Chapter 65: Ch 65: The Truth

“Huff, hufff, huff!”

The Medusa Heir, transformed back into her human guise, stumbled and collapsed flat onto the harsh, solid surface of the distant ground. Her chest heaved violently as she fought to draw desperate breaths into her ravaged lungs.

But her agony was not merely from exhaustion. When her eyes registered the state of her body, specifically the large, once-proud expanse of her chest, she screamed.

“Ahhhh!”

The sound was a raw, terrified shriek. The entire area where her breasts had been now looked like perfectly smooth, scarred flesh, surgically excised as if by a hyper-heated blade, leaving behind only two dark, raw patches.

She frantically channeled her remaining divine energy, attempting to heal the catastrophic injury, but her efforts were futile. The flesh simply refused to regenerate, making her feel utterly stripped and powerless.

A wave of icy despair washed over her, chilling her heart more than the blood loss.

“Haha, calm down, will you? Are they not just fleshy adornments tied to your fragile personality, anyway?”

A chilling, amused chuckle abruptly resonated through the air, seeming to emanate from all directions at once, mocking her pain.

“Who? Who the fuck are you?” Medusa barked, her body trembling with a mixture of fear, pain, and residual shock from her confrontation with Aegis.

“Come now,” the voice admonished lightly. “That is hardly the appropriate tone to use with your savior, is it?”

With a sudden, furious rush, a vortex of air coalesced, violently depositing a young man right before her.

He had hair the vibrant green of spring moss, an almost unsettlingly innocent, boyish face, but paired with a confident, slightly cruel smirk. He radiated a peculiar mixture of boundless energy and slippery, dangerous charm.

“You’re…?” she asked, managing to steady her voice and her gaze, recognizing the sheer, untamed power radiating from him.

“I am Ann,” he announced with a flourishing bow that seemed to be entirely for his own amusement.

That singular name instantly clarified his identity and his terrifying pedigree. He was holding the coveted First Place position on the Island Leaderboard Ranking.

Medusa’s serpentine locks, which had just begun to calm, hissed uneasily again.

“I know you,” she stated, her voice regaining its cold edge. “You are the Mountain God’s Heir. Why did you intervene? Why did you save me from… him?”

Ann didn’t answer immediately. He turned his face towards the distant horizon where Aegis had been, his innocent features hardening into sharp concentration.

“You felt it, did you not? You witnessed how monstrously powerful he truly is. He is not merely a strong Skylord. He is the genuine Sea God’s Heir.”

Medusa shuddered, pressing her hands against her wounded chest.

“Yes. I truly thought the stories were exaggerated myths, tall tales of desperate people. But the Sea God really exists. He was not annihilated during the Apocalyptic Era. And now, he has chosen his Heir.”

“You are correct, but only half-correct,” Ann corrected, raising a single, manicured finger. “Another God has also chosem him as the vessel.”

Medusa was thrown into further turmoil. One God was a miracle; two was an absurdity, a challenge to fate itself.

“Who? Who is the other God?” Her voice was a bare whisper, laced with dread.

Ann’s gaze turned dark and profound, losing all trace of its former lightness.

“The God Of The Abyss. And that entity is historically documented as the most powerful God of Eternia in the Age of Gods.”

Medusa interrupted. “Wait a moment. This makes no logical sense! The Sea God and the Abyss God were documented as sworn, mortal enemies! They fought constant wars! Why would they choose the same vessel? You are speaking utter lies!”

Ann’s smile completely vanished, replaced by an expression of grim, resolute determination.

“I have no reason to fabricate this, Woman. And I only risked my hand saving you because I need you to stand by my side. Listen closely: when the terrifying power of the Abyss God’s physique fully awakens within Aegis, the result for all of us will be nothing less than annihilation.”

—

On the other hand:

Aegis and the group returned to the same cave they had sheltered in earlier.

But this time, with two extra occupants—Bella and Ruina—the space became noticeably cramped.

The Silver Dragon, Ruina, transformed into her human girl form, settling immediately beside Bella with an expression of intense worry.

Bella was still bleeding, although the flow was gradually diminishing.

Aegis knew that she possessed a Life Seed within her, meaning she wouldn’t simply die from blood loss alone.

Still, he registered the truly gory state she was in. Every inch of her body was slick with sticky blood, and the sharp, ferrous tang of the liquid permeated the air within the small cave.

She desperately needed to be cleaned.

He glanced over at the young girl, Ruina, hoping she would take the initiative to clean her master.

But all he received was a small, clueless expression in return.

Aegis sighed. He cupped his hands and conjured pure water from the surrounding moisture, then solidified the water around his hands, creating translucent cleaning gloves.

He then began to clean Bella’s body with careful, meticulous movements. He started with her temple, moved to her pale face, her soft lips, her neck, and her collarbone. He intentionally avoided her Twin Peaks, continuing down to her stomach and then to her thick thighs.

He could clearly see the curve of her exposed buttock beneath the torn remnants of her battle dress, but he maintained a stoic calm.

He forcefully cleared his mind of any improper thoughts that dared to surface.

From the sidelines, Ruina and Pyro watched the entire procedure in silence.

Both Ruina and Pyro had initially assumed Aegis was an excessively proud man, someone who would never stoop to performing such intimate, caring labor for another person, especially for a rival. It seemed they were profoundly mistaken.

The gentle, almost tender, and caring expression Aegis wore now completely shattered their previous illusion of him being a cold, heartless man.

After finishing the meticulous task, Aegis leaned back against the rough cave wall and closed his eyes, sinking into a necessary state of rest.

—

Outside, the faint silver glow of the moon slowly yielded, utterly conquered by the emerging, vibrant sunlight.

The sun’s bright, golden rays illuminated the primordial battlefield in cascading light, painting the desolate landscape in a hue that promised a better, hopeful dawn for the world above.

In the distant horizon, beyond the jagged silhouettes of the mountains, the faint movements of new Earth Titans could be clearly discerned. Danger was never truly far.

And yet, here in the deep underground cave, hidden from the direct glare of the sun, a fragile peace settled over the occupants.

As the sun’s rays eventually managed to angle and fall across Bella’s face, her eyelids began to flutter slowly.

A moment later, those pair of noble, ice-blue eyes opened fully. She instantly recalled the fragmented events from the previous night: the fierce fight with the Medusa Heir, the sudden, powerful rescue by Arlan (Aegis), and his painfully cold rejection of her very existence.

As she looked around the cramped cave, she only noticed Ruina’s small, sleeping figure curled up near her feet.

Seeing only her companion, she immediately succumbed to a crushing misunderstanding: Aegis had abandoned her, just as he said he would. She felt utterly alone.

She had fought so hard to survive in this cruel world, and the singular goal of finding Arlan had been her only motivation to move forward. But he had rejected her, again.

And worse, she hadn’t gotten the chance to fully clear up the long lasting misunderstandings between them.

Her heart felt hollow as a desolate cavern, as if the last precious sliver of hope had slipped away from her grasp once more.

Just then, she noticed a shadow. More precisely the shadow of a human figure entering the cave.

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