"I am not nervous, not nervous at all."
Sitting on the back of the Pegasus, Jason slowly inhaled and exhaled, trying to suppress the fluctuating emotions in his heart.
But beneath that masked face, panic was still evident.
Logically speaking, it was just delivering wedding invitations. Even though they were for the gods, there was no reason for Jason to be this nervous.
But that also depended on who the recipient was.
The simple reason Jason was so nervous right now was because of the God-King Zeus.
Although God-King Zeus had appeared multiple times during Jason's journey, and even transformed into a gray eagle to guide Jason in the matter of the snake demoness Lamia, the two had never actually met in any meaningful way until today.
The closest they had come to meeting was at the banquet prepared by the Sun God Helios last time.
And now, Jason, heading to Mount Olympus, needed to personally hand the wedding invitation in his hand to Zeus.
Just thinking about Zeus's various deeds, how could Jason not be nervous?
Mount Olympus, the sacred mountain of Olympus, was a domain mortals could not set foot in.
In the myths, the hero Bellerophon, who tamed Pegasus with the help of the wise Athena and defeated the monster Chimera, had attempted to fly to Mount Olympus and thus received punishment from the gods, falling from the high skies.
However, Jason clearly had no such worries.
Not only that, but when he approached the sacred Mount Olympus, a piercing eagle cry rang out, and a majestic gray eagle came to Jason's side.
After circling Jason a few times, it led the way ahead, personally guiding Jason into Mount Olympus.
There were no obstacles along the way. The eagle brought Jason to the grand gates of the divine palace and then vanished from sight.
And just as the sacred Pegasus, carrying Jason in white clothes and a mask, descended.
Outside the door, gods who had been waiting for a long time were already standing there.
"Hero in white, Heracles, long time no see."
The messenger of the gods, Hermes, smiled as he watched the young man dismount from the Pegasus and bow to him. He said, "Come on, the respected King of the Gods has been waiting for you for quite some time."
With that, Hermes personally led Jason into the divine palace.
Inside the grand divine palace, beautiful nymphs were busily at work.
They respectfully greeted the approaching Hermes and curiously gazed at Jason beside him.
For a moment, they subconsciously mistook Jason for the most handsome god, the God of Light Apollo, but only realized it was not him upon closer inspection.
And what surprised them even more was that this youth walking alongside Hermes was actually a child, a human!
Because of this, more and more came forward to greet them.
After exchanging greetings, they gathered to one side, chattering softly about Jason.
"You... really attract attention no matter where you go."
Seeing this, Hermes could not help but tease Jason.
"Ahem, Lord Hermes, what are you saying? I do not quite understand..."
As Jason responded, a figure at the end of the corridor caught his attention.
It was an extremely dignified goddess.
Wearing a white robe, her white hair gently swaying in the wind.
She stood at the corner, as if waiting for someone.
The reason she drew Jason's gaze was because her eyes were covered by a white cloth.
"Respected Goddess Themis, why are you here?"
As Jason curiously examined this uniquely appearing goddess, Hermes arrived before the goddess with eyes covered by white cloth and seemed greatly surprised.
Respected?
Hearing Hermes's address to this goddess, Jason could not help but be stunned.
"Jason, this is Goddess Themis, the embodiment of justice and order, the most impartial arbiter of Olympus... She holds a status equivalent to the Goddess Rhea you have met!"
Seeing Jason's confusion, Hermes provided the answer.
Upon hearing this, Jason's expression showed slight emotion.
Because he knew Rhea; she was the mother of Zeus and the others, the former second-generation Queen of the Gods!
The Goddess of Law and Justice, Themis.
She was the creator and guardian of order.
Moreover, she was the sister of the God-King Cronus, father of God-King Zeus and the others.
Thus, her status was naturally extremely noble, and with her impartial handling of affairs, she was respected by all gods, including God-King Zeus.
Those eyes covered by white cloth signified that she did not recognize people; only the symbol of justice in her hand did.
So, as Jason was inwardly surprised, he felt as if Themis was gazing at him... Although her eyes were obscured by the white cloth, Jason felt she was indeed looking at him.
"Finally, I meet you."
Then, this goddess who represented absolute justice and rarely smiled spoke calmly to Jason: "Child of the Goddess of the Crossroads, Hecate."
"...Respected Goddess Themis, you know me?"
