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

Not long after parting with the goddess,

"Brother Horse, do you know where Goddess Athena is now?" Promise asked as he patted the head of Pegasus.

To be honest, he wasn't without a target for his quest, as the age of ancient Greece was replete with famous monsters, such as the nine-headed Hydra, the lightning-named Minotaur, and the Sphinx with a human face and lion's body.

However, Promise had grown accustomed to seeking Athena for matters like this.

Pegasus shook its head and glanced at the boy, as if it wanted to ask if him really hadn't noticed that the helmet of Hades was missing.

"Let's wait for Goddess Athena to show up then," Promise decided, feeling no rush.

After all, it was Athena, who tended to appear whenever there was a hint of action.

Unexpectedly, time passed into the night.

As Promise sat by a campfire in the woods, leaning against Pegasus who had settled down, and drifted to sleep, Athena still had not appeared.

However, while Athena was absent, Promise instead encountered three other goddesses...

Pegasus looked up, watching as threads of fate drawn by these goddesses descended from the sky, realizing its master was indeed busy. 

Having just left the temple of Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, Promise was now set to meet several gods in a single day, particularly goddesses.

In the ancient Temple of Fate, woven from threads of destiny, Promise opened his eyes and quickly realized where he was.

He was about to rise, even smiling in anticipation of greeting the adorable, petite goddess of white fur.

"Atropos, go!" When sickly sister Lachesis spoke. 

The next second, Promise found his hands and feet restrained.

Blinking in confusion, he soon saw an irritated Lachesis enter his field of vision and even the normally emotionless elder sister Atropos seemed annoyed.

"Um... Goddess Lachesis, Goddess Atropos, may I ask what this is about?"

Faced with a puzzled Promise, the two Fates did not respond but looked towards their sister Clotho.

"Sister, what are you waiting for, come here!"

Then the petite goddess of fate appeared before Promise.

Barefoot, she approached, and under Promise's blinking gaze, she too pouted, looking quite angry.

Then she raised her crystal ball high, the one containing Promise's fate, and under her sisters' expectant gazes, she... gently rubbed it against the boy's head.

"Hmph, do you realize your mistake now?!" Clotho then asked seriously.

She was completely unaware that her sisters' eyes had lost their sparkle.

They had discussed this punishment at length, and this was the outcome.

"Just this?!"

"Let it go, it's pointless." Lachesis, frustrated, released Promise.

Seeing this, Atropos also let go.

As the boy lay on the floor of the Temple of Fate, utterly clueless about what had just transpired.

As the sisters released him, Clotho, looking at Promise still lying on the ground, whispered, "Aren't you going to get up?"

The boy blinked, looked at the tiny, adorable goddess of fate, and couldn't help but smile, "Um... I can't get up, Goddess, could you help me up?"

At this, Lachesis immediately shot a disdainful glance at Promise.

Hearing this, Clotho instinctively looked to her sisters, then turned away, wanting to ignore him.

But after a few steps, she came back, bent down, and gently pulled him up by the hand.

"Look, Atropos, did you see? From now on, our status as elder sisters might be lower than that of an outsider," Lachesis said, coughing twice.

Atropos nodded, her emotionless demeanor acknowledging the statement.

This made Clotho bow her head even lower, and as Promise stood up, he couldn't help but protect her, trying to change the subject, "Goddess Lachesis, Goddess Atropos, was that just about..."

"The fate of Goddess Demeter... Do you have any idea how much trouble you've brought us? Don't tell me you didn't know!" Lachesis glared at Promise irritably.

Realizing the implications amid countless threads of fate, and looking at the petite goddess of fate beside him, who had just pretended to punish him...

It was unbearable, she was too adorable, what if he wanted to pick her up?

"There's one more thing, about Pegasus," Atropos suddenly said in her emotionless voice. "In the original fate, he was to be subdued by Bellerophon with the help of the goddess of wisdom."

"You've already encountered the affairs of Hades and Persephone, so you understand the irresistibility of fate, hence the creature Chimera, originally destined to be slain by Bellerophon, now naturally falls to you."

In Greek mythology, the hero Bellerophon, after taming Pegasus, went on to slay the Chimera, a creature that devastated the land.

This was a story mentioned previously.

What happened to this hero later?

He became increasingly arrogant due to his heroic feats, even believing he could compare to the gods, and ordered Pegasus to fly him to Mount Olympus.

Thus abandoned by Athena, Pegasus regained his freedom and dropped Bellerophon from the sky.

Because he left him alive out of compassion, just breaking his leg.

However, also because of this, Bellerophon could no longer face telling people his name.

Hiding and eventually living in seclusion in a deserted place, he spent the rest of his life in anxiety.

As Promise heard Atropos speak, he sensed an undertone in her words and was momentarily stunned.

Lachesis then spoke in a feigned complaining tone:

"You wanted to offer glory to Hera, right? Well, there you go... oh, it's tough being an elder sister, always having to clean up after a certain troublemaker, and even the punishment we agreed on to vent our anger ends up being a farce!"

Hearing this, Clotho, who was holding the crystal ball, turned away, not wanting to deal with her.

Promise was silent for a moment, then smiled sincerely at them, saying, "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, thank the one who now doesn't even want a sister anymore," Lachesis rolled her eyes, a heavy grievance evident in her expression.

But anyone working overtime until now, especially when the work isn't even finished yet, would probably not be in high spirits.

