The Age of Gods, Humans, and Heroes

The Golden Fleece incident,

According to legend, Jason received the aid of Queen of Heaven Hera and, together with heroes such as Heracles and Meleager, sailed aboard the Argo through countless dangers to obtain the Golden Fleece.

This event shook all of Ancient Greece and even became the legend of the Argo, passed down into modern times.

In essence, this heroic undertaking was Jason's attempt to reclaim the throne of Iolcus, which rightfully belonged to him, from his uncle Pelias.

Thus, Thaumas had found a loophole, cleverly skipping over his vow to help Jason reclaim the throne.

And even if he failed, at worst he would die. Then he could ascend to the Throne of Heroes and become a Heroic Spirit—a single stone, many, many birds.

However, after what had happened in the village just now, Thaumas decided to do something.

After all, this was not some cold textual simulation. What he was experiencing now was his own life!

Perhaps he was simply that kind of person, someone who could not put his mind at ease. Having been shaped by modern society, he found it difficult to tolerate the savagery of this age.

Once one had seen the light, perhaps one truly could no longer endure the darkness.

Cruelty, depravity, shamelessness, greed... He had seen far too much primitive evil along the way.

He wanted to change something, no matter how insignificant. Perhaps it was merely wishful thinking, but perhaps that was what it meant to be a hero.

Of course, he had not forgotten his original goal: ascending to the Throne of Heroes.

He would rely on his wisdom to successfully tie himself to the Argo.

The glorious journey of fifty people was about to become one of fifty-one. He would leave his own mark upon this legend!

Beyond that, however, his true goal was not limited to this. There was also something else—something that, once he made contact with it, would guarantee his ascent to the Throne of Heroes.

At the same time, it would improve his quality as a Heroic Spirit. A win on every front.

That was—the gods!

That was right! This was Ancient Greece in the Age of Gods! An era where gods, humans, and heroes coexisted!

Moreover, Thaumas already had a plan, right on the road they were currently traveling toward the Kingdom of Iolcus!

It was here that Jason earned Queen of Heaven Hera's favor and received her help, allowing him to write the grand epic of the Argo.

So, he was going to wedge himself into this matter.

As for Jason, he could only suffer a little. Wasn't he the older brother? Surely he would understand his younger brother.

In return, Jason, I will do my best to change your tragic ending.

When he thought of Jason's final fate—driven from the kingdom, abandoned by Hera, who governed marriage, after his infidelity, his children murdered by his own wife, and finally crushed to death by a falling plank from the glory-laden Argo he boarded...

Although he deserved it, none of it had happened yet. There was still a chance to change things. At first, he had only wanted to become a Heroic Spirit, but now he wanted to change something.

Thinking of this, Thaumas looked at Jason with a face full of sympathy, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

"Although I know how elegant my bearing is, that doesn't mean I enjoy being stared at like this." Jason shyly turned his face away and casually shoved Thaumas aside.

"If there's nothing wrong, don't look at me like that, bastard!"

Listening to Jason's impotent rage as he was about to explode, Thaumas smiled. It seemed he had discovered something amusing.

Huh? Why would he think that? Did he have the traits of a troublemaker?

Mount Olympus,

Queen of Heaven Hera's residence.

Upon a magnificent bed of white wool, a beautiful and noble goddess lay quietly resting.

She was one of Olympus's Twelve Olympians, the goddess who governed marriage and childbirth, Zeus's co-ruler who shared power with him, and the third-generation Queen of Heaven in Greek mythology—Hera!

She wore a simple white one-shoulder dress. It was so simple that it could practically be called a single piece of cloth. As expected of Ancient Greece.

Upon her head rested a golden crown, crafted long ago by the God of Fire Hephaestus as revenge against her.

It was said that when Hephaestus was born, he was frail, sickly, and lame in one foot. Hera despised him and cast him into the sea.

Fortunately, the sea goddesses Thetis and Eurynome rescued and raised him. Only nine years later did he return to Mount Olympus.

He was deeply dissatisfied with his mother, Hera, and sought to take revenge. He crafted an exquisite chair as a gift for Hera, along with this crown.

Hera had been delighted. Her most disappointing son had unexpectedly become the most accomplished. Yet the moment she sat down, the ingenious chair bound and glued her in place, leaving her unable to move, and no one could free her.

