Abhii28
patreon
(Fate) Chapter 224: The Burning Sun (2.9k words)
🕑 Added 2024-12-11 17:21:15 +0000 UTCHelios paused, staring at Promise in front of him, who seemed completely unaffected and calm, as though nothing extraordinary had happened.
The sight amused him, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at himself.
Of course.
The person before him was someone he had witnessed accomplish countless feats that had shocked the gods.
How could someone like that be intimidated by such a trivial thing?
With this in mind, Helios suddenly asked Promise, “Child, do you think the scenery before you... is beautiful?”
Hearing his words, Promise blinked for a moment, then instinctively glanced down again at the world beneath the celestial heights of ancient Greece and nodded lightly, speaking, "Yes, it’s beautiful. It even gives me the urge to take up a brush and immortalize this scene on canvas."
“Indeed,” Helios said proudly, raising his head high. “And, child, you must understand—apart from me, you are the only one who has ever witnessed such a magnificent sight!
"But for now, let us set aside the thought of painting,"
Having said that, he handed the reins of the chariot to Promise.
Seeing that the latter showed no trace of fear, Helios couldn’t wait to witness the moment when this youth truly mastered the sun.
At that moment, he even found himself slightly resentful of Nyx.
After all, he had been the one to suggest this first, yet Nyx had beaten him to it by letting Promise command the night beforehand!
But at this moment, as Promise looked at the offered reins, he hesitated.
After all, he had just witnessed Helios struggle to control the sun chariot firsthand, so now, he felt a bit doubtful about himself.
Even a powerful deity like Helios seemed to exert so much effort—how could he possibly manage it?
"Respected Sun God Helios, it’s not that I regret my earlier decision,” Promise began, noticing Helios’ puzzled expression. "I just realized... I might not have the strength to hold these reins."
After he spoke, he looked slightly embarrassed.
After all, he was the kind of "Greek hero" who would lose a strength contest to a little girl.
Helios was momentarily stunned, then burst into hearty laughter.
Looking at Promise, who seemed slightly flustered, he said reassuringly, "Hahaha, don’t worry, child. It’s fine.
"To command the sun, what you need is not strength, but courage and worthiness!"
Under Promise’s confused gaze, Helios explained further.
In fact, the truth was quite simple: the one who had crafted this sun chariot was none other than Promise’s goddess mentor, Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship.
The reins she had forged held an absolute restraining effect on the fiery celestial horses.
In essence, as long as the reins weren’t released, the horses could not break free.
This was also one of the reasons Helios had agreed to let his own child, Phaethon, try driving the chariot.
After knowing the reason, Promise no longer hesitated.
He stepped forward and grasped the reins Helios handed to him.
The moment Promise took hold of the reins, the fiery celestial horses immediately turned their gaze toward him.
Realizing that it was no longer the Sun God who restrained them but merely a small human, they began to resist violently, struggling to break free of Promise’s control.
During this time, Helios watched intently, his nerves on edge, ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble.
Though he had faith in Promise and was eager to see what he could achieve, he also understood that this was no simple task.
But to his amazement, no matter how much the horses struggled; even turning to breathe flames at Promise in an attempt to intimidate him—the boy never once released his grip on the reins.
Helios instinctively compared Promise to his own child, Phaethon.
Then, he couldn't help but shake his head wryly.
'Even if Phaethon had taken the potion crafted by Hecate, the moment he faced the flames and the mortal danger they represented, he would have let go in fear.'
Helios looked at Promise, feeling surprised but also as if it was the way it should be.
'Of course', he thought. 'This is Promise—the one who defies fate'.
"No wonder they’ve all fought over you so fiercely,"
Then, as if he suddenly seemed to recall something, Helios couldn’t resist smiling as he spoke to Promise. "Child, do you know the thing that has surprised me the most about you all this time?”
Promise turned toward Helios with a curious expression.
What followed was the sight of the sun god, with his middle-aged demeanor, bursting into hearty laughter as he declared, "It’s the fact that all those goddesses who like you haven’t actually fought each other yet!"
In fact, this sentiment was shared by almost every male god—this was seen as the most miraculous phenomenon surrounding Promise.
After all, those were proud, fiercely self-centered goddesses!
And given how much that adored Promise...it was a miracle.
Promise’s lips twitched slightly at Helios’ teasing.
However, he simply chose not to reply, and simply focused instead on driving the four celestial horses.
The fiery steeds, after struggling for a while to no avail, began to grow resentful.
This human was even stricter than the Sun God himself, making them unable to help but control in their hearts..
After all, even the sun god, Helios would occasionally allow them some respite, however Promise kept them under constant, taut control, like an unyielding rope.
So, eventually, realizing that resistance only made the reins tighten further, they grudgingly submitted.
To make the ride more comfortable for themselves, they had no choice but to comply.
Thus, the sun chariot was steadily guided across the heavens under Promise’s command.
As time passed, it began its descent from the sky’s zenith toward the lower horizon.
Throughout the journey, Helios watched intently.
