The divine artifact stained with the blood of the Goddess of Wisdom Athena, piercing her heart, would thereby bear the curse from the Second Generation God King and the gods of the Second Generation Titan lineage.
It would possess the power to slay the current Second Generation God King, Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods!
When Hecate learned of this from Athena's words, she was naturally somewhat surprised. But upon reflection, it seemed entirely reasonable.
"Does the Ancestor of All Monsters Typhon know?"
"If he knew, he would not still be hiding in the endless abyss now. In this world, the only ones who know this secret besides you now are Father God, who devoured my mother, and that god of foresight."
Athena spoke plainly, then lowered her head to glance at Jason in her arms. She smiled lightly and reached out to stroke his head.
"Is that so? Then, will you choose to leave?"
After a brief hesitation, Hecate finally pressed Athena. "Now that you know of that future."
"I will die only under one condition."
Athena answered without the slightest hesitation. She said, "That is if I seek death myself, and this child desires to take my life, to destroy Olympus."
To take Athena's life, she would have to seek death willingly.
Otherwise, even for Jason, the possibility was infinitesimally small!
For slaying Athena was no less difficult than slaying Zeus!
"I know." Hecate said faintly. "That is why I am asking for your current thoughts."
Hearing this, Athena smiled faintly. She said, "Then let me ask you. Do you think this child now wants to take my life?"
"He lies peacefully in your arms. Is that not the best answer?" Hecate replied with a hint of wistfulness in this moment.
Hearing Hecate's wistful words, the corners of Athena's mouth curved upward slightly.
Tucking a strand of silver hair behind her ear, Athena chuckled lightly. "So you can rest assured. As long as this child does not wish to kill me, I will not die."
"And what about your own intentions?"
Athena glanced at the underworld butterfly on her shoulder before replying. "Hecate, I recall you are not the sort of goddess who lacks tact or pries into matters she should not."
Hecate's question was actually probing whether Athena, upon learning all this, would secretly manipulate events to lead Jason toward a path of destruction.
For this goddess possessed such power!
"Yes, I have no interest in your intentions at all." Hecate admitted candidly. She said, "But since it concerns him, I must choose caution. Perhaps it is the influence he has had on me in daily life."
"Oh?"
"I do not wish to see him walk the path of destroying the gods. Though as his teacher, I have no right to choose his road for him, I know one thing at least: on that path, he would never be happy."
After all, everything would die.
It was a road paved with blood.
The blood of gods!
"It seems you have truly fallen in love with this child."
Athena smiled, placing her hand gently on Jason's forehead.
She then slowly slid it down, covering the eyes of Jason lying on her lap.
"After all, he is my student. Though he is an insolent disciple who shows no respect for his teacher! But he is my student."
"I do not hate my Father God, but if possible, I hope to save my mother."
After hearing Hecate's sincere response, Athena finally said, "The primordial Goddess of Wisdom, Mother God Metis!"
"And while I do not fear death and would accept it calmly when it comes, that does not mean I am willing to die. Nor do I want this child to suffer."
"Is that so? I understand, Athena."
Hecate's voice at this moment was noticeably softer, carrying a sense of relief.
"Then, he shall be in your care for now."
With those words, accompanied by a soft popping sound.
The underworld butterfly dissolves into a blue underworld light, vanishing from Athena's shoulder.
And after Hecate departed.
"How does it feel to eavesdrop on a secret conversation between two goddesses, little Jason?"
Athena smirked, releasing the hand that covered Jason's eyes. She spoke to Jason, who lay on her lap slowly opening his eyes. "This is a grave sin, you know. Eavesdropping, oh.
For an ordinary child, the punishment would be quite severe!"
"Goddess Athena, was it not you who made me eavesdrop?"
Jason replied instinctively. In truth, he had no intention of doing so.
But upon waking to such explosive content, while he was still dazed, Athena had noticed and held him down, forcing him to listen.
"Eh, I did not make you eavesdrop. You did it yourself because you were not obedient. But how does it feel? Hearing Hecate admit that she loves you?"
Athena flashed a mischievous grin, teasing Jason, whose forehead she held down, preventing him from rising.
"It feels wonderful. But I fear that if Teacher finds out, she will lock me in the little black room again, or have Cerberus bite me a few times."
Jason gave an honest answer.
And resignedly lay on Athena's lap. He was used to it by now.
His gaze shifted slightly upward, toward Athena's faintly visible, peerlessly beautiful face above.
"Goddess Athena, are you not angry?"
"Angry? Why would I be angry? Oh, you mean about the matter of killing me. I am not angry, but I do find it amusing."
"Moreover, even if the truth spreads and everyone learns of it, I can assure you, little Jason, that aside from Father God, all the gods, including Hera, will laugh at this and say to you:
If you can do it, then come and try, child."
At Athena's response, Jason blinked.
Then he pondered seriously for a moment.
Realizing he could not refute it!
And this was not due to the gods' disdain or anything of the sort. It was simply that they would find the matter intriguing, even anticipating its occurrence.
Take the God of War Ares, for example. Upon learning of it, he would surely laugh heartily and eagerly await Jason's challenge.
After all, the Greek gods were that bored.
Hearing Athena's answer, Jason finally let out a long-held breath of relief.
The nerves he had kept taut until now finally relaxed.
