Threads of fate

"Just help me, please. Could you really bear to watch Colchis perish?"

Bai Mo felt increasingly frustrated. Was the only thing he would gain from this outing the unreasonable woman before him?

"What else? All I want is to find the temple of the goddess of fate. Do you really expect me to fight the Argo? You still don't seem to understand the situation. Rather than waste time on me, why not go fulfill that wish of yours? If you die, I'll pay my respects."

This guy is absolutely infuriating! Medea could not help feeling indignant. When had she, a princess, ever begged anyone so humbly? Yet this man remained utterly unmoved. Did ice run through his veins?

Medea truly had no other options. Intuition told him that the person before her was the key to breaking the deadlock. And the more Medea thought about it, the more she realized that Colchis had no chance against the Argo unless the gods intervened.

But what would it matter if the gods intervened? Powerful backers were the last thing the Argo lacked.

"Then I'll take you to the temple of the goddess of fate. In return, help me earn the trust of the people aboard the Argo. How does that sound?"

"Why do you think I'm capable of helping you earn their trust?"

"Intuition. I think you're much smarter than those people in Colchis who only know how to fight. And I think you're well suited to dealing with people."

Bai Mo said, "I think I can search this whole place myself in one night. Let go already!"

Medea held on to Bai Mo's cloak, keeping him from leaving. For the moment, he did not dare force her away. Though it was late at night, it would be troublesome if she screamed. This was Colchis, after all, and he was one of the Argo's crew.

After some time, Bai Mo struck a deal with Medea, offering some information about the people aboard the Argo. With this information, Medea could at least try approaching them. It concerned only their likes and dislikes; Bai Mo would never divulge anything important.

Medea knew this was as far as he would go, and she agreed with a frown.

Afterward, the two entered a forest.

"Without a guide, there's no way to find the temple in this forest. Be grateful. Without me, you could spend your entire life walking around and still never find it."

"An entire lifetime? I think one fire would do."

"You irreverent fool! Is that any way to approach a deity?"

Bai Mo remained expressionless. A deity? Sorry, but I really have no respect to offer.

As Medea prayed that he would not cause any trouble, she led Bai Mo deeper into the forest. Not far ahead, Bai Mo saw a crossroads.

"Huh? When did this get here?"

"Don't go. Something's wrong!"

Curious, Medea wanted to take a look, but Bai Mo caught her shoulder and pulled her behind him protectively. For an instant, as Medea looked at his back, a strange sense of security welled up inside her.

"Who's there!"

"There is no need to be so wary, my guest."

An ethereal female voice rang out, coming from every direction.

Bai Mo's heart tightened. What does she mean by that? Does she know I'm aboard the Agor? Or... does she know I'm not from this world?

"Weren't you looking for me? Now I'm here."

"Hecate?"

"Don't address the goddess by name!"

Medea grabbed Bai Mo's collar. Finding that she could not budge him, she could only bow and apologize repeatedly. "I'm sorry, my goddess. He... he's not quite right in the head. Please don't be angry."

Hecate looked at her little priestess with a faint, ambiguous smile. Then a young Hecate and an elderly Hecate both appeared. The mist at the three-way junction gradually dispersed, revealing them at the three paths, while the blue-green flames lent the place a cold, sinister atmosphere.

The young Hecate spoke. "Young man, take this path, and you will become an honored guest of Colchis. You will enjoy boundless wealth. The princess will smile for you, and the god of war will turn his gaze upon you. You will become the future king of Colchis."

The middle-aged Hecate spoke. "Young man, take this path, and you will become a hero of the Agor. Your name will spread throughout the world. The wise will become your friends, and the strong will become your supporting arms. You will become a man filled with hope."

The elderly Hecate spoke. "Young man, take this path, and you will forsake your friends and lose your future love. But you will win the favor of the gods. You will converse freely with Athena and wage war alongside Ares. Aphrodite will embrace you, and there will be a place for you on Olympus."

Medea's mouth hung open wide enough to fit a light bulb. She had never imagined that this man might become a god. Her heart was filled with shock, but Bai Mo's next words made her question her own hearing.