Seeing that Promise had firmly controlled the violent sun from beginning to end without faltering, he felt both emotional and overjoyed.
After all, this meant he no longer needed to worry about the Phaethon situation.
Finally, the chariot, wrapped in fiery red clouds like a burning sunset, completed its journey for the day and vanished over the horizon.
As the veil of night descended and spread across the sky, the chariot, alternating with night, returned to the magnificent temple of Helios, the sun god..
The celestial horses, pulling the chariot, pushed open the ornate silver doors adorned with beautiful engravings and statues, entering the splendid palace.
As soon as they did, nymph attendants, adorned with floral garlands, approached to welcome them.
However, upon seeing that the reins were not held by the mighty Sun God as usual but by a seemingly frail young man, they were obviously surprised.
When the horses came to a stop—two of them even glanced back at Promise, nickering softly in protest at being tightly restrained—the sound of a voice interrupted.
“Who are you?!”
The voice made Promise instinctively turn toward its source.
There stood a young man, with wide eyes locked on him.
His appearance was similar to Helios, and he seemed to be around the same age as Promise.
At that moment, Promise immediately knew who this was.
It was Phaethon—the infamous son of Helios and the central figure behind this entire ordeal!
If we were to ask which second-generation god in ancient Greek mythology was the most disappointing and also the "father’s bane," Promise was certain it had to be this proud and reckless young man standing before him.
Why did Promise consider Phaethon the ultimate disappointment among divine offspring?
It was, of course, due to the disaster caused when arrogant Phaethon insisted on driving the sun chariot, leading to catastrophic consequences.
This misstep resulted in Helios losing his title as the Sun God, with the position transferred to Apollo by Zeus, the king of gods...and even though he lost his title and so, Helios was still expected to drive the chariot daily.
This, in part, explained why Apollo later came to be known as the Sun God in subsequent lore.
As Promise studied Phaethon, the latter was also scrutinizing him.
Then, as if he had thought of something, the shock on his face turned into great disgust, and he said, "Are you the one named Promise, my great father mentioned. The one who’s come to steal away my rightful glory?!”
Phaethon, ever prideful, had always believed that he was perfectly capable of driving the sun chariot.
So when he learned from the sun god, Helios that someone else was going to travel with him, he didn’t consider the possibility of this person helping him.
Instead, he was consumed by the thought that someone was here to take credit for his destined greatness.
"Wait!”
Then, Phaethon's expression changed again.
He stared at the young man, who was holding the reins in his hand, and raised his voice, speaking loudly, "Why are you sitting there, holding the reins? Don’t tell me that you…"
“Yes,"
His words were interrupted by his father Helios as the sun god stepped out of the chariot, with a gaze full of satisfaction as he nodded approvingly at Promise.
Then, turning to Phaethon with a gentle smile, he continued,
"And my child, now I can finally rest assured.
With Promise here, you will surely succeed in accomplishing the great feat of driving the sun…"
But before Helios could finish, Phaethon angrily cut him off.
"No! Father, how could you? How could you do this to me?!"
Phaethon's eyes turned red at the loud interruption, and he asked in confusion and anger, "This was supposed to be my glory—it rightfully belongs to me!
I was meant to be the first to achieve this! Why would you…”
“Enough!”
Helios’ expression darkened instantly.
His voice thundered as he rebuked, "Do you even know what you’re saying? Do you realize how impossible it would have been for you to drive the chariot without Promise’s help?"
"No, Father! This is humiliation, and I will not accept it!"
Phaethon shouted back, his voice filled with defiance.
His eyes burned with hatred as he turned to glare at Promise.
And then, without another word, he spun on his heels and stormed out of the palace.
“I hate you! I’ll never forgive you!” Phaethon cried, tears streaming down his face as he ran off.
Helios was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting the situation to turn out like this.
He stood rooted to the spot, lost in thought.
Promise, however, did not react much in the face of Phaethon’s hatred.
He was neither surprised nor offended.
For one, he wasn’t familiar with Phaethon, and for another, he had guessed from the beginning that Phaethon would not treat him well.
After all, to Phaethon, Promise was nothing but a thief coming to steal his rightful glory.
An awkward silence fell over the palace.
The nymph attendants trembled, fearful that sun god, Helios might erupt in anger, and the air grew thick with unease.
Finally, a soft cough broke the stillness.
"Cough, cough.”
Startled, Promise and everyone else turned toward the source of the sound.
And to his surprise, he saw someone he hadn’t expected at all.
"Promise, it seems… I didn’t even need to come after all.”
The familiar voice made Promise instinctively turn his head.
And there, in the shimmering light, he saw a goddess seated in a wheelchair, her face serene as she gazed at him.
Promise blinked in shock and even rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
“Hephaestus… Teacher? Is it really you?!” he exclaimed, quickly stepping down from the chariot and rushing toward her.
"Hey, hey!"
The goddess pushing Hephaestus’ wheelchair, was none other than the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, whospoke up, sounding annoyed.
"I’m here too, you know!"
