After a pleasant encounter with Antares, everyone gathered around the campfire, bonding and eating together. Hercules, Jason, and Atalanta were all sitting around Antares.
Jason: "Thank you for saving me."
Antares: "It's nothing. Help was needed, and I just lent a hand."
At this, Atalanta spoke with an angry face: "I wasn't about to kill my friend, at least not yet, but if it happens again, you'll become my prey. Anyway, don't interfere next time there's a problem between us."
Antares, more aggressively: "Hmm, we have an angry kitten here. How about a duel? Maybe I could use you to clean the ground."
Hercules intervened: "Please, children, calm down for now. We're all trying to get along; don't ruin the atmosphere."
While everyone was talking, Thetis and Chiron were watching Antares from afar.
Thetis: "My son is already helping the weak. I'm so proud of him."
Chiron: "Yes, you have a good son, but sometimes his language can be foul."
Thetis smiled slightly: "Yes, he's a bit like that, but everyone has their bad habits."
Thetis and Chiron clinked their glasses: "To our health!"
After drinking her wine, Thetis left Chiron, stood up, and went over to sit beside Antares.
Thetis: "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, my son?"
Everyone was shocked—they knew who this figure was because Chiron had told them this was the goddess Thetis.
Everyone bowed their heads.
Hercules: "I am Hercules, Goddess Thetis. It's an honor to meet you."
Thetis, with a slight smile on her face: "So, Hercules, why are you here?"
Hercules: "Actually, I should be leaving soon. I'm planning to get married. The wedding is in a year."
Thetis: "Congratulations!"
Then Thetis looked at Atalanta: "Were you the one who attacked my son?"
Atalanta felt a moment of fear but prayed to Artemis in her heart and calmed down: "It was a small misunderstanding."
Thetis looked at her son.
Antares: "Well, yes. After all, she was the one who got beaten."
Atalanta stood up, ready to attack.
But Thetis' voice deepened: "Sit down, child of Artemis."
Atalanta clenched her teeth and sat back down.
Thetis then turned to Antares and smacked him on the head, burying his face into the sand. She knew how tough her son was, so she wasn't gentle when she touched or hit him.
Antares spat out dirt from his mouth.
Thetis: "Be careful when you talk to girls. Otherwise, you won't get married in the future."
Antares angrily: "If the girl I'm supposed to marry is like Atalanta, I'd prefer not to marry at all."
Atalanta was fuming, but Thetis hit Antares again.
This time, he looked at his mother with serious eyes—he was angry at her for the first time.
Then, he pointed to a mountain 100 kilometers away, and a beam of energy shot from his hand, hitting the mountain's peak and blasting it, changing its appearance. Thetis was shocked.
Antares: "Mother, this isn't my power. I converted the force from when you hit me into energy and just randomly fired it."
Thetis' eyes widened—she hadn't realized how hard she'd hit him.
Thetis, with a tearful voice: "I'm sorry, Antares. I hit you too hard."
Antares coldly: "Don't be sorry; be better."
Then he stood up, left his mother, and went to sleep.
Thetis remained at the camp, teary-eyed. Jason comforted her. After a while, Thetis stood up and went to her room to sleep. She saw that Antares was already asleep, and she gently touched his face.
Thetis: "I'm sorry, my son. I didn't realize I hit you so hard. I hope you can forgive me."
Antares didn't respond and just kept sleeping.
Thetis then changed into her nightgown and went to bed.
---
The Next Day
Today, Antares had training with Hercules. Hercules was explaining Pankration.
Hercules: "The most important thing in this martial art is, once you grab your opponent, finish them off. That's the core of Pankration. Let's begin. You seem to have some combat experience, so the best way to learn is through practice. You and I will train every day."
Antares nodded.
Hercules and Antares went to an empty sandy area. This was a special training ground. They looked at each other, and Hercules counted down from three.
3... 2... 1... Start!
In an instant, Hercules appeared in front of Antares and punched him in the stomach.
Antares saw this as an opportunity and uppercut Heracles, causing him to take a few steps back. Antares followed up, jumping into the air and attempting a spinning kick. Hercules saw it coming and blocked it, then grabbed Antares by his clothes and threw him. As Antares was thrown, Hercules chased after him, grabbed his face, and tried to slam him into the ground. But unexpectedly, Antares grabbed his wrist and squeezed it. Heracles felt the pain.
Antares: "The most important rule—once you catch your opponent, destroy them."
Antares then punched Hercules in the stomach, his fist sinking in. Hercules dropped to his knees and vomited a little. After a few seconds, he recovered.
Hercules: "I feel like I'm the one learning here. What is this?"
Antares just smiled: "We're learning from each other. I'm not used to Pankration, but thanks to you, I'm adapting quickly. I don't feel your strikes anymore. If I allowed you to use your ether, things might get more exciting."
And so, they fought for six hours. Antares took some good hits occasionally, but he didn't feel them. Instead, they only fueled him. He wasn't initially interested in Pankration, but thanks to Hercules, he began to enjoy and learn it.
As they were about to start a new round, Chiron arrived and saw that the arena had been damaged. However, it had repaired itself, so there was no need to worry.
Chiron: "Antares, Pankration class is over. Now, we'll move on to literature and music."
Thus, the days passed with Chiron.
It was just an ordinary morning, as usual. Antares had gotten used to fighting Heracles, and if he wanted, he wouldn't even take a single hit.
However, he allowed Heracles to land blows on him from time to time. But what was surprising today was that a goddess was coming to visit. And the one coming was someone Antares did not like.
To be continued...
(guys, you know, send power stones, and don't forget to comment and review, please!!!!)
(I still want to add Achilles in the story, so I will make some changes in Achilles story, and you can say this is fate au, so don't comment about it to lore because it's so deep)