The Underworld

Orpheus, like Promise, was a student of the centaur Chiron.

As for his evaluation, Promise could only say that he was a very 'artistic' person. When talking to him, it was common for Orpheus to suddenly break into song and play his lyre spontaneously.

Orpheus possessed extraordinary musical talent, so much so that even stones and trees could feel sorrow or joy from his music.

While Promise's excellent lyre skills were taught by Chiron, Orpheus also played a significant role in his learning.

Orpheus had a devoted fan who was also his wife, the nymph Eurydice. She was drawn to Orpheus by his melodious music, and coupled with Orpheus being Apollo's son and having good looks, the two fell deeply in love.

The god of light Apollo said that Orpheus was like him, a passionate lover.

In this regard, Apollo's comment was accurate.

Orpheus loved only Eurydice in his life, which is why he ventured into the Underworld for her, and after failing, he died in sorrow, being struck down.

Therefore...

...

Bidding farewell to Apollo and the laurel tree goddess Daphne, the next morning.

Promise, finally able to rest, woke up after a night's sleep and was preparing to call forth Pegasus from the painting to continue his journey.

"Come on, little Promise."

The messenger god Hermes appeared, smiling as he handed a golden apple to Promise.

The latter accepted the golden apple and looked at him.

Although he showed no expression on his face, he was very cautious inside, as Hermes was famously clever and cunning in myths, the creator of trickery.

Moreover, this was Type-Moon, so there was an unwritten rule that anyone who looked good, had a bright smile, and squinted eyes was either secretly wicked or downright deceitful.

And the more deceitful they were, the darker they might be!

"Lord Hermes, this is your shepherd's flute," Promise said, taking out the dark-colored shepherd's flute to return it to Hermes after accepting the golden apple.

However, the latter waved his hand dismissively, "Didn't I say I was giving it to you? It's your reward for helping resolve the issue with Io."

"But I didn't resolve Io's issue. It was the kind and noble Queen Hera who forgave her," Promise said sincerely.

He knew very well that he had secretly caused tricked Zeus in the Io's matter!

Hearing this, Hermes glanced at Promise and then smiled even more brightly, "Don't worry, keep it. It's the reward you deserve, and... our great father has already shifted his affection to someone else."

Promise blinked, understanding that Zeus had a new target.

Seeing Promise still hesitating, Hermes continued to smile, "Besides, Athena has been watching all along."

Hearing that Athena was watching, Promise finally accepted the shepherd's flute.

Promise's caution was understandable; even though he wasn't afraid of death, the days with Apollo had worn him out!

And this was even with the help of the laurel goddess Daphne, who shared nearly 90% of the firepower.

Apollo has been like this, if he meets Zeus, the king of gods who is even more extreme than him, thinking of such a future, Promise thinks he might as well commit suicide.

Seeing the boy finally accept the flute, Hermes handed him a small package that he had prepared.

"Here, Promise. This is from Athena. She said you can't open it now; you must wait until the right moment."

Hearing this, Promise gave Hermes a strange look.

After a brief hesitation, he took the package and sighed, "It looks like my journey for revenge won't be smooth this time either."

"But isn't this the heroic path you chose, little Promise?" Hermes said, adjusting his feathered cap with a smile.

Indeed, this was the path Promise had chosen before the goddess of fate, Clotho.

After bidding farewell to Hermes, Promise once again mounted Pegasus and flew away.

As soon as he left, the wise goddess Athena appeared, stopping Hermes, who was about to leave.

"Wait, Hermes! Do you have any more golden apples? Give me a couple!"

Seeing Athena urgently speaking to him, Hermes spread his hands, "None left."

"None left?" Athena frowned, full of disbelief.

"Really, that was the last one," Hermes explained, thinking for a moment before adding, "Recently, Hera has been keeping a close watch on the golden apples. No one can get any, so I really have none left."

Not only that, Hera recently publicly stated that no one is allowed to give the Golden Apple to Athena, and anyone who gives it to you will face her wrath...

Seeing Athena's frustration, Hermes couldn't help but find it amusing.

The wise goddess was having a tough time!

"Tch!" Athena clicked her tongue in annoyance, "This can't go on. I have to think of a way!"

With that, knowing she couldn't get any golden apples from Hermes, Athena turned and left.

Watching Athena leave in a hurry, Hermes looked in the direction Promise had gone.

He couldn't help but wonder why he didn't find this boy earlier.

Ever since he met Promise, Hermes felt that life was becoming more and more interesting!

.

.

.

Three days later,

Promise found himself face-to-face with Orpheus... Although he had never been troubled by getting lost before, it usually took him at least half a month or even longer to find someone.

Pegasus didn't know who Promise was looking for or where to go, but every time they were about to set off, a certain goddess would mark the coordinates for it!

Promise found Orpheus in a tavern in a remote village one night.

When he saw the man, he couldn't believe his eyes.

The once dashing Orpheus had disappeared.

In front of him was a man drowning in sorrow and alcohol, who had even sold the lyre given to him by Chiron as a graduation gift to buy more drinks.

When Promise appeared before him, Orpheus thought it was a hallucination.

But even if it was, he desperately needed someone to listen to him, so he hugged Promise and threw up on him.

Between sobs and laughs, Orpheus told Promise what had happened.

It turned out that Orpheus had gone to the underworld two days ago, and he was appreciated by Hades, the god of the underworld, because the sound of his piano made the dead in the underworld shed tears.

But just like in the myth, he couldn't stand the loneliness along the way and was worried that his wife, the fairy Eurydice, had not caught up with him, so he finally turned back to look.

Therefore, what remained in Orpheus' eyes in the end were his wife's sad and tender eyes.

