Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

"Yes, it's a good place."

The materials have been prepared, and all the necessary preparations have been completed.

The suspended chair, which looks like it was cast in gold, surrounds the temple. Bathed in the residual breath of the sun god's power, Hephaestus is very satisfied with the environment here.

Not to mention his temple in Olympus, even the crater of Lemnos Island, the power contained is far less than this place, which is undoubtedly good news for the craftsman god.

After all, as long as the materials are in place, he is still confident in refining artifacts.

But he has never trained a human with the power of the Styx into an artifact or a human puppet.

Even for Hephaestus, this is a huge challenge.

If you are not careful, there is a possibility of failure.

"Come on, start... This net is given to you, just as a souvenir."

"How about it, my craftsmanship is not bad"

The golden net was not taken back, anyway, it was already something that was exchanged.

Hephaestus did not show hostility, but smiled at Achilles.

"I heard that Her Highness Hecate of Silvermoon City is the origin of witchcraft, and the first alchemy was also created there by a man named Hermes."

"In your impression, how does my technology compare to alchemy and witchcraft?"

"Of course it is far inferior."

"The goddess of the magic web has never considered herself the pinnacle of witchcraft, and the ultimate of alchemy is even more difficult to guess."

"You want to compare with them, I'm afraid you think too much."

Speaking lightly, although Achilles didn't know the true level of the God of Craftsman, he still felt that the other party thought too much.

Not to mention anything else, just the stone box that sealed the sword Levatin is something that the other party can't do.

"Is that so... maybe."

"If there is a chance, I will go and see it."

Nodding slightly, Hephaestus was not very angry.

After all, Achilles is about to be a dead man, and there is no real great achievement in alchemy at present.

The conversation ended here, and the God of Craftsman waited silently in the temple.

As the seconds passed, the shadow outside the temple gradually tilted.

When the sun reached the noon mark, Hephaestus's face became solemn.

He raised his right hand slightly, and invisible power surrounded his palm.

Since the sun was sealed in the starry sky, the scorching sun running in the sky has become three rounds of alternating suns, representing morning, noon and dusk respectively.

At this moment, the Temple of the Sun itself replaced the "noon" that was touring the sky, and the unused "morning sun" and "dusk" exuded their own power.

Three distinct and different flames floated out of Hephaestus's hands, and they together formed a huge furnace, enveloping Achilles.

The power of the "morning sun" was added to the "thunder fire", bringing vitality to the destructive thunder and lightning; the "dusk" was added to the earth fire, making the flames of the earth's core lava more heavy.

And the stove fire had no "sun" to connect with it, so it had to spontaneously attract the emotions entangled in the Temple of the Sun.

It turns the desire of the world's creatures for the sun into fuel, forging the heroes in the furnace.

For a moment, the three flames seemed to have reached a certain unity under the power of the sun from the same source.

The space in the furnace seemed to be distorted beyond recognition, making it difficult to see what was inside.

But the next moment, Hephaestus felt a chill coming from the furnace, making him feel a chill from the heart.

"Styx... What a pity."

"If the Styx was not so repulsive to divinity, I would really like to use its water to quench it."

His expression changed slightly, and then relaxed again.

Through the flames that made up the furnace, Hephaestus looked at the figure inside.

If you want to start smelting, the first step is to weaken the power of the Styx on the other party.

"You don't actually need to do this kind of meaningless resistance, after all, this is not the underworld."

"No matter how powerful Styx's power is, it can't be endless. Your persistence has no meaning except to bring you some pain."

If you can shake the will of this mortal, maybe you can be more relaxed.

However, although there was no sound in the furnace, the power of the Styx did not weaken.

Hephaestus realized that he was doing useless work, and the other party would obviously not give up so easily.

"It's up to you. It won't take any more time."

"Since this is your own choice, as long as you don't regret it."

After observing the situation for a while, he determined that there would be no changes in the short term.

Hephaestus then leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes to rest.

This was the first stage of forging, and there was no technical content. It was just a pure strength confrontation.

He didn't expect to completely wear out the power of the Styx, but at least he had to suppress it first.

And this step just takes enough time.

...

Swish——

The flames burned, and three different colors covered everything.

At this moment in the furnace, compared with before, Achilles's body had already changed a lot.

The golden net that bound him was taken off and placed in the flames on the side.

Three different flame halos surrounded the hero, constantly colliding with the blue breath.

This was the power of the Styx consuming each other with them, and as Hephaestus said, Achilles did gradually feel some pain vaguely.

However, this level of pain was obviously not taken lightly. Sitting in the middle of the furnace, Achilles touched his arm, and the previous stone box appeared in front of him after a flash of light.

"The sun...compared to the God King's thunder, its power seems to be more powerful."

Just as Hephaestus didn't take him seriously, Achilles actually didn't take the God of Craftsman seriously either.

The surrounding flames were burning, but if he hadn't been counting on the other party's so-called 'tempering', the young hero would have drawn out his long sword and split the divine fire in front of him.

