Abhii28
patreon
(Fate) Chapter 209: He's my beloved brother
🕑 Added 2024-11-26 17:12:10 +0000 UTCThe originally clear sky was covered by thick dark clouds.
The gods were immediately thrown into turmoil.
Even Zeus, who had been indulging in an illicit midday affair in some mortal palace, froze in shock and looked toward the disturbance.
But then…
A butterfly of the Underworld that came to the abyss at some unknown time and flapped its wings in the abyss landed on the shoulder of Typhon, the ancestor of all demons.
With its arrival, everything fractured like a shattered mirror—the image of Promise dissolved before Typhon’s eyes.
And then, the true controllers of the night and the Underworld intervened.
Their combined might concealed everything from Typhon’s view, forcing him to withdraw his gaze.
His eyes lingered briefly on the three deities who had thwarted him.
Then, he lowered his head and retreated once more into the endless depths of Tartarus, continuing to bide his time for the day he could rise and consume all.
“Finally, the last bit of work is done.”
With her long black hair cascading to her waist, the goddess Hecate, who had sealed the connection, spoke with visible relief.
She seemed genuinely happy at this moment.
She tilted her head as her striking red eyes turned toward Clotho, the youngest of the Fates standing on the ground below.
"I’ve done everything you asked. Does this mean I’ll never have to deal with that stinky guy again?"
Facing the great goddess's question, the lovely Clotho did not respond, but just turned her head away silently.
Meanwhile, Promise also recovered from the state of divine inspiration that had gripped him.
Blinking, he instinctively looked up, noticing the dark clouds thinning and dispersing.
Yet, to his surprise, the morning sky had shifted—it was already evening, the heavens now painted with hues of twilight.
Helios, the sun god, glanced curiously toward the Underworld, wondering why the goddess of night, Nyx, hadn’t appeared to urge him off the stage.
Still, he didn’t mind lingering a bit longer.
Promise’s gaze then naturally fell upon the painting he had just completed.
It was finished—a masterpiece steeped in ominous tones.
The artwork depicted the sleepless dragon, its eyes peacefully shut beneath darkened skies.
Behind the dragon loomed an abyss of swirling chaos, and in that darkness, one could faintly discern the serpentine figure of Echidna and a pair of crimson, destructive eyes.
Through the painting, it was as if Typhon himself was silently observing the world, waiting for the day he could emerge from the abyss.
On that day, he would destroy everything.
“...Is this the end of me.?"
Promise stared at the painting for a long moment before murmuring to himself, almost in a daze:
As he gradually returned to his senses, he suddenly felt a burning gaze, causing him to turn his head instinctively as he saw the green-haired nymph, who has woken up at some point, staring at him intensely.
Miss Nymph was staring at him without blinking, her eyes practically sparkling like she had discovered an incomparable treasure, and—was that drool at the corner of her mouth?
It was clear that at some point, she had woken up and completely fallen for the sight of Promise immersed in his art.
Nearby, the sleepless dragon had also awoken at this moment.
When the dragon saw Promise take a subconscious step back from the nymph’s overwhelming gaze and look toward it for help, the dragon tilted its head and asked a piercing question:
"Why are you still here? You should’ve grabbed the Golden Fleece and left by now.
You've put me sleep—why didn’t you use that chance to take the Golden Fleece and run?"
Hearing these words, before Promise could answer, the dragon seemed to come to its own conclusion.
"Oh, I get it. It must be too high up there for you to reach.. Wait, let me… Here, take it!”
As he said this, the dragon, whose fondness for Promise had skyrocketed after finally experiencing sleep, stood up and plucked the Golden Fleece from the highest branch of the oak tree, before handing it to Promise without hesitation.
Caught off guard, Promise instinctively accepted it.
As he stood there holding the fleece, still processing everything, the dragon continued, "By the way, what’s that thing?"
The dragon gestured toward the painting Promise had finished.
"I feel like it’s staring into my very soul. Is it some kind of magical link between us?
Also, the feeling of sleeping was… weird. I closed my eyes, opened them, and it was already evening.
