Half a day later, it was night.

He searched everything around the cabin carefully and read the information that came into his mind over and over again.

When the moon was at its zenith, Hercules came to an empty space in the woods, carrying the discarded puppet in one hand and the key in the other.

In the center of the open space, there is a small mound, and the soil on it is very fresh.

At first glance, you can tell that it is new soil that has only been excavated in recent years.

Leaning on a low mound of earth, the great hero gazed at the clouds and the moonlight above his head.

A breeze blew by, bringing with it some moisture from the stream.

"call……"

After a long while, Hercules spoke slowly.

Beside him, only the tattered puppet listened quietly.

"...Andre, you have actually been here all these days, right?"

"……Yes."

The friction of wood could be heard clearly as he spoke each word.

Unlike before, this time, the abandoned puppet finally made its own voice.

"Hercules, I have always been here, just as you thought."

"It's just that no one can help you with this matter, including me."

Instead of continuing to pretend to be a dead object, Ender took control of this temporary body.

In fact, the reason why this puppet appeared here was not because of his preparation.

Even the reason why it appeared here was because it was a 'toy' made by this great hero himself after he was thrown down to the human world.

A demigod on earth who walked with God, created creatures in the realm of God with his own hands, and called his name in his heart, this was enough to attract the other party's attention, and Hercules thought so too.

But for various reasons, Ander did not respond to him in the end.

It just stays here quietly, observing the outside world through the perspective of this puppet that was discovered by Heber and thrown into the pile of debris, until today.

"As you can see, Zeus is indeed not in a good condition."

"But no matter how bad he is, he is still the God King of Olympus."

"I'm not sure if it can find me... Of course, this is not the only reason why I choose to remain silent."

"This is more because I have no way to help you. Facing Zeus's seal, no one except his own power can unlock it without killing you."

The mouth opened and closed, and dust was shaken off the puppet's body.

Silently, Ender's appearance was changing at a speed unobservable to the naked eye.

"But now it's different. You've found a way to unlock it yourself."

"Hera left her authority here for you to use to break Zeus's shackles... Of course, she also took the goddess of youth away with her to keep her away from the God King's plan."

"..."

Sitting silently beside the mound, listening to Ander's story, Hercules was not too surprised.

Even if the other party didn't tell him, the hero himself had similar guesses.

Hercules casually threw the silver key with wings onto the puppet and calmly asked the other party what he thought.

"The way to unlock the blockade... is this what you are talking about?"

"So, Ender, do you know the conditions for its use?"

"I can probably guess."

Nodding stiffly, the puppet said slowly:

"I think you need to go to a place where the power of the God King cannot reach... After all, only in that place can Zeus not sense your actions when you unlock the seal."

"Only by getting out of his sensing range can you avoid being suppressed again by the God King who has reacted, and her plan will become a joke."

"From Hera's perspective, there are many such places, but the one she might guide you to is certainly not the Land of Eternal Night, the End of the Sea, the Kingdom of Eternal Mist, or the Ancient Spirit World - because all of these places are beyond her control, and beyond the extent of her desire to 'teach Zeus a lesson'."

So in the end, there was only one answer that could satisfy her needs... After all, there was only one 'enemy' of Zeus there, and the other party did not show a power that the king of gods could not resist."

Tartarus, the bottomless abyss.

Although He is a primitive god, He is incapable of making rational judgments.

Moreover, in Hera's eyes, Zeus undoubtedly had nothing to do with that place. Their biggest connection was only the great divine power that had once caused the King of Gods to suffer a small loss, but whose hard power was still inferior to Hera's.

If she could get Hercules in there successfully, her plan would not only be successful, but would even bring some unexpected surprises.

After all, although Hera had long lost confidence in Ares, he was still her offspring.

If Hercules really teaches Zeus a lesson with the support of some great being of the abyss in the future... then in terms of how to turn the tables, perhaps the King of Gods will have to rely on the help of the God of War again.

"To be honest, Hera's plan is actually somewhat feasible."

"As long as you have no choice, you can only go in this direction."

"But she obviously doesn't know that there are other options for you."

With the sound of crackling, the abandoned puppet became more and more like the one that the hero had carried all the way.

Ender's head rotated 270 degrees and he looked in the direction of Hercules.

"And you wouldn't want to be her pawn, right?"

"……maybe."

The great hero slowly stood up and put his hand under the grave mound, speaking in a calm tone.

"Changing a path is nothing more than changing a chess player. What difference can it make?"

For some people, yes.

Because even if you are just a pawn, you will feel more at ease in the hands of a skilled chess player.

But for some people, it is not, because they have been longing for the unattainable freedom since they were born.

He shook his head slightly and didn't comment on it.

Ander understood Hercules's thoughts. After all, he gradually discovered that Hercules might have been walking on the path planned by others since he was born, and this path also shaped his heart that was unwilling to be bound.

The collision between reality and soul is going on all the time. This contradiction may be the reason why the great hero stopped here for a long time.

Hebe and the artifact on her were just inducements; the flaw in his own heart was the cause of everything.

