The world-devouring dragon

That year, after Hercules disembarked from the ship, Jason led the heroes on a long journey on the Argonaut. They have seen various countries on the sea, fought many sea monsters, and even encountered several gods along the way.

It was truly a legendary adventure that Theseus could never forget even after so many years.

After the heroes crossed the vast sea, they finally found the mysterious country called Colchis at the far end of the sea and at the end of the world, where the Golden Fleece was guarded by a giant dragon.

In the end, many things happened. Captain Jason successfully made the princess of this country fall in love with him, took away the golden fleece, and returned successfully.

"So, this princess is Medea?"

The great hero interjected and asked.

Theseus nodded and continued.

"That's a really beautiful person. She fell in love with Jason at first sight, but..."

Theseus hesitated, seemed to sigh, and finally scratched his hair and said seriously.

"We all thought that the two of us were a good match at the time, but we never expected that something like that would happen."

"What happened next?"

The great hero didn't understand, so he asked again.

Theseus pursed his lips. He didn't want to speak ill of his former comrades, but he finally said it to the great hero.

"Then Jason changed his mind."

…

Go back a few years.

When Jason led many heroes back to Greece, he never imagined that his uncle would be so shameless and refused to accept the golden fleece he had recaptured.

He also thought about asking his companions for help. But after the Argonauts adventure ended, the heroes from all over Greece dispersed back one after another. The few heroes who were willing to help Jason were helpless in the face of the Thebes city wall that could be built by just playing musical instruments given by the gods.

The throne was lost, and Jason had to accept this reality and lived in Corinth with Medea.

But in Corinth he fell in love with the daughter of the Corinthian king and became enchanted with her. The prince proposed to the young princess behind Medea's back and planned to break off the engagement with Medea.

later……

"Everyone knows what happened later. Medea used her magic to kill her and Jason's child, killed the Corinthian princess that Jason fell in love with, and rode away in a dragon chariot."

"Later, Medea came to Athens and seduced my father to become queen. I drove her away when I returned home."

During the narration, Theseus helplessly spread his palms.

He actually felt some pity for this woman. On the ship, the love between Jason and Medea received the blessings of all the heroes. However, the final result of the matter made everyone sigh with sadness.

In his eyes, Medea when she came to Athens was already extremely strange, cold and cruel, completely different from the young, elegant and pure princess back then.

The great hero listened to these things Theseus said while drinking wine, and recalled the scene when they were on the boat together. At that time, Jason was in high spirits and was the focus of the heroes. No one expected what would happen next.

"I haven't met Medea, but I think Jason is a good person."

"Who says it isn't? Many people say it was because Jason and Medea killed her brother, and the goddess of revenge placed a curse on him."

Theseus shrugged his shoulders at the great hero's evaluation.

Then, he poured himself a glass of wine, drank it in one gulp, and talked about some unknown things.

"Back then, we actually found a witch named Circe. The witch said that killing blood relatives is a great sin, and the goddess of revenge especially hates this kind of behavior. She asked us to participate in the sacrificial ceremony together to pray for the goddess of revenge's forgiveness. . But looking at it now, the Furies have not forgiven Jason and Medea..."

"What happened to Medea?"

"I don't know. Some people say she died in a foreign land, while others say she returned to her hometown. Anyway, I never heard from her again."

The great hero remained silent, and the atmosphere cooled down a bit.

After finally becoming king, Theseus saw that the atmosphere was getting colder, so he clapped his hands and called his maids to dance.

"Come on, come on, let's drink and dance today. We won't come back until we get drunk."

Under the influence of alcohol, Theseus's face flushed, as if he had returned to the time when he was young and vigorous. He said happily to the big hero, and even stretched out his hand to pull the big hero to dance together.

When the two of them were in a mood, they would slap the table to make rhythm and stamp their feet on the ground, just like they did when they were listening to Orpheus singing on the Argonauts while dancing and fighting.

This rough behavior left the maids at a loss. The young Athenian king had always been calm and heroic, and they had never seen the Athenian king so uninhibited.

When they were tired from dancing, the two of them sat on the ground without caring about their appearance, holding the wine jar and drinking heavily while talking about the past, the opponents they had fought against, and their experiences over the years.

