Prometheus’ cloudy eyes gave the impression that he was looking into a distant place, as if he were not here.
It wasn’t just a feeling.
He was actually looking at something far away, not at me.
‘The one who thinks first.’
A prophet with the foresight to predict the present while looking into the future.
He was a being who held the secrets of the world that even Zeus, the king of gods, did not know.
If anyone could provide an answer to my question, it would be him.
“I came to ask you something.”
“Then release me.”
I fired Napoleon’s gun at the eagles that were tearing at his liver.
Bang~! Bang~!
Screech! Screech! The eagles screamed and flew away.
Then, I summoned the Twin Dragon Sword and cut the chains that bound Prometheus to the rock.
I did not hesitate in my actions.
Prometheus’ release was a predetermined event in history.
One of the ways to solve the puzzle during Heracles’ 11th labor, to retrieve the Golden Apples of Hera, was the liberation of Prometheus.
Although the protagonist changed, the quest allowed this as long as it did not alter the major events of history.
Most importantly, Prometheus, who could foresee the future, had permitted my actions, which gave them legitimacy.
Screech
The chains that had bound Prometheus for so long fell away.
The chains had once bound a god, but no longer did they carry the anger of Zeus.
For Zeus had forgiven Prometheus for revealing one of the world’s secrets.
He had simply been waiting for someone to come and release him.
Screeeech-
When Prometheus was freed, the chains that had bound him shrank into a small ring.
He placed the tiny chain-ring on his finger and spoke.
“Typhon’s remnants are still in the world, and they have changed his children.”
Typhon.
A chaos born from Tartarus, the father of all monsters.
The evil god who almost destroyed Olympus by himself.
The monster who was sealed beneath Mount Etna by Zeus.
Though sealed underground, the essence of the evil god still remained in the world, influencing his children.
This was a parallel world deviating from the canon.
Knowing the truth, I found myself troubled.
If what Prometheus said was true, then it would have been difficult for Heracles to defeat the Hydra.
The Hydra was a monster that Heracles could not fully defeat, even with the help of his nephew.
And now, the Hydra had grown stronger, with three additional heads.
Even if Heracles could defeat the enhanced Hydra, it was hard to believe he could overcome the remaining ten trials on his own.
The monster guarding the Golden Apples, Ladon, and the hellhound Cerberus were even stronger than the Hydra.
Even if he could overcome the trials, it would take an incredibly long time.
And I couldn’t be with Heracles for those long years.
‘I need to change the terms of the quest.’
Zeus was out of the question.
He remained silent despite knowing everything.
And Hera was even less likely.
She hated Heracles so much that she had cursed him with madness.
The only gods who could change the terms of Heracles’ labors, apart from Zeus and Hera…
‘A god who can change the laws set by the king of the gods… does such a god exist?’
Even if one existed, it was uncertain if they would grant my request.
As I was caught in these thoughts, I was suddenly spoken to.
“Go find the Three Sisters of Fate.”
Prometheus said to me.
‘…The Three Sisters of Fate.’
The Three Sisters of Fate, as Prometheus called them, were the Moirai.
The goddesses who control the thread of life.
The first, Clotho, spins the thread, the second, Lachesis, measures it, and when it is time for life to end, the third, Atropos, cuts it.
Their decrees were absolute, and even Zeus, the king of the gods, could not defy their fate.
They were the only beings in the world who were beyond Zeus’ influence and could overturn even the rules set by him.
But the Moirai were not beings one could find simply by wishing.
They existed not in a physical space but in a conceptual place called the ‘garden of intertwined fate.’
“How can I find them?”
“You will naturally know in due time.”
Prometheus smiled as he placed his hand on my shoulder.
It was as if he was thanking me for freeing him.
When the smile faded, Prometheus was gone.
Screech! Screech!
Only the returning eagles circled around the rock where Prometheus had disappeared.
“I forgot to ask about Hera’s madness.”
Well, Jeanne would take care of that, so it didn’t matter.
Having received the answer I sought, I descended from the mountain.
I had to meet the Three Sisters of Fate.
When I returned after meeting Prometheus, Heracles was in the house prepared for him by King Mycenae, touching the skin of the Nemean Lion.
Heracles tried to cut the skin, but it showed no sign of being cut.
I offered him advice.
“You should use the lion’s claws to cut it.”
“The lion’s claws?”
“Yes.”
To cut the Nemean Lion’s skin, you had to use its own claws.
The skin was tough enough that even a regular sword couldn’t scratch it, but the claws of the lion could pierce it.
In the myth, Heracles struggled for days without being able to cut the skin, but he succeeded when he used the lion’s claws.
Now, Heracles was beaming as he pulled out the lion’s claws and cut through the skin.
“Ho, so this is how it works.”
“How do you feel?”
“I definitely feel better.”
The amber-colored pupils of Heracles, which had once been clouded with madness, had cleared up considerably.
While madness still lingered in him, it was no longer to the point where we couldn’t communicate.
For the past few days, Jeanne had been purging Hera’s madness.
“Jeanne, Vanesha.”
I summoned the two of them and made my request.
“Seojun, did everything go well?”
