The four divine horses, their entire bodies burning with flames, even their breaths carrying sparks.
Carrying the Sun God Helios seated on the sun chariot, along with the white-robed hero Heracles, they charged toward the azure sky.
That is right. Now seated on the sun chariot was not Jason, but the great hero clad in white robes, Heracles!
Just before boarding the sun chariot, Jason requested of Helios to let him don a mask and transform into the white-robed hero Heracles.
The reason, naturally, was because of Hera... After all, for a mortal body to board the sun chariot and moreover drive it forward.
For such a matter, Jason dared not gamble that the Queen of the Gods Hera would happen to be dozing, thereby failing to notice this.
Seated in the golden sun chariot, the high-temperature flames burning on the sun chariot could not help but rush toward Jason's face.
But under the protection of the unquenchable fire of the Underworld, such flames would not affect Jason in the slightest.
Because the flames on the sun chariot were not true divine fire.
In the stories of Greek mythology, there is such a very typical tale.
The prophetic and foreknowing god Prometheus, he is the great god who stole divine fire down and granted it to humanity.
When facing the furious accusations of the God-King Zeus, the cunning retort was that it was not he who stole divine fire to give to humanity, but rather that the sun chariot, during its flight, accidentally set forests ablaze, and humanity thereby obtained the spark of fire.
But the God-King Zeus and the others fundamentally did not believe Prometheus's words, precisely because the flames on the sun chariot were completely different from divine fire; they were flames of a lesser grade.
Thus, the unquenchable fire on Jason's body could easily withstand the flames of the sun chariot.
After the Sun God Helios boarded the sun chariot and gripped the reins of the four flame divine horses in his hand, his expression immediately became exceptionally solemn.
Even for him, such a powerful god, when driving the sun chariot, he dared not slacken in the slightest; it was the kind where he exerted his full effort.
After all, even among the Olympian gods, the most powerful God-King Zeus did not wish to appear to block the sun chariot during its run.
As for the other Olympian gods, even the God of War Ares dared not.
Athena might have a bit of confidence, after all, in her hand she held the world's hardest shield.
Under the driving of the Sun God Helios, the sun chariot gradually broke through the clouds and arrived at the highest place in the sky.
This was a territory that even divine horses had never flown through, which could not help but make the quietly seated Jason feel a trace of curiosity.
He lowered his head and looked toward the earth.
"Child, do not look!"
Seeing this, Helios's heart could not help but jolt in alarm!
Because at this moment, the sun chariot had already, under Helios's driving, arrived at the highest point of the journey; that was the summit of the heavens!
In such a place, even the Sun God Helios would feel dizzy and disoriented because of it, and he dared not look down at the ground.
Because as long as one glanced at the earth, that boundless and endlessly unfolding vast land and ocean would make even a god like him feel his heart seize in terror!
Therefore, in Helios's view, Jason, gazing upon such an earth for the first time, would certainly be frightened into utter terror by this scene, his face drained of color in shock, becoming pale, his mind in panic with extreme fear and alarm.
Helios did not wish to leave a bad impression on Jason from the first time, or even give him a psychological shadow.
After all, tomorrow his child Phaethon was to drive the sun chariot. If at this time the only one who could save his child, Jason, suddenly fled in fear, what then!
And then, just as Helios felt worried because of this...
"Mm, sorry, Helios."
Hearing Helios's voice, Jason withdrew his gaze. Under Helios's gaze, he revealed an expression of feeling extremely apologetic.
"I was just slightly curious. I will not look anymore, Helios."
Although Jason did not know what had suddenly come over Helios, he still very obediently admitted his mistake.
He withdrew his gaze and continued to obediently sit in the sun chariot, staring straight ahead at the boundless summit of the heavens before him.
Seeing this, Helios was stunned for a moment. After carefully observing Jason for a bit, a strange expression could not help but appear on his face.
"Jason... Oh, no, Heracles."
"Mm?" Jason turned his head to look at Helios and respectfully said, "Great Sun God Helios, may I ask if you have any instructions?"
