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(Fate) Chapter 184: The Goddess of Love and Beauty, the Fidelity of the Rose
🕑 Added 2024-11-01 15:52:47 +0000 UTCPegasus carried Promise and Chiron to the mountain where the foresighted god, Prometheus, was bound.
To rewrite Chiron’s fate, two things needed to be accomplished: the defeat of the Hydra and the liberation of Prometheus on Mount Caucasus.
Of the two, the real challenge was Prometheus.
However, Promise had gone far along the path of fate, and he knew exactly what to do.
"Child, you have come."
Looking at the young man standing before him once again, Prometheus showed no surprise or expectation.
His gaze remained calm, even as he knew he would soon be freed from this prison.
Promise didn’t waste any time.
He brought out a canvas from above and held up the immortal Hydra head, which glared at him as if it wanted nothing more than to bite him to death.
Promise raised it high, gazing toward Olympus in the distance, under the night sky.
"Great King of Olympus, please hear my prayer."
"I offer you the glory of defeating the Hydra and this immortal head, in exchange for a sliver... of the faintest possibility."
As his voice was carried away by the mountain winds, the night sky above remained calm and beautiful.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck, shattering the immortal Hydra head and breaking the chains binding Prometheus.
"Just this once, child."
Zeus’s voice echoed beside Promise’s ear causing him to let out a sigh of relief.
The Hydra’s head and Prometheus weren’t an equivalent exchange, but the conditions had shifted due to the earlier rebellion involving Athena, Hera, and Poseidon.
It was worth noting that, back then, Promise hadn’t asked the god-king for any wishes.
"It’s finally over."
Saying this, Promise leaned on Pegasus and stood up.
At the same time, Chiron helped the extremely weakened Prometheus to safety.
"Yes, it’s over."
He chuckled, looking at Promise, then blinked and added, "But... why do I get the feeling, Promise, that you don’t seem all that happy?"
The latter looked at his teacher with a deadpan expression.
"Of course I’m happy, it’s just... Teacher, this also means that I have no way out and must go back to face Cupid’s arrow!"
....
A few days later,
"Why are you following me?"
Inside the bronze temple of Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship frowned as she looked at the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, who had followed her back from the realm of Olympus.
The rebellion in the Olympian court had come to an unexpected end, due to the intervention of that young boy and a subtle promise from the goddess of fate to Zeus.
It was as if the whole incident had never happened.
The goddess of wisdom, Athena and the Queen of heaven, Hera received only a verbal reprimand, though Poseidon was banished for a hundred years, forbidden from returning to Mount Olympus during that time.
But compared to the punishment described in myths, where he was stripped of his powers and forced to serve a mortal, this was far more lenient.
Therefore, it was only natural for Promise to obtain the painting of Poseidon, the god of the sea, when the matter was over and he left the divine realm.
"I..."
Aphrodite hesitated, looking at Hephaestus in front of her.
After a moment of silence, she smiled seductively and said, "Why shouldn’t I follow you, Hephaestus? Don’t forget—you are the lover of me, the goddess of love and beauty!"
"This is my home too, isn’t it?"
The words of the goddess of beauty Aphrodite not only stunned Hephaestus, but also the temple puppets who were pretending to work but were actually eavesdropping and gossiping, all looked up at her with shocked expressions.
"...Has something gone wrong with your head?"
Instead of being flustered by her words, Hephaestus looked at the goddess in front of her, with confusion. "Do you need me to take a hammer and pry it open for a look?"
"Don’t worry—I’m very experienced at this."
After all, it was just like how he’d once helped Athena emerge from Zeus’s head.
Aphrodite’s expression stiffened for a moment as she looked at Hephaestus, who resembled a younger version of Hera, with a half-mask obscuring one side of his face.
"You always manage to bore me, Hephaestus... Fine, I’ll be direct. I’m here for my follower, Helen."
She moved forward, pushing Hephaestus’s wheelchair along, and continued, "If I’m not mistaken, you’ve already made armor for Promise to shield him from Cupid’s arrow, haven’t you?"
