Translator:
Exodus Tales
Editor:
Exodus Tales
The silvery moon illuminated the plains with dim, cold moonlight. Soran halted the carriage and got off. He was planning to stop for the night, so he laid his back against the carriage as he sat on the ground. He closed his eyes, to rest briefly while taking great care not to fall asleep.
Even though the region had been cleared recently by the Whiterun army, Soran still remained vigilant. He constantly reminded himself that the reason reached the Realm of Legends before was because of his careful and vigilant attitude. It was important that he keep his guard up at all times.
Gloria exited the carriage and walked around. With a flick of her fingers, a magical glow enshrouded the carriage. She went to Soran and said,
Rest at ease, I’ve set a magical alarm around us.
That’s why spellcasters were so useful.
Soran glanced at her, then gazed into the distance before replying,
Thank you.
Call me Gloria. I might have been overboard with my tone when we first met. After all, you may have your own personal concerns. Still, it somewhat bothers me that you won’t tell me more about it.
It was at that moment Soran knew the Northern witch in front of him was different from others. He had come across many spellcasters, and most of them, especially the more powerful ones, tended to have strange tempers and were arrogant. Gloria’s mother was a good example of how spellcasters usually behaved. They respected the strong but considered the weak as nothing better than dirt.
Gloria hesitated for a moment, then sat down besides Soran.
You’re a bit different from other people I have met. As a rogue, you are very knowledgeable. Even some wizards might know less than you do. However, you can be stubborn at times, you know. It reminds me of those obstinate monks.
Is she trying to reduce the tension between us… and improve our relationship?
Soran turned to look at the lady besides her, barely catching a glimpse of her eyes. Their eyes met for a brief moment before he averted his attention back onto the Gold Derahls he was fiddling with.
You’re different from other witches as well. From what I have seen, they are all haughty women, you know? The tavern once had a rating for the most difficult women to handle. The first were the drows, the second were the Amazon warriors, and the third were the Northern witches.
Gloria had a confused look,
Really? So, people really think of the Northern witches that way?
Apparently, Gloria seldom went to taverns. It was certainly the best place to gather information, but people with complicated backgrounds gathered there as well. With such a high social standing, it would be more of a surprise if she frequented such low-class places. Just like how nobles would not mingle with commoners, there were also different social standings among professionals.
Yeah,
Soran looked up to the starry sky.
But you’re not the same. You’re easier to talk to. Maybe it’s because your prettier.
Such flattery was enough to make Gloria grin ever so slightly. She shook her head to get that off her mind. Suddenly, she stood up with a shocked expression and looked back at the direction of Whiterun.
The sky had turned fiery red, a familiar scene they had witnessed together before.
Meteor Swarm?!
Soran looked up at the sky in disbelief. For some reason, his face was completely rigid. After they just left Amber City, it was reduced to ruins by a Meteor Swarm cast by an unknown party. Now, the city of Whiterun, from which they had just left, was about to get hit by the exact same spell. Soran told himself that it was just mere coincidence, but deep down he held doubts about the situation. He simply had no idea what was going on.
The spell was interrupted!
The fiery clouds dissipated gradually. Gloria said in a serious tone,
Someone interrupted the spellcasting process.
Whiterun was different from Amber City. The latter was a relatively new city; thus, its foundations were not as concrete as the former, which had been established for ages. Whiterun’s first generation of residents were dragonslayers after all. Such large-scale magic would surely alert the city’s defenders, and they would definitely send high-grade spellcasters over to interrupt the spellcasting process. The higher the spell’s tier, the longer the spellcasting time was, especially so for spells with large areas of effect like Meteor Swarm.
Do you still plan not to tell me about it?
Gloria glared right into Soran’s eyes.
Is Vivian a Descendant of God?!
Gloria had already suspected that Vivian was a Descendant of God long ago. The little girl was simply too talented. So talented that it was almost supernatural. Those with 18 Intelligence at a young age were considered prodigies, and even the cream of the crop among the prodigies would only graze the 20 Intelligence mark, but Vivian’s was even higher.
Soran inherited elven blood, meaning his Dexterity was higher compared to normal humans. Furthermore, his father was a Legendary godly thief, and Soran must have inherited at least a bit of his father’s talent. Even so, his Dexterity was only 18. But Vivian? Her Charisma was already 21 when she first showed her talents, beyond the extraordinary threshold of 20.
