To my surprise, Kel'Caldor was waiting for me in my living room.
"How was the expedition?" He asked with a body language that said he wanted to ask another thing.
"Great, I got a couple levels, a Perk or two, some training in, it was great."
"Good. Did you check the book about (heritage) Perks?" He finally broached the subject. It felt like he was a thirsty man begging for a cup of water.
"Yes, I did. The Lost Sage had them for [Scrivener] and [Papermaker]. These (heritage) perks grant one free proficiency point every five levels. Was that what you were looking for?"
"No, not really. The one I sought was a bit different. Stronger. Did you find any in your Status?"
"I didn't. If I had any, they went to the same place as all of my other Perks. How does this Perk loan thing work? Do they come back automatically after a set time, or do you have to give them back? If that, what guarantees do we I have they will come back?"
He shook his head, hiding his agitation, "Nevermind. I don't doubt you if you say you don't have it. Maybe it was lost, maybe you granted it to one of your friends or acolytes before you died. Who knows? It might be lost. Anyway, thanks for sharing that. And congratulations on your expedition. I see the forged gauntlet-shield worked well for you."
The lich floated away without another word. I was too tired from the expedition to wonder why he was like that, so I went to my bedroom to unwind.
I hadn't used my [Saintess] powers in front of anyone yet. Communing with the Matriarch didn't work for some reason, maybe because I was trying to talk to myself. But I had experimented with them and I could create some magical effects with sheer willpower and an expenditure of FP that were mind-boggling. Like impenetrable shields, even my 20d10 sword blow couldn't even make them flicker. Or reattach my head instantly. Or summon a level 60 dragon without spending a single MP. The costs were low, a few hundred for the shield to a couple thousand for the dragon. While FP didn't regenerate on its own, only when I prayed or when some believer prayed on my behalf, each point packed a lot of power.
Ordinary spells did nothing to the effects of {Saintess Magic}. I tried to dispel my shields and couldn't do it. If my almost 700 [Spellcaster] Proficiency couldn't, there wasn't much that would.
The magical tome didn't devour my whole library as a few books remained behind. It seemed it wasn't interested in duplicate tomes, although it would gladly eat modified versions and then compare them side-by-side. It did a good job of cataloguing the books and even allowing me to find stuff in them by mentioning a key word. If I wanted, it would list all the books with the word "chandelier" in them, for example. Once again, I had that nostalgic feeling I didn't know where it came from. Maybe the book resembled something one of my past selves experienced, or it wasn't the first time I saw this book.
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Weeks passed and Kel'Caldor was very skittish around me. It made me suspect he was up to something but when I confronted him, he said he was just sad the (heritage) Perk was lost. He was genuinely saddened by it and it made me feel empathy for him. I understood how valuable a Perk that gave free Proficiency points would be to me but if it was just 1 every 5 levels, 20 over a lifetime, it was too little even when combined over several incarnations. An hour of training every day for a lifetime would yield the same result or more.
I think I would just give it to him if I had it.
But things at the Third Pillar and the Necropolis in general were not very good. With the undead steering away from me like I was a loaded gun because I had divine powers which could seriously harm or destory them and Kel'Caldor sulking the loss of his (heritage) Perk, I decided to leave the Necropolis. I believed I was strong enough to fend for myself outside and I wanted to explore the living lands. Since no external factor betrayed my undead nature, and only a blow to the head would cause it to detach, I was pretty sure I could mingle with the mortals without any problem.
Maybe I could find clues to my former self or even find someone who would be able to break this curse keeping me from accessing my memories.
Today I would give him the news that I would be parting on good terms. I was grateful for his hospitality but I wanted to go on my way. I waited at the door to his living space until he noticed me.
"Raina. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?"
I felt a bit nervous. "Can we talk?"
"Sure, step in. Take a seat. What's on your mind?"
His friendly tone dissolved some of my aprehension. "Kel'Caldor, I am grateful for your hospitality, but I want to go visit the lands of the living."
