Chapter 334: Chapter 180: Fire Thief Shiayar (Part 2)
"What are the benefits of adding points, whoever guesses right will get it."
Shiayar rubbed the head of the Little Black Night Dragon that was baring its teeth at Silver.
Enjoying it, the little dragon squinted its eyes, and Ye Yi retracted its fierce demeanor.
Silver felt a pang of jealous bitterness.
When will this damn newcomer benefit dispute finally end?
But soon the little white ferret was also picked up by Shiayar and thrown onto his shoulder.
"Silver, you underestimate your master."
"Although it’s true that I’m already predetermined as the male lead in Master’s stories, I’m not in such a hurry."
"I haven’t even maxed out my favorability with the young Master of the First Era yet... and we haven’t confirmed any relationship. Peeping during a bath now would just be pure hooliganism."
"Your master isn’t that uncouth."
The Silver Fox gave Shiayar a suspicious glance.
"Ying ying ying~ (So what were you thinking just now, Master?)"
"Of course, I was thinking about serious matters, could it really be that I’m lustful?"
Shiayar lightly knocked on the little white ferret’s head.
With a look of righteousness, he spoke: "I was thinking about the future of the Lost Island."
"And, the future of the Elf Clan."
"Although I am not a member of the Elf Clan, since that is the teacher’s mission, then as the male lead of the teacher, it naturally is also my mission."
"It’s only natural."
"Ying~ (Is that so?)"
Silver swished its tail, still a bit dubious.
But in a blink of an eye, it noticed that Ye was already obediently perched on Shiayar’s shoulder.
The crimson-gold dragon eyes were full of trust and admiration, almost sparkling with stars.
Ah, a newcomer indeed; one look and you can tell it hasn’t been deceived by the master yet, the naïve innocence is evident in its eyes.
The little white ferret sighed inwardly and stopped doubting.
"Ye, have you heard the story of Prometheus?"
Shiayar thoroughly enjoyed the way Ye looked at him.
After all, regarding his cunning nature, his other Pet Beasts were already thoroughly familiar with it, not so easy to trick.
Why do people like newcomers?
"Awoo~ (I don’t know.)"
Ye shook its head, eagerly flapping its petite dragon wings, awaiting the story.
These days, to increase intimacy, Shiayar would tell it bedtime stories every night.
From Little Red Riding Hood to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, from The Little Mermaid to One Thousand and One Nights,
Made the inexperienced Ye listen with rapt fascination, the thing it looked forward to the most every day was hearing Shiayar tell stories.
"Legend has it, in the earliest Era—"
"Fire was a privilege of the Celestial Gods in the Heaven Realm."
"And the humans on earth could only wander lost in the vast, boundless darkness."
"To seek protection and avoid the beasts and disasters in the darkness, they could only agree to the harsh demands of the celestial gods, exchanging incredibly stringent sacrificial conditions for the celestial gods’ negligible protection."
"However, among those lofty Celestial Gods, there was a traitor named Prometheus."
"He stole the fire seeds that only the Celestial Gods were supposed to have, and brought them to the human world."
"Thus, the once pitch-black nights where nothing could be done, people could also light torches and move freely."
"People no longer needed to consume raw flesh and blood every day, but could complete cooking and eat cooked food."
"Even the wolves and tigers and other beasts that were originally hard to resist, could be driven away and held at bay using bonfires, no longer fearing death by wild animals."
He gently stroked Ye’s dark and deep scales, speaking softly: "Don’t you think, I and Master to the Lost Island, are like Prometheus?"
"Bringing the fire seeds known as Arcane Arts and Magic to that lightless land shrouded by the curtain of Eternal Night."
"And thus illuminating the future of the Elf Clan."
"Awoo~"
Ye nodded, seemingly understanding but not truly comprehending.
Having just hatched not long ago, it lacked experience and naturally couldn’t grasp the deep meaning in Shiayar’s words.
Born with the authority over shadows, emerging from the Darkness, it naturally wouldn’t understand what the "spark" Shiayar spoke of meant to those Races yearning for light.
It mechanically memorized the complex and somewhat awkward name, Prometheus. Of course, with the Rank of the Dragon of the Night, even just awkwardly remembering it would ensure it would never forget it.
What Ye cared more about was the continuation of this story.
"Aowoo~ (So what happened next? That Prom... Prometheus, what happened to him?)"
In Shiayar’s usual storytelling style, those fairy tales mostly concluded with a happy and complete ending.
For example, Snow White and Cinderella eventually live happily ever after with the prince, while the wicked queen with the magic mirror and Cinderella’s evil stepmother and stepsisters receive the punishment they deserve.
However, facing Ye’s gaze, Shiayar only shook his head lightly.
"Ye—"
"You must understand that fairy tales are fairy tales precisely because they are dreamy, magnificent, yet unattainable."
"Not all stories, like those fairy tales, have a perfect ending."
"Prometheus brought the spark to mankind."
"And from the clouds atop Mount Olympus, the king of the Celestial Gods overlooked the myriad fires igniting in the human realm and naturally perceived the truth of the stolen spark, thus becoming furious and ordering the capture of that despicable Fire Thief."
"Initially, Prometheus hid among Humans, and even the Celestial Gods couldn’t easily find him, only in vain casting down lightning to vent their rage."
"However, the anger of the Celestial Gods incited fear and dread among the people."
"People began to blame the Fire Thief for angering the king of the Celestial Gods, bringing divine punishment and disaster upon mankind, and chose to assist the Celestial Gods in capturing Prometheus, who was hiding among Humans."
"The Celestial Gods took him to the mountain top, binding him with an unbreakable chain to a steep cliff, never allowing him to sleep, with weary knees that could not bend, and a diamond nail driven into his heaving chest. Prometheus was made to endure endless hunger, exposure to the elements, and the torments of storms day and night."
"Moreover, a wicked vulture was sent to feast upon the liver imbued with human emotions every day, only for it to regrow overnight, repeating the cycle day after day, year after year."
Listening to Shiayar’s tale, Ye couldn’t help but flap its dragon wings in confusion.
"Woo woo~(Why is it like this?)"
"Woo woo~ (Didn’t Prometheus steal the spark to benefit Humans? Why was he betrayed instead?)"
"Because, that is reality."
"The passage of time can change many things; the millennia could transform people’s initial gratitude for Prometheus into disdain and indifference."
Shiayar’s words were somewhat profound.
"Forgetting is a disaster, and also a weapon."
"First take away their memories, destroy their books, their culture, their history."
"Then others come to write other books for them, give them another culture, concoct another history for them.
"And then, this nation slowly begins to forget what they are now, what they were in the past. The world around them would even faster forget them."
Shiayar paused his words for a moment.
"Such things are always repeated in the world."
"Not just in Prometheus’s story..."
"Even here in this reality known as the Lost Island, it is the same."
"However..."
He curved his lips into a slight smile.
"After all, that’s my teacher, isn’t it."
Ye lay atop Shiayar’s head, nodding as if it understood and yet didn’t.
"Shiayar, what are you talking to Ye about?"
A crisp and sweet voice came from the direction of the bathroom.
Raising his eyes, Shiayar saw the Golden Elf girl, having changed back into her pure white robe, blowing her damp long hair dry with "Heat Wave Spell" as she braided her pale golden hair into a princess braid.
"I think I heard something about Prometheus and the Fire Thief? Is it a new story?"
Faced with the Golden Elf’s somewhat curious gaze, Shiayar simply chuckled and shook his head: "Nothing."
He opened the door of the Little Flying House, extending his hand towards Hathaway in the Void.
"Since we’re ready to return to the Lost Island—"
"Then, let’s go."