The fairy Eurydice did not blame him, but Orpheus also lost her forever.

It was obvious that this was not the first time Orpheus had told this to others, so when he finished speaking, what rang out in the tavern were not the sounds of sympathy, but bursts of laughter.

They told Promise not to believe it, calling Orpheus a madman, saying he was always talking nonsense.

After all, all Greeks knew that once someone went to the Underworld, they could never come back alive.

Promise didn't argue or get angry. Calmly, he cleaned himself up and took out the silver leaves given to him by the laurel tree goddess Daphne before he left.

Using the leaves, he retrieved Orpheus's lyre and got someone to help carry him to a room.

"Please take care of him. Tell him his friend Promise is here, and that everything so far has been just a nightmare.

Let him rest well, and soon the nightmare will end, and his wife Eurydice will return."

Promise handed over the money he had exchanged for the silver leaves as payment to the people willing to help.

Then, he left the village and went outside, where he opened the small package Hermes had given him a few days ago.

As soon as he opened the package, a butterfly with glowing wings emerged, fluttering around Promise twice before flying off into the distance.

If Promise didn't follow, it would stop and wait for him.

Following the butterfly, he arrived at a graveyard where three paths converged, accompanied by the distant sound of barking dogs.

At that moment, the moonlight shining on Promise was engulfed in darkness.

It was as if the moon above was being swallowed, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

From that darkness emerged a goddess holding a lantern, her face veiled in black, stepping onto the path of the Underworld to enter the mortal realm.

Beside her was a three-headed guard dog.

The guard dog's tail wagged excitedly because there were only a few times a year it could leave the gates of the Underworld and accompany its master to the mortal realm.

The goddess finally stopped in front of Promise, her crimson eyes quietly observing the boy standing before her.

The butterfly that had guided him here fluttered its wings and returned to the lantern she held.

"...Has Athena finally gone mad like her mother?" The goddess's first words left Promise dumbfounded.

"Do you think you, who are even weaker than a baby, can return from the Underworld?"

"Whatever, it's not my business. I have no interest."

Before Promise could respond, the goddess stepped forward and handed him the lantern she held.

"Don't let go of it down there. Cerberus, take him to the Underworld."

Upon hearing this, Cerberus let out a couple of pitiful howls.

"He brought honey cakes for you."

The three-headed hellhound stopped howling immediately.

After arranging everything, the goddess walked past Promise and disappeared at the crossroads.

Promise watched her disappear, unable to react.

He hadn't even had time to say a word until Cerberus, sitting on the ground, barked twice, bringing him back to his senses.

Seeing the three-headed dog sitting in front of him, all six eyes staring at him, Promise naturally knew who it was.

The guard dog of the Underworld in Greek mythology, Cerberus!

Seeing Promise staring at it without any other reaction, Cerberus barked twice in annoyance.

Its eyes then looked towards the package the boy was carrying, showing a hint of longing.

Following its gaze, Promise quickly understood and took out the package.

Inside, he found honey cakes.

In Greek mythology, honey cakes were Cerberus's favorite food.

It was a custom to place a honey cake in the coffin of the deceased so they could safely pass by Cerberus.

Promise's package contained three honey cakes, which he took out and fed to each of Cerberus's three heads.

Cerberus found it strange that someone as weak as Promise had the courage to feed it.

He didn't smell of fear but rather a hint of excitement causing it to look at the bot curiously.

But since Promise had given it three honey cakes, Cerberus decided not to mind the small details.

Wagging its tail happily, it turned around and started walking back.

After a couple of steps, seeing that Promise hadn't followed, Cerberus turned back, urging him with its eyes.

Seeing this, Promise hurriedly followed, though he regretted not having time to draw.

Yes, the moment he saw Cerberus, his old habit resurfaced.

Realizing he was straying further from the path of a traditional hero, Promise decided it was okay to be weak.

Being a summoner who could call for help during fights wasn't bad either!

With this mindset shift, Promise began to think it was a pity to have killed the Calydonian boar.

That boar belonged to Artemis.

He should have drawn it first and then had Artemis capture it.

In future battles, he could have used giants and boars to crush his enemies!

With such thoughts, Promise followed Cerberus along the path to the Underworld.

The lantern given by the veiled goddess illuminated the dark path, casting light on the poplar trees and red spider lilies on either side.

The underworld breeze blew, making Promise, who was just holding the lantern, feel a chill.

Without the lantern, that gust of wind could have kept him in the Underworld forever.

Cerberus continued leading the way, occasionally looking back to ensure Promise was following.

After an unknown amount of time, Promise finally arrived at the gates of the Underworld.

The gates were illuminated by two eternally burning divine fires.

Cerberus returned to the gates, placed the honey cakes down, and then, in Promise's sight, grew to a size as large as a small mountain, revealing its true form.

Cerberus assumed this would scare Promise, but instead, it saw the boy's green eyes practically glowing with excitement.

Feeling a bit disgruntled, Cerberus wanted to bark to assert its terror, but knowing it might permanently keep Promise in the Underworld, it refrained because of the honey cakes.

It lay down, yawned, and closed its eyes.

Its tail wagged, pointing Promise towards the gates.

Understanding, Promise reluctantly looked at Cerberus a few more times before entering through the gates with the lantern.

As soon as Promise left, Cerberus, with its ears perked to confirm he was gone, shrank back to puppy size and ran towards the honey cakes, drooling.

Soon, the sound of dogs fighting echoed... Even with three honey cakes, they fought over them fiercely!

The next step would typically involve meeting the ferryman god Charon and using the last ancient Greek coin in the package to gain passage across the river Styx.

But just as Promise arrived by the river Styx, before he could see the boat, he suddenly heard the sound of galloping hooves.