Chapter 1543: In Arad’s Palm
Eris looked at Lydia as they walked to the changing room. They had picked too many clothes, but most of them would still need a bit of work to fit just right.
"Your divine magic, isn’t it a bit off?" Eris asked, her eyes couldn’t be mistaken, especially now that she is a goddess.
Lydia smiled, "Well, many things have changed in the past few days." She looked at Eris and clenched her fist. Only then could Eris sense Lydia’s harrowing divine magic, and only as a goddess could she tell how stupid her power was.
It was utterly wrong to consider Lydia as a human. She was a living and breathing portal to the surface of the sun, acting as a direct blade held by Amaterasu’s hands.
Now, the stronger her faith became and the more power she could draw, the tighter the gates Amaterasu had to set to block the divine magic from leaking. At this moment, Lydia has two seals on her body to keep the divine magic in check.
A holy spark in her chest, and a divine key held by Jack. He had become the eclipse, blocking her blinding light from scorching the earth.
Lydia looked at the mirror. The dress she got didn’t fit her well, especially around her back. "I need something bigger."
Zia looked at her for a few seconds. Unlike most, Lydia’s muscles were strong and well defined, but smooth and soft to the touch. She didn’t look overly muscular, despite the metric tons of steel rolling beneath her skin. If she were to grab a steel helmet, she would be able to crush it like an egg.
With that amount of power, not even vampire lords like Zia would have a decent chance against her. And knowing her, it might be impossible to defeat her.
"I bet Amaterasu has something for you." Zia shrugged, and Lydia smiled, "You’re right."
Eris stared closely at Lydia, quickly frowning, "I see... divine magic... if you died..."
Lydia shrugged, "If I die, I’ll immediately rise back as an angel. I already have enough faith and divine magic. I even understood Amaterasu’s duality better." She looked at the door, "At least, Jack taught me more about it."
"Jack?" Zia lifted an eyebrow. From what she knew, Lydia was the expert when it came to Amaterasu, so what did Jack of all people find out and learn about that she didn’t already know?
"Amaterasu is a duality; to get the best, you must play with both rules." She giggled, "And as it seems, they are the exact opposite."
"Exact opposite... Amaterasu is a duality, the goddess of dusk and dawn, the sun and eclipse..." Eris tried to wear her dress, but it also didn’t fit her, a bit too tight around the chest. She frowned and turned back to Lydia.
"It seems that going against Amaterasu’s will is as important as following her teachings. I already had the rot curse of her Archon Asmodeus, but I never thought too deeply about it. Why is her Archon the ruler of hell?"
Lydia looked at her hand, watching golden and black divine magic dancing around each other. "Why did I end up with Jack, a thief of all people? It was simple; we needed both light and darkness."
"So let me guess." Zia looked at her with a smug face, "He’s having a bad influence on you, turning you into a bad girl, and Amaterasu liked that. Or is it the opposite? Did you turn him into a religious thief?"
Lydia picked another thing to wear, but nothing here seemed to fit her well.
"He was the one to guess it. As you know, I was supposed to remain a maiden to retain my divine magic. The whole holy woman of clothes and such." She looked at Eris, "Jack had another idea, said it was not worth it to keep half-killing myself fighting for something that shouldn’t be my responsibility."
She pulled a chair and sat down, "I was having none of it, though, as you know, my head is a solid rock. He said we should do it, Amaterasu be damned, and I said that we shouldn’t."
She giggled, "At the end, he won. It was then that the full power started flowing."
"He won? He convinced you?" Eris lifted an eyebrow, and Lydia shook her head. "Hell no, I never agreed to anything. While I was thinking about what to say to convince him to drop it, he sneaked up on me and shoved it in."
She smiled, "But that was the point, he figured it out. I’ll never agree to losing my virginity and power. I have to admit, he is smarter than I by a lot."
"So the key was getting you to break Amaterasu’s rules." Eris looked at her hands, "Wait, doesn’t that mean..."
Lydia looked at her, "You’re the goddess of murder, but at the same time, you should try to protect people from being murdered. Try to save lives, and that should lead you to more power." She looked at the door, "Speaking of doing the opposite, Mira is Greed, right? After she ascends, she should be able to empower herself a lot by being generous. For a god, it doesn’t matter if they started from the evil or the good side."
