>>6107803

“What do you want from me? More to the point, why haven’t you killed me yet?”

“I have a proposal for you.” Her voice reverberates through the large, empty chamber, tinged with a mechanical tilt alongside a playful smugness, “But it requires a bit of scene setting.”

“I have time.”

“Most true. So much time, and yet, not enough. Not enough to play two games at once. Ah, my apologies, I’m getting ahead of myself.

It is common knowledge- well, common amongst anyone who’s anyone, as they say- that you and Kronos have entered something of an uneasy alliance. However, it is doomed to impermanence. Why? The two of you have goals that are diametrically opposed. You both see any outcome in which the other lives as woefully incomplete. Because you are competitors in the same, zero sum game. At first, I believed the same- this is why I never reached out to you, or for that matter any other rogue entity I didn’t believe myself capable of harnessing or manipulating.

However, then I got an interesting hint. The The Devourer’s Cookbook. Suddenly, it became so clear to me: there are TWO games. One to become the <Ruler of Humanity> and the other to become a <God>.”

“Get to the point.”

“Be honest with me, Atë, do you really even want to rule the world? Oh it sounds so nice in theory, but in actuality the micromanaging of it all is really quite the chore. I hold less than a fifth of what there is, and even that is inordinately taxing. You don’t strike me as the sort to have a grand vision in this sense. No, I’d bet that the second game is more appealing to you- to become the strongest. To become a god.”

“But humans- their souls, their interface with the <System>- are vital in that pursuit.”

“Sure, maybe to get it off the ground. But after? Once you start eating <Interwraiths> and worlds and gods? One little rock- hell, the whole system itself- becomes all but irrelevant.”

>>6107804

“Give me your offer.”

“I’ll keep it brief. I quite like earth. Consider it a matter of sentiment. I’ll let you set up the occasional farm, and grant you essentially infinite wealth and authority while you visit. Well, beneath my own, of course, but you can basically think of it like having diplomatic immunity. I plan to expand the human project- over millennia and millennia, of course.”

“You’re asking for a whole lot here. What do I get in exchange?”

“I will agree to never stretch my reach past the milky way. One little galaxy for me, everything else for you. In the meantime, I’ll support you completely- funds. Incarnation stuff. Influence. Information. I’ll even take care of your little German problem for you. Of course, in the interim, you’ll have to deal with the Penitent- and a few other annoyances- on my behalf. After all, going by the prescriptions of the Cookbook, you’ll hopefully be able to devour the King one day.”

“How would you even enforce this agreement?”

“It’s something of a trade secret. I’ll let you know if you agree to agree.”

>Give an outright rejection
>Ask more clarifying questions (Specify)
>Make a counteroffer
>Agree to the terms
>Run away
>Write-in

Not voting just yet, but LOVE the art for this thread. Great work Mr QM!

>>6107807

Thanks! I'm glad it turned out alright

Ate sexo

>>6107803
>OP Pic
We uh
We're not doing too hot, huh

>>6107806
This sounds way too good to be true
>Ask more clarifying questions (Specify)
We need more info on her enforcement capabilities even if it's a trade secret. She's getting everything upfront with this deal while we only start reaping the true benefits in the very distant future, we need assurance she'll be bound to the terms. Hell, how will she keep us bound if everything goes well and she has one galaxy while we have the rest of the universe?

Even if she answers we should consult Pheme before agreeing.

Also I for one don't want to kill Kronos. I think it would be really funny if we got his soul and he was forced to serve us and live in our world.

>>6107806

No specific input here, but concerns that pop up...

> Protections extended to me extend to my people as well
> I would like a small number of life viable planets in the galaxy, between five and ten. A girl needs a playground occasionally, and there's no telling how hard escaping the galaxy will be.

> I'm no one's slave or servant.

> Can I uh...call a friend? Call Pheme.

I guess the big question is, are we ok with letting earth go as an objective? Like, diplomatic immunity basically means that if Ye Min wins, we win, and we're free to hunt interwraiths and amass power until we transcend the galaxy.

> Wanna help me backstab my pantheon lead and her rival?

>>6107806
much of everything we ever wanted...
>do a reality check
we have miracles themselves that trap people in scenarios they most desire if they chose to accept them as real
other than that
>>6107851
+1

>>6107828
is there even anything worthwhile after the milkyway why does she want humanity so much?

>>6107828
i think its time to do alot of lying or more just not commit to anything we say

>>6107918
A reality check is definitely warranted.

So basically, the deal is Ye Min becomes our ally. We help her become the undisputed ruler of humanity and cede rights to the galaxy to her. That is a sizable cessation, though unlikely be one of concern for thousands of years. We also handle the Uncrowned King, and I'm guessing we're going to need to murder face some local problems.

In exchange she helps us crush our enemies, provides support, and we can enjoy creature comforts within her kingdom. And she cedes the rest of the universe to us, countless galaxies.

So, thinking this through, I'm going to suggest the following amendment based on a few concerns of mine.

> Ye Min will not expand her control and power over the last 16.66% of the galaxy (preferably a continuous spiral arm swathe) until Atë has established control over 16.66% of another galaxy.

I am concerned that there is some sort of barrier or wall between us and the rest of the universe, and I would like a fallback.

It's a good deal for both us honestly, assuming we let go of the desire to have all of humanity under our thumb.

>>6107828
>>6107851
>>6107918
>>6108002

You first check for mental interference- your soul comes up clean.

“I can’t agree to anything this definitive without consulting a partner of mine first.”

“Oh?” The generator asks, seemingly genuinely surprised at the stipulation, “You didn’t strike me as the type.”

You pluck a feather from its resting place, breaking the illusion of invisibility placed upon it, giving a subtle smile as you set it on the floor. “I didn’t strike me as the type either.”

The eye on the feather begins to dart around, and the mouth jutting from its base begins to widen. The feather multiplies, one becoming two, two becoming four, until a small stack of iridescent black plumage rests on the floor, melding together into a purplish-black mass and eventually a human form.

“Athena, is it? Truly an honor to make your acquaintance.” Pheme speaks in polyglot-perfect Mandarin. Well, not <Polyglot> itself, but a secondary effect of a different authority which exhibits a similar function.

If this piece of Min’s soul had a mouth, it would undoubtedly be smiling, “Quite sharp.”

“Not really. I assumed it was common knowledge.”

“Well, more or less. Still, it’s more of a theory than a statement of definitive fact.”

“I’d rather make an ass of myself and gain some intel than remain ignorant and silent.”

“Hmm. Wise. I must admit, I don’t recognize you- though I suppose that’s probably the idea.”

“Well, this is the time for cards on the table, right? We’re working on a pretty big deal. Though, our side would appreciate some reciprocity for the trust given- in regards to contract enforcement.”

“Fair enough. The <System>, as you know, enforces contracts by binding the souls of the involved parties together. However, as you also know, this can be exploited- severed, manipulated, restrung. Indeed, the system is made to be retractable at any time, and thus lacks permanency in any way that matters, on a cosmic scale.”

“So, what’s your alternative?”

“A method used to keep promises, ancient and powerful. The very same ties that were used to halt the King from breaching our realm thousands of years ago. <Oaths>. Inscribed not on a flimsy bit of rope, but etched into the very heart of the user.”

“I have to know- why me?” you interject, “I’m pretty strong, sure, but there are certainly stronger out there, and this is a pretty good deal- someone out there would accept it.”

“Firstly, other than Gaia- an entity who is literally unable to agree to these terms- you are probably the closest being on earth to becoming a <God>. Did you know? Of every mortal in the world of whom I am aware, you have the largest divinity pool. In fact, it really isn’t even that close.”

>>6108181

You nod, and she continues, “Secondly, most people would consider this a terrible deal, actually. Especially those accustomed to positions of power, Earth itself is placed on an inordinately high pedestal.

“Thinking rationally, with just a few thousand humans, plus a constant stream of more to prevent genetic bottlenecking, you could have a population relative to that of a major country in only a couple centuries. Plus, instead of starting from the stone age, you’d have access to both divinity and modern crops and technology.

And yet, they fight tooth and nail for this rock. Why? Because most, already having a position of power here, place an inordinate amount of value in it. They consider themselves <Important>, and that importance rests in something which is, on a cosmic scale, completely insignificant.”

“So why not take your own deal? Round up everyone in China, find some habitable planet, and start over?”

“Sentimentality, as I said. There are some things here- places, geography, culture, memories- which I cannot bear to abandon. Ultimately, I am the same as the fools I just described. But you are different- to you, this world is mostly just a place where people are. Sure, there are some places you enjoy visiting, but it really would be acceptable as just.. a vacation spot.

"Plus, in the grand scale, it doesn't really matter, does it? After all, one galaxy, the whole universe- these things are just stepping stones, to those with greater ambition. There's a reason the <Uncrowned King> and the entity behind the <System> came knocking, right?"

You can't tell if her ambition is admirable or delusional.

“Even so, I still don’t get why you don’t just kill me.”

You see the lights of the generator flicker for a brief instant as she calculates a response.

“I intend to rule as a tyrant.” She declares, “Of course, as you’ve seen, my tendencies are benevolent as far as dictators go, but ultimately, I desire to rule over what I have without contest. This is.. vexing to people. Humans bear an intrinsic desire for freedom. Self determination. Order people to look left, and many will look right just to spite you. That being said, humans are fundamentally rational- their thirst for freedom is superseded by their will to live."

>>6108182

“That’s where you come in: nothing unites people like a common threat. I will become the beacon of light in the sea of darkness, the one and only hope keeping the horrors of Ruin at bay- or at least that’s what the propaganda will say. Even to those who know the true nature of the situation, action against me will be tantamount to suicide.”

Pheme lets out a breathy snicker, “You’re planning to hold all of humanity hostage. “If you kill me, my deal with the power hungry chaos goddess goes down the drain, and our entire species is caput,” basically.”

“Clever indeed.” the generator chuckles back.

“I find your deal amenable, but I have some considerations I’d like met. Mostly. I want a little bit of the milky way: a slice, maybe 1/6th, as a jumping off point. Especially in case it’s inordinately difficult to jump to another galaxy. Of course, I’ll withdraw once I’ve claimed the same portion of another galaxy.”

“I need to consult the mainframe. One moment please.”

A minute of dead silence passes before the generator speaks again.

“A withdrawal has been deemed to be impractical. Instead, you are permitted to keep that ratio- in exchange, we- I- request Andromeda.”

“A whole galaxy in exchange for just a slice?”

“Speaking on percentages, it’s an overwhelmingly favorable deal for you. If it pleases you, if we come to find that it’s truly impossible to escape the galaxy, we shall split the galaxy in half as a form of insurance. Of course, my half will contain the earth. Ah, also, all gifts you receive from me ought to be reciprocated, and vice versa. The reciprocating party can decide what’s fair- of course, the <Oath> will bind you to honesty. Clever, isn’t it? A perfect assessment of utility. <Impetus> is quite the thing.”

>Accept this version of the deal
>Propose additional modifications
>Ask additional questions
>Write-in

>>6108184
>Agree to make such a deal
>Ask for time to come up with our exact demands
>Ask her to teach us how to make an <Oath> so we know what we're getting ourselves into
Mainly I want to go over this with Pheme in private
I want to have some pieces in place for some chosen people we do have sentimentality for, and if we chose to visit down the line and find new people on earth we like, to include them in our protected group

>>6108184

> Would it be cheeky to ask for a binding of honesty to verify everyone being's straight with each other before further agreements are being made? I can think of no one more able to out clever me than the incarnation of wisdom.

> Incredibly nerdy question here, what's the status of dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky way that would be absorbed eventually into the Milky way?

>Accept this version of the deal (pending Pheme's approval anyway)
Sounds like a solid deal to me, at least in broad strokes. We're the dark queens of the galaxy, the horror lurking in the shadows of the universe, and we can get IHOP whenever we want? Sign me up.

>>6108206
>> Incredibly nerdy question here, what's the status of dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky way that would be absorbed eventually into the Milky way?

getting really nerdy
the galaxy likely has a habitable zone too, closer to the center there are too many stars in "close" proximity, and the radiation is too high for life working on mitosis as we know it.
eventually our sun will explode and earth will no longer be habitable, galaxies will collide, making the definition of "milky way galaxy" void.

>>6108184
>Propose additional modifications
Maybe not even a modification but a clarification, I'm a tad worried about this line
>Ah, also, all gifts you receive from me ought to be reciprocated, and vice versa.
1. The things she's promised us as part of the deal (farms, money, authority, influence, info, etc) don't count as gifts.
2. Both sides have the right to refuse gifts, so neither of us can overwhelm the other by granting a gift too great to reciprocate.
If the above 2 statements are true then I'm fine with agreeing.

>>6108217
At the levels of power we'll have achieved by then I think we could just keep them separate through personal power.

Plus I'm no expert but google tells me the milky way isn't even that big, it might get absorbed by Andromeda.

>>6108196
>>6108206
>>6108217
>>6108264

Ye Min pauses for a while, briefly this time, presumably to communicate your demands to her other pieces throughout the world. The glow brightens slightly, seemingly indicating a surge of divinity- perhaps a cognitive overclock? It really is hard to tell.

“Let us do it like this. Firstly, of course, a gift can be refused at any time. Gifts of <Action> completed in advance are to be judged based on how useful the reciprocal party finds them- if they find the imposition burdensome, it will denigrate the perceived value of the gift in their minds, and will thus require a lesser gift than the true utility of the gift might suggest.

“Of course, matters regarding the deal itself will be reciprocated mutually, as if they were <Gifts>: this means that I owe you for infiltrations, errands, and victories against the King (though devouring him will not be counted as a gift to me, since it's obviously in your interests to an equal or greater extent) as well as for any information regarding <Interwraiths> and other such cosmic matters. Money, of course, is no object- the market value of incarnation related materials is so astronomically high that the smallest errand tips the scales.”

“Regarding dwarves- we’ll put them all in your name, for now. However, I intend to acquire a majority of them eventually, as payment for my support of you on my end, both from an incarnation and infrastructural perspective. If you’d like, you can sign them over to me in advance in exchange for a <Reciprocal> amount of support- though acting in good faith, I’d recommend not doing so immediately. The whole concept of galactic domination is nebulous as of now, at least to me, so their value is probably as low as it ever will be.”

“As for galactic mergers?”

“Well, we’ll take a snapshot of existing star systems- and the black holes they orbit- effective based on observations made from earth as of right now. Suppose one of my galaxies merges with one of yours, we shall each keep the systems that we held before the merger. And… we shall make an <Impartial> renegotiation after 10 billion years, if it matters by then.”

“Impartial how?”

“These are fun- two little pieces of both of our <Consciousness> will get put in a box, not entirely unlike the one I’m in right now. However, the memories will be shuffled- there will be one <Athena> and one <Atë> who think they’re me, and a likewise pair who think they’re you. All four will need to come to an agreement, and thus, a new pact will be struck.”

