Celene and Shaer are implicitly discussing something, which Hill actually understands... Azuth clearly knows what’s happening now as well, but he chooses to remain silent, letting Edna walk down such a dangerous path.
However, Hill also understands that even if Azuth knew his descendant had become part of the Path of Destiny, he doesn’t have the power to stop it.
Just being able to have Edna’s father use his own name to send some scapegoats is the only struggle left for this Mage Lord.
The only ones who can truly overturn the tables after the Path of Destiny begins are Celene and Shaer... Lansendel might also be possible, but he doesn’t have the intellect.
Speaking of which, the Tablets of Fate don’t actually want to make use of Lansendel, as he simply wants to cause trouble, not destroy the world... reorganizing the world also consumes AO’s own divine power!
AO enjoys researching others, not himself.
Therefore, he clearly prefers Cyric as a tool... the things the Prince of Lies creates are actually within his expectations, appearing large, but really all under control.
Meanwhile, the Lord of Dawn always actively jumps in... the tablets have to painstakingly clean up after him.
It’s like Lansendel, who should have written a significant page in history, has been away from Toril for so long, and AO hasn’t done anything to bring him back.
Celene suddenly asks Shaer seriously, "Is that eyeball still with the Hydra? Can you be sure that what he’s doing now is for you or for himself?"
Shaer pauses for a few seconds before answering, "The Hydra has already sacrificed that eyeball to me. Now, what he holds is Gulekulust’s Death Staff."
Shaer probably doesn’t know how to face her sister’s sudden concern... This possibility isn’t zero, but generally speaking, such things wouldn’t happen to Shaer, who tightly controls her Chosen. She’s not the carefree Celene.
Furthermore, Shaer, always cautious, how could she leave a divine artifact of another world in the hand of her Chosen?
Things she hasn’t understood thoroughly, she’s certainly not going to use them easily.
Celene, however, doesn’t mind her sister’s complex emotions, just asks with some curiosity, "How did Gulekulust’s Death Staff end up with you?
Wasn’t the Mage King of Harua always holding it?"
"Shadows are everywhere," Shaer replies indifferently.
"Hmm..." Celene falls into thought, seemingly trying to recall if she ever saw anything.
Hill doesn’t know much about the Mage Kingdom of Harua in the southern Ferun Great Land, only that they are Naise Remnants... a result of a Floating City crashing there.
But he’s certain that in a nation dominated by Mages, there will inevitably be some who want to break free from the Weave’s control.
And such individuals are most likely to become Shadow followers.
"Why is Harua missing?" Celene suddenly shouts in surprise.
It seems she’s not just recalling but actually went to check.
"The Prophecy Mages of Harua are quite strong, they foresaw Mystra’s death, so when the Magicplague appeared, they moved most of their region to Aber." Shaer’s tone carries a hint of schadenfreude, "But that Mage King didn’t manage to withdraw in time."
Hmm... meaning your people took him out, right?
Hill now understands why the Mage King’s staff ending up in Shaer’s possession got bestowed upon Hydra for use.
Speaking of which, that staff, which can trigger an ’Extreme Effusion Fireball, Extreme Effusion Acid Ball, Extreme Effusion Lightning Ball, Extreme Effusion Frost Ball, Extreme Effusion Sonic Ball’ when spellcasting, is indeed quite suitable for the Hydra.
"Wait... Did you say they foresaw?" Celene suddenly shouted, "But weren’t the Haruans believers of Mystra? Why didn’t anyone tell her?
It was no one telling her, right?
Midnight might dislike prophecy, but wouldn’t she defend against it? Prophecy Mages are deeply connected with the Tablets of Fate!
After the Years of Turmoil, what deity wouldn’t care about the prophecy of the tablets anymore?"
"After Midnight became Mystra, most of Harua’s upper echelon abandoned their faith in her and chose Azuth." Shaer speaks carelessly, "Do you really think any Mages are of the Kind Alignment? While many civilians still believe in Mystra, it’s a shame they know nothing.
My temples were able to develop in Harua all thanks to her for leading many Mages to rather choose becoming Shadow Mages!"
"Uh..." Celene is rendered speechless.
Harua and the former Naicer Empire are different, Mages depend on the Weave for spellcasting, they weren’t accustomed like Arcanists who detach from the Weave.
The Goddess of Magic actually isn’t the main faith in the Mage Kingdom... Midnight’s fall now seems almost a foregone conclusion.
Even AO deserves some praise for his resilience. He gave Midnight so much time to adapt, and when she still wouldn’t change that bit of stubbornness, he slapped her out of the Divine Kingdom.
But maybe it was also because Midnight sent quite a few mages inclined toward evil to the Shadow Weave that AO decided to strip it from Shaer’s hands?
