Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

"Spirit world?"

"I see. It seems that you wanted to ask the Lord of the Spirit World at first."

"After all, among the gods still active in the world today, my father is one of the few gods who has had a lot of contact with Him."

With a look of sudden realization on his face, Prometheus immediately reached out his hand.

The next moment, he took out a book with a purple cover from the darkness.

The dark purple cover is painted with dark patterns, and all kinds of negative emotions seem to be reflected in the viewer's heart through the words above.

Looking at the book, Hercules seemed to smell a pungent smell, but his reason told him that it was a complete mental illusion.

"What is this, is it what you said the man who told you I would come here gave you?"

Focusing his eyes on the writing, Hercules confirmed that he did not recognize the language.

But at some point, he felt that he was 'getting to know' it.

Just as if he was trying to understand it, it was also trying to understand the people watching it…Looking away, the great hero asked.

"Yes, that's what he gave me."

"He wanted me to use the knowledge above to teach you - but after thinking about it, I decided to just give it to you directly."

Reaching out his hand and handing the book to Hercules, Prometheus continued, "It is not easy to interpret it, but after thousands of years, I have understood most of it."

"The content above comes from a place called the Nine Hells. Its author is unknown, and this book is called the Book of Purgatory."

"It looks like a nice gift, but I don't believe there is any unprovoked preference in this world."

Taking the book, Hercules spoke slowly, and Prometheus nodded.

"Yes, I think so too."

"But it seems clear what that person wants to do - he seems to have a bad relationship with the King of Olympus, so he found me and wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife."

"Of course, he told me: 'In the future, a human being who has been deceived by the gods will come to me, and he has the power to influence the world.'"

"'He is full of courage, but he is torn between good and evil.'"

"'He has a firm goal, but he doesn't know that goal is the source of his pain.'"

"He hopes that I can help you in the way he wants. It can be seen that I am just the knife sharpener in his imagination, and you are the real 'knife'."

To be frank, just like we agreed at the beginning.

Prometheus did not conceal anything about his past, nor did he think that Hercules should not know it.

The hand that tried to turn the page of the book trembled slightly. Hearing this, Hercules took a deep breath.

The words of the Bronze Creator gave him a sense of déjà vu, as if some of his past guesses in his heart had been confirmed.

"What about this book? Can it help people reverse death?"

"Yes, it can do more than just reverse death."

"For me, it showed me a way to truly escape from this cage that held me here."

"It tells me that I am here at the will of Zeus, the god who sacrificed himself for humanity."

"Then theoretically, if I can find another being who came here under the guidance of Zeus, I can use the rituals in this book to deceive the order and escape from the dead."

"As a price, the part of me that is stronger than the substitute will remain here to maintain the operation of this ritual... To be honest, I did draw this ritual over the years, but in the end, I didn't use it."

With a slight sigh, Prometheus recalled his original mentality.

Perhaps the child who once informed the God-King just to gain eternal life also thought so.

It's just that Prometheus, as an immortal being, lived long enough to be able to withstand this temptation.

But as a short-lived human being, he finally made his choice.

"Ahem...I went a little too far for the moment."

"Hercules, what I actually want to tell you is that this book does record a lot of secrets, but for most of them, you need to actually see the real thing in order to 'understand' the words on it."

"Besides that, the knowledge in this [Book of Purgatory] is indeed all-encompassing, but most of it is much darker and more cruel than you can imagine."

"Life for life, power for power." Prometheus spoke slowly, word by word, "This book itself is not evil. It just tells you that everything has an order. If you want to gain something, you must lose something."

"However, the reason why life is life is that it always has some principles that go against the rules of nature, and the more intelligent the life is, the more so."

"Humans call it 'morality', but the rules of nature often conflict with morality."

"I can't decide your path, but I hope you ask yourself before making every decision, is this the result you really want?"

"..."

Holding the [Book of Purgatory] in his hand, Hercules could feel Prometheus' sincerity, and he also agreed with what he said.

For a hero like him, no matter it is a trial or atonement, what can really bind them is the morality in their hearts.

So the original mythical Hercules was willing to obey a mortal king who could be easily crushed to death with one hand, and complete various tasks under his orders.

The same is true for Hercules today. If he had given up his moral bottom line, he would not have had to cross the ocean.

"I will."

Nodding heavily, Hercules noticed that Prometheus's face had become paler.

Apparently, despite the help of faith over the years, he still couldn't leave his cage for long.

Looking at this scene, Hercules felt a little depressed.

Along the way, the great hero encountered almost no trouble.

No matter what kind of opponent he is, he will eventually fall in front of him.

But now, facing the absolute power and authority of the King of Gods, facing this god who knew he could not save him but still chose to help him, Hercules was helpless.

The invisible prison cell belonging to Prometheus was only an inch in size, and the opponent could not take even a step out.

"Hahaha... ahem... don't feel sad, you have extraordinary talent, and you are still young."

"Perhaps one day, you will be able to do something that will shock everyone in the world. When that day comes, even if I still stay here, I will be happy for helping you today."

There were laughter and coughs, and the bronze creator waved his hand gently, and Orleans, who had not woken up yet, floated from the ground to his side.

"Take your friends and leave. I don't have much strength left."

"...One day, I will rescue you."

Taking a step forward, I seemed to see the invisible barrier, the division drawn by royal power.

Hercules made a solemn promise, which was an oath he made to his own soul.

Prometheus smiled and nodded. For him, this was a rare happiness in thousands of years...

