The Fate of Heroes

In the kingdom of Colchis,

Promise, Jason, and the others, holding olive branches as symbols of peace, soon arrived within the royal castle and were brought before King Aeetes, father of Medea.

Medea, however, was not with them.

Along the way, she had been taken aside by her mother, Idyia, who clearly had a lot to say to her daughter.

King Aeetes, the son of the sun god Helios, appeared a robust and regal figure—handsome, powerful, and exuding a radiance like that of the sun itself.

As the group reached the foot of the throne and prepared to speak, King Aeetes, whose gaze swept over each of them before resting on Promise, suddenly broke into a kind smile and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you must be Queen Hera's chosen hero, Promise, student of the wise centaur Chiron?"

His words made Promise blinked in surprise, and nodded instinctively.

"My great father, the sun god Helios, has already spoken to me about you and your purpose here, so I understand why you've come.

"And at the same time,Promise, I must thank you for protecting my daughter throughout this journey and bringing her safely back to me."

With that said, Aeetes rose from his throne and offered Promise a formal bow of gratitude.

Before Promise could even respond, Aeetes continued, "At the same time, I must apologize to you, because even so, I still cannot give you the Golden Fleece."

When Jason heard this, he couldn't help but frown,

After all, this matter concerned the oath with Queen Hera and the promise of his righful throne, so he couldn't help feeling unhappy at this time.

Promise, on the other hand, was not upset at all, after all, e knew a secret, one that even King Aeetes's own children might not be aware of.

When Aeetes first received the Golden Fleece, the gods had given him a prophecy, telling him that his life was bound to the Fleece.

The day it left this land would mark the end of his life.

In the original myths, Medea, in helping Jason obtain the Fleece, had not only brought about her brother's death but also indirectly caused her father's demise.

Yet despite all this, Jason later fell in love with another.

Of course, Medea's obsessive love for Jason wasn't just due to her own nature; it was also because Hera had enlisted Cupid to shoot her with an arrow, causing her to fall helplessly in love with Jason.

"In fact, I did not protect Medea. On the contrary, I received a lot of help from her along the way," Promise said, stepping forward and smiling as he addressed King Aeetes. "So, noble king, please forgive my presumption, but I cannot accept your thanks."

"As for the Golden Fleece, we understand that it is a sacred treasure of your kingdom, and our request may seem impudent and offensive. We are not robbers, but due to our vow to the great Queen Hera and the promise to help a friend reclaim his rightful place… Therefore we must seek your forgiveness and ask for the Fleece, and we are willing to pay any price for it."

King Aeetes did not look offended and nodded slightly.

After all, as he said, the sun god Helios had already told him the reason for everything.

Not to mention, King Aeetes actually had a good impression of the heroes who had arrived here from such a distant land, had overcome countless hardships on their journey, and had formed a bond with his daughter, Medea.

In fact, had it been anything other than the Golden Fleece, the king would have been more than willing to part with it.

"I've heard that in order to obtain the Fleece, one must first pass through three trials?"

At this moment, Heracles, who had already arrived earlier and learned some details about it, spoke

King Aeetes was stunned when he heard this, and then he looked at the heroes who were looking at him curiously, he hesitated, then sighed and nodded. "That is indeed the case."

"In fact, the precious Golden Fleece has long been consecrated to the great god of war, Ares," King Aeetes explained. "Lord Ares stores it in a sacred grove outside the city, hanging on an ancient oak, guarded by an ever-watchful venomous dragon that never closes its eyes."

"Three trials have been left by him for any heroes seeking the Golden Fleece. But... I truly wish I didn't have to tell you about them."

Hearing this, Jason was the first to speak unhappily: "Are you looking down on us? Do you think we are not worthy?!"

Aeetes was not angry when he heard this; in fact, he expected such a response, as Jason's attitude was typical of heroes in this age.

Especially the descendants of many gods, their words and behaviors were much more arrogant and domineering.

Due to the Golden Fleece, King Aeetes had encountered countless heroes with similar bravado and had gotten used to it.

"It's not a question of worthiness. I simply don't want to see you throw your lives away," King Aeetes replied calmly. "After all, you are my daughter's friends, and you've traveled here from distant lands. You're guests I hold in great respect."