"I do." Themis nodded lightly and said faintly, "What you did for Lamia back then, I have always watched... Rhea went to see you because of me."
Upon hearing this, Jason was slightly stunned.
And at that moment, Themis gently raised her left hand, and a sacred balance scale appeared in her left hand.
"I have witnessed your judgment in the matter between Lamia and God-King Zeus, and I have also seen what you did when facing Sisyphus, who was punished by the gods. Therefore, now... I decide to entrust it to you temporarily."
As Themis spoke, she handed the sacred balance in her hand to the somewhat dazed Jason before her.
At this moment, not only was Jason dazed, but even Hermes watching from the side was also dazed.
"Jason, you used a kind lie to deceive the Queen of the Gods Hera... Although this was a result tacitly approved by the gods, it was clearly unfair to Queen Hera."
Knowing Jason's confusion, Themis continued calmly, "Therefore, now I entrust this thing that can weigh all items in the world to you... Jason, I will scrutinize the answer you give; this is my test for you."
"Test?"
Jason and Hermes spoke out at the same time.
"To become an immortal god, one must first find a divine seat."
Themis said faintly to Jason, "Jason, among the gods in the heavens, there is no divine seat for you..."
"There are actually many vacant divine seats," Hermes could not help but interject.
Themis turned her head, her white-cloth-covered gaze toward Hermes.
Hermes shrank back, gave an awkward smile, and retreated.
"Indeed, there are many vacant divine seats on Olympus, but none of them belong to you, Jason."
"Because... you are the successor I have chosen."
Jason's eyes widened slightly.
Hermes beside him was completely shocked at this moment.
"Therefore, until I renounce you, you cannot inherit any divine seat... Now, will you accept this balance scale?"
"...Great Goddess Themis, I feel I am fundamentally unqualified for your position..." Jason said with exceptional honesty.
This really did not suit him...
"Whether you can fulfill it, I will give a fair evaluation based on your actions." Themis interrupted Jason's words faintly.
"Now, you only need to tell me if you will accept this balance."
"...Goddess Themis, I think you are destined to be disappointed." Jason was silent for a moment, then reached out to take the sacred balance.
After all, Jason had no reason to refuse.
Although this was undoubtedly a very troublesome matter.
But it was also a guarantee... Since Jason had become a candidate for Themis's divine seat, the Themis who was testing him would undoubtedly become his protector!
And from Hermes's reaction beside him.
It was already undoubtedly clear how transcendent a goddess Themis was.
Thus, although Jason believed this divine seat was one hundred percent unsuitable for him, considering that Themis had pointed out the matter with Queen Hera.
Agreeing to become a candidate now was clearly more advantageous!
"I will not be disappointed, because in my eyes, there are only two outcomes: suitable and unsuitable." Themis said faintly.
At the same time as she spoke, the sacred balance emitted a dazzling white light and finally transformed into a mark, imprinting on the back of Jason's left hand.
And after that mark appeared on the back of Jason's left hand, this goddess who rarely smiled, under the incredulous gaze of Hermes beside her.
Revealed a faint, light smile.
"Child, remember, until I make the final decision, you are my only successor, therefore..."
After the smile flashed across Themis's face, she continued, "Until I make the final judgment, besides my divine seat, you must absolutely not touch any other divine seat... Not even the night divine authority of the Goddess of Night, Nyx."
Hmm... How do you know that Goddess Nyx said she wanted to pass her divine seat to me?
Wait, you did not rush to appear and mark me first because of this, did you?!
Jason felt a twinge of unease in his heart; he felt as if he had accidentally fallen into a pit...
But no matter what Jason thought now, after doing all this, this blindfolded goddess turned and vanished into the divine palace.
"The divine authority of Goddess Themis... Jason, you have gotten yourself into big trouble."
This was the divine seat of Themis, the goddess representing absolute justice.
And this goddess's divine seat held power that could even bind the gods!
The balance scale in her left hand possessed the ability to weigh all things in the world.
The sword in her right hand could slay all unjust and evil things.
Even gods, if they committed unjust acts, as long as judged by the balance in Themis's hand, her sword could slay them!
Why such a great goddess would choose Jason as her successor was something not only Jason could not understand, but Hermes also could not fathom.
But in any case, the matter was done, and Themis had left her mark on Jason's left hand.
With no resolution in sight, Jason could only continue with Hermes toward the depths of the divine palace to meet the God-King Zeus seated on the throne of the King of the Gods!