The River of Fire—Phlegethon.
The spirit of the River of Fire, a red-haired mature woman whose body was wreathed in flames, learned Hecate's purpose. She looked at the boy beside her.
A twelve-year-old little shota with golden hair and blue eyes, Jason.
She could not help but say with utter speechlessness, "Are you trying to kill this child? Let alone a child—even some gods cannot endure the burning of the undying underworld flames upon the soul!"
The underworld has five rivers in total.
The River of Pain, Acheron, ferried by the ferryman Charon.
The River of Forgetfulness, Lethe.
The River of Fire, Phlegethon.
The River of Lamentation, Cocytus.
And the River of Hatred, Styx, which encircles the palace of Hades nine times.
Each river possesses its own unique properties. The second destination Hecate brought Jason to was the River of Fire, capable of giving birth to flames that never extinguish!
"That's exactly why I came to you." Hecate calmly replied. "As a divinity born from these flames, you should know how to use them to temper his soul."
"It's very difficult." The red-haired woman shook her head. "Though it's not completely impossible, it will be… extremely troublesome!
Even with your help, we would need at least one more god who can wield the power of life to make it possible!
And before that, he would need to stay in this area for at least three months, consuming fire lotuses every day to acclimate himself to these flames!"
"Consume fire lotuses for three months and also require a god who commands the power of life…" Hecate fell into thought.
Seeing that she was seriously considering it, the fire spirit Pyrrhia could not help asking Hecate, "Lady Hecate, may I ask… what exactly is he to you?"
An illegitimate child?
Pyrrhia could not help but wonder that.
Though she also knew Hecate was a virgin goddess, unmarried to this day, and had never been involved with any god.
After all, even Zeus, the tyrant among the gods, did not dare lay a hand on her lightly.
Hecate possessed both strength and background!
Although the current era truly belonged to the third generation of gods led by Zeus, not all of the beings from the first and second generations were dead!
"My student," Hecate answered plainly.
"Student?" Pyrrhia was stunned, looked at Jason, then said in surprise, "Just a student?"
"Mm. Incidentally, I also need him to help verify an experiment of mine—whether someone with a mortal body can wield the magic I have developed."
"A mortal body?"
Pyrrhia could not help feeling puzzled. "If that is truly the case… then Lady Hecate, isn't all this unnecessary effort?"
After she asked this, even Jason himself was momentarily stunned.
Indeed, if it was only for the sake of an experiment, first washing his body in the Styx, then planning to temper his soul with undying underworld flames… after all that, could Jason still be considered a normal mortal?
"Cleansing the body is to make him sturdier. Tempering the soul is to allow him to withstand Divine Words… Since he is already my student, he must master ordinary magic, and naturally the extraordinary kind as well!"
Under Jason's gaze, Hecate spoke calmly.
Divine Words are the superior incantations used in various mythological ages—spell words that human vocal organs cannot reproduce.
Ordinary souls simply cannot endure this power easily.
If something went wrong with the very essence of the soul, Jason would truly die; not even revival would be possible.
Thus, although Hecate kept talking about death and dying in front of Jason, giving him the impression that she was completely unreliable,
that was not actually the case.
Although taking a disciple had not been her original intention, now that she had accepted Jason as her student, Hecate would naturally fulfill her duty as a teacher.
After all, even Chiron had said that Hecate was a merciful goddess!
"Jason, starting today, you will stay here with her for three months. I will come fetch you again after three months. As for the god who wields the power of life… conveniently, it has been a long time since I last saw her. I wonder what she has been up to."
After making the arrangements and muttering to herself, Hecate left.
Leaving Jason and Pyrrhia staring at each other with wide eyes.
"Um… Big Sister Pyrrhia, please take care of me." In the end, with no other choice, Jason could only steel himself and speak to Pyrrhia.
Seeing Jason's embarrassed expression, the fire spirit could not help but laugh. "Just call me Big Sis Pyrrhia … Hehe, little one, having a teacher like her—I really don't know whether to say you're lucky or unlucky."
Hecate returned to her divine temple and immediately began trying to contact the god who commanded the power of life. After waiting a while with no response, she threw herself back into her research.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Three months later, only after the magic alarm clock she had set herself reminded her that the time was up—and after she procrastinated for yet another week—did she finally leave the laboratory.
"Teacher, are you going out again?"
Medea looked at Hecate, who was preparing to depart, and asked curiously.
Although three months was a long time, Medea knew very well just how much of a shut-in her teacher was.
"Mm." Hecate nodded and casually said, "Going to take care of some student business."
"Oh… Eh, mine?" Medea blanked for a moment.
"No, Jason's."
"Jason?" Medea was stunned. "Who is that?"
"My student." Hecate winked at Medea. "You didn't know?"
"…Teacher, besides me and Aunt Circe, when did you take another student?!" Medea was shocked.
"Ah, didn't I mention it?" Hecate looked blank.
Didn't I mention it…? …It seems the moment I came back I threw myself straight into research. I really didn't say anything.
Medea nodded furiously.
"Oh… Three months ago I went out for a bit and picked up a student."
"Picked up… Then Teacher, why didn't you bring him back?" Medea asked in surprise. "And three months ago… wait, that means he's my junior brother, right!"
"Junior brother…? Mm, I suppose so." Hecate answered without much care and prepared to leave.
"Wait, Teacher, Teacher, take me with you!" Seeing this, Medea hurriedly said.
She was clearly very curious about Hecate's new student and even seemed excited about having a junior brother!
Because Hecate's divine temple was in the underworld, Medea almost never dared to go out, and there was nothing fun outside anyway.
Moreover, Hecate found everything troublesome, so aside from Medea, the entire temple was filled only with puppets driven by divine power that Hecate had created.
Hecate usually stayed in her laboratory for long stretches without emerging, so Medea normally did not even have anyone to talk to.
"You want to come…? Mm, not this time. I have something I need him to do. It wouldn't be convenient with you along." Hecate thought for a moment and shook her head at Medea.
"Oh…" Hearing this, Medea's mood visibly fell, but she obviously would not oppose her teacher—who was also the goddess she worshipped.
Thus she could only console herself inwardly: it would not be long before they met anyway!