Deities were ever lofty and aloof; to mortals, their thoughts were forever inscrutable.
In truth, however, deities shared many similarities with mortals. Only by setting aside worship and regarding them with an ordinary mindset could one possibly deduce anything concerning the divine.
Yet under the weight of long-standing social and cultural influence, deities remained so utterly unreachable that the mere thought of treating a god as an equal was considered sacrilege.
"Perhaps that is precisely why the gods have grown so arrogant—so much so that they are led around by the nose by mortals. Wouldn't you agree, Shar?"
A voice, sharp and barbed, echoed within the shadowy temple.
Shar, who had only just recovered a fraction of her strength, opened her eyes and discovered to her surprise that another deity had infiltrated her divine realm.
While the intruder had not stepped directly into the realm, their divine power had seeped through far enough to transmit speech straight into Shar's ears.
Shar sneered. "So it's you! Since you've already found my divine realm, why not come in and take a seat?"
The eerie voice let out a strange cackle. "No matter how weakened the Goddess of Darkness may be, she remains exceedingly formidable within her own divine realm. I merely sensed the scent of conspiracy, so I dropped by for a brief chat."
"A conspiracy? What a laughably absurd excuse."
As the Goddess of Darkness, Shar plotted ceaselessly to slay Selûne and the Goddess of Magic and usurp their positions. It could be said that ever since her divine power waned, she had never strayed from schemes and subterfuge.
Every fiber of her being reeked of conspiracy—did someone really need to wait until recently to notice?
"No, this time is different. Shar, all your previous calculations, all your schemes, were aimed at seizing the authority of other gods, aimed at your vengeance. But what about this time? This time, you aren't doing it for your own gain. You are doing it purely to harm someone, regardless of whether you win or lose.
"Oh, what pure malice! Even I can feel the thrill of it."
Shar wore a look of disgust and mocked, "Dealing with that lich is nothing more than revenge. You didn't come all this way looking to partner with me, did you?"
"Of course. As you know, I relish such insidious schemes. But it still falls a bit short—Karsus's Avatar is far from enough."
Hearing this, Shar dropped her mocking tone and asked with a hint of curiosity, "You intend to meddle?"
"Of course, though not just me. Shar, you aren't the only deity with a grudge against him. Far too many gods would love nothing more than to see that lich dead."
Shar countered, "And what does that have to do with you? Do you have a grudge against this mortal? You should know very well that anyone who has tried to play games of intrigue with him has lost miserably. Even deities haven't fared any better."
"That is precisely why I want in. Just as I said, the reason you all lost so abysmally is that your schemes weren't pure enough. A scheme needs only to harm others—that is plenty. Once you attach profit to it, there will be more calculations, and thus more flaws.
"Shar, when you no longer seek to reap benefits from a scheme, you cannot lose. You never will. It is the same with lies. When you deceive not to gain anything, you never have to worry about being exposed. Even if you are exposed, it doesn't matter; you can simply move on to the next lie, the next plot.
"And so long as you succeed even once, you win. We are deities, and this is how deities ought to be—not losing so utterly over a wager with a mortal."
Shar said coldly, "Everyone says you've gone mad. I used to think it was just rumors, but now it seems you truly have lost your mind. Do you know what kind of affair that lich has gotten himself embroiled in? The portfolio of the God of Death is about to change hands. Are you trying to give Kelemvor an excuse to kill you?"
"Before pointing fingers at me, haven't you considered what you did? That is Karsus's Avatar! Weren't you stirring up a conflict between the Goddess of Magic and the God of Death as well? In that case, what difference does one more make?"
Even more displeased, Shar retorted, "If that's the case, why tell me at all? Do whatever you want. I washed my hands of this long ago. The Shadow Weave was the last bargaining chip I could offer. You don't need to tell me what you're doing."
The voice in the dark erupted into a burst of shrill, wild laughter.
"Hahaha! Oh, Shar, you didn't listen to a word I said, did you? I never needed your consent in the first place, nor do I need to join forces with you. I am simply letting you know that I am arranging my own plans. A pure conspiracy needs no profit; it only needs an audience.
"And you are one of them. I hope you enjoy the upcoming performance."
The venomous voice slowly faded away, as though it truly had come only to chat with Shar, to invite her to watch the show.
Shar inspected her surroundings thoroughly. Only after confirming that the intruding alien divine power had completely vanished did she sneer, "No gain, scheming purely for the sake of scheming? You might fool yourself with that nonsense, but if you don't act soon, even your own portfolio will be snatched away by that lich.
"All knowledge of the Shadow Weave has already been handed over to the Poet. If he tries to tamper with it, he is bound to run into conflict with the Mourner. Ah, this plot... it feels just like going back to the days before Kelemvor became the God of Death."
Shar suddenly felt an urge to laugh. Ever since accepting her defeat, she had detached herself completely. When a deity acknowledged failure and hid away inside their divine realm, they could pretend nothing had ever happened. That was where gods stood superior to mortals: mortals could never extricate themselves; they were swept along by the world's shifts and pushed forward by the tides of the era.
Deities, on the other hand, so long as they exercised sufficient restraint, could leisurely sit back and watch the drama unfold.
Especially for a deity like Shar, who had few worshippers to begin with, the only things truly binding her were unwilling resentment and greed. Shar was quite looking forward to seeing whether that fellow was truly as claimed—that schemes and conspiracies would never fail, never suffer injury.
Shar was even eager to see "sisters" like Lolth and Loviatar instigated by this god into opposing that lich once again, only to be cast down from their divine pedestals one after another, just like the deities who fell during the Time of Troubles.
Only, Shar guessed the progression wrong.
After departing Shar's divine realm, that mysterious shadow did not seek out the other deities holding grudges against Anbaixiu. Instead, transforming into a pale-faced, sinister elf, it quietly arrived within the Ryan Imperial Capital.
A millennium's worth of accumulated faith should have formed Holy Light, eternally monitoring every corner of the imperial capital to bar any evil from entering. Yet that power failed entirely to perceive this deity's avatar, allowing the visitor to appear in the deepest recesses of the imperial palace and come before His Majesty the Ryan Emperor, who was currently reviewing military reports.
Upon sensing this uninvited guest, the Demonic Dragon Emperor instantly saturated the surroundings with temporal power. Yet just as the Demonic Dragon Emperor prepared to use temporal power to teach this assassin a lesson, he discovered that his power could barely affect the intruder.
The Demonic Dragon Emperor immediately grew wary. "I wonder which deity's avatar has descended upon Ryan? You ought to know, this is a land favored by the Lord of the Dawn."
The pale man smiled and said, "Don't try to scare me with that. If the Lord of the Dawn were to make a move, the very first person purified by Holy Light would be you. Am I right, Artross the Eternal, former Time Dragon Sovereign?"
Chapter 493