Whoosh!
A streak of light came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the floating island. As its radiance faded, Kuroha stepped out.
The two goddesses were already waiting for him.
Byerley stood to the side with her arms folded and her eyes closed. Only when Kuroha landed did she secretly crack one eye open to peek at him, then hastily close it again, maintaining an air of aloofness.
Darley was far more enthusiastic. She jumped up and waved excitedly.
"He's here! Our divine heartthrob has arrived!"
Kuroha's face immediately darkened. "...What kind of ridiculous title is 'divine heartthrob'?"
He paused and looked around.
"Where's Godolphin?"
"She just woke up. She's changing inside."
Darley gave a vague reply. When she saw Kuroha preparing to step onto the island, she hurriedly waved him back.
"Wait, wait! Don't come in yet!"
Kuroha stopped abruptly and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
"We don't know whether the world placed any restrictions on you when you became a god. We're worried that once you step inside, you might end up confined here just like us."
Byerley opened her eyes as well and pursed her lips solemnly.
"Yes. Stay where you are for now. We need to test it first."
Kuroha was briefly taken aback before understanding dawned on him.
"If that's all you're worried about, then there's no need."
He shook his head and smiled.
"Besides... I feel like I can do even more than that."
As he spoke, his gaze sharpened. The vast, seemingly limitless divine power within him instantly responded to the gentle resonance coming from the world around him.
In the next instant, the dreamlike aurora surrounding the floating island began to churn violently.
Before Darley and Byerley's astonished eyes, it transformed with a thunderous roar into a magnificent gate standing at the island's edge.
"?"
The red-haired goddess tilted her head blankly. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she reached out to touch the enormous gate.
Her slender hand passed through the empty space without the slightest resistance.
Byerley's eyes flickered. She cautiously took a step forward and smoothly passed beyond the floating island, arriving beside Kuroha.
"..."
The two goddesses were now completely stunned.
Their brilliant eyes turned toward Kuroha's face.
Several minutes later, outside the floating island, Darley happily pressed herself against Kuroha. She wrapped both arms tightly around his right arm, smiling like a blooming flower.
"I knew it! Kuro-kun, you really are the very embodiment of nobility! Even we Three Goddesses get to bask in your glory."
"I merely took advantage of the opportunity."
Kuroha tried to pull his arm free but failed, leaving him with no choice but to smile helplessly.
"I felt like I could do it, so I did. It isn't anything remarkable."
"It's probably because the process through which you became a god was completely different from ours," Byerley calmly analyzed.
"The three of us were fortunate enough to be chosen and blessed by the world, which then granted us our authorities."
"You, however, entered the divine realm through your own strength."
"Yes, that's probably it."
Darley nodded in agreement and continued softly.
"That's why our actions are restricted by the will of the world, while you're exempt from those restrictions, Kuro-kun. You can even alter them to a certain degree."
Kuroha fell silent.
At this point, there was no possible way he could admit that his Blessing Power had actually come from the system.
He raised a hand to interrupt the two excited goddesses.
"So, did Godolphin call me here just to perform this test?"
"Uh... not exactly."
Darley blinked without offering a direct explanation.
"Since you won't be confined after going inside, you should just go find her. We'll stay here and guard the entrance for you!"
"?"
Kuroha looked in the direction Darley was indicating, gazing toward the depths of the floating island.
As if sensing his attention, the breathtaking figure in the distance waved to him.
So that was what this was about...
Roughly understanding why Godolphin had called him here, Kuroha sighed softly before turning back to the other two goddesses.
"Will there really be no problem if you leave this place for an extended period?"
He had only recently become a god and still did not understand many things.
Even with the numerous authorities he now possessed, Kuroha could not guarantee that freeing the Three Goddesses from their confinement would not cause some kind of serious problem.
"Oh, that."
Darley hesitated.
"It... should probably be fine, right?"
"We were restricted only because the power we possessed three hundred years ago was far too immense," Byerley answered calmly. "As long as we don't reclaim the Blessings we left with the children, there most likely won't be any issue."
Kuroha immediately understood.
Their confinement had merely been imposed because the world's will feared that the goddesses' overwhelmingly powerful true bodies might cause destruction throughout the continent.
Furthermore, the restrictions only applied to the movements of their true bodies.
Things such as their divine power and divine consciousness had never been particularly restricted.
Therefore, if the Three Goddesses had not selflessly devoted all their divine power to bestowing Blessings upon the Umamusume race, they could have simply fashioned avatars from their divine power and moved freely through the mortal realm, just as they had been doing at Chasing Light.
"If there's no problem, then I'll head inside."
Seeing the blue goddess in the distance plant her hands on her hips and pretend to be angry, Kuroha smiled and said goodbye to the other two.
His figure instantly vanished.
Silence returned to the edge of the floating island.
After a long while, Darley turned her head in boredom.
"What do we do now? Are we really going to stand guard?"
"Guard against what? Other than us, there isn't another living being in this entire world."
Byerley looked at her speechlessly before raising a hand and giving it a gentle wave.
At the same moment, far below in the Chasing Light dormitory of the Far East, the yellow goddess's avatar opened her eyes.
Hum...
Her body abruptly dissolved into multicolored motes of light, revealing a single yellow spark hidden within.
That yellow spark passed through the wall and flew toward the heavens.
Before long, it crossed through space and returned to this otherworld.
It was a fragment of Byerley's divine consciousness.
At the same time, Darley and Godolphin's avatars in the mortal realm also dissipated, and their consciousness returned to their true bodies.
Now that their true selves had regained their freedom, there was no longer any reason to divide their attention between two bodies.
However, the instant their consciousness returned, the two goddesses' long horse ears twitched slightly.
They seemed to hear something coming from the depths of the floating island, and their beautiful faces instantly flushed crimson.
"...I'm going down to the mortal realm."
Byerley pursed her lips. Out of sight, out of mind.
She transformed into a streak of light and fled toward the world below.
Darley was left alone.
The red-haired girl raised her head and pondered for a moment before blinking.
"Should I leave too? Wait, why should I leave?"
A mischievous glint immediately appeared in her eyes. Crouching low, the red goddess quietly crept back into the floating island.
"I'll only take one look... Just one little look."
That night, darkness descended.
And gods reveled together.
(End of Chapter)
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