Chapter 44: The Forsaken Spinner of Fates

Looking at the puzzled Fate-Weaving Arachne, Ryuji had a few speculations in his mind. He felt that the Nature Maiden Edith behind her hadn't distributed her final power to them as a parting gift before her fall, but rather as a means of self-preservation.

What the Fate-Weaving Arachne carried on her might be a wisp of divinity belonging to the Nature Maiden Edith, or perhaps some fragments of memory.

Normally, after becoming a necromancer's subordinate, the Fate-Weaving Arachne should have been able to secretly build temples for the Nature Maiden Edith and slowly assist her in resurrection.

However, despite her title of fate-weaving, the Arachne was actually rather foolish. She didn't dare to reveal her identity as a paladin, nor did she know that players could view all information about their subordinates. Once discovered, she simply chose to run away.

Running away would have been one thing, but she also used the Nature Maiden Edith's power to compensate the necromancer. As time passed, the energy required for Edith's resurrection grew scarcer and scarcer, making her hope of revival increasingly distant.

Realizing this, Ryuji sighed. "Having a servant like you makes it hard to tell whether it's a blessing or a curse. Can you invite your Nature Maiden out to talk with me? Perhaps we can reach some common ground."

"That's impossible. Ten years ago I could still contact the Nature Maiden, but not anymore. It seems the Nature Maiden no longer wishes to deal with me."

"As expected." Hearing this, Ryuji understood immediately. The Nature Maiden had already given up on this foolish Fate-Weaving Arachne. Any energy she had invested in her could be considered a total write-off; as long as the Arachne wouldn't drain her remaining energy any further, that was fine.

Yet the Fate-Weaving Arachne remained completely oblivious, saying, "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I'll find a way to contact the Goddess again for compensation."

"Have you ever considered changing your faith to another deity?" Ryuji stopped the departing Arachne and asked.

"Not at all. I am a devotee of the Nature Maiden. Whenever I prayed in the past, I always received a response from her, much better than anyone else. Even though the Nature Maiden doesn't respond to me now, I believe it's because her power has weakened, not because she has abandoned me. Therefore, I will never convert to another deity."

*You silly girl, it's not that she responded to every single prayer of yours; you just talk too much. You rattled on until the Goddess found you annoying, and only then did she bother to reply with a word or two.*

Naturally, Ryuji couldn't voice such thoughts out loud. Just at that moment, the Fate-Weaving Arachne acted on her own accord, pulling a massive amount of spider silk from her body and drawing a prayer ritual altar on the ground.

Watching the earnest expression of the Fate-Weaving Arachne, Ryuji found it hard to stop her and could only stand by and watch.

Before long, the Fate-Weaving Arachne finished drawing the altar. Ryuji noticed that some of the characters on the altar were familiar to him; they seemed imbued with magic, capable of piercing through time and space to connect with beings beyond normal imagination.

Once the altar was completed, the Fate-Weaving Arachne tucked in her spider legs, knelt on the ground, and began to pray earnestly.

Ryuji listened to the words of the Fate-Weaving Arachne and discovered that her tone hadn't changed at all despite facing a deity. She chattered away just as she usually did when communicating with him, though this time most of it was about Ryuji—such as how good a person he was and how he granted her a certain degree of freedom.

Only at the end did she mention that her identity had been discovered by Ryuji, who happened to be a necromancer and didn't want his subordinates to practice other faiths.

Ryuji: "I did no such thing, stop talking nonsense."

Therefore, the Fate-Weaving Arachne had no choice but to return into the endless darkness, awaiting the appearance of a new master. In order to redeem the contract in Ryuji's hands, she hoped the Goddess could provide corresponding compensation to Ryuji.

Then, Ryuji noticed that the Fate-Weaving Arachne's prayer extended outward along the altar toward a certain destination, as if an even deeper pact existed between her and the Nature Maiden.

At this moment, Ryuji felt a pang of curiosity; he also wanted to see how the Nature Maiden Edith would react.

Just then, Ryuji noticed his Underworld Palace suddenly tremor, and a phantom of the Feathered Serpent appeared in the sky. This was the manifestation of the Feathered Serpent's divinity, something that hadn't appeared ever since Ryuji acquired the Underworld Palace. What was going on this time?

Before Ryuji could react, a wave of heat washed over his back. If there were a mirror in front of him, he would have seen a smaller phantom of the Feathered Serpent emerging behind him as well—a sign of the fusion between Ryuji and the Feathered Serpent.

The gazes of both Feathered Serpent phantoms locked onto the Fate-Weaving Arachne's ritual altar, as if waiting for something.

At that instant, a voice echoed in Ryuji's ears: "What the hell."

Immediately following, a bolt of lightning surged from the spider-silk altar, blasting the Fate-Weaving Arachne away. By the time Ryuji recovered and rushed over to check on her, he discovered that the spider-silk altar had been blown to smithereens, and the remaining silk had been completely scorched to a charred black.

The Fate-Weaving Arachne lay on the ground for a long time without getting up. Instead, Ryuji hurried to the spot where the altar had been and stood there inspecting it closely.

By now, Ryuji understood the situation. The Nature Maiden Edith was no simple entity either; she must have belonged to the players of the Forest of Nature, having simply reached the level of a deity before being taken down by someone.

Players who reached such a level invariably possessed various alternative methods, allowing them to find a way to resurrect even after falling.

It was just that her choice might have gone wrong somewhere, leading her to cross paths with a deity-cursing disaster like the Fate-Weaving Arachne, who not only failed to bring her any benefits but continuously drained her energy.

And this time, the Arachne had actually lured her presence right into Ryuji's Underworld Palace.

Had Ryuji been an ordinary player, the Nature Maiden might have quietly slipped in for a look and left behind some compensation. But Ryuji had absorbed a wisp of divinity and was stimulated by the aura of the Nature Maiden. That divinity proactively fused with Ryuji, while the Nature Maiden herself, already a frightened bird, mistakenly thought she was being ambushed by other deities. Consequently, she cleanly severed her connection with the Fate-Weaving Arachne and even blew up the ritual altar.

Looking at the Fate-Weaving Arachne, who had yet to climb back to her feet, Ryuji shook his head helplessly. He picked up the charred spider silk and pulled up the Arachne's status window.

[Undead Servant: Fate-Weaving Arachne]
[Class: Paladin (Former)]
[Level: Level 1]
[Abilities: Toxic Aura, Alchemical Web, Melee Master, Spider Mother]
[Description: A paladin abandoned by the deity she once worshipped. Having lost her faith, she will gradually lose her original power.]