It wasn’t even that comfortable. Hey, Promise, right? From now on, you’re my brother. Can I come to you whenever I want to sleep?”
The sleepless dragon chattered incessantly, seeming extremely excited because he had fulfilled his dream of hundreds or even thousands of years after a good sleep.
Promise, unable to get a word in edgewise, could only listen helplessly as it talked and talked.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally managed to interject:
"Wait a moment, Lord Dragon, let me explain. The truth is…”
Having said that, he quickly explained that he needed to fight the dragon as a trial to present an offering to Ares.
Who knew that upon hearing this, the sleepless dragon would shake his head wildly?
“No, no, no. I’m not fighting you. I'm not fighting you. You’re so weak—if I so much as slap you, you’d die instantly. Besides, I’m not stupid.
I just learned how amazing sleep is. I still want to sleep. What if I fight you and you don't let me sleep from now on?
No way, I’m not doing it!”
The dragon backed away as it spoke, clearly unwilling.
“Yes, yes, no fighting!”
The green-haired nymph at the side eagerly chimed in, supporting the dragon as her gaze toward Promise grew increasingly affectionate, her eyes almost heart-shaped.
She wiped the saliva from the corner's of her mouth again and again as if struggling to contain herself, then spoke with a lewd.. smile:
"Forget about fighting and the Golden Fleece, Promise. Come with me! Be my guest at my home—I can even teach you some very fun things!"
This is definitely worth the risk, even if it kills me!
After all, ever since she's been bound to serve Lord Ares, she'd had been stuck here endlessly, with no one to talk to but an eternally awake dragon and now...
She was so done with it!
Her bright green eyes sparkled with a dangerous glint as she looked at Promise, clearly thinking about knocking him out and dragging him home.
Actually, scratch that—she wasn’t just thinking about it.
At this point, it was exactly what she planned to do!
In fact, if it weren’t for Pegasus constantly accompanying Promise everywhere the boy went, with how he wandered around every day, someone would have long since knocked him out and took him home.
After all, this was the Age of Gods in ancient Greece.
Thanks to a certain king of the gods setting the example, how could the atmosphere of this world be anything but questionable?
The sleepless dragon, meanwhile, had firmly decided that no matter what, it wasn’t going to fight Promise.
After all, it was terrified of accidentally killing him with a single swipe, or worse, blowing him away with a gust of wind from the motion.
And if that happened?
Well, it would lose its ability to sleep again, which was completely unacceptable.
The sleepless dragon felt it was unacceptable and he would never do this.
It had only just begun to experience the bliss of sleep—no, it hadn’t even fully enjoyed it yet! It needed more!
Promise tried reasoning, pleading, and explaining for a long time, but it was to no avail.
As he grew increasingly exasperated, another equally frustrated individual finally reached their limit.
In fact, someone with a reckless and single-minded nature had been struggling to sit still for quite some time now.
If not for being forcibly restrained, they would have acted long ago.
But now, finally free from their bonds, this figure leaped down from the heavens.
With a resounding crash, they made their grand entrance!
"Argh! I can’t take it anymore! FIGHT! KILL! Promise, why aren’t you fighting?!"
Ares roared, looking utterly exasperated as he stared at Promise.
Patience had never been his strong suit to begin with, and he had waited far too long for this promised battle.
But now? There was no fight to be had!
Before the awkward Promise could even respond, Ares turned his rage toward the sleepless dragon.
"And you! I assigned you to guard the Golden Fleece, not to hand it over on a silver platter! If you’re going to give it away, at least have the decency to fight first!"
The sleepless dragon let out a disdainful huff of dragon breath, looking unusually justified as it retorted, “How else am I supposed to stay on his good side if I don’t give him the Golden Fleece? If I don’t please him, how am I supposed to shamelessly go back and ask him for more?
Besides, I’m here for one thing only—sleep. He let me sleep, so he’s my dearest, most beloved brother now.
Why would I ever fight my own brother? Right, brother?"
As he spoke, the sleepless dragon looked at Promise with a flattering expression and even wagged his tail like an overgrown puppy.
This left not just Ares and Promise utterly speechless, but even the green-haired nymph, who had spent quite a bit of time with the sleepless dragon, now stared at it with a bewildered expression.
