In the Grove of Dodona, Brolios sat alongside the rest of his charges as the rainbow mist condensed by one of his friends, the goddess Iris, showed the sights of a certain Hero in the making.
The animals that fought for the honor of lying in Brolios's lap cared not for what was going on, for they only cared about smugly looking down on the rest of their kin from the holy perch while enjoying the god's pets and scritches.
The various spirits, titans, and gods, on the other hand? They were far too busy discussing what they were seeing.
The scene showed a young man hiding within the forests of an island by the name of Sarpedon. A place full of lush vegetation, savage wildlife, and monsters big and small.
Aphrodite glanced worriedly at her friend, who was staring intently at the projection.
"Brolios? Is this really fine? I do not mean to demean the boy's training, but to pit a mortal, even if he has divine essence in him, against a monster you personally crafted, isn't it akin to sending him to Hades personally?"
Brolios shook his head at the goddess's words.
"No. The Gorgons I crafted were based on the DNA of Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale, three of Athena's most devoted mortal priestesses and one of my own creations. As a result, despite the powers that I granted them through my magic, they are still within the realm of a mortal's ability to slay without divine help. They are the perfect test to see if all my efforts in teaching my student were the right choice. To see if he, and those that would come after him based on his template, would be worthy enough to guard humanity as a whole should the day ever come when we are no longer present in this world."
Aphrodite shook her head in amusement at his words.
"Do not joke at this time, Brolios. Why in Gaia's name would we, the gods, ever be absent from this world?"
The look full of melancholy and acceptance that Brolios gave her made the beautiful goddess's breath hitch.
"Everything comes to an end eventually, Dite. The Sun, the Moon, the distant stars, even the universe itself will, at one point in time far into the future, come to a cold, empty end."
"We gods are no exception to this rule. The question is that of 'when', not 'if'."
Somehow, his words filled the young goddess with a feeling of dread and impending doom, but true to her nature, she suppressed those thoughts and concentrated on the present.
"Putting aside your stupid theory, you still haven't answered me. Why go through such an elaborate quest if you wanted to see whether Perseus is worthy or not? Did you not observe him for more than a decade now? Do you not know if he is worthy or not by now?"
Once again, Brolios shook his head.
"The qualities that a man shows in the assured safety of his home are his optimal state. Yet, what I want is not his optimal ideology and moral integrity in the safety of his home. What I want to see is his true self, one that is only ever revealed in a moment of life and death."
"Only then, when he feels the presence of Thanatos by his side, will his true nature be revealed. That is his true final test."
Aphrodite gave her friend a confused look.
"What other tests did you put him through?"
Brolios pointed at the projection, reversing the image to a point in time when Perseus had first arrived at one of Hephaestus's hidden workshops, according to Brolios's guidance.
"This was one of the first tests he faced when he set off on his journey."
In the image, Perseus walked into the empty forge full of precious gems, metals, and divine armaments, each one worth more than any human kingdom. Things that would directly elevate him into a prince consort, or even a king himself. All he would have to do is take one of the things openly piled in the workshop, and take it back to his mother, and then leave that accursed island that they call home.
"This test was to see what he would do when faced with the manifestation of his innermost desire. That of possessing boundless wealth that he could use to free himself and his mother from the bounds of petty kings and kingdoms. All he would have to do is gather the courage to take but one item from there."
In the image, Perseus was clearly tempted. He moved to the nearest ingot of metal that gleamed like diamonds, the signature ability of the godly metal known as Adamantine.
This ingot alone would be enough for him to literally buy anything in the Greek realms he desired. Land, Kingdoms, even the hand of an immortal in marriage, along with said immortal's domain as a whole.
Yet, just before his extended hand could touch the metal, the mortal closed his eyes, gritted his teeth until his gums bled, and then swiftly turned away from the pile of wealth, heading back to the forge that was ready for him to craft his armaments with the materials given to him by his teacher.
The look of pride on Brolios's face simply could not be hidden as Aphrodite's eyes shone with warmth as she saw the look on her 'silly god' as she calls him.
Brolios once again manipulated the image, showing the sight of Perseus confronting the Grey Sisters.
"This test was to see if he was but a mere brute that used his martial skills to win every battle. After all, not every battle can be won through sheer strength alone. Sometimes, the better and easier path lies in the power of words rather than the edge of a sword."
Aphrodite knew that the mortal cannot defeat the Grey Sisters. Brolios had made sure of that by having his nephew, Ares, make the sisters immune to all forms of damage temporarily. So, she knew that if Persues did try the path of combat, he was in for a rude awakening.
