Fate: I Heard After Death, You Can Ascend to the Throne of Heroes?

Chapter 237: It Runs, Searches, and Cannot Stop Running



Brother Horse, long time no see. Though... for me, it's only been about two days.

But for you, I imagine it's been much longer.

Pegasus.

That was its name.

One of the most iconic fantasy creature in Greek mythology, it was renowned for its elegant and majestic form.

Its silver-white wings stretched wide as it soared across the boundless starry sky, earning it the title of the guardian of the goddess of art, Muse.

Pegasus did not respond to Promise's words, and juar gazed at him silently.

As its unyielding gaze lingered, Promise felt a flicker of unease in his heart.

Then, suddenly, Pegasus spread its immaculate wings, struck a graceful pose before him, and let out a soft whinny.

Promise blinked in surprise but quickly understood its intent.

Pegasus was asking for one thing: a painting.

The request brought Promise back to the day they first met.

On that day, guided by the Goddess of Wisdom, he had found himself before Pegasus, witnessing its breathtaking descent from the stars.

And it was that moment of divine beauty that Promise had captured on canvas-a painting that eventually allowed him to reach out and seize the silver star that was Pegasus.

"But if I draw here, someone might discover us..."

Promise hesitated, glancing around at the outskirts of London, surrounded by shadowy hills. Pegasus, however, made no other movement, its unwavering gaze fixed on him.

Under its watchful eyes, the latter quickly surrendered.

"All right, fine," he relented with a sigh.

Raising the pure white quill once more, he waved his hand.

Before him appeared an easel and canvas, conjured into existence.

The moment the quill touched the blank canvas, Promise adjusted his focus and entered his artistic state.

In that instant, all the questions clouding his mind melted away, their answers unfolding through the act of creation.

The scenery around him disappeared, replaced by a vivid, distant memory: Pegasus's memory.

It was a memory of what happened after Promise's departure.

Pegasus had been running.

Ever since Promise left, it had been running endlessly, madly, across the world of the Age of Gods in ancient Greece.

Even though the gods had told it early on that Promise had gone, Pegasus refused to believe them.

Promise watched as Pegasus traversed the depths of the sea, ventured into the eternal darkness of the underworld, and galloped through the realm of the gods.

It ran across the entire world, never once stopping.

Even when it collapsed from exhaustion, it struggled to rise again, determined to keep searching.

"Stop running, Pegasus," A gentle voice came at last.

From beneath a regal crown cascaded golden locks, and the Queen of the Gods, Hera, stood before Pegasus as her amber eyes reflected a sorrowful tenderness.

Pegasus looked at Hera, letting out a soft, mournful cry.

"He hasn't abandoned you."

Hera gently stroked Pegasus's mane. She understood why it refused to accept the truth and continued,

"He merely returned to his own time. He didn't leave you behind."

Pegasus listened silently to Hera's words, resting quietly as if it had finally come to terms with this explanation.

Yet, as Hera departed and Pegasus regained a bit of its strength, Promise saw it spread its wings once again and resume its search-until it collapsed from exhaustion once more.

This cycle continued for an entire year.

Eventually, unable to bear watching any longer, Hera intervened.

Realizing Pegasus would never stop searching, she transformed it into the constellation Pegasus, placing it among the stars in the sky.

Only then did it finally come to a halt.

Promise's quill finished its final stroke, and on the canvas was not the lively, graceful, grass- loving Brother Horse who had once playfully mocked him.

Instead, it was the Pegasus that was stubborn, weary, and utterly unwilling to give up.

"What is it doing? Doesn't it know Promise has already left?"

"No, it's not that simple. Pegasus isn't that foolish. It knows everything. It's just that even

knowing, it refuses to stop searching for him."

Promise sat in silence, replaying the memory of this brief exchange in his mind.

Of course, Brother Horse was far from foolish.

In fact, it was far too clever.

To stop it, the Goddess of Fate, Clotho, had even shown it Promise's fate, allowing it to understand everything.

Yet, despite knowing the truth, Pegasus still chose to keep searching.

When Promise finally returned to the present and looked up, Pegasus had approached him, standing right before him.

Illuminated by the gentle glow of moonlight under the night sky, its outstretched wings made it appear as dreamlike and elegant as ever.

Promise remained silent, his emerald-green eyes reflecting the complexity of his emotions.

"Brother Horse, you know," Promise began softly, "I imagined a lot of scenarios for what might happen after I left."

His voice was low as he spoke.

"I imagined Athena strangling me when I returned. After all, I made her cry when I left. There's even a statue of her weeping now, so the entire world knows about her embarrassing

moment."

Promise chuckled lightly at the thought, though it was tinged with bitterness.

"I also imagined Heracles or Jason being furious with me when we met again. Maybe, like

Atalanta said, they'd aim their bows at me and prepare to hunt me down.

"But the one thing I never worried about... was you, Brother Horse."

All this time, you've always seemed so lively.

After all, not only did you constantly went against me, you even sold me out more times than

I can count, and happily ran off to munch on grass while leaving me to deal with the fallout. Thanks to you, my little notebook has quite a few grudge entries with your name on them. "The only thing I ever thought about was whether, when I saw you tonight, you'd kick me in complaint, bite my hair, and scold me for leaving without saying goodbye."

As Promise spoke, Pegasus sat down beside him and nudged him gently with its head.

"Brother Horse, are you stupid or what?"

Promise's expression grew complex as he looked at it. "Don't you long for freedom? EvenNôv(el)B\\jnn

after I captured you, I only kept you for three or four years. Compared to your long life, I'm just a fleeting moment, barely a ripple in your existence."

*And besides, they all told you the truth, didn't they? Yet you still did something so reckless. Where's that cunning streak you had when it came to finding grass to eat?"

Promise raised his voice slightly, but instead of feeling scolded, Pegasus let out a cheerful

laugh, as if finding his frustration amusing.

"Don't laugh! I'm being serious here!" Promise yelled angrily.

Pegasus ignored him entirely, standing up and spreading its majestic wings.

It looked at him intently, issuing an invitation.

Let's run together.

Promise wanted to reprimand it further, but before he realized what was happening, he was

already seated on its back, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

With a powerful beat of its wings, Pegasus soared into the night sky.

Despite the passage of time and the changes in the world, it felt as though nothing had

changed between them.

Carrying Promise, Pegasus streaked across the heavens like a shooting star returning to its celestial home, leaving a trail of radiant light in the darkness.

The night shrouded them, concealing their presence, as Pegasus raced freely through the

skies with Promise.

Hmm..what was the reason Pegasus never gave up, endlessly searching for Promise?

The answer was actually quite simple.

It was because Pegasus was the silver star that Promise had personally captured.

How could it ever leave him?

Even if the whole world gave up, Pegasus would keep running-until the day it could run no

more.