The bards sing praises of the tale of the white-robed hero named Jason.
And that hero, at this moment, continues his own journey.
Weaving the final legend of his own story.
Bidding farewell to the heroes of the Argo and departing from the land of Iolcus, Jason rides the sacred celestial steed.
After nearly a week of travel, he arrives at the Caucasus Mountains.
It is precisely the mountain range where the prophetic and foreseeing god Prometheus is bound by chains and suspended high above.
Carrying doubts in his heart along with certain demands, Jason returns here once more, coming before Prometheus, who is missing his left eye.
"Long time no see, child."
Prometheus is not surprised by Jason's arrival, after all, his left eye is with Jason.
Thus, he has actually witnessed Jason's growth.
Seeing Jason again fills Prometheus with great joy, his gaze upon Jason brimming with boundless affection.
At the same time, there is a trace of apology in his eyes.
Jason dismounts from the heavenly horse and quietly surveys the surroundings. Seeing no eagle present, he lets out a quiet sigh of relief in his heart while respectfully bowing to Prometheus.
Cerberus did not come along; Jason left her at the foot of the mountain.
Cerberus was unwilling to ascend anyway; upon hearing she might encounter Zeus...
And just as Jason is about to say something.
"I am sorry, child. It seems I have brought you tremendous trouble."
Prometheus's words leave Jason stunned, and he cannot help but cast a puzzled and confused gaze toward him.
"You have come to me, likely seeking answers, have you not?
Why the great god-king Zeus would suddenly abandon the goddess Thetis and even seek to arrange a marriage between you and her."
Prometheus speaks, gazing at Jason with slight apology, and says: "I am sorry, child. That is actually because of my fault.
The goddess Thetis actually bears a divine oracle upon her.
The child she bears is destined to be more powerful than his own father.
Thus, Zeus is unwilling to see her wed any god, so he has set his sights upon you."
Hearing this, Jason immediately understands everything.
The anxiety that had plagued his heart over the matter of the goddess Thetis finally settles.
In truth, if it were merely for this matter, Jason seems to have had no need to travel so far to meet Prometheus.
But this is not Jason's fault; mainly, he dares not ask Athena or Teacher Hecate about it...
"I see, I understand now, Lord Prometheus. So as long as I become a god before that, it will be fine!"
Knowing the reason, finding a targeted solution becomes quite simple.
"Yes, that is indeed a method, but child, you must be careful. God-king Zeus likely will not let you escape so easily, after all..."
At this point, Prometheus looks at Jason and cannot help but smile, saying: "That goddess seems to have never resisted this marriage all along."
"Child, I think this is not a bad thing. You have already reached the age to start a family, and moreover, Zeus will not blame you for this; on the contrary, he will be delighted that you have resolved this trouble for him."
"Even if your heart already belongs to your teacher, but..."
"Ahem!" Jason hurriedly clears his throat lightly, interrupting Prometheus's words.
His expression appears slightly embarrassed.
He does not understand why Prometheus is so interested in this matter, just like the goddess Hestia and godmother Demeter.
"Lord Prometheus, I am not yet at the age to start a family and establish a career..."
"Those words of yours might fool Zeus, but with me... By the way, Zeus is indeed not here right now.
Ever since I last informed him of the news about Thetis, he has stopped sending the eagle to peck at my heart."
Prometheus, interrupting Jason's words, smiles and says to him.
Hearing this, Jason falls silent for a time, then speaks to Prometheus with shame: "I am sorry, Lord Prometheus. Last time, I clearly promised I would rescue you, yet up to now, I have done nothing for you."
"You need not feel ashamed, child."
Seeing this, Prometheus's gaze softens, and he says to Jason: "Actually, I know your thoughts; you are not wrong.
Your refusal of the marriage, beyond fear, is also because you do not wish to decide so hastily; this is your respect for them.
You wish to become a god, gain certain qualifications, and then seriously consider their matters. Am I right?"
"No, Lord Prometheus, I am not as noble as you say." Jason shakes his head and says to Prometheus: "I am merely afraid of trouble and resist being controlled... just like a puppet on strings."
