Finally beat God of War Ragnarok!
Well, I say that, but more like I beat the story a while back and just recently finished up a majority of the side stuff, like the two bonus bosses and stuff. As of now, I'm just missing two trophies – crafting the dragon scale armor entirely and obtaining all relics/swords. Both of these achievements I can obtain at pretty much any time since, you know, end of game and all… yet I just can't bring myself to do so. No, instead I think I'll wait until Santa Monica studios (hopefully) patches in a New Game+ mode, because this is one game that seriously needs such a thing.
But more than that… God, does this game give me so many new ideas. Seriously, hats off to the studio for taking everything great about the previous game and upping it to 11 in this one, not just in terms of gameplay but story as well. Kratos has come a very long way since the very first God of War back in the PS2 era and while he still retains his gruff exterior, he's clearly a vastly better person than he was back then. And Atreus, in just the span of two games, has shown amazing growth as well, to the point where any potential fic idea I'm now getting about God of War could easily have either Kratos or Atreus as the MC of them.
Alas, I'm currently dedicated to this fic, so any such ideas will have to be relegated to the backburner of my mind for now, along with all the other fic ideas I've ever had, ha ha. Maybe one day I'll try my hand at a God of War, but as of now? Just going to have to hold off.
Anyways, hard to believe we're here at the ass-end of 2022 already! Time just keeps on flying by faster and faster. In a way, that's both heartening and terribly saddening. Hope you all can stay strong despite whatever craziness is going on in your lives and can welcome 2023 with open arms. I know that I will at least try to do so.
Whelp, not much else to say at the moment, sadly enough. About the only fic-related point I can make here in the beginning is that things will steadily be picking up now that the seeds of future conflict have been planted. Can only hope I make it as grand as it deserves to be.
Now then, onto the chapter!
P.S. As usual, please consider purchasing my original novels? Fading Darkness, Rising Light as well as the Infinite Genesis trilogy can be found for purchase on a variety of sites, from Barnes and Noble to Apple, Amazon kindle and more! Universal links available on my profile page, just remove the spaces!
P.P.S Just a heads up, but this chapter will be a fairly short one. However, I still do think it necessary! Please see ending AN for explanation if you want!
P.P.P.S On the off chance this ends up being the last chapter I post before the year's end, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Chapter 8
As the new day began in earnest, Ranni ended up developing something of a foul mood. Despite having crafted so many of those glintstone gems to make a profit out of, to say nothing of the Hero's party's reactions to a demonstration of one such gem when she'd unveiled it to them this morning, Ranni found whatever sensation of success to be completely mitigated by something assaulting her senses instead.
Something most foul, wrong.
And sadly, she had a suspicion as to why such a feeling was worming around in her.
The other forces that opposed the great Dark Moon… they were here in this world.
…Well, perhaps to say it like that would be a bit off the mark. It would instead be more accurate to say that they were trying to worm their way into this world just as they had done or at least had tried to do back in her home world.
The sensation of something amiss from just yesterday had honestly been the first clue now that she thought of this in hindsight, but it wasn't until now when she detected a second presence that the Lunar Princess came to this realization.
Ranni was hardly shocked at such a thing happening. While she did doubt how much intelligence and free will these godly entities, if they could even be called that, possessed, she knew that like drew to like. No doubt it was her presence that had served as a beacon to them and thus why they were trying to exert their influence over this world now. Thankfully whatever defenses, natural or otherwise, this world possessed against outside influences were keeping them at bay for the most part…
…But now that one or two have been able to gain some measure of a foothold in the world, it may very well not be long at all until the defenses weaken further. If that happens, the other gods will impose their wills upon the lands and chaos will ensue.
…Ha, as if there won't already be some measure of chaos now abound thanks to the two that had already entered this world.
Alas, while she now knew that they were present out there, her senses were still far too dull for her to be able to assess with certainty which gods had been able to accomplish this feat.
She could only pray it wasn't the Flame of Frenzy or the Scarlet Rot. She was certain it wasn't the latter, given that the god had been sealed away long ago beneath the area now known as the Lake of Rot, but gods were borderline incomprehensible beings, able to work in ways that even the likes of herself could hardly fathom in full.
Though, even if it wasn't those two, it wasn't as if the other gods such as the Fell God of the giants or even the Greater Will itself were any less dangerous in their own ways. It honestly wouldn't surprise her at all if the latter was trying to enter this world – its own little way of getting payback against her and her dear consort for ending its Golden Order in the Lands Between.
