"Golden Sword..."
Iver murmured, rapidly thinking it through.
Gold—that was the metal symbolizing the Hourglass. A sword, meanwhile, represented conquest and authority. It just so happened that the Herasul Empire also revered the Equilibrium Path, while being willing to embrace various other Paths and establish a human nation.
At the same time, before the Path of Authority had appeared, the Dedication Path, which symbolized civilization, and the Equilibrium Path, which symbolized order, had both been closely connected to humans gathering together and forming nations.
Before Hermes was "demoted to a mortal," he had been an apostle of the Hourglass. Even after becoming mortal, he had still retained tremendous power. Rather than a punishment, it was more like sending a disciple out to broaden his horizons. He only needed to live out one lifetime before ascending into godhood once more.
But Hermes had seen too much of the world—he had been captivated by The Fool's charm and willingly given up the readily attainable position of Subordinate God.
And taking into account the fact that "Heracles possessed astonishing strength as a child, but the more things they learned, the weaker that strength became"—Iver had personally witnessed Yulia's monstrous strength back at the Orphanage—this was highly likely to be a "protective mechanism" similar to the reincarnation of an apostle.
"...He gave the power of the Hourglass's apostle to Heracles?!"
Iver blurted out.
No wonder the Hourglass had wanted Yulia to become its apostle... It all lined up. Everything lined up! At that thought, Iver suddenly turned to look at Sherlock.
At the same time, Sherlock looked over as well.
Through this, they both realized even more—
Iver thought of something he had heard before: fate had weight. With each successive reset, the mass wrapped around him would grow heavier, like numerous stones placed