It was not as though Soran had never suspected that Vivian was a Descendant of God. The thing was, they had different fathers, and Soran knew little about Vivian’s father. However, Soran’s estimation of the chance that Vivian had inherited the blood of a deity had risen from 25% to 50% now.
Was Vivian’s father really a god?
Why would a god choose to give birth to a child with a typical human woman? Looking at Soran’s attributes and bloodline buffs, there was no doubt that her mother was a completely ordinary woman; he simply had none of those.
Soran took a deep breath and reflexively placed his hand on his curved sword. He shook his head and answered,
I have no idea. Vivian and I are half-siblings, and we had different fathers. If she were a Descendant of God though, I should have noticed it long ago. I have seen her father, and he was just a strong adventurer, nothing more. I haven’t noticed any divine powers from Vivian also, so I don’t think she’s one.
Gloria’s brows are still knitted, but her tone softened a lot.
Then why did you choose to leave now? Don’t tell me this is all coincidence?
She glanced at Soran’s hand, which was placed on the hilt of his sword, and said softly,
Do you still not trust me even now? Regardless of whether Vivian is a Descendant of God or not, I still like her a lot. If anything, I will definitely stand by her side when trouble arises. Do you still plan not to tell me anything?
Can you keep it a secret if I told you?
Soran hesitated.
Contrasting Soran’s reluctance, Gloria swiftly replied,
I can promise you that.
Alright,
Soran took in a deep breath, then continued,
I found a lich’s secret dungeon back in Amber City. Inside, I met an Abyss snake demon. It told me about a terrifying prophecy. It said that the deities would soon lose their divine powers and fall into the Mortal Realm. Massacre and slaughter would spread through the realms starting from the Abyss and Hell, and fear would propagate from the followers of the evil gods. The entire world would plunge into chaos, and the Frost Kingdom will be the only safe place—for a while, that is.
What Soran said was mostly the truth; he only fabricated the source of information. However, Gloria wouldn’t be able to realize even though she had cast Detect Lies beforehand. A part of what Soran had said was deemed
vague
by the spell, but it also notified Gloria that most of his answer told the truth. In other words, Soran had not lied about anything. Gloria knew, however, that the results of the spell were not all powerful. There were higher tier spells which could determine whether what someone said was the absolute truth, but that required the power of the gods. Now that the deities had gone silent, she could only use Detect Lies.
Gloria’s mind was in a mess, and she could not spare energy to think which part Soran was being vague about. How is that possible? The deities losing their divine powers and falling to the Mortal Realm? What will become of this world? Will it house a chaotic battle between those two parties?
She knew that believers were losing contact with the deities they follow, and that alone had already caused plenty of panic. Given the circumstances, it was highly plausible that Soran was indeed telling the truth.
What sort of mess would the world become if the gods and the creatures from Abyss and Hell all came to the mortal realm? Liches are basically Legendary monsters. If the prophecy came from a Lich, it must have been a Legendary-grade Divination spell. The prophecy’s accuracy would be over 50%.
Is that why you insisted on travelling to Elfenland? So that you could go to the Frost Kingdom? Then why did the skinning incidents start just as you planned to leave? Even more, Whiterun was attacked once we left. There must be some sort of connection, not just mere coincidence. It has to be about me, you, or Vivian.
The two stayed silent. They couldn’t help and turn to look at Vivian, who was fast asleep. Both Gloria and Soran were convinced that they weren’t the main cause. That meant that the only possible conclusion was Vivian.
Soran mind raced. Then… Is Vivian really a Descendant of God? Why doesn’t she show any sparks of divine power? If she does, how could I not notice all these years?
Back in Whiterun, several places were ablaze. A grey-robed wizard hovered in the air, looking down at the battles unfolding within the city. At that moment, what sounded like a dragon roar came from the city center. A dazzling column of light blasted straight into the sky, and an awe-inspiring figure emerged from within. The Legendary warrior donned in crimson armor slowly walked forward, in his hands, an exotic longsword covered in blazing flames.
The dragon slayer sword?!
A woman appeared in a dark corner in the city and murmured,
So that fella still decided to pull out this cursed weapon in the end?
Whatever, it’s not my business. The druids observing me seem to be quite busy recently anyways. This is now my chance to run, hoho! Looks like I gotta thank those evil followers! I’m finally free, hoho!
A magical glow surrounded the bewitching woman, and she disappeared into thin air.