>Accept this version of the deal
>Propose additional modifications
>Ask additional questions
>Write-in

>>6108286
>would this system not favor you as the inventor and would this scrambling not make the deal meaningless?
>what of the unobservable universe? and parallel material planes of reality intersecting the slice?


honestly dont really want to do this deal with her

>>6108286
>"A very enticing offer...but I refuse!"
>"It is not enough for me to win - others must lose."

>>6108289
Then just vote against it instead of dragging things out with technicalities

>>6108316
To unmeme this vote and explain it better the offer really does seem too good to be true. Earth itself might be too important to give up for reasons we don't know yet - the System emerged there, the King is trying to enter through there, etc. Ye Min might not even know, or she could be setting up this deal with the knowledge that we'll never be able to collect what she's implying.

>>6108286
>Accept this version of the deal
I'm good with this myself. Conquering earth was never on my bucket list. We'll give Ye Min the world, she gives us true godhood. I'm not worried about earth being special, if Pheme's theory is right the System is literally an automated divinity harvest machine, it didn't originate here.

We gave us on this world a long time ago, why fight to keep it?

>>6108286
>Add a clause of protected people
People for her on Earth or whatever planet we are not allowed to mess with, and for us ones that should enjoy the same protections and blissful lives we get when "vacationing"
this should fall under equal trades so
>Add that, as long as we haven't discovered any other habitable planet, we're allowed on Earth fulltime and are allowed to make messes of places not yet under her control

>>6108286
>"A very enticing offer...but I refuse!"
>"It is not enough for me to win - others must lose."

>>6108286
>>Accept this version of the deal

>>6108289
>>6108316
>>6108410
>>6108530
>Would this system not favor you as the inventor and would this scrambling not make the deal meaningless?

>What of the unobservable universe? and parallel material planes of reality intersecting the slice?

“Unobservable or undocumented parts of the universe will be considered yours, as stated. Any alternate dimensions will be meted out on a first-come first-serve basis. Specifically, if you manage to breach into a reality, it becomes yours. Ah, also, though it isn’t an obligation, it’s probably wise to tell the other party when you’re working on a particular universe- to avoid unnecessary conflict, as it were.”

>Add a clause of protected people
People for her on Earth or whatever planet we are not allowed to mess with, and for us ones that should enjoy the same protections and blissful lives we get when "vacationing"
this should fall under equal trades so

“That can be arranged. Of course, the relevant party will be held liable for any shenanigans- though, at the scales we’ll be working at, one would have to do something quite extreme for it to be any more than a rounding error.”

>Add that, as long as we haven't discovered any other habitable planet, we're allowed on Earth fulltime and are allowed to make messes of places not yet under her control

“Of course- such endeavors will not be discouraged. On the contrary, I shall consider them a gift should the effect be useful enough to me.”

>Accept this version of the deal

“Well, I’d like to go over the contract with my associate here- and a few of my other pals who have an expertise in things like this- but I’ll let you know now that I intend to strike this deal. I need… four days should be sufficient. But, as you phrased it, I’m agreeing to agree.”

“Very well. I await a positive response. Keep in mind that if you come to the deal late- or act against me in the meantime- it shall be put on your tab, as it were.”

You turn and leave, a complicated emotion welling up in your gut, as Pheme disperses into a puff of feathers, following you as you exit through the front door.

>Confer with Pheme
>Confer with Pallas and Dorota
>Confer with Perdix
>Confer with the Pantheon
>Observe the cosmos
>Write-in

>>6109455

Forgot to address:
>Would this system not favor you as the inventor and would this scrambling not make the deal meaningless?

"It shouldn't be. I'll make it a part of the oath that, should it fail to be anything but completely impartial, we'll abandon that method and proceed with a more mundane method of negotiating."

>>6109455
>>Confer with Pheme
Oh boy, I wonder if we made the right decision, but it does put a weight off our chest if we have an ally like that

>>6109455
>Confer with Pheme
Guess we gotta convince the pantheon to side with Ye Min now
We can gain our last member as a spoil of war

>>6109486
Not really, we can use this to spring a trap too, and then ask Ye Min for all the epithets back, consolidate the pantheon to only people under our control

>>6109489
But I like Eris

>>6109469
>>6109486

>Confer with Pheme

You slip back into your <Realm>, then use your door to enter Pheme’s. A sweet aroma enters your nose- is she baking something?

She moves to greet you, lavender apron fluttering as she floats through the air and settles before you.

“Much to discuss, yes?”

You nod, and she gestures you to follow her to her study. As before, you take a seat on her couch as she sits across from you in her armchair.

“So, the deal with Chairman Min.”

You nod, “What are your thoughts?”

“First, let’s start objective, shall we? Firstly, she has essentially laid the groundwork for a much more equivalent long term bargain than the wording of the deal will suggest.”

“What do you mean?”

“Essentially, she’s going to help you, essentially with a blank check, during your time on earth and afterwards. She’s essentially set up a system where you start with all the money and she starts with all the stuff to buy- every major favor she does for you, she’s gonna ask for star systems, galaxies, etc. Of course, you have an essentially unlimited supply of these things, but I’d assume her long term aim is to take advantage of that fact to increase her growing room whenever it becomes necessary to do so by cashing in some of those favors.”

“Still, considering the essentially infinite nature of the cosmos, is that really a problem for me?”

She shakes her head, “If anything, it’s ideal. That is, assuming that both of you aim to use this universe as a jumping off point to replicate the tactics of the King or the entity behind the system- essentially, she’s offering you medium term benefits in exchange for short term benefits, with a mutual understanding that you’ll be fine splitting infinity between the two of you.”

“I do have some concerns about the potential significance of earth, though. Surely there’s some reason that both the System and the King emerged here.”

“Well, it’s possible. Then again, let me ask you a question: how many other intelligent species are out there in the universe?”

“I dunno. Universe is pretty big so, high?”

“Honestly, it’s a heated debate, academically speaking. There are many habitable planets- billions of billions of billions in the observable universe alone. However, we have basically no idea what the odds of life starting on any given habitable planet are, right? Additionally, from rough estimates to the genesis of life to now, it took 4 billion years for intelligence to evolve. It’ll be less than a billion more before the world becomes inhospitable for complex organisms- assuming that’s the standard, and considering how early life started here on earth, that’s a pretty unforgiving window. Us being the only thing cognizant enough to consent to a god’s interference would explain the lack of cosmic horror apocalypse.”

>>6109519

“Still, there are so many planets out there- surely one has SOMETHING capable of drawing in an entity like the King. And we’d certainly know if it succeeded. In such a case, the only explanations for our continued existence would be either <Barriers> between parts of the universe or <Some Special Property> of some locations in general or, in the worst case scenario for this deal, Earth specifically.”

“I'm not so sure- even the timescale of tens of thousands of years is enough for a solar system to move a lot, in human terms. Though, supposing it was large enough, it could explain the discrepancy- the odds of intelligent life are low enough, factor in a locational requirement and suddenly we have low odds, even for the whole universe.”

“Regardless, we don’t need it to happen organically: all we need to do is find someplace with sufficient <Cosmic Thinness> or whatever, and set up shop there. In fact, in the whole galaxy, we probably will find someplace more suitable than earth.”

“Agreed. Now, onto personal opinions,” she leans back in her chair, sighing deeply, then crosses her arms with a slight pout, “I really don’t like it.”

“I get what you mean.” You agree, pouring yourself a glass of wine, “It feels.. cheap. Like using cheat codes in a video game.”

A timer rings, interrupting your moping session.

“Ah, it’s done!”

“What are you making?”

“Cream puffs. Let me go deal with that real quick.”

She leaves, allowing you to collect your thoughts.

>Think of more questions about the deal (specify)
>Ask for other strategy or intel (specify)
>Ask about <Arts> and <Rituals> (specify)
>Wait for her to wrap up
>Leave to do something else (specify)
>Write-in

>>6109521
>Who is to say the system only exists on Earth, sure, it's Greek inspired, but it would probably use the other planet's mythology for them, wouldn't it?
>or the King trying to breach only this reality and on only this planet.
>plot out an amendment to the deal if it turns out that Earth is the only "special" planet after all

>>6109521
>>Ask about <Arts> and <Rituals> (specify)
push her for the other ritual she didn't tell us about

>>6109521
>wait for her to come back
Asked all the detail questions I can think of, other than “ do you want to back out now before she has my soul signature?”

>>6109530
Rather not do this, she’s having fun keeping it secret and she’s the one being we absolutely trust

>>6109521
>Ask about <Arts> and <Rituals> (specify)
Had a chance to look over the Shaman's ritual?

>>6109521
> Like using cheat codes in a video game.
An apt comparison. I voted for the deal, but part of me oddly hopes that Ye Min get assassinated somehow, and lands us back into the madhouse. Like, taking the deal makes sense, but it feels too easy.

>>6110158
We do know Dove wanted to take her down
Oh no, she might want to take us down too now that we’re teaming up

>>6110173
Ideally when we finish our current adventure I'd like to really focus on mastering Sunday Best. I feel like that's our best physical combat improvement we can make.

>>6109528
>>6109530
>>6109554
>>6109617

Pheme returns, plopping back into her chair as you collect your thoughts. Surprisingly, she’s empty handed.

“Where’s the food? Did you fuck it up somehow?”

You see her lips part slightly in confusion as she pauses for a moment. She sounds out a chuckle as they contort into a smug smile.

“Never baked before, hmm?”

A frown subconsciously emerges on your face: cooking, particularly baking, was a passion of your mother’s. One of the few that stayed with her til the end.

“Whether it be bread, tarts, cheesecake, or cream puffs,” she lectures, flicking her wrist in a flash of onyx divinity, “It is paramount to allow your baked goods to cool after you take it out of the oven. With some stuff, it doesn’t matter if you eat it hot and fresh, but with some things, especially ones that have setting times, fillings, or cream toppings, proceeding prematurely can ruin the whole dish. If I filled up the puffs now, for example, the whipped cream would melt.”

“...isn’t cream already a liquid?”

She looks at you like you just asked if the earth orbits the moon.

“Cream is, sure, but whipped cream is a colloid. A foam. The air inside is what gives it the volume, structure, and texture- and the cohesion to stay as a nice filling instead of a soggy mess.”

As she wraps up her explanation, a dish with a tall glass lid, bathed in black light, settles down on the table in front of you. Precipitation creates a fog-like effect on the cold cover as she pulls it off, revealing a platter of appetizing (though admittedly slightly sloppy) cream puffs.

“I thought you said they weren’t done?”

“This is yesterday’s batch.”

“If you have all of these, then why make another so soon?”

She picks one up, poking out her tongue to lick up a stray bit of the filling, “When I was a kid, my grandmother used to make these. She had an old book of recipes, but.. my father lost them. After we moved, he put most of the family stuff in a storage unit and, well, despite having all the money he could ask for, he neglected to pay. So, it’s gone forever. There was something really distinctive about the taste but I still haven’t gotten them quite right.”

You pick one up, popping the whole thing into your mouth. A hint of floral fragrance melts onto your tongue, complementing the subtle sweetness of the cool cream and choux.

“What’s in these?”

“Rose water.” She answers, biting down on the one in her hand, “Did you know? My grandparents on my father’s side actually immigrated here from Turkey. Rose water is one of the cornerstones of Turkish cuisine, so I thought maybe it might be that.”

“Were you right?”

“Maybe. I think I’m on the right track with it, but something is definitely missing.”

“Regardless,” you say, reaching for another puff, “They’re tasty.”

>>6110245

She smiles, “I’m glad you think so. So, did you have any more questions?”

>Who is to say the system only exists on Earth, sure, it's Greek inspired, but it would probably use the other planet's mythology for them, wouldn't it?

“Hmm. It’s possible, but the progression’s been too fast. Maybe it was introduced recently, but if it was a long enough time ago, even as brief as a few decades, we’d probably already have multiple gods running around if that were the case.”

“I dunno dude, maybe there are? The universe is big enough.”

“Well, you aren’t wrong about that. Regardless, if you think it’s significant, some sort of “Earth specialness” clause might be in order- though I’d be surprised if she didn’t push back on it even if she didn’t have such notions at all.”

>About the Shaman’s ritual?

“It’s masterful- but that's all I can really say. I’m like a kid who just learned how to do Chopsticks on piano looking at Bach compose- the difference in skill is too great for me to draw any meaningful conclusions. I think I’ll need to do a bit more research and practice first.”

>Hang out for a bit
>Ask additional questions (specify)
>Meet with another associate (specify)
>Practice an <Art> (specify)
>Investigate China
>Investigate the League
>Write-in

>>6110246
>Hang out for a bit
>Practice an <Art> (specify)
Your's Truly. Let's focus on that until just before the meetup. Though we do need to decide what to do about that.

Feels like a good opportunity to murder our way to the top.

>>6110246
>Hang out for a bit
>Meet with another associate (specify)
Eris. I want to try getting her and the rest of the pantheon on board. Infinite wealth and authority are pretty easy to share, after all.

>>6110293
Eris wants to destroy the world. Ye Min wants to make it a Utopia. They're in direct conflict.

>>6110392
Goals aren’t always static
Gaia’s existence has already changed Eris’ plans once
I bet we could talk her around
Or even find her another world to destroy eventually

>>6110246
>Hang out for a bit
>point out that she seems happy

>>6110246
>Hang out for a bit
>Practice an <Art> (specify)
Yours Truly
See what <Atë> has to say

For the deal I also want to know which other deals she has struck already

>>6110258
>>6110293
>>6110508
>>6110727

>Hang out for a bit

“Well, since I’m already here, wanna hang out for a bit? It’s been a while since we’ve actually done anything, y’know, not world domination related.”

“You know I’m game. What’ll it be?”

“Trash TV?”

She smirks, rising from her seat.

~

“Dude, is this bitch fucking serious?”

“I know, right? Total ho.”

You shift underneath the blankets, reaching for a clumsy handful of popcorn as a reality TV show (pure slop) plays. The two of you had spent the better part of an hour mocking the melodramatic goings on, treating it as if it were much more real than it probably was. Currently, a mid twenties Mexican woman is attempting to gaslight her pudgy pushover American “husband” (it’s a ‘married at first sight’ type deal) into ignoring obvious evidence of her flagrant unfaithfulness.

“God, that dude is such a fucking worm, though. I have ZERO pity for him. Like, even if we assumed that he’s getting paid to be a doormat, you’ve gotta be spineless to put up with someone talking to you like that.”

“Well, that’s not super uncommon, especially in guys. Put a big enough rack in front of their faces and their backbone and brain make a joint exit.”

You snicker, putting a hand in front of your mouth to shield the couch from any stray popcorn bits, “Trueee. Still, it IS pathetic.”

Pheme chuckles, agreeing with the sentiment as the argument rages on in the background.