Yet, much to her surprise, instead of going into combat like an idiot, as the rest of the men of this era would do, and then realizing his lesson, the boy did not even pick up his Celestial Bronze sword that he crafted with his own hands with the help of his teacher's training.
Instead, his intelligent eyes spotted the sole vulnerability of the Grey Sisters. The one eye and one tooth that the three shared.
With quick thinking, the young Demigod easily stole the items and held them hostage, demanding that they show him the way to the monster's lair and her strengths and weaknesses. Which the three sisters helplessly did. This test was, once again, cleared by Perseus easily, showcasing his wisdom that was equal to his martial prowess.
With the knowledge of what Medusa was capable of, the geography and topology of the island, and various other factors that he wanted to know from the beginning, Perseus returned to the workshop and got to work.
Brolios manipulated the image, showing the real-time scene of Persues skulking through the forests of Sarpedon, heading closer and closer to the caves where the three monsters were located.
The green cloak that was thickly coated with fresh and dry leaves across its surface provided the mortal with excellent camouflage in the terrain, while its insulating properties would hide his thermal signature from the infrared vision of the beasts.
Slowly, as he drew near the cave, the mortal did not charge in recklessly. Instead, he picked up a rather large pebble and threw it into the cave, awakening the monsters that were sleeping inside and forcing them to come out to investigate.
The moment the three monsters came out hissing and screeching, Perseus lowered his gaze, making sure not to meet their eyes while still hiding beneath his cloak.
Then, just as he planned before, he pulled on a thin rope, dislodging a log that was holding up a chopped-down tree's truck that was barely standing upright with the help of the log. With the support now gone, the trunk collapsed with a thunderous noise, attracting the attention of the three monsters.
The biggest and strongest of the bunch, Gorgon Medusa, hissed at her sisters to investigate the noise, which they did wordlessly as their programmed instincts guided them to their destination, not questioning why a tree would suddenly fall out of the blue like that.
Seeing his chance, Perseus quickly crept closer and closer to the monster, bringing out his Celestial Bronze shield, which was polished to a mirror finish on the inside, allowing him to use it as a mirror.
Taking advantage of the creature's distraction, Perseus leapt, finally revealing himself.
The snakes atop Medusa's head were the first to spot him. They hissed in warning, making the monster swiftly turn her petrifying gaze upon the mortal.
However, while still in the middle of his leap, Perseus twisted his body and turned his back to the monster while still keeping his eyes on it through the shield.
There was no grand battle, no attrition, no clash of wits. With a single swing of his sword, the demigod beheaded the monster. The creature's head fell lifelessly to the ground.
Yet, the next moment, the dead body started to convulse, making the demigod cautious and retreat to a safe distance while clutching the severed head of the Gorgon and disappearing into the foliage once again using his cloak.
Aphrodite watched all of this with wide eyes while Brolios simply stared with pride at the cautious approach his apprentice took, even after defeating his target.
Then, under the collective gaze of one mortal and several immortals, the body that was created from a merger of human DNA and the DNA of creatures that did not exist in this world, creatures that were once known as the 'Saibamen' in a different world and timeline, exploded outwards in a great fireball that would have incinerated anything caught in the blast radius.
Perseus broke out in cold sweat as he beheld the sight, knowing how close to death he had been. Yet, he was suddenly distracted from such a thought when he heard a distinct whine of a stallion originating from the crater where the monster's body was.
He saw a beautiful winged horse with rich brown fur and piercing blue eyes, staring at him with a proud and intelligent gaze.
Aphrodite, watching this beautiful creature, turned to her friend with a pout.
"You never gave me such a gift."
Brolios chuckled at her words before patting her back gently.
"If you want it, I can make more. But, for now, let this be the symbol of his victory and his gift for his achievement."
"Hm. Fine. But, I have a question."
"Shoot."
"Didn't you say you wanted to see his true nature and that such things are only revealed in the moments of life and death?"
"Yeah?"
"There was no moment of life and death in this fight, though. It was a swift, decisive victory."
The clearing fell silent as Brolios gave her a dumbfounded look, only now realizing that he had been so blinded by his pride for his student's achievement that he had forgotten the main reason for this last test.
"....Fuck."
Aphrodite chuckled at the swearing god who was not pacing, trying to salvage the situation. Her warm gaze was full of mirth.
And so, the famed God of Destruction fled to Olympus in dismay, searching for his wise niece to ask for a solution, while the Goddess of Love remained in the Grove, her existence still a secret from the rest of Olympus.
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