It wasn’t a long tale at all. Elder Olg finished it within five minutes. Perhaps more, perhaps less, Rieren wasn’t certain. She blamed the pain continuously distracting her for it. But her monstrous form also played a part.

One bad thing about being divested from the normal flow of time was that her ability to sense its passage and keep track of it had diminished.

But still. The sense she did get suggested that Elder Olg could have reduced his tale’s duration by half if he hadn’t been so obsessed with telling a story. All those suspense-raising pauses and intonations tended to needlessly take up more time than necessary.

“Essentially,” the Elder concluded. “The gods are warring amongst each other, such that they can war among each other.”

“They do not war among each other,” Rieren said.

“Thus my addition of such that they can.”

Rieren grunted. It wasn’t surprising. She had suspected that was the case for some reason or the other before. Abyss, she was certain one or more gods were behind certain strange incidents around her, going against the general will of the rest of the pantheon to enact them. Such things couldn’t pass without there being actual conflict between the divine bastards.

“To think that it related to the Abyss and the Aether as well…” Rieren shook her head. “How could you have come by such knowledge?”

Elder Olg raised an eyebrow that wriggled by itself, like it was trying to escape off his corrupted head. “You do not suspect the information itself?”

“I have reasons to believe it might very well be true.”

“Hmm. Well, I am an Abyssal. A powerful one at that. I have an intimate connection with the Abyss now, one that lets me dive into it as deeply as I’d like. And the deeper one goes, the more one learns about the very world itself and how it operates.”

“Such as learning that there is a specific god in charge of the Abyss and another who rules the Aether.”

“Correct! Though, I believe this wasn’t the case before, was it?”

“No…”

As far as Rieren was aware, after the gods had created the Abyss and the Aether, they had maintained their newly created worlds together. The power controlling the two new Realms of existence had been spread evenly throughout the gods at first.

From all that Rieren had been able to deduce, none of the deities wanted the powers over the new worlds to get concentrated on any single god. It could cause conflict among the pantheon if any one of them gained that sort of control over what was a creation that used all their powers.

But that hadn’t lasted. It couldn’t have. Not all the gods operated with the same kind of mental fortitude needed to maintain constant focus over two entire worlds.

Eventually, control had shifted across the entire pantheon. Some gods had left the care of the Abyss and the Aether entirely, their attention flicking to other matters. Many of those were now engrossed with how to influence the Mortal Realm. In the end, two specific gods had come to lay claim over the majority of the power that controlled the Abyss and the Aether.

This had already happened in the last timeline. In fact, by the time Rieren had learned that truth from Starloper, those two gods had already secured their own control over the two worlds for nearly half a century.

But it had never led to any sort of conflict. The gods still existed in harmony. Apparently, that wasn’t the case any longer.

“They truly think they can convert me to their side?” Rieren asked.

“Not only you,” the Elder said. He closed his eyes and quirked his lips up in a satisfied smirk. “Though, I would assume that you are their primary target, considering the length of their manipulation that led to such an incident.”

Rieren stared at him. “Please stop being happy about this.” The stare turned into a frown. “Also, for how long has this manipulation you speak of been occurring?”

The Elder’s expression turned more serious. “For a good while. From the very beginning of this new timeline, from what I can tell. All along, some of the gods were seeking alternatives to utter annihilation.”

“By some, I assume you mean specifically the ones who control the Abyss and the Aether.”

Elder Olg nodded. “They may or may not have allies within the pantheon who have the same intentions, but those two at least have allowed this. In fact, they are actively aiming for it.”

Rieren had a difficult time accepting that possibility. One of the gods who was now in charge of the new worlds, so to speak, was Medzedol. She recalled his green-armoured, long-haired form well. He had been one of her primary foes in and even before the Celestial Realm, one of the immortals who had most sought to bring her down before she could pose a true threat.

And now he was seeking to include her in the pantheon personally? If she was to believe Elder Olg’s claim.

“I admit the possibility isn’t impossible,” Rieren said. “Just as these monsters want a way to be a part of the fabric of this world without the need for continued violence with its current occupants, just as those occupants themselves are seeking to come to a compromise through the Trials of Ascendance to prevent further bloodshed, so too can the gods seek a means to an end without conflict.”

Elder Olg raised a wriggling eyebrow again. “But?”

“But I for one have a hard time trusting them, Elder. Medzedol hunted me personally, a few times.”

“And Estavian?”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“He was usually too busy looking after the Aether, from what I remember.”

“Ah, so not as direct of an enemy as the others. Perhaps he’s the one who convinced the rest of the pantheon to give you a different chance, and Medzedol was the first convert, for whatever reason.”

Rieren licked her lips. The only reason she could see being worth it was a long-run game to get her closer to him, from whence he could pounce and end the threat she posed once and for all, and with a lot less effort to boot.

But it didn’t look like Elder Olg was about to be convinced of that. If anything, the only feeling she had gotten from him so far was approval of what the monsters—and by extension, the gods who controlled them from afar—were attempting to do.

“You wish me to join them in this effort?” Rieren asked.

Elder Olg closed his eyes, adopting a considering look. “What I truly wish is—”

“Is for me to follow my true heart. But what does that signify to you, Elder?”

He opened his eyes again, more serious than ever before. “I want you to do what you and you alone think is right, Rieren. What you and you alone think is necessary, regardless of everything else.”

She frowned. “Are you telling me to abandon everything?”

He smiled. “It is telling that you came to that conclusion and nothing else first, isn’t it?”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps, it’s simply a side-effect of this corruption you approve of.”

“I did not wish for you to become this, Rieren. I—”

“You sent me into the Abyss, Elder. Then you sent the incoming Aetherian in there as well. They caused its collapse, caused me to plummet into the core of the Abyss, which made me into this thing. Do you not understand the chain of events?”