~

After binging more of the show than you’d like to admit, Pheme decides to turn in for bed. Due to all the travel, your circadian rhythm is thrown off enough to remain fully alert, with enough energy to spare to train <Yours Truly>.

You close your eyes, your own soul washing over you as you delve into the sunset and the sea.

>Strings
>Light
>Ocean
>Self
>Shackles
>Write-in

>>6110810
>Light
Every time I see all those options I feel how accurate woefully incomplete is

>>6110810
>Strings

Let's pay Eris a visit. (Also, damn it, I meant to say Sunday Best!)

>>6110818
I can back this if possible but I don’t think we have a contract with Eris

>>6110823

It was a long time ago, but the two of you signed a nonaggression pact.

>>6110817
>>6110818

>Strings: Eris

Threads appear on your hands, and, as before, you ignore the ones on your fingertips. Coiled around your wrist are four strings- black, gray, gold, bronze. You exhale- you can do this. You survived Perdix’s world, and you proved that you can exert your soul over others: in the soulscape of the <Lotus Tree>, and in the <Revenant’s Parade>, you proved that <Yours Truly> can allow you to impose yourself over the souls of others.

Killing the incarnation and stealing possession of their soul- those are the two things you can’t do. The <System>, of course, will stop you, but you can alter the soulscape a whole lot so long as you don’t try to do that one thing. You remember wreaking havoc on the <Island>, flooding the world, slaughtering the people below, and irrevocably altering the landscape. You also know that the subconscious world of a person’s soulscape creates tangible, real world effects on their personality: fear from the tree, conflict from Brigita, and trust and affection with Marie.

You calm your raging heart- the fear of death looms over you as you tug the golden thread. After all, though you aren’t allowed to kill Eris, you, the invader, probably do not bear the same protection. Regardless, you’ve steeled your resolve: even if you don’t fully subjugate her today, you’re determined to find a way to master this aspect of <Yours Truly>.

Dazzling yellow light bathes you as you fall through the abyss.

~


You descend onto the ruins of a building. Golden fragments of buildings, infrastructure, and even natural features like forests or trees surround you. Golden sand has, in some places, melted into misty yellow glass on the ground beneath, cracking as you step on it. The ruins of towering skyscrapers loom over you, still glittering with a yellow luster even as they lean and crumble under their own weight.

The city is completely uninhabited, even by corpses. However, despite the lack of bodies, the stench of charred flesh is almost unbearable, and you can’t suppress the feeling of being watched.

Eventually, you turn your eyes up: bathing the world in shimmering radiance, a blinding manor hovers in the sky above you. At a glance, you recognize it as Ashley’s.

>Explore the city
>Fly up to the manor
>Investigate the smell
>Investigate the feeling of being watched
>Write-in

>>6110946
>Fly up to the manor
It's polite to say hello

>>6110946
>>Investigate the smell
she's rotten to the core

and I still want her gone, not as a friend
(phoneposting)

>>6110946
>Investigate the smell
most interesting thing

>>6110955
>>6111075
>>6111280

>Investigate the smell

The stench of burning, of melting skin and the rancid, wretched aroma of boils roiling and bursting, fills you with unpleasant memories of your recent brush with death. As you dwell on that negativity, you feel the resolidified pavement beneath you quiver.

Something is underneath the ground.

You close your eyes, dredging up memories of pain, the agony of disfigurement. The city trembles. The isolation, the feeling of being treated like an eyesore by everyone: family, peers. Mom. The world shakes violently the crumbling edifices of the buildings around you collapsing in on their own weight as a deafening rumble threatens to annihilate everything.

“I’m gonna have to ask you to stop.”

A familiar voice rings out behind you. Familiar, but.. not Ashley’s. You wheel around and, to your shock, a telltale grin you’ve grown accustomed to seeing flashes back at you.

“...Pheme?”

Her smile widens, “The one and only. Atë, was it? Or do you prefer to go by Rosa Huber?”

Hearing her not recognize you- or rather, not recognize <you>, stirs an unpleasant feeling in your gut that’s difficult for you to articulate.

“Either is fine. Why stop me?”

“You were about to level this place to the ground.”

“Already looks pretty leveled to me.”

“Well, it’s a fixer-upper, sure. But look, really look. This is all 24 karat gold! If we can find a way to harness this place, we could sell it for a fortune!”

“Sell it to who? And for what?”

Her mouth moves, but it’s like she’s talking underwater: only the formless thrum of a voice carries through as she attempts to explain.

>Keep talking with “Pheme”
>Ignore her and continue what you were doing
>Explore the city
>Fly up to the manor
>Write-in

>>6111409
>>Keep talking with “Pheme”
>Ask if we should pan for gold down there

>>6111409
>Fly up to the manor
An illusion created for soul defense perhaps?

>>6111416
Support. Let's see what "Pheme"s project is. Does Eris want to be Pheme? Sees her as a protector?

>>6111416
>>6111422
>>6111489

>Keep talking with “Pheme”

“Regardless,” You say, sitting down on a vaguely chair-shaped bit of golden detritus, “I can’t understand your desire to defend this place. It’s already a ruin- even if there were earthquakes and stuff, all the actual gold would still be there. If anything, it’d be easier to harvest.”

She cocks her head in confusion, “Ruin? I mean it’s not perfect or anything but it’s not like it’s in shambles.”

“What? The buildings are all collapsed, the plants are all dead, and there aren’t even any people down here other than you and me.”

“What are you talking about? The city is filled with people.”

You cast your gaze back at the city. The aroma of burning meat tingles at your nose. A smoke without fire. The world is silent.

You shake your head, “Not a soul.”

“You’re delusional. How could you not see the value in all of this? Doesn’t tearing it all down seem like such a waste?”

You pick up a golden stone from the ground, casually fiddling with it. “Hey, Pheme. What’s this place called, anyway?”

“Not sure. I’ve nicknamed it ‘El Dorado’. The city of gold.”

“Would you like to rule El Dorado?”

“Of course. It’s the only rational course of action.”

“Did you ALWAYS want to rule El Dorado?”

“...”

You rise, smiling with recognition as you turn to look at the city.

“Did you know?” You toss the rock, catching it in your hand, “Nothing in this world has intrinsic value. Instead, how much something is worth is based on how much you want it- and how much other people want it- relative to other things.”

“Marginal utility theory, I’m aware.”

“Precisely. Thinking about it, it’s irrational to covet a city for its gold if the whole world is made of the stuff. Why would anyone buy it if they can just pick it up from the ground?”

“...”

“Everything is worthless in a vacuum, Pheme. Isn’t that right?”

She remains silent and perfectly still, more like a statue than a person.

You chuckle, an auxiliary pair of arms jutting from your shoulder blades and cracking, bending, stretching into a pair of fleshy wings. You lift off the ground, observing the ruined remains of the world beneath.

A ruined city, an empty world. The smell of suffering and a pile of worthless gold. Pheme remaining behind, insisting that it would be more valuable to preserve and rule it than to lay waste to garbage and create something new from the ashes.

This, you conclude, is how Eris sees the world.

>Explore the city
>Destroy the city
>Fly up to the manor
>Write-in

>>6111497

>Destroy the city
>Dig up things better forgotten
We know a thing or two about how baggage limits a person in the soulscape.

>>6111497
>Explore the city

>>6111497
this pheme is an aspect of her that still wants to save a rotten world... though maybe also something that eris herself buried
>>Explore the city

>>6111535
>>6111538
>>6111860

>Explore the city

You fly through the ruins, an urban wasteland that seems to stretch on forever. You notice that, the farther you get from the ground, the lesser the stench of rot goes. Also of note, the glittering manor above seems to follow you as you soar through the city, no matter how far or fast you fly.

Eventually, something noteworthy catches your eye: a small, unnatural looking hill stands proud, saffron blades of grass jutting from its golden dirt serving as the only source of life in the entire city.

You recognize the structure from one of the gen-eds you took in college: this is a burial mound.

As you approach it, the smell of charring strengthens, a wretched miasma of rot and putrefaction blending into the odor, growing in intensity the closer you come to reaching the tomb.

>Dig up the mound
>Ask Pheme about the mound
>Leave it be
>Write-in

>>6112026
>>Dig up the mound
sacrilege!

>>6112026
>Ask “Pheme” about the mound

>>6112026
>Dig up the mound
When in doubt, grave rob

>>6112031
>>6112039
>>6112044

>Dig up the mound

As you sink your claws into the sod, you feel a soft pliability almost like flesh as black mud pours out from where your talons pierced the earth. The mound quivers, writhing with each swipe of your hands as you trudge through the rancid grime.

In a matter of seconds, you tunnel through the dirt, your enhanced physical capabilities making it a trivial task: the only difficult part was bearing the stench as you dug further and further in. Your skin tingles with pain as the highly acidic conditions of the tomb eat away at your skin, black muck and white-yellow pockets of puss and fungus drench your clothes as you stand above the central chamber of the mound: an ornately decorated golden sarcophagus, made to resemble Ashley as you knew her. Locks of graying blonde locks jut from the gap between the base and the lid and, as you extend your arm to open it, the coffin quakes.

A deafening wail rings out from inside, bursting the vessels in your ears and sending you reeling. The mound trembles, threatening to collapse, so you instinctively plunge your claws into the malleable golden casket before making a mad dash for the exit. You regenerate yourself, tumbling clumsily onto the ground as you drop the massive counterweight that is Ashleys sarcophagus.

You hear a quiet sob leak from inside as a withered, reddened arm pushes the lid open.

The sight is dreadful- a wrinkled, gaunt woman, her warped flesh only covered by a loose hospital gown. A painted face mask rests upon its head, obscured slightly by greasy gray hairs, but unmistakably the visage of Ashley.

“W H O A R E Y O U ?” the figure rasps out as it moves towards you, its bones creaking and joints popping as it lumbers towards you, “W H Y A R E Y O U H E R E ?”

>”Atë.”
>”A friend,”
>”An enemy,”
>”A thief,”
>”Man, you really are ugly.”
>Write-in

>>6112053
>”A friend,”
She abandoned you didn't she? Just like everyone else. Buried you alive and burned the world, all desperately trying to get as far away from you as she can.

But I'm here to help you.

>>6112053
>A friend

>>6112053
>A friend of Pheme
>Tell "Pheme" we dug up something valuable
and then i think we should stealthily get out of here before the real Eris notices

>>6112075
>>6112093
>>6112462

>”A friend,”

You say, “Of yours. I know what it’s like to be at rock bottom- and I know what it’s like to stay there even when.. someone else, another part of you, is living it up like that.”

“Is that so?” Unlike before, the lips of the mask itself move. Rotting skin and teeth show beneath the golden mouth, “Because I don’t think you DO get it. I don’t think you have any idea what I’ve been through,”

You resist the urge to spit back something nasty- she hasn’t endured an OUNCE of what you have. Even her ‘hell’ was something you’d have gladly accepted in exchange for what you had before all this.

“Let me ask you something, hmm? A pauper and a prince receive the same meal, a five star course from the prince’s professional chef.” The wretched figure circles around you, eyeing you as a wolf does a bison near death, “Who appreciates it more?”

“The pauper, I guess.”

“Hmm, that’s correct. The prince, of course, has become accustomed to luxury. To him, that is “normal”. Thus, it can only be enjoyed to a certain extent. What of the reverse? To the prince and the pauper, a piece of stale and moldy bread. Who reviles it more?”

“...you don’t talk like Ashley.”

The ghoul’s mouth opens, “NOT ASHLEY. NOT SINCE THEN.” The mask supplements, “Did you know? In ancient Byzantium, they blinded royals in lieu of execution. The lack of sight- the inability to see the future of the nation, to read and sign bills into laws, and to command troops on the frontlines, was seen as disqualifying for a regent.”

“Learn that one from Marie?”

“DO NOT SAY HER NAME.” The ghoul roars, “We don’t know a Marie,” the mask spits.

“Look,” you say, crossing your arms, “I’m not here to have a victim Olympics, I’m here to offer you a way out. Strike a deal with me, and I’ll take you from down here to up there.”

“...You really don’t get it, do you?” The mask asks, “You really don’t understand us.”

This bitch is starting to tick you off.

>Disqualified?
>Ruins?
>Vengeance?
>Burial?
>Skin?
>Write-in

>>6112892
>Disqualified?

>>6112892
>Disqualified?
Damn, sorry for not knowing you completely after 15 seconds

>>6112908
>>6112919

>Disqualified?


“Just like a blinded Byzantine emperor or whatever,” You say, glaring back at the masked figure, “You don’t consider yourself qualified to be Ashley, do you?”

The ghoul snarls, and the mask laughs, “That’s quite right, my dear. That being said, allow me to return to the matter of the pauper and the prince.”

“Do tell,” you say, injecting a bite of sarcasm that you know she’ll glaze over.

“Yes, I will. Tell me, girl, a pauper who had been eating stale bread since the day he was born, since before he remembered, will never feel the agony of falling from grace. I can guess what your world looks like, just by having known you for as briefly as you’ve known me.”

Her yellowed, decaying fingernails scrape the ground as she begins to crawl on all fours, her legs stretching and widening as she continues to circle around you, “Natural and empty. So very cruel, but… only recognizable as such to someone who ‘knows’. Desert? No, no, too hostile. And a field would be too nice. You seem like…”

She stops in front of your face, her towering height grand enough to meet your eyes even hunched over on her hands and feet. She lifts a finger, placing it on your forehead.

“An ocean girl. Yesss, a vast, empty sea. So grand, so powerful, so LONELY. Am I off base?”

You scowl, and the mask lets out another peal of laughter, “Yes, yes, I know you. I’ve had my EYES on you for so very long, my love.”

You’ve underestimated Eris, not as an incarnation, but as a person. Unlike you, a passive watcher who’s gained her canny for observation and cold reading by viewing the lives of others impassively from the sidelines, Ashley is a seasoned manipulator, playing the game for longer than you’ve been alive before experiencing your role in the audience ever since her disfigurement.

“...What is it that you want from me?”

“I knew,” the mask taunts, “That you would be a traitor. That you were a rat, just like the rest. I knew, though the girl wouldn’t listen.” The ghoul sobs quietly as the mask continues, “In so many ways, you are like her- that’s what Ashley thought. But no, no, you aren’t like her, and you aren’t like me. Hehe, though I suppose you are, insofar as they’re like anyone else.”

“What do you want?” You spit, more of a demand than a question.

“Hmmm.” The mask stills, and the ghoul speaks: “G U E S S.”

>An ally
>A friend
>A chronicler
>An exit ticket
>A victim
>Write-in

>>6112931
Ugh, what does she want
All she's really complained about is how active Ashley doesn't listen to her
She sounds like she's disqualified herself from becoming active Ashley so she wouldn't want that
Plus she already turned it down in the last post now that I reread
I guess
>An ally
Not for her, but for active Ashley up in the sky

>>6112931
>An audience

A sad cry for attention maybe more like us than we care to admit

>>6112931
>"you're the prince who wants pity from the pauper, because you lost oh so much."
>"I already freed you and you don't say thanks, you want more pity."
>"Get your priorities straight, Ill be back tomorrow."