Even at this moment, he could feel the restlessness of the stone box.

The sleeping artifact was longing for perfection, but Achilles suppressed this fluctuation. After all, now was not the time.

The God of Craftsmanship in Olympus, he should have some abilities.

Achilles didn't know, but he was willing to give it a try.

So in the endless flames, time passed slowly.

On the first day, nothing happened.

Even if he consciously restrains the power of Styx in his body, Achilles is actually not able to actively control this power very well.

It only passively protects its host, rather than becoming part of his power.

This is an indestructible shield when threatened.

But it is obvious that the young hero cannot actively control this shield that is strong enough to resist divine power.

On the third day, the flames remained.

In the furnace, Achilles remained unchanged.

The young hero didn't know if the goddess of the underworld had noticed what was happening here and if she had any plans.

But at least so far, his strength does not seem to have diminished, and he is still firmly resisting the divine flames.

On the seventh day, the change finally happened.

Some materials that had never been seen before were thrown down from outside the furnace and landed next to Achilles.

In just an instant, they were easily reduced to ashes by the flames, and then sucked into the chest cavity in the form of smoke.

Achilles felt that his blood was flowing faster and faster, his strength seemed to be stronger, and his senses seemed to be sharper.

"This is a supplement for you to strengthen your body. You should have felt it."

"This is a formula I specially prepared based on your constitution. It is poison enough to kill any living creature except you."

"But in you, it can stimulate your deeper potential."

Hephaestus's voice came from outside, and his voice was no different from before.

Strengthening this human body is also part of his building plan.

"Heh, let's continue."

Achilles accepts all comers.

On the fourteenth day, Achilles, who had gradually become accustomed to the falling dust every day, noticed something new again.

This time, the material that fell into the furnace appeared to be some kind of oily liquid.

When it fell on him, the young hero felt as if he was a little bit 'alive' again.

Styx's power seemed to really fade away - no, it didn't fade away, but merged with him on a deeper level.

But on the surface, the cold current that isolated the divine fire weakened, and a little heat hit his face.

"bring it on."

His expression remained unchanged, the young hero knew what the God of Craftsman was planning.

The power of the Styx will contain the power of the outside world, but if the divine fire is allowed to exert pressure from the outside, and then processed with this special material, it is possible for him to truly integrate with the power of the Styx bit by bit.

At that time, he may still be 'immortal', and even more difficult to hurt than before. But what follows may be some flaws that he doesn't even know about.

"Hephaestus...it seems he does have some abilities."

“But if that’s all there is, I’m afraid it’s still far from enough.”

Faintly expecting, Achilles waited in the flames.

This is a crisis, but also an opportunity.

If he wants to defeat death, every bit of this strength is an indispensable accumulation for him.

······

clang--

clang--

clang--

…

The bells rang, and another day passed on Mount Olympus.

Forty-eight days have passed in the blink of an eye since Hephaestus went to the Sun Temple.

In the past days, even if he asked every day, the God of War only got the answer of 'wait quietly'.

The arrogant mortal remained unmoved under the divine fire, showing no signs of being refined.

Until a few days ago, Ares wanted to persuade Aphrodite to give up. However, this evening, he finally got good news.

Concerning that mortal concoct, the God Craftsman has made a breakthrough.

According to this trend, it won't take long for him to succeed.

"Afu, have you received the news too?"

In a good mood, the God of War knocked on the door of the Temple of the God of Beauty.

Because of a series of previous mistakes, Aphrodite had ignored him for a long time.

Fortunately, today's news has finally improved. Even without the help of the Mother Goddess, that damn mortal can't hold on anymore.

"Of course I know. After all, if I still count on you, then I'm afraid I won't be able to accomplish anything."

With an annoyed glance, Aphrodite saw Ares's intention at a glance.

Recently, I have neglected him a little. Although this nominal husband is a little incompetent, it still has some effect.

The goddess of beauty knows that it is okay for her to scold him, but she must always make him feel that he has gained something.

Just like gambling among mortals, it is okay to lose money, but you can't lose money all the time.

Let the first person win money first, then let the bystanders follow into your gambling table, and then let the people who follow lose together.

Just when they are upset, give them some chances to win, so that those who stay will be lucky and those who leave will regret.

Back and forth, in the tug of war, the winners and losers will eventually make the players unable to leave.

This is how gambling in the world works, and it is also the same when dealing with gods like Ares.

"I'm tired."

Speaking lightly, Aphrodite turned and walked into the temple.

She seemed to not want to communicate, but she did not drive the other party out of the temple.

Seeing this, Ares' eyes lit up and he hurriedly chased after him.

"Aphrodite, wait for me."

The night deepened and the moon hung on the branches.

The flames of the Sun Temple are still burning, and the temples of the gods are always bright.

The sacred mountain tastes part of the day and night, and today is no exception.

This night is still very long.