"Something like that." Hephaestus didn’t hide it and nodded, "I crafted a divine artifact that no arrow can hit."
Cupid’s arrows might be powerful enough to strike gods, but only if they actually hit.
So long as they missed, there was no issue at all.
Hearing this, the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite was about to say something further when,
"Goddess Teacher, and... Goddess Aphrodite?"
The sudden sound of a young man's voice caused the two goddesses who were talking to subconsciously look up.
Beside a maidservant doll named Euchlea, they saw a boy in a light blue Greek gown.
It was an outfit meticulously woven by the dolls, with an elegant, flowing Greek style that perfectly highlighted the boy’s romantic aura as a poet and painter.
The moment she saw him, before the goddess of beauty Aphrodite could react, she discovered that Hephaestus, the god of craftsmen beside her, seemed like a different person.
In an instant, her face broke into a gentle, beautiful smile, and her entire demeanor shifted from distant to radiantly joyful and full of youthful energy.
"Promise, what are you doing here?!" Hephaestus exclaimed, leaving Aphrodite’s side to roll her wheelchair quickly over to Promise.
Right in front of Aphrodite, she happily beckoned Promise to crouch down. Not only did she embrace him, but she also nuzzled his face affectionately...
At this moment, except for Hephaestus herself, everyone in the temple, whether it was the puppets, Promise, or Aphrodite, felt a strange feeling in their hearts.
After all, Goddess Hephaestus, weren't you supposed to be married to the goddess of beauty?
Promise looked at the goddess of beauty Aphrodite strangely, and found that she was also looking at him with a very subtle gaze. Some excitement inexplicably emerged in his heart, but he quickly shook his head to calm himself down.
Then he replied: "Well... it's like this, goddess teacher, I came here to ask you for help, and I have been here for about three days."
Before Promise could finish speaking, Hephaestus nodded in understanding and said with a smile. "I see. I already prepared everything for you."
She then took out a silver pendant and placed it around Promise’s neck.
"As long as you don’t remove it, no arrow in this world can hit you."
Hearing this, Promise touched the pendant and instinctively asked, "What about arrows from Goddess Aphrodite or Lord Apollo?"
"They can’t hit you either." Hephaestus smiled, as if discussing something trivial.
No one doubted the truth of this statement, including the goddess of beauty, who stood nearby.
After all, this was Hephaestus, god of craftsmanship.
Promise couldn’t help but think that if his teacher wanted to, she could probably create a weapon capable of killing gods...
He then greeted the goddess of beauty, who nodded lightly in return.
Though time was pressing, Promise still noticed that the goddess of beauty Aphrodite seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if she had something to say to him.
And at the same time, although Hephaestus didn’t say anything, the way her hand instinctively reached out to hold onto his clothes, along with the slightly longing look in her amber eyes, made it clear she wanted him to stay.
So, Promise decided to stay for a few more days.
Later, he wheeled Hephaestus into the palace, while Aphrodite was shown out by the doll Euchlea.
On the way to the room, once Aphrodite had left, Promise couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer as he glanced at Hephaestus and asked, "Teacher, you and Goddess Aphrodite...?"
Hephaestus tilted her head, noticing the intense curiosity in Promise’s eyes.
She couldn’t help but smile and lightly tapped his head. "You cheeky student, daring to pry into your teacher’s business, are you?"
"But actually, there’s not much to it. I don’t know why she’s been following me around, but it’s probably got something to do with you."
Promise looked directly at Hephaestus and blinked, his mind recalling that girl from the fate-bound vision as a look of realization crossed his face.
"So that’s how it is... Oh, right, Teacher, do you dislike Goddess Aphrodite?"
After a moment’s thought, Promise said seriously, "If you dislike her, I’ll go ask Queen Hera for help and end this marriage!"
Hearing this, Hephaestus, who had been smiling moments before, suddenly looked very displeased. She even reached out, pinched Promise’s cheeks, and stretched them.
Promise also understood; her annoyance was purely about Hera.
