Ria's Adventures
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Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 262
🕑 Added 2024-11-06 12:59:15 +0000 UTCChapter 262: Diversion of the Fliori
Lysette continued her work in relative silence compared with the other eight, each of whom was socializing and making smalltalk off in the distance. For her, there would be a time for that later. She promised herself that she would stop alongside them for a lunch break shortly before noon. At least, she told herself as much after relenting to Mirae’s incessant mental prodding.
Mirae had made a good point with their request. The best way to try to move beyond her baser instincts was to do what she had done in the beginning, back in Domark, and had stopped doing more recently. To spend time among ordinary people, both Cultivators and not. Away from battle and training and combat and war and death and suffering, to see people as people outside of the context of warring gods and battles for the fate of the world. The time for that would come soon enough.
In the interim, Lysette was the only one who could clear the trees in any reasonable time period. She had given the plant manipulation technique to both Jules and Katie, but neither of them could use it to the same extent that she could. Either one of them might move a tree on their own per half hour, and it wasn’t the sort of task that would see any benefit if the two of them tried to move a single tree at once.
Progress wasn’t as fast as Lysette would have liked. Though she could command four trees at once, albeit with some strain, it still took five to ten minutes per tree. Neither uprooting them nor moving them were too time consuming. But it took quite a bit of time and mental effort per tree to help each replant itself without damaging either them or any other trees or plants in the area.
On account of the high density of trees, including a handful of towering monstrosities easily a century old, they were only advancing at about a hundred feet an hour. It turned out to be a good pace for the others as well; the human Cultivators could move faster when all working together, yes. But they each needed time to rest and hydrate and occasionally head back to town for a bite of food or to relieve themselves.
All in all, it wasn’t so bad. Aurie stopped by midmorning with some walnut cookies. They were good— sweet, but not too sweet, their nutty flavor augmented by hints of… vanilla? How she made them or where she got vanilla flavor or who did either of those on her behalf remained a mystery though— despite Lysette’s asking, Aurie refused to budge. For some reason— more a gut instinct than any evidence-based hypothesis, though, Solanna was at the top of her list of people likely responsible.
Noon came sooner than Lysette would have liked. The others, with the exception of Mirae, were all nearing their limits and starting to grit and moan and drop like flies on the cool grass beneath their feet. Beatrice was the first to give out, with her brother only lasting about ten minutes longer. Jules and Katie decided to stop twenty minutes after that in what must’ve been the most perfect timing. Aurie, together with Solanna, Serrena, and Rayleigh arrived not a minute later with quite an array of sandwiches, crackers, cured meats, and other assorted finger foods.
Lysette took a couple of pieces of one of the cheeses. Definitely one of the better flavors she’d had in Ciricu. Not overly complex, but well aged and went down smoothly despite the decent bite. She wanted more, but abstained at least until the others had had their fill.
Speaking of, they were all talking amongst themselves in-between stuffing their faces with food and drink when she arrived over to join them. Though she herself was feeling the fatigue as well, it didn’t take that much additional effort to construct a makeshift long table and pair of benches out of small branches and leaves. Not the most comfortable designs, she added as she sat down, but it was a lot more convenient to eat off the table than the ground. Fewer bugs crawling around on the table as well.
The others gathered around, with Lysette sitting in the middle of one of the benches. Mirae sat to her right, and the others gathered around in a fairly predictable pattern. Jules and Katie sat across from Lysette and Mirae. Serrena sat between Solanna and Rayleigh, with the former of those two sitting next to Lysette. Lilia sat next to Mirae, Gerald and Amalia sat across from Lilia, and the two newcomers sat across the table to Lysette’s left.
“Lyse, was it?” Rolf asked after a few minutes of casual conversation amongst the others.
Lysette nodded. “Something you need?”
“I know the Colonel said so herself back a few months ago, but I still want to hear it from you directly. Did you do something to us that separated us from our Cultivation abilities?”
Lysette took a long breath. “I did.”
“You rat-faced bastard!” Beatrice screamed. “How dare you! You– You–”
“Calm down, Beatrice,” Jules said. “You are making a fool of yourself.”
“How can I be calm when this… This… asshole just admits to stealing years of our time and energy and I don’t even want to think about how many thousands of gold that each of us had to spend on Essence crystals. You three are the ones acting shameful, sitting here and eating alongside such a monster.”
Lysette opened her mouth, but Jules again cut her off.
“Sergeant Zakai, you will be seated. Whatever has happened has happened. We fought with honor for Terea and she defeated us. By all rights, she had every right to strike us down in battle. And yet she chose this path, and we’re all here enjoying lunch together.”
“But–”
Katie swallowed. “Sergeant, look around you. What do you see?”
“Way too many trees. So many trees I think I’m going to be sick. That, and an empty riverbed that we’re building.”
