NOVPUB"In the name of Lena, I as your Avatar declare your presence and proclaim the emergence of a Meeting of Rules!" (Lolth)
Ding!
<[ The Entity [ Lena (Rebirth of Life) ] proclaims from [ Lolth (Avatar of Rebirth of Life) ] the establishment of a Meeting of Rules using her Authority ]>
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<[ Will you accept the invitation to the Meeting of Rules ]>
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<[ Yes / No ]>
Her words were loaded with her Aura and traces of Lena's Concept, Lolth's words did not seem to belong to her, it was an ultimatum from Lena to the Avatar of Greed and what's more, I did not understand what was happening, but I could feel in my Soul those words that my ears were not able to hear.
Soon the notifications appeared revealing even more how important this ultimatum was, the system itself spoke out in the face of this proclamation for this meeting, this was the level of this meeting.
"(Accept, I'll explain later, don't worry, you'll be safe.)" (Lena)
"(Do you expect me to believe you after everything we've been through?)" (me)
"(I'm doing this for you, do you think I'd lie here? Have I ever lied to you?)" (Lena)
"..." (me)
I don't trust Lena and Cortana, both of them have deceived me before and acted together with their counterparts to manipulate me into a certain path that they knew I would choose if I had the option, the simple fact of not completely breaking my connection with them is already a miracle of patience as well as a tacit acceptance of their usefulness whether in combat power or as Entities with great knowledge.
But even though I no longer trust her, I know that neither she nor Cortana lie, it is beneath them to lie, they can omit things or even tell parts of the information, but they do not lie.
"(This will be the only time I will trust you like this, if you are deceiving me again...)" (me)
"(I will make it worth it, thank you.)" (Lena)
"Yes." (me)
Ding!
<[ All participants confirmed their participation ]>
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<[ The System will host the Rules Meeting in a Neutral manner within 10 Hours ]>
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<[ Any act of aggression will be denied during the Rules Meeting ]>
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<[ The Meeting will have an estimated time of 10 hours and may be extended by the unanimous votes of its participants ]>
When I agreed to participate in the meeting, some system notifications appeared to me and I began to understand more about this meeting.
I look at the well of arrogance and greed floating in the air as if he owned the place, he didn't even bother to contain his sudden irritation before staring at Lolth who dared to look at him on the same level.
"I'll wait for the Meeting." (Avatar of Greed)
Saying just that he turns around and leaves as suddenly as he arrived, he was leaving late, I didn't want to fight, I'm not afraid of losing, I'm not going to give in to the strength I perceived from them, but I was afraid of revealing myself more than I already did, if I use all my power in this place I'll paint a huge target on my back.
After the idiot left, we also decided to leave, it was too risky to stay here after everything that happened, Hades opening the Star Path to me left traces of Divine power, that damn Avatar of Greed wasn't discreet at all either.
We spent 9 hours traveling once again, we moved away heading towards Akatosh, Karina as my Saint prayed to me and I heard her call, I knew they needed my help and so I went towards her while I passed on the change of meeting point to the others.
On the way, Lolth explained to me about the Rules Meeting as well as Lena's logic for requesting such a meeting. Just as I had heard, it seemed like a good thing for us. An enemy in the dark is riskier than being in enemy territory.
I had to use 2 teleports from the Ascendants before arriving at the planet where Akatosh was, but I didn't have time to go meet him now. The ten-hour time limit was almost up. The Rules Meeting was about to start at any moment.
"What do you think?" (me)
"They'll find out about you anyway. It would be best to go in person. Putting Hades in your place or one of the others would be counterproductive." (Mother)
"Yes, Lena and Cortana won't be participating either. It seems that the Entities themselves don't participate in person. They use the Avatars as vessels or leave them as representatives of their will."
