The Sound of Lyre

"He is the child you favor?"

Under the starry night sky, as the hunting ritual officially began, Promise didn't know that the moment he arrived at this place, he was already seen by the goddess Artemis.

More precisely, three goddesses.

Three beautiful goddesses gathered at the deepest part of the ancient forest, by the pavilion beside the lake illuminated by moonlight, the sacred ground of the moon goddess Artemis.

And the one who spoke was Artemis.

The clear lake reflected her beautiful figure.

Dressed in a long dress, Artemis was lying lazily on her beloved golden-horned deer.

Her waist-length silver hair spread out, and her sky-blue eyes looked far into the distance at Promise through the full moon.

And with just one look, she recognized him, for the marks left on Promise by Hera, Athena, and the goddess of justice were too conspicuous in the eyes of the gods.

"That's right," Athena, with her beautiful golden eyes, sitting in the pavilion by the lake, smiled proudly and said, "What do you think? He's quite an adorable child, isn't he?"

Hearing this, Artemis couldn't help but look at Athena with curiosity.

She didn't understand why this wise goddess now seemed a bit like the time when Hera caught her and bragged about it...

Wait, isn't that child a follower of Hera?

Tilting her head slightly in thought, Artemis felt tired the next second and stopped thinking about it.

Continuing to lie on her golden-horned deer, she spoke, "But he looks so weak. How could someone like him possibly reach me?"

"No, he will come," answered the last of the three goddesses to Artemis.

Sitting before Athena, dressed in a white robe with her eyes covered by a white cloth, was Themis, the goddess of justice, speaking coolly, "Because I have already heard the choice he made before fate."

"...Is that so?" Artemis looked at Themis in puzzlement, then glanced back at Promise in the distance.

After watching him for a while, she couldn't help but say, "But he clearly doesn't seem to have any intention of hunting!"

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Promise, dressed in black hunting attire, was quickly traversing the ancient forest under the full moon's light.

And just as Artemis had said, he indeed had no intention of hunting.

Because he knew better than anyone else that under normal circumstances, he couldn't possibly win against Meleager and Atalanta.

Even though he carried the Sword of Judgment left by Themis, the goddess of justice but even that wouldn't be it

Therefore, tonight, Promise planned to hunt Actaeon, who had turned into a giant deer, in a very special way!

He moved swiftly through the ancient forest, making no effort to conceal his presence.

As a result, many hunters spotted him, including Atalanta.

When she noticed that the red-haired youth was not by Promise's side, she frowned, hesitating whether to follow him.

Since arriving here, the unease in Atalanta's heart had grown stronger!

But what she didn't expect was that in just a brief moment of hesitation, Promise had completely disappeared from her sight.

After hesitating for a while longer, Atalanta decided not to pursue him.

After all, her main objective at this moment was undoubtedly to win the hunt and meet the goddess she admired... and he would be safe, afterall even though he is weak.. he is also the disciple of Chiron.

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Promise continued on for a long time, not knowing where his destination lay.

As he delved deeper into the forest, his speed gradually slowed.

The forests of ancient Greece were filled with swamps and teeming with beasts that posed a danger to humans, especially at night when they hunted.

Soon, Promise found himself wounded for various reasons.

Eventually, when a giant snake as thick as a leg lurked in the shadows and suddenly lunged at him, the picture of the Sword of Judgment on his body flew out on its own and decapitated the snake.

Seeing the Sword of Judgment hovering in the air, protecting Promise, Artemis finally realized and looked at Themis in great surprise.

Themis was the goddess of justice and the respected judge even among the gods.

So she was genuinely astonished that the meticulous Themis would care so much about the fragile boy, even giving him her sword!

"Wait a minute... if he has your sword, why is he still going deeper into the forest instead of hunting that bastard?"

As she said this, Artemis turned her gaze to the other side of the hunting ground.

At this time, Atalanta had actually already found the giant deer from Artemis's oracle... to be precise, many people had found it.

It had been nearly an hour since the hunting ritual began.

At the same time, Atalanta finally understood the source of her vague unease.

Because it was not a giant deer, but a... monster!

Angry, pained, and sorrowful roars echoed through the ancient forest.

Under the light of the full moon, standing on two legs before the hunters was a giant stag-man.

He had huge antlers on his head, a long, slender neck, long pointed ears, and spotted fur covering his body.

His eyes were blood-red, his entire being exuded an aura of doom, and he was already stained with fresh blood.

Beside him lay hunters who had tried to stop him, now writhing in agony... indeed, he was Actaeon, the one Promise sought, transformed into a monstrous stag by Artemis's curse!

About half an hour after the hunting ritual began, the hunters spotted his massive figure.

They had been pursuing him ever since.

The giant stag swung his hooved hands with terrifying strength, the mere gusts of wind from his movements making it difficult for many gathered hunters to stand their ground.

Among them, only the red-haired youth Meleager could stand before him!

Meleager stood bravely in front of the monster, holding a sword, his eyes showing no trace of fear.

