After truly setting foot upon the earth, Aergia originally thought Thanatos would immediately begin fulfilling his divine portfolio as the God of Death.
To her surprise, the young God of Death merely raised his head to discern the direction before turning around and walking toward the endless range of mountains in the distance.
“Aren't we going to harvest souls?” Aergia asked.
“Let's first take care of what Hypnos asked of us,” Thanatos replied without looking back. “Lest you fail to even keep up with me later.”
“...”
His logic was sound enough, even if his tone left much to be desired.
The two traveled deep into the mountains, the terrain rising higher as they pressed forward. The dense forest covering the earth gradually thinned, tall trees replaced by low shrubs, until even the shrubs vanished, leaving only exposed rock and a sea of clouds clinging to the mountainsides year-round.
In the distance, peak after peak pierced the high sky. Those mountains were not silent, lifeless rock in the sense of later ages. Aergia could feel an immensely ancient and vast divinity slowly flowing deep within their heavy masses.
The feeling was different from that of ordinary gods—it was heavier and more primal, like bones protruding from within the body of the earth itself.
Thanatos seemed to read the doubt in her eyes.
“These sacred mountains are all tied to Ourea.”
“Ourea?”
“The God of Mountains, whom the noble Earth Mother birthed on her own.”
Thanatos looked up at one of the tall peaks whose summit was concealed by a vast sea of clouds.
“Long ago, whenever Hemera spread the day across the sky, bits of divinity belonging to the day would scatter down from the high heavens.”
“Some of it fell upon that mountain year after year, intertwining with the power Ourea left within it. Countless ages passed, and that divinity eventually birthed a living creature.”
He spoke very casually.
“That's what Hypnos asked me to find for you.”
Aergia looked up.
“What is it?”
“A winged horse possessing divine blood,” Thanatos said, though his face darkened slightly as if recalling an unpleasant memory. “It has quite a temper, though, so watch yourself later.”
They eventually reached halfway up the mountain, where the path further above was completely submerged in cloud and mist. Yet for gods, an obstacle of this degree was practically meaningless.
Thanatos spread his dark wings, while Aergia relied on her divine power to lift her body.
The two figures passed through layer upon layer of clouds, finally reaching the very top of the sacred mountain.
And at the exact moment they broke through the final layer of dense mist, Aergia's gaze paused slightly.
The summit was quiet, a vast white sea of clouds stretching beyond the rocky cliff like an ocean suspended high in the heavens.
Standing not far from them was a horse.
Its body bore a pale, silver-grey shade akin to moonlight, its limbs long and slender, its posture elegant, as though carved by the finest sculptor from a single gleaming block of jade.
A long mane draped down from behind its neck, silver-white near the roots, gradually shifting downward into delicate hints of pale gold, misty violet, and soft blue. The colors were neither vivid nor sharply defined, resembling the first ray of daylight slowly seeping into the lingering night at the turn between day and night.
What truly set it apart from ordinary horses was the pair of massive wings on its back. Long, pure white feathers unfurled from both sides of its shoulders, growing more translucent toward the tips, shimmering with faint golden and purple iridescence whenever the light shifted.
It stood by the cliff's edge, its mane—resembling the twilight boundary between morning and dusk—gently lifting in the high-altitude wind, while fine motes of light flashed around its hooves from time to time.
Aergia did not speak for a moment.
Since coming to this world, she had witnessed the holiness of the night and seen the hazy, quiet beauty of the realm of sleep.
Yet only at this moment did a purely genuine marvel arise within her for the very first time.
The world of myth was truly beautiful.
Yet facing this creature that resembled a work of art, Thanatos clearly lacked her fine appreciation.
“That's it.”
The young God of Death stepped forward, and the divine steed that had been standing quietly by the cliff immediately raised its head.
The divine steed instantly sensed their presence. Its beautiful head slowly lifted, its pale violet-grey eyes landing on Thanatos first.
An aura belonging to a God of Death was hardly endearing to the vast majority of living beings.
The divine steed pressed its ears back slightly as its body grew tense, the grand wings gathered at its sides slowly fanning open.
Thanatos halted in his tracks.
“Hmph, that awful temper hasn't changed one bit.”
Thanatos frowned, though he did not press closer.
He had discovered this divine steed a long time ago. Its beautiful appearance had tempted the God of Death to take it as a pet, but born from the divine essence of the day and the mountains, the creature was clearly repelled by death. Every time it sensed his aura from afar, it ran far away, giving him no chance whatsoever.
Strangely enough, the divine steed, which would normally bolt the moment it saw him, unexpectedly refrained from beating its wings to disappear this time.
Its gaze bypassed him and settled on Aergia behind him, its movement to spread its wings and leave suddenly freezing.
