Heracles, meaning "glory given by Hera," since Ares said Hera gave Heracles this name, it means that the Queen of Heaven intended to spare this innocent child born from Zeus's infidelity.
Amphitryon hesitated to kill Heracles partly because of Hera. Alcmene was seduced and raped by Zeus, giving birth to a child, which put her on the jealous Queen of Heaven's blacklist. If he had been decisive and killed Heracles himself, Hera might have forgiven his wife and stopped targeting Alcmene.
Now, with Ares's assurance, Hera would certainly not do anything more to his wife, and Amphitryon was completely relieved. He also did not want to kill Heracles, who was an innocent victim.
So he made an agreement with Ares that he would treat Heracles well and regard him as his own son.
After repeatedly cautioning Amphitryon to act as usual, Ares removed the divine power barrier and departed contentedly. However, he did not go far; he circled around, transformed back into a bird, and returned to Thebes Royal Palace.
Heracles is such an important hero that Athena could not possibly not participate in this gamble. Ares's previous actions had already cost her the opportunity to bestow the greatest favor upon Heracles. Moreover, since Ares had already convinced Hera, Hera naturally could not send giant pythons to secretly harm Heracles. If Athena truly succumbed to The Fates, she should be doing something now to force Heracles's fate to conform to the destiny set by The Fates.
Ares stood on the eaves of Thebes Royal Palace, quietly waiting for a moment, and then, as expected, he saw Athena.
In the darkness, the Goddess walked quietly. She carried no weapons or scepters, only wearing her usual dress and a helmet. Upon arriving in front of Thebes Royal Palace, Athena quietly observed the palace, then raised her hand and gently pointed towards where Heracles and Eurystheus, the two brothers, were sleeping.
Under her command, accompanied by hissing sounds, two giant venomous snakes quietly slithered into the palace while the guards and maids at the palace entrance were not paying attention.
Ares, seeing this scene, naturally would not let it go. As early as Athena's arrival, he had already taken out a crystal made by Hecate, which had a recording function, and secretly recorded everything to serve as evidence for Heracles in the future.
A moment after the two venomous snakes entered the palace, a mournful cry of a baby suddenly erupted from within Thebes Royal Palace. Hearing this sound, Amphitryon, who was inside the palace, quickly rushed to where the crying came from.
He brought two guards to his children's bedroom and was greatly startled by the sight before him.
In this bedroom, the cradles of the two infants, Heracles and Eurystheus, were placed side by side. Eurystheus was wailing in his cradle, while Heracles's side was filled with his happy laughter.
Amphitryon saw that Heracles, lying in his cradle, had actually grabbed a venomous snake by the neck with each hand. He was playing with these two venomous snakes, whose heads were larger than human fists, with great abandon. His strength was even greater than that of many adults; the two venomous snakes, whose necks he had grabbed, were actually strangled to death by him.
Seeing this scene, Amphitryon had not yet recovered, when suddenly, the voice of a familiar Goddess echoed in his mind:
"Amphitryon."
Hearing this voice, Amphitryon was startled and quickly replied in his mind:
"Respected Athena, may I ask what you need from me?"
"Just to tell you, don't panic. Raise this child well."
Athena said softly:
"These two venomous snakes were sent by Hera, and they are also a trial for this child. He will grow up to be the most unique hero in the world and will become your pride."
Hera... but didn't Ares say...
Recalling Ares's warning before he left, Amphitryon quickly stopped his baseless conjectures. He took a deep breath, agreed to the Goddess in his heart, then walked to Heracles, snatched the dead venomous snakes from his small hands and threw them away, then hugged him and said:
"This child will surely become the greatest hero in world history!"
"Well said, my King."
After Amphitryon finished speaking, an old voice suddenly sounded behind him. He turned his head and saw the priest of Thebes had arrived, looking at Heracles, whom Amphitryon was holding up, with a look of gratification.
"Priest?" Amphitryon asked curiously, "Why are you here?"
"Because I received an oracle from the gods." The priest, who was naturally also Ares's alternate account, said with a chuckle, "I will teach him all sorts of knowledge about the gods, King Amphitryon, is that alright?"
...
After doing all this, Athena, after gazing at Amphitryon for a moment, leisurely turned and headed towards Olympus.
At this moment, a ethereal voice also sounded in her mind, a voice from the Fate Goddess with whom she had made a deal.
"Athena."
She reminded the Goddess of Wisdom:
"Amphitryon no longer trusts you much."
"I know, that's natural. On this matter, we've lost the initiative."
Athena replied with a smile and a relaxed tone.
"The priest in Thebes is clearly also Ares's person. With him by Amphitryon's side, I suppose Heracles won't favor me when he goes to Olympus in the future."
"If this continues, you'll lose to Ares."
Atropos, the Fate Goddess, said to her:
"If even you lose, then we will have to consider giving up on you directly."
"Oh, that's unreasonable, isn't it?" Athena blinked and retorted, "No matter what, the priority should always be to ensure history stays on track. For that, even the priority of dealing with Ares can be pushed back. Isn't that what you told me?"
"That depends on your own ability."
Atropos, the Fate Goddess, said rather heartlessly:
"Remember your place, Athena. To outsiders, you are a supreme Goddess, a power second only to Zeus, but before fate, even Zeus must yield."
"Yes, I understand, of course."
A trace of displeasure flashed in Athena's eyes, but she hid it well. She smiled and agreed:
"Feel free to command me. I will do my best to defeat Ares, please rest assured."