Helen didn't know where Theseus had gone.
All she knew was that on the day he left, he told her to stay safely at his friend's house and promised he'd be back soon.
But who would have guessed that once Theseus left, he'd be gone for over a month?
As more people learned about Helen's presence and saw her beauty, combined with the fact that Theseus and his friend hadn't returned, her situation became increasingly dangerous.
Eventually, with the help of a maid, she managed to escape.
The stars in the night sky and the bonfire lit up the darkness, and the light of the flame dispelled the coldness from Helen.
Her golden hair was flowing, and her purple eyes had a magic that could easily capture a man.
Even though she was stained by dust, she was still as exquisite as the most outstanding work forged by the god of craftsmen.
She recounted everything that had happened since she left home... except for the fact that she hadn't been kidnapped by Theseus but had actually run away willingly.
Even the most beautiful songbirds yearn for the world beyond their gilded cages, but once they leave those confines, they discover just how dangerous the outside world truly is.
Helen spoke softly, carefully watching Promise as she did so.
Every time Promise looked up and met her gaze, Helen would shyly turn her head like a frightened rabbit, only to sneak glances back at him shortly after, as if she were trying to confirm something.
Helen was indeed trying to verify whether Promise was falling under her charm.
She was well aware of her own allure—after all, even the most beautiful goddess, Aphrodite, had appeared before her and praised her as a weapon capable of captivating any man.
And after looking at each other again and again, Helen finally became convinced that the man in front of her was really immune to her charm.
Feeling a mix of joy and slight disappointment, Helen was pulled from her thoughts when Promise, who had been silent until now, suddenly burst out laughing.
Seeing her confused expression, he couldn't help but smile and say, "You were acting just like a scared little bunny just now... Don't worry, Helen. I'll protect you. You're the sister of my dear friends, after all.
They've always told me about you, saying that once I came down from the mountain, they'd introduce you to me. If you don't mind, you can even call me brother... Oh, by the way, did they ever mention me to you? What did they say?"
Looking at the boy in front of her, looking at her with curiosity,
Helen hesitated for a moment before responding, "My sister said that, Promise...brother Promise, you're someone who can be trusted in any situation. She also said... that..."
At this point, her voice trailed off, but with some reluctance, she added, "She said you're really weak... that even I could bully you."
Helen's honest reply left Promise stunned for a moment, while Pegasus snickered loudly from the side until Promise shot him a glare that made him quickly lower his head in mock obedience.
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
Promise huffed in annoyance before stepping closer to Helen and holding out his hand.
"What do you mean, I'm so weak that you could bully me? Your sister's got it all wrong! Come on, let's arm-wrestle—I bet I'm stronger than you!"
Clearly frustrated, Promise challenged her, while Pegasus rolled its eyes in disbelief.
*Are you a kid? Competing in strength with a little girl?*
But it knew full well that Promise was just trying to ease Helen's tension.
Upon hearing this, Helen obediently placed her hand in the boy's hand again.
As she felt the warmth and security of his large hand, she started to wonder why he wasn't applying any strength yet and whether she should try harder herself…
"Helen..."
Promise fought to maintain a serious expression as he looked her in the eyes and said, "Let's call off the match. I've suddenly realized that this kind of competition is meaningless."
Helen tilted her head in confusion.
Before she could figure out what was going on, Pegasus couldn't hold back anymore and began rolling on the ground in laughter, completely losing it.
"I've had enough of you, Pegasus!" Promise shouted in anger as he jumped to his feet, only to be held back by Helen, who was still clutching his hand.
A brief moment of awkwardness passed as Promise cleared his throat and said, "Helen, you can let go now..."
Helen blinked, finally realizing what he meant, and quickly released his hand.
As she watched Promise charge at Pegasus in embarrassment…
*It's just like my sister said—he's so weak, even I could bully him.*
Helen thought to herself, but her mind wandered back to what had happened earlier that afternoon.
Thinking of this, Helen suddenly recalled what happened in the afternoon, and the scene in front of the Skeleton Temple, in front of the terrifying Antaeus, yet he was still able to smile calmly and defeat him easily.
Wait, are these two really the same person?
She found herself bewildered as the contrasting images of Promise—the formidable hero and the playful boy wrestling with a winged horse—overlapped in her mind.
The contrast was too much, and eventually, Helen couldn't help but laugh out loud.
As she laughed, all the tension and fear that had built up inside her since she left home seemed to melt away.
But as the laughter turned to tears, Helen cried until, once again, she drifted off to sleep.
Helen fell asleep on Pegasus.
The next day, as the sun lit up the world again, Promise woke up, only to find that Helen was nowhere in sight and even Pegasus was missing.
Just as he was beginning to worry, both Pegasus and Helen came back from the forest.
Her golden hair was slightly damp, and her light-blue dress looked freshly cleaned... It turned out that Pegasus had taken Helen to wash her hair and clothes.
