You Saw It All, Didn't You?

Anbaixiu thought he had misheard. What did she mean, several goddesses were going to bestow their blessings upon her? Had this drow fallen under an illusion and been swindled? A divine blessing might sound as common as dirt—after all, every once in a while the Chosen of some deity or other popped up to stir up trouble, making such favors seem rather ordinary. In reality, every blessing required expending a portion of a deity's divine origin. It meant carving away part of their own authority to bestow upon an exceptionally gifted and devout worshiper. For a mighty deity, blessing a follower took little toll, yet even a paladin with a boundless future like Alan had merely exchanged a few words with the Lord of the Dawn rather than receiving the god's blessing. Weaker deities were stingier still. Their divine power was meager to begin with; if they parceled it out to others, what would be left for themselves? As for Anbaixiu, he hadn't the faintest idea what a divine blessing felt like in his entire life. Thus, a divine blessing was an immense honor, as well as an exceptionally targeted grace. Apart from certain willful deities—such as Tyr, the God of Justice, who might bestow a blessing upon anyone practicing justice and catching his eye regardless of whether they actually worshiped him—the vast majority were intensely exclusive. They would never bestow a blessing upon the follower of another deity. Otherwise, how would the power of faith be divided? There was another issue: whose divine realm would the blessed soul go to after death? A blessing was divine power shared outwards. When the worshiper died and entered their deity's divine realm, that power returned with them. If a deity blessed another's worshiper and that mortal ascended to a different divine realm, wouldn't the granting deity suffer a total loss? Not only that, but if one's origin power fell into another deity's hands, it could easily spark a divine war. Who didn't want to expand their divine domain and authority? Only among the Elven Gods did multiple deities bestow blessings upon the same elf, because they all shared a single divine realm belonging to Corellon, God of the Elves. Multiple deities blessing a single mortal occurred only under the umbrella of a shared chief god. Had Lolth the Spider Queen founded her own independent pantheon? And as for those "other goddesses," Anbaixiu knew that any deity willing to associate with Lolth was hardly good company, and none would ever agree to such an obviously losing bargain. Anbaixiu was ready to conclude that this drow had crossed paths with some evil entity that had scrambled her wits. Yet as soon as the drider departed, the female drow turned around, fell to her knees before the statue of Lolth, and several distinct radiances flared to life upon the idol. Those were several entirely distinct types of divine power! Anbaixiu was startled. This was actually real? Could Lolth the Spider Queen have captured other deities and forced them into servitude? Precedents existed. Velsharoon, the God of Liches, had once served under the Lord of Storms. In truth, he was practically a slave, exploited so ruthlessly that he eventually fled outright. Anbaixiu concentrated all his focus on maintaining his illusion. Though the deities' consciousnesses had descended upon the statue, their full power hadn't transferred over. They shouldn't be able to pierce his illusion. Even if it was dangerous, he had to hold his ground—at the very least, he needed to find out what was happening. Diverse radiances shimmered over the statue, swiftly coalescing into several distinct faces. Without exception, each possessed an impressively striking beauty. Anbaixiu recognized two of them at a glance: Shar, Goddess of Darkness, and Loviatar, Goddess of Pain. Of the remaining two, one was a fiery red lady with horns sprouting from her brow, while the other was a drow elf steeped in darkness. The phantom of the drow elf was presumably Lolth the Spider Queen, and as for that horned fiery red lady... a pungent stench of sulfur billowed from her, suggesting she hailed from Hell. Four phantom goddesses appeared at the same time, seemingly standing on equal footing. In all his years, Anbaixiu had never witnessed such a bizarre spectacle. No, he hadn't even heard of such a thing. The lowly mortal knelt before the four goddesses and declared devoutly, "Goddesses, the blood sacrifice is already being prepared. Once the ritual is complete, I will surely eradicate all those undead and bathe the Underdark in your divine light." At this, Anbaixiu could no longer keep his composure. These four had really joined forces? To seize control of the Underdark? No, their goal couldn't just be this territory; this was clearly preparation for an impending divine war. The