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

At the same time, what Atalanta didn't know was that the sound of the piano was like being embraced and kissed by the goddess of art.

 

His paintings...

 

"What's wrong?"

 

The old river god Asopus came over limping with a cane.

 

Looking at Promise, who was sitting motionlessly by the spring, watching the Pegasus and the golden-horned deer, he asked Atalanta in confusion.

 

"...He probably wants to draw this scene."

 

After a moment of silence, the huntress replied.

 

Upon hearing this, the old river god Asopus was stunned for a moment, then he took out his daughter's canvas from his body.

 

Looking at the lifelike portrait on it, he could not help but look at the boy in surprise.

 

"So he painted this, I thought it was a goddess of art..."

 

Atalanta heard this but said nothing.

 

And just when Promised focused all his attention on them, the Pegasus and the golden-horned deer seemed to have sensed something and turned their heads to look at him.

 

When Pegasus saw what was in the boy's hand, he even spread his wings, looked up and presented his most perfect scene to Promise.

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The moonlight shone on the beautiful scene. 

 

And Promise finally put down the paintbrush in his hand.

 

Then, under Atalanta's eyes wide open and somewhat incredulous eyes, The Godess of Moon, Artemis, dressed in a bright dress, walked out from the moonlight behind the boy.

 

She stood behind Promise, then bent down slightly, watching the boy draw with interest.

 

Noticing the surprised looks of Atalanta and the old river god Asopus, she placed her index finger on her lips with a smile, asking them not to make any noise.

 

Seeing her beloved goddess again, and in such a simple way, Atalanta felt it was extremely absurd, simply because even in the ancient Greek age where gods were everywhere, people could not see then whenever they wanted.

 

There were many people who had spent their entire lives searching for God and yet never encountered them.

 

Even more so for the twelve principal gods of Olympus!

 

However, since meeting Promise, Atalanta realized that she had seen and heard more gods in this short period than she had in her entire life combined...

 

Yet, being able to see the goddess Artemis once again naturally made her feel fortunate, but the thought that it was all because of Promise...

 

Soon after, she came to stand beside Promise.

 

With a slightly defiant look in her sacred green eyes, she intended to see what kind of abilities Promise had that made the goddess Artemis appear again because of him!

 

For all this, the boy was naturally unaware.

 

After all, after nearly four months, at this moment, he had finally recaptured that feeling once again.

 

The feeling of depicting Athena on the canvas.

 

Thus, at this moment, nothing around could distract Promise, not even the goddess Artemis standing behind him, of whom he was completely unaware.

 

He only had eyes for the Pegasus in front of him.

 

Then, Promise set down his paintbrush, sketching the starry night sky below.

 

He painted slowly, yet it seemed swift.

 

And with just one glance, Atalanta's thoughts not only vanished instantly, but after coming to her senses, blinking, she suddenly found herself as if she had entered the painting, arriving above the stars in the night sky.

 

Just as she stood dazed, confused and bewildered, not understanding what had happened, a sound of hooves suddenly came from behind her, prompting her to instinctively look back.

 

She then saw a dazzling silver meteor darting through the vast stars, and before she could react, it passed through her body.

 

However, the meteor did not harm her.

 

As the dazzling silver light dissipated, what entered Atalanta's eyes was the silver-white Pegasus..

 

It stretched its eyes, running through the stars of the night sky, and at that moment, stopped on the concurrently appearing full moon. 

 

The moonlight bathed its body, making its silver-white form shimmer with a beautiful luster, beautiful and elegant.

 

As she stood dumbfounded, watching all this and realizing that the night sky was becoming ever more complete, watching Pegasus gallop through the heavens.

 

Suddenly, the scene in front of her shifted, and in the blink of an eye, the starry night disappeared from in front of Atalanta,

And she found herself on a small island.

 

The island was barren; there were no lush forests or animals, only various statues of humans.