“I understand your anger.”

Rieren grit her teeth together. Her pain was building again, her soul buzzing against its physical constraints. She would have taken deep breaths to calm herself, but breathing no longer worked the same as before, so it would have no effect at all upon her temperament. “This is what you meant by the long-term manipulation, yes?”

“We have played into their hands, yes.”

Rieren closed her eyes, trying not to let her hands instinctively rub her temples out of frustration. Elder Olg was right. If she took a moment to think, the Puppeteer and its god had been manipulating events from the very beginning of this timeline.

Why else would they have forced such an overwhelming army of Abyssals to attack Lionshard mountain if not to displace all those who lived there? Why else, when that had failed, would they have resorted to sending in a Banishedborn to force her hand?

Why else would they have pulled Elder Olg into the dungeon underneath Lionshard mountain, then into the Abyss itself, just so they could corrupt him with Abyss-Aspected Essence? Why else would they allow him to become the Dreadflood, if not to prove to Rieren herself that one could be a monster and still maintain one’s wits and autonomy?

Why else would they send a meteor shower straight into the Abyss, through other proxies, if not to force her to go through the Abyss core and become an Abyssal herself?

All to get her to this point? Was that really their only goal? Elder Olg had mentioned that such an option was being used for all the powerful enemies of the gods.

But still. Rieren couldn’t help but suspect that there might be more she was missing.

“How can you approve of this manipulation, Elder?” Rieren asked. “How can you allow yourself to become an accessory to such a plan? It makes you appear as though you on longer have complete control over your actions.”

“That is the thing, is it not?” Elder Olg mused. “My actions have been taken to best preserve the world and excise the evil influence upon it, as I saw fit. I took over the Dreadflood to stop it from destroying Falstrom, I sent the Aetherians into the Abyss so they wouldn’t destroy the Shatterlands. And now, I have discovered the secret intention of the gods themselves.”

“And they have allowed all of it. One can no longer be certain if one’s actions are serving one’s own purpose or not.”

“That is my truest concern, yes. And that is why I keep reiterating—we must have faith in our truest beliefs and act accordingly. We must do what our heart tells us, Rieren. Monstrous or not, the core of our being is still ours in the end.”

Rieren wasn’t sure how much she could trust that. After all, if the corrupted Essence could suppress certain emotions, who was to say what other integral changes to her very soul it could perform?

“And I repeat my question, Elder,” she said. “Are you advising me to forge my own path to my goals?”

“Is that what your heart tells you? Is that what you truly believe to be the right decision?”

Rieren paused. Maybe the reason she had immediately jumped to the conclusion that Elder Olg wished for her to stop her current path was a product of her monstrous transformation. Not unlikely, considering that she had started this meeting with a very poor estimation of the Elder to begin with, even worse than their last argument.

But that didn’t mean her initial thoughts had to be true. Sure, her prior feelings were more diluted now. They didn’t inspire the same kind of motivation, the same burning fire that had propelled her onwards before.

What she had to accomplish was just that. Something she had to achieve. It was the truest vestige of her claim to humanity.

Rieren believed in it. Her faith in many things no longer functioned the same, failing to evoke the same sensations as before, but feelings didn’t need to dictate what she decided to trust. Fleeting emotions would not dictate her true goals. Rieren was stronger than any manipulation she might suffer.

“So what is it that you intend to do, Rieren?” Elder Olg asked.

“I am heading back,” she said, slowly standing up. “I believe I have taken too long already. The fighting is still ongoing. I am certain of it. I still have a chance to secure my place in the Trials of Ascendance.”

“And you truly believe it will be worth it?”

“Of course. Not only will I receive some important achievements, I will also increase my renown. I need that to get through the Exalted realm.” Even if she gathered enough Essence, one couldn’t progress through the Exalted without being higher and higher acclaim. “And besides, I must secure this anchor of yours and get closer to the gods.”

Elder Olg closed his eyes, a little frown marring his brow. “Hmm. Do it, then. May fortune favour your steps.”

“You do not disapprove.”

“There may be more optimal paths to secure what we want, but simply achieving our ultimate goals wouldn’t be worth it. Your current path provides opportunities that cannot be found elsewhere. Take them. Make use of them. There is much power to be gained, both for you as an individual and as a functioning member of the people of the Elderlands. Besides…”

She raised an eyebrow at his hesitation, and at the grin that accompanied it. “Besides?”

“Having faith in the truest of our intentions is the best way to prevent ourselves from being manipulated further. Set your sights on your real goal and forge onwards. At some point, you may be playing into the hands of your enemies, but eventually, they will find that holding fire is liable to cause severe burns.”

Rieren smiled. “I always knew I could trust you, Elder.”

“Then trust me once more when I tell you that you won’t win anything in your condition.”

Her smile died. The Elder’s words seemed to summon her agony right back. “I cannot waste time fending off a heart demon.”

“What is it that you are refusing to accept, Rieren?”

“Nothing. I—”

Rieren paused again. There was something she had rejected so far. Well, perhaps not so much rejected as ignored, since she hadn’t seen the point of it. But was the class evolution the system’s way of assisting her with this heart demon issue? Was it really that simple?

She gasped as another jolt of pain rocked through her. “I think I know what to try. Farewell, Elder.”

“Journey well,” Elder Olg said.

Rieren bowed before she left. She didn’t feel it was the appropriate thing to do, not anymore, but some part of her memories reminded her that respect and gratitude were worth displaying.

Just as it was worth believing in herself, no matter what changes occurred.

It was the reason she finally pulled up the achievement she had received not long ago. The class evolution point was still there, just as she recalled. It was a good thing she knew how evolutions worked. Taking a deep but pointless breath, Rieren accepted it.