This was a gift.
Though there would always come a moment of recollection, for an aid that could accompany him for a lifetime, it was no different from a true gift.
Human life was indeed brief.
Compared to the long and endless life of a divine being, it passed in the blink of an eye.
In order to make that radiant brilliance shine a little more brightly, the sun god could not help but offer his aid.
That did not seem particularly strange at all.
This reason was sensible and fitting!
And he himself was not like the war god who loved to seek out fights.
Even temporarily being without a weapon in hand was fine.
He still had the Sun Chariot, and that was enough.
No one would dare stand in the path of that powerful chariot burning with daylight and sun fire.
That was right.
Strictly speaking this was genuinely a good thing.
He could witness the heroic epic he wanted to witness, while all it cost him was lending out a weapon for a few dozen years.
Why would he not want to do that?
Since you lost Achilles's armor, then here is the powerful solar divine spear.
The sharpness of its tip was enough to make up for the gap of an entire missing set of divine artifacts compared to Achilles.
That was what Helios had in mind.
And yet...
Night: "..."
In Greece, one should not casually make promises.
After all, the Greek philosophy of fate was no weaker than the Norse or Celtic traditions, only stronger.
Though there was no oath-binding mechanism, breaking a vow still easily brought the curse of fate down upon the one who broke it.
Though it was only a loan, the condition was until he died of old age...
Was there not a possibility that in the future he might simply never die?
Hmm.
He wondered what Helios would feel if he knew the truth.
There were so many simulated universes.
There was no shortage of ways for humans to ascend to godhood or take another path to eternal life.
And Night, who was still very young and had more than enough time to grow strong enough to rival divine beings, whose life level would eventually cross that threshold sooner or later, found it very hard to imagine that in the future he might still die of old age.
No. No matter how he thought about it, that could not possibly be how he died. Even if he met death, it would absolutely not be through old age.
But as long as he kept living, this was basically the same as getting it for free?
Especially that Sun fire with its golden lightning special effect.
Even if he took it to the neighboring Indian mythology and pretended it was the Vasavi Shakti, the spear of Indra, he doubted a single soul would question the deception.
Combined with the fact that he already possessed a conceptual form of divine armor that he could summon onto his body at any moment, the overlapping elements, silver hair, golden armor, and a lightning-like divine spear, made him look exactly like Karna, the son of the Sun God Surya himself.
Hiss!
Achilles suddenly frowned. "Hey, hold on. Can that weapon actually be used by a normal person?
Before anyone even gets close, the solar fire on the divine spear would incinerate a mortal's flesh and blood, would it not?"
Even Achilles as a demigod felt it was incomparably dangerous.
He had the blessing of immortality, a body of steel forged by the waters of the river Styx and heavenly fire, and still sensed an intense crisis.
A hero's intuition would not be wrong.
That thing's destructive power would probably leave even the twelve chief gods feeling troubled if they came into contact with it.
It was flames with a conceptual attribute, no question about it.
Like his own divine spear, but different from the hidden passive-like penetrating attribute.
By its appearance it seemed to be the expressive type that prioritized explosive power and devastating destructive force.
He felt no jealousy over it.
After all, he already had a full set of divine equipment.
But the divine spear before him was simply too unreliable.
Helios said nothing.
He simply drove the spear into the ground before him, spread his hands open, and smiled, gesturing for Night to pick it up.
The sun god only watched in silence, offering no hint.
Whether or not to dare grip the divine spear was entirely up to the other party himself.
The god had presented the artifact, but whether the hero possessed the courage to swing it was entirely his own affair.
And Night indeed did not disappoint him.
If he backed down at this exact stage, it would simply be an act of supreme cowardice.
Furthermore, despite possessing the ability to reset his progress and correct his mistakes, he hadn't used that fallback option even once during this deployment.
Compared to the threat of possibly being burned to death by the solar fire, he was more curious and wanted to experience the feeling of being boosted by even more divine power and divine artifacts.
He understood the essential gap in power between gods and heroes.
Additionally, there is a saying that goes well in the Naruto world next door, where Amaterasu, which is also a fire of the sun, couldn't even burn a dog to death.
Could the fire of the sun really kill anyone?
What a joke!
Under the watchful eyes of the group, Night walked calmly and slowly toward the divine spear, reaching his hand out toward the handle wrapped in raging flames.
Several crisp, sizzling sounds echoed from the skin of his hand as the fire scorched it.
Noticing that his hand was beginning to suffer burns, Achilles and the others felt their pupils contract, and they all held their breath, forcing themselves to swallow the urge to tell him to give up.
None of them were particularly low in emotional intelligence.
Since that fire was so dangerous, any normal person wouldn't be stupid enough to keep holding it if they couldn't take the pain; if he felt he couldn't handle it, Griffith would have given up on his own without needing them to remind him.
Since Griffith hadn't given up yet, what right did they have to try and influence him?
He held on until his entire forearm was charred black and raw, a complete mess of blood and flesh.
Even the invulnerability, the same talent Achilles possessed, could not stop the burning of this solar fire.
Of course, while river water from the Styx and celestial fire were rare in the mortal world, they were not exactly unique or special resources to the gods.
But one never heard of any powerful god becoming strong just by soaking in the river of the Underworld every day.
Achilles's steel body clearly had its limits.
This solar fire, which could threaten even the bodies of the gods, was far more terrifying than standard divine flames, so it was only natural his steel body could not withstand it.
It was just like when Achilles was forged by celestial fire as a child until he couldn't be hurt by it anymore, but the flame before them was clearly a much more terrifying level of fire, causing his steel body to completely relive that unforgettable agony of being incinerated.
However, by enduring this burning sensation that reached his very soul, Night kept his massive mental strength absolutely calm and finally gripped the spear firmly.
With a flash, a sudden change occurred.
The golden spear released a faint, warm golden glow, and its internal power began to wash over his body. The burning flames were no longer a threat to him; instead, they turned to heal his wounds.
The sun does not only bring destruction to the earth. Solar fire also symbolizes the vitality that brings life to all things on the land.
In the next moment, countless fire snakes began to dance around Night, making him look like a god of war descending into the fray under the reflection of the firelight.
Boom!
The air vibrated with a physical wave of force, sending out countless rings of fire that rippled outward one after another.
Athena and Helios stopped the flames from spreading further just in time, both looking at Night with sparkling eyes.
Was this the initial approval of the artifact?
Helios knew that he truly had not misjudged him.
Only those who dare to look directly at the sun, conquer the fear of the sun's fire, and still dare to approach it are worthy of wielding the power to incinerate the earth and all creation!
If one felt fear at the mere contact, how could they possibly have the right to master the most overbearing power of the sun in this world?
.
.
.
(End of the Chapter)