"Son of Tartarus… Typhon, huh…"
The moment the name Typhon left the lips of the Three Fates, Zeus, draped in his silver-white robes, looked up solemnly toward the heavens.
In the depths of his stormy gaze, the once-glorious Mount Olympus seemed to recede into the distance. His eyes pierced through the whole of the mortal realm—until they reached the endless abyss of Tartarus itself.
And within that abyss, among the countless Titans who lay imprisoned, one stirred—slowly lifting his head, as though sensing something.
He was the leader of the Titans, Father of All Monsters—Typhon!
Their eyes met.
And in that instant, the entire abyss trembled.
"That's enough."Just then, as the chasm itself seemed to shake from the tension, a deep, commanding voice echoed in both their ears. It was the voice of the abyss itself.
One of the five primordial deities born at the dawn of the world—Tartarus, god of the infernal depths.
And also… Typhon's father.
Even Zeus had no choice but to avert his gaze under the weight of such a being's voice.
He turned back toward the Three Fates and Hermes. The fury that had just been radiating from him had clearly subsided—so had the lightning crackling around him.
"You've done well," the returned Zeus said approvingly to the Fates. "Did you see anything else?"
"Yes, mighty King of the Gods."
The eldest, Atropos, stepped forward and continued, "In that battle—one powerful enough to bring ruin to Olympus—we also saw a force that could grant you victory. A force that could defeat even your greatest, most bitter enemy."
"Oh?" Zeus raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "And who would that be?"
"Your child, currently one of Chiron's students… Heracles!"
Heracles? Him?
Zeus's expression shifted subtly at the name.
But before he could dwell on it, the youngest of the Three Fates—Clotho, who governs the future—let out a thoughtful hum and turned to Atropos with a puzzled look.
"Sister… is Heracles all you saw?"
"Hmm?"
Atropos frowned, clearly confused.
"What do you mean?"
"With respect, great King," Clotho said, stepping forward after some hesitation, "I may have seen something different from my sister."
Zeus arched an eyebrow.
Clotho continued, "In addition to Heracles… I think I saw the figure of another hero."
Another one?
Even Hermes, who'd been silently listening until now, raised his eyebrows.
Heracles—a mortal name—was surprising enough. But at least that made some sense. He was Zeus's son, born of divine blood, and had displayed phenomenal strength from an early age.
Back when he was barely an infant, Hera had already tried to eliminate him—sending two venomous serpents into his cradle. Yet the newborn Heracles had casually strangled both monsters.
That was Hera's handiwork, after all.
"Who was it?" Zeus asked, echoing Hermes's curiosity.
"It's just that…" Clotho hesitated again before admitting helplessly, "I'm sorry, great King—I don't know his name."
"You… don't know?" Zeus blinked.
"No, my Lord. His image was blurred… but I definitely saw him. His fate felt… like it was being interfered with—constantly shifting."
"His fate… is being altered… and in flux…"
All the gods present frowned at that. Even Clotho's two sisters were starting to suspect she'd made a mistake—after all, they hadn't seen this other figure.
"Clotho, this figure you saw… was he wearing white? Blond hair? Blue eyes? Strikingly handsome?"
No one had noticed when she entered, but now the voice of Athena—the goddess of wisdom, dressed in a pure white gown—cut through the room as she walked in.
And she wasn't alone.
By her side was a regal, graceful woman radiating a commanding beauty.
It was Hera—the Queen of the Gods. Daughter of the second-generation god Cronus, sister and legitimate wife of the third-generation king, Zeus.
"Yes! Yes!" Clotho nodded quickly. "Goddess Athena, do you know who that child is?"
"Of course I do," Athena said coolly. "And I think Father and Hermes do too… That boy is connected to Demeter and Persephone."
With such a heavy-handed clue, how could Zeus and Hermes not immediately catch on? After all, it had only been two days since that incident with Persephone.
"Oh… him."
Hermes chuckled.
"Well, that explains why his fate was so cloudy."
"Who?"
Clotho asked, curiosity piqued.
"Jason," Athena answered. "That's his name."
The moment she said it, Hera—who had been frowning slightly—paused and glanced over at Athena.
Her head tilted just a little.
Jason… Why does that name sound familiar?
"What happened, Father?" Athena asked Zeus as Hera mused to herself.
When Zeus explained his vision of Olympus's destruction, both Athena and Hera immediately understood the reason for his earlier fury.