I didn't say anything about the veiled hostility from the other inhabitants of the Necropolis, fearing the lich would retaliate against them.
"Are you sure?" He asked with a worried tone.
I should've found his behavior odd but I didn't. He appeared worried about my safety and after the last few weeks, it was refreshing to see him acting like a normal person. Despite being a lich. It was all an act and in my ignorance, I didn't notice. With skilled social manipulation and by exploiting my own naivety, he got me wrapped around his bony finger.
"Yes. I think I can handle myself out there, and even if I don't, I can literally come back to life. Or unlife."
"That you do. That you do," he muttered. "It's too bad though. I've been working on a ritual that will restore your memories. I am close to finishing it but with you gone... "
It was bait and I was tempted to bite. I also wondered if it was a trap but I dismissed it. He wouldn't act against me and lose the goodwill he accumulated. Right? Wrong. Raina would find her initial impression entirely wrong. What she failed to grasp was that passion and greed were anathema to reason and logic.
"How long do you need to finish the ritual?" I asked, already thinking of giving him time to do so. I could hold back my wanderlust, no problem.
"A couple of months, give or take," he declared as the pinpricks of light in his emerald-eyes wandered around.
He sounded both unsure and challenged. His pride seemed to be on the line. He had to finish this ritual now. I would be an asshole if I ran away at such a crucial moment when he was doing all that for me. But Naive Raina wasn't able to understand his motivations. She lacked the background and the System tools to counter Kel'Caldor social Traits.
"I can wait a few months or up to a year then. It's not like the world is going anywhere or I'm getting any older."
"Thanks, Raina. I appreciate your efforts to collaborate. This old sack of bones is honored by your loyalty. If only we'd met in different circumstances or the main Kel'Caldor wasn't such a psychopath..." He sighed. "I'll bring in trainers for your old Proficiencies or arrange time at their workshops if the tools of the trade aren't quite mobile. You said you are able to awaken them if you train a little, right?"
I didn't notice he was fishing for information about my condition and goading me into oversharing. And overshare I did. His intent here was to keep me busy with Technical Proficiencies which usually didn't grant Attribute bonuses and not the other ones who would make me stronger.
"Yes, that's correct," I admitted.
"Good. Then I'll bring an enchanter here. Let's start with that."
During the next eight months, I unlocked [Enchanter], [Metalsmith], [Jeweler], and [Cartographer] as well as working with an [Assassin] to finish my [Furtivity]'s Fast-growth points and other Proficiencies. I had an open Proficiency that came with my Class upgrade, and I allocated it to [Physical Mastery]. That Proficiency was too high to develop on its own without Fast-Growth and the boost from the level alone was already enough to give me a few Attribute Points.
Training Physical Mastery was no fun at all. It involved either exertion to the point of snapping one's bones and tendons, or physical punishment only a pain addict would enjoy.
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Kel'Caldor sat with me to explain his ritual. It would require my cooperation because things could go awry if I resisted the spell. What he intended to do was to move my soul to the book, which would cause it to read my past lives and write their biography. That would make the knowledge available to me instantly, restoring my memories at once despite whatever the Broodmoter did to block them. It should also unlock my Status once I have knowledge of what Perks I once had. Then he would revert the spell and bring me back to my body.
"It's dangerous," he warned. "You could stay trapped in the book if something goes wrong."
He went so far as to show me the ritual diagram and procedure. He was right, it was dangerous. "What happens if I get trapped in the book? Shouldn't we prepare for the worst-case scenario?"
"Your soul would eventually pass away and reincarnate as it did dozens of times already," he said with a sigh. "The [Lost Sage] was eaten by his own book, but his soul is nowhere to be found. But we can hope your next life will have all your memories back. It's not a big loss. You've sacrificed yourself several times to cast mighty spells that still linger around the world to this day. "
I nodded. It was true that, in at least one confirmed tale, the mermaid Princess known as Arista the [Siren] gave her life to place a protective dome around their marine kingdom. The memoirs of [Queen] Adyra lay praise at her sister's feet, telling how she was there during her last moments. The kingdom wasn't in danger, she still had a long and healthy life ahead of them but Arista wished to avoid a dispute for the throne and the appearance of splintering factions among the mermaid nobles.