four of them must have learned something in advance, which was why they had set their sights on the Underdark. Rose of Decay was in serious trouble. She had no deity to rely on. Lolth the Spider Queen spoke slowly, her voice drifting as if from the deepest reaches of the cosmos—ethereal, yet so grand that it rattled the soul. "Trisna, have you uncovered any news of that lich?" The drow elf named Trisna answered in haste, "I have gathered little, only that he currently lives in seclusion beneath the Golden Desert. His exact location remains unknown." Lolth hissed in displeasure, "Useless!" Trisna was seized by an invisible force and hoisted into the air. Bloodied punctures instantly appeared across her body, as though she were being skewered by invisible spears. Yet Trisna didn't dare show the slightest grievance, capable only of begging for mercy in a feeble voice. At that moment, the goddess Shar spoke up: "Lolth, do not kill her. She is our only choice. A mortal capable of withstanding four distinct blessings is not easy to come by." As Shar's divine power descended upon Trisna, the wounds across her body knit closed at once, pulling her back from the brink of death. Lolth tossed Trisna carelessly to the floor and warned, "You were chosen purely out of luck. Do not imagine yourself to be special. You must prioritize the task we have given you. The undead of the Underdark were never the issue. Keep a close watch on that lich—he is the variable in everything. Prepare yourself: when we seize the Underdark, he will be your greatest adversary." Loviatar, Goddess of Pain, added, "Do not believe a single word that lich utters. Remember this well! Even if he says he is a lich, do not believe him!" Hiding off to the side, Anbaixiu watched the scene with mixed feelings. Four goddesses taking such pains over him—was that really necessary? He was just an ordinary lich. Still, that wasn't the main issue. The main issue was that four goddesses had allied. How was anyone supposed to play against that? A moment's thought made it clear they intended to forge a terrifying legendary drow elf capable of threatening Rose of Decay's rule. And once the drow elves conquered the Underdark, given how these goddesses felt about him, Anbaixiu would be thoroughly doomed. Stealing an artifact had abruptly escalated into antagonizing four deities. The leap in difficulty was simply absurd. Yet Anbaixiu quickly regained his calm. There was no rush. Perhaps he could eliminate this drow before the blessing ritual, wrecking the goddesses' plans outright. Besides, with him hidden in the dark, his chances of success were fairly high. Trisna had mentioned that the ritual required a massive blood sacrifice, meaning Melina would likely be brought here as an offering. When the time came, striking from both inside and out might resolve the problem entirely. While Anbaixiu pondered his counterstrategy, the phantoms of the four goddesses gradually faded. Trisna busied herself, summoning a crowd of drow elves to begin inscribing the ritual magic circle across the top floor. Anbaixiu glanced over casually. At their pace, it would probably take a day or two to finish. In other words, Anbaixiu had to carry out his plan to kill Trisna within the next day or two. So... strike now? Though Anbaixiu was concealed by illusion magic, Trisna wore a hoard of magical accessories—circlets, necklaces, rings—holding defense spells beyond count. Anbaixiu would only get one shot at an ambush. If it failed, his advantage of striking from the shadows would be completely squandered. Moreover, anyone capable of enduring divine blessings was likely a legend. Who knew what class Trisna held? If she happened to be exceptionally durable, his odds of a successful assassination would drop even further. While he was still debating whether to make a move, Anbaixiu suddenly sensed a peculiar aura from his private space. He quickly slipped into a more secluded corner and quietly opened his private space. Looking inside, he found that the pitch-black aura, which had remained dormant for so long, was trembling violently. It was the physical manifestation of the "Weave knowledge" Shar had given him back then, as well as a divine spell that could be used to contact her. Anbaixiu had once considered selling the half-dragon youth to Shar as his promised payment—after all, who was to say the youth wasn't a fallen legend? Yet Shar had never responded, leading Anbaixiu to assume she simply looked down on the boy. Just moments ago, Shar had been conferring with the other three goddesses about how to deal with him, and now this black mist was reacting... This boded ill. Sure enough, the black mist swiftly coalesced into the face of the goddess Shar. Sneering at Anbaixiu, she said, "You saw everything that just happened, didn't you?"