OHNIR - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: The Summoning

Whether in true history or in written records, Persedoro, the Goddess of Deceit, had always been a deity with a recognized lack of presence.

Although she was one of the Six Original Gods, she almost never appeared openly before the masses.

Even after the schism between the Goddesses of Light and Darkness, when she followed Talebris and the God of War, Hebgard, to become one of the three leaders of the dark faction, she remained a behind-the-scenes strategist, seemingly always trying to avoid the forefront.

The biggest reason was that she, like the Goddess of Fate, Gosna, was a "support-type deity" who did not possess power that could produce tangible effects.

The divine power of the Light and Dark Goddesses could be converted into magic through spells; the God of War Hebgard's tactical mind and physical prowess were unmatched; the Goddess of Life, Lysasa, was a standard and exceptionally skilled healer. But only Gosna and Persedoro were the most unique.

The former possessed the ability of "prophecy," while the latter was a goddess who "governed all the desires and lies of the world."

In other words, Persedoro had no direct combat abilities—her best option was to remain in the shadows.

However, no one could have imagined that at the end of the Cruel Era, a time of conflict between gods and slaughter between humans and demons, the last two surviving deities would be the Goddess of Darkness and this ever-understated Goddess of Deceit.

And in places unknown, she had not only silently manipulated the gods in the palm of her hand but had also, through her long-laid plans, become the biggest winner of the entire divine era.

With all the gods having fallen, once Persedoro found the Holy Force Source, she would ascend directly to the throne of the supreme god, becoming the undisputed ruler of this world.

Therefore, to achieve this goal, she secretly modified the "Dark Mark" curse while the Goddess of Darkness was creating and researching it. She deliberately provoked conflict and slaughter between the two sisters, directly leading to the great war between humans and demons, and used Clara's death to raise the curtain on the Cruel Era.

After the war began, when most of the gods on both sides had perished, she sowed discord between Talebris and Hebgard, causing the God of War to be publicly executed by the dark faction. Furthermore, she presented various venomous schemes to the Goddess of Darkness, using the life of the dark faction's last great general as bait to completely annihilate the light faction...

In the end, when only the two of them remained among the world's deities, Persedoro remained patient. Well-versed in the principle of not meeting force with force, she laid out the entire truth, driving Talebris to utter despair and eventual suicide. Simultaneously, she provoked the other into using the long-since-tampered-with "Dark Mark" on her, sacrificing her physical body so that her soul could continue to exist.

As long as the Dark Mark did not disappear, the Goddess of Deceit's soul could not be destroyed—it was a curse derived from fundamental law.

It was under these circumstances that, after the end of the Cruel Era, Persedoro's soul found a vagrant in the Nobili Kingdom—the very first Silentdis. She saw through his desires and struck a mutually beneficial deal with him.

The Goddess of Deceit promised to use the Dark Mark upon her soul, which carried Talebris's divine power, to transfer dark magic to the vagrant through a specific ritual, allowing him to become a true mage.

In return, Silentdis swore that he and his descendants would become Persedoro's loyal followers, offering their power of faith generation after generation and doing their utmost to satisfy her every demand as her adherents.

With needs on both sides, the two came to an immediate agreement. This deal was passed down through the generations of the Silentdis family, enduring for centuries and becoming the "shackle" that is so difficult to escape today.

However, within the Nobili Kingdom, no one actually knew that the "power of faith" served to strengthen a god's power but could not sustain their life.

The vast majority of gods, much like the races they created, possessed absurdly long lifespans in comparison but could not achieve "immortality" in the truest sense.

Because if they were killed, they would fall.

But Persedoro was the most unique... to a certain extent, she was the only deity among the gods who could achieve "immortality."

The claim that the Goddess of Deceit governed all the desires of the world was no empty boast.

Because she could draw a ceaseless supply of life force from the desires of her followers.

No one in the world is without desire, so no one could refuse the temptations of this "goddess who governs desire." The reason the Goddess of Deceit was known as "Deceit" rather than the "Goddess of Desire" was precisely because she was adept at using people's ambitions and cravings to commit acts of deception and temptation, luring them into her traps where they would either die or become her devoted servants.

The chosen Silentdis was quite satisfied with his status as a "servant." Relying on this powerful dark magic that had fallen into his lap, he voluntarily joined the human army and, following the first king, achieved illustrious military honors on the battlefield.

After the wars largely ceased, the demons were driven to the Continent's Edge, while the humans became the owners of the central lands, gradually establishing the Nobili Kingdom.

Silentdis, along with many other humans who had achieved great things in the war, was granted a title, wealth, and power by the king... as well as the glory he had always dreamed of, placing him above all others.

