Fate: I Heard After Death, You Can Ascend to the Throne of Heroes?

In the quiet depths of the ancient forest, by the clear pool,

At Artemis's request, Promise once again sat on the large stone, his fingers lightly dancing on the silver lyre, playing a serene tune that seemed to cleanse the soul like a clear spring, bringing the long night to a close.

At dawn, when the sun god Helios drove his chariot of the sun, replacing the night goddess Nyx and bringing the first light of dawn to the world,

The goddess of wisdom Athena and the moon goddess Artemis had already left, leaving only a brand-new golden apple quietly by Promise's side.

Thus, the hunting festival of the night ended with Promise's victory.

He had also fulfilled his promise to the goddess of fate Clotho, using 'revenge' to redeem Actaeon, who had been turned into a monster.

He had also received the gift of the Calydonian hunt from the moon goddess Artemis.

With this, things should have come to an end, adding another glorious page to the legend of the Heroic Spirit card's Heroic Spirit section, enhancing its quality.

However, not yet.

Because of something the goddess of wisdom Athena had said yesterday, this story continued.

"Promise, you sought revenge on Actaeon and, with your victory in last night's hunting festival, earned the gift of the Calydonian Boar hunt.

But because of this, it can no longer be your friend Meleager who completes the hunt, but only you.

Now only you can, under Artemis's witness, complete that hunt!"

The wise goddess naturally remembered her vow with the young man.

Because of the painting Promise had given her, Athena would witness Promise becoming the brightest star of this era, and then grant him an ending that would shock the world.

But the condition for that ending was that he had to already be the brightest star of this era.

So, her words clearly aimed to urge Promise to gain the glory of hunting the Calydonian Boar.

But the question was, how could the frail young man possibly complete the hunt for the enormous, mountain-like monster—the Calydonian Boar?

Promise set down the lyre,

His clear green eyes looking at the slumbering Atalanta against a tree and the giant deer monster Actaeon, also fast asleep by a stone.

And then he smiled,

Gently getting down from the stone, he carefully put away the golden apple Athena had left him.

Although he had not slept all night, thanks to eating the golden apple the previous night, Promise's eyes were bright and clear, showing no sign of fatigue.

After a bit of quiet tidying up, making as little noise as possible, Promise prepared to leave.

Just as he passed by Atalanta,

"Where are you going?" Atalanta, leaning against the tree with her bright green eyes open, looked at the boy, her arms crossed over her chest.

Seeing Atalanta awake, Promise blinked and, recalling that she had learned everything last night, did not hide anything, answering, "To see the old river god Asopus... the wise goddess told me he could help me complete the hunt for the Calydonian Boar!"

Yes, this was also a new oracle left to Promise by the goddess of wisdom Athena.

And the old river god Asopus was not unfamiliar. 

He was the very god who had once chased after Zeus, who had transformed into an eagle to abduct his daughter Aegina, only to be struck lame by Zeus's lightning in a fit of rage.

A frail Promise clearly did not have the strength to hunt the Calydonian Boar, which stood as tall as a small mountain. 

In the original legend, Meleager had gathered many heroes to successfully hunt it.

Heroes like Heracles, Theseus, and Jason had all participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar in the legend.

Hearing this, Atalanta thought for a moment and asked, "Aren't you going to see Meleager and the others first... They must still be puzzled by the conclusion of last night's hunting festival."

"No," Promise shook his head and replied, "If Meleager knew that the gift I sought from the goddess Artemis was for him, he might feel guilty and wouldn't let me leave, and he wouldn't watch me go on this adventure... I don't want him to tie me up and send me back to Chiron."

Hearing this, Atalanta naturally thought back to Promise's revenge the previous night and couldn't help but laugh.

She then stood up, brushing her light yellow hair off her shoulders, and asked, "What did you do to make them not want to take you down the mountain?"

"Well... actually, it wasn't much." Thinking about it, since it wasn't something he couldn't say, Promise answered frankly, "I want to become a hero."

