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

"Ahem," the river god Asopos suddenly coughed.

Hearing the sound, both Promise and Atalanta instinctively turned their heads to look and froze.

"It seems you two have truly forgotten this old man," Asopos said with a chuckle.

Hearing this, the boy and the girl exchanged a glance, both looking a bit embarrassed.

"Um... sorry, river god Asopos," Promise apologized honestly.

Without Athena's silver hair on his wrist, he felt like an open book before these deities, with no secrets.

"It's alright, it's alright," The latter waved his hand cheerfully and said with a smile, "I don't mind. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was this happy."

With that, the river god, leaning on his staff, looked kindly at Promise and then at Pegasus, who was quietly lying beside him.

"Child, not only did you bring my daughter Aegina back, but you also fulfilled my lifelong dream and regret... I truly don't know how to repay you."

Hearing this, Promise quickly shook his head and replied, "What are you saying, the honorable river god Asopos? 

To be precise, it is I who troubled you. 

Without the harness you gave me, I wouldn't have survived that ordeal!"

"No need to comfort me. I saw clearly how you tamed it despite my age... and there's also the matter with my daughter, Aegina."

As he spoke, the river god Asopos couldn't help but continue, "How about this, child? Why don't you come back with me? I'll give you a proper welcome at my home!"

"This... sorry, I can't do that." Promise shook his head again and explained before Asopos could say anything, "I came here because of the wise goddess's oracle. 

I need to use Pegasus's power to complete the Calydonian Boar hunt.

I have made a promise to the goddess of fate, Clotho, and now... it's time to fulfill it."

Promise then explained in more detail to Asopos about his agreement with the goddess of fate and his friends.

As the latter listened, slowly understanding the situation, Atalanta suddenly spoke, looking at the frail boy sitting by the tree who hadn't stood up yet, and asked, 

"By the way, are you really alright now?"

Promise glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head in front of Asopos, replying,

"I can't say I'm completely alright, but... time waits for no one."

Yesterday's injuries couldn't be fully healed overnight.

While the heroes of the divine age might recover quickly, he certainly couldn't.

Not only that, but Promise also noticed that his vitality had significantly decreased after yesterday's exhaustive efforts.

Golden apples undoubtedly had the effect of slightly boosting his constitution, making his thin blood supply a bit more substantial, so he wouldn't be blown to the Underworld by a gust of wind.

But clearly, last night's overexertion had set him back to square one.

Though he still had three golden apples in his backpack, they were not like senzu beans that could instantly restore all his injuries.

Considering the possibility of long-term combat in the future and the need to conserve his strength, Promise decided to save them for later.

Furthermore, from his previous experiences, Promise had realized that when it came to activities like painting and playing music, which required a lot of energy and spirit, a golden apple could quickly help him get into the right state.

Hearing this, Atalanta nodded slightly without saying anything.

"So, I'm sorry, river god Asopos, but we need to leave soon."

Promise glanced at Pegasus, who stood up and stretched its wings.

"Can you really not stay? I haven't even had the chance to repay you. 

If my daughter finds out about this, I won't have the face to meet her again..." 

Seeing the embarrassed expression on the river god Asopos, the boy thought for a moment and then smiled, saying, "How about this, honorable river god Asopos, could you do me a favor?"

Hearing this, Asopos's expression turned joyful immediately, and he patted his chest, assuring, "Tell me, child, whatever your request is, I will surely fulfill it!"

"That's wonderful," Promise smiled and said, "I have always had a dream to become a hero of this land, to have bards sing of my name and my legend. So...

Honorable river god Asopos, could you promise to tell the stories of our deeds to one hundred people you meet from today onwards, and spread our names..."

Promise paused slightly, glanced at Atalanta, and then corrected himself, "No, tell the stories of our deeds and spread the names of Atalanta and me!"

"Me?" Atalanta was taken aback.

Listening to Promise's words, she instantly recalled the scene where those bandits blocked her path, looking utterly miserable.

She quickly shook her head, saying, "No, no, no, that's not necessary for me!"

"Atalanta, what are you saying? We did this together. How can I take all the credit myself?" Promise said, full of righteous determination.

"No, really, it's not necessary!" Atalanta, flustered, tried to protest.

"Is that all you want?" The river god Asopos, who had been stunned for a moment, looked at Promise incredulously. "I told you, no matter what you ask, I will agree..."

"Yes, honorable river god Asopos," Promise nodded with a smile, "That's all I want, and it will make me very happy."

"...I understand." After a moment of silence, the river god Asopos looked at Promise with a kindly expression. "I swear by my name as the river god Asopos, I will spread your stories, your deeds, across the entire land!"

With that, the river god left.

"Wait, honorable Lord Asopos, really, it's not necessary for me!" Atalanta tried to stop him.

However, Asopos, chuckling warmly, walked a few steps before being enveloped by a surge of river water, which carried him back into the river, disappearing from their sight.

"That's great, isn't it, Atalanta?"

Looking at the bright smile on Promise's face, Atalanta found herself unable to distinguish whether he genuinely wanted to share that honor with her or if he simply found it amusing and was doing it on purpose...

"Promise, do you think... your teacher is really confused?" Atalanta asked earnestly.

"Huh?" The latter was taken aback, looking at the serious huntress in front of him.

"After all, how could he let you go down the mountain!"

Some time later, a pegasus with silver-white wings stretched out, running in the blue sky.

Sitting behind Promise, Atalanta looked at young man in front of her, who was unabashedly taking out a small notebook to jot down his grudges, inscribing her name in it and couldn't help but feel a bit amused. 

---

Calydon Kingdom,

Inside the palace.

The night breeze carried the fragrance of flowers and the freshness of grass, gently blowing across the ground. 

A noblewoman in a red dress held a lamp, moving back and forth between the palace and a secret chamber.

Her name was Althaea, the queen of the Calydon Kingdom and the mother of the red-haired youth Meleager. 

Although time had left some marks on her face, she still looked beautiful.

In the secret chamber, which only she could enter, lay what she considered the most precious treasure in the world: the life of her child, Meleager!

This was a secret only Althaea knew.

One night, shortly after Meleager was born, while she was holding her infant child to sleep, she found herself in a dream, transported to the ancient and magnificent temple of fate.

In the temple, she met the revered goddess of fate, Lachesis.

Lachesis, the second of the three Fates and sister of Clotho, was responsible for the length of the threads of life spun on the spindle of fate.

Unlike Clotho, who was blind, Lachesis suffered eternally from illness due to her association with life. 

She appeared as a frail woman who would cough violently and even faint after speaking a few words.

Upon meeting, Lachesis handed Althaea a burning log and told her that this log represented the life of her child, Meleager.

Meleager's life would burn brightly like this flame, destined to become a world-renowned hero until the flame extinguished.

When Althaea woke up from Lachesis's coughing fit, she initially thought it was just a dream. 

But then she turned and saw the burning log beside her...

Since then, Althaea visited the secret chamber every night and was only able to sleep peacefully after seeing the flame burning.

There was no doubt she was a loving mother; Althaea adored her child, but... she was also the one who would eventually end Meleager's life with her own hands!

Soft moonlight shone through the window, illuminating the room. 

Althaea, returning alone to her room, opened the door to find the red-haired youth inside, dozing off.

"Meleager, you're back?" She said, initially surprised but then extremely delighted upon seeing him.

Awakened by her voice, Meleager quickly stood up as his mother walked toward him, and responded, "Yes, Mother, I am back."

"When did you return? I didn't receive any news. By the way, about Artemis's hunting festival... You weren't injured, were you?"

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