 

As Atalanta looked around in confusion, her ears twitched slightly, and she suddenly heard the sound of heavy objects scraping against the ground, slowly moving.

 

Instinctively, she looked in the direction of the sound.

 

Then, she saw something emerging from the shadows of the night, inching towards her—those were a pair of crimson bloodshot eyes. 

 

Atalanta heard the painful wails of the undead on her body, feeling a terrifying magical power that seemed to suffocate her.

 

As she widened her eyes, staring at the monster about to appear before her, even her breathing stopped for a moment...

 

"Little Ata, you can't look anymore!"

 

The sudden sound of the moon goddess interrupted everything.

 

The scene before them instantly dissipated, and the pale-faced Atalanta was gently pulled away from Promise by Artemis.

 

Once she regained her senses, the first thing Atalanta did was to take deep breaths because she felt extremely uncomfortable, as if she had been holding her breath deep under the sea and was on the verge of her lungs exploding.

 

"Goddess Artemis, I... I just..." 

After huffing for a while, she spoke with difficulty, looking at the moon goddess Artemis before her in disbelief.

 

"...In the future, if you see Promise in such a state," the Goddess spoke seriously to the girl after a moment of silence, "remember, you must never get close to him again, and you must never look at his paintings!

 

Fortunately, this time it was only Pegasus. If it had been Athena's painting..."

 

"Little Ata, you... would have died!"

 

After saying all this, Artemis no longer paid attention to Atalanta's stunned and disbelieving expression.

 

Because Artemis noticed that at this moment, Promise's brush had finally stopped.

 

In fact, it had been a full three hours since he had started painting.

 

The moment the painting stopped, Promise, who had been immersed in that strange sensation, was greeted by an overwhelming exhaustion as if his body had been completely drained.

 

However, at that moment, he noticed something coming to his mouth, a very familiar scent, so he instinctively opened his mouth and took a bite.

 

The familiar sweet taste of the golden apple invaded his senses, and as Promise gradually recovered, he instinctively turned his head and said, "Thank you, Goddess Athena... eh?

 

Goddess Artemis?"

 

Promise, seeing the flawless face of Artemis, naturally froze.

 

Artemis did not mind his mistake.

 

Her sky-blue eyes reflected Promise at that moment. 

 

Looking at the boy, smiled, a very happy and beautiful smile. 

 

She gently poked Promise's cheek with her finger and said in a pleasant and excited tone:

"So it was you, little Promise!

 

The painting Athena hung in front of the temple and proudly showed to everyone, it was you who gave it to her, right!"

 

Before Promise, who was biting the golden apple, could react, and before Atalanta, who hadn't even had time to catch her breath, 

with her eyes gradually widening in a daze,

Artemis threw herself at Promise.

 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and said coquettishly, "I don't care, little Promise, I want it too. I want such an offering too!"

 

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Athena has a painting,

She says it is a gift from a child, and she has proudly shown it to almost every god she has met because that painting depicts divinity.

It even left a mark on Promise's Servant card... [A painting offered to the goddess of wisdom, Athena.]

Thus, the gods have all been curious and asked who the child she spoke of was, but Athena did not answer, only saying that the child was a student of Chiron.

In the end, this matter only temporarily concluded when Chiron helplessly hid away.

But now the moon goddess Artemis knows.

The moment she saw Promise finish depicting Pegasus, she naturally knew who the child Athena spoke of was.

"Goddess Artemis?!"

Atalanta, her eyes wide open, looked at her beloved goddess holding Promise.

Without even calming her emotions, she rushed forward to separate the two.

After separating them, Atalanta looked at Promise with great displeasure.

The latter innocently blinked his eyes, then ate the golden apple in his mouth. Just as he was about to say something...

"Chirp—"

At that moment, Pegasus walked over.

It lowered its head and glanced at the finished painting by Promise...

In the painting, under the night sky filled with stars and clouds, it spread its wings, soaring gracefully and elegantly beside the full moon.

