Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Hill looked at the joyful scene on the giant screen, but his heart was filled with questions. He couldn't help but turn his head and ask the soft, flowing moonlight, "Respected Celene, why is the Lady of Darkness so eager to expose Eckart?

Isn't she worried that Amanata might benefit from this?"

Celene asked in surprise, "I remember you have a good relationship with the elements, right? Since when do they act as fast as counting days?

Shaer naturally needs to seize the time; an earlier day might mean Eckart being dealt with a year sooner."

Hill was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I thought the ones here on Toril were more impulsive... on Teraxil, they are usually quite leisurely in their affairs and rarely engage in such long fights... Generally speaking, once a victor is decided, that's enough.

It's rare to see them fighting incessantly."

"Karin and Mannan are different; they have a decades-old vendetta." Celene said indifferently, "Before they started fighting, they also summoned their followers for many meetings... probably stalemated for around 30,000 to 40,000 years.

Only then did they decide to make the other disappear completely.

Elemental Giants are quite stubborn; once they decide to openly be enemies, they'll persist until one side completely admits defeat.

But reaching this step takes a long time.

Otherwise, how could Eckart and that Magma Monster have had a chance to kill the Kindly Fire Elemental Prince? Their meetings about how to counter Chaos Element with Order Element took too long and couldn't reach a consensus... otherwise, Baristia wouldn't have been sneaked upon due to a distraction, even her Crystal Core divided.

According to the Elemental Realm, for her to re-coalesce form would take at least over 100,000 years, even Elemental Princes think it's quite long.

Baristia, being the Fire Elemental Prince with the best temperament, has many friends, so for so long, the Magma Monster has been dealt with quite miserably.

If they knew they hadn't found the real culprit all these years, they would certainly discuss a proper way to handle Eckart.

Although the discussion might take a long time."

Hill smiled helplessly, "That's quite normal."

Celene chuckled twice, "I knew you'd understand... otherwise, how would the always procrastinating Shaer go to the Elemental Realm once she got the news... dealing with those big guys requires the fastest notifications and then completely forgetting, otherwise, even Shaer might choose to act herself."

Hill turned back dazedly... Celene muttered the thoughts in his heart, "Shaer is being this active... does she intend to communicate with Cyric through the Elemental Realm?

But the Elemental Realm always has been unwelcoming to us Toril's deities; even Shaer needs enough reason to enter the inner layer.

But only there, AO can't intervene.

Instead, the loopholes in the direction of the Abyss and Hell, the old man plugged them completely.

Did she find a way to release Cyric?

Will the old man default or lock Shaer in too?"

Shaer's voice coldly rang out, "There's no method to release him, just telling him the latest stories of wind and cloud in Toril and incidentally gifting him a toothpick.

I knew you'd speak ill of me... how could I possibly take action actively?

At most just send a small gift to the poor locked-up Dark Sun!"

Hill blinked: Shaer came back quickly!

But she specially emphasized Cyric's nickname... implies the evil gleam of the Dark Sun!

Shaer is actually hinting that compared to dealing with Mystra again, Cyric holds a deeper animosity towards Amanata?

Their divinity does indeed clash in several areas... but can Cyric think rationally?

"Hmm? Eh~" Celene uttered a few surprised sounds before organizing the language, "So, the place the old man locked Cyric does indeed temporarily halt his crazed little brain?

Will he still escape?"

Shaer spoke coldly, "That depends on what he chooses, but even if he comes out now, his rational time would definitely be longer than before... AO indeed likes deities capable of stirring things up."

Celene grumbled unhappily, "Aren't you the best at stirring things?"

"That doesn't beat you." Shaer immediately countered, "In the old man's eyes, I'm exactly as expected, you're the unexpected.

Surprises always bring more joy, right?"

Hill estimated Shaer's last sentence filled with sarcasm was meant for AO watching over Toril.

After all, the two sisters today both mentioned AO, and the God Above Gods who has always paid close attention to them probably has itchy ears.

Hill quietly sipped his wine, knowing AO needed no sympathy from him, after all, both sisters were his own creations.

Celene scoffed indifferently, "If Cyric targets Mystra immediately after his emergence, what will you do?

If Toril explodes again, I reckon you'll end up locked away.

Ah! No, that won't happen.

