Anbaixiu had never imagined Aeolus could ever look like this.
Losing an arm should have been impossible for him. After all, the boy could regrow his head even if it were chopped off. What was a severed arm in comparison? Couldn't he just kill himself and revive whole?
Yet something was clearly amiss with Aeolus.
Anbaixiu could sense that the Crown of Madness previously coiled around Aeolus's soul had vanished. However, his soul was incomplete—as if a piece was missing.
Anbaixiu looked toward the lobster maiden who bore an uncanny resemblance to the princess of the Raging Tide Kingdom, asking in astonishment, "You gave part of your soul to her?"
Aeolus, looking utterly haggard, rasped, "Old friend, I... let me rest a moment... I'll tell you everything..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Aeolus blacked out.
The lobster maiden beside him swiftly caught him. Though her movements were agile, her mind was plainly unhinged as well; aside from an instinctual urge to protect Aeolus, everything about her was stiff and dull, without even a flicker of expression.
Anbaixiu could see at a glance that there was something wrong with the girl's soul. If Aeolus was merely missing a piece, this lobster maiden was missing most of hers; that she was still breathing at all was nothing short of a miracle.
"Intriguing."
Anbaixiu opened his private demiplane and sent the two inside.
The moment they entered, Anbaixiu exercised his authority over Time Stop to freeze them both in place.
"Heh, does this count as fulfilling the prophecy? In the end, you walked right into my trap and were immobilized by my Time Stop," Anbaixiu muttered to himself as he walked up to Aeolus and attempted to read his soul.
Yet the instant he touched Aeolus's soul, Aeolus's body completely shattered.
Even Time Stop could not halt this collapse. And it wasn't just Aeolus—the lobster maiden beside him met the same fate. Her carapace cracked apart and her flesh tore to pieces, as though something had detonated from within.
Yet right on the heels of destruction came rebirth. Aeolus regenerated anew, though his severed arm did not return. The lobster maiden revived as well, crying out with a shrill scream of agony.
The Time Stop broke. Though Anbaixiu immediately reapplied the effect, it held Aeolus for merely a few seconds before the shattering and rebirth repeated once more.
Gasping for breath, Aeolus demanded, "What did you do to me?"
Anbaixiu didn't answer the question directly. Instead, he observed with great fascination, "Fascinating. A divine blessing is powerful enough to break free of Time Stop, but only by dying first. Normally, one can't even die while frozen in time, but your soul is in such a catastrophic state that the slightest touch causes it to shatter and instantly trigger rebirth.
"Aeolus, just what did you go through?"
Anbaixiu's question made Aeolus look somewhat ashamed. He said helplessly, "I was deceived. It was all a lie."
"Uh..." Anbaixiu was at a loss for words. The last time, this kid had also screamed about being deceived before lunging at him in an attack; Anbaixiu honestly didn't know what face to make.
Aeolus paid no heed to Anbaixiu's awkwardness and lost himself in recollection.
"Blibdoolpoolp tricked me. She turned me into her weapon and had me lead the kuo-toa to fight for this Volcanic Sea..."
Back when Aeolus had first prayed to Talos and received no response, his mind had already begun to fall under Blibdoolpoolp's influence.
Taking advantage of Aeolus's fragile mental state, this lunatic goddess had channeled divine power to curse him, robbing him of the ability to think rationally and endlessly tormenting his soul to keep him trapped in a perpetual state of rage.
With that, the kuo-toa gained a mighty commander. In the beginning, it had yielded quite good results; at the very least, the kuo-toa had seized substantial territory.
It wasn't until he ran into Anbaixiu again that Aeolus tasted defeat.
Later, when the lobster maiden came under attack, Aeolus rushed back in the middle of everything, only to arrive one step too late.
Not only was she physically mangled, but far worse was the damage wrought upon her soul.
The attacking sahuagin appeared to have acquired a small amount of ixitxachitl blood, which they weaponized during the battle, grievously wounding the lobster maiden's soul.
"I carried Ariel to Blibdoolpoolp back then, begging for her help. Yet, while she claimed she would heal Ariel, it was nothing but an outright lie. She didn't care in the slightest whether Ariel lived or died—she was simply preparing to create a fake to deceive me."
Aeolus had been utterly shocked. Because the lobster Ariel was carrying a conch shell he had given her, Aeolus was able to witness everything unfolding around her.
Blibdoolpoolp had casually grabbed two lobsters and some kuo-toa, using their flesh and blood to mold an identical copy of Ariel.
Then, Blibdoolpoolp pushed this counterfeit forward and delivered her to Aeolus.
Aeolus sensed it all. His true beloved had already been cast aside by Blibdoolpoolp, left to cling to her dying breath in some forgotten corner of the ocean.
Perhaps sparing herself the effort of personally killing the lobster maiden was the last shred of rationality Blibdoolpoolp possessed, but it granted Aeolus the chance to find his "true" beloved.
However, the trauma to her soul was slowly killing the lobster maiden, and Aeolus had no idea how to treat it.
Watching his beloved slip toward death, Aeolus thought of his own indestructible, immortal state. Driven to desperation, he did something exceptionally reckless: he tore off a piece of his own soul and crammed it into the battered, fractured soul of the lobster maiden.
