The Story of Eros and Psyche - (2)

Eros flew to the human world, grumbling, on a mission given by his mother, Aphrodite.
With his small, white wings fluttering, he made his way toward a royal palace where Psyche resided.

A window high up opened naturally, creating a passage for the god of love to slip through,
and the invisible intruder entered Psyche’s room without being seen by humans...

“Wow...”

Even Eros, who saw the goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite, every day, was stunned by what he saw.
What is the significance of the goddesses? The one before him might as well be a goddess herself.

Eros, seeing Psyche peacefully asleep on her bed, fell in love at first sight...
And in an instant, his body transformed from that of a young boy into a handsome young man.

Gods are eternal and usually maintain their original nature and physical form.
However, sometimes, through changes in divine nature or certain catalysts, they can transform.

It was for this reason that the young god, who had just discovered love, grew into a young man.

‘I’m supposed to carry out my mother’s punishment... but she’s too beautiful. Do I really have to?’

Eros hesitated. How could he abandon this human woman who had stolen his heart at first glance?
Should he blindly follow his mother’s orders? Unlike the other gods, he hadn’t even married yet...

The time spent in indecision didn’t last long. Overcome by the power of love for the first time in his life,
the god of love pulled out a vial from his cloak. Inside were two potions: one, a bitter liquid that would steal love, and the other, a sweet liquid that would enhance beauty.

‘There’s no way I’ll let my future bride marry someone else.’

Eros sprinkled the bitter liquid from Aphrodite’s fountain onto Psyche’s lips.
With this magical liquid upon her, no one would propose to Psyche.

‘...Was the bitter liquid too much? Well, since I feel bad...’

Eros reached into his cloak again and pulled out the vial containing the sweet liquid.
This potion would make its recipient’s beauty shine even brighter, and with it, Psyche would receive even more admiration from others.

‘How am I going to explain this to Mother?’

The god of love placed a soft kiss on Psyche’s forehead as she slept, and left.

Back at Aphrodite’s palace, Eros avoided his mother’s glaring gaze.
Of course, he was supposed to carry out the punishment, but instead, he had returned as a grown man—naturally, she was upset.

“Eros...?! You have quite a lot to explain to me...!”

“Well, I was about to strike Psyche with the lead arrow, but...”

“About to?”

“I accidentally struck myself with the gold arrow. That’s why I grew up like this.”

Nonsense. Aphrodite was flabbergasted.
An accident? He accidentally struck himself with the gold arrow? A god who could fully control his body?
Even if it were a mistake, the gold and lead arrows were powers only Eros could wield—not even Aphrodite could use them.

Was there truly a god who could be affected by his own powers? Even if one were harmed, surely they could shake it off.
Of course, Eros’s arrows held power even over himself, but the thought did not cross Aphrodite’s mind in her anger.

Eros had clearly fallen for a human woman and lost his senses.
The very fact that he had grown from a child into a young man showed that something had shifted within him.

“I might as well believe that Thanatos was subdued by some mere human!”

“...It’s the truth.”

“Hmph... Adonis! Are you there?”

“Yes, Lady Aphrodite. What is it?”

At Aphrodite’s call, a young man’s voice was heard.
He was a strikingly handsome man in his twenties, and the moment Eros saw him, he muttered under his breath.

“...Mother also has a weakness for handsome humans, doesn’t she? That’s nothing compared to...”

“Is this the same thing?! This man is merely a servant, and you—you’ve fallen in love with a human! Adonis, go fetch some nectar.”

“Yes, Lady Aphrodite.”

Adonis left the room to carry out the order.

Aphrodite’s words, surprisingly, were true.
She simply liked keeping Adonis around because of his looks—there were no deeper feelings.
Although Adonis was more handsome than any human she had seen before...

“He’s quite exceptional for a human, but he’s not the kind of man I’d want for a single night.”

“Then, is it Lord Ares?”

“Well, Ares is part of it, but... A god with status, good character, trusted by all, with charisma...”

Was there even a god who met all her mother’s criteria? Wait, no... hold on...
One god who fit every condition popped into Eros’s head.

A member of the three major gods, of high status, trusted by both mortals and gods,
A god even Zeus, the king of the gods, respected—majestic, ruling over the Underworld...

“Someone like Lord Hades, perhaps?”

