Heroes and Goddesses Rise Together in the Dark

"So, Goddess Clotho wants to see me, is that it?" Thaumas asked.

"Mhm! That child has whispered it to me many times; she is particularly fond of you. After all, she is responsible for weaving the futures of all living beings, and since you have changed that future, it is hard for her not to take notice." Nyx said slowly.

Then, as if remembering Goddess Clotho, she smiled gently.

"Child, Clotho is a bit shy, but among my children, few are as outstanding as she is. Dreams, Death, Sleep, Fate, Pain, Old Age, Toil, Vengeance, Strife, Vice, Deceit—these are all my own children, but Clotho makes me the proudest." Nyx's tone was as soft as water, yet carried a hint of showing off.

Having many children is good; one can have many excellent offspring, though unfortunately, there are also many who are embarrassing.

"By the way, have you met my children?" Nyx asked slowly.

"Goddess, are you referring to Thanatos?" Thaumas asked, puzzled.

"Who mentioned that fellow? He's how old now! Still living with his mother, never thinking of going out to find a wife or having children of his own. Thanatos is truly a disappointment! He's nothing like my child at all." Nyx said indignantly.

Huh?

This sense of déjà vu was familiar.

It was exactly like a college student returning home for a few days only to be mocked by their parents. How miserable; poor Thanatos. Being misunderstood by humans was one thing, but to be spoken of like this by his own mother?

I wonder if Thanatos can hear this from outside? Would he be heartbroken?

If Thanatos were here, he would surely say he was already used to it.

"Forget it, let's not talk about that disappointing child. Where were we? Oh... right, did you not see Charon?" Nyx asked.

Charon, not Chiron (the wise centaur, Thaumas's teacher).

He was the ferryman of the Underworld in Ancient Greece mythology, responsible for ferrying the dead across the Styx.

The ferryman of the Styx, son of Erebus, the god of darkness among the five primordial deities, and Nyx, the goddess of night.

He was the boatman on the Styx, responsible for ferrying souls to the other side of the river.

Legend has it that as long as the living pay the ferryman Charon, he will ferry them across, though his boat becomes extremely unstable due to the weight of the living.

If one has no money, they must wait by the Styx for a hundred years, or even fade away.

Charon's image was that of a filthy old man, holding a long pole, eyes spitting fire, and extremely greedy.

He guarded the Acheron River, also known as the "River of Woe," which was a river that souls had to cross when entering the Underworld.

"If you mean Mr. Charon, I did not see him." Thaumas answered truthfully.

"Eh—! Why? Did you not pass through the Styx when you entered the Underworld?" Nyx was very puzzled.

"Regarding that, Hermes brought me directly from the volcanic crater to the Hell Gate of the Underworld; we didn't pass through that river."

Sorry, Hermes!

Thaumas thought to himself.

"Hermes! Not following procedure! What a fellow who doesn't understand the rules. Never mind, you will meet him eventually.

By the way, that child Charon, I don't know what he's thinking, just loves turning into an old man to work at the Styx, lacking any ambition! I was hoping you could persuade him on your way. And my other children, one by one, why do they have so many problems?" Nyx's face was full of worry.

He suddenly felt that the night wasn't so great after all.

Looking at this posture, surely she wouldn't dump them all on him, would she?

"Well, never mind, let's leave them be. If they want to be that way, let them have their way." Nyx shook her head and sighed.

"Right, child, since you agreed to see Clotho, consider this a return gift in advance."

Nyx opened her arms, and a surge of black divine power welled up from her chest, gathered in her hands, and slowly channeled into Thaumas's Bracelet.

"Child, with this, you will be under the protection of the Night. From now on, you no longer need to fear the poisonous gases leading to the Underworld volcano; the Night will protect you.

At night, as long as their power does not exceed mine, some poisons, evil spirits, curses, and even hidden weapons will be unable to harm you. The Night will also assist you." Nyx said, stroking Thaumas's head.

!

At this moment, Thaumas really wanted to acknowledge Nyx as his mother.