After all, he was still Hera’s most loyal follower, while Hephaestus, Hera’s daughter, despised her more than anyone else.
Their triangular relationship was indeed rather delicate.
Despite this, Hephaestus had never asked Promise to abandon Hera. They simply had a mutual understanding to never bring up Hera’s name when they were together.
After she had finished tugging at his face, Hephaestus, now in a better mood, finally replied, "Honestly, if you ask whether I dislike her... not exactly."
Hearing her words, Promise looked at the goddess in surprise.
After all, the goddess of beauty had actually betrayed her.
"I once agreed to that marriage for a reason, as I think I’ve mentioned to you before," Hephaestus explained. "I was considered the ugliest, while she was acknowledged as the most beautiful. So, I agreed to the marriage because I wanted to see if someone like her could truly be perfect... And just as everyone assumed, ugly as I am, I really am unworthy of the most beautiful goddess."
"That’s not true."
Promise shook his head and said to her earnestly, "It is actually the goddess of beauty Aphrodite who is not worthy of you, goddess teacher!"
Hephaestus looked at the young man in front of her and smiled gently.
"Only you would say something like that... But it’s fine. For me, having you alone is more than enough."
Humans couldn’t lie to gods, so Promise’s words were sincere.
But did Hephaestus really mean what she said?
Promise was stunned for a moment.
Now that Clotho, the goddess of fate, had revealed his impending end, Promise suddenly realized something he’d overlooked before.
Would those like Goddess Hephaestus and Queen Hera feel sorrow if he were to leave?
Looking at the goddess before him, who seemed overjoyed simply to see him and looked at him with eyes full of warmth and tenderness, he couldn't help but fall silent.
Because the answer was all too clear.
"Is something wrong?" Noticing his expression, Hephaestus tilted her head.
"...No, it’s nothing, Teacher."
Shaking his head slightly, Promise tried to smile and said to Hephaestus: "Then goddess teacher, do you still want to continue your marriage with the goddess of beauty Aphrodite?"
"I don’t care." Hephaestus, though sensing something unusual in his tone, didn’t think much of it and replied directly, "If Aphrodite wants to end it, then let it be... But I don’t want to see you going to her about it!"
As Hephaestus spoke, she once again squeezed Promise’s cheeks, this time with jealousy and irritation.
She even clung to his arm, pouting and refusing to let go.
Hephaestus didn’t care about others, but when it came to Hera,
Even if the two of them just bumped into each other accidentally, she would probably be unhappy for a long time.
"I see..." Promise nodded gently.
He now completely understood Hephaestus’s feelings toward the goddess of beauty.
After all, in front of Promise, Hephaestus never put on any pretense.
In fact, even now, she held a bit of fascination for Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty.
As the least attractive among the gods, she had been drawn to the most beautiful of them.
Therefore, one of the reasons why she agreed to the marriage was that she wanted to be closer to the goddess of beauty.
At the same time, she held a hint of desire to twist and tarnish the perfection of Aphrodite.
Hephaestus' mind had actually always been a little twisted, but it wasn't her fault, that was Hera’s doing.
Hephaestus wasn’t even bothered by Aphrodite’s betrayal.
Rather than saying she didn't care, in fact, when she captured Aphrodite that day and exposed her to the gods in her least flattering state, Hephaestus had... probably felt quite pleased!
The real reason Aphrodite hadn’t wanted to face Hephaestus since then was likely because she’d realized that, to Hephaestus, she... was more like a toy!
After fully understanding this, Promise looked at his teacher and asked, "Teacher, may I request a lesson from you over the next two days?"
"A lesson?"
Hephaestus looked at Promise in confusion.
As the latter smiled and nodded, "Yes, because I want to forge something."
It was a ring.
A ring that he would give to Aphrodite.
In Greek mythology, after Aphrodite’s betrayal, it was said that she and Hephaestus eventually reconciled.
Hephaestus gifted her a ring.
And the name of that ring was—The Fidelity of the Rose.
Comments
Jack Sheldrake
Oh, Hephaestus thinks that Promise is going to become a god, doesn’t she… yikes