"Ranni? You okay there?" Hero suddenly asked.
Ranni was snapped out of her thoughts by the young girl's uncharacteristically quiet tone, but did well to hide any such surprise on her part.
"I'm fine," Ranni replied. "Merely a little tired from crafting my items last night. Think nothing of it, dear child."
"…Okay. Just don't strain yourself with all this walking!"
Ranni allowed herself a slight chuckle. "If anything, our travel should help me awaken from my… little spell, I suppose ye could call it."
Hero just stared at her for a second or two longer, showcasing a certain level of doubt before then shrugging and looking away from her.
The Lunar Princess inwardly sighed.
After having demonstrated her little gems to the party, they'd cooked up a fairly light breakfast before beginning their trek for the day, heading for the next town on the map. There, it was Ranni's goal to see if it was possible to sell some of her glintstone creations and turn a hefty profit.
As of yesterday, such a goal had been a fairly nominal one – beneficial to accomplish but not exactly necessary. However, now that she was aware, if only vaguely, of the gods from her world having now begun to breach this one, Ranni now felt that such a mundane goal was of great importance. Anything and everything that could help her reunite with her consort and begin finding a way back to the Lands Between was now of the utmost concern.
The conflicts waged between the gods, both big and small, direct and indirect, had left the Lands Between a broken place, overflowing with grief and strife. Allowing something even remotely similar to happen here in this world could not be allowed.
And with that in mind…
Ranni's gaze flickered from Hero to Sword Saint to Sage, the former two lightly chattering about directions while Sage was engrossed in analyzing one of the glintstone gems Ranni had given her earlier, practically glaring holes into it even as she walked.
Ranni let out another internal sigh. In the very short time she's been with this trio, she's found herself growing rather fond of them. It was the first time in a very long while she's ever been able to move about like this, having had to stay rooted within her tower for ages while Blaidd and Iji had done much of the heavy lifting for her until the Tarnished had come along.
She would quite miss this.
Yes, she thought, it likely won't be long until it's time to part ways.
She knew not what the trio's ultimate destination was, but from the little that they've talked about it with her, it seemed that at some point, the path will diverge from the direction she could sense her consort lying in. While such a divergence was still fairly far off, it would be ideal to break off from the party and plot her own course as soon as possible in order to avoid having to waste any time doubling back or whatnot.
In which case, once they've reached the next town and she's hopefully made a sale, it would be best then to go her own way.
Should she bring up such a point now, though? Prepare them for their inevitable parting? Or should she wait until later to let the trio of women know of her intended actions?
For the first time in a long time, Ranni felt genuinely stumped, her thoughts and feelings muddled not just by the presence of the gods but also by her own experiences from the past now really creeping up on her. Something that she would have previously had no problem going through with now seemed so very hard.
But sometimes, the hard thing must always be done for a greater good.
A true shame – she would miss these three.
Deciding for now to simply keep her thoughts to herself for the time being, Ranni began to slowly plot out her next several actions: reach town, sell glintstone, craft some excuse to allow her to break away from the Hero party, then set off in the direction of her consort. A very general list of steps to go through, but once she sees what the next town may have to offer her, she can improvise.
In the meantime, however, she could only pray that the forces at large would take but a little longer to settle into this world…
…And that no one did anything foolish to try and warrant their attention.
Before Illusion knew it, something was so terribly wrong with the Four Cornered World.
One moment, she'd practically been looking away, aiming to keep the others as far away from these two anomalies as possible. Thankfully, none had bothered even looking over this way, too enraptured in this or that to pay much attention to the world any time soon. Probably thinking up their own campaigns or whatever.
But while she'd been looking away, several things had shown up!
Worse than that, two of these things had somehow been able to poke what amounted to holes in the world! Said holes were absolutely miniscule, smaller than even the smallest of pin pricks at best and yet somehow those holes had been more than enough for two of these things to begin worming their way into the Four Cornered World.
And oh, how utterly foul these things were! So horrible and twisted and warped and just plain wrong they were.
Their forms were completely indiscernible to Illusion's doe-like eyes and the harder she tried to make out any particular features about these things, the more it felt like she was hurting within the very core of her being.
These things cannot be allowed to exist!
She didn't know the first thing about how they were trying to get into the world below nor what their intentions were or even how they managed to get here in the first place without her or anyone else noticing but the normally airy girl couldn't abide this a second longer! She had to do something and fast or else something horrible would happen, she just knew it!