"But, since you wish to know, I will tell you," he continued. "In a cave outside the kingdom are two divine bulls, left by my great father, the sun god Helios. They were born of the sun itself.

"These bulls are wreathed in flames of the sun, fierce and uncontrollable.

The first trial is to tame them and then use them to plow the field and sow the teeth of the venomous dragon."

"The second trial will take place at night.

From those dragon's teeth, soldiers of the underworld, known as the Dragon's Tooth Warriors, will sprout, numbering in the tens of thousands. You must slay them all within a single night."

"And the final trial requires you to enter the sacred grove guarded by the ever-watchful dragon.

It is a creature who is the pet of god of war, Ares and is said to be the offspring of the monstrous Typhon, the ancestor of all demons.

You need to defeat the sleepless poisonous dragon under the witness of the God of War Ares.

After speaking for a long time, King Aeetes finally stopped and looked at the now-silent heroes of the Argo, continuing with solemnity,

"In fact, I have seen many heroes come seeking the Golden Fleece but every one of them has fallen to these trials.

"I've watched them burn to ash under the flames of the sun, leaving nothing behind, more than once. But since the gods themselves have guided you here, I trust you will not give up easily—though I would not have you rush in blindly."

"Whether it's the oracle given to me by the Great Father God, or for my daughter Medea, and my admiration for you brave souls who've traveled so far, I have arranged a grand feast in your honor. Take time to rest before making your final decision."

Due to his love for Medea and the influence of Helios, King Aeetes was kinder than most rulers would be.

Jason and the others exchanged a glance but since they had no reason to refuse his offer, they accepted with a nod.

As the heroes were ushered away, a beautiful figure in emerald clothes suddenly pulled Promise toward the back of the group.

"Is something wrong, Atalanta?" Promise asked, looking at her in puzzlement.

Atalanta's beautiful emerald eyes met his, and she whispered, "The painting… the one of Ares, the god of war. Is it this one?"

Atalanta's question made Promise stun for a moment, but he quickly remembered that she was aware of his paintings—after all, she was the first hero he had ever painted.

So Promise didn't hide it, and nodded to confirm her suspicions, and then...

Then he saw that Atalanta smile, smile so radiantly, as though she'd been waiting a long time for this very moment.

.

.

Also, on that night, Jason had a dream.

In his dream, he saw the future that had originally awaited him, one far from a beautiful vision, in fact, it was a nightmare.

In this future, Jason's life reached its peak with the arrival of the heroes of the Argo in Colchis to claim the Golden Fleece.

Afterward, everything spiraled rapidly downhill, betrayal and bloodshed becoming the main themes of his life.

In the dream, he saw himself obtaining the Golden Fleece with the help of Medea, yet even after securing it, he was unable to reclaim his throne from his uncle.

Even worse, he betrayed and cheated on Medea, and his infidelity led to Hera abandoning him in disappointment but that was not it.

The enraged Medea, took everything from him, including the lives of their children.

So he had no choice but to live out his life in despair and loneliness, staying on the Argo every day, clinging to memories of his former glory, until, one day, he was finally killed by a wooden plank that fell from the Argo.

This was the tragic end of the hero known as Jason in the age of Greek myth.

At the moment he saw his own death, Jason awoke with a start, sitting up in bed, gasping for breath, with fear written all over his face.

"Just now...what… what was that?"

He instinctively touched his still-youthful face and looked at his hands, brimming with life, feeling a mixture of fear and confusion.

"That was your future."

A cool and slightly childlike voice spoke near him.

Hearing the voice, Jason subconsciously turned his head and saw the goddess sitting quietly in a quiet place by the window, holding a crystal ball in her hand.

"Or rather, it was supposed to be your future."

"My… future?" Jason stammered, staring at Clotho in shock and confusion.

Clotho nodded gently.

"You're…?" Jason began, then, as if recalling something, continued, "Wait, why do you look so familiar? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before…"

As he spoke, Jason's eyes slowly widened.

He remembered—he had seen her before, in Goddess Hera's temple back in his homeland.

Back then, after Goddess Hera had mistaken someone else for him, this goddess had appeared to address Hera, Promise, and himself, revealing that both he and Promise, were the two, who would bring honor to Hera.

She was Clotho, the goddess of fate who governed destiny among the gods!

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