The old man has never been able to truly be ruthless with you… but he might completely seal off the Shadow Realm so you can never come out.

That wouldn't be too bad, you could use the opportunity to completely devour Mask… is the Mask now still really him?"

"Unless a way is found to make the Chaos Hound chasing Mask give up on him, I will not completely devour Mask," Shaer said softly, "That thing senses the essence, and I wouldn't want an indestructible dog howling outside the Shadow Realm all the time.

As for Mystra, if she can fully reclaim the Weave and switch back the continent that was exchanged between Aber and Toril upon her return to the Divine Kingdom, then she'll be able to live well.

If she can't even manage that… isn't her fate just another death?

At that time, the old man won't be able to do anything to me… it's fate pushing me!"

Hill listened silently to the sisters' exchange and understood why Mystra would die again right after being resurrected… the continent from Aber had only returned after her second death.

However, the current Edna couldn't possibly be that foolish… Hill truly didn't think that after being influenced by so many uniquely compelling women, she would continue to act like she had a love-struck heart, willingly having children for different men, even splitting her own source of power.

This referred to Midnight's supposed eldest daughter, without whom she later resurrected through her own daughter.

The strong female professionals of Toril bore many offspring, but none would share their core powers with their children… just look at Elaströ, who left them only her bloodline.

Edna's father was similar, inheriting only the bloodline from both parents, not the core from the depths of the soul.

Thinking about this, Hill figured AO must have been quite vexed watching everything unfold… he wanted Mystra to sever personal and chaotic ties, to become a competent tool Deity, not to adorn others with bridal attire.

Giving Midnight another chance was purely to reposition the continents of Aber and Toril, rather than out of genuine goodwill.

Acknowledging this, Hill finally felt at ease, as the search for the Mithril Energy Core he had planned years ago had been postponed… initially confident he could make it out with a bounty before the problematic year 85 arrived, he had hoped to hide in a half-plane in the Stellar Realm!

But then Shaer and Cyric stirred trouble 10 years ahead of schedule.

Eventually, Hill understood that while Cyric was unaffected by him and the Undead Tribe, Shaer was different… since the Goddess of the Night intersected with William, the fate on Toril became unpredictable.

After all, Shaer's trajectories never appeared on the Tablets of Fate… originating from the core essence, the Tablets of Fate couldn't predict these Creation Goddesses.

A fortune teller can never foretell their own fate.

Hill turned to glance at the two Goddesses still in verbal combat… their current quarrel seemed trivial, like dredging up old scores, arguing over who caused AO the bigger headaches.

He truly couldn't comprehend… is this something to be proud of?

Is AO now sitting in his Divine Kingdom, tugging at his white beard, sighing?

As long as they don't literally fight, it's fine.

Hill refocused on the giant screen… he really didn't want to listen to those troublesome chronicles.

The Undead Tribe welcomed refugees for a whole week… although the number of people increased considerably, troubles actually became less frequent.

Even though Divine Beasts turned a blind eye to the Kalinsanians' exodus, those who managed to traverse thousands of miles and mountains, entering Mil Forest, were at least Apprentice Level professionals.

Thus, Harpist Ivar Gremms enthusiastically welcomed many of his peers… although he had previously suspected some being in the same profession, unless in major situations, Harpists generally don't collaborate.

This time, however, it was confirmed, and he was now able to recruit some strong arms to help out. Previously managing hundreds or even thousands of people was not that challenging, but tens of thousands of professionals… especially predominantly male Kalinsanians, were indeed getting overwhelming.

Hill noticed this cold reality too: within the Kalinsanian refugees, there were fewer than 5,000 women, but their levels were considerably high, so there was no anxiety about residing in the same town with male refugees.

Yes, within the oval-arch that housed the refugees, a town that could accommodate 30,000 people had emerged, with houses fittingly transformed into studios, apartments, and two-story small buildings according to the conditions of the inhabitants.

It just depends on how much money you can spend to buy a house… someone with absolutely nothing would be considered generous even to be provided a 10-square-meter studio. The Undead Tribe wasn't here to save the world.

Moreover, the Undead Tribe had no habit of separating camps into male and female sections… accustomed to equality, they generally offered the same conditions to both genders.

But this did bring Ivar Gremms some trouble… he really didn't want to handle those incidents where men still let their lower halves control their brains during this time, leading to them being beaten badly.