Below was an endless sea, with a small island in one corner of the sea.

Pegasus looked at the painting, and the golden-horned deer also came over.

After nuzzling Artemis affectionately, it also looked at the painting.

But not seeing itself in the painting, it looked at Promise with a human-like resentment and let out two discontented cries.

Seeing this, Promise reached out to pat its head, just about to soothe it.

Then the loud neigh of the horse echoed once again.

But this time, it was different from any other time before.

Under the gaze of both gods and humans, Pegasus neighed and then stepped back several steps, stomping the ground with its hooves, and stared at Promise intently.

It was as if, in that moment, it saw him as its prey.

To this, the moon goddess Artemis tilted her head slightly.

After all, she did not sense any malice from Pegasus towards Promise.

And because of the painting just now, the moment Promise finished it, he saw Pegasus, saw it soaring freely in the sky, and also saw how it was born...

"Do you... want me to try?"

Promise, with his clear emerald eyes, stared at Pegasus and said, "You want me to try to catch you, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, the latter let out another loud cry, and in the next moment, with a swish, spread its holy wings.

Seeing this, Artemis smiled again and stopped asking Promise for a painting... at least for the moment, she abandoned that idea.

Because it was clear that something more interesting was about to happen!

And seeing Pegasus's reaction, the river god Asopos, who had hardly spoken since Artemis appeared, now opened his eyes wide.

The river god Asopos had said that he had once tried to catch this silver meteor soaring among the stars.

He spent over ten years gathering precious materials and had the god of craftsmen, Hephaestus, forge a divine artifact.

But no matter how hard he tried, Pegasus never paid attention to him.

In the end, a bolt of lightning made the river god completely give up that idea.

"So..."

Promise thoughtfully picked up the newly finished painting and asked the Pegasus in front of him, "You want this, don't you?"

Pegasus nodded.

Promise smiled.

He now understood why Athena's oracle had merely asked him to find the river god Asopos... Thinking back, she had always been like this, giving oracles that never explained things clearly.

She was not only an enigmatic figure but also a standard "Riddle Master."

Pegasus, born on the mythical island where nothing existed, came into being when the legendary hero Perseus beheaded the Gorgon.

Later, it became the protector and symbol of the Greek Muses.

Thus, Promise, who seemed to have been passionately kissed by the goddess of art, naturally had the qualifications to make Pegasus stop and turn its gaze towards him.

"So now, is everything finally about to begin?"

On the cliff, the silver-haired goddess, with hair reaching her waist, watched the distant scene with a cheerful smile... This time, the goddess of justice, Themis, was not by her side.

Since the night of the hunting sacrifice, Themis had left.

Because she had "seen" Promise's choice, she understood that all she needed to do now was wait, wait for... Promise to come to her once again.

However, although Themis had left, another goddess had arrived...

Holding a crystal ball, the barefoot goddess of fate, Clotho, had finally left the ancient temple of fate.

At this moment, she came to the side of the silver-haired goddess.

"He has no chance of enduring the power of Pegasus.

When it runs at full speed in the starry sea, even if the child isn't thrown off and falls from the sky, the force will surely crush him... Honourable goddess Athena, please stop. There is still a chance to prevent such a thing from happening!"

However, Athena continued to smile upon hearing this, as if she hadn't heard a word and pointed to Artemis in the distance.

In a happy tone, she said to Clotho, "Hey, Clotho, look, Artemis has finally realized that the painting was actually done by Promise for me!

She is the third one to know. Hmm... what kind of oracle should I give Promise next time to allow Artemis to get a painting and thus reward him?"

As she spoke, Athena tilted her head, thinking seriously.

"Oh, right, I can't let Hera find out, or I... no, that child will be in trouble."

"...Goddess Athena."

The goddess of fate, Clotho, was silent for a moment, then slowly lowered her head.

Though her voice was gentle, it was very firm as she said to Athena, "If you don't intend to stop, I... will tell everything to the esteemed queen, Hera!"

