Realizing that the God of Beggars had joined Noah’s side, further lowering my chances of victory, immediately soured my mood.
Whatever progress I had made recently suddenly felt insignificant compared to facing multiple deities. Even if I had secured Athena on my side, or at least ensured she would not fight against me, two gods still remained formidable opponents. And I knew absolutely nothing about this God of Beggars.
When my attempt to activate Guidance failed, nothing unusual, of course, I shifted the Window toward Karla and Ninali instead.
The elf had chosen Ninali to enter the Goddess’s dungeon.
I was not surprised.
Not only had the two grown close to something resembling friends, but Karla was also eager to mentor her. She saw enormous potential in Ninali, who, after switching to fire magic, was progressing at a frightening pace.
And in return, Ninali trusted Karla more than the velmoryns. She had even shared her most intimate thoughts with her, things she had once been reluctant to admit even to herself.
Now the two stood before the violet portal.
It shimmered beneath the curtain of vines, swaying from the gusts created by the swirling magical energy.
“Is there nothing else?” Karla asked.
“No, I already told you everything,” Ninali replied with a faint smile. “I’m starting to think you’re asking simply for the sake of…”
“No,” Karla said firmly, interrupting her. “No one knows what awaits inside. And being forced to face what troubles you most is by far the cruelest trial.”
“Do not worry, I cannot be broken so easily. Even if the trial proves dangerous, I brought two fruits from the Tree of Life. And Eshma evolved as well.” Ninali chuckled softly as she removed a stray green leaf from her hair. “Besides, what worries me is not the trial, but what happened to Avenor.”
“What do you mean?”
“He would never admit it. But ever since he entered the dungeon, Father seems dissatisfied with him. What if He…”
“Lord ordered me to explore this dungeon, remember?” Karla cut her off. “You are following His will, not indulging your own desires.”
Despite healing Avenor after the successful campaign against the spider mutants, and even forging a weapon for him, some velmoryns had noticed the change.
Ninali was one of them.
Unlike Aria, who noticed it through the tasks Avenor received, Ninali had sensed the difference through his behavior and attitude toward me.
And honestly, it was not difficult to notice.
Before the link had been severed, Avenor constantly praised me. Now he rarely spoke about me at all, and whenever he did, he sounded reserved and cautious.
I did not mind.
The change in Avenor’s standing had not harmed me. If anything, it strengthened the velmoryns’ belief that no one stood above my wrath. If I was willing to punish one of my blessed followers, then what would happen to an ordinary believer who sinned?
It was complete nonsense, of course. But it was nonsense that benefited me, so I had no reason to correct it.
The two women exchanged a few more words before Ninali finally stepped into the portal. Violet swallowed her as her figure disappeared into the swirling vortex of magical energy.
That moment was the main reason I had been observing them.
I wanted to see whether our connection would be severed, just as it had been with Avenor. Unlike him, Ninali was not immune to my divinity. So even if our link was cut, I was confident I could restore it later.
It wasn’t.
I could still clearly feel Ninali and even hear her thoughts.
Unfortunately, I could no longer see through her eyes.
The Goddess clearly had no intention of allowing her dungeon to be observed from the outside.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
After Ninali’s figure disappeared, Karla sat down on the moist soil and pulled two giant eggs from her Veilspace.
The moment my precious creatures appeared out of nowhere, I tensed. What if the Veilspace dimension harmed them? How could Karla take such a risk?
It was one thing when they were in a dormant state, but after absorbing Kurraghal’s life force and being fed Karla’s mana, they had awakened. What if storing living creatures inside Veilspace was harmful…
Guidance.
[Reviving Extinct Species]
The eggs are almost ready to hatch. The beasts inside await a stimulus.