The divine steed gazed silently at Aergia for a breath, then two... before the wings it had already opened actually began to fold back slowly.
Those pale eyes drifted from Aergia's face down to her twilight-like long hair, then returned to her face once more. Immediately afterward, it took a step forward on its own initiative.
Thanatos: “...”
Aergia was equally surprised, yet she refrained from making any unnecessary movements for fear of startling the beautiful creature.
The divine steed carefully studied the female deity before it for a few moments longer. Then, it took another step forward.
Thanatos looked from the steed to Aergia, the expression on his face gradually turning strange.
Even though it was a first meeting for both of them, when he had merely taken a single step closer, it had prepared to unfurl its wings and leave.
Yet Aergia hadn't even done anything, and it was actively drawing closer to her.
Wasn't this double standard a bit too obvious?
Still... standing amidst the sea of clouds, the young goddess had her soft long hair gently lifted by the mountain wind. Its color was hard to discern, a soft luminescence shimmering within its deep hue, flowing gently as her hair fluttered, devoid of any clear boundaries.
Opposite her, the divine steed possessed a pale silver body, a mane woven of light violet and pale gold, and pure white wings glistening with a hazy iridescence.
Looking at them together, the scene was oddly harmonious.
The divine steed clearly thought so as well. It paid Thanatos no further attention, focusing almost all its interest on Aergia, stepping even closer to her.
Aergia vaguely understood. This creature didn't seem to mind her at all; in fact, it was safe to say it felt a strong affinity for her.
As for the reason... Aergia glanced at the steed's eyes, which were noticeably lingering on her hair and face, her expression turning somewhat subtle.
Could it be a sucker for good looks?
The thought was somewhat narcissistic, but the creature's behavior was simply too obvious.
Aergia tried taking a step forward; the divine steed did not leave.
She took another step, and it still stayed.
Only as the distance between them narrowed did its body gradually show a trace of tension.
Its wings, which had hung relaxed, lifted slightly, and its front hooves shifted back half a step.
Liking someone was one thing, but allowing a foreign god met for the first time to truly draw close was quite another.
Aergia stopped in her tracks. Pushing closer would likely only reignite its vigilance.
The goddess in the form of a maiden pondered for a moment, and the newly condensed godhead of Soothing within her lit up in response.
A strand of immensely gentle power spread from her, settling softly upon the steed's tense spirit, causing the vigilance that kept it ready to fly off at any second to slowly melt away.
The steed's ears twitched softly, and its slightly raised wings lowered once more.
Aergia continued forward, and this time, it did not step back.
Soon, less than an arm's length remained between them, and Aergia slowly raised her hand.
The divine steed stared at her, a lingering sliver of hesitation remaining in its pale violet-grey eyes.
And at that very moment, deep within the heart of the sacred mountain, an ancient will that even Thanatos failed to detect silently awakened.
It was a will belonging to the earth itself, moving along the divine essence deep within the mountain to silently touch the creature born from the sacred peak.
The final trace of hesitation in the steed's eyes paused for an instant.
In the next instant, it slowly lowered its head, its soft muzzle actively touching Aergia's outstretched palm.
Aergia was taken aback slightly. In that brief instant, she had vaguely felt a subtle shift in the divine steed's attitude.
Yet the change occurred so naturally that even she could not determine what had transpired.
Perhaps her Soothing had simply succeeded in fully dissolving its guard.
The divine steed gently nudged Aergia's hand, then slightly bent its front legs, slowly lowering its body to express intimacy and acceptance toward the goddess.
“That worked?”
Thanatos looked at the steed that had lowered its body on its own accord. This double standard was still somewhat beyond his comprehension.
When facing him earlier, it had looked ready to take flight at any moment, yet now it was actively spreading its wings flat on the ground for her?
“Do you have a name?” Aergia asked softly.
The divine steed gently shook its head.
“It was birthed by the sacred mountain itself. Without parents or a herd, where would it get a name?”
Aergia gently stroked the misty, long mane, sinking into thought for a moment.
From start to finish, the divine steed before her gave off an exceptionally ethereal feel. Its silver-grey body seemed condensed from cloud and mist, while the interwoven shades of pale gold, misty violet, and soft blue resembled the faint twilight glowing along the horizon during the shift between day and night.
“Nephele,” she spoke softly. “How about I call you Nephele from now on?”
The divine steed turned its head, its pale violet-grey eyes gazing at her silently for a moment. Then, it nodded—it seemed to accept the name.
The moment it accepted the name bestowed by Aergia, a contract was forged between them, and a divine mark flashed past the right side of Nephele's body.
From that day forward, Aergia would be its master, and it would become the goddess's most loyal companion.
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