Several days later,
Pegasus soared through the sky, with the endless sea stretching below.
Promise was keeping his agreent with Hecate, the goddess of crossroads, and was taking dea along as they rode on Pegasus toward the island of Aeaea, ho to Circe, the
demigoddess of the moon and love.
The journey was smooth until they reached a narrow strait.
As night began to fall, Pegasus paused mid-flight, bringing the two down to rest by the strait.
Just as Promise lit a fire and the flas started illuminating the darkness, a splash of seawater extinguished it.
Then, under the moonlight tonight, a beautiful goddess walked out of the sea.
She wore a blue gown that matched her wavy blue hair, which fell gracefully down her back and her eyes shone with the deep blue of the ocean.
"Children, you cannot stay here. The fire will awaken Scylla, the sea monster who slumbers nearby. If she wakes, she will devour anyone who enters this place..."
The goddess spoke with a gentle, soothing voice, but her words faltered when her blue eyes caught sight of Promise's reflection.
She blinked in surprise, then smiled softly while bowing gracefully.
"But it seems my worries were unnecessary. Child of Queen Hera and student of the centaur sage, Promise, it is an honour to et you."
"I am Thetis, daughter of Nereus, the old man of the sea."
Nereus, the god of the sea, was the first god to erge from the sea in Greek mythology, a son of the earth and sea.
Before the current god of the sea, Poseidon took his place, Nereus was the ruler of the ocean.
And as for the goddess standing before them, she was none other than Thetis, the mother of Achilles.
Yes, this was Thetis, the wise and beautiful sea goddess known across Greek mythology for her beauty and virtue.
Looking at her, Promise's first impression was one of overwhelming gentleness.
In this way, she resembled Deter, the goddess of agriculture, though Deter's gentleness was rooted in maternal love, while Thetis's was an inherent, ocean-like grace that seed to embrace everything.
"Hello, beautiful goddess Thetis. May I ask, do you know who I am?" Promise asked, snapping out of his brief daze, curiosity lacing his voice.
At that mont, he did not imdiately recognize her.
After all, he had been in Greece for several years now, and while Thetis was important in the Greek Mythology, she did not stand on the sa level as the Olympian gods.
But had he t soone like Peleus or encountered Zeus, Promise would have rembered her.
In ancient Greek mythology, the king of gods, Zeus was haunted by a curse from the previous king of the gods, who prophesied that Zeus's children would be stronger than him and eventually overthrow his rule.
And Thetis was destined to bear a child stronger than its father.
This was also the reason why Thetis, who was so noble and beautiful that she was pursued by the gods such as Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo, eventually ended up marrying a human.
And because of this reason, the king of gods Zeus issued a death order, forbidding any god to touch the goddess Thetis.
Oh, and by the way, the famous event involving the golden apple-the fight for the 'most beautiful goddess' between Queen Hera, Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, and Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite happened at her wedding.
"I think any god would recognize you," In response to his curious inquiry, Thetis smiled gently and replied.
As she spoke, she glanced again at the 'marks' on Promise's body.
The aura of Queen Hera, Goddess of Wisdom Athena, Moon Goddess Artemis, and Goddess of Light Apollo was unmistakable-anyone would recognize such a collection of divine influences.
Besides, expect you, what other hero would appear as delicate as a blooming flower like this?
"Child, did you co here to defeat the sea monster Scylla?"
Thetis naturally assud that Promise, being a famous hero, was here for that purpose since Scylla was known as a fearso monster.
"No, that's not the case,"
However, the boy shook his head and looked towards dea.
Understanding his cue, dea stepped forward and said, "Greetings, noble sea goddess Thetis. I am dea, a student of the goddess Hecate."
Promise then explained that he was escorting dea to Aeaea to et the witch Circe.
Upon hearing this, Thetis blinked her ocean-blue eyes, a trace of surprise briefly flashing within them.
After thinking for a mont, she asked softly, "Dear girl dea, could you tell what your relationship is with the demigoddess of the moon and love, Circe?"
"She is my senior, and also my aunt, beautiful goddess," dea answered without any hesitation.
Just as Promise had sensed, the gentle deanor of Thetis would naturally put anyone at ease, allowing them to lower their guard in her presence.
