul of a deity was incredibly resilient. With her eyes tightly closed, the goddess concentrated, and her fingertips gathered strands of golden-green threads. These threads coalesced into a stream that penetrated the top of the clay figure's head, forming nodes in its brain, heart, and limbs, spreading out like the roots of an ancient tree, quickly enveloping the entire body. 'Hu~" Hebe exhaled a breath of divine essence, a pure life force that caused the veins within the miniature figure to ‘ignite' in an instant, emitting a dazzling golden-green light before blending into its flesh. Hebe opened her eyes. The pocket-sized clay model had shed its earthen appearance and transformed into a lively and adorable figure. It lay with its eyes tightly closed, its nose gently exhaling, as if in a deep slumber. It worked! The clay model had successfully ignited the spark of life. As soon as it was given a soul, it could live as a new intelligent race on the earth. Unfortunately, this was merely a practice model. Hebe raised her hand and retracted the life force, and the figure reverted to its clay form, turning to ash that scattered from her fingertips. 'It seems you're ready," she heard Prometheus say as she turned around. He was standing right behind her, and beside him stood thousands of human clay models. …While she was still grappling with the calculations to ignite the spark of life, he had quietly completed all the proportional bodies. Just look at this quantity; he even had time each day to create practice models for her. He was indeed impressive. 'The timing is almost right. Adjust your state; igniting the spark of life in this many bodies is no easy task. You must ensure your divine power is fully replenished." 'Mm." Hebe's expression grew serious as she tightly closed her eyes. The vial of life floated above her head, and a pure, milk-like stream of life essence poured forth, washing over her and cleansing her of impurities while replenishing her energy depleted over the years. Her golden hair regained its luster, her exquisite face radiated brilliance, and her white gauzy dress danced in the wind, making her appear even more divine. A gentle breeze swirled beneath Hebe, lifting her into the air. She cradled the vial of life in her arms, her spirit weaving through the laws of life as her mind recalibrated various metrics for balance. 'With the seeds of all things and the fountain of life as the foundation, the flesh and blood of the Mother of Gods as the body, and the gifts of the earth as sustenance." 'A robust physique, a relatively long lifespan…" 'Adaptability to the environment, reproductive capability…" The laws of life continuously constructed the life network of the newly emerging humanity, radiant light gathering and being infused into the vial of life. As she had yet to condense the divine aspect of life, she still needed the vial's power. With her words, the brilliance within the vial intensified, the overwhelming life force even stirring the deities on Mount Olympus. 'Potential for growth… New humanity, arise!" As Hebe pronounced the last note, countless golden-green lights surged from the mouth of the vial. The life networks were drawn toward the human clay models created by Prometheus, penetrating them. Moments later, tens of thousands of sparks of life blazed brightly, merging with the clay figures, resembling a dazzling galaxy, breathtakingly beautiful. As the sparks of life gradually dimmed and fully integrated with the clay figures, the newly born humans shed their artificial forms and grew true flesh and blood. They appeared serene, their eyes closed as if in deep sleep. It worked! Hebe's expression shifted as an unseen force empowered her. The turquoise divine aspect in her heart radiated a brilliant light. Within the green glow that represented childbirth, youth, and other aspects of life, a brilliant gold light emerged like a new bud blooming. However, this gold light quickly spread with an overwhelming speed, consuming the green light and transforming it into a more luxurious golden-green. 'Welcome new life, guard youth, purify impurities, heal wounds—everything is a gift of life. From this day forth, the goddess of youth shall no longer exist. In the name of the goddess of life, Hebe, I condense the divine aspect of life!" Hebe's voice echoed through the heavens and the earth. The divine aspect of life—currently, apart from the Earth Mother and the goddess Demeter, no other deity had ever mastered this law. This was a legitimate first-class divine qualification! The gods were both envious and jealous, secretly resenting how this goddess had such good fortune, her speed of ascension astonishing them all. They only saw Hebe's rapid advancement, not realizing that while they indulged in pleasure on the divine mountain and in the mortal realm, this goddess was in the palace, holding the golden vial to comprehend the laws, battling rampaging beasts in the human world, and tirelessly constructing the life networks in the Temple of Delphi… A torrent of divine essence enveloped her, merging into her divine aspect. Hebe hurriedly closed her eyes, striving to absorb this power, solidifying and strengthening her newly formed divine aspect, its brilliant radiance dazzling beyond compare. 'Your Majesty, it's time for you to act." Hebe soared down. Although she had just broken through, her divine power was still somewhat unstable. Her part was complete; the next step relied on Prometheus. So, Hebe sat down beside him, stabilizing her divine aspect while watching Prometheus bestow souls upon the new generation of humanity, which would undoubtedly benefit her as well. 'In the name of the son of the soul god Iapetus, I hereby bestow souls upon the new generation of humanity—purity, kindness, self-respect, ambition, resilience, and indomitable spirit…" Prometheus, the son of the soul god Iapetus, possessed profound understanding of the laws of the soul as the god of wisdom. As he spoke the divine words, his arms spread wide, and a brilliant silver light gathered before him. Pure, flawless, and beautiful, this was the soul he shaped for the new generation of humanity. 'This is the new humanity!" As his words fell, the silver light transformed into countless newborn souls, joyfully laughing as they entered the slumbering bodies, carrying a refreshing aura. With souls now within them, the humans' eyelashes fluttered slightly as they opened their eyes, curiously observing everything around them. More than that, they looked up at the two deities before them with reverence and admiration. Their creators… 'Great god of wisdom Prometheus, goddess of life Hebe, thank you for granting us life and souls. The new generation of humanity will forever remember your grace." From among the new generation of humans created by Prometheus emerged a handsome young man named Wulthos, the first to awaken among this group, and the others instinctively recognized him as their leader.