Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

“Yes, it’s a good place.”

The materials have been prepared and all necessary preparations have been completed.

The suspended chairs that looked like they were made of gold surrounded the temple. Bathed in the lingering scent of the sun's power, Hephaestus was very satisfied with the environment here.

Not to mention his temple in Olympus, even the power contained in the crater of Lemnos is far less than that here. This is undoubtedly good news for the God of Craftsmanship.

After all, as long as the materials are in place, he is confident that he can refine the artifact.

But he had never trained a human with the power of the Styx into a divine weapon or a human puppet.

Even for Hephaestus, this was a huge challenge.

If you are not careful, you may fail.

"Come on, let's get started... I'll give you this net as a souvenir."

"How is it, my cooking skills are pretty good, right?"

The gold net was not taken back, as it had already been exchanged.

Hephaestus showed no hostility, but instead smiled at Achilles.

"I heard that Her Majesty Hecate of Silvermoon City is the origin of witchcraft, and the original alchemy was also created there by a man named Hermes."

"In your impression, how does my skills compare to alchemy and sorcery?"

"Naturally it's far inferior."

"The Goddess of the Magic Web never thought that she was the pinnacle of witchcraft, and the ultimate of alchemy is even more difficult to guess."

"If you want to compare yourself with them, I'm afraid you're overthinking it."

Achilles spoke lightly. Although he didn't know the true level of the God of Craftsmanship, he still felt that the other party thought too much.

Not to mention anything else, just the stone box that sealed the divine sword Levadin was something the other party could not do.

"Is that so... maybe."

"If I get a chance, I'll go see it."

Hephaestus nodded slightly, not really angry.

After all, Achilles was going to be a dead man, and alchemy had not yet achieved any truly great success.

The conversation ended here, and the God of Craftsman waited silently in the temple.

As time passed, the shadow outside the temple gradually tilted.

When the sun reached noon, Hephaestus's face became serious.

He raised his right hand slightly, and an invisible force surrounded his palm.

Since the sun was sealed in the starry sky, the scorching sun moving in the sky has become three alternating suns, representing morning, noon and dusk respectively.

At this moment, the Temple of the Sun itself replaced the 'Noon' that was touring the sky, while the unused 'Morning Sun' and 'Dusk' began to emit their own power.

Three distinct flames of different natures then floated out from Hephaestus' hands. Together they formed a huge furnace that enveloped Achilles.

The power of 'Morning Sun' is added to 'Thunder Fire', bringing life to the destructive thunder and lightning; the power of 'Dusk' is added to the Earth Fire, making the flames of the lava in the earth's core more intense.

But the stove fire has no 'sun' to connect with, so it can only spontaneously attract the emotions entangled in the Temple of the Sun.

It turns the desire of all living things for the sun into fuel, forging heroes in the furnace.

For a moment, the three flames seemed to have achieved some kind of unity under the power of the sun, which had the same origin.

The space in the furnace seemed to be distorted beyond recognition, making it impossible to see what was inside.

But the next moment, Hephaestus felt a chill coming from the furnace, making him feel cold from the bottom of his heart.

"Styx...what a pity."

"If the Styx wasn't so repulsive to divinity, I would really like to use its water to quench fire."

His expression changed slightly, then relaxed again.

Through the flames that made up the furnace, Hephaestus looked at the figure inside.

If you want to start smelting, the first step is to weaken the power of the Styx in the opponent.

"There's actually no need for you to put up such a pointless resistance. After all, this is not the underworld."

"No matter how strong the power of Styx is, it cannot be infinite. Your persistence has no meaning except to bring you some pain."

If I could shake this mortal's will, maybe I would feel more relaxed.

However, although no sound came from the furnace, the power of the Styx did not diminish.

Hephaestus realized that his efforts were in vain, and the other party would obviously not give up so easily.

"It's up to you. It won't take much more time."

"Since this is your own choice, it's fine as long as you don't regret it."

After observing the situation for a while, I determined that nothing would change in the short term.

Hephaestus then sat back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

This is the first stage of forging. There is no technical content involved. It is just a pure battle of strength.

He didn't expect to completely eliminate the power of the Styx, but he had to at least suppress it first.

And this step requires sufficient time.

……

laugh--

The flames burned, and three different shades covered everything.

Inside the furnace at this moment, the surroundings of Achilles had changed drastically compared to before.

The golden net that bound him was removed and placed in the flames nearby.

Three different flame halos surrounded the hero, constantly colliding with the dark blue aura.

It was the power of the Styx that was wearing them down, and just as Hephaestus had said, Achilles did begin to feel a little pain.

However, this level of pain was obviously not taken seriously. Sitting in the middle of the furnace, Achilles waved his arm, and the stone box appeared in front of him after a flash of light.

"The sun... compared to the God King's thunder, its power seems to be even stronger."

Just as Hephaestus did not take him seriously, Achilles did not take the god of craftsmanship seriously either.

