Chapter 718: Second Era

Hearing these words, Lolth fell into stunned silence before this Banquet Goddess version of herself.

Miss Anno beside her directed a gaze toward Lolth that for the first time revealed a mother-in-law’s wary dissatisfaction.

"Though pleasant company, you remain a succubus at your core… far too fickle for propriety."

At this remark, Lolth’s expression turned sheepish.

"That was me millennia ago…"

"And what of your current self?"

Anno’s pointed counter left Lolth speechless.

She thought of Tina and Dorothy, finding herself utterly unable to claim she wasn’t fickle.

In truth, her nature surpassed even that of most succubi – while many might share intimacy with numerous partners, they typically maintained only one companion at any given time, however frequently those might change.

Observing Lolth’s mute struggle, Anno softened slightly and patted her shoulder.

"I’ll not meddle in your affairs… Isabella herself raises no objections, does she?"

"My counsel remains – simply treat her well."

The words brought Lolth little comfort. If anything, hearing such tolerance from her would-be mother-in-law only deepened her guilt.

Turning to the innocently smiling Banquet Goddess duplicate, Lolth demanded,

"A kiss… such a frivolous condition – are you truly not mocking me?"

"I’ve witnessed other divine legacies layered with trials. However capricious I might have been ten thousand years past, I’d never reduce inheritance to this… carelessness."

The radiant incarnation gave a slow headshake.

"Contrarily, this proves the most reliable method."

"Did I not mention? This legacy already possessed its perfect candidate – a former student of mine."

"Thus, ‘whom I choose to kiss’ constitutes the ultimate filter – not seeking inheritors, but reserving this legacy solely for one destined individual."

Here the Banquet Goddess’s smile turned rueful.

"Even the ritual’s form holds meaning – this kiss serves as…"

"…her specific compensation."

Lolth stiffened.

"Compensation?!"

Her voice sharpened involuntarily.

"What did you – no, what did I do in those days?"

"Ah-ha!" The luminous being’s eyes sparkled. "Seek the answers yourself."

"Though my memories remain fragmentary, they hold precisely what you require."

She chuckled, gesturing to her lips.

"Now—kiss me, Lolthlinda."

Despite the romantic request, her tone dripped with arrogance.

"Now I get why people find me insufferable at times…"

Lolth sighed but inched closer to her other self.

Observing her doppelgänger at intimate proximity, she made an unexpected discovery…

she was rather pleasing to look at.

"I’m the slow-burn type of beauty… delicately sculpted features that grow more captivating with each glance."

As she murmured this, the Banquet Goddess Lolth let out a weary sigh.

"Just pucker up already—stop making it weird. Don’t you cringe hearing yourself?"

"Are we seriously doing the whole narcissus routine here?"

At this question, even Lolth herself shrugged helplessly.

"Then who exactly designed this absurd ritual, you reckon?"

The mirrored goddess studied her before countering, "Who do you suppose?"

"Fine… we’re technically the same person, but hyping myself up was supposed to help mentally prepare! I’m not narcissistic by nature—needed a confidence boost to go through with this."

Lolth crossed her arms defensively.

"How’s that preparation working out?"

When posed the question, Lolth buried her face in her palms.

"…Frankly? It’s having the opposite effect."

"Told you. Makes my skin crawl too—you’re literally me. Shared discomfort comes standard."

The Banquet Goddess Lolth exhaled deeply.

Their faces now hovered a spatula’s width apart, locked in a wide-eyed standoff.

"Doesn’t change the fact that we must kiss."

The Banquet Goddess declared with resolve.

"Whether you brace yourself or hesitate, the outcome’s the same. Might as well rip off the bandage."

She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Why aren’t you initiating then?!"

Lolth demanded, slapping her thigh in agitation.

"Because I’m terrified too!" The Banquet Goddess wailed, features crumpling. "This self-kissing business is utterly deranged! Who’d have foreseen becoming my own final obstacle?!"

Anno abruptly thrust her hand upward.

"Question! Is this a simple lip touch? Full-on Frenching? Or one of those dramatic movie kisses with teeth-clashing and everything?"

"Lip contact should suffice. I’m not quite that far gone yet."

Lolth murmured to herself, and the Lolth in her divine party goddess form nodded in agreement.

"Right, just a brief touch… I haven’t descended to such depravity yet."

"Then this should be simple…"

Anno exhaled and rose to her feet.

Then—

*Thud!*

She strode behind the two Lolths, gripped their heads with both hands, and smashed them forcefully together.

The impact caused the two Lolths’ lips to meet abruptly under Anno’s manipulation.

"So much hesitation! I’m genuinely concerned about how you’ll handle your wedding night with Isabella!"

Anno quipped while dusting her palms.

As an eerie white glow began enveloping the two Lolths, she plucked a grape from the guildmaster’s banquet table and tossed it into her mouth.

"Is this succubus fickle or genuinely sincere? It’s truly hard to tell…"

She mused with a faint headshake.

"Ah well, it’s Isabella’s choice regardless… And truthfully, she’s rather pleasant once you get to know her."

Muttering, she resumed nibbling from the fruit platter.

"Surprisingly sweet."

Within the radiance…

Lolth sensed countless new layers merging into her being—

Or rather,

reclaimed fragments of herself.

Her divine authority, sovereignty over this revelry and the Blissful Divine Kingdom…

These monumental truths, which should have blazed brilliantly, now paled in significance.