"I didn't come here to follow a path you've laid out for me. Give me my thread of fate."

I shouldn't have brought him here. That was the only thought in Medea's mind. What shocked her even more was that someone in this world could actually refuse a divine seat on Olympus!

Hecate showed not the slightest anger. She merely closed her eyes.

A long, long time passed. The atmosphere was almost suffocating. Medea had to cling to Bai Mo to keep herself from collapsing.

Silence. After an unknown length of time, Hecate raised her head and let out a long sigh. "That path is a dead end."

As though he had known this answer all along, Bai Mo's expression did not change in the slightest. During that silence, had he not been thinking as well? Which of those three paths did not offer something people spent their entire lives striving for?

Yet his heart remained unchanged. What did it matter how well he lived? What did it matter how glorious he appeared in the eyes of others? He wanted to live according to his own wishes. He wanted to live without restraints. That was all he wanted.

"Every path in this world was made by someone walking it. There are no dead ends. The moment I take a step forward, the path is beneath my feet!"

Bai Mo answered firmly. Even Medea was left stunned by his boldness.

Hecate said no more. Instead, she turned to Medea and asked, "Medea, you should not have come to me at this time. But since you are here, speak your request."

Bai Mo glanced at the girl behind him. Medea? She's Medea. So that's it. With her identity revealed, all his questions were readily resolved. At the same time, an ominous premonition arose.

In the original storyline, Medea was supposed to fall in love with Jason after being struck by the little god of love's arrow, then come to Hecate for help. Bai Mo's plan had been to secretly follow Medea another day if he found nothing today; that should still have led him here. He had never expected things to turn out like this.

Somewhat timidly, Medea said to Hecate, "Goddess Hecate, I fear for the safety of my country. Please grant me guidance and tell me how to defeat the people aboard the Argo."

Hecate closed her eyes and smiled. That smile gave Bai Mo an extremely ominous premonition.

Then Hecate drew out a thread and placed it in Medea's hand.

"In this world, the only person who can withstand the hero Heracles head-on is Bai Ermo, a fellow hero aboard the Argo."

Medea felt even more hopeless. After all that, there was another being as terrifying as Heracles?

Couldn't the Agor go wreak havoc on some other country?

"Hecate, what is that!"

Bai Mo asked with some urgency, and Hecate's answer sent a chill through his heart.

"This thread is Bai Mo's thread of fate. With it, you can make him fight for you, Medea. If you wish to return it to me, you need only pray in your heart."

"Huh? Really?"

Medea carefully wound the thread around her ring finger, treating it like a treasure, and failed to notice Bai Mo's near-murderous gaze behind her.

"Hecate, is this your choice? I thought you respected everyone who chose their own fate."

"Yes, I do. But those who seek to control their fate often face endless setbacks and trials. If he cannot overcome even this, giving him his thread of fate would only bring him tragedy."

Hecate's figure gradually faded, leaving only one final statement.

"Those with strength alone will be controlled by fate. Those with wisdom alone will be bound by fate. Prove yourself."

Medea secured the thread and looked at Bai Mo with a somewhat complicated expression. "Um... Mr. Bai Ermo, was it?"

After taking a deep breath, Bai Mo likewise looked at Medea. "Yes, Miss Medea."

The two, who should have crossed blades and fought to the death, had been acting like friends just moments ago. Now both felt the mockery of fate.

"Um, I'm sorry."

Medea spoke softly. What was there to apologize for? Concealing her identity? No, Bai Mo had concealed his identity from Medea too. Then why had she apologized?

They were both intelligent people. Medea was apologizing for what she was about to do.

For the sake of her country, she had to have Bai Mo's help. That was why she apologized.

Though they had not spent much time together, Medea knew that the man before her was a good person. If possible, she would very much have liked to become friends with someone like him. Yet for the sake of her country, she would have to force him to do something he did not want to do.

Medea felt that she had betrayed him. For a moment, she did not even dare look him in the eye.

Bai Mo cast Medea a cold glance and sighed inwardly. He had long guessed that this trip would not be so easy. Besides, according to the original course of events, Medea would be struck by the god of love's arrow and ultimately truly betray Colchis.