"Hermes, now that you've brought him here, you may return." A pleasant voice came from within the palace.
"Honored Goddess Nyx, but I still have to take this child back!
Athena and Hera specifically instructed me to do so. If I don't bring him back, my fate will definitely be miserable." Hermes bowed respectfully before answering in earnest.
It seemed that even Hermes, who was famous for courting death, did not dare act smug before this great deity.
Before a senior of this caliber, Hermes's status was not worth mentioning.
"Mm, I understand. Now you may return." The voice came again, though this time it sounded slightly impatient.
"Very well, I'll be leaving now, honored Goddess Nyx." Hermes replied. Then he turned around and quietly said to Thaumas:
"Thaumas, you heard her too. You'll have to walk the rest of the way on your own!
Oh, and you absolutely must not report me to Hera and the others! Otherwise, I'll really be in deep trouble. Well then, goodbye!"
With that, he vanished like a gust of wind in his Winged Boots—he had come quickly, and left even faster.
Leaving Thaumas standing helplessly before the palace.
"Honored Goddess of Night, I came here to ask a favor of you. May I ask if you can help me?" Thaumas got straight to the point.
It seemed Nyx already knew what had happened, but Thaumas still had to follow the proper procedure. Asking and not asking were two different matters; it was necessary, and he could not slight the goddess.
No further voice came from the palace. Thaumas did not dare make any rash moves, so he stood at the entrance and waited for the goddess's response.
After a while,
An older, bearded man with wings, wearing a helmet and holding a sword, walked out.
But upon seeing Thaumas, he hesitated for a moment, then transformed into a beautiful silver-haired youth holding a sword, with dark wings.
He looked at himself, then at Thaumas, before finally speaking. "You really are very beautiful. Mm..."
After hesitating for a while, he continued:
"More beautiful than my brother and me."
Thaumas hurriedly said, "You flatter me. May I ask who you are?"
"My name is Thanatos. They all call me the God of Death, though I don't like that title. I'm not that capable, nor am I that cruel. I'm just someone who collects corpses," the beautiful youth answered.
Then Thanatos continued:
"I am Nyx's son. Mother asked me to receive you. Come with me!"
"Mm, all right. Sorry to trouble you." Thaumas nodded respectfully.
Why did this suddenly feel like he had been summoned by the soul and taken to Diyu?
Forget it, there was no point thinking about that. He first needed to meet Goddess Nyx.
Along the way, neither Thanatos nor Thaumas spoke.
Thanatos carried a chilly aura, radiating an air that warned strangers to stay away.
How should he put it? Thanatos looked like a cold and aloof person, and he could make you as "cold" as him—in every sense of the word.
No wonder there were rumors that he was a cruel deity.
Used to the warmth of other gods, Thaumas had almost thought all gods were the same.
Finally, after walking through a long corridor,
"All right, we're here. Go in. I won't be going." Thanatos spoke without the slightest emotion.
"Thank you, Lord Thanatos. Thank you for showing me the way." Thaumas bowed to him, then walked straight into the room.
"Mm... Thanks? Is this the first time a human has thanked me? After all, no one thanks the God of Death.
Then I thank you too, little one." Thanatos spoke softly, then stood guard at the door without moving.
Inside the room,
A young married woman sat in a chair. When she saw Thaumas, she smiled faintly and said, "Child, come here. Sit here."
Nyx pointed to the seat beside her.
"All right, honored Goddess Nyx." Thus, Thaumas did not stand on ceremony or act awkwardly, but sat down openly.
This made Nyx even more pleased.
After dealing with quite a few gods, he had completely adapted to such occasions.
At times like this, he should simply follow the gods' wishes.
"Child, I already know why you came. That little horse Phlegon has already arrived here. When the sun sets today, he will be able to gallop through the stars and night with me." Nyx spoke gently.
Look at this!
Everyone, look!
This is what reliability looks like!
This is what it means to grant every request!
Hermes, that stupid dog Cerberus was right about you. You're useless. At best, you're just a means of transportation.
You're only fit to be a bus!
"Thank you so much, great Goddess Nyx! Of all the gods I have met, you are the one who makes me feel the most at ease!" Thaumas said sincerely.
"Hehe (˵¯͒¯͒˵), it's not that exaggerated." Nyx waved her hand and said shyly:
"You are a very outstanding child too! Besides, I have always been watching over you."