They were nearly eclipsed by another force—

dense, ancient memories,

sealed for eons yet surging forth like a storm-lashed tide.

Memories spanning millennia devoured all her awareness,

reducing even her godhood to insignificance.

She witnessed her own origins—

her Second Era self.

Awakening in barren darkness,

clad only in frayed black rags,

she stood bewildered in the damp void.

"My head throbs… Where is this?"

Lolth whispered, scanning the emptiness.

The space lay shattered, rules in disarray devoured and dissipated each other, only to be reborn anew, while magic howled like a tangible tempest. Yet these chaotic forces recoiled from Lolth’s presence.

"Why am I here? I think… I was meant to rescue something. Or perhaps destroy something…" She exhaled deeply, then shook her head with enough force to ripple her hair. "Nevermind. I’ll just leave this horrid place."

"This realm disgusts me," she muttered, arbitrarily selecting a direction through the swirling chaos. It was then Lolth noticed the faint luminescence clinging to her form – a personal halo pushing back the ravenous darkness, its feeble glow revealing jagged terrain beneath her feet.

Her slow footsteps echoed strangely as awareness gradually returned. With each step, vital signs rekindled – lungs drawing air, heart thrumming rhythmically, dormant magic awakening in her veins. The very essence of life seeped back into her soul through some arcane osmosis.

The environment clarified around her exhales. Before stretched a desolate isle scarcely larger than a city square, its obsidian rocks studded with bone-like shards that crunched painfully underfoot. Instinctively, she summoned the ambient glow to cushion her bare soles, then froze at her own automatic response.

"This power… supernatural energy?" Her brow furrowed before clearing. "Of course. I’m a Superoperator." She flexed her fingers experimentally. "Current capacity… yes, Elite Level proficiency."

The light intensified as she surveyed her prison. Beyond the rocky shore surged an abyssal sea – dark and fathomless, its undulating waves threatening to devour anything that ventured into its depths. Yet Lolth felt no trepidation, only clinical assessment.

"Escape requires crossing these waters," she concluded aloud. Without pause, the pale-haired figure strode into the hungry waves, her luminous aura parting the darkness like a diver’s lantern as she abandoned the island’s false sanctuary.

Then…

"Plop."

She plummeted into the sea with unsurprising inevitability.

…

Two hours later, Lolth sprawled across the island’s shore, her pallid face contorted as she retched seawater in ragged gasps.

"This isn’t working…"

She murmured hoarsely.

Humans couldn’t breathe while submerged—a fundamental truth she’d only just rediscovered.

The revelation had actually surfaced moments after her plunge, along with another forgotten memory about utilizing supernatural abilities.

Yet the anomalous waters defied her efforts.

Her summoned magic dissipated instantly, shredded by potent arcane undercurrents swirling beneath the waves.

No incantation could manifest her desired effects.

Helpless against the dragging currents, she sank deeper into the abyss.

Ironically…

Though seawater choked her lungs and oxygen deprivation tormented her mind, mortality’s grasp remained frustratingly absent.

Whatever curse or blessing had resurrected her here still pulsed through her veins.

After eternal minutes of panic, ancestral knowledge resurfaced—the terrestrial skill called "swimming."

For one excruciating hour, she flailed through brine-fueled coughs, buoyed solely by her cursed immortality until breaching the surface.

Another thirty minutes passed before she identified a favorable current in the chaotic tides, clawing her way back to shore through sheer stubbornness.

Saltwater streamed from her drenched hair as leaden garments clung to trembling limbs.

"Exhausting… completely drained."

"Elite Level cultivation apparently doesn’t enable magic-based vitality recovery…"

"Yet my mana reserves feel paradoxically untouched despite heavy expenditure…"

"Was my ascension even real?"

The unanswered questions circled endlessly as she shook her head.

Priorities shifted—immediate rest became essential.

Lolth collapsed onto sun-baked reef, consciousness fading into troubled sleep.

When she stirred over ten hours later, renewed vigor coursed through her limbs—yet new frailties emerged.

Parched lips cracked while weakened muscles protested.

Primordial needs screamed through her bloodstream—hydration and sustenance.

Her gaze swept across the endless seascape.

Instinctual wisdom surfaced instantly:

"These waters are poison."

All oceans bore undrinkable brine, but this particular liquid harbored extra prohibitions against consumption.

"Troublesome."

She gnawed her lip, probing this limitation for exploitable loopholes.

Inspiration struck.

Selecting a curved gray shard, she filled its hollow with seawater and elevated it on coral fragments.

Magic thrummed through her fingertips, condensing into a shimmering translucent film that sealed the makeshift vessel.

Gradually…

The membrane warmed, beading with condensation that pooled into freshwater droplets.

Lolth peeled the glowing sheet away, greedily absorbing nearly 300ml of lifesaving liquid.

"Thirst managed… now famine’s turn."

The gnawing void in her stomach intensified as she scanned the barren shore.

Endless water surrounded her, yet edible matter remained elusive.

This marine graveyard’s sterility had become apparent during her drowning struggles—no fish, no algae, no sustenance.

While her curse staved off starvation’s finale, its duration remained uncertain.

Worse still, hunger fogged her thoughts and weakened already taxed muscles.

She experimentally nibbled a gray rock fragment and coral shard.

"Pthah!"

The tasteless grit earned immediate expulsion.

Edibility had been improbable, but desperate times mandated verification.