Chapter 72: I will never give him to you...
The next morning, as dawn broke,
Pegasus flapped its silver-white wings, carrying Promise through the morning sky.
Promise left the small town without meeting his friend Orpheus again because it was clearly not yet time.
After all, he had told Orpheus that everything was just a nightmare, and he would bring his wife back to him.
"Pegasus, please take me to Persephone," Promise said to Pegasus.
The winged horse turned its head to look at him, then nodded gently.
Because as soon as Promise spoke, the Goddess of Wisdom had already marked the location for it.
"Athena, are you really sending him to his death?!" On Mount Olympus, Hera, witnessing this scene, looked extremely displeased as she addressed Athena.
Though she now understood the oaths Athena and the others had made with Promise and had heard the reasoning from Atropos,
Knowing and actually seeing it were two different things.
Seeing that Promise was really going to intervene in this matter and Athena and the others were choosing to observe and witness it, Hera was anxious.
"He won't die, and he will complete this trial," Athena replied calmly, "because that is his oath with me."
"That's absurd!"
Hera's eyes seemed to blaze with anger as she glared at her. "Even you and I can't guarantee we could take Demeter's daughter away from her.
And now, for that ridiculous oath, you want me to watch him die?!"
Having said that, she turned to leave, intending to go to Promise's side.
But to Hera's surprise, Themis, the goddess of justice, stepped forward and blocked her path.
Hera looked at her in disbelief, seeing the goddess holding the scales of judgment. "Themis, even you are going to stop me?"
"That child has not given up," Themis answered coldly. "Therefore, I will continue to protect him until the end. That is my oath with him."
"That's your concern. It has nothing to do with me!"
Oath, oath!
The more Hera heard it, the angrier she became. "I don't care about your oaths. They have nothing to do with me. I'm going to stop this now.
I will take him away today, and I want to see who dares to stop me!"
However, just as she was about to push Themis aside,
"No," Athena said softly. "Hera, you cannot do that because this matter... is also related to your agreement with Promise."
"What are you talking about? I don't remember..."
Hera's words were cut short.
"The trial of the Golden Fleece." Athena's golden eyes quietly stared at Hera, who froze at her words. "It was because of the trial you initially set that made Promise sought his friend Orpheus in the first place.
And don't forget, Hera, this is also a marriage you agreed to with Hades. It was Promise's judgment then, and... he is your believer."
Hearing this, Hera fell silent,
Her amber eyes looked at the calm Athena in front of her, then shifted to Themis, the goddess of justice, who stood in her way with her eyes covered by a white cloth.
Her expression grew increasingly grim.
Hermes, standing nearby, remained silent.
At this moment, he was quietly moving his body, glancing at the still wide-eyed, excited moon goddess Artemis eating her popcorn, he scornfully curled his lip.
Hermes knew he had to run away quickly.
The atmosphere was getting heavier,
Even Athena, with all her wisdom, might not be entirely sure if this trial would indeed be Promise's final moment.
Though her expression remained calm, there was no trace of the usual lighthearted smile, as if she held everything in her control.
"Athena, I can see things clearly now."
And as Hera's rage cooled... no, more accurately, as her extreme anger made her calm, she looked icily at the goddess of wisdom.
"Even if the child no longer chooses me as his goddess in the future, even if he chooses that fate goddess, or even chooses Themis, I would not object.
But you, Athena... I will never hand that child over to you!"
Hermes swallowed hard, feeling the gravity of the situation.
This was turning into quite the drama.
Just as he was about to stealthily make his exit,
"Hermes, where do you think you're going?"
Athena called out to him, flashing an unusually bright smile.
...
...
Three nights later,
In the silence of the night, the goddess of the night Nyx covered the sky with her dark veil and stars.
Deep in an ancient forest, in a temple built in a perilous location,
The future queen of the underworld, Persephone, was sitting by the window, her beautiful eyes filled with sadness as she looked at the stars.
Not long ago, she had a fierce argument with her mother, Demeter.
The reason was simple: when Hera was searching for a new bride for Hades, Persephone had stepped forward, and her mother, Demeter, found out.
Since that day, Demeter had forcibly brought Persephone to this temple and imprisoned her.
Outside the temple were various strange plants, all of which were Demeter's eyes.
Whoever came here, she would know.
In front of the temple's gate crouched two terrifying beasts, a pair of lion-sized guardians standing like giants, obeying Demeter's orders to prevent any being from entering.
They also watched over Persephone, not allowing her to leave.
"...Sigh."
Persephone sighed deeply as she looked at the starry sky.
She didn't know how long these days would last and was constantly worried that the situation would escalate.
On one side was her beloved Hades, the king of the underworld, and on the other, her mother, Demeter.
As Persephone stared blankly at the night sky,
She suddenly felt something strange in the room.
"Who's there?!"
Persephone quickly turned her head and loudly demanded, "Who's there?!"
Seeing no one and realizing it wasn't one of the nymphs who served her, she frowned but then seemed to think of something and her expression turned to one of delight.
She quickly stood up, looked around the room, and joyfully called out, "Hades? Hades, is that you? Have you come to find me?"
Well it seemed this wasn't the first time. Hades had previously visited her while wearing his invisibility helmet, evading Demeter's watchful eyes to have a tryst with Persephone.
But soon Persephone realized something was off because she and Hades had a secret signal.
Just as she realized this,
Promise removed the invisibility helmet and appeared before her beautiful eyes, confirming her doubt.
"Hello, beautiful goddess Persephone. My name is Promise, a student of the centaur sage Chiron and a devotee of Queen Hera. By an agreement with King Hades, I've come to find you and bring you... to the God of the Underworld, 'Hades'."
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