Divine space

Empire of Cailan in 2378 after the founding of the empire.

Albia's mood had sunk to the bottom as she watched one of her most promising projects get killed. She had come with a sense of anticipation to the occasion of her Blessed One's ascent up the stairs. Only to see him killed. Which had consequences. Entire plans that had been in the works for decades had to be rethought.

Or be left pale in its entirety.

This was one of the disadvantages when a god blessed a mortal, they could die a natural death, or they could be deliberately killed. Which begs the question, was this a targeted attack on one of her blessed? Or was it simply a coincidence.

She almost had to laugh, there was no coincidence on Arcane. Everything that happened on Arcane was foreseen in the plans of the three sisters.

She had staked a lot on this person, but even he was not infallible. Not to mention the only one of his kind whom she had blessed. She had evasive possibilities if it should be necessary.

Her only consolation was that whoever had killed her Blessed One would not get his record. As is usual with users of Arkane Energy of the Mind, he had not recorded much of his research. He simply stored them in his memory without ever forgetting anything.

But there was also another positive point. That now, after his death, she would get all his knowledge. A way of paying for their blessings, as some mortals would call it. In return, their blessing had helped them reach their goal.

Together with that she got small parts of arcane energy from his levels up and at his death his whole remaining arcane energy. Nevertheless, the question remained whether this would outweigh the damage caused by his death.

The question about the perpetrators also had to be answered.

Was it another faction of gods? Or was it the mortals themselves? Who wanted to get a rival or even an obstacle out of the way? After all, he had been one of her most important chess pieces.

"His death could cause us greater problems than the small blessings we bestowed upon him." Triam made himself known. She had not forgotten his presence, but she had to admit that she had been lost in her thoughts.

"There are rumors-" he paused slightly to wait for her reaction. However, as she still looked down at the dying body, he continued. "Of gods and mortals, both say that something is stirring that had better be forgotten."

"Don't believe everything the mortals tell you." She turned to him. "- Or other gods, who have no idea what they think they're watching." The Man, who was a God of War, was clad in armor like most of his ilk. It was not opulent or in any other way overloaded with useless additions. Nor were there any traces of battle on it or was it overly polished. It was simply a plain armor, which had only one purpose to fulfill, and that was to protect him. He had his helmet tucked under his left arm, his gaze fixed on the scene below them. An angular tanned face framed by brown hair without any scar or beard, which made him appear younger. With intelligent light brown eyes. As always, she thought he looked too harmless for a war god, the only imitating thing about him was his height and width. Mortals would probably say that he was built like a closet.

For divine standards, however, he was almost too mortal. Which was probably due to his domain. He was, after all, a god of simple soldiers and strategy and tactics. He also embodied empathy in times of war. A unique blend of embodiments for a god of war.

"It is not only what the mortals tell, but also what some of the elder gods talk in secret. What worries me" he said, after which he looked her in the eye. It was an observation, which was not entirely wrong, something was forming in the shadows and hidden corners of Arcane. Only no one was clear what it was. Their assumption was that they were remnants of the last great battle. Which were preparing for the coming battle.

"Interesting, if I'm wrong that is an artifact of the Kan." A questioning look towards her betrayed that he expected an answer from her side. She looked down again to look at the blade in question. And yes, Triam was right, it was a blade from the Kan's arsenal.

"This means that it was a purposeful act to add a soul with such potential to the Demonic Soul Reservoir."

"It was not one of your plans, I hope. If it was, I am not able to see the advantage for us." Triam commented dryly.

"I can reassure you that it was not one of my plans. What I can't promise you is that someone else from our ranks didn't possibly set up this deal." He gave her an incredulous look.

"Do you really think someone would mess with your blessed ones?" A good argument, despite the fact that it rested on shaky ground. There were enough gods who, although they were together in a faction to stand against the other gods, would weaken them or others.

"Considering the fact that his soul now belongs to the demons, I will revoke my blessing." With a thoughtful look, Triam contemplated the events below them.

"It is really a shame. Also, it is doubtful that in his next life as a demon he will have the same success as in these." She could only nod in the affirmative, but she was not interested in whether he perceived her.

"I will be on my way then, there are other events which need my attention." With these parting words, he put his helmet back on and was gone. She too would have to attend to other events, yet she stayed a few moments to bid her Blessed One farewell and pay her last respects. Even if he personally did not think much of her or Triam's blessing. So she felt an obligation to see him off in all honor.

When his soul left his mortal body and died, she felt his knowledge passed to her. How it was imbued with the Arcane Energy of a Level Ten Ascent. She surrendered to the feeling and enjoyed every moment of it. Until she opened her eyes in surprise. With a touch of fear and fascination, she looked at the mortal shell of her Blessed One.

"Caleb of Basilisk. Maybe it's better that you died." She hesitated for a few brief moments before continuing.

"I will also give you my blessings for your new life, even if I know that you do not think much of them. In addition, my blessed one, you shall benefit from another blessing. This should hopefully hide you from the gods of the Demonic Pantheon, as well as others."

With a last glance at the scene below, she started to leave.