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

After returning from the temple of the goddess of fate, though Promise had seemed indifferent at the time, he had actually taken Clotho's prophecy to heart.

After all, he had many things to accomplish now.

Thus, even though he longed for a grand, magnificent death, postponing that moment slightly wouldn't hurt.

.

.

And so, five days quickly passed.

That afternoon, after a simple lunch, the golden-horned deer took Promise for a joyful run through the forest, with Atalanta closely following.

Despite the golden-horned deer's speed, she kept up without falling behind.

Along the way, Atalanta would occasionally cast sharp, displeased glances at Promise and the latter knew exactly why.

Over the past few days, the golden-horned deer had been carrying him, while she traveled on foot.

The golden-horned deer could indeed accommodate both of them and didn't mind carrying Atalanta as well. 

However, as Artemis's most devoted follower, Atalanta felt she wasn't worthy to sit on Artemis's mount.

Thus, it had come to this.

At first, being stared at by Atalanta made Promise uncomfortable, and at one point he even considered getting off the deer, 

But the golden-horned deer ran incredibly fast, and being a divine beast, its ride was smooth without a hint of bumpiness.

So, after a while, he decided not to care anymore. 

Let her stare if she wanted to.

After all, being watched by Atalanta was better than being watched by her goddess!

However... Atalanta really was incredibly fast.

Watching the huntress closely following, her breathing still steady and clearly not using her full strength, Promise once again deeply felt the difference in physical abilities between himself and these heroes of the age of gods.

At the same time, he couldn't help but recall the legendary story of Atalanta's race.

That story was actually connected to the golden apples he possessed.

Although abandoned and later raised by Artemis, Atalanta eventually returned to her homeland, reuniting with her biological parents.

That event also led to Atalanta's complete disillusionment with men.

Her father, despite knowing her vow, sought an unavoidable marriage for her through Queen Hera.

The reason was simple: Atalanta returned home full of glory. 

Her achievements in hunting the Calydonian Boar, the adventure of the Golden Fleece, and her unrivaled beauty brought countless suitors.

This also brought immense wealth to Atalanta's father.

Furious but helpless, the huntress decided to settle matters with a race and announced that anyone who could outrun her could marry her.

Fully confident that no one could beat her in a race, and indeed, aside from a few great heroes, no one could surpass her speed.

And as an attempt to deter future suitors she shot those, who lost the  race, to death by her arrows. 

After all, she had already dedicated everything to the moon goddess Artemis.

Ultimately, under the intervention of the goddess of beauty among the twelve Olympian gods, a man named Hippomenes used three golden apples blessed by the goddess of love to distract her.

This ended the race, allowing him to win.

Thinking of this, Promise suddenly wanted to take out a golden apple from his pack and throw it to Atalanta, just to see her reaction.

But he restrained himself, avoiding such a reckless move.

At that moment, the golden-horned deer finally led him through the forest, emerging into a clearing, and soon stopped at the slow-moving river.

It then knelt down, gently called out to Promise twice.

Atalanta quickly arrived, tidied her slightly disheveled hair, looked at the river ahead, and asked Promise with a slight frown, "What's going on?"

The latter dismounted the golden-horned deer, looking at the visibly slow-flowing river, and said, "I think we've arrived."

"...The place where the river god Asopus resides?" Atalanta was momentarily stunned before realizing and asking.

"Yes," Promise nodded.

He remembered the river goddess Aegina's father.

After chasing the transformed eagle Aegina, he was struck by a lightning bolt from God Zeus in anger, leaving him with a crippled leg, and thus, his river became incredibly slow.

Hearing they had finally arrived, Atalanta sighed in relief.

During this journey, watching Promise travel on the golden-horned deer by day and sleep on it by night, while Atalanta not only had to keep up during the day but also hunt to feed him at night...

Although this was her own choice, she was truly worried that if this continued, she might not be able to resist shooting a couple of arrows at Promise on some dark, windy night!

The thought of these grueling days finally ending instantly lifted her spirits and her gaze toward Promise softened as she asked, "Since we're here, what do we do next?"

"Prepare offerings and pray for Lord Asopus to appear?" Atalanta suggested the standard approach for the Greek era. 

But Promise, after thinking for a moment, shook his head and said, "No, that might not make him appear, and more importantly, 

I have a simpler method!"

With Atalanta tilting her head slightly, her bright green eyes filled with confusion, the boy took a painting from the luggage on the golden-horned deer.

Atalanta was stunned when she saw the painting.

Even though she didn't understand art, she could tell it was an exceptional piece.

The goddess with blue hair in the painting seemed so lifelike that she might step out of the canvas at any moment.

"Atalanta, would you like a painting? I'm quite skilled, you know!" 

She remembered Promise boasting about his paintings a few nights ago and how he mentioned she might be the first person he wanted to paint after leaving the mountain.

As Atalanta thought about this, she saw Promise gently toss the painting into the air, where it hovered before him.

Thr boy reached out and lightly touched the painting, causing it to disappear in a glow, merging into his body.