Alas, Illusion was already encountering a problem – how to go about ridding this realm of these terrible things.
Though she and the others were the gods of the Four Cornered World below, how they could influence things was ultimately limited. They couldn't just think of something and make it so. They couldn't glare at something loathsome and banish it through a simple gesture.
Yes, they could craft new campaigns, set the layout of a given area, chose the characters, place the enemies and traps and fake pathways, and dole out miracles and the like to true believers, but that was about it. Even then, the roll of dice inevitably decided how things turned out, for better or worse.
Thus, Illusion couldn't just snap her fingers and make these invaders go back to whence they came. Instead, she'd have to get up close and personal.
Needless to say, this was something the young (looking) girl detested, but it had to be done.
But even so, she steeled herself and all but flung her very being upon the nearest of the things – and immediately came to regret such an action.
Upon making contact with one, it felt as if her skin began to hiss and burn and flak, a primordial fire somehow spawning into existence and nearly enveloping the entirety of her arms. Illusion screamed out fiercely, primarily out of sheer pain but also partially as a cry for help. No longer did she care about keeping this under wraps; this had to be dealt with now.
She screamed and screamed and then screamed some more, pleading for the others to come and help her out. Hell, she'd be positively delighted to see that jerk Truth come running right about now.
Despite the pain, however, she held on and tried to pull the still unidentifiable thing away. It possessed no solid form at all but it couldn't be described as a liquid or even a gas-like thing either. It was more akin to a concept than anything else, truly immaterial and it was only Illusion's status as a god that she was able to interact with it at all, for what little good this fact was doing her.
The thing writhed in her grasp, only now seemingly becoming aware of her presence and moreover her hold on it. Its attempt to enter the Four Cornered World below now came to a halt for the time being as it now seemed to fully direct its attention towards.
Only then did Illusion realize yet another mistake made.
The flames that were scorching her, practically devouring her… this had merely been the result of making direct contact with this thing, this… entity. It hadn't been a conscious response on its part but rather a mere function of its existence.
And now that its attention was fully on her…
Illusion shrieked and actually let go as the thing tried to work its power upon her in full. However, even as she let go, the flames that had already enveloped her hands and forearms began to dance maliciously, as if alive and now they raced up her arms in full.
By now, as she screamed ever louder in pain, the others had come running. Surprisingly, it was Truth that had been at the forefront of the group and the normally playful and jerkish god was looking on in genuine horror. Looks like this situation was one that not even he would point and laugh at.
Illusion fell back as the thing she'd grabbed still focused on her and approached, evidently intent on finishing the job as to ensure she couldn't interfere again. By this point, some of the other things that had been trying to burrow their way into the world had taken notice as well… and appeared to be of a similar mind as the first thing.
Yet even as these other horrific entities took notice of Illusion's fellow deities and prepared to engage, Illusion watched on even through the agonizing pain as some of these entities almost seemed to… to clash with one another. Seems like not all of them were exactly united in their goal.
Not that such a fact was of much use as the entities suddenly seemed to expand, working their fearsome influence over the surrounding domain, assaulting the other gods just as they began to go on the attack themselves.
Illusion got pulled up and away a fair distance by Truth before the entity that had scorched her could finish the job, only for Truth himself to get all but literally pounced on by the intimidating, heavily orange-tinted flames, a gigantic otherworldly roar seemingly emanating from them.
By this point, the gods seemed to overcome the wave of power unleashed by those other entities and now began to approach them rapidly and ready to fight in whatever way they could.
And so, for the first time in forever, what amounted to a war was beginning to break out in the realm of the gods…
…And so far, it didn't seem like it was off to a great start for them, if Illusion dared to say so herself.
As she finally managed to get back up and dashed forward to rescue Truth now from the all-consuming flames, she vaguely took note of two entities in particular that had yet to move away from the world. It was these two that had already managed to squirm their way into the Four Cornered World in some manner.
It was these two, more than the others, that had to be stopped as soon as was possible. Because if not, then it wouldn't matter if she and the others managed to stop the other entities…
…For there may very well not be a world left to save if nothing was done swiftly.
The world itself seemed to groan, letting out an ironically unearthly sound. Said sound was not something that the denizens of the planet could hear in any way, for it was not a sound in the conventional sense.
Even so, those sensitive to nature, be it the elves or other similar species, could detect the assault the world was under and their response was suitably one of panic.
