Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

slam-la-

In the city of Eleusis, in a house not far from the temple.

The tall young man stood up and paced a few steps, then sat back in his seat.

The small room was temporarily converted into a prison cell, and the chains on his hands made noises as he walked.

The young man could notice that his every move was being watched by the soldiers around him.

Their eyes were alert and fearful.

It was as if the person in front of him was not a young man, but a ferocious beast.

"...I should have been more careful, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten into such trouble."

Hercules sighed secretly and felt a little regretful.

But he actually understood that he was not good at hiding his whereabouts.

Moreover, compared with being arrested, what confused him even more was the purpose of his trip.

Where did the goddess of agriculture go? She was unwilling to give up her holy land on earth and chose to stay in Eleusis.

And there were the 'bold and arrogant Athenians', whom Hercules had expected to see attacking the temple of the gods.

However, perhaps because the goddess of agriculture herself had abandoned this place, the Athenian army not only did not do anything to these temples, but also participated in the fire-fighting project.

The demonic fire that contains the breath of the abyss is difficult to extinguish, but in front of these Athenians, it was easily solved.

So for a moment, Hercules, who had just suffered a major blow in his life not long ago, was a little confused.

Following the guidance he received, he committed an unforgivable crime.

Therefore, he needed to show his extraordinary ability and wisdom to the gods, and preventing the Athenians from attacking the temple of the goddess of agriculture was one of his tasks.

Whether by words or force, as long as he could get the Athenian army to leave the temple alone and not try to imprison the goddess of agriculture, he would have succeeded in his mission.

But now, it seems that he has succeeded without doing anything.

After all, from beginning to end, the Athenians did not seem to be interested in a temple without gods.

"Actually, this result looks pretty good... But since the Goddess of Agriculture isn't even here, have I really completed my mission?"

"After all, I haven't even seen the goddess up to now, let alone help her."

slam-la-

He stood up again and took two steps dejectedly, causing the chains to make a series of noises.

In order to further confirm the whereabouts of the goddess of agriculture, Hercules was discovered by patrolling soldiers.

They seemed to think he was a dangerous person, so they detained him on the spot.

Hercules did not resist this, because compared to this mission which was completely different from the description of the gods, he did not care much about being imprisoned.

After all, Hercules didn't feel threatened by these shackles or these soldiers.

He can leave here anytime if he wants.

But what really made him choose to stay was that he heard that there were powerful alchemists among the top leaders of this army.

A wizard may not necessarily be an alchemist, but at least the alchemists of this era must be wizards.

The impression of wizards in the Western countries of the continent is that they are evil but wise, knowledgeable and keen on exploring the unknown.

As for Hercules at this time, he just wanted to communicate with a being with extensive knowledge, so he simply allowed himself to be imprisoned.

"Hoo—are you here?"

He let out a breath, and as time passed, Hercules keenly noticed that someone was approaching outside the temporary prison.

As expected, the top brass of the army noticed him, which is why he made no secret of the purpose of his mission.

Hercules was not a reckless man, on the contrary, he was actually very smart.

In the original myth, he was such a person.

The twelve trials were not always accomplished by force, so since the gods did not ask him to keep his trials secret, there was nothing wrong with attracting the attention of the Athenians.

"Boom-"

The door was opened and someone walked in.

The officer, who seemed to be of some status, looked at Hercules and then waved his hand.

"Are you Hercules?"

"I'm."

Nodding in response, Hercules also looked at the officer who seemed to have a stronger aura but was still fragile.

"Since it's you, then come with us. Someone wants to see you."

"Saving the goddess... you're the only one who can make that up."

There was a bit of disdain, but the officer tried not to show it.

He ordered the shackles on Hercules to be opened, and then motioned for him to follow him.

As for whether the other party would be able to resist after the chains were opened...what a joke.

It's impossible. Even those world-famous heroes cannot move freely in the army during a national war.

Well, absolutely impossible.

Feeling that his judgment was correct and after confirming that the person was not wrong, the officer turned around and led the way.

······

tread--

Tread-

In the empty temple, footsteps came closer and closer.

Ryan was standing not far from the statue that had collapsed in the previous battle, admiring the exquisite murals on the dome of the temple.

It has to be said that the existence of supernatural powers has made great progress in the art of this era.

This kind of relief-style architecture, in particular, is much more technologically advanced than its contemporaries.

The entire mural is exquisite and solemn, depicting the history of the agricultural church.

Those who played an important role in the development of the church are all here, and this is also the last trace they left in the world.

tread--

The footsteps stopped not far behind him, and Ryan turned slightly to shift his attention away from the mural.

In front of him was a tall young man with a strong build and a sharp gaze.

Just like the sculptures of ancient Greek gods in later generations, it displays a masculine beauty.

"Criminal Hercules?"

Asking despite knowing the answer, or just confirming again.

However, the young man did not feel anything wrong. After all, he was already unknown in the world.

"I am, but I'm not a criminal."

"Since arriving in this city, I have not violated any Athenian laws, or does your rule mean that any foreigner in Eleusis at this time is a criminal?"

It was as if some key words were triggered. Apparently, Hercules was very sensitive to the word "criminal" nowadays.

He could not deny his crime of parricide, although even he himself did not know why he did such a thing.

But beyond that, he would never admit to any sin that was not his.

"is it?"

"So you think that if you haven't made any mistakes, you're not a criminal and shouldn't be punished?"

