Chapter 269 Eating the forbidden fruit
A few days later, at the God of War Mountain.
Sitting in the backyard of Hestia's mansion, Lorne took out a golden apple and swallowed it in two or three gulps.
The fruit flesh melted in his mouth, forming a golden divine liquid that flowed from his stomach to his limbs, slowly soaking every inch of his bones, every muscle, and every drop of his blood.
Gradually, his body was covered with a layer of golden glow from the inside out.
“Buzz!”
At the same time, a golden halo lit up behind him, and countless lush green vines grew wildly in the mental world constructed by the halo, gradually extending their branches to the tenth space and turning into a lush fruit tree.
The branches are full of fist-sized fruits with bright red skin and trumpet-shaped openings on the top.
As the fruit trees and fruits stopped growing, Loen slowly opened his eyes and spread his palms forward. Several green branches automatically dropped from behind him and delivered a fiery red fruit on the branches into his palms.
“Crack~~”
With a gentle break, the fiery red skin cracks open with a crisp sound, revealing the crystal clear flesh like agate.
——Pomegranate, a fruit with special significance in Greek culture.
In the world of gods, one of the favorite plants of Hera, the goddess of marriage and fertility and queen of heaven, is the pomegranate tree. She is usually portrayed holding a scepter in one hand and a pomegranate, a symbol of fertility, in the other. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, the goddess of flowers and the mother of plants, also regards the pomegranate as one of her sacred objects and symbols, and the plants people offer to her also include the pomegranate tree.
On the other hand, it is said that it was born from the blood of Adonis, who is in charge of the annual death and rebirth of plants. Hades, the god of the underworld, tempted Persephone to eat six pomegranate seeds, forcing her to stay in the underworld for six months a year. Therefore, many people believe that it has magical powers, even powerful enough to affect the fate of gods.
Loen broke off a few pomegranate seeds and put them into his mouth.
A wonderful sweet feeling blooms between the taste buds, and along with it, a hint of coolness spreads throughout the body.
In a trance, his blood became more vigorous, his eyes became brighter, and his thinking seemed clearer.
At the same time, there seemed to be an indescribable change in the perception of the world.
——It seemed as if everything around him became much more friendly to him.
Loen ate a few more pomegranate seeds, closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then opened his eyes and shook his head helplessly.
The impact on him was too small and the feelings were not clear enough.
He thought for a moment, picked up a Gorgon bronze elephant emblem beside him, and wrote several Hermetic characters on it.
Soon, there was a cautious knock on the door from outside.
Lorne removed the magical restriction on the door and welcomed the visitors into the backyard.
"Lord Dionysus, I have brought the person you requested."
Phaedra, the fourth daughter of King Minos who had not been seen for a long time, was holding the Bacchus staff in her arms, glancing at the god she served from time to time, with a nervous look on her face.
The past was the past, and the present is the present.
Strictly speaking, gods and humans are no longer the same kind of life.
As the leader of the Bacchus, years of preaching and prayer have made her worship of her own god ingrained in her bones.
Of course, it's inevitable to be nervous when meeting your idol face to face.
"What are you afraid of? I don't eat people."
Loen jokingly pulled over a stool and asked his somewhat restrained niece to sit down, then looked at the few little guests she brought with her.
——They were a group of children, most of them wearing rough coats, their eyes full of ignorance and curiosity.
Obviously, these are a group of common people born at the bottom of society, without the blood and talents bestowed by the gods.
"The pomegranates at home are ripe, but I can't seem to finish them all. Come and try some to see how they taste."
Lorne smiled half-seriously and pushed a few pomegranates that he had taken from the branches and placed on a plate in front of the children. He demonstrated personally and ate a few pomegranate seeds first to dispel their doubts.
Seeing such a fragrant and beautiful fruit in front of them, the children turned around to ask Fedra's permission, then happily picked up the pomegranates from the plate and happily broke them open to share.
The sour and sweet taste blossomed on the taste buds, and the children looked at the kind people who entertained them with satisfaction and gratitude.
Lorne responded with a smile, like a kind older brother, chatting with the children while eating, asking about their family situation, academic ability, physical fitness, etc. from time to time.
The innocent children chirped in response.
Lorne listened patiently, saying a few words from time to time, either offering some useful suggestions, praising them for their understanding, or patting them on the shoulder and saying some encouraging words.
After a casual chat, Fedra, who was watching from the side, was surprised to find out.
These civilian children, who used to be not very confident, performed exceptionally well today, speaking eloquently and clearly.
After eating the pomegranate, Lorne talked to each child again. He had been promoted from the friend of Cretan women to the king of Minoan children. He picked up a branch, squatted on the ground, sketched some wonderful symbols, and spoke with a smile.
"Come, I'm going to play a little game with you. Whoever remembers these characters first and draws them in the air with his hands will get a basket of fresh fruits and vegetables."
