Chapter 44: Once The Smoke Clears
"ROAA A A A A!!!" Furious roars shook the Earth, yet Pandora knew..
It was just an illusion, a mere facade to stow away weakness, to stuff fear down their hearts to draw attention away from the pack's diminished strength.
She was not afraid, not anymore.
She had them where she wanted them, the Drakes were trapped, and with barely any strength to spare after a rampage of such magnitude. Her egregious plan worked.
That means there's a chance, the struggle is almost over now.
Just one, small.. problem..
The young woman was completely exhausted in every way possible. Trapped as the drakes may be, without the strength to finally end this...
Everything she had worked for would be rendered moot, she would have achieved nothing but failure.
A failure that would cost lives.
What would the Gods think? The Olympians could surely scorn her for her failure, if she were to survive, that is. The price was too high, the humans were counting on her.
They will die.
And in turn, losing the trust of entire pantheons. Pandora was not stupid, she knew this risked their lives yes, but there was something else she knew was much, much more costly to lose.
The pride of the Gods.
And so it was, one side had everything to lose, and another everything to gain. A battle of attrition it is, then.
'C'mon! There must be something... How do I win?! Oh Gods..' She thought to herself, struggling for breath as she limped toward the box she previously set down.
"By the Gods!" An equally exhausted voice was heard, terrified yet relieved.
'Wait!' She thought panicked.
Why did they approach?! It wasn't safe yet, can't they see that the drakes are still alive? Were they not scared? Did they not know of the danger?
The humans were approaching her, running toward her as deftly as they could. She was their lifeline, to them she was a savior.
They were confused, they were hurt, they were in danger.
Yes, they did not know fear, they did not know despair. How could they have possibly known? But, they felt sadness.. for they had known bliss. After all, every divine gift came with its equally divine price. Nay, they were devastated, left a grieving mess by the cruel, monstrous way of the world.
"We- we do not know who you are, but thank you! Surely, you must be an emissary of his Lord Prometheus!" The last of them, who seemed to be the eldest said to her gratefully from the bottom of his heart.
"A-ah.. Wait! It is not safe yet! T-the beasts still linger, please stay back!" The young woman said a flustered and tired mess.
She did not imagine her first meeting with her own people to be so... fateful? No, unfortunate.
'Ah' She watched as the humans eyes seemed to light up in realization. It seemed Pandora had forgotten one simple fact, and that these people were completely out of place in the world.
Too innocent, experienced in the cruelty of the world yet without a clue on how to react properly.
They were weak, which wasn't exactly special, but that's the thing about them! They bear no fang, no claw, no thick hide. Instead, the Gods blessed them with superior thinking and.. sentience.
Yet it seems, without the guidance of the Gods, they stand helpless against the tides of change. It's as if.. they were incomplete..
'So, faced with such a situation... do they even know what's going on?'
'The box..?' Her gaze wanders, resting on the ever-cold exterior of the item she was entrusted.
'Am I supposed to use it in some wa-- ?!' She thought, before being interrupted,
"BOOM! CRASH!! ROAAHHHH!!!" by a loud explosion and a desperate cry.
"?!"
"Quick! You must flee, now!!" Pandora exclaimed frantically, before turning back to witness what exactly was going on!
A cloud of smoke, dust, and debris graced the earth with its presence. However, within the hurricane of of smoke and dust, one thing was very clear.
Something in there... it was burning, blazing even. An Inferno, held back by a veil of dust.
"No... T-this can't be! This can't really be happening!" She understood not, yet she could instinctively tell..
Nothing but trouble.
"ROAAAA! RAAA!!" Bellowed the beast. Wait, beast?
"...?! Impossible.." Her breath quickened, her heartbeat drummed ever faster.
From within the storm of dust, one could barely make the figure... of a single drake. It was.. burning? Why is it so bright? Wait...
"I-It's burning it's own body, converting 'excess' into energy." She surmised, as much as she dreaded it, it was not the time for denial.
'And soon, it will convert its own flesh and blood, even its own dragon heart, into power' It was a gamble, a desperate bid to get that accursed box!
Pandora's mind raced. 'This is one of the worst case scenarios! By Zeus, how many are there?!' She panicked, looking around for any more blazing beacons of fire. 'Only one?..' One drake it may be, however..
Death was the easiest option. She had no energy, not even to run away. The drake was on the hourglass, there was no way it would slow down at all, for it knew failure was as good as death. Even if it did somehow survive from its rampage, a being of dragon blood burning themselves? There is no greater shame for a flame dragon.
A sacrifice, then. She was saddened that she could not fulfill her only purpose, but fate works in mysterious ways, and it has decided to condemn her to a burning death.
"Go on without me!" She yelled, resolute.
"But Milady! We cannot possibly do that! You will di-" They said, unwilling to leave behind a savior before being interrupted.
"The box! It is a gift from the divine, m-may it's miracles serve you well! I-I.. am merely the messenger, I am expendable... you humans however, you hold too much on the line! May it light your path!" She continued on, her eyes brimming with resolve to accomplish at least one of her duties.. before her inevitable perishing.
The eldest man hesitantly took the box, as unwilling as the survivor's were... their lord Prometheus did not share with them his wisdom for nothing, as they reluctantly but doubtlessly trudged away from the impending disaster.
"RAAA A A AHH!!" Like the galloping beast it was! The melting drake burst through the veil, completely demented and berserk. It's snake eyes narrowed at only one thing, the box..
'I really did not expect this..' With her mind made up, despair no longer took hold of her... all she had was a lot of sorrow and regrets now, and she planned to burn them away, along with herself.
'The game of the Gods really make no sense...' Pandora pondered, perhaps for the last time.
...
--- To Be Continued ---
( So, I feel like I need to address something. If you haven't noticed it yet, yes I completely flipped Pandora's role as opposed to her regular myth. To what extent? You will see soon. The way I write might have also changed, as I haven't written in a while. Oh right, updates will be split between here and my other novel "Reborn As A Spirit, Guess I'll stay by the Lakeside" check it out if you want, it's also a nonhuman MC, updates depend on my mood.
Remember to support the novel if you like it. Power stones, comments, reviews especially, anything is appreciated! See ya! )
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