Chapter 744: The Eternal Flame

This marked the first "conflict" to erupt between Xiletor and Lolth after countless eons of camaraderie.

It manifested as a clash between the "Architect of All Creation" and the "Eternal Sovereign."

The world’s accumulated malice consumed both the benevolent, fervent Creatrix and the Xiletor whom Lolth had cherished through the ages.

This venom cascaded upon every entity shaped by divine hands, deluging even Lolth who dared bar the goddess’ path.

These were unprecedented concepts within the realm’s history.

Cataclysms, catastrophes—and the looming "End of Days."

Though armed with authority carelessly bestowed by an overconfident Creator who never envisioned its revocation, Lolth remained hopelessly outmatched against her divine counterpart.

"Eternity" granted her quasi-immortality, yet…

Lolth possesses no means to harm Xiletor.

She embodies the world’s consciousness, the paramount existence beyond mortal comprehension.

How could creations possibly injure their divine progenitor?

Moreover, Lolth harbored no desire to wound Xiletor.

Her sole purpose became halting the apocalyptic march.

"Xiletor—desist this madness."

Should the Creatrix divert energy toward "annihilating" her persistent adversary, the world’s destruction would decelerate significantly.

Perhaps even grind to stillness.

"I shall not cease, Lolth…"

"The flawless world must be forged."

Xiletor’s voice resonated with mechanical detachment.

This imperative had burned within her since cosmic dawn—indeed, her very existence served this primordial purpose.

Now warped by mortal and creation-borne malice, it festered into monomaniacal obsession.

To achieve this perfected vision, she’d shatter reality itself.

She’d obliterate Lolth’s essence endlessly.

"Why obstruct me?"

"You vowed companionship."

Not entirely emotionless… Occasionally, fractured sorrow pierced through her divine cadence.

Yet Lolth could spare no compassion.

However painful the admission, realization crystallized:

Preserving existence demanded opposition to the Creatrix herself.

The Creation Goddess… No matter.

If Xiletor sprang from the world’s will, then she—this Otherworldly soul chosen by cosmic decree—stood equally ordained.

Her talent, favored by this world and surpassing billions of "geniuses" across multiple realms including her own, possessed enough brilliance to shape worlds through a "mortal soul’s" capacity…

Her knowledge, her cognition, her unique patterns of thought…

All reached the cosmic magnitude of "world-creation."

Reason must prevail. Through calculated analysis, she would wield these world-shaking capabilities to devise a method for stopping Xiletor!

Lolth had attained complete, crystalline rationality.

Neither Xiletor’s malice nor the heart-wrenching sobs of their innumerable hybrid offspring echoing behind her could shake her resolve.

To counter destruction’s architect, she needed tenfold Xiletor’s mercilessness.

Calculate. Analyze. Deduce.

The "Creation Goddess" wasn’t omniscient – else why require mortal assistance?

Else why remain blind to this inevitable confrontation?

Corrupted by malice, Xiletor’s divinity had diminished further.

Fallible before, fallible again.

Even now, flaws might be emerging in the fabric of her designs.

Find them.

She must uncover them.

After myriad obliterations at Xiletor’s hands, Lolth discerned the pattern.

Her Eternal Dominion and the universal concept of perpetuity were eroding.

Divine authority never vanishes… but its potency wanes.

Moreover…

Xiletor never once wielded the Eternal Dominion within Lolth.

Nor had she employed the Dominions of Magic, Life, Order, or Time!

These fundamental forces remained untouched –

For Kululu, Fuen, and Earl already held them.

Though unaware of the catastrophes’ origins, these goddesses wielded their gifted authorities as bulwarks against the spreading chaos.

"High-tier divine authorities… She cannot wield them. At minimum, their usage is constrained."

"Dominions counterbalance Dominions."

Xiletor’s influence flowed through dual channels: cosmic will and distributed authority.

Sever her Dominions, and her grip on reality loosens.

The divine rank’s proximity to Lolth and Xiletor inversely correlates with authority control.

"Requires more deities."

The epiphany crystallized.

Procreating godhood – the singular effective strategy to diminish Destruction’s Queen.

But before that—it would require far too much time.

Moreover, the crucial truth remains: all divine authorities currently in existence were personally "bestowed" by Xiletor herself.

The Xiletor of now would never again grant such power.

Instead, she would spare no effort to reclaim every fragment.

To "seize" authority from Xiletor is impossible—it can only be pilfered.

Thus…

Lolth knows exactly what she must do now.

To render this "pilfering" feasible, mortals must be granted both the opportunity and means to ascend to godhood.

Above all, Xiletor must be kept too preoccupied to notice any of this.

"Forgive me, Xiletor."

With these words, Lolth set ablaze her own divine authority.

She voluntarily relinquished the "Eternity" Xiletor had gifted her long ago.

The essence of "Eternity" radiated boundlessly, surging toward Xiletor in luminous waves.

This marked Lolth’s first retaliation after having endured Xiletor’s annihilating wrath countless times.

In that crystalline moment, Lolth beheld the naked truth of "Xiletor’s soul"—

A colossal consciousness entwined with the very fabric of the world, its immensity mirroring creation itself.

Corrupted by the collective malice festering in all living beings, most of it had devolved into something frenzied and perilous.

The sight struck her as sublimely tragic.

Xiletor’s soul, though warped, retained a grandeur that transcended beauty.

In comparison, Lolth’s own spiritual presence seemed minuscule.

Yet within her grasp remained "Eternity"—

Not merely a gift from Xiletor, but a covenant emblematic of their parity.

Among the rarest forces capable of scarring the primordial deity herself.

"Let us slumber… together."

Lolth murmured, releasing the "Eternity" she had forsaken.

Perhaps after countless aeons, we shall awaken anew.

Perhaps only you will stir.

Should that dawn arrive, may you find clarity reborn.

If not… may this world teem with enough deities to shield it.

Thus did Lolth pledge her final wish.