Waiting on a tiebreaker- will decide randomly in a few hours (or whenever it is I check back in) in the event that one is not made.

>>6113144
I'll support this. A narcissist craves attention more than anything.

>>6112981
>>6113092
>>6113144
>>6113439

You sigh, the frustration welling up in your gut finally overpowering your patience.

“So let me get this straight:” your <Figure> twitches beneath your skin, “You want me, the <Pauper> to throw you a fucking pity party because you lost oh so much? Because I can never understand your “Struggle”?”

The mask smiles enigmatically, while the ghoul bares its teeth, trembling with rage as you continue:

“Let me flip your question back at you. ‘Can the pauper understand the hardships of the price?’ Obviously not. But the prince can’t understand the pauper either! You’ll never know what it’s like to feel that despair of everything sucking, the hopelessness of not knowing anything else, the fucking PAIN of NEVER being loved by ANYBODY! More than that, throughout your entire “miserable” life, have you ever even had to bow your head to anyone? To feel what it’s like to be at the fucking bottom? Even at your lowest, you had more than enough to survive. You don’t get to cry to me.”

The mask laughs, “Well, that might be true. Fundamentally, though, I don’t care! My suffering, my pain matters. Yours is broadly irrelevant. That is the irrationality of the human condition- to envy those who by all accounts are off worse than you, to lower their agony to nothing and elevate your own grievances with the world or your life to be the center of the universe.”

“So what are you trying to get at here?”

“You are no different, of course. You do the same thing. And yet, oddly, you pretend to be rational! You pretend like you care about the logistics, and the numbers, and the game- you escape into it. You craft your image around it, even to yourself. Fundamentally, though, you want the same thing, don’t you? It’s not enough for you to win…”

“..Everyone else needs to lose.”

“Bingo! Someone get this woman a prize!”

“But I’m better than that- better than my basic desire to watch shit burn. Unlike you, I actually have a long term plan in all of this.”

>>6114274

“Hmmm..? ‘Better’ is interesting. Aren’t we long past ‘better’?”

“Better as in rational- better as in making choices that will get me what I ultimately want.”

“Aaaah, but you contradict yourself-” the ghoul extends, black pus and bile leaking out of it as its torso liquefies and stretches, a vomit-inducing metamorphosis of more and more arms, longer and longer as she falls to the ground, a centipede-like mass of limbs and leathery skin slinks around you, encircling you as she moves, “You SAY you’re getting what you want, but you’re compromising yourself. Neglecting one of the deepest desires in any soul which has suffered- R E T R I B U T I O N.”

You shrug, “Honestly, girl, revenge is super overrated. I’m petty, sure, and I’d enjoy fucking over the people who fucked me over, don’t get me wrong, but when push comes to shove, I really don’t care that much. There are things in life that matter more.”

The ghoul wails, ‘YOU CHANGE,” while the mask stays silent.

“Look, I get the gist of what you want from me, but in all honesty, I just can’t help you out with it. I freed you from your tomb, though, so, maybe we can make some other type of deal?”

“NOT FREED. DISTURBED.” the ghoul spits, “Speak for yourself,” the mask scoffs, “I hated it in there. Regardless, I don’t want to help you with.. whatever it is you’re planning. I like where things are at, all things considered. With your help or without it, this world is going down.”

You shrug- it seems like you’ve reached an impasse

>Leave the realm
>Fly up to the manor
>Find “Pheme”
>Write-in

>>6114275

>Leave the realm

>>6114275
>>Leave the realm
does MC really think "everyone else must lose", or is it just something we tell ourselves? We do have people we care about

>>6114275
>Find ‘Pheme’

>>6114369
They count as extensions of us for that line of thinking

>>6114369

>Honestly, girl, revenge is super overrated. I’m petty, sure, and I’d enjoy fucking over the people who fucked me over, don’t get me wrong, but when push comes to shove, I really don’t care that much. There are things in life that matter more.

The takeaway I have here is that we're growing past revenge. Our goals are shifting from "fuck everyone" to "actually be happy".

>>6114405
>They count as extensions of us for that line of thinking
either way we're deluding ourselves

>>6114282
>>6114369
>>6114405

>Leave the realm

You flick your wrist, colors of the sunset exploding from your skin as you begin to levitate, then drop, falling through the warped ground of the realm as if it was never there. You plummet, the muck and grime washing off of your body as crimson seawater bathes you.

~

Your eyes open- it seems like morning in the states (and by extension in your <Realm>). What should you do?

>Go back to China
>Ask your pantheon for a change of plans
>Coordinate the details of your treachery against the Anti-China League with Ye Min
>Practice <Arts>
>Ask Pallas for <Soulscape> advice
>Write-in

>>6114603
>Ask your Pantheon for a change of plans
Rather not start over from scratch with them

>>6114603
>Ask your pantheon for a change of plans

What's the plan? Coordinate with Ye Min to ambush the League between us and Ye Min? I suppose we could say we met her, and Omen just straight told us we were utterly fucked, but fortunately she's willing to use us rather than obliterate us.

Maybe we try to sell the idea that Ye Min growing in power will result in escalation of the rest of the world, hastening the demise of the world? Eris's goal is a world engulfed in war, we need to phrase it in support of that idea.

Gonna die laughing if we meet wjth the anti-china league and they're like, "oh, sure, our one dude will join your pantheon for the bonuses, no prob"

I just hope we have a few days to practice <Sunday Best>.

>>6114603
>>Ask Pallas for <Soulscape> advice
I really dont want to buddy up with our pantheon too much
but im curious to see if Eris changed or noticed

>>6114644
We could also share the benefits she promised
Infinite wealth and authority is easy to split several ways

>>6114693
That's an infinity we don't have yet.

>>6114699
Yeah I’m not saying right now, I’m saying we let them know those benefits are on the table with this deal

>>6114620
>>6114646
>>6114678
>>6114693

>Ask your pantheon for a change of plans

You send a missive to all the members of your pantheon (and knock on Dorota’s door and ask her to come with you). As usual, you meet at Eris’s place, with the notable absence of Jen.

“Our compatriot has some important personal matters to attend to,” Saanvi says, planting herself in her own chair, notably as the last to arrive, “So, as Eris may confirm, I have been chosen to represent her in the negotiations.”

Dorota releases a hollow chuckle, “And we are supposed to accept this? The embodiment of lies getting what is basically double the seats at the table?”

“Well, Atë gets to have two as well, no?” Saanvi fires back, “since we still let her lapdog attend our little meetings.”

Dorota just smiles, shrugging off the insult. Knowing her, she might have even taken it as a compliment.

“Let's not waste time, ladies.” Eris interjects, “Why are we here, again?”

“The circumstances have changed.” You declare, “Based on some recent developments, it's in our best interests to target the League instead of Ye Min.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

>Mention the deal with Ye Min
>Mention Athena’s power
>Mention a secondary objective
>Use an authority (specify)
>Fabricate a lie (specify)
>Refuse to divulge
>Write-in

>>6115281
>Mention the deal
>Mention her power

It was already a close decision in our first meeting, this ought to tip it

>>6115281
>Mention Athena’s power
I'd rather keep the deal all to ourselves.

>>6115501
>I'd rather keep the deal all to ourselves.
but why
that's the main selling point of the change

>>6115281
>>6115501
+1 for the same reason
I want to use ye min to get rid of our pantheon too

>>6115305
>>6115501
>>6115511
>>6115903

>Mention Athena’s power

“I’ve done some recon in China and the situation is far worse than I had anticipated.” You say, telling the truth but deciding to omit the matter of the deal, “She’s a monster- she can seemingly be in a hundred places at once, constantly observing every major populated area via a complex net of surveillance systems and consciousness splitting. She’s a one woman army who also happens to have an actual army.”

You drop the intel regarding Ye Min’s top subordinates, the Round Table, in front of you as you continue, allowing your allies to flip through the files.

“I’ll be blunt.” You say, “Each and every member of the Round is stronger than this Pantheon’s par. Without me and Narges, I doubt the whole group working together could take down one.”

Isabella cocks her head, “While I’m not sure I agree with the assessment, I can’t dismiss it out of hand. The fight would be close.”

Eris clicks her tongue, “Still, isn’t that exactly WHY we need to take China down a peg? If we start clearing out everything keeping them in check, and if it’s impossible for us to win now, how the hell are we supposed to take over the world after they’re completely uncontested?”

>Propose the plan to leave Earth
>Propose a plan to become <Deities>
>Argue that the power you’ll gain will be sufficient to fight back later
>Write-in

>>6115945
>Argue in favor of what she said last time - if China pulls ahead even more, the rest of the world will put aside their differences and unite against them. Our pantheon can be the catalyst for that.

>>6115949
I'll support this. But of course Eris was right all along.

>>6115949
>>6115967

“I think we disregarded Eris’s idea a little too early- in no small part due to an underestimation of Ye Min.” You say, leaning back in your seat, “If she’s this strong, the world really will have no choice but to rally against her if we deal significant damage to the Anti-China league. If we attack now, people will only assume that China was involved, even if it wasn’t, and can use the killing of Ng as a pretext for denunciation and potentially war.”

“Still, I don’t like how much uncertainty is involved,” Saanvi argues, “We have no way of knowing what the reaction of the world will be.”

“Plus, especially if there’s enough power involved for Atë to be this spooked, we can’t deny the possibility of Ye Min actually winning,” Isabella adds, “If that happens, the whole operation is basically caput.”

“Actually, thought I had: do we really want a member of our pantheon to be wrapped up in the government?” Eris argues, “Remember, Pantheon members can track each other’s locations. Are we sure we’re willing to let the League have that much intel on us all the time?”

You nod in agreement, but Isabella seems unconvinced, “I dunno, it seems… unnecessarily gambley, I guess. Especially since we still have to worry about the Uncrowned King and all.”

“We don’t have to eliminate the whole league.” You say, “Just Ng, just one guy. It’ll be a blow, but we don’t have to completely kneecap the whole organization.”

Isabella, Saanvi (And Jen by extension) vote to stick to the current plan, while Eris, yourself, and Dorota vote to switch to a covert assassination. The table looks to Narges to break the tie.

“I have no particular preference.” She says, her voice reverberating through the steel of her helmet, “But… I want to fight that Japanese swordsman. Grasscutter’s wielder. What was his name again?”

“Hajime Kobayashi- or I guess, Kobayashi Hajime by Japanese convention.” Isabella chimes in, “Still, some of these Round Table guys seem pretty tough- wouldn’t it be just as good to fight them?”

“It isn’t about the fight. I want <Grasscutter>.”

“Pretty different from the sword you normally use,” you say.
“I am actually trained mostly in saber and longsword combat. I just use this blade because it was the best one I could get my hands on.”

“Well, fine, you can have your duel,” Eris says, waving her hand, “In that case, by a vote of 4:3, we have agreed to change the plan. We convene at the same place in.. we’ll call it five days exactly from now. Meeting dismissed.”

Saanvi gives you an inscrutable expression as you and your shadow vanish back into your realm.

You’ve been given a small extension to prepare. How should you spend the time?

>Practice <Arts> (specify)
>Develop a fighting style
>Work on music
>Check in on your messages with Prometheus
>Write-in

>>6115990
>Ask Narges for a spar

>>6115990
>Practice Arts
Fetters carried us pretty hard in the ADAM fight
Though really I’d prefer to develop some mental Arts

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Rolling for a tiebreaker

>>6115993
>>6116013

>Practice <Arts> (Fetters)

Returning to your room, you decide to hone your <Arts>: specifically, <Fetters of Atë> has proven itself invaluable in combat: though the helmets used by ADAM seemed to invalidate the mind altering effect, you speculate that it’s because of either their own personal grit or because their helmets are made to target you: in theory, you should be able to use it to bypass system defense against mind altering effects in general.

Then again, its use as a weapon, and as a tool to distract or restrain an opponent, might be even more valuable than that. You have plenty of mind control, but your offensive tools are more sparse than you’d like: there’s a reason you’ve been prioritizing durability and speed, after all.

You manifest the fetters, allowing them to play at your fingertips as you contemplate: you seem to be on the verge of a breakthrough- your inner self is more unified than it ever has been (at least since you were aware of the soulscape), and you’ve been training it for a while.

You close your eyes: what do you see?

>The binds around the mind
>An unbreakable cage
>A deadly whip
>A hundred arms
>The fetters, as they are, reforged
>Write-in

>>6116128
>The binds around the mind
I like the mental theme more than becoming just another bruiser
Could go for unbreakable cage too though

>>6116128
>A deadly whip
A mundane whip moves at the speed of sound. A divine whip...

As an aside, I'd like to spend some time developing an attack that let's us just unleash a fuckton of divinity at once. We have perhaps the largest divine pool on the planet, it'd be good to be able to use it as a weapon.

>>6116128
>>The binds around the mind

>>6116130
>>6116145
>>6116377

>The binds around the mind

Five days pass in continuous training- you don’t eat, drink, or sleep by any means besides collapsing from exhaustion. Thanks to <A Thousand Faces> and <Regeneration>, you find yourself capable of auto-cannibalizing indefinitely, your body consuming itself for sustenance as you continue to perfect your <Art>.

Fundamentally, the <Fetters of Atë> work by harnessing the soul, the <Impetus> of a person and using it as fuel to keep them in place- the durability doesn’t even factor into the equation if the subject is too enthralled to escape.

<Touch of Madness> is a complicated thing, since you can freely manipulate that illusion to an incredible extent. The <Fetters> in their current state are much more simple, but in that directness there is power- they fully use the desires, the will, the basis of <Divinity> against the user, leaving very little to be done for the user once a target is ensnared. Still, if you focus, you could probably <Filter> for specific types of desires to affect the illusions, though it would significantly weaken the effect.

You extend your hand- the chains are thinner, almost invisible, as they delicately move through the air. Their ability to exert physical force is almost non-existent, but in exchange, their effects on the mind are heightened and, so long as they succumb, they become completely unbreakable. Additionally, you find that you can use them to conduct any of your mind-altering authorities and miracles- most notably, that includes <Thelematoxin>.

At first you lament the loss of power, but you realize that you aren’t working in the system anymore: it’s still completely possible to manifest the previous <Fetters>. The new ones are almost like a wholly new art- no, more like the martial arts forms that Pallas was telling you about.

>Fetters of Atë: First Link (Unnamed): Effective Level: 12

The chains become essentially weightless, unable to cause any meaningful physical damage to a target. In exchange, their mind-altering and divinity siphoning effect is greatly enhanced, and, once they bind a person, no degree of physical strength is capable of breaking them. The <Fetters> may only be shattered by an exceptional strength of <Impetus> or powerful willpower attainable only by thorough training in the denial of worldly desires.