"It is not that. It is just... Do you think the scenery below is beautiful?"
Helios organized his words for a moment, then stared straight at Jason and asked.
Jason was slightly stunned and subconsciously leaned forward to glance at the earth again.
Then he withdrew his line of sight. Facing Helios, who was looking at him with widened eyes, Jason inwardly thought "oh no" and hurriedly said, "Sorry, Helios. I did not mean to look at the ground. I just now was only..."
"It is fine, it is fine." Helios interrupted Jason's words and continued to ask, "Then do you think... it is beautiful?"
"Mm... Beautiful!"
Jason thought for a moment. Since the Sun God Helios pulled the sun chariot like this every day, he must certainly also find the ground beautiful.
Moreover, looking down at the ground from the sky was actually truly beautiful.
Especially from within a city, sitting by the airplane window, as the plane gradually ascends higher, overlooking the earth; one would truly feel it to be extremely beautiful, and moreover find it exceptionally interesting.
Because as the plane flies higher, and the earth gradually shrinks smaller, looking at the buildings on the ground gives one a feeling as if playing a game called "Civilization."
Especially as time passes, one can clearly see the changes occurring in the city from the airplane; that is truly fascinating.
"...Child." Hearing Jason's response and gazing at Jason's sea-green eyes, the Sun God Helios's expression could not help but gradually become strange as he said, "You... do not feel afraid at all?
Moreover, you do not have a feeling of dizziness or blurred vision?"
"Afraid?" Jason was slightly stunned.
Why be afraid?... Oh, speaking of which, the first time riding an airplane, it was indeed quite frightening; at that time, it felt like one's legs would not stop shaking.
As for dizziness or blurred vision...
"Not afraid, but for dizziness or blurred vision... hypoxia?"
Jason's expression gradually became somewhat strange as he looked at Helios.
The Sun God would also suffer from hypoxia?
"Hypoxia?" Helios was slightly stunned. "What is hypoxia?"
"Mm... Helios, may I ask you something briefly?"
Jason thought for a moment and said to the puzzled Helios, "Helios, do you feel that every time you drive the sun chariot and reach this place now... especially when lingering too long in this very spot, your head starts to feel a bit dizzy, but that symptom gradually disappears once the sun chariot begins flying toward the ground?"
"How do you know?" Helios looked at Jason with a face full of surprise.
How do I know?... Because from just now, I have started feeling that breathing is a bit difficult. By the way, you are a god and you still feel it!
"Actually, this is also the point I am most worried about. When Phaethon drives the sun chariot and arrives here, he will certainly also be frightened into trembling legs and dizziness from the extreme height.
In that case, he absolutely will not be able to grasp the horses' reins and might even fall from the sun chariot because of it; it is truly too dangerous!
But what makes me happy is that you, child, are not afraid at all. I believe you can certainly handle tomorrow's task!"
"Mm... Sorry, Helios. I might have to disappoint you, because even I will certainly experience dizziness and blurred vision, even nausea and retching, with my mind gradually fading."
Jason thought for a moment and replied with the truth.
"What?" Helios was startled and looked at Jason, saying, "But you are not afraid at all!"
"Because of the hypoxia... Actually, it is like this. The sun chariot is still missing a device. Helios, you also know that my teacher is the God of Craftsmen, Teacher Hephaestus, right?
So solving this problem is simple. If Helios allows it, tonight I will trouble Teacher to come over once and install the device that Teacher did not put on back then. By that time, this situation will absolutely not occur."
Jason explained in words that Helios could understand.
Hearing Jason's words, Helios naturally appeared somewhat skeptical, because he did not understand... But he still nodded and agreed.
After all, humans cannot lie to gods. Helios was rather curious whether Jason could solve this problem that had troubled him for hundreds of years!
And at this moment, Jason's heart also felt it was quite absurd.
You, a Sun God, still get dizzy from hypoxia; that is something...
But then again, in this place, the sun chariot can still burn and run, and the divine horses are completely fine; that is absurd enough to begin with.