As he spoke, Theseus burst into tears, hugged his idol, and said in a trembling voice how much he had missed Ariadne all these years. Then in the middle of crying, the king of Athens, who had drunk too much wine and was full of worries, fell asleep one after another with the great hero.

The maids did not dare to move the two demigods. It was not until Queen Phaedra spoke that more than a dozen attendants sent the two distinguished people to their respective rooms.

When the hangover was over, the hero woke up from the bed holding his head, and then he realized how much he had drunk yesterday.

"If anyone wanted to yesterday, I'm afraid my head would have been chopped off."

The hero laughed at himself.

To defeat the invincible hero, sometimes wine is all you need.

Rejecting the maid's service, he opened the bedroom door, and a beautiful and noble woman was waiting outside the door.

"Hero of Thebes, my husband is waiting for you."

Queen Phaedra smiled.

The hero remembered who this was.

Many years ago, the timid little girl who hid behind her sister and Theseus has now replaced her sister and become the queen of Theseus.

"Thank you and your husband for your hospitality. I will remember the happiness of yesterday."

The queen shook her head, saying that she didn't mind, and led the way for the hero.

"Many years ago, I met you once, before boarding the Argo. Do you remember?"

Phaedra's voice was gentle and quiet, and the hero replied.

"Yes, I still remember that you were still very young."

"Yes, who would have expected today?"

The queen said calmly. After a moment of silence, she continued.

"My husband still loves my sister... Sometimes I wonder, if it was me who was abducted by Dionysus, would he remember me?"

There was a hint of sadness in Phaedra's voice.

The hero knew what the queen was referring to.

After the Argonauts adventure, Theseus was ready to marry Ariadne, whom he had fallen in love with. However, the consequences of Theseus killing the half-bull, half-man king finally emerged.

Ariadne was the daughter of the Minotaur, the bull-headed king, but Theseus killed him and wanted to marry his daughter. Therefore, such love was not blessed by the god of fate.

When the two lovers were about to get married, the god of wine Dionysus suddenly appeared and showed Theseus a miracle, claiming that the god of fate had promised Ariadne to him as his fiancée.

No matter how reluctant he was, Ariadne, the beautiful girl, was still abducted by the god of wine, and Theseus was confused for a long time. At that time, only Ariadne's sister Phaedra was with Theseus, comforting the older brother, and eventually became the queen of Theseus.

Although Theseus almost never talked about it, Phaedra knew that her husband had never forgotten it all, and her abducted sister was the love of his life.

"Maybe I just can't beat her."

The young queen smiled slightly bitterly.

She was still very young, and confusedly tried to seek answers from old friends. She didn't know what she should do to make her husband completely forget the past and turn his attention to herself.

The great hero's arms can strangle lions, defeat wild boars, and kill hydras, but he doesn't know how to deal with such things.

He could only comfort her.

"Maybe time can wash away everything. I believe Theseus, he is a person worth entrusting."

Phaedra shook her head and said lightly.

"Maybe."

When the hero came to the hall, the King of Athens had been waiting for a long time. He greeted his idol warmly and wanted to take him to travel around Athens.

The hero stayed in Athens for several days and finally decided to continue chasing his next prey.

Theseus was quite sad about the news, but he still expressed his understanding.

When the hero's figure disappeared on the horizon, Theseus looked at it for a long time and was reluctant to leave.

"Aren't you going back?"

The queen asked.

Theseus shook his head and refused.

"Let me take another look... Let me take another look..."

The voice was hoarse, like a dream.

He stared at the hero who was going away, as if it was not just the hero himself, but something more complex and profound.

Phaedra knew that he was looking at his dream that was gradually fading away.

He was already a king, and he had to worry about the citizens of the city-state. He was no longer the unruly young prince and the energetic hero.

On this land, heroes who were once active in his generation have gradually fallen silent. He is unwilling to try to catch the most brilliant afterglow, as if to prove that his era is not far away.

But why can you only see the past? Can't you open your eyes and look at the present around you?

Theseus is still looking into the distance, while Phaedra beside him is a little gloomy.