The solar fire

The name "Phaethon" comes from the Greek word Φαέθων, which originally means "blazing" or "shining brightly."

At this moment, Phaethon was living up to the meaning of his name. His body was engulfed in the solar fire that surged from the Sun Chariot, and the flames within him turned into white-hot solar fire, spewing from his mouth and nose.

But...

Phaethon wasn't consumed by the flames that burned both inside and outside his body.

After overcoming his fear of the solar fire, Phaethon was surprised to discover that the flames coursing through him were actually the fully awakened bloodline of the Sun God.

"So it's true... I really am a descendant of the Sun God, inheriting the power of my grandfather Hyperion, who rules over the sun and fire."

In Greek mythology, the Sun God's divinity encompasses both light and fire.

Before the birth of Hephaestus, the god of fire, the heavenly fire that Prometheus stole for humanity came from the Sun God Helios' chariot.

"The solar fire is one of the powers I possess as a descendant of the Sun God! And yet, I was just afraid of my own power, worried that the solar fire would burn me alive.

It seems that deep down, I doubted whether I was truly the son of my father, Helios."

Now that he had confirmed his Sun God bloodline, Phaethon relaxed completely, no longer suppressing his awakened divine power with his light-based abilities.

And then, to his amazement, he found that as the unfamiliar power of the Sun God's bloodline merged with his own light-based powers, his strength increased several times over, elevating him to the rank of the greater gods.

Not only that, but Phaethon could now control the immensely powerful solar fire, using it as his most formidable weapon against enemies.

As his body underwent these internal changes, Phaethon's appearance also transformed.

He grew taller, resembling his father Helios, and the reddish fragments of his hair extended down to his waist. The lower half of his long hair turned white, the same color as the solar fire.

Previously, with the power of an intermediate god, Phaethon could barely manage the Sun Chariot, struggling to bear the solar energy it received.

When the Sun Horses veered off their normal path and drew closer to the sun, the solar energy the chariot absorbed exceeded Phaethon's limits, causing the excess energy to spill out as solar fire.

But now, with the power of a greater god, Phaethon found it much easier to bear the weight of the Sun Chariot.

He quickly used his divine power to control the chariot, converting the overflowing solar fire into light and heat, which he then spread across the earth. At the same time, he guided the four Sun Horses back onto their proper course.

"He actually awakened the Sun God's bloodline!"

As Phaethon drove the Sun Chariot across the highest point of the sky, a figure, unseen by anyone, lingered at the peak of the heavens, watching Phaethon's retreating form and murmuring, "Looks like Leto and her son will be disappointed."

In the next instant!

The figure of the Sun God Helios also appeared at the highest point of the sky, saying, "I've always said that Phaethon is my son. Did you ever doubt that?"

The hidden figure immediately responded with a teasing tone, "Even though Phaethon didn't inherit your golden eyes, he's still your true son?"

"Absolutely!"

"Well, that's an interesting conclusion! My brother Helios, even though Phaethon made a mistake while driving the Sun Chariot, at least he didn't bring disaster to the earth. So, today, I'll forgive you and your son's recklessness. But I don't want to see such foolishness—letting a child drive the Sun Chariot—happen again."

With those stern words of warning, the hidden figure abruptly vanished.

Once Helios confirmed that he was alone at the highest point of the sky, he let out a sigh of relief. Smiling with pride, he gazed at Phaethon's distant figure and said, "My child! You've broken free from the fate of falling, and now you're worthy of living as an immortal god in the world of the divine. Both your mother and I are truly proud of you."

Phaethon, who still needed to focus all his attention on controlling the Sun Chariot even after ascending to the rank of greater god, didn't hear the conversation between his father Helios and the other god.

As Phaethon drove the Sun Chariot alongside the Norse Sun Goddess, Sól, she turned to him and asked, "Kid! Did you Greeks get yourselves a new Sun God?

Not too long ago, Helios replaced his father Hyperion as the second-generation Sun God."

"You've misunderstood, Goddess Sól!" Phaethon quickly explained.

"The Sun God of Greek mythology is still my great father, Helios. I'm Phaethon, son of Helios. Just for today, I'm driving the Sun Chariot in his place to prove that I am truly the son of the Sun God."

"So, you're the future third-generation Sun God of Greek mythology?" Sól asked, clearly surprised.

"You still look like a kid who's not even twenty, and yet you're already able to take Helios' place driving the Sun Chariot.

I was planning to have my daughter Sunna take over as the new Sun Goddess after Ragnarok. But seeing you, I think maybe my daughter Sunna can start practicing with my Sun Chariot now."

As Phaethon and the Sun Goddess parted ways, each entering their own path, it wasn't long before Phaethon found himself guiding the Sun Chariot over the Iberian Peninsula.

To the west of the peninsula lay the vast, endless Atlantic Ocean, which marked the final destination of Phaethon's journey.

As the Sun Chariot sped further away from the sun and toward the Atlantic, Phaethon could feel the solar fire within him—the power of his awakened Sun God bloodline—beginning to cool.

He quickly noticed his divine strength fading, and an overwhelming, irresistible fatigue started to cloud his mind, causing his body to sway.

"This feeling... I can't fall asleep... If the Sun Chariot goes out of control... and causes disaster on the earth... Zeus won't miss the chance to kill me..."

Despite Phaethon's strong will to resist the drowsiness, his body was simply too exhausted.

After all, driving the Sun Chariot was a task that only the supreme gods, second only to the King of the Gods, could handle.

Even though Phaethon had inherited the Sun God's bloodline and possessed the divine power of light, controlling the Sun Chariot was still far beyond what his body could endure.

As the four Sun Horses pulled the chariot over a part of the ocean where the waters boiled like molten lava, Phaethon could no longer hold on. His eyes slowly closed, and his grip on the reins loosened. His body slipped from the Sun Chariot, plummeting toward the sea below.

Time passed—how much, he couldn't tell.

Phaethon awoke from his hazy state of consciousness, finding himself cradled in a warm embrace.

The familiar sensation stirred something deep within him, and he instinctively called out.

"Mother..."

Slowly, Phaethon opened his eyes and realized he was lying in the arms of a towering sea goddess, about three hundred feet tall, with long hair that flowed like white mist.

When his gaze met the goddess's beautiful eyes, which shimmered with a fiery glow, Phaethon's entire body froze.

The sea goddess holding him in her warm embrace was indeed someone Phaethon could call "Mother"—the wife of the Sun God Helios.

But she wasn't the goddess who had raised him, the nymph Rhodos. Instead, she was Perseis, the mother of Colchis, Circe, and Pasiphaë.