Promise cast a brief glance at the goddess of beauty before turning his attention back to Hephaestus. Excited yet slightly puzzled, he asked, "Teacher, why are you here?”
Aphrodite clenched her teeth in frustration but seemed powerless to do anything about it.
"Of course, I came here because of you,” Hephaestus replied, gently patting Promise’s head with a smile. "When I heard you were planning to drive the sun chariot, something so dangerous,I decided to come.
"I thought I’d modify it to spare you the trouble of being roasted by the sun, and make it easier for you to control. But now that I’ve seen you…"
She paused, glancing at Promise, the chariot, and the fiery celestial horses that were staring at the young with clear displeasure yet unable to do anything about him, and couldn't help but laugh softly, "It seems I worried for nothing.”
“No way, Teacher! I’m so happy you came!" Promise quickly reassured her.
“Hey! Are you seriously ignoring me?!” Seeing that they were chatting and neither Hephaestus nor Promise were paying any attention to her at all, the goddess of beauty Aphrodite couldn't help but speak up again to show her presence.
She glanced at the sun chariot, then looked at Promise with a hint of confusion. "But… you’re really fine?”
Hearing this, Promise explained the situation to them.
When he casually mentioned that he had driven the night the previous evening, and that the primordial goddess of the night, Nyx, had done so much for him, the entire palace fell into stunned silence.
Everyone turned to look at Promise in shock.
At that moment, Helios finally snapped out of his daze.
He came before Hephaestus and Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, and bowed his head slightly in apology. "I’m sorry, Goddess Hephaestus and Goddess Aphrodite, for letting you witness such an embarrassing scene earlier."
“You’d better be.”
Even facing the sun god, Hephaestus was not polite at all.
Contrary to the warmth and affection she had displayed toward Promise, she looked at him with an icy gaze and spoke in a sharp tone.
"Control your child’s tongue.
If it weren’t for the fact that Promise is kind-hearted and didn't take offense,
Just that fact that Phaethon disrespected my student would have cost him his right to live."
The cold edge in Hephaestus’ voice sent shivers down the spines of everyone nearby.
Even Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, couldn’t help but glance sympathetically at Helios.
After all, she knew well by now that when it came to Promise, Hephaestus never made empty threats.
Helios, however, did not grow angry at her words.
Having watched Promise closely throughout the day, he understood the situation very well.
In fact, Helios realized Hephaestus was being relatively restrained.
If Queen Hera or Moon Goddess Artemis had been present instead, they likely would have acted on the spot without a second thought.
The goddesses who cared about Promise would never allow him to suffer such humiliation—even if Promise himself didn’t mind!
Not to mention others, even Helios, who was a big fan of Promise, felt a flicker of anger at what had transpired.
Even if the other party was his own son.
"Rest assured, Goddess Hephaestus, I will take care of everything," Hephaestus's face looked better after hearing the assurance from the sun god Helios.
Helios quickly gave orders to his attendants before leaving to find Phaethon.
Meanwhile, Promise stayed with Hephaestus and Aphrodite...or more accurately, he stayed with his goddess mentor, as the two of them chatted and laughed, completely ignoring the goddess of beauty.
Aphrodite, standing off to the side, gritted her teeth in frustration.
As the most beautiful goddess, when had she ever been treated like this?
And to make matters worse, she was technically still Hephaestus’ wife!
However, the goddess of beauty Aphrodite really had no way to deal with this, so she could only pout and follow by the side silently.
As Promise remained with them, waiting for the sun god, Helios to resolve the situation with Phaethon, an unexpected event occurred that none of them had foreseen.
The next day, Phaethon convinced his sister to distract their father.
While Helios was preoccupied, Phaethon secretly anointed himself with sacred oil, climbed onto the sun chariot, and—at a time when the sun was not meant to rise—took off into the sky alone.
As the sun began to ascend, and it's radiant light pierced through the night, Helios immediately realized something was wrong.
Pushing past his daughter, he quickly understood the situation.
However, staring at the distant sun chariot speeding across the heavens, his face turned deathly pale.
When Promise and the others arrived and learned what had happened, Promise couldn’t help but glance at Helios with a look of sympathy in his eyes.
He knew that this marked the end of Helios’ role as the Sun God.
Promise, off course, felt no guilt about the outcome.
While he had agreed to help Helios and even wanted to change his fate, this unforeseen turn of events was entirely beyond his control.
After all, people who are self-righteous and immersed in their own fantasies can never be awakened..
So, someone as arrogant and self-deluded as Phaethon was impossible to reason with.
What Promise hadn’t expected, however, was how drastically things would escalate.
After three days of chaos in the sky, as the young man, finally paid the price for his hubris.
By getting struck by a thunderbolt from Zeus, and plummeting from the heavens like a blazing fireball, crashing into the River Eridanus below.
The sun, instead of coming to a halt, continued its wild trajectory.
And not only that...
To the shock and disbelief of all who witnessed it, the sun veered toward Mount Olympus itself—the sacred domain of the Greek gods!
.
.
.