But absurd as it is, if truly speaking of absurdity, the fact that gods truly exist in this world, and moreover that gods hold divine authority, is the most absurd thing. Therefore, Jason just accepted it.
After all, reality this thing is far more fantastical than writing books.
Reality fundamentally does not need logic. Even if something has no logic, because it is reality, you do not want to accept it, but you have no choice; you must accept it!
Thus, in summary, Jason still felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, he had come today to experience it once.
If tomorrow he went directly into the field and only then discovered this problem, the consequences... Jason felt he himself would probably be fine, after all, he had bathed in the Styx and been tempered by the flames of the Underworld; his body could truly endure it.
As for that person named Phaethon, forget anything else; it was extremely possible he would directly faint from lack of oxygen.
The subsequent matters proceeded naturally.
Although Helios did not quite understand Jason's words, since he saw that Jason was not afraid, he boldly handed the reins to Jason.
And Jason did not refuse and accepted them.
Tomorrow was the battlefield; refusing now would be foolish.
At the same time, with the War God's Belt of Ares, Jason naturally also possessed great strength to pull the reins and control those four violent flame divine horses.
Thus, one could see that at the highest point in the sky, Jason pulling the reins, under Helios's guidance, began to bring the sun chariot plunging sharply downward from the sky!
Just like the noonday sun beginning to set.
The sharply plunging path required firmly grasping the reins and carefully driving.
Faced with such a situation, Helios seated beside Jason had an exceptionally solemn expression. He stared fixedly at the situation, prepared to lend a hand to Jason at the slightest sign of mishap.
Because even he had to concentrate his spirit to prevent himself from directly plummeting from the sky into the depths of the sea thousands of feet below.
Although he would not die because of it, but the burning sun chariot, representing the sun's sun chariot, if it fell into the sea.
That... would not be a joking matter at all!
But what surprised Helios was that even until the end, the situation he worried about did not occur.
After all, Jason cherished his own little life more than he did, more than any person or god.
Even the centaur sage Chiron had said that he was most at ease with Jason.
Because he even felt that even if the world were destroyed, Jason would not die...
Thus, Jason gripping the reins showed not the slightest slackening; on the contrary, those four divine horses felt resentment in their hearts from being reined in by Jason.
The Sun God Helios at least would give them moments to relax, but Jason gave none at all; it was simply like a tightly strung rope.
And so, just like that, under Jason's driving, the sun chariot successfully flew from the highest point to the lowest point.
In the end, carrying what seemed like burning crimson clouds, it gradually vanished at the horizon.
And when the sun chariot completed its task for the day, the veil of night slowly descended, covering the sky. As Jason let out a breath of relief.
He suddenly felt someone looking at him and instinctively turned his head to look around.
Then, in the night curtain that was slowly covering the evening glow, Jason saw a goddess who seemed somewhat familiar... That was precisely the primordial deity representing night, the Night Goddess Nyx.
At this moment, she too was seated in a black chariot.
And with a very strange gaze, she looked at Jason, who held the reins of the sun chariot in his hand, and at the Sun God Helios beside him, whose expression toward him was exceptionally surprised and delighted.
Then, as the two chariots representing different spans of time crossed paths, Nyx could not help but fall into contemplation...
"Have I missed something very interesting?"
Nyx muttered softly and felt that she would grab Hecate in a bit to properly ask what was going on!
Not long after, Hecate appeared in Nyx's chariot with a face full of puzzlement.
And when she learned that it was again, once more, because of her obedient disciple Jason, black lines could not help but appear on Hecate's forehead.
But she still truthfully told the situation to the Nyx goddess.
"You mean, tomorrow he is to drive the sun chariot alone?"
"Mm, it is not exactly alone; there will also be the son of the Sun God Helios accompanying..."
As Hecate spoke, she saw Nyx's eyes gradually light up, revealing an expression of "this seems quite interesting!"
The corners of her mouth could not help but twitch as she said, "That Nyx senior, could it be... you also want to try?"