And when he mentioned that the threat came from the Titans—and specifically the child of a primordial god like Tartarus—Athena nodded solemnly in understanding.
"So, in that future war… Heracles and Jason will bring us victory. Is that right?"
Athena had barely finished speaking when Hera let out a frosty snort.
"Heracles… if I remember correctly, that's someone's bastard, isn't it?"
"And this Jason fellow… huh. Why does that name ring a bell?"
At first, no one paid her comment much attention.
After all, Hera hadn't been here earlier—she'd been off comforting Demeter, who was still mourning her missing daughter. So it wasn't strange if she'd only heard the name Jason in passing.
Athena was just about to explain—
"Oh! I remember now! Jason… His birth name was Diomedes, wasn't it? Son of Aeson, the king of Iolcus!"
Hera suddenly snapped her fingers. "Chiron's the one who renamed him—I completely forgot! So he's destined for greatness, huh?"
Athena glanced at Hera, whose mood had taken a sharp turn from confused to… oddly enthusiastic.
"You know him?" Zeus asked, looking perplexed.
"Of course I do. He's my child!" Hera replied, puffing up with pride.
"…Huh?" Zeus froze, eyes wide.
"Mhm!" Hera beamed. "I've been watching that boy for ages. He's always been a devoted worshipper of mine! Never disappointed me. No surprise there—he is a child I chose to favor."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Athena blinked.
Hermes was dumbstruck.
Zeus felt his eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
Your child?
A devout follower… of you?
Wasn't he Hecate's child?!
"Uh… You're sure we're talking about the same Jason?" Zeus asked, cautiously.
"Of course I am!" Hera nodded firmly. "That child survived thanks to my intervention. I was the one who guided him to Chiron, arranged for him to become his pupil!"
"…Wait," Hera blinked. Something felt off. She looked suspiciously at the others. "How exactly do you all know about him?"
Athena and Zeus immediately averted their eyes.
So Hera turned her sharp gaze to Hermes instead.
"...You know about the boy who helped sneak Persephone away, right?"
Under Hera's stare, Hermes could only steel himself and nod.
"Yeah… Why?"
"That boy… was Jason."
"What? Him?"
Hera looked stunned. No—more like thrilled.
Seeing Hera looking so pleased with herself, Athena, Hermes—even Zeus—couldn't help but gulp.
"Um… Mighty Father," Hermes muttered, "suddenly remembered I have… somewhere to be."
Athena and Hermes, sensing the storm brewing, didn't waste a second—whoosh, they slipped away like two fish in a flash flood!
They gave Zeus no chance to stop them. Once they were safely outside the temple, the two fugitives exchanged a glance, each wearing a wry smile.
"That kid... really landed himself in deep trouble this time," Hermes couldn't help but sigh.
"Yeah," Athena echoed, "Hera and Demeter… he's managed to tick off two Olympian goddesses at once."
Hearing this, Hermes glanced sideways at Athena, but swallowed the comment on the tip of his tongue—"Technically, you're one of them too…"—and decided to keep that thought firmly locked away.
Not long after the two slipped out, under Hera's relentless pressure, Zeus had no choice but to spill the truth.
And then—
"What?!"
The temple trembled with the force of Hera's fury. Her eyes widened in disbelief, practically shooting flames as she roared at Zeus.
"You're telling me that child is now Hecate's student—and has become her most devoted follower?!
That's impossible… how is that even possible?!"
Hmm?
Why do I feel a sudden chill down my spine?
In the Underworld, inside Hecate's temple—
Jason, seated in the great hall, suddenly shivered.
"Brother Jason, are you alright?"
At once, Medea, who was clinging close by his side, leaned in with concern. "Is it the aura of the Underworld? …Master, could the Underworld's aura be harming Brother Jason's body?"
"Harm him? Hardly. Never mind that his body's been purified by the waters of the Styx—he's even carrying Apollo's sword, remember?"
Hecate, watching Medea fawn over Jason with an almost obsessive tenderness, glanced over at Jason's face—which wore the expression of someone who'd very much like to cry, but lacked the tears.
She couldn't help but shake her head.
And yet, a faint crease formed between her brows.
Strange… just now, I could've sworn someone was plotting against me...
With that thought lingering, Hecate turned her gaze once more to Jason—then decided it wasn't worth dwelling on.
After all, no matter what, resolving Jason's situation took priority right now!
And while Jason also had a strange feeling gnawing at him, one look at Medea beside him was enough to make him shake it off.
Because no matter what, sorting out Medea's situation was far more urgent!