Tonight would be a sleepless night.
You drank the goddess's blood.
That night, at the age of twelve, you lay with Medusa and vowed to remain together forever...
You were not blinded by fleeting desire.
Even though you and Medusa had already bared yourselves to each other, the gloom lingering in your heart still had not dispersed.
Because you knew the Gorgon Sisters' tragic fate.
More than anyone, you wanted to change that ending.
Moran had not expected his feelings to be exposed today.
Whether from his own perspective or that of an observer, he could not conceal the surprise and joy in his heart.
In a sense, Medusa was robbing the cradle, while Moran could be said to be driving a big truck.
Even though Moran was only twelve years old.
His physique was already 1.85 meters tall.
With streamlined muscles covering his body and a handsome face like an artistic sculpture.
No one would doubt it if he claimed to be twenty.
Looking at Medusa sleeping with a blissful smile.
You still noticed it.
Medusa was constantly suppressing the darkness rising within her heart.
As long as someone still sought to subjugate the sisters, Medusa would kill the invaders, and she would fall into demonic corruption because of it.
Becoming a monster known as Gorgon.
For this reason, the solution you came up with was—
The Goddess's Punishment. Please Send Flowers! Please Vote!
First, remain on The Invisible Island.
Using The Invisible Island as the center, gather and establish humanity's faith, making people realize that the three goddess sisters were harmless, thereby causing the demonizing rumors to collapse on their own.
Second, leave The Invisible Island.
The heroes had come to subjugate the slandered Gorgon because they were drawn in by rumors fabricated by the gods. In that case, use achievements and legends powerful enough to shatter those rumors and clear the sisters' names.
This was the most reliable method Moran could think of.
It was another choice between two options.
Unlike last time, this choice would largely determine the direction of the future. It might even determine whether he lived or died in this simulation.
Moran had that intuition.
Just like when he had faced the Sea Serpent's gaping maw at birth, he was once again confronted with a fatal choice.
You, who were highly sensitive to death, felt pressured.
However, when you saw Medusa sleeping beside you, that pressure melted away like dissipating smoke.
You understood something.
There were things in this world more frightening than death. Once you realized that, you no longer feared the choice ahead.
"I choose the second option."
Moran spoke after careful deliberation.
Armed with detailed memories of this simulation, he chose the decision that was theoretically the most practical and effective.
His current strength was still far too lacking.
He did not have the ability to choose the first option.
You decided to leave The Invisible Island.
Four years later, fully prepared, you decided to set out and told the three sisters why you were leaving the island.
As expected, Euryale flew into a rage.
Stheno revealed a cold expression.
Medusa looked at you reluctantly, but she did not seem surprised by your choice.
"Hmph, Moran, so you really do hate us, don't you?! Go wherever you want. It has nothing to do with this goddess!"
Euryale threw down those words and stormed off angrily.
Medusa hurried after her.
"You are leaving tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Heh, just a mere human, yet so arrogant. I never had any expectations of you from the beginning. I am tired of you. I have no interest in outdated toys. Go wherever you want to crawl off to."
Stheno was so cold that not a trace of emotion colored her voice.
As though she did not care about Moran at all.
Moran could not help but laugh as he watched her leave.
Although he knew the two elder sisters would not give him a warm reception, he still felt somewhat lonely.
They were about to part ways. Could they not be a little more honest?
His eldest sister really was...
"No, if they were truly that honest, they would not be Euryale and Stheno. Really, they have not changed at all from when I first came to this island..."
Moran held no resentment in his heart.
No matter how sharp Stheno and Euryale's personalities were, he could see the truth behind their walls of bronze and iron.
So it was not impossible to accept.
He was only a little lonely, that was all.
"Do you have to leave?"
"If you keep carrying this burden alone, you will reach your limit sooner or later. To prevent that day from coming, I have to leave."
"Moran..."
Medusa returned to Moran's side.
Knowing where her limits lay, she did not say much.
However, the reluctance in her heart had already swelled to its limit, driving Medusa to take action.
Like a snake guarding its food.
With deep emotion, she wrapped herself around Moran once more.
There was no need to say anything else.
Just the touch of their interlaced fingers was enough for them to understand as they poured out their reluctance through silent actions.
Night fell, and you gazed at the shimmering scene.
This was Moran's final night on The Invisible Island. Tomorrow, he would leave the home where he had lived for twelve years.
Was the night lonely?
No, it was not. It would not be.
Under the moonlight, you saw Stheno and Euryale.
They radiated the charm of goddesses.
You had no way to resist this supreme allure capable of enchanting every man.
No, you had never intended to resist from the beginning.
"How audacious. You are clearly a toy in my hand, yet you want to flee from my side. I must leave you with lifelong regret, make you regret making such a choice."
Stheno parted her crimson lips.
Her seductive smile made even the moonlight pale.
It was a bewitching beauty worthy only of a goddess. The instant you were enchanted, it felt as though you would fall into the underworld.
"That is right. We raised you, yet you dare defy your elder sisters. Such disrespect must be properly punished."
Euryale smiled beautifully.
At this moment, she was even as ethereal as a dream.
Neither of them possessed any special power. They were merely incarnations of the very concept of goddesses.
Their mere existence was enough to enchant men.
Not to mention that they had chosen to release that charm of their own accord. Its impact was enough to leave even gods stunned.
"W-Wait... Y-You two are...!"
Moran was unable to move for a moment.
As he watched the two elder sisters approach, a familiar sense of foreboding gradually rose in his heart.
"Moran, let this regret be etched into your flesh and even your soul. The night is still long. I will make it so that wherever you go in the future, whatever woman you meet, you will be unable to forget..."
"The honor of touching a goddess is not something just anyone can have. During the countless days and nights after you leave this island, you will only be able to think of me. That is the punishment this goddess gives you."
Stheno and Euryale's words concealed delight.
Even though their tones were so cruel.
They still shed the immaculate gauze robes of goddesses and bestowed punishment upon the only man they had ever watched.
The moist, tender breaths unique to goddesses.
Together with Shurou Xuerong pressing ever closer, like sweet syrup, they threatened to drown Moran within them.
A nation-toppling charm that clung to him like a parasite attached to the bone.
No matter where Moran went in the future, he would surely recall and long for this excessively wonderful night.
The regretful sighs he would let out then.
Were exactly what Stheno and Euryale wanted to see.
As for whether they were truly punishing him, even Moran himself probably could not tell.
The real answer to that.
Perhaps only they themselves knew.
The Journey from the Island, a Beautiful Dream. Please Send Flowers! Please Vote!
You rode Pegasus away from The Invisible Island.
In the end, Medusa was the only one who came to see you off. Stheno and Euryale did not appear before you.
Though you felt some regret, after taking one final look at The Invisible Island, you resolutely flew toward the distance.
"Elder sisters, Moran... has already left..."
"I know. I do not need you, foolish little sister, to remind me."
No smile appeared on Stheno's beautiful face.
Meanwhile, Euryale puffed out her cheeks and said nothing, with the words "sullen and unhappy" practically written across her face.
Though neither of them said anything.
They still could not help secretly watching Moran depart.
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