"And it is the same for angels, archons, and humanoids following the god."
The three of them walked out of the changing room, put everything they wanted to buy on the desk, and went to pick even more stuff.
"So, what did Jack get? You got even more power, he must’ve gotten some power?" Zia asked with a grin, knowing exactly what Lydia would say.
"Of course, I almost snapped Jack’s neck in half. But now he has to pray to Amaterasu with me to keep his power." She smiled, "Jack can decide whether someone gets to enjoy Amaterasu’s blessing or not."
She pointed at the rays of sunlight coming through the window. "He can ban someone from sunlight, blinding and freezing them. The sun is what makes it easier for us to see, and it is also the thing that keeps this world warm. Without it, only the cold darkness awaits."
Eris froze, "Wait, is that why you came here?"
Eris was right; Lydia and Jack had arrived here on Amaterasu’s advice, specifically because of Jack’s power. While he can ban someone from enjoying Amaterasu’s light, now there is a second sun in the sky, which was nowhere as useful as it should’ve been.
That’s where Eris comes into play, and Lydia explained exactly what she wanted her to do.
When Jack bans someone from Amaterasu’s light, the world turns utterly dark for them, but now, that darkness is replaced by a faint purple radiance.
Lydia wants two things: for Jack to be able to ban anyone from Eris’s light as well, so the darkness can return. That is the first part; the second is giving him a murder boost if he decides to allow the target to see with Eris’s light.
What would Eris get in exchange for that is Lydia and Jack worshipping her alongside Amaterasu, a secondary goddess, but nonetheless. Jack himself didn’t matter as he would grant almost no divine magic, but Lydia, on the other hand, was a divine magic mine with how powerful her faith was.
Eris looked at Lydia, scratching her cheek, "But, there is a problem. I don’t know how to do that."
"Amaterasu said that if you wanted to allow it, it would happen." Lydia looked at her, "Technically, you’re still her paladin. So she can help with that. Cooperation between the gods is more common than someone might expect."
Eris closed her eyes, "I see. But it’s a bit more complicated than what Amaterasu told you. I’ll need to allocate at least one angel to be a messenger between me and Amaterasu to coordinate all of that." She then opened her eyes, "I just spoke to her. It should be all done in a day or two."
An hour later, they finished buying everything they wanted from this shop and got out. Lydia looked for Jack and found him sitting in the middle of the city plaza with Abel.
"Jack! We’re done." She approached, gave Abel a stare, and then turned to Eris, "Are you guys really allowing him to do that?"
Eris stared at Abel and then turned back, "Well, better under control rather than left to the people to go wild. Humans, demons, devils, elves, dwarves, halflings, all of them are going to live and work here in this city."
Abel shrugged, "You can’t stop the horny; it’s better to give them a place rather than have it go out of control." He smiled, "And I’m making you money out of it. You might not believe me, but it also helps the demons see humanoids as more than just bugs to be killed and eaten."
Lydia sighed, "Just, don’t become an influence on Jack."
Abel laughed, "Me? He’s the one influencing me. We’re just talking about starting a thieves guild or something like that. I’m already inclined to help."
Eris looked at Jack, while Lydia glared at him.
"Arad also thought about it." Eris smiled, "The plan was to make the thieves guild a dark side controlled by Mira’s church."
Jack frowned, "Are you telling me I have to work for Amaterasu, you, and now Mira? Three gods?"
Eris shrugged, "You’re right, it’s work, a contract. You’d better talk to Arad about it; he is the one preparing for it. Albeit, I don’t know how far the plans are going."
Abel chuckled, "So our friend is trying to control the castle, the thieves, the assassins, the prostitutes, the black market, the churches, the demons, devils, angels, the adventurers, the wizards, and even the fabric of very reality with that world in his stomach. I’m sure he’ll move the main capital there."
Abel had been to Arad’s small world before and saw it. The vampires marching and the angels flying around, the demons carrying supplies, and the burning stars in the void. Arad’s empire wasn’t like any other kingdom where multiple powers could clash; it was a massive empire that looked expansive, but it was all dancing in the palm of Arad’s hand.
"Careful." He looked at Eris, "The only thing that can break this empire is an internal conflict at this time. I’m talking about you all, his wives. Don’t start another blood war."