Naomi slept for a full day without showing any sign of waking.
Such a situation was exceedingly rare, and Catherine had no experience to draw upon. Normally, a ranger's beast companion had traveled by its master's side for a long time, growing stronger as its master grew stronger.
Anbaixiu, however, had shot straight into the heavens to attain the power of a legendary ranger before ever binding a beast companion of his own.
As a result, Naomi had also soared in an instant, directly sharing the power of a legend.
Could receiving such an immense amount of energy in so short a time cause her harm?
Even Catherine could not answer that. She had no choice but to remain anxiously by Naomi's side, constantly monitoring her condition, with all manner of healing spells readied at a moment's notice for any emergency.
Anbaixiu sat nearby, appearing far more composed.
Ever since the bond formed, he had been able to sense Naomi's physical state and knew she was completely fine.
Catherine's concern, on the other hand, was rather strange. How long had she known Naomi? How had they become as close as best friends already?
"Strange, isn't it? Perhaps that is precisely why Catherine enjoys the favor of the elven gods. The girl is born with pure goodness, which is rarer than any talent."
The God of Alchemy sat across from Anbaixiu, leisurely sipping date tea—a desert specialty—with no sign of intending to leave anytime soon.
Anbaixiu gave him a somewhat disgusted look. "Teacher, don't you have anything better to do? How long do you plan to loiter here?"
The God of Alchemy scoffed. "That's uncalled for. I just solved a massive problem for you, and you're already begrudging me a few cups of tea? Besides, as a lesser deity, what else is there for me to do besides drink tea in my divine realm? Whether the field of alchemy ever recovers isn't up to me to decide."
Anbaixiu gave a cold snort. "You could seek out a few genius alchemists and bestow divine favor upon them! Save them from suffering the miserable fate I did back then. Isn't that what you ought to be doing?"
Anbaixiu still vividly remembered how this old bastard had squandered every last material he had painstakingly gathered right before dying. At the time, grief had overshadowed the heartbreak, but now that the old man was alive again, the grief was gone and only heartbreak remained.
That had been the tuition money he saved up to enroll in an academy.
If he had managed to pay that tuition back then, he would probably be a renowned scholar or a respected mage by now.
Instead, he had spent years scraping by at the very bottom as an adventurer. By the time he finally scraped together enough coin again, his background was deemed unclean, and numerous magical academies shut their doors to him. He had been forced to fumble his way forward entirely through self-study to reach where he was today—a life story that could fill millions of words of misery-porn.
The God of Alchemy dismissed the complaint with a wave of his hand. "Look at you, holding a grudge. You're already a lich; all that belongs in your past life. Besides, talent isn't really that important. Take Catherine—the most precious thing about her isn't her class abilities, but that soul of innate, pure goodness.
"You might not understand, so put it this way: from the moment she was born, Catherine was destined to enter the elven divine realm. Her soul is far too pure. She will always remain this kind, untouched by anything around her. No matter what trials she faces in life, she is the type who will never fall to corruption."
"Never fall to corruption?" Anbaixiu caught the crux of his words.
If that was true, then it was no wonder the elven gods treated Catherine with such exceptional favor.
Mortals had to die eventually. Legends could achieve longevity, but not immortality.
Viewed across the vast expanse of time, a mortal's physical body held no meaning. What was truly valuable was the soul, along with the memories and emotions contained within.
That was what the gods truly cared about.
Whether in the Hells or the realms of the gods, a pure soul was the most precious commodity of all.
The hard currency of the Hells was tortured souls—not because they were more valuable, but because they were a steady, reliable supply. A truly pure and noble soul was no mere currency; it was a luxury, something that could only be found by chance and never demanded.
A soul born purely good, and one that would never spoil or succumb to corruption, would have driven the gods of any other race to fight tooth and nail over it. It was only because the elven pantheon was powerful enough, and Catherine had been born an elf, that no one dared contest their claim.
Otherwise... a divine war might well have broken out over this single woman.
Anbaixiu glanced at Catherine's back. Even though she remained in the form of an orc, with shoulders broad enough to shoulder a mountain, looking at her for long enough still stirred an uncontrollable sense of goodwill within him.
"Is this the charm of the purely good?"
The God of Alchemy nodded. "Catherine's unreasonable charm is actually the inherent allure radiated by the purely good. Unless you belong to the chaotic evil alignment, you will inevitably be drawn to that purity. The blessings of the elven gods merely amplified this effect; bestowed upon any other elf, no amount of blessings could have achieved such a result."
Anbaixiu nodded. "No wonder the elves made her their queen. For someone raised in a pot of honey to turn out without any rot in her character is rare indeed."
"So don't go getting any ideas about corrupting her," the God of Alchemy suddenly remarked.
"Don't just make things up! When did I ever want to corrupt her?"