In response to Jason's defense, Prometheus merely smiles and does not dwell too long on the topic.
"My matter is not urgent; I know that one day in the future, I will surely break free... Oh, right, child, I happen to have something to tell you.
It concerns your teacher, the wise centaur Chiron."
Under Jason's slightly puzzled gaze, Prometheus's expression remains unchanged as he says to him: "Your senior brother Heracles has returned from the Amazons and completed one of his twelve labors.
At this moment, on his way back to Mycenae, he encountered a band of centaurs robbing others.
Your brave senior brother defeated them, but an accident occurred in the process.
Coincidentally, your teacher, the wise centaur Chiron, passed by that road.
Your senior brother mistook him for one of the centaur band and shot him with an arrow dipped in the deadly poison of the nine-headed Hydra."
Hearing this, Jason's expression changes instantly.
"Your senior brother no longer has the antidote on hand, and at this moment, the Hydra's poison is corroding your teacher's body.
If this poison spreads throughout his body and seeps into his bones, even with an antidote, it will be impossible to cure. So hurry, Jason.
Go find your teacher and save him!"
Hearing this, though Jason has some doubts in his heart and still has one matter he has not asked Prometheus about.
But at this moment, he cannot afford to care about that.
The thought that Teacher Chiron is in danger fills him with urgency. After expressing thanks to Prometheus, Jason immediately mounts the heavenly horse, takes out the compass granted by Athena, and rushes toward Chiron's location.
Because he is in such haste, Jason once again leaves behind Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound waiting for him at the foot of the mountain...
However, almost immediately after Jason departs.
"Come out, Goddess Athena of Wisdom. I know you are here."
With these words, in Prometheus's line of sight, a stunningly beautiful goddess clad in a white ancient-style long dress, with silver hair and golden eyes, emerges from the shadows.
It has been a long time since Prometheus last saw Athena, and he smiles, about to reminisce with her.
"Prometheus, do you not think you talk too much?!"
Athena glares fiercely at Prometheus with intense momentum.
Prometheus is momentarily stunned, then realizes it must be because of his earlier advice to Jason to accept the sea goddess Thetis.
Hmm, he cannot respond to this!
The goddess of wisdom, when in love, is how terrifying and mad.
Having witnessed the fall of the second divine court and Zeus's ascension as god-king, Prometheus knows this all too well.
"Athena, I did not know you had come here...?"
"I came to see what you two were saying, to check if you were discussing things you should not."
Athena replies, and the "things you should not" she mentions naturally refers to the god-slaying sword.
"Rest assured, Athena, I am not so foolish..."
"Is that so? I think your brain has probably been sun-baked to ruin!" Athena glances at Prometheus, unsparing in her words.
Before Prometheus can speak, she continues: "You told Jason to go save Chiron, but what about you? Just hang here forever?"
Prometheus did not deceive Jason; in the future, he will indeed break free one day, and that day actually concerns the matter of Chiron!
After the wise centaur Chiron is struck by the Hydra's poison, due to his divine nature, the poison does not take his life.
But it causes Chiron immense suffering.
Thus, to gain release, Chiron ultimately has Heracles come to Prometheus and shatter his chains.
At the same time, he takes Prometheus's place in punishment and dies at the hands of god-king Zeus.
And so Prometheus gains freedom, needing only to wear an iron ring with a pebble from the Caucasus Mountains embedded in it.
But now, he has sent Jason to save Chiron, knowing full well that Jason has the antidote prepared by Asclepius.
This equates to forfeiting this opportunity.
Facing Athena's questioning, Prometheus chuckles lightly and gives a simple answer: "Because I do not wish to see that child grieve over this matter."
Athena pauses upon hearing this, gazing at the Prometheus before her.
Then, without saying more, she turns to leave.
To pick up Cerberus waiting below.
Just as she is about to leave Prometheus's sight, Athena suddenly stops and says: "But I feel that you will ultimately be saved... That child will likely learn of this.
Therefore, he absolutely will not leave you be!"
And in fact, just as Athena said.
On his way to Teacher Chiron, Jason learns of the matter concerning his teacher Chiron.
From his teacher, the goddess of the roads, Hecate.