Chapter 682: Painted Table
“This isn’t the time to be hesitant anymore, Hause,” Argrave said plainly, leaning forth on the stone chair provided to him. “We’re going to be facing something that’s far beyond our imagination. This could quite possibly be the last time that you have the opportunity to use your divine powers. Let it be in service of something good.”
Argrave, alongside Anneliese and Raven, sat in the heart of Hause’s temple in Blackgard. The underground cathedral had been carved out of the mountain, and drained of the magic within its stone to return the rock to its original sleek gray. Opposite them sat Hause, the goddess of potential and her closest acolyte, Sonia. They appeared rather polarized to each other—the goddess blonde and tall, and Sonia with black hair and short stature. Both of their gazes lingered in the direction of Raven, but they still gave attention to this meeting.
It was understandable they cast glances at their old friend. Raven had changed, substantially. Lorena insisted on helping him improve his self-image. Among her people, a monstrous and decaying body was the sign of a deteriorated mental state. She thought it would be best for him if his image returned to as he’d been before—and he had, in large part. His form was always somewhat in flux, but he retained the image of the ashen-haired human that Argrave had seen only in memories.
“My ability is not as precise as you believe it to be,” Hause argued. “Anyone who goes through the process will come out of the other end changed. This could affect more than physical or mystical strength alone—it could fundamentally alter the nature of a person. And it may not even change the person in a way that will help you and yours in the fighting.”
“But it certainly could. As to the changes you speak of… even I retained my reason, my mental acuity, until I made the mistake of employing my power of potentiation on another,” Raven argued, standing in the corner of the room. “That was what broke me. Not your power. It wasn’t your mistake.”
“He’s right. Come on.” Argrave put both of his arms on the table between them. “You had to have done this with other people before Raven. Not every use of your ability ended up backfiring, didn’t it?”
“Even before that, it was enough that my goddess exercised discretion,” Sonia cut in. “She would come to know a person’s character very well before ever allowing them to realize their dormant potential.”
“And she has learned our people well!” Argrave leaned back in the chair, holding his arms wide. “Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to bring the whole world under my thrall. It might have been considered the pragmatic thing to do. Instead, I turned my nose up at it, and I did what I felt was the most moral thing. I can give you dossiers full of good deeds that my companions have done, too.”
Anneliese placed both her hands on the table gently. “You face death on the end of either choice, Hause. Either you will lament the fact that you helped someone realize their innate talent, because they cost lives… or you will regret the fact that you did not, because Gerechtigkeit came in greater force than we anticipated and killed countless of our people.”