"Sister!" Clotho finally couldn't help but call out quietly.

"Alright, alright, enough talking, oh the hardships of life, right, Atropos?" Pretending to be pitiful, Lachesis leaned on Atropos and said.

But what she didn't expect was...

"Not hard at all," Atropos replied coolly to Lachesis, who looked at her with eyes that screamed 'how could you betray and defect?' and said, "Stop it, or else our sister might stop talking to us."

"Sister Lachesis," Clotho also lifted her head and emotionlessly followed, "You should faint now, you've talked too much."

"You... ugh, I'm tired. Why hasn't this world ended yet!" Lachesis pressed her forehead and then decisively collapsed, actually fainting.

At that moment, Promise saw in her something that reminded him of the laid-back goddess Hecate... Was fainting really a passive skill of this frail goddess?

"There's also you, Promise, you should go back," Clotho then softly told Promise.

Although still appearing dignified and striving to maintain her goddess-like image, she was clearly embarrassed.

"Now, wait a minute, Goddess Clotho, I've just arrived and..." Promise began to say something.

But Clotho extended her hand and gently pushed him.

"You need to go back because someone is looking for you," 

She replied softly.

Then, as a sense of falling overwhelmed him, Promise's vision turned dark, and when he regained his senses, leaping up from Pegasus, he realized he was back.

Before he could fully recover and understand the meaning of Clotho's last words, as if sensing something, Pegasus stood up and shook its tail.

Decisively, and with practiced ease, it moved to the side.

Then suddenly, the sound of an arrow tearing through the air echoed in the moonlit forest night.

It flew past Promise's ear and embedded itself in a nearby tree.

And then...

"Praise the noble, pure, and beautiful Goddess Artemis, who guides her most loyal follower to this place."

A familiar voice sounded.

As the rustling of the bushes under the moonlight continued, a figure dressed in green, the beautiful huntress, slowly emerged and came into the stunned Promise's view.

"Atalanta?!"

Looking at Atalanta, who lacked the princess-like elegance and nobility but possessed a straightforward charisma that made her even more striking.

Still reeling from the surprise of the reunion, Promise saw the girl narrow her sea-green eyes and draw her celestial bow, aiming it at him...

And so, he remembered the words once spoken to him by the Moon Goddess Artemis.

Due to his abrupt departure last time, and given that Atalanta had promised Artemis during a hunting festival that she would supervise and look after Promise,

And having stood up his deity in faith and anger,

Atalanta had made it clear that upon their next meeting, she would hunt Promise...

Promise's smile froze as he instinctively looked beside him at Pegasus.

Sure enough, you're quick to flee!

Munch on grass, choke on it for all I care, you fat steed!

Well, since I can't rely on Pegasus, should I run?

Hmm... maybe not. 

This girl might be able to keep up with a fantasy creature, maybe even a running Pegasus. Better not make things worse for myself.

After a moment of thought, Promise straightforwardly raised his hands.

He chose to surrender.

Seeing this, Atalanta lowered her bow and came over without any courtesy, swiftly tying Promise up and tossing him under a nearby tree.

"There, now you are mine!"

Atalanta declared proudly after having successfully 'hunted' Promise.

However, after saying this, she felt the phrasing was a bit strange.

Shaking her head, she then glared at Promise and said, "Alright, explain."

"Explain what?" The latter blinked at her.

"Explain why you left without saying a word to me." Atalanta finished, pausing to play with her beautiful long hair and tilting her head, "I'm not worried about you, I just promised the goddess to keep an eye on you and Actaeon!"

"Did... did Meleager say anything to you afterward?"

"Say what?" Atalanta looked puzzledly at Promise.

The latter instantly understood that even after he had left, and Atalanta had left, that embarrassing guy had never confessed his feelings to Atalanta.

So, Promise replied very straightforwardly and candidly, "I was wrong, beautiful huntress miss. I won't do it again next time, I promise!"

His emerald eyes met Atalanta's, filled with sincerity.

This overly simple, unresisting hunt made her fall silent.

Aren't you supposed to be a hero?

And you are also the winner of the Moon Goddess's hunting festival, the one who caught the falling stars, hunted the Calydonian boar, and offered that beautiful tribute to the great Moon Goddess.

Where is your pride!

Atalanta had planned to let him go after a token resistance from Promise, but his action now left her unsure of what to do.

Standing confused for a while, she watched Promise, bound and sitting under the tree, looking innocently back at her.

Looking at the young man with black hair and emerald eyes illuminated by the moonlight.

Atalanta, nearly amused by the situation, couldn't help but bend down and pinch Promise's face hard.

"I want to hear your music!"

She then stated her condition.

"That's simple."

"I want your paintings too!"

Atalanta added.

"Eh, didn't you initially say you didn't want them no matter what..."

"Hm?!" Atalanta raised her voice.

"No problem, miss!" Promise quickly corrected himself, speaking earnestly.

Seeing this, Pegasus nearby couldn't help but unfold its silvery white wings and cover its eyes.

Can't watch this!

And in the moonlight, beside her sister, the Moon Goddess Artemis, the god of light Apollo watched this scene and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction, "It's great, these two really have a good relationship... right, Artemis?"

"Mm... Mm."

Artemis answered noncommittally.

Because he had been keeping his eyes on Promise and Atalanta, and was protecting them tenderly, Apollo did not notice how terrifying the expression on Artemis' face was at that moment...

Artemis, that is your most loyal follower!

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