What if the Goddess of Wisdom Athena discovered his fate of god-slaying? That was the true reason Jason had felt so exhausted lately.
It had nearly crushed his spirit.
As Hecate had said, for Jason to fall asleep in Athena's arms in this situation was the best proof.
It was precisely because he cared that Jason felt fear.
And now, it was clear nothing would change.
Jason could finally relax completely.
Athena naturally noticed the shift in Jason's mindset, causing her gaze to soften immeasurably.
"That is more like it." Gently pinching Jason's cheek, Athena said, "This is my little Jason, my good child."
"That kind, beautiful, and generous Goddess Athena, seeing as I am now overflowing with an uncontrollable aura of destruction, would you be willing to give me some of your blood?"
"Of course, I can give you my essence blood and help you forge a god-slaying weapon."
Athena interrupted Jason's words, smiling at him. "But little Jason, to obtain something from me, you know what you must do, do you not?
The game between us should continue now."
"But Goddess Athena, this aura is becoming unbearable!"
"It is fine. It can hold for a while longer. Keep going, little Jason!"
Hearing this, Jason suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at Athena and finally resigned himself to lying on her lap. He said in defeat, "I understand, Goddess Athena. I will accept your oracle and offer you tribute!"
"Good boy." Athena smiled, stroking Jason's head.
With that, Typhon's scheme and the turmoil brought by the demonic spear came to a temporary close. But in truth, this was also a new beginning!
And Athena informed Jason of the oracle to come.
As usual.
Except this time, the oracle from Athena consisted of two parts.
The first: Reveal his true identity before Queen Hera and fully resolve the troubles between them up to now!
The second: From this day forth, under the name of Jason, complete the Quest for the Golden Fleece and utterly cast off the fate named Jason!
For the first, upon completion, Athena would give Jason her essence blood to forge Greece's first and only god-slaying weapon.
For the second, it would be the tribute offered to Athena.
For the hero to completely sever his own fate and roam into a new future.
To Athena, the Mother of Heroes, this was undoubtedly the finest tribute!
When Athena conveyed the oracle to Jason.
Regarding the matter of the Golden Fleece expedition, Jason was evidently unsurprised.
After all, he knew Athena well and had played many, many 'games' with her. Thus, long ago, Jason had prepared himself mentally.
But as for the oracle concerning Hera.
"To confess my identity to Queen Hera, the wife of the gods."
Jason's face fell immediately. To be precise, he nearly burst into tears!
The last time, when he had met Hera as the white-robed hero Heracles, Jason had realized just how much Hera hated him.
If possible, Jason never wanted Hera to discover the truth in this lifetime!
"You should know that hiding like this forever is meaningless. Queen Hera will find out eventually. Of course, if you become immortal and gain some power, everything would indeed be much simpler.
However."
Athena paused briefly, then smirked at Jason. "The blood you wish to obtain from me, the god-slaying weapon you desire. If it were not a game of such difficulty, how could it be!"
An equivalent trial, with a reward worth the wait.
This was Athena's consistent style in handling matters.
"I can even tell you that regarding resolving the issue between you and Hera, I have already accepted a commission from Mother Rhea. I have even thought of a solution. But now."
Athena continued, her smile growing even wider.
Seeing that smile, Jason's heart gradually filled with despair.
"Great Goddess Athena, why do I feel a slight sense of revenge in this?"
"It is not 'feel like.'" Athena admitted candidly. "It is exactly that!
You chose Hecate over Hera, causing Hera to face mockery from the gods.
Plus, you disguised yourself as Heracles, the white-robed hero, child of Hephaestus.
You deceived the supremely noble Queen Hera twice, and each time, just as she was about to taste the sweetest fruit, you plunged her into the abyss. Such a situation is practically insoluble!"
"Do you know how long I have been troubled by this?"
"I do not know. I only know now if I am done for."
Hearing Athena's analysis, Jason had a strong intuition.
The day he exposed his identity before Hera would be the day of his death!
Under normal circumstances, that would indeed be the case. Otherwise, the gods would not have helped Jason conceal the truth.
After all, it appeared to be a death trap.
"Great Goddess Athena, you will not let me die, will you?"
Jason looked at Athena with eyes full of hope.
"Of course." And Athena did not disappoint him. She replied with a stunningly beautiful smile.
"It is the usual rule. Everything depends on you!"
Athena would use her wisdom to guide the hero's path forward.
But at the same time, that was all she would do.
Whether success was achieved, and to what extent, depended entirely on the individual.
"Goddess Athena, what must I do to find that sliver of hope?" Jason asked Athena with a face of utter resignation, yet burning curiosity.
Evidently, he had accepted this oracle.
This damned reality.
After all, refusing it and failing to complete the oracle meant no essence blood from Athena. Then, when Typhon's aura of destruction fully manifested, Zeus would come for him.
Compared to Zeus, Jason would much rather face Hera.
"A sliver of hope? That term fits well. Indeed, what you must seize now is a exceedingly faint hope. But precisely because of that, I will aid you later in forging the god-slaying weapon.
And the hope you seek is not elsewhere. It is right now in your hand!"
As Athena spoke, she pointed to Jason's left hand.
Jason followed Athena's gaze and lifted his left hand in confusion.
There, on his left hand, was the scale left by Themis, the goddess of absolute justice revered by all gods.
The scale that could weigh all things in the world.