The flames were burning all around him, but if he had not been counting on the other party's so-called "tempering", the young hero would have drawn his sword and split the divine fire in front of him.

Even at this moment, he could feel the restlessness of the stone box.

The dormant artifact was longing for perfection, but Achilles suppressed this fluctuation. After all, now was not the time.

As the craftsman god of Olympus, he should have some skills.

Achilles didn't know, but he was willing to try.

Thus, in the endless flames, time passed slowly.

On the first day, nothing happened.

Even though he tried to consciously restrain the power of the Styx, Achilles was actually unable to actively control this power.

It merely passively protects its host rather than becoming a part of his power.

It is an impenetrable shield when threatened.

But it was obvious that the young hero could not actively control this shield that was powerful enough to resist divine power.

On the third day, the flames were still burning.

Even in the furnace, Achilles remained unchanged.

The young hero wondered whether the goddess of the underworld had noticed what was happening here or what plans she had.

But at least until now, the strength in him does not seem to have diminished, and he is still firmly resisting the divine flame.

On the seventh day, the change finally happened.

A small amount of never-before-seen material was thrown down from outside the furnace and landed next to Achilles.

In just a moment, they were easily turned into ashes by the flames and then sucked into the chest cavity in the form of smoke.

Achilles felt his blood flowing faster and faster, his strength seemed to have increased, and his senses seemed to have become sharper.

"This is a supplement for you, used to strengthen your body. You should have felt it."

"This is a formula I specially prepared based on your physique. It is a poison that is deadly to any living thing except you."

"But in your case, it can actually inspire your deeper potential."

Hephaestus' voice came from outside, and his voice was no different from before.

Strengthening this human body is also part of his plan.

"Oh, then go ahead."

Achilles accepted the offer calmly.

On the fourteenth day, Achilles, who had gradually gotten used to the dust falling every sunset, noticed something new again.

This time, the material that fell into the furnace looked like some kind of oily liquid.

When it fell on him, the young hero felt as if he had regained some sense of life.

The power of the Styx seemed to have really subsided - no, it did not subside, but it merged with him at a deeper level.

However, on the surface, the cold current that isolates the divine fire has weakened, and a little warmth is felt.

"bring it on."

His expression remained unchanged, for the young hero knew what the God of Craftsmanship was planning.

The power of the Styx will curb the power of the outside world, but if the divine fire is allowed to exert pressure from the outside and then processed with this special material, it may be possible for him to truly merge with the power of the Styx little by little.

By that time, he might still be immortal, or even harder to harm than before. But along with that, he might also reveal some flaws that he himself didn't even know about.

"Hephaestus...it seems he does have some skills."

"But if that's all we have, then I'm afraid it's still a long way to go."

With a vague sense of anticipation, Achilles waited in the flames.

This is a crisis, but also an opportunity.

If he wants to defeat death, every bit of this strength is an indispensable accumulation for him.

······

clang--

clang--

clang--

……

The bells rang, and another day passed on Mount Olympus.

In the blink of an eye, forty-eight days had passed since Hephaestus went to the Temple of the Sun.

In the past, even if he asked every day, the God of War only got the answer of "wait quietly".

That arrogant mortal remained unmoved by the divine fire and showed no signs of being refined.

A few days ago, Ares once wanted to persuade Aphrodite to give up, but this evening, he finally got good news.

The God of Craftsmanship has made a breakthrough in the concoction of that mortal.

Following this trend, it won't be long before he succeeds.

"Afu, you also received the news."

In a good mood, the God of War knocked on the door of the Temple of the Goddess of Beauty.

Because of a series of previous mistakes, Aphrodite had ignored him for a long time.

Fortunately, today's news has finally improved. Even without the help of the Mother Goddess, that damn mortal can't hold on.

"Of course I know. After all, if I still have to rely on you, I'm afraid I won't be able to accomplish anything."

Aphrodite glanced at Ares in annoyance and immediately saw what Ares was up to.

I have been neglecting him a bit lately. Although this nominal husband is a bit incompetent, he is still of some use after all.

The goddess of beauty knew that it was okay for her to scold him, but she always had to make him feel like he had gained something.

Just like gambling among mortals, it’s okay to lose money, but you can’t keep losing money.

Let the first person win money first, then let the bystanders follow him to his gambling table, and then let the subsequent people who follow lose their hands together.

Just when they are frustrated, give them some chances to win, so that those who stay will be glad and those who leave will regret it.

Back and forth, in the tug of war, the winner is determined and those who enter the game can never leave.

This is how gambling works in the human world, and it is also the same when dealing with gods like Ares.

"I'm tired."

Aphrodite spoke calmly, then turned and walked into the temple.

Although she seemed unwilling to communicate, she did not drive the other party out of the temple.

Ares' eyes lit up when he saw this and he quickly chased after him.

"Afu, wait for me."

As the night deepens, the moon hangs above the branches.

The flames of the Temple of the Sun are still burning, and the temples of the gods are always bright.

Kinabalu tastes part of the day and night, and today is no exception.

This night is still very long.