Well, well... so this is the kind of dragon you are!
By the way, Promise couldn’t help but think he should have brought Pegasus along.
These two guys, who seemed to operate on a completely different wavelength from the rest of the world, would definitely be able to get along well!
While the nymph was finding the whole scene inexplicably amusing, a sudden sharp smack reverberated through the air.
The force behind it was so immense that the nymph nearly got slammed into the ground.
Pain flared, and she instinctively turned her head to glare at whoever had dared strike her, ready to unleash a torrent of curses.
But then she froze.
“Uh… R-revered Revered Goddess Artemis?!”
Her voice trembled as she recognized the figure before her—the goddess Artemis herself.
The green-haired nymph’s eyes widened as she found herself face-to-face with the “kind” and “gentle” Moon Goddess, Artemis, whose hand now rested heavily on her shoulder.
Take him home, huh? Teach him ‘happy things,’ huh?
I never even thought of doing such a thing, and you dare?
Looking the the angry moon goddess in front of her,
Before the flustered and confused nymph could make sense of how she had managed to incur the wrath of the goddess, another smack resounded, accompanied by a bone-crunching weight on her opposite shoulder.
Hera, the Queen of the Gods herself, had appeared, her hand now gripping the nymph’s other shoulder.
The queen’s expression mirrored Artemis’s, but with an additional undercurrent of smug menace.
Queen Hera is not gentle? Not kind? A jealous and vengeful goddess, right? And you dare try to think about kidnapping my child? Oh, you’re bold, little nymph. Very bold.
Ah, this, this is not the case. What’s going on?
The nymph was dumbfounded.
Her thoughts scattered as before she realized something.
Whatever the situation was, it no longer mattered—what mattered was that these two goddesses had shown up, and her life was very, very much over.
Her only regret?
Alas! I am going to die without even tasting Promise’s sweetness. Such a waste!
"Ahhhhh!"
As the nymph was lamenting her impending doom, another voice rang out, filled with frustration.
“I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”
Ares, the God of War, stomped the ground so hard that the entire area shook violently.
His booming voice reverberated as he pointed directly at the sleepless dragon.
"So, you won’t fight, huh?!"
Faced with the power of the god of war Ares, although, the sleepless dragon was a little scared in his heart, but he still nodded with extraordinary toughness.
That’s right—I won’t fight! Promise is my dear brother now.
He gave me sleep! How could I possibly hurt my own brother?
Seeing the dragon’s unwavering stance, Ares grew even more enraged. "Fine, if you won’t fight, then I will!"
He brandished his weapon and pointed it directly at Promise, shouting, "Promise, there WILL be a battle today! If you don’t fight me and take my power, don’t even think about leaving here alive!"
Promise, still holding the Golden Fleece, blinked in confusion.
Why does that sound so strange?
It almost felt like Ares was saying: If you don’t take my money, don’t even think about leaving.
"Excuse me, what are you even talking about?"
Hera, who had been “gently” dealing with the nymph, frowned and turned her attention to Ares. "Are you insane? How could you possibly expect this child to fight you?"
"I don’t know… I think it might be worth a try."
Before Ares could respond, a soft, melodic voice, laced with amusement, drowned out all the noise at the scene.
The voice belonged to Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, as she stepped out from the fading light of the setting sun.
Her calm demeanor contrasted starkly with the chaos around her.
She glanced briefly at Promise’s painting, which depicted Typhon hidden in the abyss, before reaching out to claim it.
Cradling the artwork in her arms, she finally turned to face the others.
Her gaze lingered on Promise, who was looking at her in confusion, and then moved to Hera, Artemis and others who seemed to suspect that they had heard it wrong.
Just as the nymph was shocked by the appearance of the goddess of wisdom Athena, she soon discovered that she was shocked too early.
Even the sleepless dragon, usually unbothered by anything, was stunned into silence.
Walking alongside Apollo, the God of Light, was Hermes.
Behind them came Hestia and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture.
Seeing the lineup of gods now present, the nymph had a sudden realization.
Wow… the fact that I’m still alive right now is a miracle.
