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[As a modern man, your courage defies all expectations. Unshaken by the glory of the gods, you dared to seek out Hephaestus without permission.]
[And somehow, after sixteen years in this land, you managed to uncover the path to the god of forging himself.]
[Sticking to your routine, you quietly slipped past Okreya and Otenia as they cleaned the temple that day, carefully making your way to the palace hidden in its deepest chambers.]
[A volcano burned within the heart of the temple, and the deeper you ventured, the more intense the heat became.]
[Perhaps for Hephaestus and his creations like Okreya, such heat meant nothing.]
[Even the legendary heroes of the Age of Gods could endure this temperature with ease.]
[But for someone like you—a mere mortal, frail and unblessed—it was almost unbearable.]
[With every step forward, sweat streamed from your body, only to vanish into steam before it could even touch the ground.]
[As you neared the palace gate, your face pale and drenched in sweat, you gritted your teeth and pushed forward, one heavy step at a time.]
[Closer... and closer.]
[You placed your trembling hands on the cold steel of the gate and, summoning all your remaining strength, forced open a narrow gap just wide enough to slip through.]
[And then—a wave of heat blasted into you like a hammer, nearly knocking you off your feet.]
[The interior of the forging palace was no different than a massive furnace.]
[If the searing heat outside could be endured through sheer willpower, then what lay within threatened to dry you out completely, to incinerate you from the inside out.]
[At this rate, you'll collapse in less than a minute.]
[Do you want to turn back?]
[You looked over your shoulder—and saw them.][Okreya and Otenia, standing just outside the gate, their faces full of worry.]
["Come back, Zoe," Otenia called.]["Take one more step and you will die."]["Please, return now. Master won't blame you."]
[Eukleya said nothing. But you could feel her thoughts—soft and pleading—reach out to you like a whisper in the flames.]
[Will I really die here?]
[I thought I wouldn't be afraid. This is just a simulation, right? A game. Death isn't real.]
[But now, standing on the edge of life and death... I realize it. I've never truly conquered that fear.]
[Your legs are shaking. Your heart is pounding.]
[Is it fear or has your body finally reached its limit?]
[It doesn't matter anymore.]
[You take a breath, and your lungs burn as if filled with fire.]
[And in that pain, something becomes clear.]
[If you truly want to meet Hephaestus, you must first overcome the trial she placed before you.]
[This is her first test.]
[If you can't even endure this, how can you ever stand as a hero sung across the world?]
[So go.]
[Move forward.]
[Keep moving forward.]
[Your mind swims. Every step demands everything from your fading strength.]
[You lose all sense of time, all sense of heat.]
[All that remains is your will.]
[And finally—through sheer determination and belief—you stand before her.]
[You, a weak and fragile mortal, have reached Hephaestus.]
Hephaestus, the child of Hera, Queen of Heaven, and Zeus, King of the Gods.Yet from the moment of her birth, misfortune clung to her.
The right side of her face was marked by crimson flame-patterned scars—so grotesque that even her divine mother could not bear to look upon her.
Hera, cold and prideful, was repulsed by her daughter's appearance.
And so, in a single merciless act... she cast Hephaestus down from Mount Olympus.
Hephaestus had fallen through the skies for an entire day before crashing hard onto the island of Lemnos, her legs shattering on impact.
From that day on, she became a crippled goddess.
Unable to stand again, she spent her days seated, finding solace only in the forge—crafting wonders to carve out a place among the gods.
But no matter how divine her creations, the broken legs and her disfigured face remained an unhealing scar in her heart.
They were the roots of her deep inferiority.
Perhaps that is why Hephaestus became obsessed with perfection.
Once, using a cunning trick, she managed to shrink Queen Hera on her throne, forcing her into granting a marriage between Hephaestus and the goddess of beauty and love—Aphrodite.
But love cannot be forged.
Aphrodite, proud and radiant, never cared for Hephaestus. Her heart belonged to Ares, the god of war.
And a union without love could never end well.
As expected, Aphrodite betrayed Hephaestus.
She wore the mark of another.
Strangely, Hephaestus wasn't truly angry. After all, she was a goddess— not a god.
"Let her wear it," she thought.
The marriage had never been about love. It had been about the pursuit of beauty. About proving to the gods that even an 'incomplete' god like her could possess something perfect.
But…
"Why... why does this bitterness still linger?""Why won't the fire in my chest go out?"
Hephaestus didn't understand the answer—Not until sixteen years ago, when Eucleia brought her a baby.
Only then did she begin to grasp it.
"I am an incomplete god. And so my creations... will always be incomplete."
Just like Eucleia and the others—puppets that can never become human.
An incomplete god cannot create something whole.
Her gaze slowly shifted.
Lying unconscious at her feet was the boy—his mortal body collapsed the moment he crossed the threshold.
Without thinking, Hephaestus gently reached out and brushed his damp hair with slender, calloused fingers.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she felt... at peace.
Yes. I still love beautiful things.
Her visible left eye softened slightly behind the faint glow of the forge.
But the moment she noticed the boy stirring, that fleeting gentleness vanished, replaced once again by cold indifference.
"Ugh..."
"My head's spinning... Where am I?"
Alex groaned as he came to, a pounding headache clouding his thoughts—But he was alive. That much was clear.
"If I'm not dead, then… I must have made it to Her Majesty Hephaestus."
He blinked.Something felt off.
Soft?
His thoughts began to catch up—his high IQ kicking in at just the wrong moment.
Alex froze.
And then, realization struck like thunder.
That soft thing he was touching... was Hephaestus's leg.
His heart nearly stopped.
He slowly tilted his head up, like a child caught red-handed...And met the emotionless, half-masked gaze of Hephaestus.
Oh no.
I just touched her leg.
The one thing everyone knows you must never touch
Alex quickly snatched his hand away and stood up in panic, forcing a grin on his face.
"Y-Your Majesty Hephaestus... Would you believe me if I told you I didn't do this on purpose?"
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