“Look at the village. What do you see? And more importantly, what don’t you see?”
“It’s just an ordinary village. Houses, people, kids playing, small stores, farms. It’s like every other small village in Terea. I’m not seeing your point.”
“Again, what don’t you see?”
“Tall buildings? Or, I guess, large buildings? Other than the prison where they lock us up.”
“You can leave at any time,” Katie said. “Lyse has been quite clear on that.”
“And you actually believe her?” Beatrice slammed her hands on the table, though, with its construction, the small branches which comprised it absorbed the impact, causing only minimal noise and disruption. “Sure, she says we can leave, but I’m sure that she or one of her goons will kill us the moment one of us is stupid enough to try.”
Mirae’s hand tensed on their thigh, but Lysette calmed them with a gentle stroke underneath the table.
“Do you see any soldiers?” Jules said. “Any military installations? You should’ve known that Ciricu only had a standing town guard of four people because it was never believed that an army was going to try to scale the Spire Mountains. The people had to rush together and build our complex because they didn’t even have a jail that could hold more than five people.
“Most notably, and this is the part that I wanted you to notice, have you seen any facility that could hold a Cultivator with an Essence coefficient of over a thousand? Let alone three or four thousand.”
“No, but–”
“But what?”
“But that monster moves so fast it’s like she can teleport. And you saw that she cut down every one of us without breaking a sweat. I just– I don’t understand why she stole all our Cultivation, and worse, now we’re all sitting here right across the table from her and you’re trying to justify her actions! What in the Infernal realm is wrong with you? Shouldn’t you be even more pissed off than I am?”
Beatrice stomped off toward the village, grunting and muttering obscenities under her breath. The rest of the table went silent, with Jules and Katie in particular looking at Lysette. Lysette lowered her head and sighed.
“I did what I thought was best at the time. But yes, I couldn’t take all of you as prisoner as you were. I might have been able to subdue you if necessary, but could I have stopped you from taking a hostage or potentially harming one of the villagers? I doubt it. And if I needed to leave for any period of time, well–”
Rolf was the one to break the silence. “I understand. But my sister is… frustrated. I said earlier that we’re proud Earth Cultivators going back centuries.”
Centuries? Are they descended from a deity like Serrena is?
Lysette wasn’t the only one who drew the possible connection. Solanna had her head down as well, deep in thought on the matter.
“What’s your family name?” Solanna asked.
Rolf stuttered. “It’s… Zakai. I’m not sure-”
“Does that name mean anything to you?” Lysette messaged Solanna.
Solanna didn’t respond to the telepathic question. “Does the family name Blariosa mean anything to you?”
Rolf’s eyes opened. “Not ours, but our grandmother’s brother had that name. Maybe our grandmother’s parents as well, but I never met either of them. They both died before I was born.”
“And they were Earth Cultivators like you and your sister?”
“I don’t know much about them, but I’d presume so.”
“I’d say that just about confirms it. Zoltan Blariosa was indeed the name of Goleo’s child from about eight hundred years ago. Farris was his descendant in my time. Incredibly talented Cultivator and just as stubborn and immovable as Saffron. Just as much of a pain in the ass as her, too. But for reasons that are his own, he chose not to awaken his divinity.”
“I wonder. You think it was because of Saffron already being alive and awakened? It sounds like he would have embodied a Domain too close to hers.”
“I– It’s certainly possible. Can’t believe I never considered that as a possibility. Omnia’s system wouldn’t permit two demigods with the same Domain.”
“But it would permit two demons at once, even though we embody opposition to the system?”
“In different ways.”
Lysette linked Mirae and Serrena into the conversation.
“Serrena, Love, Solanna is pretty confident that both Rolf and his sister are the same as she and Serrena are. Only, descendents of Goleo, God of Earth”
“Again,” Solanna interjected. “I’m not certain, but if they are telling the truth— and I have no reason to believe they’re lying— I’m maybe… ninety percent confident in my assessment.”
“So, are you going to tell them?” Serrena asked. “If you’re asking me if you should, I think they have the right to know.”
Solanna nodded. “I agree with Serrena. I respected Sandra’s wishes to not tell Sara, and Sara’s wishes not to tell her about our bloodline, but if it were me, I would want to know so I can make that decision for myself.”
Mirae waited for nearly a minute. “My concern is that, once you tell them, they will be dragged into this war and aren’t going to be able to extricate themselves no matter what. If you tell them, you are going to have to put whatever happens to them on your conscience.” Their tone noticeably sharpened. “That goes for all three of you. If they know about their divinity, they will be a target. Best case scenario, they become allies. But Beatrice doesn’t like you already and there’s certainly a possibility that she will betray you if you tell her.”
