Chapter 191

I stared off to the side, unsure how I felt about the revelation. "So to be clear... I died in my previous world. There would be no way for me to go back, even if I wanted to."

"Not as you were," Sorsette replied. "Velenthel, the goddess of life and reincarnation is only able to take the souls of the deceased from other planes. Other planes don't always have magic and if they do, it doesn't always work in the same way that ours does. It's theoretically possible for you to return to your original plane in your current form but that kind of magic has not been researched in favor of more pressing concerns. The only people interested enough to invest resources into learning that art are, naturally, other world travelers. The knowledge is esoteric enough that not much of it has been collected in my libraries. If this is truly a path you would like to take, I won't discourage you. However, I do hope that you are more interested in saving this realm rather than returning to your previous one."

I shook my head. "No, I don't think I want to return. Not anytime soon anyway. I have friends and lovers here and I'm already somewhat invested in the direction of this world. I would rather make a life and home for my lovers here than run away when I don't even have memories of my previous life."

Sorsette gave a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"But I am becoming increasingly concerned by your investment in me. It's one thing to realize that I'm not actively pushing for a war in the pocket of Felketh and the Tamin church but you're acting like I'm much more important than just a bystander. What am I missing here? Why have you been trying so hard to win me over?"

She frowned and rested the side of her face on her fist. "You're in a unique crossroad. Unpredictable and already off the rails from most prophecies about you. I would like to earn your trust so that we may help each other to do what is best for this world. Strengthen the sapient races to tame the wilds and protect our knowledge. Through quirks of the system and too many gods putting their hands on the scale, you're quickly becoming powerful. Level fifty in little over a month is ridiculous."

I raised an eyebrow. "A lot of those levels were just from having sex... I'm not as strong as someone of my level should be."

"True," she acknowledged. "And though your pace has been limited after you reached your latest milestone, I still see great potential in you and your ability to strengthen those around you. You also stumbled over it practically as a babe, but it's not as if I recognize mortals for no reason. Your interests and unique perspective from your previous world have already expanded the scope of the system's magic. None before you seem to have found such an immediate interest in light magic, you see potential in it where even I dismissed the school of magic as a minor field of utility at best. Your presence has also drawn Fortuna into increasing the scope of system magic when she had previously not been interested in contributing. I do not trust her aims but every contribution increases the survivability of the sapient races. The catalyst for all of this is you. You are a nexus of possibilities, I think that is the true reason you keep appearing in all of these prophecies. Just as Charon has recognized, you are an agent of change on this world. Your actions will have serious consequences in the times ahead of us."

I scratched the base of my horn while I tried to take all of this in. "I don't understand something... You're saying these prophecies are simulations but if that's the case, how did they predict me? And if they all predicted my coming, then why can't they predict my actions now that I am here?"

Sorsette leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "Hmm... I feel as though our conversation is being lost in translation. Simulation," she repeated herself, as if tasting the word. "That isn't the most accurate word to use here but I cannot find another word in your language that properly expressed the idea. It is... similar to a simulation but it includes... known markers outside the ruleset." She shook her head. "It's difficult to explain. There are reasons that some things are known but others aren't. It doesn't truly matter, all you need to understand is that our prophecies knew that your coming was determined eventually but your actions are not. The scales of the simulations are too different, it's like trying to predict the weather by predicting the movement of the galaxy. Regardless, I'm happy to see an ally in you rather than another enemy to sapient life. One thing I do know for sure is that your nature is unexpectedly of a kind and caring one, not the malicious and cruel one that was expected. Your significance in this inflection point cannot be understated and that's why I am so determined to woo you to my side."

"Your side..." I sighed. "What would this entail? I'm already technically your follower without any of my input. I'm not even as disturbed about it as I may have been if seemed like it was put on me against my will and the boon you gave me for it has already been useful."

She smiled and sat up in her chair. "For now all that I ask is that you continue to grow stronger and act as you have been. Continue to fight for what you believe to be just and right. Grow stronger to better protect your loved ones and your growing family. Do not worry about the prophecy, worry only about your actions and what they mean to you. I will do what I can to support you and when the time comes for the gods to clash, I may call on you as a champion or something similar."

"A champion... So in the end, all of this is leading up to me fighting in your place?" I asked.

"A war between the gods is coming. I only wish for you to fight alongside me and my followers rather than under the banners of another, or worse yet, the Tamin Church." When I scoffed at the idea she laughed and continued. "There is still much we don't know about the Tamin church and why their actions seem so contradictory. I fear that in the end, you could side with them against me. If I have missed something and there truly is justification for their actions, then I trust you to help guide me to the best path. What I seek in the end is for sapient life to flourish with a book in their hand. The only way I lose is for all life to cease or for all knowledge to be lost. Ideally, we do not fight at all but this is not an outcome that I believe is possible any longer."

I scratched the base of my horn and leaned back in my chair. "I suppose that I have no reason to refuse. I still feel as though you've helped me and I don't feel like you've coerced me or pushed me to do something that I wouldn't already have done. Even with the system, as suspicious as I've been, it is true that none of the abrupt changes, like no longer being a demon, have been something that I was unhappy about. You've already claimed me as a follower of Sorsette, so I suppose I accept."