When the Shadow Weave was just a vassal of the Weave, AO could turn a blind eye and let Shaer do as she pleased.
But now, as more and more mages control the Shadow Weave, it has also grown stronger. When Shaer wishes to destroy the world, taking a shot at the Shadow Weave might be all it takes to succeed.
Shaer probably realizes this too... No matter how she messes around, the Shadow Weave will never return to her grasp, and it’s only a matter of time.
So now she can calmly chat with her sister and then go around snatching divine artifacts to make up for the power she lost. The most update n0vels are published on novel※fire.net
"She still does better as Edna." Celene eventually said.
"It’s quite difficult to always be yourself." Shaer, surprisingly rare, spoke a word for Midnight, "Although willful and completely disregarding rules, at least she is always herself... even if she’s always annoying."
Celene laughed with a ’pfft’: "I really don’t know if you count that as a compliment."
Hill quietly watched Edna, buried in the journey on the giant screen, and gently sighed for her... really wonder how Midnight would feel after recovering her memory and recalling all of this.
But if the Edna before him turned into the Midnight of the past, Hill knew he would not look at her again... although it sounds pitiful, Midnight’s actions fully prove an old saying: ’Pitiful people must have something detestable about them.’
Hill would rather deal with Lansendel than have any connection with that Midnight.
On the other giant screen, ’Snow Cloud Peak’ was still negotiating with Hydra.
He hadn’t even asked yet who the two people saved by the Hydra were or where they were.
When Hydra slid down from the high point of the cave, he wasn’t carrying them.
He just kept discussing Edna and Leonard’s safety with Hydra... and the cunning Hydra firmly refused to promise that he wouldn’t do anything to harm those two.
Being able to say he wouldn’t lay a hand on them was good enough; if he couldn’t even use them, following Edna and the others would be meaningless.
Hydra anxiously smashed his tail on the ground; the multi-headed serpent’s temper wasn’t good, both irritable and vicious. He rarely bargained with others, let alone yielding.
But his relationship with the Undead Tribe was unusually good; Hydra cherished it and didn’t want to break this harmonious relationship.
Like those two ladies in the Ancient Night Temple and Embrace of Darkness, they didn’t even know how to approach the Undead Tribe!
Even though they knew the Goddess had a peculiar view of these strange elves, they found it hard to even establish a name connection... the Undead Tribe was inexplicably wary of them.
Actually, it’s quite simple. Hydra, as the leader of the followers of Shaer in the Underdark, normally dealt with Zholar, necromancy, dwarves, and gnomes—all those who committed evil... so, in the eyes of the Undead Tribe, even though he’s a monstrous appearance, he’s not someone who commits evil frequently enough to deserve death.
And those two ladies, usually dealing with the Human Kingdoms above ground... the number of cities and kingdoms destroyed at their hands is numerous, not to mention the countless lives under their command.
The Undead Tribe absolutely does not want to get close to such black-and-red named NPCs unless they become bosses.
’Snow Cloud Peak’ had already observed Hydra for a while. He could feel Hydra’s impatience but also saw his restraint.
Opportunities to cooperate with the Evil Faction are not abundant, but he isn’t without experience either.
So Old Dog knew very well that no matter what, he must determine all conditions at the outset... there’s no Evil Faction that doesn’t exploit loopholes.
Those stupid and bad guys either have a boss overhead or someone behind using them as cannon fodder.
Otherwise, they couldn’t survive for long.
So even when Hydra’s tail swept the dust to his mouth, Snow Old Dog was still determined to explain the rules he’d devised to the multi-headed serpent one by one... to ensure the serpent recited them clearly; otherwise, simply saying "got it" has no meaning.
Though nitpicking every word may seem troublesome, ’Snow Cloud Peak’ was quite okay with it... having an ally who absolutely doesn’t violate prearranged terms is an extremely great thing for him.
Like ’Young Master’ and those who frequently come up with whims, forcing Old Dog to both direct and patch up the messes made by those little rascals are trivial matters, not to mention the few allies who stab you in the back.
NPCs are relatively easy to handle. For a deity’s follower like Hydra, even when he repeatedly mentioned Shaer, there was no sign of unease or irritability, indicating the multi-headed serpent indeed didn’t intend to trouble them.
But ’Snow Cloud Peak’ also understood that there can be many agreements, but they cannot bind Hydra’s hands and feet... especially that Quel Senta group, Hydra won’t actively seek trouble with them, but if one regards themselves as capable and tries to find some presence with Hydra, the Undead Tribe can’t restrain those courting death.
In this aspect, Hydra certainly won’t relent... Shaer’s followers’ mouths are indeed a terrifying weapon!