>Optional write-in, name the art

You rise, making yourself presentable before beginning your flight to Seoul. You remind yourself of the potential dangers. Pheme had given you intel regarding the members of the League, and, since you were going there, of the major non-government incarnation force in Korea.

~

>>6116574

>Flashback to your previous hangout with Pheme, interrupted by your inquiry about the powers in Korea

“Regarding the League,” she says, placing a binder on the table, “Everything you need is here. Most will not be present at the time of your meeting, but the Korean resident members will be. Particularly, you need to worry about her:”

She opens the binder, removing a file and placing it on the table. You open it, and are met with a woman in her late thirties, dressed in what looks like military tactical gear, her mouth and nose obscured by a surgical mask.

“This is Bia.” She says, “The silent goddess of force and violence. We don’t know if she can talk, but she never does. Interestingly, her name is completely unrevealed- she goes by Ms. Seong in professional settings, but it’s almost certainly a pseudonym.”

“Have you found her real identity?”

She shakes her head, “Nothing’s come up in my facial recognition database- I suspect a high degree of plastic surgery is involved. Regardless, her abilities are pretty well known. Incredible strength, and a sort of telekinesis.” She places her laptop on the table, showing a video of the woman in question blasting away a gigantic walking fish with an incredible burst of invisible force. It somewhat reminds you of one of the Flagellant’s abilities, though obviously marginally weaker.

“Anything else?”

“She’s got some subordinates- plurals, mostly- their intel is in the fire but that’s not what I’d worry about if I were you.”

She hands you a folder, and, upon opening it, you find a picture of a remarkably handsome young man, about your age, with chiseled, symmetrical features, piercing black eyes, and a haircut which (while you think it looks kind of stupid) would look in place with a model or idol from Korea. He wears a simple, but obviously expensive- black jacket and slacks over a deep red dress shirt, with a subtle glow indicating their identity as an artifact.

“People call him a title which translates to <King of Hell>- though it has never been confirmed, based on his core abilities, our best guess is that he’s the incarnation of <Tartarus>. Next to nothing is known of his mortal identity, he only ever goes by his pseudonym. People speculate that it’s to protect his family.”

She explains her powers- flame manipulation, strength, speed, regeneration, and a construct ability that sounds similar to your <Playthings>. He works independently from the government but isn’t a rogue, and has publicly stated that he will defend Korea from any hostile action if necessary. He has a significant fandom in Korea and worldwide and, according to Pheme, a number of respectably powerful incarnations (mostly women) in his entourage.

You internalize the information, but you aren’t really paying attention to it. You keep looking at his picture. Something about him is deeply bugging you.

>>6116575

You interrupt Pheme as she lays out some of his feats of power and speculates on his ranking amongst the world’s incarnations:

“This guy is a loser,” you mutter, almost involuntarily.

“..What?” Pheme asks, slight shock evident on her face.

“Nobody recognized him to publicize his identity, despite how public his face is, right? That indicates either a dramatic physical change or a complete lack of people who really look at him. He only ever goes by a pseudonym, but not a reasonable one like Bia. It reeks of escapism.. but honestly, those are just rationalizations.” You pick up his picture, looking into his eyes as you nod to yourself, “This guy is a loser.” You reiterate as you place it back in his file.”

“Even if that’s true, he’s still dangerous.” Pheme warns, “Please be careful.”

You nod, and offer to return to watching trash tv.

~


You hover over Seoul- about an hour before the meeting was set to start. What should you do?

>Stake out the League HQ
>Cause some riots
>Head straight to the meeting spot
>See the sights
>Write-in

>>6116577
>See the sights
Dang, Ng probably won’t even be there? What’s the play, pretending at an alliance until we can draw him out?

>>6116587

I should have been more clear- the core members, including Kobayashi, Ng, Bia, and potentially the representatives from India, Taiwan, and Australia who Atë was informed about offscreen are usually at HQ in Seoul.

>>6116589
Ok nice, immediate slaughter is available
As for the cool new Heracles & Tisiphone countering version of Fetters, I kinda like First Link, especially if we’re going to keep making new versions. The synergy with our System powers makes me wonder if we can just copy paste authorities/miracles into arts without developing them from scratch, would be great to do that with Strings and Divine Manifestation
Also
>Effective level: 12
Cool how it’s past the System’s ten level restriction, but aren’t we boosting authority levels up to 100+ at this point? Yet it was still effective against ADAM - guess that confirms those helmets give what’s essentially immunity from our System authorities.

>>6116577
>>See the sights

I think we should make an asian persona. Maybe some japanese indian mix?

>>6116577
>See the sights

>>6116587
>>6116614
>>6116649
>>6116690

>See the sights

Since you’re in town, you think to yourself, you might as well see the sights. You decide to take a cursory look at some of the local historical sites- specifically the palaces and the on-ground museums, partially out of curiosity but in no small part to see if any high-divinity saturation items are around. As expected, the items seem to be replaced with identical replicas. However, interestingly, the palace and shrine grounds themselves emulate divinity and seem to have already been transformed into relics- defensive ones. You deduce that these places have been retooled as evacuation sites in the case of monster or other incarnation attacks.

Speaking of incarnation attacks, the atmosphere is much more subdued than it was in China- people still go about their lives, but there’s an air of anxiety in the people, the lack of absolute confidence that Ye Min’s subjects have in her.

You fly through the city, taking the face of a pretty passerby (though changing the body enough to avoid recognition), and, having another forty minutes or so to enjoy the city, decide to go look up some other tourist attractions. Apparently, this city has the 24th largest mall on earth, the Lotte World mall, so you decide you might as well check it out. As you approach, you can <See> a considerable divinity signature- at least three incarnations, you guess. It doesn’t seem hostile, but it seems large enough that you couldn’t simply trample over them with absolutely no risk

>Investigate the signature
>Go to the mall but ignore the incarnation
>Go do something else (specify)
>Write-in

>>6116718
>>Investigate the signature

>>6116718
>Investigate the signature

>>6116761
>>6116769

>Investigate the signature

You enter, deciding to mask yourself with <Guerilla Tactics> as you blend in with the crowd, slowly making your way towards the origin point of the signature. You pass through the mall, taking a moment to appreciate the sheer verticality of it- you’re used to malls having two, three stories at most, but you find yourself in a foyer that goes up well past that, maybe even breaching the double digits. Deciding to save time, you activate <Stealth>, flying through the mall instead of dealing with the slow moving elevators and escalators. Eventually, you find a cafe, not wholly dissimilar to a mall starbucks (though with a somewhat classier vibe) at which you find the source of the signature.

Two women, one probably a few years younger than yourself, the other probably slightly older, are having a vaguely tense conversation over coffee and tea, respectively. You almost instantly clock it as a romantic quarrel. Looking further, you recognize them as part of Tartarus- or Yama (the king of hell)-’s admirers. You smirk at the thought of it: unlike Epimetheus, this new guy seems to be shockingly able to mask (or even outright deny) the miserable failure you’re certain lies beneath the persona.

Neither seem to be perception specialists- according to your notes, the older one is Eos, the dawn, and the other is Australis, the south wind (the winds are supposed to be impartial, but it seems like this one is picking sides, to your disappointment). According to Zephyr, touching a wind is generally ill advised, but he might have just been saying that to stop you from murdering him. You also consider using <Assess Hamartia>- you could gain valuable intel, but things might get ugly if you get detected.

What should you do?

>Leave them be for now
>Listen in on the conversation
>Launch an attack
>Use an authority or miracle (specify)
>Write-in

>>6116783
>Listen in & use assess
We like to live dangerously

>>6116783
>Listen in on the conversation
Nah, be chill, murder frenzy later.

>>6116783
>>Listen in on the conversation
>Don't use any other authorities but stealth ones

>>6116798
>>6116965
>>6117055

>Listen in on the conversation

“Just because we DO requests doesn’t mean I have to take yours.” Australis pouts, sipping on her coffee as Eos’s smile twitches.

“I don’t understand what your deal is here! A stronger me means a stronger him- it’s not like YOU can do anything to help him, miss impartiality.”

“...I can help if he needs me. Boreas does!”

“Oh yeah you mean ‘renegade agent who we don’t talk about’ Boreas? ‘Superhero wannabe with delusions of grandeur’ Boreas? ‘You'll never catch me dead acting like that guy’ Boreas?”

“...Ok, I may have said some things about the guy that might have been a little unfair. Still, there’s a difference between doing stuff for some shallow sense of right and wrong and like, helping people who matter to you. I mean, Zephyr flirts with chicks on the job all the time! Even that super evil rogue chick, whatshername!”

“You know it doesn’t mean anything when he does that- it’s not the same as breaking your code. Besides, even if you did, it’s not like you can actually fight! You’re a glorified carrier pigeon!”

“Do you want me to NOT help you?”

“Okay, right, I’m sorry.” She says, leaning back and smiling apologetically, “But you know I’m right. If you really love him, you’ll help him by helping me.”

“...that’s not fair.”

“I know, but it’s true.”

Jesus, what is it with these chicks? You get that the guy is handsome, but how could they possibly fawn this hard over some dude who obviously didn’t even have the guts to make a move? Then again, you can hardly judge him in that regard- but you can certainly judge his glorified fanclub.

“Fine, whatever, I’ll get your ring.” A triumphant smile begins to grow on Eos’ face before Australis interrupts it, “But! You are gonna help ME- by helping me set up one date.”

“...whatever. Deal.”

They shake hands, and the wind rises, slamming the rest of her coffee and tossing the crumpled cup into the trash as she exits.

You check the time- conveniently, it’s about ten minutes 'till the meeting, about the time you’ll need to make your way to the meeting place.

~

>>6117426

“So, tactics ladies!” Eris says, sipping some fancy drink 10 times more expensive than its ingredients, “What’s the plan?”

“We’re in a bit of a hard spot, gameplan-wise.” Isabella sighs, rubbing some sleep from her eye, “Our main problem here is that our best bets for stealth are Rosa, Saanvi, and Dorota.”

“Is that an issue?” Jen asks, tilting her head slightly. You nod, picking up on her meaning.

“<Horkos> refers to a daemon or curse that punishes those who spread false testimony,” you explain, plunging your spoon into a freshly made parfait, “Saanvi and I are both liars, deep in our core. No offense.”

“None taken,” Saanvi replies, waving her hand with a sly smile. You continue:

“And Dorota is even more dishonest than that- she’s only human insofar as the lure of an anglerfish is a delicious snack.”

“Haha, that idea is perhaps.. slightly outdated,” Dorota interjects, “Still, the sentiment is, how you say, probably close enough for government work.”

“Therefore,” you conclude, “It’s likely that he has some sort of advantage against us, the liars, and it might be pretty easy for us to get caught.”

“Very good, Rosa!” Isabella says with a warm smile. It sounds a little condescending, but you can tell she doesn’t mean any disrespect, “So, how should we go about this?”

“Jen and Ashley, you two have <Stealth>, right?”

“Passably, yes.” Eris replies, “But I haven’t invested in it like you have.”

“I do have one idea.” Isabella says, pulling out a small disc-like device, “This is a discrete teleportation hub- it consumes <Lizard Tails> as fuel, and it’s a pretty popular product. If one of you can sneak into Ng’s office and plant it there, we should be able to have a full party ambush when the time comes.”

“Not full party.” Narges interjects, “I have a duel.”

It briefly occurs to you how annoying Iwana would be to work with if you hadn’t taken her soul.

“Well, I think Atë is the resident expert here,” Eris smirks, effectively throwing this issue at your feet, “What do you think we should do?”

>”My subordinates can borrow some of my powers, stealth included- I have a very honest candidate for the infiltration.”
>”I’ll go in alone and deal with Ng myself- I just need you guys to keep the rest of the League out of my way.”
>”One of my stealth powers works at a really long range, and it should be strong enough to compensate for Eris and Jen- they should sneak in.”
>”Instead of doing this covertly, it’d be easier to cause as much havoc as possible to draw him out, taking the whole city hostage for a leg up in the fight.”
>”We should vote on it- I don’t want to overstep.”
>Write-in

>>6117428
>”One of my stealth powers works at a really long range, and it should be strong enough to compensate for Eris and Jen- they should sneak in.”
Here's hoping they haven't been gifted any anti Atë helmets.
Or that the helmets won't work if it's our authority on someone else.

>>6117468

During the ADAM fight, they were relying on Theia's sight to track you- it seems like the anti-Atë helmets only work for mental attacks and not for broader, not intrinsically malicious things like stealth. It makes sense, according to Perdix's enchantment lecture, to have absolute efficiency in one thing, you'll need to make sacrifices elsewhere

>>6117472
That's good in that they're only absolutely efficient against one thing we do and not everything we do

Unfortunate in that Theia can pierce like 100 levels of stealth without helmet assistance

>>6117468

>”One of my stealth powers works at a really long range, and it should be strong enough to compensate for Eris and Jen- they should sneak in.”

Eris clicks her tongue, snatching the device from the table. “If you want something done RIGHT, I guess. Do you guys have the other pieces?”

“Right here!” Isabella says, placing five similarly colored square tablets on the table, “The moment Eris gives the signal, we go in. Narges, you can do your own business when we leave here.”

Eris leaves, and you follow behind just closely enough to keep her comfortably within range of your <Guerilla Tactics>. As the minutes pass, you consider the idea of bringing any of your subordinates for support.

>Bring Pallas
>Bring Lethe
>Bring Brigita
>Bring someone else (specify)
>Take care of this yourself
>Write-in

>>6118140
>Bring Pallas
We're building her up as the physical to support our mental

>>6118140
>Bring Pallas
Promises to be a good fight!

>>6118140
>>Bring Pallas

>>6118141
>>6118248
>>6118625

>Bring Pallas

“What’s the job, boss?”

“An assassination,” you say, handing her a copy of Ng’s file, “We wanna kill this guy, ideally without completely kneecapping the League’s manpower. Duels are your specialty, no?”

“Hmm.. I do actually have something I’ve been working on that might be able to wrap this up quickly and relatively easily.” She says, leaning on a nearby wall, “A devastating technique that should be able to eliminate anything too slow to dodge it. But, there is a catch.”

“Being?”

“<Divinity Pool>. Mine is too small to be able to practically use it in its complete form- you and I are gonna have to <Resonate>.”

“<Resonate>?”

“That’s what I’ve been calling it,” she says, “Basically, it’s when <Soulscapes> become connected to each other, imposing themselves over each other’s space. It's kinda like, one big world instead of two separate ones you can travel between.”

Your eyes widen- you’ve done exactly this when you comforted Pheme in her cave, your water spilling in and cleaning out the glass. You suspect, however, that it was only really possible due to your high level of affinity for her. Iwana continues, “It’s temporary, of course, but even then I can’t deny the possibility that some risks might be involved. Worst case scenario, you and I sort of… stain each other, leaving residue of our impetus in each other’s souls.”

“...And you’re sure that this can kill him? Even with <Tails> or <Heads>?”

