Rhodes lies in the southeastern Aegean, just west of the Anatolian Peninsula, at the crossroads of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.
This island, dedicated to the sun god Helios, is one of the sacred places where he is worshipped. At the peak of Mount Atavyros, which stretches across the island, stands a grand temple devoted to the sun god.
At the port of Rhodes, Phaethon stood dumbfounded, staring at the three men mocking him. Their taunts echoed in his ears, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was hearing things.
"Did you just say… I'm not the son of Helios?"
The three young Greek sailors, unfazed by Phaethon's question, smirked and continued their ridicule: "Phaethon! You claim to be the son of the sun god, but you don't even have the golden eyes of Helios."
"All the children of the sun god, born from the burning sea goddess, have golden eyes. That's the mark of their divine heritage."
"You, without those golden eyes, can't possibly be the son of Helios. You must be the child of the goddess of Rhodes and some unknown man—"
The old Phaethon would have immediately run to his father, Helios, to seek the truth.
But now, Phaethon had awakened memories from another life. So, I'm the son of the goddess of Rhodes?
Reborn, Phaethon was much more composed.
So, instead of getting angry at the three Greeks in front of him, he looked at them with pity.
"Ever since Zeus and Poseidon destroyed the humans of the Bronze Age, no one born from the earth, no matter how reckless, would dare to blaspheme the gods. Yet here you are, bold enough to insult me, the son of the sun god, born with the divine light of Helios. Honestly—you're so pitiful that I can't help but feel sorry for you. So, I'll personally send you to Hades' underworld." As he finished speaking, Phaethon's silver eyes began to glow with a brilliant divine light.
Rumble—
Just as the light was about to engulf the three Greeks, a golden thunderbolt suddenly struck from the sky, hitting them directly.
In an instant!
The bodies of the three men turned to ash, carried away by the wind into the sea.
Witnessing this, Phaethon frowned, muttering under his breath, "Not just their bodies, but even their souls were destroyed. Was it to prevent Hades from noticing that their souls had been tampered with?"
He looked up at the clear blue sky.
The sky now belonged to Zeus, the king of the gods.
But in the age when Cronus ruled over all creation, it was the Titan Hyperion who watched over the heavens, surveying both gods and mortals below.
And Phaethon—was Hyperion's grandson.
"Your Highness!"
A soft, clear voice called out from behind him. Phaethon turned to see three beautiful young women, as flawless as creations of the gods, running toward him.
They were the three forest nymphs born on Rhodes, daughters of Helios and the goddess of Rhodes, known as the Heliades.
Because they shared the same divine origin, their figures and faces were nearly identical, with only their hair color setting them apart.
Aegiale had long white hair, Aegle's was green, and Aetheria's was gray.
Though they were technically Phaethon's sisters, like other forest and spring nymphs, they served in the temple of the sun god on Rhodes, attending to Phaethon.
As the three sisters reached him, the eldest, Aegiale, immediately asked with concern, "Your Highness! What happened here just now?"
"Don't worry! It was just three foreigners who came here claiming I'm not the son of Helios."
Hearing this, the three sisters' eyes widened in shock. Aegle forced a smile and said, "There are still humans crazy enough to say such things? It's a good thing they ran into the kind and gentle Phaethon. If it had been any other god—"
"They were unlucky to meet me!"
Phaethon cut her off with a cold smile. "Because I don't intend to tolerate their blasphemy! As punishment, I was going to destroy their bodies and send their souls to Hades' underworld. But before I could, the ever-helpful Zeus stepped in and obliterated them with his thunderbolt—along with their souls."
Rhodes was the domain of Helios, the sun god.
Yet, at this critical moment, with the second Titanomachy on the horizon, Zeus himself had turned his gaze toward Rhodes.
Aetheria, her face serious, said, "Prince Phaethon! You don't need to pay attention to the words of ignorant mortals. Let's return to the temple and report this to our great father."
Phaethon shook his head, a confident smile spreading across his face. "Yes, this does need to be reported to Father! But I plan to go to the Sun Palace in Colchis myself, to tell him in person. And while I'm there, I'll ask him for something that will prove to everyone that I am truly the son of Helios."
"Your Highness! Without the permission of our great father and mother, you cannot leave Rhodes," Aegiale said, stepping in front of Phaethon with her arms outstretched. Phaethon sighed, a bit exasperated.
"Sisters! I'm grateful for all the care you've given me, and I've always considered you as part of my family. But in the end, you are still my attendants, and you don't have the authority to stop me from making my own decisions."
Whoosh—whoosh—
With that, silver wings unfurled from Phaethon's back, and he took off into the sky.
"Your Highness—"
"Prince Phaethon!"
The three sisters could only call out helplessly as they watched him disappear into the distance.
As forest nymphs born on Rhodes, they were bound to the island and could not leave its borders.
Once outside the limits of Rhodes, Phaethon descended from the sky, flying low over the sea, glancing at his reflection in the water below.
The surface of the water, like a mirror, reflected the image of a strikingly handsome young man, no older than twenty, with tousled auburn hair and piercing silver eyes.
This tall, athletic youth was dressed in a luxurious golden robe, a clear symbol of his noble status, and from his back stretched a pair of silver dragon wings.
"So… this is who I am now…"
Locking eyes with his reflection in the water, Phaethon's expression grew serious as he gazed into his own glowing silver eyes.
"Now that I've awakened the memories of my other self, I know that I'm destined to fail when I try to drive the Sun Chariot, and that Zeus will strike me down with his thunderbolt. But from this moment on, I will defy that fate. I will survive as the god of light."
With that, Phaethon turned his gaze toward the Anatolian Peninsula.
The son of Zeus, born to the goddess Leto, the brother of Artemis, the hunter god—that rat born in the dark of night was surely waiting for Phaethon to fall, so he could claim the divine light for himself.