This was equivalent to an enhanced version of [Protection from Arrows], along with [Immunity to All Poisons] and other abilities. Although it was the "Night" version, it was terrifyingly strong.

I've hit the jackpot, I've really hit the jackpot.

At the beginning, he really just wanted to be an ordinary Heroic Spirit; he never expected to reach this point.

He felt that he was truly overpowered; if he weren't nerfed, he wouldn't even be able to leave the Throne of Heroes.

Praise the great Goddess Nyx!

Praise the Night! I love the Night!

But everything has a price.

Nyx suddenly said craftily: "However, since you have accepted the betrothal gift, you must marry my little Clotho! No backing out!"

"Ah? A betrothal gift?" Thaumas said in shock.

She really turned into a mother this time!

"What else? My little Clotho talks about you every day. As her mother, how could I not help my dear daughter? Little Thaumas, from now on we are a family! You must love each other!" Nyx happily stroked Thaumas's head.

"Th-this, can I refuse?" Thaumas said tremblingly.

He had said it long ago: if he could help it, he truly did not want any emotional entanglements with the gods.

This is Greece!

It is Greece!

It is Greece!

This is important, hey!

Didn't you see that Apollo even wanted to change his gender just to get him?

Thaumas could not get past this hurdle in his heart; after all, when it came down to it, humans and gods were two entirely different species.

Cross-species relationships were still too advanced for Thaumas, and he had never even been in a relationship before...

Humans are truly wondrous; some live plain and simple lives, some are obsessed with cleanliness, and some can even bring themselves to sleep with monitor lizards.

Regardless, Thaumas felt that he was very particular about cleanliness.

Because Thaumas himself was clean, he felt entitled to demand cleanliness from a partner; this was equality.

When it came to matters of the heart, Thaumas had a near-pathological pursuit.

He hoped for a relative equality between husband and wife.

Nyx's expression changed drastically after hearing this, and she said with displeasure:

"How can the favor of the gods be taken back so casually? As for the vow of loyalty you made to Hera, that is even more of a plus! I am worried that my little Goddess Clotho might be bullied! If you are a follower of Hera and you marry my Clotho, you will surely be faithful to the marriage, right!"

"But, I am a human, and Goddess Clotho is a god! I will eventually die!" This was Thaumas's struggle.

"No need to worry, Thaumas, these are all minor issues! And perhaps you don't know, but Athena is already making preparations, hmm? It seems I've revealed too much, oh well, you've already accepted this betrothal gift anyway," Nyx added.

"This, can you give me some time to consider? After all, I still have many things left undone, and I don't even know Goddess Clotho," Thaumas tried to bargain again.

"Hmm... that's fine! After all, it is as you say. But you must be quick; you cannot let my little Clotho wait too long! Otherwise, I will be angry," Nyx said.

"That goes without saying!" Thaumas affirmed.

"By the way, the sun is about to set; Apollo must be very happy right now, right? After all, his work wasn't very busy before, but now he's actually working overtime voluntarily. Judging by Apollo's style, I estimate that before long, he will return the sun chariot to Helios and just enjoy the title of Sun God without doing any actual work, whereas Helios is quite keen on this job. So, today, you shall come with me, Thaumas! Rise with me into the night!"

Nyx said gently.

PS: Regarding the romantic plot, those who are concerned, please take a look.

First, I must clarify: I do not "play the stock market" with characters.

I will not exploit the readers' enthusiasm. As a reader myself, I don't want to be forced into "stock market" shipping wars, so I will write "if" scenarios later on. You can see everyone's ending; that's what makes it satisfying.

Harem routes, single routes, and other female leads will be written based on the situation, and these will be placed in the extras later.

But for the sake of the main story, he is currently single.

The reason today's chapter was posted late is also because of this. I originally wanted to write the official pairing as Medea, but I eventually gave up on it.

I posted this chapter late because I hesitated for three or four hours, but I decided to write them all. Just like the Moirai, since I can't figure it out, I'll just have them all.

I don't know what you all think, but to prevent a sense of fragmentation, I will try to downplay the romance in the main plot and focus on it in the extras.