She nods, absolute certainty in her eyes, “As long as you can keep him pinned and make sure I’m not interrupted, then yes, I have absolute confidence.”

>Agree to the proposal
>Try to win without resorting to that
>Write-in

>>6118801
>Try to win without resorting to that
Loan her a plushie
Our impetus is fucked enough already

>>6118801
>Agree to the proposal

I'm not sure which would be more funny, Honor Before Reason Atë, or Internal Turmoil Palas.

>>6118801
>>Agree to the proposal
>Warn her that our divinity Pool is *quite* a lot bigger than she may be expecting, so it will likely be us rubbing off on her
410 vs 2730

>>6118806
>>6118807
>>6118987

>Agree to the proposal

You recall a conversation you had with the Shaman, a brief exchange as you conferred about your progress regarding the <Steps>.

“Surely, you must have been curious,” he said, gently opening his eyes as he roused from his contemplation, “About why not everybody is capable of using <Arts> if <Impetus> and <Divinity>, traits intrinsic to all life, are all it takes to do so.”

“I’d always assumed it was a matter of finesse.” You replied, “In the same way that a person who’s never played a game of chess in their life has all the physical ability necessary to move the pieces in the order needed to beat a grandmaster.”

“Well, that’s part of it, but such a gap is surmountable with enough will. The problem is an inability to properly channel one’s desires into a real purpose.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, think about it like this.” He lectured, placing his knife on the table. With a flick of his wrist, it levitated into the air, “Suppose one wanted to do the trick I just pulled off. Suppose I put a gun to their head, and threatened to shoot if they were unable to make a dagger float. Why can’t they make it happen? How, with their life on the line, could they possibly lack the <Impetus> necessary to make it happen?”

Your eyes widened in realization as you replied, “Because they don’t want to make a dagger float. They want to live.”

He nodded, looking out over the city below and knowing its time was short, “The ability to bend your impetus, to channel it through your basest wants and into something concrete, something that can be manifested- that is the art of the soul.”

“As much as I hate to admit it,” you say, “You have something that I lack. Just know that should your surprise not be as advertised, you will have hell to pay.”

“I know, I know.” She replies, exhaling as her body shifts into its combat form. You grab onto her- his? You really ought to get that sorted- wrist as the device in your other hand begins to glow. “It’s showtime.”

>>6119229


You arrive- the world shimmers with silver light, a barrier placed by Saanvi to keep the rest of the League from catching onto her ploy. Jen is out there somewhere disguised as a Chinese operative, stirring trouble and setting up the false story as planned. You smirk- everything is going according to plan.

Ng stands alone, sighing as your gang reveals itself. “It appears that our security measures have been insufficient,” He adjusts his glasses as a sheen of radiant green energy washes over his body, its shimmering amorphous mass solidifying into a shape similar to that of a snarling humanoid hound adorned with a crown of wreaths, “I will have to deal with pest control myself.”

His divinity roars, swelling past what should be its natural limit. Before you can begin to speculate on the source of his power, you dodge a lethal scimitar swing. A blue blade of light points at you, beckoning your challenge. Though the figure holding the weapon is little more than a silhouette, you instinctively know to whom the blade belongs.

“We meet again, brother.” You whisper under your breath, readying your claws. You cast your gaze aside- Dorota seems to be in a similar entanglement, though her issue is one of numbers rather than individual skill as a horde of assorted weapons bear down on her. Eris and Isabella, meanwhile, are not so plagued- they must not have been judged as liars in the same way that you and your shadow have.

“How long?” You ask Pallas.

“One minute,” She replies, “But you’re gonna need to set aside most of your divinity pool for this attack.”

You stagger, nearly allowing Shakir’s blade to tear through your flesh as the alien feeling of <Resonance> begins to encroach upon your soul. You chuckle- even with these conditions, you still probably have double the divinity at your disposal than any other incarnation at your level should.

“Fine then,” You say, readying your gauntlets and leap into battle.

>Engage Shakir
>Summon a <Palladium>
>Summon a <Plaything>
>Write-in

>>6119231
>Engage Shakir
The heck?
Plaything similar technique, but manifests victims of the opponents lies?
This might be rough

>>6119231
My instinct is
>Summon a <Plaything>
The Monk

But part of me wonders if that wouldn't piss off the Impetous of punishment even more. Oh well, only one way to find out!

>>6119231
>>6119240
+1

>>6119238
>>6119240
>>6119634

>Summon a <Plaything>

You smirk, parrying a swipe at your neck and leaping back to make space as you invoke your <Miracle>, manifesting a copy of the monk who had nearly killed Shakir in their previous duel. Unfortunately, you’re working on limited divinity, so you can only afford to manifest a version that’s about 60% as powerful as the one you usually manifest. Still, that’s more than enough to keep Shakir busy as you advance forward.

Ng’s divinity construct effortlessly deflects a bolt of lightning from Eris, redirecting it in Isabella’s direction and forcing her to pivot midair to avoid it. He sees you beginning to approach, clicking his tongue as he hastily pulls what looks like a golden set of scales from his coat pocket.

“Face judgment.” He declares, the scales tipping as his divinity pours into them. <Omen> screams, prompting you to jump back a bit as a pillar of emerald light bears down on the area around him. Isabella also cleanly evades the blast, but Eris is not so lucky, taking a direct hit from the blast and collapsing to the ground. She isn’t dead, at least not yet, but she seems to have been taken out of commission.

Isabella shoots you a meaningful glance, and you return with a silent nod- it seems like she’s caught onto the fact that your primary goal is to buy time. The two of you launch forward, your claws tearing away at the divine armor as Isabella brings her hammer down, a resounding crack echoing through the wide chamber as he blocks, one of the arms of the dog-like figure crumbling into dust. You take advantage of his lack of attention, jamming your claws into the divinity, piercing it and leaving a cut on his arm. Ng scowls, taking a draught of <Nectar> and wiping his lips.

“You know,” you say, trying to buy time, “Those things are made of human souls, right? Well, not necessarily homo sapiens, but sentient, thinking people.”

Isabella’s eyes widen- she was seemingly unaware of that fact. Ng is less affected, either assuming you’re lying or putting it to the back of his mind as he tries to crush you with a giant swing of his armor’s now regenerated arm.

“Worth a shot,” you chuckle, effortlessly dodging and planting a full-force kick into the side of Ng’s shell, the force strong enough to send both it and him staggering backwards, creating an opening for Isabella to strike with another devastating sweep of her warhammer.

>>6119706

You look to Pallas, her body having lost its battle form as she puts everything into the blinding, vaguely spear-shaped mass of crimson divinity. She smiles, signaling you to wrap up things on your end, and you oblige, launching your <Fetters> in their normal state. The chains wrap themselves around the armor, binding Ng down. His eyes widen, some sort of precognition probably activating, and, knowing he can’t escape in time, he puts everything into defense, creating layer upon layer of armor and dispelling all of his offensive measures to do so.

Iwana cocks her arm back, shooting you a smug wink before finishing the art, solidifying the impetus with an incantation which, while whispered quieter than you should be able to hear, seems to resonate with power, resounding through your soul itself as she calmly, almost casually looses the javelin from her fingertips.

“Ruination”

Bathed in a brilliant burst of blood-red light that illuminates the whole room, moving faster than even your insanely enhanced perception can track, the spear bolts forward, cracking through Ng’s armor as if it was never even there before seemingly vanishing as it sinks into him. For a moment, you suspect that it didn’t work as his body stands perfectly intact; however, your <Eyes> see differently: his soul is gone. Not weakened, not dying, not even shattered- obliterated, as if he were never alive in the first place. Black blood leaks from Pallas’s grinning teeth as she collapses unconscious to the floor.

You take over her body with <Folly’s Grasp>, using your <Regeneration> to heal her wounds as you inhabit her body. Eris seems to have healed on her own, gripping her forehead as she staggers back to her feet.

You rise to your feet, holding a now healed Iwana in your arms. You can’t shake the notion that you’re forgetting about something.

>Go back to your realm
>Talk to a member of your pantheon (specify)
>Write-in

>>6119707
>Talk to everybody
“Good job team, that went surprisingly easily. Once this dumbass wakes up I’ll nab the epithet from her, ascend some random schmuck, and we’ll be complete.”

We gotta get Pallas to teach us that Art btw, holy moly

>>6119707
...Did Pallas just obliterate the Epitaph? I mean, holy shit, you go girl, but I am concerned about the spoils.

>Go back to your realm
Dorota! Ladies! Let's scram!

Shit, what are we forgetting? Dorota? Pantheon members? Soul connections? Plunder?

>>6119707
last time a subordinate killed an incarnation we we got the message
>Go back to your realm
>check on Pallas's soul realm, see what damage we did

>>6119715
>>6119794
>>6120213

>Go back to your realm

Your eyes widen in recognition- the subjugation rewards! Whenever a subordinate of yours slays another incarnation, you are always given preferential rights to the subjugation rewards. However, while last time you concluded that Mouse had been bested but not killed (Perhaps he escaped using a <Head>) with this case, Ng was obliterated, and yet no reward was given. Perhaps..

You check the pulse of his vacant body. To your surprise, his heart is still beating. Casually, you swing your hand, bathed in the winds of <Down to the Core>, cutting his head clean off.

>Congratulations, you have-
>System err: no soul detected
>Attempting to recover lost data…
>Data partially recovered. Attempting to provide subjugation rewards
>System err: insufficient divinity- checking cause
>Cause isolated: no soul detected

You click your tongue- <Ruination>, or at least whatever its fully realized form would be, is probably the pinnacle of offensive <Arts> in terms of raw killing power. Indeed, you think to yourself that learning it will be invaluable in hunting <Interwraiths>, but you realize a significant catch: obliterating a soul completely, rather than just damaging it enough to be harvested or killing the host body, makes it unable to be consumed even by the system.

The system panels continue to build up:

>Judging fault…
>Fault has been deemed to be <User Error>
>Rewards withheld

“Wait!” you say, hoping the system can detect your words, or at least the impetus behind them, “What about an exchange? I trade something of equal value in exchange for the rewards available, doesn’t that seem fair?”

>Judging suggestion…
>Suggestion deemed amenable
>Due to data loss, only the <Primary Myth> subjugation rewards are available
>Please make an appropriate exchange

You give a sigh of relief as a series of options are made available to you
>Trade influence: 30,000
>Trade a <Myth> of equivalent or greater value (disparities will be compensated for):

Of your existing myths (excluding those of your pantheon) the eligible options are:

>Eosphorus, The Morning Star:
Synchronization Rate: 25%

>Alala, Spirit of the War Cry:
Synchronization Rate: 76%

>Elpis, Spirit of Hope:
Synchronization Rate: 1%

>Peitharchia, Spirit of Diligence:
Synchronization Rate: 23%

>Chrysus, Spirit of Gold:
Synchronization rate: 17%

>Pandora, Harbinger of Maladies:
Synchronization Rate: 90%

>Wrath of Artemis, Calydonian Boar:
Synchronization Rate: 20%

>Pride of Artemis, Ceryneian Hind:
Synchronization rate: 1%

>>6120415

> Trade >Eosphorus, The Morning Star

I'm not even mad, I'm impressed. Nice work crafting the ultimate expression of YOU LOSE.

Better uh, keep it on the down low though.

>>6120415
>>Trade influence: 30,000
don't want to risk "disparities"

>>6120574
I assume disparity is us getting "change" for overpaying.

>>6120415
> Trade >Eosphorus, The Morning Star
System is usually pretty generous with disparities so I do want to risk it

>>6120415
>>Trade a <Myth> of equivalent or greater value (disparities will be compensated for):
>>Eosphorus, The Morning Star:

>>6120525
>>6120574
>>6120677

>Trade a <Myth> of equivalent or greater value (disparities will be compensated for):
>Eosphorus, The Morning Star:

>Calculating offered exchange…
>Determined to be of greater value than <Horkos>
>Calculating suitable compensation…
>Reward granted: quest rewards for quest <Glitter and Gold>

You may select between the following:
>Authority, <Dazzle the Crowd> (1)
><Super Rare> relic, <Dawnbringer’s Raiment>
>Trait, <Light in the Darkness>

You breathe a sigh of relief, clutching the epithet crystal for <Horkos> granted by the system in your hand and picking Iwana back up from the cracked floors of Ng’s office. She continues to smile to herself in her sleep, even as her body and soul are at their breaking point due to the exertion of manifesting <Ruination> and bearing so much of your power.

Just before you leave, unbeknownst to Isabella and Eris, you feel something that gives you pause: clumsy divinity usage. Imprecise, poorly realized, but also unadulterated by the system’s hefty take of the power used for authorities.

Your eyes turn to one of the shattered windows as you see another part of the building split from the rest, a clean cut causing it to crumble and fall. It’s unmistakable- somebody is using <Arts>

>Investigate
>Return to your realm as planned
>Write-in

>>6120830
>Trait, <Light in the Darkness>
>Investigate

>>6120830
>Trait, <Light in the Darkness>
Nice, new trait
>Investigate
Damn, everybody’s using Arts these days

>>6120833
>>6120855

I remember when my father turned me down to learn how to fight. “It isn’t a girl’s place,” he would tell me, patting me on the head and telling me I was better suited to a needle than a blade. Time and again I would ask, and each and every time he would deny me.

That was, until, he saw me swing a stick for the first time. More than my brothers, more than even his best students, I had something that nobody could take away from me:

I had talent.

So, he let me train. Let me learn everything he knew, and I absorbed it all like water. In less than a year, I was the best my age, and by the time I had finished, I could cut down a man twice my size. Once I bested my father, I finally realized that I had begun to stagnate. An insurmountable barrier stood over me, higher than I could ever hope to climb. In my despair, the system came to me, a hail mary to finally overcome my limits and continue to progress- after all, I had reached the human limit.

Or at least, that’s what I had thought.

Kobayashi Hajime, an old man weaker than me in every respect. His body is slow, his joints creak with each movement, and his muscles have degraded to a fraction of their former power. His soul is weaker than mine as well, both as an incarnation and as a man. He is a mockery of himself and yet, no matter how desperately I tried, I couldn’t even touch him.

He stood over me, his foot planted on my weapon as he brought his sword down on my neck. I was forced to let the hilt go, rolling back to avoid the strike and drawing a new one from my inventory.

“You gave up,” he declared, his boot pressed down hard enough on my sword to dent it, “You reached a wall and you turned back instead of trying to climb it.”

“You’re tired, old man.” I deflected- and it was true: his age brought with it a distinct lack of stamina.

“Old man indeed,” he said, chuckling to himself as he sheathed his legendary blade, “But good enough, I think, for one last swing.”

I smirked- he might be better, but I have this new power now. The strength, the endurance, the body, and the equipment to trounce the dying master. Keeping my head cool, I proceeded forward.