“Yes, it went well. But I’d like to ask for Heracles’ purification.”
“Understood.”
After asking Jeanne to purify Heracles, I turned to Vanesha.
“Vanesha.”
“Shall I make clothes from the skin?”
“Yes, just enough to wear. You know how it is, Heracles.”
“What about for the silver coin?”
“I’ll receive it as a reward later, so it’s fine.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to use it.
The Nemean Lion was the child of the evil god Typhon.
Its skin was far from ordinary.
With the curse of the beast, even a small amount of influence could make it poisonous to humans.
Even Jeanne’s holy power couldn’t purify this beast’s skin, so it had to be handled with care.
But since it was Heracles, he could wear it without concern.
‘It hasn’t been turned into an artifact yet.’
But the bigger question was how to meet the Three Sisters of Fate.
Prometheus had said that I would naturally find out soon, but the “Hydra” hunt was already fast approaching.
Hercules looked like he was about to leave as soon as he put on the lion’s skin.
I was barely holding him back under the pretext of purifying his madness.
‘As early as tomorrow.’
At the latest, the day after tomorrow.
Hercules would leave for the Lernaean swamp to hunt the Hydra.
Before that, I had to find a way to meet the Three Sisters of Fate.
Thinking about how to keep Hercules from leaving, I fell asleep.
And then…
— “It’s the 68th year.”
— “Its time is up. Cut it.”
“Okay.”
I woke up to the sound of someone whispering.
The scene unfolding before my eyes was rather bewildering.
I was definitely falling asleep inside the general store.
It was an indoor space, not outdoors…
But when I opened my eyes, I saw the Milky Way spread out before me.
‘Milky Way?’
An ocean of countless stars was so close it looked like it could fall at any moment.
When I looked down, another Milky Way was spread beneath me.
And when I turned to the side, I saw a misty, clear lakeside.
A strange and mysterious space that I couldn’t quite define.
“We have to cut it.”
“Apollo begged us to spare it.”
— “Can he find a replacement?”
— “Let’s wait and see.”
— “Okay.”
The sound of whispers came from beyond the lakeside.
In front of the loom of fate, three beautiful women were handling the threads of life.
The moment I saw them, I knew this was the “Garden of Woven Fate,” where the Moirai resided.
— “You will naturally find out soon enough.”
Prometheus had smiled kindly while placing his hand on my shoulder.
The god who created mankind.
He had brought me to the Garden of Woven Fate, where the Moirai lived.
I silently thanked Prometheus and rose to my feet.
The three sisters, unaware that a stranger had entered their garden, continued weaving the threads of fate as always.
Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis measured the fate, and Atropos cut the thread to signal the end.
The operation of the world was being determined by the hands of the three sisters.
Suddenly, I saw a single strand of thread lying at Clotho’s feet.
It must have been someone’s fate that Clotho had accidentally dropped.
But even the Moirai’s “mistakes” were still “fate.”
I picked up the fallen thread and approached the Moirai.
Only then did the three sisters realize that a stranger had entered their garden, and they all turned toward me at once.
“Who are you?”
“How did you get in here?”
“I sense Prometheus’s energy.”
“You dropped this thread.”
I showed them the fallen thread. At that, the sisters’ eyes widened.
“Clotho, did you drop the thread?”
“We’ll have to measure the length again.”
“But how could that human touch the thread?”
“How did he touch it?”
It seemed that only the three sisters were allowed to touch the “thread of fate” from the loom.
But…
“I don’t feel any fate.”
“Really. There’s no thread.”
“How is this possible?”
The three sisters stared at me in disbelief.
Then, as if trying to find my thread, they began searching through the loom.
But in the end, they couldn’t find my thread of fate.
It was only natural.
The thread of fate from my parallel world couldn’t possibly exist in this world’s Moirai.
To them, I must have seemed like a heretical existence, detached from the loom of fate.
Unaffected by the rules of fate.
“I have a request.”
The three sisters, still whispering to each other, watched me cautiously.
“You returned the thread, so we’ll listen.”
“But only as much as you deserve for returning it.”
“Don’t touch the loom.”
“Please allow me to assist in Hercules’s Twelve Labors.”
At my answer, the three sisters froze.
“Hercules?”
“Zeus’s son?”
“Hera?”
Then they began discussing among themselves.
“Maybe we can extend it a little longer?”
“Yeah, that might work.”
“He brought back the thread. We can just measure the full length again.”
The whispers lasted much longer this time.
But I wasn’t worried.
The Moirai were goddesses beyond Zeus’s influence.
They were fate itself—unavoidable by anyone.
Sure enough—
“For someone outside the thread, we will allow participation in the labors.”
“But only for those without a thread.”
“Any more than that would cause the threads to tangle.”
“Understood.”
“Then leave now.”
“Goodbye.”
“It was nice meeting you.”
My vision blurred.
— Remember. Only assistance. The one to complete the task must be Hercules.
The Moirai’s warning echoed in my ears.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the general store.
I thought it had been a dream, but I soon realized it wasn’t.
“The content of the task has changed.”
That morning, Hercules’s first words upon visiting me were exactly that.