She lived forever in the hearts of her people. Her sacrifice was still honored among the mermaids to this day.
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"Push back the beasts!" A mermaid [General] shouted. "Don't let them break the [Siren]'s legacy!"
A school of mermaids dove into the fray, their spears and tridents puncturing the flesh of the demonic monster horde bashing at the protective dome.
On her way to Ackerton, Nenandil decided to take a short detour and visit Atlantis, to see how the inhabitants of the fairy island fared. Instead, she found the once lush forest dry like a bad autumn drought and the kingdom of Atlantis under siege by sea monsters of demonic origins.
She was now engaged in the frontlines, helping where she could. With some time to catch her breath, she remembered her audience with the [Mermaid Queen].
"I am Eathelin IX, queen of the mermaids. The court greets the elder water fairy, Nenandil, a valiant companion of the [Siren]. You may speak."
Floating a meter above the cave bed, Nenandil curtsied. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm here to offer my aid to lift this demonic siege. Arista wouldn't stand still should her homeland be in danger. Wherever she is, she still loves this land and its people dearly."
"We are elated by your kind words, milady. And we wouldn't reject help so freely offered. You may talk to [General] Genowefa about where your power will help the most."
She curtsied and excused herself, finding the general that had the same name as the fish-mermaid Arista was once infatuated with and then followed her to the frontlines.
Nenandil noticed the absence of the two demigod Heralds but while it saddened her that the two divine brats were gone, she was kind of expecting it. All divine entities appeared to have left the world behind.
Snapping back to the present, Nenandil cast a spell to control the currents and hinder the monsters' attacks, creating an opening for the mermaid [Skirmishers] to dive in and deal grievous damage to the gigantic beasts. She could sense so many monsters in the surrounding water, the horde stretching kilometers away. It would take months or even years of constant fighting to clear this siege. It was as if the whole ocean decided the mermaids had no place in this world.
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I had second thoughts as I stepped on a ritual platform. Not the one that would put me in the book, but one that would hopefully discern why I lost my memories. Was I being a fool for trusting my old enemy? But by what I read about myself, even the gods couldn't keep me from coming back. Yes, I might suffer a setback of a few hundred years trapped in the book, but heck, I spent a thousand years marinating at the bottom of the ocean. I had no better idea, so I went along with it.
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Kel'Caldor acivated the diagnosis ritual circle and fed it from his vast MP pool. The runes and diagrams on the stone lit up with a reddish-purple light as I felt a tickling run along my whole being as my very soul was laid bare before the divination magic. His emerald-eyes were dead now, the equivalent of his eyes shut and a sign that he was focused on the output of the spell. The tickles ended as the ritual circle died. The room returned to its usual gloom, though neither of us had any trouble seeing even in the pitch-black darkness.
"I'm afraid you have a slew of potent curses from the Gods. The newest one I recognized as draconic magic and is probably from the Broodmother. She shattered one of the moons during your fight and it was probably to drain the moon of its power and cast this curse on you. The other curses are old, and are from a being way more powerful than the dragon Goddess."
I knew of the other curses as they showed up on my Status. I told him that. The lich rubbed its bony chin with an equally bony hand before answering.
"It makes sense your curses would not be suppressed by the Broodmother's spell. To suppress the curses and single itself out would add too much complexity.Since curses are detrimental in nature, there's no point in suppressing them too. If I were the one to curse you, I would leave the other curses on your soul untouched."
"Thankfully you aren't," I joked with a giggle. Kel'Caldor didn't react.
"Shall we proceed with the other ritual? I'll rest for a few hours to recover my MP, then we can cast it. The ritual to bind you to the book is very costly."