“And if that happens…”
Lysette didn’t want to mention the possibilities. Beatrice could betray them. Sell them out to Terea. Stab them in the back, or any other degree of treachery. If that did happen, Lysette knew that the next confrontation would be to the death. A deific Beatrice bent on their destruction would be too dangerous to be left alive, and as Alan’s death had confirmed, draining a deity completely meant killing them.
But there was one concern that trumped the others. They had the right to make their own decisions. If Lysette didn’t want to be a hypocrite, didn’t want to be just as bad as every other deity, that meant she had to stick to the principle of sharing power with all. Even with those who might one day take up arms against her. If that did happen, she’d just have to let the pieces fall where they may afterwards.
She sighed. “Risks or no, I think we have to tell them.”
Chapter 261: https://www.patreon.com/posts/115424812
Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170
Chapter 263: https://www.patreon.com/posts/115536759
Comments
Jessica
You do raise a very good point! If Asterion never had the mortal perspective from his point of view humans die anyway in what must appear to him as a blink of an eye, so he really can't understand why his recreation of the world would be a problem. All he has to go on is the prayers of his followers to raise them above their enemies which he does. I guess we are again at the point where we fundamentally disagree, where I would indeed fault those that keep the tyrant in his position more than the tyrant himself because I don't think that I would choose differently in his place. But I do recognize that there is a fundamental disconnect between abstractly assigning blame as a philosophical exercise or as a direct empathic response to the cries of those suffering. And while this is only a story I do recognize that I am closing off my own empathic response in real life to not have to feel powerless to help.
Bielna
I see where you're coming from. But let me present another perspective. The deities of Aimarion are also conditioned by Omnia's system to be in their position. In the case of primordial ones, they didn't even get a choice or the experience of mortals. Does that excuse their belief in a divine right to rule, or the evils they have committed ? Nope, no way. Though I even feel sorry for those of them who haven't even been taught about respect of mortals and equity, they're still responsible for their actions. I'm excusing the people who have been conditioned to bow to deities because they're not doing harm to others. Those who make others bow do. I don't mind if it's inconsistent, in a tyranny (aka., Omnia's system), you would blame the tyrants, not those who allow them to exist, even when both were born in that system (see Kiarra's example). It is the people's duty to take their rights back against tyrants, but personally, I would not condemn them for not fulfilling that duty. Lysette has done some effort to share power, but I wouldn't say she has done her share, despite Mirae's insistence for her to delegate and trust others. She hasn't tried to make someone else take decisions, the only effort she's made was to have other people approve hers. For example, Serrena thinks Rolf and Beatrice deserve to know of their latent divinity, but her reaction isn't to tell them, it's to suggest to Lysette that they should know. Both of them are in the wrong, they should know that if Serrena already knows what's right she should just do it, but Lysette is the one who has the power of decision and choose to keep it. On the other hand, to be clear, I don't think Lysette is the worst person ever for taking that power, and it's not something unforgivable. She's in the wrong, and Beatrice is right to be angered by the situation... but Lysette knows it, tries to use it only for good, and I'm convinced that at some point she will find a way to return that power to the people who legitimately deserve it. (Which means it is something I keep separate from her Demonic actions. If by "what Lysette did wrong" you mean slaying people out of convenience and because their lives aren't worth anything, then no, I don't even remotely agree, no amount of righteous action forgives gratuitous evil. But if by "what she did wrong" you mean accidentally becoming the leader and deity of Ciricu, then yes, she has done more than enough right to compensate the wrong, hasn't misused it to hurt people as tyrants would. As Mirae said, the part of her that cares about people and tries to improve things for them is a part I like. And though the situation is not ideal because an enlightened despot is still a despot, it's still on the side of good and while I'm hoping things will improve, it's not something for which I'd say Lysette owes Ciricu or the world, as long as she doesn't misuse that power and gives it up eventually.)
Jessica
I think you are a little bit inconsistent by excusing the actions of Aimarion's people by their conditioning to bow before the deities but not Lysette's actions although she too has been specifically chosen by Zarielle and been pushed and groomed to amass power. Lysette has shown a remarkable ability to overcome her designated role that nobody else in this entire story has so far. And at some point I would argue one has to accept that Lysette has done her share even considering what she did wrong, and if the people around her don't carry theirs it is no longer her fault. Of course, we can wish that everybody is already born as an awakened Bodhisattva, but we can also wish that cats would shit gold. We can only judge people by how much they moved the world towards loving kindness and understanding, not by where they started. And judging by that Lysette has done a remarkable job.