(me)
"According to the system, all parties who received the invitation accepted, and this seems like a dangerous tradition where the one who refuses to participate becomes the enemy of all those who participate." (me)
"So the Entities that will definitely participate are War, Greed, Pride, and Curse..." (me)
"Be careful with what you say and how you act, they are beings who have lived for ages, don't let yourself be fooled or manipulated by them." (Mother)
"I know... that's exactly my concern." (me)
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Pov Samara:
In front of me was Thais, her body was covered in bruises, cuts, and burns, her body was very mistreated, her eyes were empty.
"You know, I didn't expect you to be so stupid, imagine my surprise when I discovered such an Artifact of Origin?"
(me)
"Hhhuunnn..." (Thais)
"Your power really surprised me, I didn't expect you could recover so quickly or is this a remnant of what the Corrupt Shadow did to your body." (me)
Her mutilated body was emitting a black mist as her injuries continuously healed, but of course I never thought of personally torturing her like this for any other reason than fun.
"How are your dreams, I prepared it especially for you..." (me)
"Gghh..." (Thais)
She can't even say the words, her saliva runs along with the blood in her mouth while her eyes are stained with tears, I think I messed with her mind too much.
"Can I... eat it...?" (Hinata)
"No, not yet, it can be a bargaining chip for the master during the Meeting, leave it trapped in your body until then."
(me)
"Bite... just one..." (Hinata)
"One arm, just one arm, then wait until the end of the Meeting to find out what we do with it." (me)
In my hands was a small sphere of black marble with a purple circle with lines pointing inwards and filled with the color red, in the middle was a white horizontal cut, it was a representation of an eyeball, every time you let go of this item it returns to the same position.
The energy contained in this item was the power of Chaos, there is no doubt about that, but it is not the same as the one my master possesses, it seems unstable and unnerving.
I don't feel anything more than that, even so I also have the feeling that there is more in this eye than what I am seeing, there is a depth, it was as if I were being observed and not the one doing the observing.
"You know what this eye is... but you don't want to talk about it right now..." (me)
"Hhaaarr..." (Thais)
I've never encountered anything like this while I was serving in Hell, nor have I found any information about anything like this about any Origin Artifact, I don't know what this eye is, but it seems inactive in a way.
I also feel more and more uneasy the more I look at this thing, if I'm honest I even feel apprehensive about having this in my hands.
"(What kind of thing is this!?)" (me)
"The Corrupt Shadow might be useful in a negotiation, but you're not, so maybe I should..." (me)
"(The meeting point has changed...)" (Master)
"..." (me)
Suddenly I receive information in my mind as the master's voice appears, he had previously only specified the planet, now he specified an exact place on the planet in question.
"I'll let you live a little longer..." (me)
"< Eclipse Magic: Shadow Chains >" (me)
"< Eclipse Magic: Shadow Prison >" (me)
Chains wrap around her arms and legs as well as around her neck before pulling her into the shadows where only the silhouette of her tormented face can be seen.
I couldn't keep this unprotected like this, I also couldn't store it in a storage item, the Artifacts of Origin destroy any storage item.
I lift my shirt and with a claw I open a hole in my chest, dark purple blood and crimson flames come out of the wound while a Stellar space reveals itself inside me where shadowy shapes intertwine, my Soul has long since lost its human appearance, then chains come out of the wound wrapping around the eyeball before pulling it in, the master's power being used as an insulator with the Infernal power holding it.
"I need to take this eye to the master." (me)
I look at Hinata and she has a dark finger coming out of her right eye, an eye that opens revealing razor-like teeth that break the finger that before falling was grabbed by her tongue and pulled to her mouth where she chews as if she were chewing candy.
Seeing her calms me down a lot and a smile returns to my face, having someone with her capabilities by my side and being sure that she is trustworthy is reassuring, her senses go far beyond mine, perceiving things that shouldn't even be possible.
Even with the information from the Traveling Merchant, I might not have been able to achieve these results if I hadn't discovered Thais' secret.
"We're going back, let's go meet the master." (me)
"Master... Hinata likes... the master..." (Hinata)
"Hide inside me until then."
(me)
She enters my body and I feel her poking my Soul, it feels like a child playing with its meal, but I know she wouldn't devour me, she doesn't like my Soul and has made that clear on more than one occasion.