"I see..."
Thetis lowered her head and remained silent for a while before looking up with a soft smile. "Two lovely children, would you be willing to listen to a story I'd like to share?"
As she spoke, the nearby seawater gathered into a lyre, which appeared in Thetis's hands.
She lifted the instrunt, gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and began to walk gracefully along the moonlit shore.
As she played, she narrated a story for Promise and dea.
The tale was about the sea monster Scylla.
In Greek mythology, Scylla was infamous, known as a source of terror in the depths of the sea, bringing death to all who ventured near.
But the story Thetis told was not about the fearso nature of this monster, it was about a
forgotten past.
Thetis spoke of a friend of hers, a beautiful water nymph.
This kind-hearted nymph once saved a fisherman who had fallen into the water.
When the fisherman awoke, he imdiately fell in love with her.
However, the lovely nymph did not return his affection and rejected his love.
So in order to win the love of the water nymph, the fisherman finally found the witch, Circe,
the demigoddess of the moon and love, for help.
The fisherman was quite handso, so Circe decided to assist him.
The fisherman received multiple opportunities to et the nymph thanks to Circe.
Over days and days of spending ti together, the water nymph finally started to fall for the
fisherman bit by bit.
But just as the nymph started falling in love with him, the witch,
Circe herself fell in love with the fisherman during those sa interactions.
And before the fisherman could confess his love to the water nymph, Circe confessed her love
to him first.
But such a typical act of a defeated lover naturally failed to win the fisherman's affection, so out of jealousy and anger, the witch Circe cursed the kind-hearted water nymph.
She cursed the water nymph into a terrifying monster, growing as tall as a small mountain, with tentacles sprouting from below, while her upper body turned hideous. Moreover, the witch Circe told the water nymph how to lift the curse, and it was very simple.
All she needed was a kiss of love from the one she loved.
It really was that simple, so the water nymph, full of hope, ca before the fisherman, explained everything to him, and hoped to receive his love.
The fisherman agreed and asked her to wait for half a day, promising he would return.
The water nymph did as she was told, but half a day... no, a week passed, and the water nymph
finally understood that she had been deceived.
Seeing how ugly she had beco, the fisherman beca frightened and terrified.
His original affection turned into panic, so he chose to flee.
From then on, the seas were haunted by a man-eating monster-that was the sea demon
Scylla...
When Thetis finished her playing and told the story, even Promise was stunned, let alone the Pegasus beside him, who even forgot to keep grazing.
... What a lodramatic story!
Promise was filled with emotion in his heart, and then he turned his head to look at dea
beside him.
But he was surprised to find that she was actually crying at the mont and seed to be
quite furious.
"It's too despicable, my aunt is really too despicable! I've decided, from today on, I won't call her by anything else; I'll just call her Aunt!"
"And that fisherman, beautiful goddess Thetis, please tell his na. I want to punish him,
I want to turn him into a pig and make him live as one forever!" dea said fiercely.
At this mont, she was nothing like her usual obedient and cute self.
This made Promise, who was watching in disbelief, start to doubt whether the sweet deanor she usually displayed in front of him was just an act...
Thetis smiled gently, approaching dea and softly stroking her hair, calming her restless
heart.
"Don't worry, child. That human naturally received the punishnt he deserved. But... a heart that has been thoroughly broken cannot be easily nded."
As she said this, Thetis raised her head and gazed into the distance with a sowhat sad
expression.
"Betrayed and cursed by the witch, she truly fell into becoming a monster. By the ti I learned of it and rushed over, everything was already too late."
Just as she said these words, the excited dea still wanted to say sothing.
But the strait suddenly began to shake violently.
The once calm sea now bore a massive whirlpool, and out of that whirlpool erged a
terrifying creature.
Its lower body was like that of an octopus, with massive tentacles, while the upper body was
in the form of a woman, though her face was twisted and monstrous, her head covered in
snarling, dog-like hair.
"Circe..."
Living in the deep sea, she had erged because she heard that na.
"Circe!"
The strait trembled with her rage, and the thrashing tentacles churned and agitated the
waters around her!
"Circe, Circe!!!"
...
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