Cries of shock, horror and pure rage rang out throughout various forests and valleys and mountaintops, where the races most attuned to the planet tended to live in. So great was the volume of these cries that even those not aware of the world's new crisis could now feel something horribly amiss, if only by virtue of being within hearing range of the shrieks now occurring out there.
Unfortunately, those who could hear the cries of the elves and druids and giants and more were relatively few and in between. The population of the planet was understandably vast in number and so, the several thousand now aware of something amiss was but a literal drop in the sea.
There were still so terribly many people that went about their lives completely unaware of what was taking place beyond the scope of the world.
But the adventurer's guild was one of the relative few places that could be considered to be smack dab in the middle of it all.
This was, of course, courtesy of the simple fact that adventurers themselves ranged from humans to dwarves to lizardmen to amazons to rheas and so many other races out there…
…Including, of course, elves as well.
Needless to say, it was a massive shock when an otherwise typical day was abruptly brought to an end as all the elves and rheas and druids that made up a solid portion of the adventurers passing through the guild to suddenly begin screaming in fright or otherwise have an extreme reaction that ranged from visible jitteriness to full blown hyperventilating.
Chaos was practically running amok now, other adventurers and the guild staff watching on in evident confusion and worry. Some of them approached those freaking out and tried to calm them down… with less than stellar results.
"H-hey, the fuck is going on?! Come on, talk to us!"
"Whoa, watch out! That guy is swinging his sword around like a lunatic!"
"Stop that guy before he rams himself into a damn wall or something!"
Such shouts filled the air now as people went about trying to physically restrain those that were panicking the hardest.
And in the middle of it all was Priestess.
She'd come down earlier to have herself a late dinner after having finally rested enough following the safe return from the most recent goblin slaying quest. If the meeting of that strange yet friendly man in armor had been odd enough in addition to the goblins' unusual behavior on this previous quest, then this was on a whole other scale.
The young blonde flailed about helplessly. As much as she liked to hope she'd grown up a little ever since she started adventuring, it was a time like this where she realized just how far she had to go.
…No, perhaps that was doing herself something of a disservice, given that everyone else here looked to be just as at a loss as her on what to even think of this sudden development, much less do anything about it.
But then a flash of inspiration struck her as she watched a nearby elf nearly curl up into a fetal position.
Elf – like High Elf Archer.
Thinking of her friend, Priestess could only turn tail and dart for the stairs. However bad the situation on the ground floor was like, there were plenty of people who could hopefully get things under control fairly soon. But then what of those inhabiting the floor above in the rooms that the guild rented out?
High Elf Archer had gone to rest earlier and had shown no sign of coming down anytime soon, so she should still be in her room. This was the reasoning Priestess had and clung to it like a lifeline. She prayed to the Earth Mother that she was right, for if High Elf Archer had gone out, then the young girl wouldn't really know what to do at all.
However, her assumption proved correct as she neared the high elf's room and all but threw open the door with all the force she could muster-.
-And found her fellow party member curled up on the bed, eyes wide and strained to the point of the veins being visible while her already delicate and pale skin had lost what little color it had. The normally lively to the point of being haughty high elf was rocking back and forth, clutching her head tightly as she mumbled something over and over again.
It wasn't until Priestess got a little closer that she could hear what High Elf Archer was muttering.
"Something'swrongsomething'swrongsomething'swrong'somethingswrong-!"
Over and over the words repeated with increasing speed and fear.
"U-Uhm! It's… It's fine! Everything will be fine, so please settle down, okay?" Priestess mumbled lamely, the situation so utterly removed from the norm that she couldn't think of a single genuinely decent thing to say other than what amounted to an empty and standard platitude.
Naturally, her words had no effect at all and High Elf Archer just rocked back and forth even harder.
Priestess clutched at her slender chest, praying for strength. Then, after several long seconds that consisted of just listening to her friend mumble, the young girl finally gathered up her strength and approached.
She got on the bed and wrapped her arms around the much older girl with all the physical strength she could muster in order to still the elf. It proved hard to do, for while the high elf was hardly a physical powerhouse, she was still in significantly better shape than the still young and developing Priestess who wasn't a fighter in the slightest outside of her sling. Even so, Priestess remained steadfast and clung to High Elf Archer and finally managed to get her to hold still, having broken a sweat in the process.