Bielna
I do agree that Lysette did what was right in the situation she was put in, but it doesn't change the fact that an all-powerful deity, easily dominating mortals, draining the power of others and taking it for herself is wrong. That everyone in there accepts that situation (Lysette herself is probably the second-most disgusted by it) is a good cause for anger. So, I also think Beatrice is wrong to begrudge Lysette for her actions, but her anger at what she is, the overall situation and the apathy of everyone else to it is right. It's kinda why I said Beatrice could do more "against Lysette" by helping Ciricu (and honestly, Lysette herself), helping them see the wrongness of the situation. She doesn't accept it, which makes her not so different from Lysette rejecting the position of deities on Aimarion. I hope that's what she'd do and I'm being optimistic - I might misjudge her, and she could go back to working for Thosse. But I don't agree with the part about Ciricu. The people of Aimarion are the ones who put the deities in the position they are in now, in a way. Does that mean people like Thosse and Asterion are justified ? Hell naw. And Lysette "offered to be a guardian deity"... to people who would have been killed without her help. It wasn't exactly a free choice, even after Mirae reasoned with Lysette that her help shouldn't be conditional, those are people who are conditioned to bow down in front of deities. Remember what Solanna said a couple of chapters ago. Saffron also follows the wishes of the majority in Domaria, even those of people who would benefit in a change of status quo. In the same way, Lysette took the position of absolute leader and deity of Ciricu, which was offered to her and given willingly, because it was convenient. But that position shouldn't even exist !
Jessica
If Lysette does turn if/when Beatrice betrays her, it would be a sign that she didn't actually make the choice in this chapter and thus would fully deserve it. Also I think it does make a difference that Lysette didn't force herself into the position of guardian deity of Ciricu but merely offered it when it seemed like a good thing, so arguably it was the Terean soldiers who put her in this position and Beatrice is in the wrong to begrudge it now.
Ria Corvidiva
There are artifacts that can restrain a Cultivator and render them unable to use their abilities (Bionco's priest was wearing one a few chapters ago). But they are expensive, and it's not the case that Ft. James both had large quantities on hand, nor the resources to transport people to Domaria. To note, there weren't a lot of extremely powerful Cultivators on the Elithrian side in that battle; it was mostly their weaponry that gave them an advantage. That, and Alan's aura.
Bielna
Ooooh. Well I love Beatrice even more now ! More potential demideities... I wonder if any of them (I think there are eight now, if Amalia's graft made her one) will awaken within this book ? So far, Serrena is the only one who awakened by herself (not counting Solanna and Saffron), but she does prove that it's possible. If any does, my bet would be on Beatrice, Rayleigh or Amalia. As for her outburst, on one hand Beatrice is wrong, considering they are Cultivators and draining them was the only way to keep them prisoners, that was absolutely the "gentle" decision. On the other I understand her anger, that someone powerful enough to neutralize or kill 43 (I think ?) elite trained soldiers and Cultivators can steal their Essence for her own benefit seems unfair. Something Lysette probably understands, considering her own hatred of deities using mortals as food for their own power. Nuances of gray. She also appears to make a good point that her people don't have a reason to trust Lysette, whether she means it or not when she offered to let people leave. But, shouldn't Potani and his squad have left and be a proof that Lysette does let people return to Terea, as long as they have been depowered ? If that's the case, that accusation is unfair. (Also we learn that there are facilities to hold Cultivators ? Unless I'm misremembering things, that puts in question what happened in Ft. James, given that Kristil mentioned the army executing their Cultivator prisoners... Saffron, got anything to say for your defense ? I suppose that the answer is that those facilities can't feasibly be built on a large scale and holding prisoners is logistically impossible, otherwise her behavior is quite hypocritical since she condemned Karchek for murdering prisoners, and honestly I think Saffron is too wise and direct for hypocrisy.) As for the last decision, I think Lysette is making the right choice. Sadly, Saffron and Bionco are right in the sense that Lysette gets to make that choice, is given the right to decide whether others can be free to make their own decisions or remain under her thumb. An unfortunate situation, as Serrena pointed out, they should have the right to know no matter what, but everyone in Ciricu still defers to her. I do hope Beatrice won't turn against Lysette once she and Rolf learn of this, though. Honestly, even if she seeks revenge, she can do more against Lysette while working to the benefit of Ciricu and the people living there than by fighting for Terea and Thosse against Ciricu. That way's smarter and more ethical. I mean, I kinda want to know if Lysette would still refuse to be like the other deities if someone she spared turned against her again, or if she'd just throw the towel and decide to be like them rather than get burned twice. But at the same time, I'd rather Beatrice do the right thing than follow a wrong path, and leave that question unanswered.
Ria Corvidiva
Mirae has their own perspective, for sure. Definitely a different one from Lysette or the Raeshs.
Jessica
I, of course, love Mirae being the absolute best person ever, but Lysette deliberately socializing and at the end choosing to take the risk of empowering her enemies shows how much she has grown and is absolutely amazing. (Of course, I credit Mirae's influence. 😁)