"Sure. I'm as curious as you are, let's do it."
Several hours later, I was climbing onto yet another ritual diagram. This one was drawn with powdered Core and a herbal paste from several potent magical plants and mushrooms. I had no idea how much it cost to cast this ritual but it should be a fuckton of gold. As I took the small circle on one side that looked like a moon orbiting the larger circle in the middle, I placed the Lost Sage's book there and waited.
Kel'Caldor took several monster Cores and carefully aligned them in twelve points equidistant along the ritual circle. They would be used to empower the ritual and spare his MP pool as it would demand more than what he had available.
Confident, the lich exchanged a long gaze with me. "Last opportunity to give up," he asked but I refused to back off now. I needed to know about myself, I needed to try and get my Status and life back. "Okay, I'm starting."
The lich started to chant in a language I didn't recognize. This time the powdered Core lit up with several lights as the elemental impurities were burned away and the energy empowered the circle. I felt a tug on my soul, the tether that connected me to the book becoming a visible silvery string. Kel'Caldor's voice was domineering, as if he was trying to shout the ritual into submission. I tried to keep as calm as possible as a spike of panic took over me momentarily. My soul was dragged out of my undead body and into the book.
I felt the book rudimentary consciousness sift through my mind, breaking bondages and fetching my whole story. I saw my lives, my achievements, my failures pass in front of me like a shadow carousel. While the memory curse wasn't lifted, I had just relived all my lives as the book transcribed them. Knowledge of my Status allowed me to unlock all my Perks. I had lost a lot of them to sneak flaws into the Broodmother's curse.
The concept of "living" was rather stretchy, it seemed.
That's when shit hit the fan.
But as my whole memory and Status unlocked and I recognized what Kel'Caldor was doing, I also understood the folly of his attempt. Raina the [Cephalophore Saintess] couldn't know better but Kel'Caldor was an ancient lich with the memories of an even older lich. He made a major mistake.
Binding my soul to the book was Curse magic and he should've expected my many curse protections. He grossly underestimated the MP required to put a curse on me. And Raina had no way to tell him that because she didn't know. Even if he did make provisions for that, they weren't enough. He couldn't know I had a protection bestowed by Loki.
> > Don't Curse My Homies (unique): Increase the base cost of all curses by a factor of 100.
What would happen if the ritual's cost, so expensive he had to rely on Cores, was multiplied a hundredfold? Disaster, that's what.
Magical power started to drain at a vertiginous pace and the Cores he set to help him power the ritual shattered one by one. As the ritual went awry, it drained the powdered Core filling the diagram and then latched on the last source of magic available. The caster.
Kel'Caldor stopped chanting as he grunted in pain as his whole MP pool drained at once. It wasn't a comfortable experience. Then the ritual started to drain more and more power from him. The lich's floating power went off and his gems started to shatter one by one. It turned out that each of them was a MP storage device that he ritual utterly depleted, storing power, enchantment, structure, and everything else. The emeralds in his eye, the diamond in his forehead, they all went away.
Worse, because he stopped chanting, the ritual was uncontrolled now. The magical energies swirled around and angry slashes and decomposition started to appear on the reinforced walls. My body was desintegrated as it too was converted into raw energy to fuel the ritual. And so did every item in Kel'Caldor's possession, including the contents of his storage ring.
The book opened and the pages flapped as the arcane winds pushed them to do so. A skeletal hand raised as the lich wasn't done yet. He clawed at the massive stone slab, finding purchase on the diagram notches, and painstakingly dragging himself toward the center.
"MY PERK!" He shouted-groaned in pain. "I'LL HAVE MY PERK BACK!"
With my memories back, I knew his intentions all along. He wanted the [Master of Magic] title and Perk back. The one the original Kel'Caldor used to create his legion of clones by passing it back and forth between themselves.
His bones sported hairline fractures. I could now see that he was just a skull, ribcage, arms, and a spine trailing behind like a dog's tail. He had no hips or legs whatsoever.