The human limit cannot be surpassed by training. This was the conclusion that my despair had led me inexorably towards. I repeated it in my head, a mantra, almost a prayer as I infused my <Miracle> into my sword.

He.. started doing something. I couldn’t read it, I couldn’t even comprehend it, but I did understand one thing:

This was not borrowed strength.

In a flash of cold, ancient steel, he drew his blade, in a motion he had probably practiced for more time than my entire existence. Before I could even grasp what I had witnessed, I felt the world turn upside down.

This was it. This was what I had been searching for. As my eyes and their sockets began to plummet to the earth, I felt like I could see it: the old man standing proudly atop the wall, mourning the loss of my potential.

~

>>6120871

>Trait, <Light in the Darkness>
>Investigate

Well, this is interesting. You wonder if he took lessons from Gaia, or perhaps some other group of shamans you weren’t aware of.

You grab her head with your hand, injecting it with your <Touch of Madness> and reliving her recent memories to gain information, drawing power from your <Auravore> and managing to barely stabilize her with <Regeneration> via <Folly’s Grasp> as you reattach her severed head to her body. Your eyes widen: did he somehow perform an <Art> by complete accident through sheer force of skill? Is that even possible? By the time you look up, Mr. Kobayashi had already left.

As she rouses, you dispel the authority. This was the first time you’d seen her face- she really was beautiful, almost more so than Eris, with sharp, delicate features adorning her caramel skin and a pair of fierce black eyes. Her black hair is cut into a practical bob, though you aren’t certain if she’d like you looking at it.

You ask her how she’s doing, and she fails to answer- her eyes seem to be looking somewhere else.

>Leave her be
>Offer a deal
>Write-in

>>6120871
awesome

>>6120872
>>Offer a deal
There is no such thing as a peak for what a soul is capable of. If you think you see a peak you simply haven't climbed high enough, and even then, to get higher you simply have to grow wings

>Elpis, Spirit of Hope

>>6120872
What
>Offer a deal
Soul in exchange for a path to the power she just witnessed

>>6120872
>Offer a deal
Maybe...
Peitharchia, Spirit of Diligence?

Pallas! I made you a sparring partner!

>>6120872
>Offer a deal
>Elpis, Spirit of Hope

what was the trait?

>>6120878
>>6120883
>>6120926
>>6121372

>Offer a deal

“When I was saving your life,” you say, looming over her as you speak, “I had to peek into your brain a little. It’s complicated, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.”

She doesn’t speak, so you continue, “That pinnacle he reached- using the soul outside of the system, that is- Kobayashi Hajime isn’t the only person who can do it. Far from it.”

You allow your <Fetters> to play at your fingertips, and her eyes widen in shock. She finally looks at you.

“Impossible..”

“You should have learned today- nothing is impossible.”

She adjusts her body, rising to her feet as she looks at your <Art>. “..It’s not the same.” she whispers.

“Well, obviously not identical. But it’s the same principle.”

She shakes her head, picking up her broken sword and inspecting it for a moment. Slowly, she articulates a response. “No. It’s more like… different methods to achieve the same effect.”

You cock your head, “Still, regardless of which path you choose, if they all end up in the same place then who cares?”

“The pinnacle of martial arts..” she mumbles, her eyes glazed over in a trance-like state.

“Look,” you say, struggling to hide your impatience, “I can teach you. Call it whatever you like, but I promise you: me and my associates can grant you techniques that put that clumsy <Art> the swordsman used to shame. I promise you that.”

“...Clumsy? It was beautiful. It was.. transcendent.”

“It was clumsy.” You repeat honestly, “The control and output were both shaky. A use of <Arts> that was completely incidental, completely lacking in technique.” You smirk, an imperious nasality leaking into your voice as you continue, “It’s no exaggeration to say that I could teach you to do better in a week.”

She laughs, “You don’t get it, do you?”

You click your tongue- you really, really don’t. She rises, clutching her hilt with a quivering hand and walking away. As she leaves, she responds, “Your offer- I can already guess what you’ll ask for in exchange, but even so, I'll consider it. But only if I can’t climb that wall on my own.”

>>6121642

“Are you stupid?” You ask, genuinely baffled at her refusal even before you stated the price, “Even if you know it’s possible, you could easily go your entire life without making a fluke like that happen a second time.”

She laughs, “Yes. It’s entirely possible.”

In a flash of light, she vanishes, leaving a bad taste in your mouth as you return to your own realm. With a sigh, you decide to check the trait you got.

>Trait: Light in the Darkness:

When you use an authority or miracle which necessitates being perceived or understood, those in the effective range will be naturally inclined to pay attention.

You shrug- definitely helpful, but not exactly groundbreaking. As you move to put Iwana back in her chambers, you feel her rouse, a groan leaking from her lips as she wakes up.

“...I told you not to carry me like luggage.”

“Well, if you don’t want to be treated like dead weight, you should probably not pass out behind enemy lines, idiot.”

Unceremoniously, you drop her onto the marble floor. With a grunt, she rises to her feet. Your meeting with Ye Min is tomorrow, so you have some time to kill. What should you do?

>Talk to Iwana (specify)
>Practice <Arts>
>Try devouring a mortal
>Take the day off
>Write-in

>>6121645
>>Try devouring a mortal
We folly's grasped her. We can make a copy of her brain to know her true name and usual whereabouts, right?

>>6121690

Not quite- you released her from your spell after regenerating her body so she'd have the capacity to bargain and you don't own her soul, so a <Plaything> is out of the question, and a subject needs to be physically present for you to be able to use <A Thousand Faces, A Thousand Voices> to create a replica consciousness

>>6121696
weren't we inside her brain while regenerating her?

>>6121645
>Try devouring a mortal
Finally holy shit
This is our entire future game plan and we haven't even tested the most basic step

>>6121701
I don't think we got/kept a comprehensive enough read to make a perfect or even near perfect replica

>>6121645
>Talk to Iwana (specify)
That. Was. Awesome.

Get some insights on the sword lady. Broaden our understanding of the <Impetous> of others.

>Try devouring a mortal
Cross it off the bucket list at least. Probably useful insights to be learned there. Let's see if we can pick off some random civilians and drown then in our ocean.

>>6121690
>>6121709
>>6121711

“Shit.”

I click my tongue, sweeping my arm in frustration, the empty cans of beer occupying my desk clinking together as my hand knocks them off from their perch, dissonant metallic percussion resonating through the room as they clutter to the floor.

“Why do I even play this shit,” I say to nobody in particular. Of course, I know why- pathetic as it is, MOBA games are the closest thing I have to doing something with friends. I pick up my phone, scrolling through the groupchats I have with people I know from college. For a moment, I imagine clicking on them.

I look outside: the sky is clear. It’s probably a nice night. Whatever.

I rummage through my desk cabinets for a drink. I don’t find one.

I look down at my keyboard: what did I do wrong? I studied hard, worked hard, got a good job, made money… just like my dad said I should. He told me that, if I just did that, the rest would work itself out.

I check again for another beer, even though I know I won’t find anything. To my profound surprise, one doesn’t manifest itself out of thin air.

I clutch my chest- I feel a void there, like someone carved me hollow. Usually I just fill it with drinks, but it looks like I’m running dry tonight.

I consider walking to the nearest convenience store to buy some. Ultimately, the weight of my legs keeps me at my desk. A sigh forces its way out of my throat. Suddenly, a flash of light bursts outside my window like a lightning bolt bearing down from a cloudless sky. The blinding radiance bathes the room white, then red as the luminosity wanes, revealing a feminine silhouette standing on nothing outside of the 7th floor of my apartment complex. It’s too bright, her face is too dark, to make anything out, and yet, enchanted, I feel compelled to open the window to let her in. She gives a polite nod, walking on the air itself and bending over to enter my dimly lit bedroom.

The glow gone, the faint light of my computer is all that remains. Even with that scant illumination, I can tell she’s stunning: sea-blue upturned eyes, crinkled slightly with a mischievous smile peer out from her snow-white face. Long blonde hair, dyed pink for about half a foot at each end, cascades down her shoulders and crowns her soft pink lips, her delicate chin- I avert my eyes before they wander any further.

>>6121826

“Not good with women, eh?” she whispers- her Korean is perfect, despite her obvious status as a foreigner.

“W-who are you? WHAT are you? What do you want?”

She tilts her head slightly, “You ask a lot of questions. But to answer your question, I guess you can think about me like… you Koreans like that Japanese wagyu beef, right?”

My eyes widen at the sudden tangent, “As much as anyone else, I guess.”

“Never really cared for it, personally.” She says, “Way too fatty. But that’s not the point, is it? Those farmers have to constantly care for the cows: feed them only the best grain, raise them, house them, pamper them… they promise them the perfect little cow life, in exchange, of course, for their meat at the end of the deal.”

“...Are you saying you want to eat me?”

“Well, not so literally, but basically.”

“And you’re telling me this, why, exactly?”

She shrugs, “I figured it’d be easier if you cooperated with me here. If you struggled, I might hurt myself a little, y’know?”

I can’t help but laugh- the fact that I’m even considering this is absolutely absurd. For some reason though… I find myself compelled to. My mind flashes back to the sturdy rope hidden in a chest beneath my bed.

“G-get to the point.” I spit out, wanting to look into her eyes again but lacking the guts to follow through. “What do you want from me?”

“Well, no reason to beat around the bush.” She plops onto my bed, crossing her legs and giving me a dazzling grin- I can smell her perfume, drowning out the smell of stale beer and dust I’d grown accustomed to.

“I can show you your perfect life: fulfillment, companionship, success, experiences, everything. All the things you ever wanted and more. It’ll feel real, too, and completely plausible. Hell, you’ll forget we even had this conversation! Your happiness is guaranteed.”

“And the price?”
“Well, once it’s over, you’ll be eaten. You’ll cease to exist- though that’s how life works in general. Really, the only possible catch is that it wouldn’t be real.”

“But I won’t know about that part.”

Her eyes close, “That’s right. It’ll be a perfect illusion.”

“..And in the real world?”


“You’ll just.. stop thinking. Your body will be left in a vegetative state until you die of natural causes.”

I know I shouldn’t. I know I CAN’T, but..

I’m really sorry. Mom and dad.. I’m so, so sorry. Unable to resist the temptation, I choke out an agreement to her request.

~

>>6121827

Divinity: 2,730->2,731->2,732->2,733…

As you continue to digest the man, your divinity slowly grows with each drop of his soul that disperses into the sea. You look at his room- it strikes a familiar chord in your chest. You really just looked for people whose <Folly> was conducive to your offer, those drowning in despair and escapism, but a part of you knows that, in your own twisted way, you wanted to help him- help someone like you- escape from that suffering.

You sigh, flying off into the night.

>Keep eating
>Wait until Hyunsung is devoured and do something else for a bit (Specify)
>Turn in for the night (Rest until the meeting with Ye Min)
>Write-in

>>6121829
>Keep eating
Practice makes perfect
Also we're doing a public service
We can feel good about this

>>6121829
>Turn in for the night (Rest until the meeting with Ye Min)
Best not to get indigestion before Ye Min brutally backstabs us and murders Pheme.

>>6121829
>>Turn in for the night (Rest until the meeting with Ye Min)

>>6121862
>>6121998
>>6122103

>Turn in for the night (Rest until the meeting with Ye Min)

You laugh to yourself- an odd melancholy grips your mind as you feel the man’s soul dissolve into your own, melting into nothing like a block of salt plunged into hot water. He’s happy- you know that, you can feel it- but a sense of loss eats away at you regardless. Shaking your head to dispel such useless thoughts, you return to your realm to prepare for the big day.

~

So, this is the General Secretary’s office. The room is surprisingly spartan, the spacious, nearly empty room with wood panel floors and the high, vaulted ceiling creating a vacant, almost liminal energy that strikes an odd feeling in you. The only thing present is a desk, two chairs, and the Secretary herself, looking listlessly out the window.

Ye Min- or you suppose, by proper Chinese convention, Min Ye- smiles to herself as you enter, only visible to you by her reflection in the full-wall window. “Punctual, my dear.”

“Well, it’s an important deal. Plus, I don’t want to suffer the late fee.”

She chuckles, sweeping a lock of hair behind her ear as she turns to meet you, “I suppose that makes sense. Shall we get down to business?”

“First, one point of order. To your knowledge, is Earth cosmologically significant in any meaningful way? Does it have unique properties compared to other planets?”


“I believe,” she says, “That this is the only world which bore witness to life, Other than that, I have no such knowledge or belief.”

You nod- lies are worthless in the face of an <Oath> anyway. She waltzes over to you, absolute confidence showing through her strides as she plants herself firmly in front of you, close enough for her to take your hand in hers.

“Words are so clumsy.” She says, pressing your hand against her heart, “This way is much more clear.”

Your soul quivers. You see flashes- digital world, gray and green and screens. You see her- her mouth speaks a hundred words at once, and you understand them. No, understand is insufficient, you KNOW them.

Cut, blade, bind, oath. One at a time, you take turns wrapping bonds around your souls, hers silver cords of wire and fiberglass, yours crimson fetters of blood-red steel, Again and again you make these ties, knowing fully the mutual restraint as your perceptions meld together.

For a brief moment, you feel a wholeness that you hadn’t felt in a long, long time. A sigh dies in your throat as she releases your hand, pulling her soul away from hers.

>>6122332

“It is done,” she whispers into your ear, “Congratulations.”

You look down at your hands- this is different from a <Nonaggression Pact>. With those, you couldn’t hurt someone even if you wanted to, but with this, you seem to be incapable of even mustering such a desire in the first place. You had in you a substantial <Impetus> to cut down Ye Min, to claim this world as your own, but now.. you literally cannot desire it, in the same way that you couldn’t want to drink piss even if you tried.

Your mind wanders again- something else is different. You have a sort of clarity you lacked before. Your will feels sharper, cleaner somehow.

Min looks down at her own hands, seemingly gripped by a similar sensation. “What is this..?”

“I think I know,” you say, “Humans have <Complex Impetus>, right? So many desires pulling us in a thousand different directions. I think, by limiting the range of things we could possibly want, it frees up all the desire involved, as well as the will it took to not do that action instead of some other thing.”

“So just by making <Oaths> we can gain strength?”

“Something like that, I suppose.”

>Ask questions (specify)
>Make requests (specify)
>Ask for a job
>Leave for now
>Write-in

>>6122333
>Ask questions (specify)
Well, now that we're bound so closely, no point in keeping secrets. We were planning on keeping all the major powers in a stalemate until we could surpass them, perhaps at one point leveraging our Pact with the Commander to eat away at his soul and claim his territory. What's her grand plan for world domination? She probably has a lot more concrete details since she already rules China.

Cool about the Oath boost, but at the same time it might not be good to overdo those. Don't want to reduce our wants so much that we start limiting our sentience.

>>6122333
>Ask for a job
The Uncrowned King. How long do we have, and where can I hurt him the most?

