Infinite Returns : The More I Give, The Stronger I Become

Ethan raised an eyebrow at Airi's words.

Zeus..?

'So all those gods I've heard about back on Earth… they actually exist here?' Ethan wondered silently, his mind racing.

He had suspected it from the moment he got that beauty potion linked to Aphrodite—but now, now he had confirmation.

Zeus existed.

And if he did, then surely Hades did too. And if the gods of the Greek pantheon were real in this world… then what about Shiva? What about Thor?

Ethan couldn't help but smile at the thought. A strange, amused curiosity rose inside him. He had this sudden urge—childish, maybe, but intense—to meet them all, to look them in the eyes and see if they were truly the monsters, gods, or myths Earth had made them out to be.

And at least for Zeus… yeah. The stories checked out.

'That guy really is the father of bastards,' Ethan thought with a soft inward chuckle.

He turned his focus back to Airi, who looked strangely… lighter now. Like something heavy had finally slid off her shoulders. Like after all this time, she had finally spat out the story that had been rotting inside her for ages—because, until now, there was no one to listen.

And now that it was done—now that her truth had been laid bare—she simply looked at Ethan and waited.

Waited for his decision.

Would he pity her? Would he save her?

Would he walk away?

Airi didn't know. But when her eyes met Ethan's, all she saw was a soft, calm smile on his face.

Not the smile of someone ignoring the weight of everything she'd said—not a mocking smile, not a cruel one—but a smile that soothed. A smile that made you feel, even if just for a moment, like things might not stay terrible forever.

Then, finally—

"What do you wish to do?" Ethan asked.

The question caught her off-guard.

"I mean," Ethan clarified, seeing the confusion on her face, "what do you wish to do with Zeus? With your former people? Do you want revenge for what they did to you… or do you want to let it all go and start over?"

Airi's eyes flickered.

But she didn't need to think—not really.

She had spent so long trapped here, in this cursed forest, in this silence. She had gone over it again and again. Millions of times. Maybe even billions.

And every single time, the answer was the same.

"I want revenge," she said, voice cold and sharp and full of fury.

Because how could she not?

How could she just let it go?

She had tried her best. She had stood between her people and a lustful god's desire. She had chosen them over herself. And in return… they turned on her. They sacrificed her. They believed the lies. They helped bind her in chains, left her here to rot in sorrow and silence and blame.

How could she forgive that?

She couldn't. And she didn't want to.

"They said I'd be the one to bring ruin to them, didn't they?" she said with a wide, half-crazed smile, black tears spilling like ink down her face.

"Then I'll give them what they asked for."

And finally—finally—she told Ethan exactly what she wanted.

And Ethan… smiled.

He liked to believe he was a just man. Or at the very least—he knew who the victim was in a story.

And here?

Airi was the victim.

So if she wanted revenge… then she had every right to take it.

And Ethan?

Ethan wouldn't be Ethan if he didn't end up taking another former goddess under his wing.

But of course—

[Warning, Host. Aiding Airi will make Zeus and potentially the Greek Pantheon your enemies.]

The system chimed in, its tone always neutral, always cold. A quiet reminder that this path would cost him. That this move came with divine enemies.

But Ethan just grinned.

'I've already made the Keeper of Souls my enemy. What's a few more gods on the list?'

'Let's go wild.'

He stood up and clapped his hands together, voice full of theatrical cheer.

"Perfect! I'll give you freedom, Airi the Fallen Saintess."

"I'll give you the chance to take your revenge. Remember, only the chance."

Airi stared at him like she couldn't believe what she just heard.

'Could he really save her?' She wondered inwardly.

She didn't know. But when she looked at him—at his confidence, his unshaken stance, that maddening grin of his—she couldn't help but believe. Just a little. Just enough.

Hope bloomed.

She tried to give a smile, a grateful one. But with her black tears, even the most innocent expression twisted into something tragic, something haunting.

Ethan, however, just laughed.

He got it.

He nodded, completely unfazed. "It's not actually free," he said casually. "But don't worry—it's not you who'll be paying me."

Then his smile faded. His expression shifted into something colder. More focused.

It was time.

Ethan had a talent—one of the reasons he could walk the path of The Merchant Beneath the World.

Veil of Silence.

A concealment-type talent. A cloak that let him hide from the eyes of fate and gods alike.

And within that talent… there was one terrifying active skill.

No One Beneath the Sky.

For a brief moment, Ethan would become invisible to everything. Fate. Destiny. Deities. Systems. Karma.

Untraceable.

Untouchable.

He smirked.

'You were worrying for nothing, system,' he said to himself, then turned back toward Airi.

True, he didn't have the karmic points to break her curse or shatter her chains.

But Ethan… Ethan had something else.

A skill that had made possible his realm.

Myth Rewrite.

A twisted, brutal ability that let him rewrite the fabric of reality—by sacrificing claimed truths or titles he held. And for most people, it was unusable. Too dangerous. Too heavy.

But Ethan wasn't like most people.

Ethan was unfair.

He could sacrifice what he wanted and—if he had enough points—gain something else in return. Maybe even reclaim what he gave up.

It broke the rules.

But that was the point.

So now?

Now he was going to sacrifice a claimed truth—not a title. He wanted to do a test.

He looked at the chains wrapping around Airi, digging into her flesh. He remembered her curse—those endless black tears.

And then, softly—

"Myth Rewrite."

The world trembled.

"I sacrifice my claimed truths. The belief that I cannot destroy the chains binding Airi. The belief that I cannot dispel her curse."

He shot his shot.

Because those truths felt real to him. Because he believed them really as a truth, as his truth.

And that was enough—

<Your sacrifices have been accepted. What do you wish for?>

Ethan's lips curled into a devilish smirk.

He then turned to Airi with the grin of a merchant about to scam the heavens.

"My dear Airi," he said smoothly, "would you mind becoming my Saintess? My Fallen Saintess?"

His smile widened.

"Don't worry. I'm known to be a gentle and caring master."

—End of Chapter 70—