"You will not defeat me! Give me my Perk!" He shouted at me with a toothless jaw, green flames now burning in his eye sockets.
The rampaging magical energies of the ritual stretched out in search of more MP to fuel its curse. Running uncontrolled, it tried to fulfill its purpose. Kel'Caldor's HP was now drained as well as any drop of MP he regenerated. Some of the bolts of eldritch energy struck the book but it was indestructible. The lich's castle, the pillar, and even the whole district were in danger.
I had to do something. I checked my Status only to find that I too was powerless.
> > All your Resources are set to zero.
Without my Resources, I couldn't use anything. I had no access to either [Saintess Magic] nor any other kind of magic, nothing. Not even the item box worked. It was as if I was back in the siphon desert, the dead magic zone and only purely physical traits would work.
The greedy lich inched closer to the book. Was he so desperate to get the Perk back that he would do the same thing I did to one of his clones, trap me in the book, and demand the Perk in exchange for my release? Was this a betrayal? The accident was honest, but what were Kel'Caldor's true intentions?
I recalled his odd behavior and thought maybe he was conflicted about whether to betray me or not. With my mind restored, I could perceive his obvious obcession with the [Master of Magic] Perk.Even now, he risked his existence just to get a shot at reaching the book and maybe prying the Perk away from me.
I heard a massive rumble like a peal of thunder. I didn't need sensory organs as {Perfect Awareness} now considered the book cover as my skin. The mage tower trembled as the very pillar was beginning to falter and crack.
"Yes, I'll extract the Perk from the book!" The lich rambled. Most of his ribs were crumbling in flakes, shards of bone trembling and skittering over the ritual diagram as the room trembled.
Could he steal the Perk from the book? I focused inward and searched the biography of the Lost Sage. I found a hidden section that stated how his two (heritage) Perks were taken from the book. Maybe that was his plan all along. Or not. His main plan might be for me to voluntarily hand over the Perk but plan B might be just a grab and run. Maybe he had a way to keep me trapped in the book longer than normal.
Paranoia settled on me and I felt stupid for trusting my ancient enemy. But also guilt because Kel'Caldor was kind to me. I couldn't decide but I couldn't let the lich reach the book. So, instead of waiting to be betrayed, I double-crossed the lich. A pang of pain ran in my soul and I tried to rationalize what I was about to do.
Maybe I could even solve the situation by saving his soul. I remembered Pandora and checked. The familiar links were there, but extremely faint. Both Nenandil and Pandora were far, far away and outside communications range.
I could still use Perks that didn't demand the expenditure of resources. Very few entered this category but I found I could summon my heirloom spear.
Saying a prayer of regret for the lich, I decided to finish him. The [Unicorn King's Spear] appeared in the air above the lich, and I let it fall down. {Guardian Urchin's Vengeance} triggered and the spear grew sixteen times larger. The massive spike driven by gravity pierced the lich and ignited him in Dragonfire which consumed his already weakened form.
> For killing...
> You reached Cephalophore Saintess (unique, 5 slots, 2nd rank) level 20.
> You ranked up. Unallocated Exp will be divided by 1,000,000.
Without its caster, the ritual circle imploded, all the energy from the surroundings bursting in like a magical conflagration, much like the ones I caused that destroyed two cities but inward rather than outward. The magical implosion went out, killing the skeleton mages, the ghoul servants, and everyone living near the pillar. Though the Necropolis lived on, the mountain above caved in where the Third Pillar no longer provided support, creating a massive mountain of rubble. With the Necropolis deprived of their mages, the gigantic pile of rocks remained untouched. None dared disturb it, lest the whole underground cave become buried.
I could see two new entries in my Status sheet, now a page in the book.
> > Broodmother's Final Judgment (unique, curse, flawed): All your Traits (except for the (curse) and (capstone) ones) are locked upon birth. One single (combined) Perk, chosen at random, will be unlocked when you activate the System. Another will unlock the first time you are in a life-or-death situation or about to suffer a sexual assault. Once a particular Trait has been unlocked seven times, this curse no longer affects them.
