"Tethys, I have no doubt about your resolve. But this method requires you to use your divinity as material to ignite the divine fire, thereby tempering Achilles' body to grant him a divine form. This will be a great trial for both mother and son!"
Thinking of the pain of tearing apart the divine essence, Tethys couldn't help but shiver. And tempering Achilles in the divine fire was also an extremely agonizing ordeal. How could a young child endure it!
But for her child's future survival, the mother ruthlessly decided to proceed.
Under Tyche's protection, Tethys, enduring the pain, tore a portion of her divine essence from the divine fire to draw forth the divine flame, and placed the sleeping Achilles into the divine fire for tempering!
The child's suffering was unmasked, and the screams made the three subordinate gods guarding nearby unable to bear it and turn their faces away.
The divine blood inherited from his parents manifested in this divine fire, which symbolized transcendence. Achilles' flesh and skin vanished, leaving only blood that faintly glowed golden. Under the tempering of his mother's divine fire, a faint divinity was refined!
Tethys's face was pale, her body trembling slightly. The ceaseless pain, coupled with the cries in her ears, tormented her tenfold.
Tyche took the silver vial from Medusa and poured the water she had scooped from the Spring of Wisdom onto Achilles' body. The vigorous life force from the World Tree fostered new tissues, granting them resistance to blades. The pain was soothed by the cool spring water, and Achilles fell into a deep slumber amidst suffering and rebirth.
When it was all over, Achilles radiated a soft glow, becoming a demigod no less than the nymphs and descendants of the gods.
Tethys, however, was on the verge of collapse. Her essence of minor divinity had been reduced to the level of weak divinity due to the massive loss of divine power, a considerable sacrifice.
Yet, Tethys managed to muster her strength and thanked Tyche, "Thank you, Your Highness Tyche. I will forever remember this kindness!"
"Tethys, do not spoil him too much. Teach him tolerance and honesty, compassion and bravery. Do not harm the defenseless, the weak, women, and children. Follow the guidance of virtue to do good deeds."
Tethys nodded hazily, then, due to her extreme weakness, fell into a deep sleep.
The rainbow goddesses and Medusa exchanged glances, took Achilles from the exhausted Tethys, and brought a ewe to feed the crying infant Achilles.
Tyche held Achilles by the ankle, satisfied to see that he had no weaknesses left before letting go.
The tree nymphs were accustomed to caring for infants; both Kanna and Zeus had grown up as babies, and their growth had been accompanied by the care of the nymphs.
Tethys's loss required her to sleep for a period to recover. During this time, Achilles was cared for by the attendants.
Initially, Tyche intended to have Iris send Achilles to his father Peleus, but upon the nymphs' pleading, she decided to keep him.
The island had not heard the laughter of children for a long time, and the nymphs eagerly awaited Achilles' arrival. They dressed the young Achilles as a little girl, styling his hair and adorning him with dresses. Only when Tethys awoke did they reluctantly return Achilles to his mother.
The power of the magic net was present on the invisible island. When bored, Philura and other attendants would study magic spells that interested them. They sent Achilles, whom they might never see again, a gift – a magic ring imbued with various blessings.
This ring was woven from the tender branches of an apple tree and could restore the wearer's stamina when in forests and near water sources.
After sending off Tethys and Achilles, Tyche returned to the World Tree to continue waiting for the fruits to ripen.
With the continuous supply of earthly divine power, the fruits on the World Tree were close to ripening, and it would not be long before Tyche set off again.
When Chaos finally perished, the primordial gods were no longer bound by the laws. Of course, the primordial gods who regained their freedom also lost some privileges. If Tyche and Eros were to clash again and harm this world, the laws would not stand idly by. This was one of the reasons Tyche had moved the battlefield to the deep sea during the war with Pontus.
Achilles grew into a young man under his mother's tutelage and learned martial arts from the centaur Chiron, becoming a hero who embodied virtue.
He helped the weak and never engaged in needless slaughter, earning the deep trust of the people.
Yet, he inevitably became involved in disputes between nations.
The seaside city-state of Troy, protected by the impregnable walls built by Apollo and Poseidon, had frequent commercial exchanges, with ships constantly arriving and departing from its ports, making it the wealthiest of all city-states.
Paris, the prince of Troy, visited Sparta as an envoy at his father's request. During a banquet hosted by King Menelaus of Sparta, he fell in love with Helen, the Queen of Sparta.
Coincidentally, Menelaus needed to travel to Crete after the banquet, so he asked Helen, the hostess, to entertain the guests.
During their time together, Paris could no longer restrain himself and confessed his love to Helen, who was already married.
The naive Helen, deceived by Paris's sweet words, abandoned everything and returned to Troy with Paris.
This greatly angered King Menelaus of Sparta. He, along with his brother Agamemnon, summoned the rulers of the various city-states and launched a war under the pretext of reclaiming his abducted wife.
The kings of all the city-states coveted Troy's wealth and readily agreed to join Menelaus's allied forces.
This war swept across almost the entire land. Apollo and Poseidon, who had built the walls of Troy and served as its protector gods, also participated to defend their followers.
With the addition of these two major gods, the goddess of marriage Hera and the god of war Ares also entered the fray.
Hera detested Paris's act of stealing another man's wife, and together with Ares, who craved war, they stood behind the allied forces, opposing Apollo and Poseidon.
The war escalated, and soon most of the gods were drawn into it.
The conflict between the two sides lasted for nine years. The two heroes who performed most outstandingly in this war were Achilles on the allied side and Prince Hector of Troy, who outshone all other heroes present.
Protected by its walls, Troy defended itself with confidence. The allied forces, with their several times greater numbers, could not damage the walls in the slightest.
Over these nine years, the allied forces consumed several times more supplies than Troy, which greatly frustrated Agamemnon, the leader of the allied forces.
The Trojans never rashly left their city walls, thus maintaining a standoff with the Greek allied forces' encirclement.
To replenish supplies, Agamemnon turned his attention to other city-states bordering Troy.
The islands of Nedos and Lesbos were successively breached by the allied forces, and even the ancient city of Thebes could not escape the ravages of war.
To force the Trojans out of their walls, Agamemnon ordered his army to plunder these city-states, allowing the soldiers to seize maidens and treasures, and also to boost the morale of the dispirited army.