Hearing this, Athena finally turned her head and placed her beautiful golden eyes on Clotho, quietly staring at her.

She said nothing and did nothing, but merely this gaze made Clotho tremble uncontrollably...

After a while,

"Clotho..."

Athena finally spoke.

Regarding Clotho's words, she did not show anger or rage; instead, she pointed to the crystal ball in Clotho's arms, the one containing Promise's fate.

Then she gently stated a fact, saying, "But, the one who has truly been hurting that child all along is not me, but... you."
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"Promise!"

Just as Promise was walking towards Pegasus, Atalanta suddenly called out to him.

Hearing this, he turned his head, his clear eyes looking at the beautiful huntress dressed in emerald green.

She was standing beside the moon goddess Artemis.

As a goddess, Artemis's beauty was naturally beyond question.

She was Zeus's most beloved daughter and one of the most worshipped deities in ancient Greece.

But even so, in Promise's eyes, Atalanta wasn't much less attractive than Artemis... Perhaps it was also due to the fear of being strangled that secretly made his impression of Artemis drop significantly.

"What's the matter?" Promise asked Atalanta, slightly tilting his head.

The huntress opened her mouth but said nothing.

They had come here because of the oracle of the goddess of wisdom, which directed them to find the river god Asopos and capture the silver meteor that ran through the sky.

Only by doing so would Promise, a figure who even gods and heroes couldn't help but shake their heads at, have the ability to complete the Calydonian hunt... In fact, Athena's arrangement was to give him more means to walk in this ancient Greek divine era.

After all, the oath she took, was to make Promise a dazzling star of this era.

But is that thing...something a human can catch... let alone Promise?

Having witnessed and felt it herself in the painting, she naturally had an answer.

He absolutely couldn't do it!

"You said you later saw the great goddess of fate again... what did she say in the end?" After a long silence, Atalanta asked a question that slightly surprised Promise.

He didn't expect Atalanta to remember something he had casually mentioned in front of the river god Asopos.

So Promise looked at Artemis, then at the river god Asopos.

In front of the gods, he couldn't lie.

Therefore...

"The goddess of fate told me that when I soar through the vast starry sky with it, I... will fall from the meteor!"

When Promise truthfully revealed this prophecy, not only Atalanta but even Pegasus looked at him with human-like astonishment.

"Did the goddess of fate really say that?" The river god Asopos couldn't help but ask.

"Yes."

"Then... even so, do you still want to try?" Seeing him answer so calmly, Atalanta already knew his answer but she still couldn't help but ask.

As expected, Promise smiled and nodded, answering, "Because I promised the goddess of fate, and... Meleager and Actaeon are still waiting for me."

"Well... that's why little Promise is so cute." Artemis laughed and said happily, "Then go ahead, I will be watching you from here!"

"Goddess Artemis!" Atalanta looked at her in disbelief and said, "You're not going to stop him?"

"Stop him? Eh, why should I stop him?" The goddess tilted her head, looking at the huntress with a puzzled expression.

"But if he does this, he'll die!" Atalanta said, somewhat flustered.

"Huh..." Artemis blinked her eyes, showing a very surprised expression as she looked at her. "So, little Ata, you care so much about this boy?"

"I get it, you must like him, right? You must like him!"

"What are you talking about, Goddess Artemis!" Atalanta's eyes widened, and she quickly retorted, "How could I possibly like someone so weak, who can't even hunt and can't run faster than me!

Besides, I've dedicated everything to you, Goddess Artemis. I'll never like anyone else in this lifetime!"

"Well, little Ata, that's what makes you so not cute!" Hearing this, Artemis puffed her cheeks and said, "I never made you take such a vow. You insisted on doing that yourself.

That's why I didn't want to see you again for a while; you're really boring."

"...Eh?" The shocking truth left Atalanta standing there, stunned, staring blankly at the goddess she worshipped.

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