Cap of Invisibility

Clotho, the gentle goddess of fate, held the crystal ball containing Promise's destiny, standing at a loss.

Because when Promise agreed to Apollo and his fate intertwined with Orpheus', she saw the thread representing Hades' fate intertwine with his, despite her countless attempts to stop it.

And this was just the beginning.

When the thread of Persephone's fate also intertwined with Promise's, everything began to spiral out of control.

At that moment, both Clotho and her sickly sister Lachesis, and even their emotionless elder sister Atropos, were stunned for a while.

Because then, one, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand... Yes, countless threads of fate intertwined with Promise's.

They wrapped around the crystal ball containing his destiny, yet no future could be seen extending from them...

The three Fate Goddesses' knew what this meant.

It meant that Promise's decisions would determine the futures of these people.

These people might die because of his decisions, or they might have more beautiful futures.

And this wasn't the first time the three Fate goddess' had seen this.

During the pure white courtroom, when Promise was making his judgment, they had seen a similar scene.

But even then, it wasn't as exaggerated as it is now!

Since that day, Clotho had been tirelessly trying to grasp and foresee Promise's fate.

In just a few days, she had seen hundreds of thousands of different outcomes without resting.

But no matter how different the processes were, the results were surprisingly consistent.

They were all the results that Clotho, the goddess of fate, least wanted to see!

"Why doesn't she tell Promise everything?" Atropos, the emotionless sister, stood quietly at a distance, watching Clotho's efforts and asked the sickly Lachesis beside her, confused.

"She probably doesn't want to put the child through such a difficult choice and wants to try to help him," Lachesis said, coughing twice.

Despite her pale face, she smiled.

After all, seeing Clotho, who hadn't left the temple in centuries and tried to emulate Atropos to be emotionless, show such an expression was heartwarming for Lachesis.

While feeling sorry for Clotho, Lachesis was also happy for her.

"...Then why didn't we forcibly stop everything from happening in the first place?" Atropos asked after a while, looking at the crystal ball.

"If we could have stopped it, I would have long ago. But this fate didn't start today. The seeds were sown during the trial at the white courtroom that day," Lachesis said, glancing at her.

"Back then, Clotho

prevented it, maybe intentionally or maybe not.

But that's fate; it's inherently unpredictable.

Even we can only watch over it, not control it. Even if we avoid it temporarily, it will come back and could become... even worse."

Having said so much, Lachesis almost fainted from exhaustion.

"So, what do we do?" Atropos asked, bewildered.

"What do we do?" The latter looked at her logically-minded but emotionally clueless sister in frustration. "We aren't Clotho.

Why should we let our sister suffer? We do what we must!"

Thus, Lachesis and Atropos took advantage of Clotho's distraction and quietly left the temple, with one going to the gods and the other to the human world.

...

...

At the crossroads by the grave at the entrance to the Underworld,

As the night passed and the next day was drawing to an end,

Promise finally returned to the mortal world, carrying the Underworld lantern.

As soon as he came back, he was surprised to find that the goddess he met last night, who helped him go to the underworld, was standing under a tree waiting for him.

Because she wore a black veil, Promise couldn't see her face clearly and only caught a glimpse of her very beautiful red eyes.

Before he could speak, she stepped forward, took the Underworld lantern from his hand, and with a sudden burst of Underworld butterflies, this goddess disappeared right before Promise's eyes.

"Strange, did I miss something and make her angry?"

To be honest, this was the first time Promise had encountered such an ungracious goddess, so he was momentarily puzzled.

What he didn't know was that she wasn't angry; she just disliked him.

Yes, this goddess found him troublesome because, from the moment she first saw him last night, she knew he was a problematic individual!

This goddess is Hecate,

She is a very special goddess in ancient Greek mythology.

Although she resides in the Underworld, she is not an Underworld deity.

Strictly speaking, she doesn't belong to any faction.

She is the three-faced goddess of opportunity and also the goddess of magic in Greek mythology, the creator of magic.

Moreover, she is the teacher of the witch Medea, who is at the end of the Golden Fleece journey.