"It's… okay now," the blonde whispered gently, holding her much like how an older sister may hold a frightened younger sister. Very ironic given the vast age difference between them. "It'll all be okay…" Priestess rubbed at the small of High Elf Archer's back.
Said high elf remained still now but seemed despondent to her words and presence in general. But Priestess persevered and kept on repeating those words and motions until finally the insane tension in High Elf Archer's body began to melt away.
It wasn't long afterwards that the usually rambunctious high elf finally seemed to nod off within Priestess' thin arms, the situation having clearly drained the older girl of whatever energy she'd had.
Even then, Priestess held her for a moment or two longer before finally letting go and placing the high elf properly in bed. She even tucked her in for good measure.
Only once she'd done that did the young girl finally seem to collapse herself, falling onto her butt. Legs and arms shaking as the adrenaline from all this began to fade, Priestess let out the heaviest sigh possible and clutched at her racing heart.
"…Girly."
Priestess looked back towards the opening to the room to see Dwarf Shaman standing there, Lizard Priest out in the hallway and peering in from there as well. Both of them held looks of extreme concern on their faces that only marginally let up as they saw High Elf Archer rest in the bed.
"…Our resident uptight elf had it bad, didn't she?" asked Dwarf Shaman.
Priestess could only nod, drawing a grimace from the dwarf.
"Mm, well done," commended Lizard Priest in that genuine tone of his. "I can only assume you were able to calm her."
"That… That was about all I could do," Priestess muttered as she tried to get up now, only to fail. It took Dwarf Shaman's help for her to stand a moment later. "…How are you two?"
The dwarf grunted. "While I'm not as in tune as those tree-hugging elves, I sure felt something a few moments ago." A serious expression was on his face. "Can't say for certain what's going on, but the spirits were sure freakin' out. That's never a good sign."
"Before we begin such a conversation in earnest," spoke Lizard Priest. "Perhaps we should go back downstairs and check in on the situation there. Now that we know our dear archer is resting for the moment, we should make sure the others have settled down as well before we try to determine the cause."
Dwarf Shaman grunted in agreement. As for Priestess, she could only clutch her hands together in prayer.
She had no idea what had happened at all and she kind of doubted any of them would be able to figure out the cause soon.
But one thing that she felt worth mentioning, as painfully obvious as it was, was this:
Whatever had happened certainly couldn't be anything good at all.
Goblin Slayer patrolled the farm diligently… no, he patrolled almost desperately, to be more precise.
Following his return home from the latest quest, he'd set about his usual routine without issue. That is, until just several minutes when something had happened.
What said something was, he had no idea. He didn't consider himself in touch with the world around him, not like how his party members – his friends – were like nor did the silver ranked adventurer have an exceptionally high opinion of his own intellect. For all the thinking he did, he was hardly someone who could figure out even the greatest of puzzles with ease, not like how some others would be able to do. Thus, he had no idea even why he suddenly was patrolling now instead of checking his gear like usual.
But even so, patrol he did, having somehow just been overcome by an unknowable urge to do so.
"…"
He made a sound as he checked for any sign at all of goblins and upon finding so such sign, he could only express his warring emotions through said sound.
Change was something woefully foreign to him. For the longest time, ever since that horrible night that had molded him into who he is now, he'd remained static. It hadn't been until he'd formed his party that it finally felt like things were beginning to undergo a shift for him. This was a process that he had only recently been able to gain awareness of and was something that had instilled him with a mixture of subdued amazement… and fright.
He is Goblin Slayer… but if this kept up, would there eventually come a day where he was no longer that? Such a thought almost made him go still; he'd long since ceased imagining a future where he could truly ever feel at peace, not when those cowardly creatures still walked the land.
But more than whether or not he'd remain Goblin Slayer, change was taking shape in other ways. For one thing, he found himself having more people by his side than during his tenure as an adventurer prior. For another, he was slowly beginning to experience quests where he wasn't only killing goblins and in so doing, was beginning to feel something different from the norm when out on a quest… excitement. Yes, excitement, like back in the days when his sister had still lived and he'd lived his childhood without issue.
But with that excitement came concern as well.
Though he'd been reassured by that stranger from a distant land that what he did on the daily was indeed praiseworthy, it still didn't change the fact that, well, change was occurring all around him and towards him.
And this situation was undoubtedly one such sign of change and he was getting the feeling that it wasn't for the better at all.