His green eyes turned sky blue, feeling the power of the river goddess Aegina surge through him again.

Promise turned to the slow-moving river, raised his hand, and lifted the water, forming a column that soared into the sky.

Seeing this, Atalanta was momentarily stunned.

"Aegina? This feels like Aegina!"

"Aegina, my daughter, you've finally returned, you've come back to your father's side!" 

An excited voice echoed around them.

The once slow river water turned turbulent, and from it emerged an old man in an ancient Athenian white robe, white hair flowing, and walking with a limp, his eyes filled with joy.

Reaching the shore, he scanned the surroundings, looking past Atalanta and Promise, and anxiously called out, "Aegina, where are you? Don't be afraid, I'm here, I will protect you this time!"

Startled, the golden-horned deer quickly hid behind Promise.

Promise thought for a moment, then took out another painting of Aegina and approached the river god Asopus.

"Lord Asopus, I am a student of the centaur sage Chiron, and... also a friend of the goddess Aegina."

As the river god Asopus looked at him in surprise, the latter handed him the painting and said softly, "The goddess Aegina is doing well. She is now a goddess of a nation, viewing all her people as her children, who respect and adore her.

I'm sorry, Lord Asopus, she cannot return to you for now, but please know she is very happy..."

...

Asopus took the painting, seeing Aegina's heartfelt smile and tender gaze.

He finally noticed the traces his daughter left on Promise, though subtle compared to other goddesses like Athena and Hera.

Yet he could clearly feel Aegina's blessing and her fondness for Promise.

Everything naturally fell into place.

Due to Asopus's overwhelming enthusiasm, Promise felt both honored and puzzled, not understanding why the river god looked at him as if he were his son-in-law.

Feeling his daughter's affection in the blessing she left on Promise, Asopus was quite pleased with his first impression of Promise.

The only regret was the boy's constitution which was quite fragile.... No, fragile was an overstatement,

After all, even infants of the age of gods were probably tougher than Promise!

But as long as his daughter was happy!

Soon after, when Promise explained his purpose, Asopus seemed confused and said, "A way to defeat the Calydonian Boar... I don't have anything like that here."

Hearing this, Promise recalled Clotho's prophecy and described, "It's something like a silver comet among the stars... Lord Asopus, have you seen anything like it?"

Hearing this, the latter appeared thoughtful for a moment, then nervously waved his hands, saying, "Never seen it, don't know, I don't know!"

Seeing this, Promise and Atalanta exchanged a knowing glance.

Before Promise could speak again, the golden-horned deer beside him softly called out, its golden antlers emitting a faint silver glow.

Seeing this, Asopus sighed and said, "Child, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but... I don't want to see you throw your life away!

I don't know why the goddess of wisdom gave you this oracle, but... that comet is not something you can handle!"

....

"In fact, the goddess of fate also warned me about this," Promise thought for a moment and answered honestly.

Hearing this, Atalanta couldn't help but glance at the boy with curiosity.

After all, she had thought she was keeping an eye on him all this time.

"But I still came here because I have a compelling reason to do so."

Promise spoke earnestly, and the river god Asopus could see the determination in his expression, making his own feelings toward the boy more complex.

After a long pause, the river god Asopus sighed, leaned on his staff, turned around, and spoke, "In that case, follow me... Tonight happens to be the time when it descends from the stars."

Although he didn't want to see Promise throw his life away, the river god Asopus, sensing the blessing his daughter had left on the boy, couldn't refuse his request.

So he decided to show Promise, hoping that once he saw and understood that it was beyond his ability, he would come to his senses.

They walked from day to night.

Asopus led Promise, Atalanta, and the golden-horned deer along the slow-flowing river until they reached a vast meadow on a mountainside.

By the time they arrived at their destination and sat under a large tree, the sky was filled with stars, creating a beautiful Milky Way.

Leaning on his staff, the river god Asopus looked up at the starry sky, his expression complex, before suddenly saying, "Actually... I once thought about capturing that beautiful silver comet."

Promise, having just taken a fruit from the golden-horned deer to eat, turned his head in surprise to look at Asopus.

"I spent decades gathering precious materials and commissioned the great god of craftsmanship, Hephaestus, to create an artifact capable of taming it, but..."

As he spoke, Asopus looked down at his leg, struck by lightning.

"So... what exactly is this silver comet?" Atalanta, who had been silent until now, couldn't help but ask, blinking her bright green eyes in curiosity.

Asopus glanced at Atalanta, then at Promise, and smiled. 

Instead of explaining immediately, he looked back up at the stars and said, "Wait a bit longer, it should arrive soon... Every month, around this time, it descends from the stars to bathe in the clear spring water here."

Hearing this, Atalanta was about to ask more questions when the golden-horned deer suddenly stood up, looking up at the stars and letting out a clear cry.

Following its gaze, Promise and Atalanta finally saw the silver comet descending from the stars.

"Look," Asopus said with an ancient smile, speaking with the joy of seeing an old friend, "it's here."

.....