At the same time, one must remember that this world is Type-Moon, so for a goddess who is the creator of magic in the Age of Gods, her strength needs no further explanation.

And it just so happens that she is also one of the controllers of fate, and the one she controls is the most special aspect of fate.

So, when she saw the chaotic fate around Promise last night,

There was only one thought left in the goddess' mind, which was to stay away from this guy!

Promise, of course, didn't know any of this.

Although he was puzzled, he didn't pay too much attention.

Anyway, it would be better if every Goddess ignored him, especially virgin ones.

He looked at the sky, where the sun was about to set, and returned to the small town before nightfall.

From a distance, he saw Orpheus and found that the man no longer appeared as he did last night, drunk and despondent.

Upon waking in the morning and learning from others that Promise had indeed come looking for him, seen him in such a state, paid his bar tab, and retrieved his lyre, a deeply ashamed Orpheus had tidied himself up and waited anxiously at the town gate for him all day.

Seeing Orpheus from afar, who seemed to have regained his spirit, Promise waved to him, eager to share the good news.

Promise indeed brought back good news because in the Underworld, not only did Hades agree to his request, but he also provided him with a very powerful artifact to help bring back Persephone.

That would be his Helm of Invisibility.

This is a terrifying artifact that even the king of the gods, Zeus, cannot detect!

But at this moment,

"I finally found you."

A familiar yet unfamiliar weak voice sounded in his ear.

Curious, Promise turned his head, only to have the delicate body of the fainting goddess fall into his arms... To find Promise, the goddess of fate, Lachesis, had really exerted herself.

She had walked over a thousand steps!

When Lachesis, who was proficient in fainting, finally woke up and opened her eyes, the sky had already darkened, and the night and stars hung high above.

She was lying on a patch of grass, her head resting on Promise's lap.

Realizing her situation, Lachesis did not feel ashamed of lying on the boy; she was even too lazy to get up for a moment.

After all, for someone who faints several times a day, she was used to this.

Initially, Clotho and Atropos would care for her and settle her down after she fainted, but now they just let her wake up wherever she collapsed.

After all, she was a goddess; she wouldn't die from it.

As she blinked and slightly raised her head to look at Promise, the movement caught his attention, and he looked down to see that she was awake.

Seeing her awake, Promise was about to speak.

But she suddenly put on a serious expression, and, with a weak voice, said, "Promise, you have brought shame to the goddess of fate because of you."

This somewhat distant remark made Promise pause.

But before he could react, she began coughing violently with a hint of laughter.

Seeing this, Promise quickly helped her sit up and, looking worriedly at her, who was coughing but still laughing, couldn't help but say, "Lady Lachesis, are you alright?"

"You remember me," Lachesis weakly smiled at Promise, "Such a good child, but..."

Looking at the boy, she couldn't help but tease again, "Before worrying about a goddess, you should eat two more golden apples. You are as delicate as a flower."

After saying this with a smile, under Promise's somewhat speechless gaze, she almost fainted again from the excitement.

"Lady Lachesis, may I ask why you are looking for me?" Promise asked to change the topic.

"What's the matter?" Lachesis, though speaking with difficulty, still smiled and blinked at him, "Were you disappointed it wasn't my sister Clotho who came looking for you? Have you always wanted to shame my lovely sister Clotho? But I understand, after all, my sister Clotho is the cutest in the world."

Promise didn't respond to that. Sometimes, it was indeed troublesome to talk to gods.

And he couldn't deny Clotho's cuteness.

Seeing his reaction, Lachesis couldn't help but laugh more, but her eyes gradually turned serious.

"Promise."

She softly called his name, quietly staring at him.

Though her face still bore a weak smile, her voice was light and serious, "Do you remember your promise to Clotho... that you would show her a more beautiful future?"

Promise nodded.

Seeing this, Lachesis smiled and beckoned him closer.

When he did, she patted his head and said, "But actually, I always wanted to tell you that you shouldn't have walked this path... But now it's too late. No one expected you to actually do it and come this far."

"But child, have you ever thought about how steep and rugged this path is? It's a future that no god can foresee, and now the choice of fate... has come before you again."

---

...