Sorsette beamed at my response. "Great. Hold out your hand for me." She held out her right hand and I took it, expecting her to shake it. Instead, she took my hand and twisted my arm to reveal the inner side of my arm. The white crest Charon had given me suddenly became visible and below that crest, a second one started to appear. "This is my blessing of innovation. As you learn new things and continue to expand the scope of the system, this will help you grow even more. I would still keep it secret but it will at least make your other mark less... suspicious if found next to mine. Charon very seldom gets involved so his mark of change is not well known. I would still not show either of them to other churches however. At least for now."

Once her mark finished appearing I used my shifting magic to hide the two marks on my arm again. She let go of me and leaned back in her chair with a smile on her face. "If you ever lose your membership card to my libraries I am sure that every library that belongs to me will recognize that mark and give you services in lieu of it. As long as you take no action that intentionally threatens all sapient life or my domain of knowledge, I will recognize your blessing and our friendship going forward even if you take actions that I do not agree with. Do you have any more questions for me while I still have your ear?" she asked.

I tapped on the chair in thought. "Do you know of a way to circumvent the twins' collars?"

"Ah... I suppose I should have expected this question. I'm afraid the collars of the pantharians are created using a very unique curse perfected by Torlimal's royal family. You are unfortunately not the first to ask me if there is a way to free either a single pantharian or their entire race, and I will have to give you the same answer I have given all of them. Convince the king of Torlimal to free them himself, or end his bloodline. Those are the only two ways."

I grimaced. The answer was unfortunate but not unexpected. "What about turning them into succubi?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, that will not work either. The collars were applied as a punishment for their historical aptitude as assassins but the wearer need not be a pantharian for the curse to persist. There are in fact many slaves of other races in service to the royal family who are wearing this same type of collar but pantharians are the only ones that are regularly seen by the general populace wearing that distinctive cursed collar. Most others that wear the collar are extremely powerful criminals that the royal family has decided they still have a use for, using them on pantharians was a frankly disgustingly overkill punishment by the ruler here four generations ago. It also cannot be removed by mages with aptitude in spatial magic such as your mimic girlfriend and the divine either can not or will not grant you a boon to accomplish this. I am sorry for the unfortunate news."

"And you?" I asked.

She shook her head with a frown. "I cannot. It is not for lack of empathy or a desire to support slavery. I am merely unable to remove curses in a way that would not also kill them. I am sorry."

"Damn," I said to myself.

Sorsette shifted in her chair. "With the state of the city however you may be able to ingratiate yourself with the current king enough to free them. I doubt the King would ever agree to free all of the pantharians, but he may be willing to free Morrigan and Torien for a sufficient deed in his name."

I let out a heavy sigh. "I don't find myself keen to help the man much under the circumstances. Perhaps if he had a demon problem but I won't help him quell a slave rebellion stemming from suppressed collars."

"I am having some of my followers look into this situation as well. Should I inform you if they find anything related to the situation?" she asked.

I quirked an eyebrow at her. "I wouldn't mind more information but... I didn't expect direct assistance from a god in that manner..."

She laughed. "I'm the goddess of knowledge. Surely sharing a bit of knowledge through my network of followers wouldn't be too strange for me, would it? Especially not if the head librarian were to be the one sending the letters."

I shook my head wearing a wry smile. "This was not how I expected our relationship to go."

Sorsette relaxed into her chair. "I'm not like many of the other gods that believe themselves to be far above the mortals. I hold great respect for the people who expand my domain every day. They struggle, fight, and experiment to enrich other's lives with the fruits of their search. To me the struggle for the sapient races' survival is more than just how many followers I have, I respect all mortals in a way that I suspect very few other gods do."

I smiled. "I'm glad."

[Priest of Knowledge and Innovation class unlocked][Priest of Knowledge and Innovation] level 1Unlock Condition: Believe in the mission of the Goddess enough to show others the way as well. Priests of Sorsette gain improved reading speed and comprehension per level. Gain 5 Will per class level. This class grants the ability to learn and use minor divine variants of arcane magic. Gain skills related to reading, writing, and communication easier.

My eyebrows rose and I refocused on Sorsette who looked just as surprised as I did. "Oh, did I win you over that much?" She laughed. "That class may be useful to unlock the Will attribute for you, though I would recommend against leveling that class in the long run. It has useful abilities for my priests, librarians, and scribes, but the abilities would be far less useful to an adventurer and traveler such as yourself. Your time would be better spent on other pursuits."

She glanced off into space for a moment before turning back to me. "I'm afraid we've been talking for a while now. It would be best if we rejoined your friends and I got an update on what's happening in the city. I appreciated this conversation and I'll continue to watch over you."

I furrowed my brows. "You don't like... watch me when I'm having sex do you?"

Sorsette's cheeks turned pink and there was a long pause. "Not... intentionally. Though... with the number of system updates that have happened during your various escapades it's been difficult not to... peek from time to time."

I sighed.