Hero Remade in Heavenly Fire

Early morning.

Inside the palace of the God of Fire, Thaumas was crafting some trinkets in a spare forge.

Hephaestus did not take her hammer away, for she had no need of such tools when forging; her authority was already powerful enough.

This worked out in Thaumas's favor, allowing him to craft inferior divine armaments.

Yet, no matter how poor the quality, they were still divine armaments. If he ever became famous and they turned into his own Noble Phantasms, he would have struck gold.

Since he had time to kill, he decided to make something to arm himself.

The first thing that came to mind was his lyre, but it was a replica made by his teacher Chiron, and he lacked the skill to improve a god-forged object.

Next were his bow and arrows. Having previously obtained some venom from the Hydra from Heracles, he now intended to craft a batch of poison-tipped arrows.

He might as well temper the bow in his hand while he was at it; the old companion had been with him for a long time. Besides, with so many surplus materials here at the God of Fire's forge, using a bit of "trash" shouldn't matter, right?

Action followed thought!

He picked up Hephaestus's hammer, using it to channel the concepts of "fire" and "forging."

This was a little trick he had discovered himself, which saved a great deal of effort during the forging process.

He began by remelting the longbow, then pulled the bellows. Thanks to the God of Fire's secret medicines, he had no fear of the subterranean fire's erosion.

After a long wait, he skillfully fused the molten iron and bronze liquid from the original bow; a composite metal was the only way to ensure sufficient hardness!

Once it had slowly cooled, he took up the hammer of the God of Fire and struck the longbow repeatedly, gradually shaping it.

Under the influence of the "forging" concept, this step required almost no effort at all.

Next came the quenching, which was also completed successfully, though it now lacked a bowstring and had to be fitted with ordinary material instead.

Perhaps the God of Fire had some?

But he dared not touch anything he didn't recognize.

Thus, He repeated the process to make a batch of arrows, soaking their tips in the Hydra venom.

Strangely, the moment the arrowheads touched the venom, they absorbed it completely.

Perhaps this was the power of the "forging" authority, as he recalled that the Hydra venom did not have this effect on its own.

One more lethal weapon added to his arsenal!

As for other armaments, like armor, he did not bother.

He could feel that there wasn't much authority left in the hammer, so he hurried to craft one last item.

This was an offering Thaumas intended for the God of Fire Hephaestus, a token of gratitude—a small music box.

It was an invention that wouldn't appear until the 18th century, but he had made it now; if it ever spread, it would surely become a legend!

The music box Thaumas made was very delicate.

It was a cylindrical music box that used a rotating drum and a tuned metal comb to play music by plucking the metal teeth.

It played a peaceful lullaby, for he had heard from the little maid that Hephaestus often slept poorly at night, and he had prepared it specifically for her.

It stood about 10 centimeters tall with a diameter of 3 centimeters, and both the base and the sides were engraved with a solid gold seal depicting a flame and a hammer, representing the two great authorities of Hephaestus.

On the bottom of the front, he had inscribed the words: "For the beautiful girl, Hephaestus."

Thaumas did not write "Goddess," because in his eyes, the so-called God of Fire and Craft was really just a little girl!

Although she threw tantrums from time to time, the goddess was actually quite gentle; she simply wasn't good at expressing herself.

She was even bullied for her kindness, yet she remained indifferent even when the gods insulted her so. In his heart, Thaumas believed she was a kind-hearted goddess.

In Thaumas's impression, The Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite, certainly did not truly love the ugly, limping God of Craft, especially since they were both goddesses.

But there was no help for it; it was a marriage promised by the King of Gods, Zeus, and the Queen of Heaven, Hera, and the Goddess of Beauty had no choice but to comply.

In truth, Aphrodite had always loved Hephaestus's younger brother, the God of War, Ares, and they often met in secret whenever Hephaestus was away from home.

Hephaestus had once crafted an intricate golden net to trap them, hoping to humiliate them before the other gods.

This was Hephaestus venting the fury in her heart.

In the end, however, the gods only praised the love between Aphrodite and Ares.

They lauded them for ignoring worldly judgment and even breaking the shackles of fate for the sake of love.

After all, among the gods, many had been with Aphrodite, and no one was willing to give up on such a public carriage.

Helpless, she chose to let them go, which only served to ruin Hephaestus's own reputation.

More importantly, from that day on, Aphrodite hid in her own temple, refusing to come out or see Hephaestus.

Although Hephaestus held no affection for the Goddess of Beauty, she chose to step back for the sake of her reputation and the face of the gods.

Though, in truth, she herself did not care.

She went to see Athena, asking her for advice.

Athena pondered for a long time before telling her, "As long as you can create a piece of jewelry unique in all the world, you will surely be able to make Aphrodite have a change of heart."

(In the original Ancient Greece mythology, it was Hera she sought out.)

Thus, Hephaestus used the boulders of the sacred mountain and the holy fire of Olympus to forge a ring of peerless beauty, naming it "Loyalty of the Rose."

Hephaestus carved a rose, representing beauty and love, onto the ring, and then engraved it with thorns covered in sharp spikes.

It signified that love requires sacrifice and responsibility.

At the same time, it served as a warning to Aphrodite: "Do not forget the humiliation you once suffered; be loyal and devoted to Hephaestus."