But what could have caused this? Again, he didn't know, he couldn't fathom the reason why. Whatever comfort the armored stranger's words had provided him was now dying out like embers from a fire, replaced by an unnatural chill.
"Hey! Everything okay out there?!"
Goblin Slayer paused in his patrol of the pathway leading up to the house and looked up at the sound of that all too familiar voice.
There, having stepped out onto the porch was his childhood friend. Though far more lively than when they'd first reunited, there were still some moments where she would become unsure of herself and the world.
Though he still had much to learn in the ways of reading people, Goblin Slayer could still tell that she was very clearly worried, having stepped away from her stew-making to check on him.
"You've been walking around like crazy. Something up?" Cow Girl asked. She clutched a hand to her chest tightly as she'd asked that.
The silver ranked adventurer was silent for a good moment before he could finally reply. "I… don't know." For that moment spent thinking, this banal reply was the best he could do.
He wanted to say more, add onto that painfully simple statement, but refrained from doing so. It was one thing to speculate aloud on what's going on, but even he was now very aware of the dangers associated with fearmongering.
His friend's uncle had warned him to avoid hurting her feelings and give her reason to be sad. That was something of a promise he was struggling to keep, if Goblin Slayer had to be perfectly honest with himself. But even so, it was a promise he would strive to keep as best as he could.
"…I…" he started as he began to head for the house. "…I simply felt the need to double check the perimeter."
For the first time, he'd told a half-truth. True, he'd wanted to check the perimeter, but this impulse had certainly not been due to any mere whim. Alas, he had no way of vocalizing the true reason why since he still didn't know himself.
His friend didn't look all that convinced. Mercifully, however, she decided to just smile. "Well… if you're all done looking around, then come on in and wash up! Dinner will be ready in just a little bit, so the table needs to be set."
"Mm." He made that little sound in acknowledgement and began to pick up his pace towards the house as his friend went back inside.
But just as he reached the porch, he stopped and turned around to spare one final glance at the farmland.
…
…There were no signs of goblins at all. While he doubted he'd be able to shrug off this feeling of wrongness tonight, he could at least feel just a bit more at ease knowing that much.
With his spirits just a tad bit higher than before, Goblin Slayer finally decided to retire inside for the time being.
…All the while as unaware as everyone else of the dangers that now began to take root throughout the lands.
Again, a very short chapter in comparison to the previous ones. Once more, sorry for that, but even so, I still think this chapter was a necessary one.
As sudden as it might have seemed for the gods of the GSverse to finally catch onto the Outer Gods and begin throwing down, it really wasn't as if the Outer Gods could go unnoticed for that much longer. And as to why it seems like Illusion and Truth are kind of off to a really bad start trying to deal with said Outer Gods? Easy – the gods of the GSverse are ultimately tabletop players. Their influence over the Four Cornered World is basically confined to rolls of the dice and whatever miracles/spells they doll out to their followers like the Earth Mother with the likes of Priestess or the Supreme God with Female Knight, at least prior to her losing their favor. Sure, they may be able to craft campaigns and the like, essentially controlling the fates of all parties involved, but as made evident in the light novels, this control is far from all encompassing. The very fact that Goblin Slayer can overturn the dice rolls and flat change the predicted ending makes it clear that the gods' powers are far from absolute.
That said, while seemingly lacking in scale compared to the Outer Gods (though I'd dare say that's due more to how humanized the GS gods are), they'll still be doing their best to keep the Outer Gods at bay and will find some measure of success. This isn't a spoiler at all or anything because let's be real, if the GS gods failed outright and the Outer Gods managed to fully worm their way into the Four Cornered World, this story would come to a swift and depressing end and that's not the point of this story. After all, it's called Age of Adventure and it'd be pretty hard to have any adventures if shit went down that hard, right?
Of course, even with that in mind, it's not as if things are going to be all hunky-dory for everyone involved. With the Frenzied Flame and Formless Mother having found a proper foothold in the world with the other Outer Gods possibly being able to do the same, there will only be increasingly greater dangers coming our main characters' ways fairly soon.
Now then, from here on out, the PoVs will start to vary it up a little more. Again, the Tarnished and Ranni are still the main focus of this fic, but other characters will start to get their own sections more often and chapters will no longer strictly follow the 'Tarnished-centric in one chapter, Ranni-centric the next' formula as much.
Oh and expect the action to finally start picking up from here on out too because you guys aren't the only ones looking forward to some battle scenes, ha ha.
Until next time, everyone. Stay safe out there!