"But then again, who in this world is truly free?"

At least in Ander's eyes, he couldn't find such a person.

Even though the original gods and the king of gods are a hundred times more powerful than him, the world's plan for their destiny has never been less than one bit.

……

The next day.

Taking the bronze stick out of the pile of earth again, Hercules bid farewell to the room where he had lived for a long time.

Perhaps he had subconsciously anticipated this day and the hero quickly made preparations.

It also didn't take too long for Hercules to retrieve all of his demon relics one by one in the surrounding area of thousands of miles.

They had been separated and scattered during his fall to the earth, but now they were all back in his hands.

"Zeus must have done this on purpose. In his eyes, these things are just icing on the cake and may even lead to bad consequences."

"You know, from what I know, the power of the King of All Monsters is also biased - the demon part is more in line with its rationality and will, while the evil part only contains pure power and chaos... So in the eyes of Zeus, they may be trouble."

Reaching back into his pocket, Ender pointed out the locations of the relics one by one.

Since he could not use them, the God King obviously had no intention of taking these rare items away. Instead, he left them here and would give them to this rebellious son after he had completely subdued him.

Perhaps the only thing about Hercules that was worthy of Zeus's attention was the bronze stick that once supported the sky.

But unfortunately, although he might be able to pick it up with his strength, he couldn't use it at all.

"In your hand, it can be wielded easily without much effort. But for others, using it consumes more strength than the power it brings."

"From this perspective, Hercules, you are indeed born extraordinary."

With a slight sigh, Andy spoke in a sincere tone.

This level of gift is no different from that of a god, and it all comes directly from the recognition of the world or fate.

In other words, there is no mortal who can become a god without relying on external objects in this world, otherwise Hercules would definitely have a place.

"Okay, there's no need to say more about these things... Ender, do you still remember the road we took before?"

He interrupted in a deep voice, not taking these things to heart.

The great hero asked as he looked at the towering mass of Mount Oldes in the distance.

"Of course I remember. I can give you directions."

"But you have to walk this journey by yourself... Otherwise, it would be a small matter if Hera discovered my existence, but it would be troublesome if Zeus noticed me."

With a slight nod, the puppet immediately transmitted a route map to Hercules' mind.

At the end of this map is the former residence of the Goddess of the Magic Net, and also the dry pool they had visited before.

Logically speaking, a great hero should know the way.

But last time, they arrived on a star shuttle that crossed the continent.

This time, he could only rely on his legs to get there.

“It’s right there, and it’s also our original destination.”

"After all the twists and turns, your premonition has been confirmed..."

With a casual smile, Hercules strode forward at Ender's urging.

They didn't know whether Hera would change her mind halfway, so they naturally couldn't waste time.

……

Heading west, we crossed mountains and hills.

Thousands and tens of thousands of years ago, these "rubbles" fell from the sacred mountain.

But with the passage of time, they no longer have any traces of their past.

On this day, after many days and nights, Hercules stood on a small hill and vaguely saw some traces of buildings.

"It's a relic from the Golden Age. We've been here before."

“Last time, we unearthed several steles with hieroglyphic inscriptions here!”

The voice moved slightly, and a hint of joy inevitably flashed across his face.

Taking a step forward, compared with the smooth journey last time, the hero spent much more energy to return to the old place.

The obstacles that he had once ignored now needed to be faced seriously. A strange beast roaming in the wilderness could delay him for several days... Fortunately, after so much time, he finally found this place.

If he continues along this path, it won't be long before he finds the dried-up pool.

Then he used the aura of the [Mirror of Spreir] on his body to open the door to the spiritual world.

"and many more--"

Feeling uplifted, Hercules was ready to move on.

But almost at the same moment, Ander's voice sounded in his ears.

"Don't go over there yet, there seems to be someone else there."

"Ok?"

The great hero was shocked upon hearing this and looked solemn.

If it was some other place it would be fine, but who on earth would appear here at this time in a place where no one might visit for hundreds of years?

"Friend or foe?"

"It's hard to say... After all, they probably aren't coming for us."

Trying hard to sense the breath ahead, Ander felt inexplicably familiar.

He should have seen them there... At some point, a flash of inspiration came to him and he remembered the origin of this feeling.

The most recent one was when Hercules took away the bronze pillar in the East China Sea.

The most distant one was in the depths of his memory, at the beginning of the birth of bronze humans...

"It was him... Prometheus's brother, the foolish man, Epimetheus, and the first woman, the woman created by the gods, Pandora."

"I thought she was dead, or imprisoned by some god. I didn't expect her to appear here..."

Murmuring softly, Ander expressed his discovery.

But he was not very clear about the other party's purpose.

This is what remains of Mount Odilus, the site of the old battle between the gods to which none of the gods were willing to come.

In a place like this, what were this couple doing here who were rumored to have unleashed a disaster and brought destruction to the bronze humans?

"Ignore them and try to avoid them."

After thinking for a moment, without hesitation, Ander gave his suggestion.

"Given your current situation, it's best not to deal with other gods."

"Whatever they are here for, it has nothing to do with us."