Hephaestus took the ring to see Aphrodite, but the Goddess of Love still refused to see her.

She had no choice but to leave the ring on the steps of the temple. When Aphrodite saw the ring and understood the heart of the Smith God, she finally forgave her.

However, Aphrodite continued to go her own way, not caring in the slightest about Hephaestus's reputation.

Hephaestus, for her part, stopped caring; since she didn't care, doing this was merely a way to save face for everyone.

After all, someone always had to make concessions. Since the gods could not let go of their pride, they could only bully this honest soul.

Looking at it this way, the Fire God really was a simple and kind person!

She would surely love this gift!

This was the first piece of work a student had ever given to his teacher!

Thinking this, Thaumas packed up his things and happily walked out of the forge.

However, after he stepped out, "Why have you come here?" Hephaestus asked, looking puzzled. She then caught sight of the bow and arrows on Thaumas's back and said with disdain:

"You haven't even learned to walk, yet you've already started running! Do not say that I taught you to make these; it would damage the honor of the God of the Forge.

Furthermore, to craft something by your own hand instead of seeking help from the God of the Forge—you are truly foolish, though I suppose it is your own business.

Now, follow me. The Heavenly Fire is ready. Whether you can survive in that environment depends entirely on yourself."

Hephaestus, who had finished her ritual refining at some unknown time, appeared before him, followed by a resentful-looking little maid.

It seemed she had been scolded.

And so, Thaumas brushed off the embarrassment of his teacher discovering his crude handiwork and replied earnestly:

"No problem, Goddess Hephaestus, I am ready at any time."

"Then there is no need to go out; it is the same right here," Hephaestus added immediately.

She ignored Thaumas thereafter, took a box from the mechanism of her wheelchair, and tossed it to him.

"This is the Divine Ointment. It will help you reshape your physical body, but you must apply it first, or the Heavenly Fire will instantly burn you to ash," Hephaestus said, a rare occurrence for her.

It seemed that after their time in the forge, the goddess's attitude toward him had changed significantly?

However, "Um, Goddess, right here?" Thaumas asked weakly.

"Otherwise?"

"This... Goddess, do you not mind?"

"Mind what?"

"Setting aside the application of the ointment, even when I am being tempered by the Heavenly Fire, I likely won't have any clothes to wear, right? This is quite important!"

"It is of no consequence; I do not mind."

Hephaestus shook her head and said slowly.

After all, there is always a distinction between humans and gods; as for the other deities, they would not feel shy either.

They had seen plenty, after all.

Hephaestus was purely uninterested and lacked any sexual desire.

When it came down to it, the gods of Greece were merely machines. Moreover, Hephaestus had built many puppets herself and was very familiar with the human anatomy.

She was not the Goddess of Love, nor was she human; she could not comprehend the emotional fluctuations of human shame, as it exceeded the scope of her calculations.

And so, Filled with shame, Thaumas applied the ointment to every corner of his body under the surprised gaze of the little maid—after all, if he missed a spot and it didn't grow back, it would be a disaster.

The little maid covered her mouth, her face turning bright red, and then she covered her eyes. Yet, driven by curiosity, she could not help but leave a tiny gap to peek through.

It truly surprised her.

So this is what a human male is!

It seems to be quite different from the construction of her own puppets!

The maid had discovered a new world!

Slowly, Thaumas grew almost numb; after all, aside from the little maid, there was no "feedback," and in his eyes, the little maid wasn't even a person, merely a puppet.

Thus, he gradually overcame his shame.

Once he finished wiping, Hephaestus stepped forward and took out the box containing the Heavenly Fire, a gift once bestowed upon her by the Goddess of the Sacred Fire, Hestia.

She slowly opened the box and began to channel the Heavenly Fire.

"Right, if you feel you can no longer endure it, you can cry for help. I will stop, but you must be prepared for failure if you do."

With that, she flung the Heavenly Fire directly at Thaumas.

"Ah--!"

A familiar scream tore through the room, echoing even throughout the entire temple.

This was the reconstruction of a body; to become invulnerable to blades and spears required a heavy price.

It was equivalent to tearing apart his original human form to forge a "demigod" physique.

No, it was even stronger than a "demigod"!

It was just that this process of becoming stronger was so heart-wrenching; the legends were all lies.

Where was all that understated ease, hey!

Tearing, burning, growing, itching—Thaumas was experiencing it all at once!

Pain!

Pain that dug deep into his marrow, even scorching his soul.

The process was also agonizingly long.

In the room, there was no sound other than his screams and the roaring of the Heavenly Fire.

At this moment, Thaumas could choose to give up. If he did, Hephaestus would intervene to save him, though he might be left disfigured for the rest of his life.

But at least he would survive.

Yet Thaumas did not; he only screamed.

Perhaps it should be said that he was using his screams to share the burden of his agony.

After all, when a person shuts down one sense, the others become exceptionally sharp.

For instance, if you close your eyes, your hearing becomes acute.

Likewise, by opening up another outlet, you can divert a fraction of your focus.

He was using his cries to overcome fear and to distribute his suffering.

"Then, let me see once more! Are you truly as Athena claimed? Capable of creating miracles!"

Hephaestus said.