OHNIR – Chapter 105
Chapter 105: Variables
With Musen’s departure, this grand and secret scheme officially began to unfold.
Gloria was primarily responsible for handling communications with the Demon Realm, promptly relaying all of Musen’s movements and status updates to Kelusta. Kelusta, in turn, was busy advancing the Amirium family’s interests, accumulating funds as quickly as possible, and, with Satrick’s help, equipping the people of Seaside Town with weapons and undertaking major infrastructure projects in preparation for the impending war.
After seeing Musen off, Gloria confessed to her father and brother that she had awakened Light Magic. She also revealed that Seaside Town—Kelusta’s hometown—was the very place their family had spent a century searching for on behalf of the Goddess of Deceit, the place where the Holy Force Source was hidden.
Wend, having had the least exposure to the family’s secrets, pledged to unconditionally follow the decisions of his father and sister. Reginald, after a long period of contemplation, ultimately chose not to alert their foe, deciding to maintain their previous demeanor to temporarily lull the Goddess of Deceit into a false sense of security.
Everything continued to proceed in an orderly fashion.
However, in the shadows, beyond Kelusta and Gloria’s perception, variables still existed, continuously exerting a subtle yet significant influence on their plans.
The Goddess of Deceit’s power stemmed from the continuous faith of the Silentdis family over hundreds of generations. This had allowed her to accumulate enough divine power to suppress the curse on her soul and successfully wield the Dark Magic originating from Talebris, which was bound to the Dark Mark.
She had altered this curse to ensure the soul of the afflicted would be indestructible, unable to be destroyed by any means... but that was only its most basic function.
To continue her existence and maintain her consciousness, she required the “desire” of her followers as a constant source of nourishment.
Therefore, when the faith of the Silentdis family began to wane, and their desire for power and glory was no longer sufficient to sustain her soul, Persedoro naturally realized—
This was a sign of their impending betrayal.
The ancient goddess, her power draining for the first time in centuries, revealed a cold smile, yet her eyes blazed with torrential fury. The black mist enveloping her grew denser, and even the curse mark on her translucent form began to throb with a faint pain.
However, after careful consideration, this goddess known for her cunning chose to bide her time, just as the Silentdis family had.
When she communicated with Gloria, she remained as composed as ever, and both she and the Silentdis family tacitly maintained a precarious surface-level peace. But in secret, the goddess’s soul traveled once more to the Royal Palace to meet with the Second Princess—Starangui.
“You wish to possess power, to become the supreme ruler of this entire kingdom.”
Persedoro leaned languidly against the statue of the Goddess Clara in the palace chapel. Her voice was filled with a heart-stopping sweetness, like a scorpion’s stinger dipped in caramel—brimming with dangerous, sharp temptation.
“—And you also wish to possess the one who has slipped from your grasp... Gloria Silentdis, am I right?”
The golden-haired, violet-eyed girl knelt silently before her, head bowed. But a slender hand caught her by the chin, gently raising her beautiful face.
Persedoro gently caressed the princess’s cheek, a light dancing in her eyes as she spoke with profound affection, “If you want to obtain all of this, my dear, you must possess sufficient power.”
“...”
“Believe in me, my child,” the Goddess of Deceit tempted. “I will grant you my divine power, my knowledge, my schemes... all of it. They will become your most loyal companions, helping you obtain everything you desire.”
“...Very well.”
After a long moment, Starangui finally spoke, calmly raising her eyes. “I swear an oath to the Goddess of Deceit, Persedoro—”
“I, Starangui Nobili, willingly offer you my most devout faith and respect. I pray for your mercy and aid... My goddess, please grant me the precious opportunity to become your loyal follower.”
“Of course, my princess.”
The beautiful goddess gave an enigmatic smile. She cupped Starangui’s face in her hands and placed an exceedingly gentle kiss upon her forehead.
“—Everything will be just as you wish.”
The kingdom’s second princess became Persedoro’s newly chosen follower. Her faith and desire promptly replaced that of the Silentdis family, allowing the Goddess of Deceit’s divine power and life to continue.
But the power of a single person’s faith could not compare to the generational devotion of the Silentdis family. Ultimately, it was not enough to restore the Goddess of Deceit’s power to its former level.
However, Starangui was a candidate for the throne. Given the inherent advantages of her station, she possessed a far more extensive search network than Gloria.
Since the Silentdis family had already swept the entire continent of Nobili... the next logical area to investigate was the coastline surrounding Seaside Town.
—While Starangui was secretly dispatching her people, Kelusta, busy with her infrastructure projects, finally made new progress.
Although they couldn’t know exactly what was happening with Musen in the Demon Realm, the dark-haired young man was remarkably efficient. He had barely kept them waiting before sending back important news regarding the Dark Mark.
“‘Based on speculation from the records in the Demon Realm’s archives, the ‘Dark Mark’ is a curse that sealed the Goddess of Deceit’s soul. It allows her to wield Dark Magic from Talebris, but prevents her from possessing a physical body...’”
Gloria handed Musen’s secret letter to Kelusta and said succinctly, “A double-edged sword.”
“While the curse does indeed prevent the Goddess of Deceit from ever truly living in this world, it also prevents her from ever truly dying,” Kelusta mused. “Only by gathering the divine power of all the gods can she reconstruct her body and qualify to become the supreme god... No wonder she’s so obsessed with the Holy Force Source.”