Atalanta nodded; she already understood this very well.

"And my dream is to die heroically on the path to becoming a hero, leaving behind a grand legend for the world to sing of my story!"

"...Say that again?" Hearing this, her eyes widened in shock, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard, looking at Promise with a stunned expression.

"Why do you all react this way?" Promise said, feeling a bit exasperated.

He remembered Athena had the same reaction back then.

Atalanta was silent for a while...

"What you're saying is true, not for power, wealth, or women?"

"Not interested. I just want to become a hero and die heroically!"

Seeing Promise, who didn't seem to be lying and was even a bit excited while saying this, Atalanta couldn't help but slap her forehead.

"I suddenly understand why that guy, even after turning into a monster, risked everything to come to you last night." She said, looking at Actaeon, who was still sound asleep.

Actaeon was sleeping deeply. 

Since turning into this giant deer, he had never felt this peaceful.

"You're right; we should leave like this. If you go back to your friends, I might even help them tie you up and send you to your teacher."

As she spoke, Atalanta picked up her bow and arrows and walked past Promise.

After a few steps, seeing that Promise hadn't followed, she turned back, frowned at him, and said, "Why are you still standing there?"

"Uh, it's not that..." the latter hesitated, looking puzzled at Atalanta. "Are you planning to come with me?"

"I'm supervising you on behalf of goddess Artemis!" Atalanta replied with an irritated expression. "I have no interest in it, but you need to take me and that guy with you to find the Golden Fleece... If you die, that's fine.

But if I can't fulfill the promise I made to goddess Artemis, I won't be able to accept it!"

As she spoke, Atalanta once again sized up Promise...

Although he did look more pleasing to the eye than other men and more like a hero, even daring to defy the fate predicted by the goddess of fate,

But... he was still too frail!

At this moment, Atalanta completely understood how the centaur sage Chiron and Meleager felt when they looked at Promise.

They couldn't bear to let this guy run around the dangerous land of ancient times, filled with gods and countless demigods and monsters.

Especially since this guy was always thinking about how to die a glorious death!

Hearing this, Promise initially wanted to persuade Atalanta that it wasn't necessary, but seeing her gaze becoming sharper and more determined, increasingly resembling that of Chiron, Meleager, Heracles, and the rest, he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Pfft... Little Atalanta seems to care a lot about little Promise. Speaking of which, besides Promise, I haven't seen her take such an interest in any other boy!"

Gently stroking the golden-horned deer beside her, Artemis couldn't help but cover her mouth and let out a light laugh. 

The her eyes sparkled as if she had discovered something particularly amusing.

"Oh, Athena, why did you leave a golden apple for little Promise?" She asked, tilting her head to look at Athena beside her.

"And it wasn't just you, but also the goddess of fate Clotho and Themis..." Artemis tilted her head, looking at the quiet Themis nearby.

"Why did you all give him golden apples?"

"Aren't you worried that he might be blown to the Underworld by a gust of wind if you're not careful?" Athena replied to Artemis, somewhat helplessly.

"By the way, I'm running low on golden apples. I'll have to ask Hera for some more soon."

The silent Themis nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

"Is that so..." Artemis looked at Promise again, nodding in agreement, "It does seem like he could be blown to the Underworld by a gust of wind. Next time, I'll prepare some golden apples too... By the way, Athena, don't you think we're missing a goddess here?"

Artemis blinked at Athena as she spoke.

"Who?" Athena was momentarily puzzled.

"The goddess that child believes in—Hera!"

.

.

.

At this moment,

In Mount Olympus.

"Hmm, who's thinking about me?"

Hera, the queen of the Olympian gods and the goddess of marriage, raised her head in confusion, looking beyond the divine realm.

But she quickly returned her focus to the list in her hand.

"Never mind, I need to find a suitable goddess to send to Hades. After all, that lovely child Promise must still be waiting for me somewhere!"

...