"—Wait, young man, you—!"

Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

Prometheus was a little dazed because his divine power was about to run out, and his body swayed. However, at this moment, Oileus, who had been unconscious in his hands, suddenly woke up.

With a strong push, the body of the forerunner was pushed away from the invisible barrier.

The only one left inside was Oileus.

"——Oleus, you?!"

The sudden change was so sudden that even Hercules didn't have time to react.

Why did Oileus do this, and most importantly, how did he hide the fact that he was not unconscious from both him and Prometheus?

You know, even in the human world, Oileus was already a hero of extraordinary strength.

But in front of two gods and a demigod who was almost invincible in the world, he still seemed so weak.

Everything changed in an instant. Hercules subconsciously wanted to move forward, but right in front of him, a purple line slowly emerged, blocking his way.

"boom--!"

That was the noise coming from the side.

Beside Hercules, Prometheus was also blocked by the line.

"Heh...it's better not to waste your energy."

"Hercules, isn't this wonderful?"

"I'll stay here, you guys leave."

"No matter how you look at it, this is a perfect ending."

In the center of the purple array, Orleans spoke calmly in a voice as calm as water.

There was no extra expression on his face, only a hint of relief.

"Oleus..."

The friend in front of him, with whom he had been traveling for several months, now made the hero feel a little strange, not only because of his sudden choice, but also because of his hidden means.

However, as if he saw Hercules' doubts, Oleus explained calmly:

"You don't have to think too much. At the beginning, I didn't come here with any good intentions."

"Your visit was just an accident, and I would actually come here again regardless of whether you are here or not."

"Hercules, you think you are very smart, but in your heart you still hold your own in your martial arts."

"You think I am far from being your opponent, so you don't have any defense against me."

"But you are too careless, hero of extraordinary martial arts. As the captain of a fleet sent here by the gods, others may be grateful for the kindness of the Creator and eventually leave the country where the gods believe, but how can I leave?"

"The one who is chosen to pilot this alchemical ship must be trusted by the church. Even if I really give up my faith, with my strength, how can the gods allow me to leave?"

"Besides, even if I take a thousand steps back, or even ten thousand steps back, and I succeed in leaving, how can I keep such a large alchemical ship that I can use to travel between the continent and the ocean?"

"..."

There was no way to refute it, Hercules had to admit that what Oileus said was right.

There are so many unreasonable things about the other person. In addition to these two points, there are actually many more.

But he had never taken these things seriously, or perhaps it was because of his inner arrogance about his strength... In front of Hercules, Oileus continued.

"...Heh, so there is only one answer. The gods are willing to let me go because they asked me to come here. That ship is reserved for me. Without you, there will be others who follow the Creator's footsteps and come here."

"As for why I was able to deceive your senses and pretend to be unconscious, it was because I had a treasure that imitated the Pluto's invisibility helmet, which could shield my own aura."

"In the original plan, I would lead a group of passionate young people who were pursuing the legend of the Creator, and let most of them sacrifice themselves during the journey. Finally, when they came here after surviving many deaths and met the Bronze Creator, I would use the grace of the gods to kill them in front of you."

"Finally, I will bring back a few people who regretted, gave up, and wavered along the way, and they will bow down before the statues of the gods."

"Then we will use 'facts' to tell the people of the continent that the legends about the Creator are all false. He is cruel, cold, and merciless."

He expounded calmly, but a chill ran through Hercules' chest as he listened to what Oileus said.

Confusing right and wrong, falsifying history, twisting the truth... no matter how vicious the words are, they are not enough to describe these.

Hercules opened his mouth and was about to ask the other party why he didn't do it in the end, but he didn't say anything in the end.

If he is simply afraid of my martial arts power, the worst that can happen is that he continues to pretend to be unconscious and returns to the mainland with me.

Since Oileus made this choice, it is obvious what he was thinking.

"...Don't look at me like that, Hercules. I may regret it soon."

“Human beings are always complicated.”

The middle-aged man smiled, then he looked at the bronze creator with a complicated expression.

Unlike Hercules, Prometheus knew that once the other party entered here in his place, there would be no possibility for the other party to leave.

"Haha... Creator of the Bronze Age, I want to ask you a question."

"go ahead."

Prometheus nodded, not knowing how many times he had sighed today.

"What I want to know is... after going through so much, have you ever been disappointed with the human race?"

"Probably... not."

"The Golden Age... that kind of perfection was just an illusion. The reason I left the Silver Age wasn't actually their sin."

"They are just artificial creations. No matter how perfect they are, they are still fake. Until the Bronze Age, I created them with my own hands."

“I liked them then, but now that I think about it, maybe it was more about liking their works.”

"But when I was locked up here, that love changed."

"Because I gradually discovered that there are very few people who make decisions like you. In fact, most people don't think they would be willing to sacrifice for anything else in their lives."

"But when a certain moment comes, there will always be people like you who make decisions that are incredible to me, others, and even themselves."

"And this is probably the greatness that distinguishes intelligent life from other species."

“No matter how dark it is, you can always find a little light in the corner.”

"..."

In the center of the sea eye, he took a step back and overlapped his body with the increasingly ethereal shadow of divine power.

Not sure if he was satisfied with the answer, Orleans just nodded.

"I see."

"Now, get out of here."

"Hercules, leave here and complete your great adventure."

"If you have a chance in the future, maybe you can come back and see me."

"When the time comes, tell me your legendary story."