“Yes, exactly... But wait! That’s not what we were talking about! We were discussing you and that Psyche woman!”

Eros’s expression grew awkward as he glanced at his mother, who was clearly frustrated.
Aphrodite’s next words came with a fiery command.

“I understand that you’ve fallen for that woman who insulted my honor, but I will never accept it!”

“But... please, just watch for a little while longer. I’m sure Psyche will win your favor, too.”

“Hmph. Who could ever win me over? Fine, let’s see. If that woman’s attitude passes my test, I’ll think about it.”

Normally, she would have immediately dealt divine punishment,
but perhaps it was the recent divorce from Hephaestus that softened Aphrodite as she crossed her arms and relented.
Or maybe, in Eros’s love for a mortal, she saw something of her own experiences with Ares and the marriage she was forced into...

Thus, without knowing it, Psyche was put through the gods' trials.

The praise for Princess Psyche, the third princess of the kingdom, grew day by day.
Of course, this was thanks to the effect of the sweet potion Eros had sprinkled on her.

“Princess Psyche is undoubtedly the most beautiful woman on Earth.”

“Of course. That beauty surpasses even the goddess Persephone, taken by Pluto, and the goddess of beauty, Lady Aphrodite...”

“Is that so? But for some reason, I don’t feel like proposing to her.”

“Do you feel the same? She’s indeed beautiful, but...”

However, due to the power of the bitter potion, no one ever proposed to her.
The rumors praising the princess continued to spread, but the king and queen, puzzled by the lack of suitors, eventually visited the Oracle of Delphi.

The prophecy from the god Apollo at Delphi was as follows:

She is fated never to marry a mortal; abandon her on a mountain.

“Th-Then what will happen to her? Who will my daughter marry?”

“My daughter Psyche... How could this be...?”

A monstrous creature more wicked than any snake or beast will take her.

Psyche’s parents wept bitterly.
To think that Psyche’s fate was to marry a terrible monster, as ordained by prophecy...

But the prophecy could not be ignored. After all, they were familiar with the stories of Oedipus and Perseus, weren’t they?
But wait... hadn’t the great hero, King Perseus, managed to avoid his own prophecy?

“Dear... do you recall the story of King Perseus?”

“The hero who was prophesied to kill his grandfather? Ah... are you saying...!”

King Perseus had received a prophecy from Pluto, the god of the Underworld, and was able to peacefully send his grandfather on his way.
The story of how the great hero escaped his grim fate had spread far and wide.

“That’s right. The compassionate Pluto, who pities mortals in unfortunate circumstances, provided a way to twist the prophecy.”

“Then our Psyche...”

Strictly speaking, the prophecy had been circumvented,
but now they saw hope that they could save their daughter from the monster.
Thus, they headed to Pluto’s temple.

This is why... the temple of Hades in Thebes had been filled with those noisy people.
For about a week now, they had been begging relentlessly, and eventually, their pleas reached my ears.

“Lord Pluto! Please, have mercy on our daughter!”

“Our youngest, who is as precious as our own eyes, is to be married to a monster... Please, take pity on us...”

Word quickly spread that the king and queen of a nation had come to the temple, weeping aloud...
Just yesterday, some of the gods from the Underworld came to me, asking if I might help those mortals.

“Hades... those humans praying at the temple every day—would you consider helping them?”

“Lady Lethe?”

“They prayed at my shrine yesterday... Apparently, their daughter is incredibly beautiful...”

“Those humans really must cherish their daughter.”

“Hypnos, what’s this about?”

“Morpeheus visited their dreams last night and said their thoughts are entirely consumed by their daughter’s fate...”

Many mortals believed prophecies to be absolute, inescapable fate, but the reality was slightly different.

In the case of Oedipus and Odysseus, yes, their destinies were fixed.
Even Zeus, king of the gods, could not alter them—only slight twists were permitted.

But this prophecy... what? A woman fated to marry a monster?
As the god of the Underworld, I could tell that no woman in this era was destined to marry a monster.

Thus, the conclusion was clear.

The prophecy given to Psyche was not a predetermined fate but rather the will of Apollo, the ruler of Delphi.

“Morpeheus, go to Olympus and tell Apollo that I’m coming to see him. I need to ask him directly what’s going on.”

“You’ve finally decided to help, have you? To be fair, those humans did seem quite pitiful.”

Who on earth was playing tricks again in the mortal realm?