>
> > Book Seal (very rare, curse, flawed): Your soul is eternally bound to the [Lost Sage's Insatiable Journal] and shall never depart. While you are sealed, anyone may steal your Perks if they offer a Perk of equal rarity and rank.
No idea if the curse description was intended by Kel'Caldor or if it was the result of the System trying to make sense of the lich's final moments when he was taken over by greed. Even though he was my enemy, his death would weigh on me. I was unable to keep his soul because I had zero Energy and I needed to invest SP (or its substitute) to purify a soul before I could retain it. Just like my item box which required a small amount of MP. Normally, such expenditures were so insignificant that they were never considered, but they were now barred from using them as well.
I was trapped in the book without a body to return. {Erode Curse} was my only option as the twisted curse became permanent.
With my resources driven to zero, the only way to break free would be to activate the {Mana Wellspring} along with {Widen Aura} to siphon the leftover MP from the necropolis residents. I dumped all the Attribute Points from {Ultimate Surpasser} on Magic. One positive point was that Kel'Caldor was no god. His Magic score was much, much lower than either Loki or the Broodmother's. However, finding MP donors was the bigger problem.
The indestructible book remained buried deep under the mountains for a long time. The legendary heirloom spear stayed by its side, the two items keeping each other's company. Centuries passed while I read every tale, ever treatise in the [Lost Sage's Insatiable Journal] over and over. I had my memories back as long as I remained inside the book but in my next life, the curse would once again block my memories, just as it did when I first awakened in Igor's lab.
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For centuries, Nenandil wandered across the world, fruitlessly searching for the most important person in her existence. She eventually went back to Fulgen and dove into the tunnels until she found the water goblin kingdom, her mother's domain.
"Mind your words, mom. I won't suffer your criticism," she warned right after the greetings.
"Of course, daughter," Doris sighed, and then smiled broadly. "It pains me to see you grief like that. But you know she'll return one day. Her soul is too sturdy to just dissipate. I believe she only needs time. What do you want to do now?"
"I don't know."
"The world needs you, daughter. Take over the element of Ice, and rule over it while your partner recovers. You will also stay busy with the Church of the Matriarch, right? Instead of wandering aimlessly all over the world, why don't you make sure the world will be a better place when She returns?"
Nenandil nodded, streaks of tears running down her face. She wasn't giving up on her search. She was just doing what she had done for the last few centuries. Help the world.
The Old Soul would bounce around and reincarnate. Maybe she could use the Church, now a major power in the world, to help her find the Old Soul. The plan she formulated was simple. Every child in every settlement was to be awakened a bit earlier than the natural Activation day with puberty during a ceremony at the local Matriarch church. She would grant the child a minor Perk as a benefit in exchange for a glimpse at their Status. Any child with three or more (capstone) Perks should be brought to her. That way, eventually, the Old Soul would be found.
But as with all plans born of naive ideas, it had a major flaw.
In this case, politics. As news that the Church was searching for children with (capstone) Perks for some reason leaked out through the lips of [Priests] with weak moral fiber, the other powers in the world also started searching for them.
The gods remained silent. Their churches diminished in importance as they no longer granted Perks to their ecclesiastics, only the basic [Priest] Class. Which wasn't so bad.
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Said Gods convened at the former Divine Domain of Wyxnos, now ruled by two outsiders. In the otherwise featureless and endless white plane, a large table large enough to hold all of their avatars appeared.
"We are losing too many souls!" Yznera stated the main reason for their meeting. "Both the demons and the Matriarch are stealing souls from the world faster than they are created!"
The Asgardian rolled her eyes. "I wonder, whose fault is it?" He snickered. "If I remember well, we had someone extremely skilled in defeating Demon Lords."
The other gods shuffled in their seats. The sting hurt but none of them raised their voices.
