บท 57: Goddess of Fate, Help me
In the subsequent time, Promise first summoned the winged horse Pegasus from the sky and spent a good portion of the day sketching out the terrain around the Kingdom of Calydon from the air.
Later in the evening, he and Meleager went to the town's smithy, where he briefly communicated his needs.
The items were not particularly difficult to manufacture, and so, after a brief trial, a rough outline was made on the spot.
All the preparations were proceeding smoothly and orderly, and Promise should have been pleased, but for some reason, he kept frowning.
Even when Atalanta and Meleager pressed him, he did not disclose the reason.
This situation persisted until nightfall.
The effects of the golden apple finally wore off, and after being busy for a long time, Promise also felt tired and eventually falling asleep in a luxurious room within the Calydon palace.
Then...
"You really are full of energy, Promise."
In the ancient, majestic Temple of Fate, woven from all the threads of fate in the world, the tired-looking Fate Goddess Clotho rubbed her eyes as she knelt beside Promise, who was just waking up and sitting on the floor of the temple.
As always, she was a bit huffy but still adorably said to Promise.
Though gods generally do not need rest, Clotho had been sitting here silently since the day he caught that meteor, only putting everything aside last night.
Therefore, she had wanted to see him the previous night, but due to the effects of the golden apple, Promise had managed to hold on until now.
Just as Clotho was about to express her dissatisfaction and complain...
Promise, who had been staring blankly at her, suddenly stretched out his hands, grabbed thr goddess by the shoulders without giving the stunned goddess time to react, and spoke with great excitement: "Right, Goddess Clotho, how could I forget you!"
"Cute... ah, no, great and also especially kind Fate Goddess, please listen to the plea of a lost lamb!"
"…Hm?" Clotho, dressed in a white robe with some white hair showing from her hood, obviously didn't catch on and instinctively tilted her head.
"Simply put, Goddess Clotho, help me!"
When Clotho heard Promise speak in such a pleading tone, seeking her help, the discontent in her heart dissolved instantly, replaced by a strange emotion that made her heart beat a bit faster...
"Athena?" Then Clotho asked.
After all, Athena had been in charge of this area for the past six months.
"Hmm... because of some reasons, I am now a bit afraid to appear in front of her." After hesitating for a while, but unable to lie in front of a goddess, an embarrassed Promise released his hands from Clotho's shoulders and honestly replied.
Seeing Clotho's puzzled tilt of her head, he felt compelled to explain further: "Actually, last night, I met Goddess Hera, and then she and Goddess Athena, they..."
Promise didn't finish his sentence, but Clotho understood.
After all, the prophecy was given by her, so in her 'vision', Athena's intent to snatch him was as plain as the writing on a face.
With this thought, Clotho, under Promise's surprised gaze, made an unexpected move.
She put down the crystal ball she was holding, leaned forward, and knelt before the boy, then extended her delicate hands to explore Promise's body.
She touched his face, then his hands and feet.
"You actually have no issues, and not even a curse?" Clotho murmured in disbelief.
The Fate Goddess Clotho, who governs the future, cannot see the present, so at this moment, she was very close to Promise, her breath even falling on his face.
Promise remained stiffly seated on the ground, unmoved.
Then Clotho leaned back, hugged the crystal ball again, and knelt before Promise, curiously tilting her head and asking, "How do you want me to help you?"
She now understood that probably because of Hera, Promise would not dare to seek Athena anytime soon.
"Actually, I need to present a painting to Goddess Artemis soon..." Promise began, his words trailing off.
"A painting? Eh, did Athena even expose that?"
"Huh?" Promise blinked in confusion at Clotho and asked, "Expose, expose what?"
"...It's nothing." The latter slightly lowered her head.
Although Promise found this a bit strange, the crux of the matter clearly wasn't here, so he continued, "Goddess Clotho, as you know, I still don't have the ability to paint a picture for Goddess Artemis myself.
So I thought of a special way, which is..."
Then, Promise briefly explained his plan to Clotho.
Undoubtedly, Clotho was the first goddess to know what exactly he wanted to do, and at that moment, she was silent for a long time.
"Do you like Goddess Artemis that much?" she asked, her head still lowered.
Her voice was so flat that Promise could not detect her emotion at the moment.
"Um... I certainly respect Goddess Artemis, but the main reason is actually because I don't want to be hunted..."
"Hunted?" Clotho lifted her head, puzzled.
"If I don't deliver the painting to Goddess Artemis within a week at most, Athena said, she will most likely hunt me..."
Promise said with a somewhat tearful expression.
"Hunting by a goddess would fulfill your dreams, wouldn't it?" Clotho responded with a hum.
"But someone told me that the hunt by Goddess Artemis, even if it reaches the underworld, will never end!"
Hearing this heartfelt outcry from deep within, Clotho finally understood.
And realizing the deep sense of resignation in Promise at that moment, she even couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh for a moment.
This laugh, however, made Promise freeze in place, staring at her with wide eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Um, no... I just suddenly realized, I think this is the first time I've seen you laugh, Goddess Clotho?"
And how cute she looks when she laughs...
Indeed, since every time they met, she was huffy, her face marked with unhappiness, and she often complained about being humiliated or the like.