Anbaixiu could swear on his rib cage that he harbored no such designs toward Catherine. If she had not tempted him with a legendary boon, he wouldn't even have considered putting her to work.
"You wove a future for her, and the elven gods are already aware of it. As your teacher, I have a duty to warn you: don't push things too far. Even the Lord of the Dawn couldn't withstand the wrath of the elven pantheon, let alone a faithless creature like you. Not a single god would plead on your behalf."
"Aren't you my teacher? If anything happens, you take the hit first!"
"I'm a lesser deity, and a scholar holding the domain of alchemy at that! What do you expect me to block it with? I can't even beat a time dragon!"
Anbaixiu looked down on the old man with utter contempt. Just like back then, he was completely unreliable when it mattered most. Still, the God of Alchemy's appearance this time had likely been more than just responding to a summons. The old bastard had clearly wanted to warn him all along, lingering until the right moment presented itself, which was why he had stayed behind, chatting idly across the table.
As if confirming Anbaixiu's suspicions, the God of Alchemy said after concluding that topic, "It's about time; I should be on my way. As you suggested, I'll go see if there are any alchemy prodigies across the continent I can look after. But before I leave, let me ask you one last thing: how do you feel about ascending to godhood?"
"Ascending to godhood?" Anbaixiu shook his head. "I don't think about it. It's not like wishing for it makes it happen. If Ao gives me no opening, no amount of effort matters."
The God of Alchemy's tone shifted. "Prepare yourself. According to my deductions, the gods have enjoyed peace for far too long; a new wave of chaos will likely arrive before long. When that time comes, gods will fall, and mortals will be able to ascend to the divine realms. You already possess four legendary boons, and paired with my artifact, you are the only mortal capable of wielding five. You stand the greatest chance of all. Truly worthy of being my most favored student."
"Teacher, you're not a deity of divination, so stop acting so mysterious and ominous. Besides, if a divine war really breaks out, you should worry about yourself first. Right now you're a lesser deity, scraping the bottom of the pantheon."
"Nonsense! Aren't there still demigods and quasi-deities below me? However weak I may be, I'm far better off than an imitation legend like you. Worry about yourself first—you should know very well how many deities already have their eyes on you."
Those words reminded Anbaixiu of the goddesses who had approached him one after another, each eager to claim him as their chosen. They, too, had likely caught the scent of an impending divine war. Anbaixiu possessed multiple legendary boons, and the power of the Golden Throne placed him among the strongest of legends; he was the ideal divine proxy.
If only they weren't all goddesses of evil alignments—the Goddess of Pain, the Goddess of Night... Anyone who bothered to ask around knew that aligning with them never ended well. Couldn't a lawful or good deity bestow favor for once? At least those gods kept their word and didn't set traps for people.
If the Lord of the Dawn extended an invitation, Anbaixiu might even consider trying his hand at becoming a paladin.
Then again, it seemed the gods harbored racial prejudices of their own; no matter how formidable a lich became, none of them would ever favor him.
The God of Alchemy stood up and patted Anbaixiu on the shoulder. "If disaster strikes when the time comes, come serve as my subordinate deity. At least you'll stay alive."
Without waiting for Anbaixiu to retort, the God of Alchemy dispersed into motes of light.
Anbaixiu stared at the empty space where he had vanished, his rebuttal dying on his tongue.
The lingering resentment in his heart faded a little. The old man, in his own way, had truly looked out for him.
Putting those complicated thoughts aside, Anbaixiu looked over toward Naomi. Right then, the young druid slowly opened her eyes and sat up in bed.
Naomi looked entirely reborn. Where she had once been bloodless and pale as a corpse, her face was now radiant with vitality, showing no trace of illness... save for the faint red mark around her neck.
"I... cough, cough... I can speak!" Naomi cried out in excitement.
Back when she was trapped in a superposition of life and death, her throat had been continuously severed and restored, an agonizing torment that rendered her entirely incapable of speech.
She had never imagined that forming the contract would allow that flickering wound to heal so substantially.
Anbaixiu asked in surprise, "Have you already mastered the power of time?"
Naomi shook her head. "I don't think so. It's just that your power is so overwhelming, Master, that it temporarily suppressed the chaotic energy."
"What a pity," Anbaixiu sighed.
Catherine shot Anbaixiu a sharp glare before turning to Naomi. "Don't worry about it. I'm certain you will recover completely before long."
"Thank you, Your Majesty Catherine," Naomi said politely.
"I am no longer the Elven Queen; you can just call me sister," Catherine replied gently. "Come, let me teach you about the ranger contract. Don't let this abominable lich lead you astray."
"You're the one who needs to watch it! She's my contracted companion—don't go leading my person astray!" Anbaixiu warned Catherine, then turned to his new companion. "Naomi, don't listen to her. Hurry and try transforming into a black panther. I want to try riding you."
Chapter 155