Anbaixiu marveled with a sigh, "You truly are a madman. Clever, though—ordinary people don't possess the skill to rip their own souls apart." It was much like how a person couldn't lift themselves into the air by tugging on their own hair; one had to cast Fly.
Ordinary mortals couldn't even perceive the existence of their own souls. True to his nature as a being blessed by a god, Aeolus had literally torn his soul apart barehanded and shoved it into the lobster maiden's body.
Aeolus was immortal, but his rebirth seemed to be anchored to the state of his soul.
Now that he had torn himself apart, Aeolus was permanently down one arm, as that part of his soul had fused with the lobster maiden.
Consequently, if Aeolus died, the lobster maiden died too; and when he revived, both of them were reborn together.
It was precisely due to this crude method that the Crown of Madness Blibdoolpoolp had placed upon Aeolus was broken. Presumably, even the psychotic goddess had never imagined that someone in this world could be madder than herself.
The effects of Destiny Weaving had now come completely to pass: the Crown of Madness lifted, Aeolus and Blibdoolpoolp turning on each other, and Aeolus falling into the time trap within Anbaixiu's private demiplane. Every last detail had been fulfilled—it was just that the process hadn't unfolded quite as expected.
After pondering for a while, Anbaixiu said to Aeolus, "So you came looking for me to save you?"
Aeolus said in deep remorse, "I know everything before was my fault. You were the first friend I ever met, and the only friend who never deceived me. I've wronged you, so I know I have no right to ask. But no matter what, please save her!"
Anbaixiu replied, "You know full well that if the Kuo-toa Goddess could fashion a second lobster, this first one was molded by her hands as well. From the very beginning, the Ariel you were searching for was never her. It was the Kuo-toa Goddess who created this creature and commanded her to enchant you."
Aeolus said, "I know. I've thought it through. But please, save her."
Once freed from the Crown of Madness, Aeolus had regained his senses. He had only been born a short while ago and lacked experience; he wasn't genuinely deficient in intellect. Having lived through so much, he had gradually developed the reasoning of a normal person.
The lobster Ariel beside him was a fake. From the start, she had been sculpted by that psychotic goddess to hoodwink him.
Yet the time they had spent together was real. At least in Aeolus's eyes, during those days, he had truly found someone who loved him with all her heart.
To Aeolus, no matter how fabricated the origins of this affection were, it was beyond precious.
After Talos abandoned him and Blibdoolpoolp betrayed him, Aeolus had nothing left in the world—nothing except the lobster maiden before him.
Anbaixiu hadn't expected the foolish boy of the past to display a man's sense of responsibility now. Still, he was far too foolish—knowing full well it was all an illusion, he refused to let go.
Nevertheless, Anbaixiu asked, "Why should I help you? Give me a reason."
Even if they weren't total strangers, they had virtually no real ties to speak of. The foolish kid had come knocking on his own; Anbaixiu had already treated him fairly enough, never openly screwing him over.
And once Aeolus was under mind control, he had attacked Anbaixiu without hesitation. By no standard of logic did Anbaixiu have any obligation to lend a hand.
Aeolus pleaded hurriedly, "I know I was in the wrong before! I don't dare beg for your forgiveness, but I can trade a piece of information for it. Please, save her!"
"What information?"
"Blibdoolpoolp is joining forces with the Sahuagin Goddess, Sekolah, to target you and your friend. They are plotting to control your friend, and tear her to pieces the moment she ascends to godhood!"
Anbaixiu merely chuckled. "I already know about that."
Aeolus froze, stunned. "You already know?"
"Of course. They didn't even bother to hide it." Anbaixiu briefly explained about the invitation letter.
Perhaps those deities assumed mortals knew nothing of divine power, but Anbaixiu happened to have received knowledge imparted by the Lady of Mists; having a firm grasp of fundamental divine lore, he had spotted the trap at a glance.
Aeolus had never expected this. The only valuable piece of intelligence he had to offer was already useless?
Aeolus stood dazed for a long time, yet he couldn't help pleading once again, "Even though I have nothing left to give, please, save her. I'll do anything. I can do whatever you want! Ever since I was born, she's the only one who has ever been kind to me. I beg of you!"
Under normal circumstances, Anbaixiu would have already been scheming how to swindle Aeolus and turn him into his own wage slave, which would have made conquering the Volcanic Sea vastly easier.
This time, however, Anbaixiu didn't play those petty games. Instead, he said, "Answer one question of mine, and I might consider helping you."
"What question? Whatever you ask, I'll tell you!"
Aeolus grasped at this final lifeline without the slightest hesitation. At this point, he was truly willing to do anything.
"My question is: which deity actually sent you to the mortal realm?" Anbaixiu asked.
Aeolus hesitated for a moment before answering, "I was created by Father God Talos. I am his son, and he sent me here."
"Talos... that madman."
The moment Anbaixiu uttered the words, peals of thunder roared.
Both Aeolus and Anbaixiu heard that furious, majestic voice: "Aeolus, you have disappointed me greatly!"
Chapter 444