Only after the mediation of the gods did Hephaestus agree to release Hera. But from then on, Hera never dared to see him again.

Though Hera feared him greatly, the crown he had given her was simply too splendid and too rare. So she quietly kept it, though she unusually refrained from flaunting it excessively before the other gods.

"Honored Queen of Heaven..."

At that moment, another goddess among the Twelve Olympians entered from outside the hall: Athena, the purple-haired, golden-eyed Goddess of Wisdom.

"Oh, Athena. What brings you to see me?" Hera asked in confusion.

"The Moirai have just conveyed their prophecy to me. The Third Divine War is about to arrive, and this time our opponents will be the Gigantes." Athena spoke calmly.

In the Nasuverse setting, these Greek gods were actually mechanical fleets from an advanced civilization.

Because of their interactions with humanity, they no longer existed merely as "functions." They ceased to be simple tools and jointly decided to become "gods."

At the same time, the Machine Gods simulated the "personalities" humans believed them to possess from their True Bodies, and they also took on human forms.

In Greek mythology passed down to the twenty-first century, the Twelve Olympians likewise appeared in human forms, enacting stories that reflected humanity rather than engaging in exchanges of fire between mechanical warships.

It was necessary to mention that more than ten thousand years ago, the Second God War had occurred.

In the Nasuverse's historical view, the destroyer civilization from outer space—Velber—came to this Solar System and scattered a fragment of itself, the Harvest Star Vanguard Sefar.

The Machine Gods knew such things existed in the universe, but they had never expected it to appear upon this planet.

Sefar dealt devastating blows to the gods on Earth—including the Olympian Machine Gods and other pantheons—as well as all other life.

Fortunately, the planet, Earth, answered humanity's desperate wish and created Excalibur. In the end, humanity defeated Sefar with Excalibur.

Yet after that battle, all Twelve Olympians lost their True Bodies. Having lost their Machine God bodies, the Olympian gods had greatly diminished strength and could no longer display the powerful combat capabilities they once possessed. Although their Authorities remained, they had been affected.

And now Athena was telling Hera that another divine war was coming. How could Hera possibly fail to take it seriously?

"Zeus is already at the Temple of Fate, assisting the Moirai with their full efforts to deduce the future. We must find the correct future." Athena said.

"Then what should we do?" Hera asked anxiously.

"Based on the results of our current calculations, we need to seek humanity's aid."

"Humans are like our children. As gods, we must protect them, but sometimes we also need their help." Athena answered truthfully.

"How can that be allowed! How can we make the children endure such suffering! Protecting humanity was something we decided upon together.

Those intelligent beings—humans—gave names to us, who possessed only 'functions.' They believed we had personalities and worshiped us as precious beings.

Those lovely children made us happy and gave us the 'new function' known as 'emotions,' which, though inefficient, could not be abandoned.

Athena, forgive me, but I cannot agree. If you insist, I will call for a vote among the gods." Hera refused.

"Hera, we are not sending our children to die. We are cultivating those individuals among humanity known as 'heroes,' then elevating those heroes into new 'gods' to assist us." Athena slowly explained.

"I have already calculated the optimal plan. So, Hera, please place some faith in the children as well."

Looking into Athena's pleading eyes, Hera gritted her teeth and uneasily rubbed her palm.

After the two faced off for a long time, Hera was finally the one to speak. "Fine, I agree. But I will personally go and see these so-called heroes. I will not rely solely on your calculations."

"Of course, honored Queen of Heaven Hera." Athena replied respectfully. Though she was the foremost "divine warship" beneath Zeus and possessed unimaginably terrifying power, the Goddess of Wisdom would never begrudge the respect that was due.

She continued, "As it happens, there is a future hero now. He is a prince of the Kingdom of Iolcus, but due to his uncle's despicable schemes, he was forced into exile. Fortunately, he was rescued by the centaur Chiron.

"Now, he is heading for the Kingdom of Iolcus. Honored Queen of Heaven Hera, you may go and inspect him personally."

Athena spoke unhurriedly, her face filled with confidence, as though she had already determined that Hera would certainly go.

"What is his name?"

"Jason!"