Yet, for some reason, listening to the monster's mournful cries, he felt an inexplicable sorrow in his heart...

Actaeon would be killed by his friend, dying in his friend's arms.

This was the prophecy given by Clotho, the goddess of fate.

And the one who would undoubtedly kill Actaeon, according to that prophecy, was Meleager.

"Beautiful huntress, please help me, stop it!"

Standing in front of the monster, Meleagros urgently called out to Atalanta, who was hidden in the shadows, shooting arrows, "We can't let it escape, or Promise will be in danger!"

Hearing this, Atalanta frowned deeply,

But what surprised both of them and the surrounding hunters even more was that the monster, which had been fleeing, suddenly stopped.

The giant stag turned its head, its blood-red eyes looking at Meleager.

The latter was stunned, for in that moment, he saw a human-like surprise and confusion in the monster's eyes.

...What is happening to me?

Meleager shook his head fiercely, then charged forward with his sword, shouting loudly, "Stop it! Under the witness of the great goddess Artemis, we will surely achieve victory!"

Facing Meleager, who was charging at him with a sword, the stag, upon regaining its senses, saw the red-haired getting closer and closer.

In desperation, it finally grew fierce, leaping heavily and slamming its hooved hands onto the ground.

The terrifying force caused the ground to shake instantly, like a small earthquake, making it hard for anyone to stand steady.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the stag leaped over Meleager and quickly disappeared from his sight.

Even though Atalanta, the fastest to react, immediately got up and gave chase, within just two or three minutes, she was surprised to find herself losing him.

It wasn't that Actaeon, transformed into a stag, was faster than Atalanta; it was because Actaeon had lived in this area for a while and knew the terrain well.

Ultimately, with no other option, Atalanta returned to the group to report that she had lost him. Meleager, hearing this, was silent for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "It's not your fault, beautiful huntress. That monster is strange. It seems to possess human-like intelligence and is very familiar with tracking techniques of hunters...

But regardless, under the witness of the great moon goddess Artemis, we must drive it away, for the sake of honor and the mission of protecting the people!"

Meleager raised his sword high, becoming the leader of the group at that moment.

Although everyone present wanted the glory of killing the stag and meeting the moon goddess Artemis, seeing its strength, they naturally had nothing more to say.

"If there's a next time, I definitely won't lose him again!" Atalanta declared solemnly.

At this point, Athena, who had also been watching the situation, turned her gaze back and asked Artemis, who was sitting on the golden-horned deer, "Artemis, did you say something just now?"

Athena's voice brought the goddess back to her senses.

After glancing at Athena, she naturally looked at Themis, the goddess of justice...

"I said, since that child has Themis's sword, why doesn't he just kill that bastard and complete the hunt..." Artemis repeated her earlier question.

"It's simple, because he would never use that sword against the hunting ritual's prey," Athena answered with a smile.

Hearing this, Artemis didn't ask why.

She just tilted her head in confusion and said, "In that case, doesn't he have even less of a chance?

The one who should come to me tonight... should be that child."

As she spoke, Artemis pointed to Meleagros, who had already become the leader and was commanding the group to pursue the monster.

Athena didn't refute this.

She simply smiled and turned her golden eyes towards Promise.

Then, as if she had discovered something, her smile grew even wider.

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At this moment, the full moon's light was shining down on the boy.

His black hair was slightly damp, and drops of water from a small pond trickled down into his collarbone... He had taken some time to clean himself of the debris he had picked up while traversing the forest.

"This should be enough, I think."

Promise said this as he found a large stone beside the small pond and sat down on it.

He looked up at the bright full moon in the sky, then looked down towards the path descending the mountain.

"From here, even if Meleager tries to catch up, it should take him some time."

After speaking, he pulled out a golden apple from the luggage he had prepared earlier... Themis, the goddess of justice, had given him two, and the goddess of fate, Clotho, had given him one last night.

Thus, he now had three in total.

Promise finally ate one of these golden apples given by the goddesses.

Closing his eyes, he quietly felt his body recovering.

Soon, when he opened his eyes again, his energy and spirit were undoubtedly at their peak.

He turned his head to look at the Judgment Sword, which had been silently floating beside him, protecting him.

"Thank you, Goddess Themis."

As he said this, Promise reached out and gently touched the Sword, which then transformed back into a canvas and fell into his hands.

After putting it away, he placed his hunting bow and arrows aside and then picked up the silver lyre.

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Soon, Promise became familiar with the silver lyre in his hands as a faint smile appeared on his lips.

He relaxed completely, once again slowly closing his eyes, recalling the teachings he received on the mountain from the centaur sage Chiron and the man whose music moved even the gods of the underworld, Orpheus.

Before long, he began to gently pluck the strings of the lyre, softly humming a beautiful melody, letting the sound of the lyre gradually fill the quiet, dark depths of the ancient forest.

"...I see." Athena, with her golden eyes reflecting the scene before her, smiled again.

"His hunt... has begun."

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