Gloria raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly. “However, Musen also included a method to break the curse in his letter.”
Kelusta, who hadn’t yet had a chance to read the letter carefully, was taken aback. A wide, delighted smile spread across her face. “He’s so efficient! That’s my brother, all right!”
Seeing her gleeful and proud expression, Gloria gave a slightly helpless smile and tapped the letter, gesturing for Kelusta to read it herself.
“‘Generally, like ordinary humans or demons, the soul of a fallen god dissipates with the destruction of their body... But there are forbidden spells that can extract, seal, or scourge a soul. For the gods, this has always been an exceptionally cruel form of punishment.’”
“‘...In the records concerning the Dark Goddess, I found some information about the Goddess of Deceit. I learned that she is a deity born from worldly desire. ‘She excels at bewitching the hearts of mortals and feeds on their desires. As long as her followers are willing to believe in her and possess the craving to obtain something or achieve a goal, it will both strengthen her power and extend her life, allowing her to attain immortality like the other gods.’’”
“‘Therefore, based on these clues, my initial hypothesis is this: to annihilate the Goddess of Deceit’s soul, one must ensure she no longer has any followers... thus cutting off the supply of faith and severing the ‘desire’ that serves as her nourishment.’”
“...”
After reading the letter carefully, Kelusta couldn’t help but frown.
“If what Musen says is true, doesn’t that seem a little too easy?” the brown-haired girl said hesitantly after a moment’s pause. “The Goddess of Deceit has always been a very low-profile deity. She didn’t have many followers even during the age of the gods, let alone now...”
“Right now, the only people who could be called her ‘followers’ should be us, the Silentdis family,” Gloria said. “According to Musen’s theory... if we simply refuse to believe in her and shed our status as ‘followers,’ her soul will be completely destroyed?”
“Mm, it would seem so.”
Kelusta tapped her chin, perplexed.
She pondered for a moment before asking the System in her mind, “So... once Gloria and the rest of the Silentdis family stop believing in the Goddess of Deceit, her soul will dissipate—and then I just proceed as planned, go to Seaside Town, retrieve and release the Holy Force Source, and the mission will be complete?”
“Theoretically, that makes sense,” the System replied. “In the original storyline, the battle in Seaside Town was a surprise invasion initiated by Gloria in league with Starangui. Gloria had requested the royal family to declare war under the pretext of ‘obtaining the Holy Force Source to save the declining continent of Nobili’...”
“But now that you have won over the behind-the-scenes villain, it’s impossible for Starangui, representing the royal family, to bypass Gloria, the ‘divine messenger,’ and learn the purpose and location of the Holy Force Source. Based on this, once Persedoro is completely destroyed, the fundamental reason for the battle in Seaside Town will indeed cease to exist.”
Kelusta sorted through her thoughts, pondered for a moment, and hesitantly agreed. “It does seem that way.”
But... despite her outward agreement, a lingering unease in her heart refused to dissipate.
Had she truly rewritten the plot and avoided the convergence of the world line?
Could it all... really end so simply?
She sighed, rubbing her temples. She looked up at Gloria, who was lost in silent thought, and offered her a small smile. “Regardless, let’s proceed with Musen’s theory for now. The Silentdis family has already decided to stop following the Goddess of Deceit, so this superficial harmony we’re maintaining... it was bound to be shattered sooner or later anyway.”
“You’re right,” Gloria said calmly. “Generations of continuous glory... this transaction has gone on for far too long. It’s time we removed the shackles we bear with our own hands.”
“But that being said, Lux, I have to remind you again,” Kelusta said, taking her hand and pursing her lips. “If the Silentdis family stops believing in the Goddess of Deceit, your Dark Magic will be taken away as well... You’ll become purely a Light Mage, but the Duke and Wend—are they prepared for that?”
This “preparation” meant losing their magic, perhaps even their power, and becoming ordinary people.
Kelusta knew this was incredibly unfair to the Silentdis family... but she was in no position to offer any compensation, nor did she dare make any promises to Gloria.
The pieces were already set on the board; one wrong move could affect everything.
If they achieved a total victory, the Silentdis family would be hailed as heroes of the entire continent of Nobili, even without their magic, and could naturally retain their ducal status. But if Kelusta lost everything... then no one standing behind her would be spared.
She couldn’t guarantee victory, couldn’t bring herself to casually toss around phrases like “after we succeed.”
So all she could feel was guilt.
“...My father and brother are prepared, of course, Ruth.”
Just as Kelusta couldn’t help but lower her eyes, trying to avoid Gloria’s gaze, a long, slender hand began to gently and soothingly stroke the top of the brown-haired girl’s head.
“Don’t put all the pressure on yourself... The fundamental reason Father and Wend chose to abandon this faith, when it comes down to it, is because I awakened Light Magic.”
The silver-haired girl wrapped her arms around her, as if sensing her self-reproach, and said warmly, “Besides, no one understands better than a Silentdis that rewards only come after making the corresponding sacrifices... Our ancestors believed the Goddess of Deceit was worth following, but I am different, Ruth.”
Kelusta froze for a moment and looked up. The soft crown of her brown hair brushed against Gloria’s chin, like a little squirrel darting past, making one’s heart tickle.
Gloria smiled gently, lowered her head to kiss the space between Kelusta’s brows, and spoke to her with the solemnity of an oath:
“In my eyes, you are the one worth following, believing in, and giving everything for... the one right person.”
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