After obtaining these things, the former vagrant did indeed honor his deal with Persedoro. While demanding that his descendants maintain their unwavering faith in her, he began to use his status as a duke to search the entire continent for traces of the Holy Force Source.

But unfortunately, after a hundred years, he had still found nothing.

Many years passed, and even with an eternity to waste, the Goddess of Deceit, who harbored dreams of becoming the supreme god, finally grew impatient. She turned her gaze to the yet-unexplored Continent's Edge and, through a series of methods including dark oracles and fragments of a magic mirror, successfully established contact with the Demon King.

Under the guise of "cooperation," Persedoro demanded that Gloria send a reliable informant. Ostensibly, this person was to pass information about the Nobili Kingdom to the Demon King, allowing him to find an opportunity to lead the demons back to the central continent. But the secret, true purpose was to carefully search for traces of the Holy Force Source at the Continent's Edge and, upon finding any news, immediately report back to Gloria, who was the most trusted by the Goddess of Deceit in this generation.

...However, Persedoro was quite disappointed with the performance of the duke's eldest daughter.

The silver-haired girl had always been decisive and efficient, capable of quickly completing any task assigned to her. But this time, for some unknown reason, she was dragging out even a trivial matter like selecting a person for so long.

Even Persedoro, who had always been exceedingly satisfied with her, could not help but grow suspicious.

Therefore, when the goddess's soul sensed someone speaking her name in an attempt to summon her, the Goddess of Deceit suddenly felt a keen interest.

The Silentdis family possessed a special candle exclusive to her followers; they only needed to light it to summon her and did not need to create a specific situation to utter the name "Persedoro."

Having not been summoned in this manner for a very long time, the Goddess of Deceit could not suppress her curiosity. Thus, for the first time in many years, she took the initiative to leave the Silentdis Ducal Estate, drifting along in obedience to the summons, and appeared in the private secret chamber of the kingdom's second princess.

She lowered her head with great interest, gazing at the blonde girl kneeling in devout worship. After a moment's hesitation, she finally chose to manifest.

"I have felt your summons, my dear child."

A female voice, as if soaked in syrup, suddenly rang out, sounding rather abrupt in the empty, dark chamber.

Starangui's figure trembled. A flicker of confusion and fear flashed through her pale violet eyes for an instant. She took a quiet breath, doing her best to steady her mind, and slowly raised her head—

A beautiful woman with curly hair stood before her, her lips as crimson as blood, yet her face was as pale as a sheet of paper.

Her body appeared as just a faint phantom, shrouded in a layer of black mist. She was currently wearing a sweet and harmless-looking smile, and like a naive young girl, she blinked cheerfully at her.

"Good afternoon. I am the Goddess of Deceit, 'Persedoro'..."

The woman said with a smile in her voice, "I have come in response to your summons."

---

There were two major events in the Nobili Kingdom recently.

The first was that the Amirium family, which had kept a low profile since the old duke's passing, suddenly made a public announcement: they had found the long-lost daughter of the late Miss Ricanarias Amirium and had already designated her as the family's heir. They were only waiting for her to turn thirty to formally inherit the title and take over the entire family as the new Duchess Amirium.

The second was a verdict from the kingdom's court. Marquis Charles was sentenced to life imprisonment for a series of actions that severely disrupted market order, such as dumping tobacco on the commoners. His wife and children, who were also implicated in the case, would share in his misfortune and face the same unavoidable prison sentence.

There was both joy and sorrow within high society, but the commoners of the royal capital were merely spectators. Aside from a few people who had been forced to buy tobacco by Marquis Charles's men and were now sighing that evil begets evil, most people just discussed it briefly before setting aside today's Brilliant Daily and returning to the hustle and bustle of the year's end.

Speaking of busy... one had to mention Kelusta, whose identity had just been made public.

She had recently been buried in her study day and night, working with utmost diligence to handle the snowstorm of invitations, calling cards, and partnership proposals flooding the ducal residence.

Countless nobles wanted to develop relations with the revitalized Amirium family, whether to collaborate fully or to mend old ties. Naturally, they were all scrambling to be the first to convey their family's intentions through all sorts of methods.

Kelusta felt she should start shouldering the responsibilities of an heir right away—so, severely underestimating the difficulty of the work, she volunteered to Madam Isabella to take on the task.

This decision also meant that, for a time, she couldn't find a single spare moment to see the girlfriend she had just managed to win over!

It was simply unreasonable, an affront to humanity!

Kelusta: The party involved is now filled with regret, immense regret.

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