"Is not it?"

Hercules asked back, but Ryan just smiled and pointed to the murals on the dome of the temple.

“Have you heard of the history of the founding of the Agricultural Church?”

"of course."

Although the history of the founding of each church is not remembered, the stories about agricultural churches are widely circulated because of the famous Eleusinian Mysteries.

Hercules naturally knew this. This is a story that proves the greatness of gods and the stupidity of mortals.

"If that's the case, then Hercules, the warrior who thinks he's innocent, I'm here to ask you -"

"Since you know this story, the prince who died, the goddess who brought the snowstorm, and the fate of each of them."

"So what do you think is their sin?"

Ryan responded with a smile, his tone neither hurried nor slow.

"The queen who lost her child, the prince who died, the goddess who was raped by the God-King and gave birth to children, they may have done wrong things, but they were all before the disaster. After they actually committed the crime, they were not punished."

"So what is the basis for establishing punishment and crime?"

"Because these are indeed unjust actions, but the king is the one who sets the order."

Hercules frowned, but such questions had explanations in this era.

Although not everyone agrees with this explanation, it is indeed one possible explanation.

“They can stipulate whether a thing is sinful or not, and then he and everyone else will abide by it.”

"The God King did not stipulate that raping gods is a crime, and the King did not stipulate that gods killing mortals is a crime. So their subsequent actions are naturally not crimes..."

"So in your opinion, if something is not considered a sin by the law, even if it violates the world's morality, folk customs, and the concepts in your heart, does it not need to be punished?"

Interrupting, Ryan actually didn't know why this version of Hercules completed the trial.

In the original storyline, he committed the crime of filicide under the temptation of Hera, but now he should not have any children.

But God’s methods are limited to those, so even though it’s unclear, there probably won’t be much difference.

"Yes."

Nodding in acknowledgment, Hercules said, "Since the rules don't stipulate that, then-"

The voice suddenly stopped, and at this moment, the young man suddenly realized a problem, because he himself seemed to be the same.

He did commit the crime of parricide, but the laws in the classical era often varied from country to country and from case to case.

And although people will make rules to make up for a mistake after it happens, they rarely learn from it.

Therefore, after Tantalus, mortals only listed "killing one's children" as a major sin, but did not stipulate other similar behaviors.

Of course, there may be a factor here that the God-Kings of all generations were persecuted as "sons", and then the sons killed their fathers.

In short, from a legal perspective, Hercules is actually innocent.

But this does not mean that he can convince himself, because at the same time, people of this era do not attach as much importance to the law as imagined.

Just like in the Han Dynasty in later generations, when a commoner killed someone to avenge his father, officials and people praised him and did not consider it a crime.

The more classical the era, the more morality is above the law.

So even though he did not break the law, Hercules still admitted his mistake from the bottom of his heart.

"...Okay, you're right. I admit that mistakes are not only those that are legally binding, but what do you want to say by telling me this?"

Looking at Ryan in front of him, the young man's expression finally became serious.

In the young man's heart, he has always been proud.

Although he rarely showed it, from an early age, when Hercules realized his unique powers, he knew that he was different from others.

Just like he stayed in this city occupied by the army without fear, and then faced the commander of this army with an equal attitude, which was actually a kind of subconscious arrogance.

It was not until now that he truly took this little-known Athenian seriously.

"I just want to say that in your heart you actually recognize your own morals more than other people's rules, right?"

"But the education you received since childhood tells you otherwise, so you feel constrained by it."

Nodding in his heart and looking at the reaction of the young man in front of him, Ryan was sure that he guessed correctly.

However, after all, he was still not sure what the "crime" the other party had committed this time, so he only touched upon it briefly and did not go into it in depth, but changed the subject.

"Well, whether you are a 'criminal' or not, young man, I can sense the extraordinary potential in your body."

"You are a very capable person, and your previous so-called mission, 'saving the trapped goddess of agriculture', no longer exists at all."

"So what are you going to do next? Continue to complete the so-called 'mission'?"

"...Yes, but before that, I would like to ask you a question. After all, I have heard about the wisdom of the Athenians."

There was a moment of silence, and Hercules put aside the argument about the 'criminal'.

And he remembered the reason why he chose to stay in Eleusis, and he also remembered the god who appeared before him in his pain and despair.

In fact, Hercules felt that the timing of the appearance of the God of West Wind was a bit of a coincidence, but he was sure that the other party could not affect his mind, even if he was a powerful god.

So he accepted the other party's trial request, but Hercules did not show much trust in the promise of the God of Wind.

However, mortals have their limitations. Even if he possesses innate powerful strength, he still cannot make up for the gap in knowledge with the ancient gods.

So he had to place his hopes in Athens, a kingdom famous for its wisdom and knowledge.

"Questions? Of course."

With his eyebrows slightly raised, Ryan smiled and said, "There is little in this world that I don't know."

"Whether in heaven or on earth, in the past or in the future."

"Of course, the pursuit of knowledge always comes at a price. So what do you want to know, and what are you willing to pay for it?"

"I came here to find the secret of 'resurrection from the dead' and a way for mortals to avoid death."

With his eyes sparkling, Hercules said solemnly: "If you can solve my doubts and help me find a way to accomplish all this, then please let the sun, moon and endless stars in the sky bear witness for me."

"Hercules will certainly repay your favor and defeat your enemies for you, as long as this does not violate the morality in my heart."