Speaking of which...this Pegasus actually loved cleanliness very much.
"Brother Promise, you're awake!" Helen said, holding the wild fruits she had just picked in her arms, and ran towards Promise in small steps.
The soft voice, which sounded a little childish, and the innocent smile made him pause for a moment.
"Now I get why they always brag about having you as their sister… Theseus, just wait, no matter what you say this time, you'll get a beating!" Promise muttered through gritted teeth.
Looking at the boy with gritted teeth in front of her, Helen was stunned for a moment.
After she came to her senses, she lowered her head slightly with guilt.
Caught between wanting to confess everything to Promise and being afraid of telling him the truth, Helen remained silent as they finished breakfast.
Before she knew it, they were back in the sky, flying toward where Theseus might be.
Helen didn't know exactly where Theseus had gone, but that didn't really matter. Promise had gotten used to relying on Pegasus to guide the way.
As for Pegasus, well..he was well-accustomed to following the markers that the gods had conveniently left.
Theseus wasn't far away.
After about half a day of flight, Pegasus landed on an island.
This was Crete, an island ruled by King Minos.
If that name doesn't ring a bell, then perhaps this will: the island is home to a massive labyrinth housing the Minotaur—a creature known as Asterius.
Yes, it's the very monster destined to be defeated by Theseus!
This story even inspired a famous "bible" in the FGO game community.
But the origin of Asterius is where things get even more interesting.
When Minos, the king of this island, became king, he sought miracles from Poseidon, the god of the sea, so that his usurpation of the throne would be legitimate. For this purpose, he knelt for a long time in Poseidon's temple and prayed devoutly to him.
Moved by his sincerity, Poseidon caused a large, beautiful white bull to emerge from the sea and appear before Minos.
Poseidon then discreetly instructed Minos to sacrifice the bull to him as an offering, promising to show a miracle in return.
However, Minos was so enchanted by the bull's beauty that he couldn't bear to sacrifice it. Instead, he offered a regular bull in its place, hoping Poseidon wouldn't notice.
Naturally, this infuriated Poseidon, who cursed Minos' wife, causing her to fall madly in love with the white bull.
Eventually, Minos' wife had a wooden cow constructed, and she approached the bull…
And thus, the Minotaur, Asterius, was born…
In this story, there are actually different versions of the myth.
One classic version suggests that the white bull was actually Zeus in disguise, and his target was naturally the beautiful wife of King Minos.
Another version claims that the white bull was initially Poseidon in disguise, intending to appear after the sacrifice to declare that King Minos had helped him, proving Minos was the rightful king.
But regardless of the version, one thing is clear: King Minos ended up with a very green hat, thanks to a bull.
...
.....
Later, after leaving Pegasus to watch over Helen, Promise ventured into the kingdom on the island and, after revealing his identity, quickly met with King Minos.
When King Minos learned of Promise's purpose, he informed him directly that Theseus had entered the labyrinth the day before.
And this was the punishment given to Theseus by Hades, the god of the underworld.
This also explains why Theseus was on this island instead of in the Underworld.
Let's first talk about how Theseus and his friends entered the underworld. The person who helped them enter the underworld was none other than Hermes, the messenger of the gods!
Knowing that the two of them were so bold as to want to go to the underworld to see Persephone, Hermes, who loved to watch the fun, could not help but satisfy their desire.
He escorted them into the Underworld and even took them to Hades' palace.
However, Persephone wasn't there—she was on vacation with her mother, Demeter, and the person who took her away was Promise himself.
The two didn't get far in the palace before Hades discovered them.
By then, Hermes had already slipped away.
Just when Hades knew their purpose and was about to send them into the endless abyss to receive eternal punishment, Theseus hurriedly opened the treasure bag that Hermes left for him when he left.
There was only one sentence in it, which was to ask Theseus to reveal his identity.
Following the advice, Theseus introduced himself.
Hades wasn't initially interested, but when he heard that Theseus was a student of Chiron, he asked about his relationship with Promise.
Shocked to hear Promise's name from Hades, Theseus confirmed that they were friends.
After a moment of silence, Hades decided to spare him and sent him to Crete, where he was thrown into the labyrinth with no weapons, leaving his survival to chance.
As for his companion, Hades imprisoned him permanently.
The king of this island, Minos, would later become one of the three judges of the Underworld after his death.
Promise didn't know the details of the Underworld, but when he heard from King Minos that Theseus had entered the labyrinth, he wasn't too concerned at first.
After all, he knew that Theseus was destined to defeat the Minotaur.
But when he reached the labyrinth entrance and found no thread left behind—and heard from the guards that Theseus had entered without any weapons, fire, or tools—it began to feel wrong.
Not only did he not bring any weapons, he didn't even have a torch.
Rather than going in to defeat the monster, it was more like going in to die.
"This isn't right. I need to go in and check!" Promise said with a frown, finally deciding to investigate.