Ah, she truly was a beautiful goddess.
Every movement she made was so beautiful; every smile and frown was so captivating.
Praise the great Goddess Nyx!
He suddenly wanted to change his faith. Thinking about it, Goddess Nyx really did seem quite nice!
But then he thought of Hera's petty and vindictive nature...
Better just think about it!
"Beautiful Goddess Nyx! I am deeply grateful for your help. If you had not been willing to assist me, this time would truly have been difficult for me.
By the way, you said just now that you had been watching me. Did something about me catch your attention, Goddess?" After thanking her, Thaumas asked curiously.
"It was my daughter, 'Fate,' who told me. Only afterward did I discover the changes in destiny and notice you." Nyx spoke slowly.
Those words made Thaumas's heart sink.
He had forgotten about that. Although gods might not necessarily be able to see his destiny, he had already changed the paths of many people, and even gods.
"Don't worry. So long as you are human, you are a child of the gods. As long as you do not do evil, we will not interfere with you too much. Retribution and causality have told me that you are a good child! Even Zeus will not make things difficult for you."
Nyx stroked Thaumas's head and looked at him indulgently, as though soothing a frightened kitten.
"As for when I began watching you? It was when you encountered Hera. After all, you changed the destiny of that child Jason, did you not?"
Nyx was regarded as the supreme goddess among the Triple Goddess, possessing three different transcendent identities. She could be Ananke, Goddess of Destiny; Adrasteia, Goddess of Retribution; and Heimarmene, Goddess of Causality.
With the support of these three transcendent identities, Nyx was terrifyingly powerful.
"Oh, my daughter is also very interested in you. If you have time, you may go meet her. Consider it payment for the help I have given you."
Sure enough, no god's help came free of charge. Pies never fell from the sky.
"No problem. But may I ask, is she the goddess who represents fate?" Thaumas asked.
"Mm-hm, that's right! What a clever child." Nyx stroked Thaumas's head as though rewarding him.
It was just unclear whether Nyx considered this a reward for Thaumas, or for herself.
Legend had it that the Moirai were:
Atropos, who took back the Life Thread. She governed death and was responsible for cutting the Life Thread. She was the eldest sister.
Lachesis, who apportioned the measure of life. She was responsible for determining the length of the Life Thread and was the second sister.
Clotho, who spun the Life Thread. She governed the future and spun the Life Thread, making her the youngest of the three sisters.
These three goddesses were embodiments of fate, jointly controlling the destiny of every mortal.
The three sisters had clearly defined roles and separate duties, together forming fate as a whole.
However, there were many different accounts concerning their Origin.
The Moirai were said to be the daughters of Zeus and his second wife, Themis. Themis was the Titan goddess representing justice and law, and she and Zeus gave birth to the Moirai.
In this relationship, the Moirai were considered more sacred and powerful, because their mother was Zeus's aunt.
Another account said that the Moirai were the daughters of Zeus and Metis. Metis was the first Goddess of Wisdom, as well as Zeus's first wife.
But in Orphism, the Origin of the Moirai was Nyx.
(On this point, neither the Nasuverse nor Ancient Greek mythology explained things clearly. It really gave me a hard time, so I decided not to deal with it! I'll use all three versions—just give one daughter to each, and everyone gets a share. This also fits the fine tradition of Ancient Greek chaos.)
Today, Thaumas felt that he had finally solved this question.
"If it is the Moirai, then it would naturally be my honor!" Thaumas said with a smile.
"No, not the Moirai. The Goddess of Fate!" Nyx shook her head and spoke slowly.
"Huh? Why?" Thaumas asked in confusion.
"Clotho is my biological child. My aspect as Ananke, who represents destiny, gave birth to her, the one who weaves the future. After all, the future can also be a form of destiny.
"As for the other two, Atropos and Lachesis, they are Themis's and Metis's children respectively. They are both also Zeus's children, so do not mix them up!" Nyx explained patiently.
Your circle is really a mess.
So, in this version, the Moirai were sisters with different origins?
P.S.
I wonder what everyone thinks of this handling. I think Ancient Greece was already chaotic to begin with, so making it a little more chaotic would not matter. This chapter was revised again and again, and it took me a very long time. I struggled over whose children to make the Moirai, so I decided to make them everyone's children. This way, probably no one can argue me down.
Before you continue