Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Lift this bronze pillar?

Looking at the Heavenly Pillar, although he didn't know how heavy it was, Heracles could roughly guess.

If this pillar were placed on the ground, even if all the mortals in the world worked together, they wouldn't be able to shake it in the slightest.

Simple weight meant nothing to it; lifting it meant being able to lift a part of the sky.

Even with his usual confidence, the great hero didn't dare to be certain of success.

"...I will lift it."

He spoke calmly. Under the gaze of Prometheus and Dionysus, Heracles leapt down, jumping toward the pillar connecting the sky and sea.

······

Whoosh——

Free fall, the wind howled in his ears.

Through layers of clouds, the deep, boundless sea drew closer to the great hero.

Falling endlessly from the sky, the air felt like steel blades.

At a certain moment, the great hero's form halted in midair.

Not far from him, the demigod with a human body and fishtail was bound by illusory chains, shackled before Heracles.

Taking a step forward, the great hero tried to catch the son of the Sea God's attention.

Yet it seemed time had eroded Triton's will; he showed no reaction to the outside world.

Shaking his head helplessly, Heracles continued approaching.

Vaguely, as he drew nearer, Heracles seemed to hear something.

Though not clear-headed at this moment, Triton's lips kept murmuring.

It was his obsession, hard to forget even now.

"...there...kill..."

"Hmm?"

"Come..."

"...if you have the guts... kill me..."

"Come——kill me!"

The voice suddenly surged, the divine child with a human body and fishtail snapped his eyes open.

His blood-red eyes stared fixedly at the human before him, as if mistaking him for another presence.

"Mortal, it's you... hahahahaha..."

"Survivor of the Golden Age, you're still alive? You're still alive! You're still alive..."

"Ahahahahahahaha..."

"You have the wrong person."

Frowning slightly, Heracles tried to correct him.

But before him, Triton simply didn't believe it.

His eyes could no longer see clearly. Even though the demigod's body coursed with scorching divine blood, he was still inevitably heading towards demise.

Yet this will, this dazzling and blinding will, only that human had possessed.

"...hehehe..."

"Mortal, did you come to mock me? Do you think you can mock me!"

"I, the son of the Sea God, am not like those old and decayed fellows of yours!"

"Mortals have their mortal deaths, the Deity Race also have deaths unique to them! This is something you can never attain!"

In a hoarse and frenzied shout, Triton raised his neck high, looking at the golden human in his heart.

"Come, come kill me——Only by killing me, would you have to stay here in my place..."

"Erahahahaha... stay here... but you're simply not capable of that!"

"Because even to be punished, only the Deity Race merits that right——"

Crack——!

A crisp sound echoed beside Triton.

The high-pitched voice faltered for a moment, but Heracles did not stop.

As he reached out and snapped one of the rule chains binding the son of the Sea God, the great hero felt an inexplicable constraint.

It seemed as if, just as Triton had said, if he really detached the other's life from this bronze pillar, in whatever form, he must replace his existence.

This was inevitable, for over thousands of years, as the first symbol propping up the sky merged with the pillar, its very existence also affected the stability of the 'sky'.

If you couldn't lift it like Atlas, then you could only support it with your life like Triton.

Only the son of the Sea God could stir the seas, but mortals couldn't influence the law.

So Triton was right, mortals didn't even have the qualification to be punished here.

Yet Heracles' actions did not cease; he merely continued to reach out and snap another chain.