We've put this off entirely too much. Let's put this fucker down.

>>6122362
Uncrowned King is the strongest entity we've encountered. Only the creator(s) of the System have more power. We're not putting him down anytime soon, certainly not while we're still struggling against other Incarnations.

>>6122408
Sure, but the fastest path to that strength is to rob it from him. There's a timer ticking down before he emerges into our world entirely, and we are absolutely on his shit list.

>>6122508
I thought Gaia said she was shifting leylines and could guarantee he wouldn't emerge.

If you're voting to eat more nodes though, then sure. Before we wanted the King around as a threat so major forces didn't unite against us, but now with Ye Min partnered up we should be fine.

>>6122559
Oh yeah, I'm definitely focused on nodes primarily.

>>6122333
>Ask to make a chinese Influencer/Idol Persona,she'll help push with the chinese media machine, who can also do very effective propaganda
>Ask to make a finance minister the incarnation for the spirit of gold
shell make better use of that incarnations powers,but we get to skim their influence, use a national budget as our personal piggy bank
>Ask for some people to help deal with ADAM, but we need to be there too

>>6122352
>>6122362
>>6122823

So, it seems like we have three different directions to go in. I'll wait for a tiebreaker or clarification, otherwise I'll just go for a compromise option involving all three ideas

>>6123699
I’m ok with the compromise, it doesn’t seem like the options are mutually exclusive

>>6123699
>>6123716
yeah, im fine with all of them
(I was >>6122823 )

>>6123716
>>6123727

>Ask questions (What’s the plan?)
>Ask for a job (Uncrowned King)
>Make proposals

“Firstly,” you say, “I’d like to create an idol persona here- one, of course, who is very supportive of the current party and government. A real patriot, as it were.”

“It’s doable,” she responds, sitting down at her desk and gesturing for you to follow. You do so, sinking slightly into the plush leather chair as she continues, “But I was under the impression that you made your influence off of leading people to their deaths or despair. That seems more than a little counterproductive.”

“Well, there are <Idols>,”

“Hmm, perhaps. Well, I’ll take it under advisement, at least. I have some logistics to run.”

You shrug, moving onto the next point. “One of my <Epithets> is the spirit of gold. Authorities surrounding luck with investments and controlling people using money, and a directive centered around making profit. I think it’d be very useful for a potential finance minister.”

“True enough. What do you want in exchange?”


“20% of all influence they make, as well as a portion of the gains made due to my gift.”

“Hm. Well, I suppose that’s reasonable.” She hands you an epithet crystal, and the exchange is made.

“Finally, we need to take down ADAM. Their existence alone is very limiting to me in regards to what I can do and where. I want you to help me eliminate them.”

She smiles, leaning forward in her chair, “The international situation at this moment is somewhat testy. Unfortunately, I doubt, in my current state, that I can wage a war against the entire world and win, at least without either drawing the ire of Gaia or leaving the floodgates open for the Uncrowned King. I might have been able to get away with it a couple days ago, but due to the actions of a certain somebody, international attention and condemnation is already pointed in our direction.”

You click your tongue- it’s hard to complain given that you just framed her for an assassination of a world power. She continues:

“Of course, it can be arranged, but it’ll cost you.”

“Oh? Cost me what?”

“The ten nearest galaxies to the Milky way- and of course, all of the dwarf galaxies around them, as well as the ones around my current holdings.”

>>6123777

Quite the concession if you think about it, but then again, it’s sort of nothing to you right now, isn’t it? Well, you know she thinks the offer is fair.

“I assume the cost will plummet if the King is suitably weakened?”

“As a matter of course. Additionally, you will be compensated for any such activities.”


“So, any specific compounds you want me to take down?”

“Well, there are still some rats buried beneath Chinese soil that I would appreciate an extermination of. To my knowledge, your capacity for divinity perception is greater than mine.”

“So you don’t know where they are?”

She shakes her head, “No… it isn’t just the standard cloaking- I think someone of exceptional ability is manually hiding the compound. A key node, I believe.”

For the elimination of ADAM:
>Accept the trade
>Decline the trade

For the matter regarding the King:
>Begin to investigate
>Decline for now

>>6123778
>Decline the trade
>Begin to investigate
The Uncrowned King is the higher priority for the moment, I think. Ye Min said that she's willing to discount the cost if we work on the King first.

File: mercy.png (3.26 MB, 2003x2855)

3.26 MB PNG

While we wait, I've drawn the shape Atë took when she struck her bargain with Hyunsung (irises were described as blue, but when divinity is used, the color often shows in the incarnation's eyes)

>>6123778
>Decline the trade
I wanna take them ourselves
It's fucking personal now
>Begin to investigate

>>6123830
Damn, Hyunsung is such a lucky bastard

>>6123799
>>6123853

>Decline the trade
>Begin to investigate

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m gonna take a rain check. So, where’s this base with the King?”

“Somewhere out in the desert.” She answers, unphased as ever, “If I knew the precise location I would have taken care of the matter myself.”

“Fair enough,” you shrug, “I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

She smiles, waving as you exit her office.

Well, you were quite confident earlier, but in all honesty you aren’t even quite sure where to start. How should you go about this?

>Contact allies (specify)
>Try to draw them out
>Meditate on the King
>Fly high above the desert and cover as much ground as fast as possible
>Write-in

>>6123921
>Ask if she has any equipment to spare for the attack

>>6123921
>Fly over the desert and cover as much ground as possible
It’s worked before

>>6123921
>Meditate on the King
If we can focus on him, maybe we can follow the threads of his power back down to earth. Basically use Your's Truly.

Maybe we can use our own connection to Impetous of hate and revenge to get a feel for him?

>>6123998
>>6124027
>>6124043

We have a 3-way tie- I'll wait a while for a tiebreaker, otherwise I'll decide randomly.

>>6124331
I can change to meditation

>>6123998
>>6124027
>>6124043
>>6124366

>Meditate on the King

You land on an empty rock jutting out from the surrounding desert, closing your eyes. You laugh to yourself- it’s been a while since you’ve meditated on the King. Your hands quiver as you clutch them together in your lap. Releasing a shaky breath, you begin to tap into the Stream.

You can feel them- whispers of praise and terror, songs of greatness and might, even before your <Eyes> fully open. Your soul trembles- your <Vision> so much sharper than it ever had been, you find yourself able to perceive the king to a much greater extent. The magnitude of it, the writhing mass of shrieking divinity that constructs its body, the absolute, inimitable power of the entity, shakes you to an extent you cannot even comprehend, let alone articulate: a primal, desperate fear riddles you as you do everything in your power to remain hidden.

As you look with unsteady gaze at the King in all his terrible glory, you remember the warning that the <Cookbook> gave about devouring souls without properly digesting them first: that you might subsume their <Impetus> and lose yourself in it. With sharper eyes and deepened knowledge, you understand something about the Uncrowned King:

It ate without reservation.

It ate men, women, children, animals, planets, wraiths, maybe even gods. It consumed without hesitation, caution, or exception. It accumulated every last ounce of their impetus as it subsumed their souls into itself. Nausea assaults your mind, forcing you to suppress the urge to vomit as your body doubles over in the material world.

You can hear something in there. Inside the King. It seems.. human. One of the souls it ate perhaps? Somehow, you find yourself drawn to the presence like a warm refuge against the lethal cold of winter.

>Focus on the objective
>Investigate
>Write-in

>>6124470
>Investigate
A weakness? Perhaps the original King?

>>6124470
>Investigate
Could be a trap, like the lure of an angler fish. Still, information on the enemy might be worth the risk.

>>6124470
>>Investigate
I kinda also think its a trap

>>6124595
>>6124656
>>6124739

>Investigate

You move towards it- towards the Uncrowned King, praying that you don’t incur its attention as you creep slowly, deliberately towards the presence buried inside. The presence seems to recognize your approach and, after you make it about a quarter of the way there, you can feel it.. calling to you. You remember that the <Soulscape> isn’t necessarily bound by physical laws: closing your <Eyes>, you imagine being in the same place as that soul.

You open them, and find yourself somewhere else. The eye of the hurricane.

The space is black- truly black- a something simply lacking in illumination, rather than the void to which you’ve become accustomed in regards to the King. You can still feel it- everywhere, all around you, the unknowable surge of unparalleled might and hunger and loathing.

In the darkness, a golden light shines- it takes the form of a chair, a once mighty golden throne battered and tarnished. Then, slowly, a man appears, sitting on the high seat. Greasy blonde locks, pressed down by a brilliant golden crown, cascade down his face, its noble visage plagued by signs of fatigue and poor conditions. The remnants of plate armor, seemingly of medieval make, lies unrecognizably rusted and worn on his body, and, most notably of all, a gaping hole takes the place of his heart.

He speaks to you, in a language you can’t recognize. Shaking your head, you touch one of his warped gauntlets, transmitting your <Impetus> to him directly in lieu of speech.

“Who are you?” you ask, “and what are you doing here?”

“I am Kieldrich the fourth,” he replies, a stalwart dignity burning, “The last king of Malgha. Bearer of the Golden Blade. And also.. the last child of the Gods.”

>Malgha?
>Gods?
>King?
>Write-in

>>6124828
>”None of those names mean anything to me”

>>6124828
>None of those names mean anything to me
>do you know how much time has passed.
>do you know where you are?

>>6124828
>introduce ourselves
he's a king (uncrowned maybe), so some courtesy will make him more willing to talk
>>6124863
>>6125046
+1

Rolled 91 (1d128)

>>6124863
>>6125046
>>6125352

Slight error in last paragraph- should be “a stalwart dignity burning in his sunken eyes”

>Introduce yourself
>Ask questions

“My name is Atë.” You say, giving a subtle curtsy to the man before continuing, “Do you know where you are?”

“The belly of the beast.” He says, sighing in resignation, “I know all too well.”

“And how much time do you think has passed?”

“I must admit that it is hard to count. This is the only piece of time left, after all.”

“What?”

“The demon. It.. ate time. Dissolved it into nothing. I’ve managed to keep some in this little pocket of it, for the sake of maintaining my own sanity, but it has been most difficult.”

“The things you said- the name of your kingdom, your title, your ‘gods’- I don’t recognize any of it. Can you explain?”

“I could but.. time is limited. If we spend too long conversing, we will draw the eyes of the King.”

>Leave for now
>Ask about the emergence of the King
>Ask about his identity
>Ask about his world
>Ask about theology
>Write-in

>>6125400
>>Ask about his identity
>>Ask how he is able to keep his individuality

>>6125400
I can back >>6125647
If possible also ask about the King’s emergence

Rolled 58 (1d64)

>>6125647
>>6125719

>Ask about his identity

“I am, as I stated, the last rightful king of Malgha. And.. almost certainly, the last survivor of my world- well, in whatever capacity you could call this existence survival.”

“What world? I’ve never heard of that country, or your language, or your name.”

“You are from one of the Gray Worlds, I must presume. You must be, given your continued survival. The demon must be trying to breach into your world.”

“Gray Worlds?”

He nods, “We come from the White World- the world, or I guess ‘a world’- created by the Gods. Amongst those outside of the White World, there are Grey Worlds- those with life but no gods, and Black Worlds- those with neither.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He sighs, “Your people- your species, weren’t created. You came about through random chance. Our gods used your world as a model, a point of reference for sentient, living beings.”

Your eyes widen- this doesn’t sound like any old creation myth: very few cultures naturally come up with humanity being made in the image of anything but the gods themselves. Additionally, the notion that their world is merely one of many, albeit one chosen by their gods, is an incredibly complex supposition that scholars in his supposed societal level should not have been able to come up with yet, or at least not to such an accurate extent.

“I see,” you say, “Supposing I believe you about all this, how did you stay sane in all this? Stay.. you?”

He lets out a bitter laugh, his rusted armor creaking as he leans back in his chair. “Somebody had to.” He declares, his eyes almost seeming to glow with determination, “Somebody had to be there to carry on the torch of my people. As king, I felt it only right that I bear that burden.”

Stricken by dumb shock, you chuckle: for what could have been thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of years, he stood, alone, propped up by nothing but his sense of kingly duty.
“Are you.. the Uncrowned King?” You ask, wanting to make sure that you hadn’t made some mistake. With a smirk, he merely taps the golden crown resting atop his head.

Rolled 13 (1d32)

>>6126078

>Ask about the King’s emergence

“Before I was a king, I was a prince,” Kieldrich begins, his lips curling ever so slightly as he remembers happier times, “I was noble- nobler than I am now- but unwise and untempered by the realities of the world. My younger brother was talented: gifted by the Gods in wit and magic, and entrenched fully in the sinister world of politics. He felt himself far worthier of the title of Crown Prince than his muscleheaded, idealistic older brother.”

You can’t help but interrupt, “Magic?”

He nods, “The gift of the gods. I suppose your people would lack it. Regardless, it isn’t particularly important to this story.”

You shrug, beckoning him to continue, and he does so:

“Our father would not be swayed. He sensed.. a darkness in my brother. An ambition and greed for personal power unbefitting of a royal. Though he was talented, his priorities were incorrect. Then, all chances of his ascension were dashed once our elder sister caught him practicing Sorcery.”

“Why would that be bad? Isn’t magic a gift from the gods?”

“Sorcery is different.” He explains, “Rather than using the methods laid out by the Gods, sorcery involves the bending of the natural order outside of their gifted boundaries. It is the heresy of the highest order: a sorcerer steps outside of the realm of humanity and, in their hubris, reaches for power only rightfully possessed by the Gods themselves.”

Your eyes narrow- he’s talking about <Arts>. It seems like, unlike in your world, their use was well known but also strictly prohibited.

“Eventually, he got his hands on an old tome long thought lost by the royal family: the records of the so called Devil, the most powerful Sorcerer to ever live. It detailed how he gained ascension, gained a power so great that only the Gods could stop him: he called a being of the Chaos from a Black World, slaughtering it and devouring its soul.”

“An <Interwraith>,” you say, mostly to yourself.

“So your people are aware of them, but not of magic or sorcery. How peculiar.”

“I’m a bit of an anomaly,” you clarify, “Continue.”

With a somber nod, he obliges:

“He was not confident in his ability to slay the beast. Instead, he resorted to something radical: he attempted to merge with it. It.. did not end well. They merged into something unrecognizable. The Demon you call ‘The Uncrowned King’.”

“And where were your gods in all this? Why didn’t they stop him like they stopped the ‘Devil’?”

“After the Devil was slain, they simply… left. The priests say that they, disgusted by our sins, had considered our world a failure and vanished, only to return upon our repentance.”

>Leave for now
>Ask about Magic
>Ask about his world
>Ask about theology
>Write-in

>>6126079
>Ask about theology
These gods sound interesting
Technically we do have magic now in the form of the System, perhaps they're the ones behind that
Currently they're the only candidates for it

>>6126079
>Leave for now
Y'all pushing this time limit. I see dat dice getting smaller. Skedaddle.