"And the parallel dimension where she keeps her beloved countries only came into being because she decided to spare the Divinity to save these lands! If the souls of her believers and followers are being dragged there, not a single one of you can complain. It is the Matriarch's right," Loki continued, then chortled. "You basically dug your grave."
"Did you find Wyxnos?" Galbarar asked, trying to shift the subject. It was obvious that the Administrators wouldn't help them with the soul shortage problem.
"I wasn't aware we were supposed to search for him," Tuisto, the avatar of the artificial intelligence of the System Core replied. The fact that he developed the ability to use sarcasm was worrisome. Maybe he spent too long listening to Loki.
"What about the outsider Gods?" Queltphion inquired.
By "Outsider Gods" he meant the ones allied with the mysterious (and very dead) Dallas Visitor. The same ones with whom they made a deal to obtain DIvinity and come to invade and conquer this world. This was the real reason they withdrew from the world below. By avoiding exerting their Divinity on the world, they could escape detection by that enemy Pantheon. Without four of their original group and no control of the System, they had no hope of winning in a direct confrontation.
Loki knew who they were. He wasn't worried. So long as his little experiment bore fruit, this backwater world could burn. With the Administrator credentials Mr. G. had given him and Wyxnos being unable to tamper with the system, he was perfectly content with the way things were. He would even delay the discovery of this dimension by that third-grade Pantheon until it was the right time.
"They are not here," the half-Jotunn deity declared. "But they are searching," he added to keep the rabble on their toes.
The Asgardian was appalled at the cowardice of this bunch of formerly mortals playing God. The All-Father knew he had no chance to defeat Loki's son Fenrir, yet the Aesir patriarch would dutifully march to battle during Ragnarök. Compared to these quivering reeds, Odin's bravery was akin to Yggdrasil. The only one who had some saving grace was the Sea Urchin, and that only because he was at the same time a former monster, a native, and was the youngest deity present.
"Will you keep us safe?" Mehaia, the Goddess of Water and the Oceans, asked.
For one who neglected her duties and went on a vacation during the Age of Eclipse, she was the cowardest among them.
"I won't push you down the precipice," he answered, meaning they weren't worth even the effort." But I expect you to climb out of it with your own feet, hands... or tentacles. Or die trying. Now if you excuse us, we have a System to manage, a world to keep spinning. Toodles!"
Loki snapped his fingers and sent the Gods back to their own domains. Then he turned to see the growth of the Matriarch's pocket dimension. Every believer who died on Yznarian was promptly revived on the budding planet, which was connected to the System through the [Wisp of Creation]. The tiny golden orb was slowly developing sentience, a fact that amused the Asgardian to no small amount. It already had half the landmass of the Earth, although it wasn't big enough to develop its own spatial geometry. It was basically a titanic but shallow (for its proportions) basin of seawater with one continental mass and a smaller island.
A few souls traveled back to Yznarian and the main world was in no danger of dwindling in soul count from that. The real problem was the smuggling of souls out of this dimension by the demons. But even that would take dozens of centuries to reach a critical level.
He also kept an eye on the Old Soul bound to a book. He made small nudges in the world below to make sure it would be found before she could escape her predicament. He created a new System entry on the Species database and asked Tuisto for approval. Now that they were only two, it was necessary to make sure his plans wouldn't be jeopardized. Once the A.I. greenlighted it, he started populating the new species' Perk list.
Now he only needed to wait and watch as the dice rolled and the Old Soul bounced between lives until she was born with the correct species/gender combination. He couldn't tamper and make it happen out of fear Tuisto would notice and evoke the "Fairness Protocols" against Loki. No, when he made his offer to the mortal being, he needed these stupid protocols to work in his favor.
So he waited. Time in this blue-shifted dimension went extremely fast so all he needed was to set some alerts and let Fate take its course while he focused back to Earth. It seemed Mr. G.'s Protegé and her friends were having an interesting scuffle with a demon.