But just after he finished speaking, Promise's head was hit by the crystal ball that Clotho was holding.
"How do you want me to help you?" After a slight pause, Clotho continued, "Don't misunderstand, I am helping because of that bet I lost, so I am willing to help you this time.
But remember, it's only this once!"
Clotho tried to make her expression stern, but Promise, who was rubbing his head, found it hard to perceive any seriousness in her...
Thus, he couldn't help but laugh again, and seeing her lift the crystal ball again, he quickly replied, "Alright, I understand, great Fate Goddess! And about changing fate, I'm sorry if that has caused you a lot of trouble, hasn't it?"
Clotho was silent for a moment, then gently shook her head, saying, "You need not worry, and... such a future, I'm not entirely displeased with it."
"Eh, does that mean if I change fate in the future, you won't be angry?" Promise said joyfully, as he had quite a lot planned for the future.
At that moment, Clotho truly felt the impulse to smash the crystal ball right on the head of the young man in front of her!
"Say... how do you want me to help you!"
Seeing the irritated Clotho biting her lip, Promise wisely chose to answer quickly: "Actually, it's not complicated, could you, Goddess Clotho, first help by making Goddess Artemis...
No, also make Goddess Athena and Goddess Hera step aside for a while?"
Clotho naturally felt puzzled upon hearing this.
"Goddess Clotho, as you just found out what the painting I am offering is about, it's actually not difficult to create, so to truly satisfy Goddess Artemis, it would be best if it blossomed in her eyes at the moment she anticipates it the most, like fireworks!"
Clotho was silent for a moment.
"Fireworks... what is that?"
"Um, simply put, it's like the moment when a flower blooms." Promise thought for a moment and smiled in response, "No matter the flower, its most beautiful moment is undoubtedly the instant it fully blooms."
"Is that so?" Clotho tilted her head.
"Of course, Goddess Clotho, you haven't seen such a thing..." Halfway through his sentence, seeing the blank look on Clotho's face, Promise naturally trailed off.
Clotho didn't get angry but simply nodded lightly and then responded, "I understand, I will leave the Temple of Fate, make them temporarily leave your side, and keep an eye on them, ensuring they do not spy on you during this time."
This was not difficult; just by saying that Promise wanted to offer the best moment to the goddesses, Artemis and the others would naturally agree.
The real challenge was preventing them from peeking out of curiosity midway through.
Then, just as Clotho was about to find the golden apple she had prepared to give to Promise, to allow him to leave the Temple of Fate...
"Goddess Clotho, may I ask... can I let you first see that kind of future?" After thinking for a long time, Promise suddenly asked Clotho.
The latter paused, looking at Promise.
"Actually, I've been feeling a bit uneasy," Promise revealed with a somewhat helpless smile. "Although I feel that the painting, when completed, should satisfy Goddess Artemis, I... I still feel somewhat worried."
"After all, it's Goddess Artemis we're talking about."
"You really are scared of being hunted," Clotho couldn't help but laugh again upon hearing this.
After all, in her several meetings with Promise, even when she predictes the end of his life, he had never shown a hint of fear, and he even seemed quite eager.
"Because I don't want to die and then continue to be hunted," Promise replied again with a sense of helplessness.
'And most importantly, I know that goddess; even if I 'die,' she really could make it so I never have peace again!'
'No way, after this is all over, I definitely need to find a way to locate that guy Orion.'
Orion, you bastard, where have you run off to?
Save me!
"Alright then." So, Clotho agreed.
She kept telling herself it was to keep an eye out for Promise, definitely not because she was curious about what that painting would look like!
Then she reached out her hand for Promise to hold.
As the boy grasped her delicate hand, before he could even remark how small and comfortable it felt, Clotho had already eagerly used her power.
From the crystal ball, the threads of Promise's fate began to extend and pass through the hands of both Promise and Clotho.
Soon, the vision of that future appeared before their eyes.
The futures of Promise were always uncertain, but when he made a choice, certain probabilities would become more likely, and these were the futures that Goddess Clotho and Athena, with her golden eyes, could capture.
Now, with Promise focused on the painting, the voice arose, emotionless:
"Are you really going to do this?" The eldest and second sisters of the Fates, Atropos and Lachesis, suddenly appeared beside them at this moment.
"Of course, you've heard him, haven't you? Aren't you curious about the painting this child is offering?... But he's smart, knowing how to make our Clotho happy!" Lachesis finished speaking and then coughed violently twice.
"Not curious." Atropos said expressionlessly.
Lachesis shot her an annoyed look, then simply stopped bothering with her.
She reached out and grasped the extending threads of fate.
Atropos hesitated for a moment but finally reached out and grabbed the threads of fate as well.
Then they all moved to that future,
They found themselves witnessing a night scene,
With the full moon hanging high in the sky, illuminating the night of ancient Greece.
But tonight, something seemed to replace the light of the stars and the moon beneath the night sky.
Lachesis looked up, and then her eyes gradually widened, standing still in awe.
Even the emotionless Atropos, at that moment, looked up and, after taking in everything in the sky, was stunned, unable to speak for a long time.
Because in the night sky, adorned by the moon and stars, there now appeared a painting, and tonight, it even overshadowed the light of the stars and the moon!
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