Upon hearing this, the children immediately gathered in front of the empty space where the characters were written, stretched out their little hands, and concentrated on tracing the symbols on the ground.
"Hermeswen? How could they…"
"Shh, try it first."
Fedra next to him was about to speak when Lorne stopped her in a low voice.
Without the blood of gods, it is impossible to control the ether, let alone gather magic power and weave Hermes script through the air?
Fedra looked at Lorne beside him in confusion, and began to murmur in his heart.
Is it possible...
After a moment, the Bacchanalian woman widened her eyes in astonishment as she looked at the scene on the field that shattered her common sense.
"Light! It's glowing!"
"Mine too!"
A boy and a girl pointed at a Hermetic line in front of them that was condensed but not dispersed and was emitting a faint glow, and couldn't help cheering excitedly.
"sharp!"
Lorne gave a thumbs up to express his sincere appreciation, and then, amid the envious gazes of a group of children, he took two baskets of fruits and vegetables from Hestia's vegetable garden and gave them to the two outstanding children as gifts.
A small gathering ended with joy and officially came to an end.
Loen stood up and sent the eager children out of the house one by one, then pulled the team leader Fedra aside and whispered some instructions.
"Let Mr. Ma check the bodies of these little guys later. If he encounters someone with magical talent, let him recruit him into the Athens Academy."
Fedra nodded slightly and took note of the order.
However, thinking back to the scene in the courtyard before, the Cretan princess with divine blood flowing in her body couldn't help but feel a little confused.
"Aren't they civilians? Why can they use magic?"
"Don't you think it's too shallow to distinguish each other by blood?"
Lorne retorted quietly, and recited meaningfully the doctrine he had composed for the Dionysian Church.
"The world was built on the ashes of Titan, and so is life. God's blessing has long been equally bestowed upon all people..."
Fedra felt ashamed to hear the teachings of her own god.
God loves everyone in the world. Nobles are not the only ones who enjoy this honor. Common people can also accept this favor.
Putting aside her family background, what is the difference between her and those children?
Fedra reflected deeply on his shallowness and prejudice, and then made a solemn promise to the gods he served.
"I will keep your teachings in mind!"
"Well, I believe you, do your best."
Loen nodded slightly, smiled encouragingly, and then watched the energetic Bacchus girl embark on her journey of preaching.
After closing the door and entering the courtyard, Loen looked at a pomegranate in his hand, seeming to be thinking about something.
Universal teachings weave the foundation of human divinity, and the wine named after the blood of God waters the soil of human divinity.
And finally, these [seeds] in his hands fell, took root and sprouted in humans, gradually grew into towering trees, and eventually bore forbidden fruits.
——【Forbidden Fruit】?
Luo En smiled, looked at the pomegranate in his hand, and seemed to understand something.
The first book of the Bible, Genesis, describes that although God warned Adam not to eat the fruit of the "Tree of Knowledge", a snake in the garden prompted Eve to take a bite.
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and also desirable to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and ate. And she also gave some also to her husband that was with her, and he ate.”
From then on, mankind bore the original sin, but also broke away from the restrictions of the gods, walked out of the cradle, and headed towards true freedom.
Strictly speaking, the "forbidden fruit" that triggered this change did not have a unified concept. It was just a general fruit. Some people thought it was a fig, some thought it was a grape, some thought it was a citron, and some thought it was an apple.
In Hebrew culture, many people also argued that pomegranates were the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
Botticelli, the most important painter of the Florentine School during the Renaissance, once had a famous painting called "Madonna with a Pomegranate". The Virgin Mary is holding the baby Jesus in her arms, while the savior of mankind is holding a plump pomegranate tightly in his hand, with the pomegranate skin slightly broken open to reveal the crystal clear pomegranate seeds.
This pomegranate may be a symbol of the suffering and redemption of the Son of Man.
The [forbidden fruit] that grew behind Loen also had a complicated origin.
Hera's breastfeeding and the power of the golden apple created the sinful soil for the birth of the tenth incarnation.
Apple seeds fell, grape vines came to graft, and finally pomegranate fruits were produced.
Overall, it can be described as unorthodox and uninhibited.
At the same time, it also alludes to his cheating behavior with Hera, adding a subtle footnote to that illicit love affair.
So, the function of the forbidden fruit is to activate the potential divinity of human beings?
It should be the divine power of the earth contained in the golden apple that injected new vitality into these humans called "Titan Ashes", and ignited the divinity in their roots.
After all, this generation of human beings was "born by throwing the bones of Mother Earth", which is itself a partial manifestation of the divine power of the earth. With the nourishment of the [forbidden fruit], it is naturally easier to give birth to the flowers of sin that are not conducive to the supremacy of the divine power.
Unfortunately, this kind of boiling frog in warm water project cannot solve his current troubles.
Luo En looked at the pomegranate in his hand and sighed.
The tenth incarnation...
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
