Chương 111: A Familiar Stranger

Susanne was in great confusion. She had obtained an item that could easily defeat the Deity, yet the enemies still had not discovered her. She clearly remembered the Ratkin stating she would be found out the moment she set foot in the Shrine. Furthermore, his words implied the Deity was so powerful that Susanne would be killed in the blink of an eye. Was she missing something? She wished Natalie was here; at the very least, she could have asked her questions, even if she wouldn't receive an answer.

Now that I have successfully obtained the item, what should I do? Should I search for the Deity and defeat her? While pondering what needed to be done, she decided to leave the building to see the outside. However, she suddenly felt a presence entering the Hall. Turning around, she noticed something small dashing inside. Instinctively, Susanne knew what it was. She had seen it many times over the past two days. It was Natalie, the rat. Susanne was a little surprised.

She had assumed Natalie would have her own Trial to complete and that she wouldn't see the rat again, but now it had come rushing in. Did she get caught by the enemy? The rat moved around the steps in the Hall without stopping, leaving Susanne confused by its actions. After a while, the rat finally stopped far from where Susanne stood.

"What are you doing here?" Susanne asked as soon as the rat stayed in one place. She didn't receive an answer. The rat simply stood on the step. Strangely, Susanne noticed what the rat was doing; it looked at her, then moved its head toward the obsidian altar. This happened a few times. Screech! Suddenly, the rat screeched at Susanne, baring its teeth. Susanne was startled by the sudden hostility. Was this a different rat? A doubt arose in her heart.

However, before she could ask her questions, the sound of the screech intensified as the rat's anger increased manifold. Before Susanne could do anything about the weird situation, the rat went into a frenzy and exploded from sheer rage, its whole body destroyed. Taken aback by the sudden situation, Susanne rushed toward the spot where the rat had stood. However, before she could take even a few steps, she noticed something strange happening where the rat had exploded.

Wisps of strange energy slowly gathered, taking the form of a humanoid figure. Since nothing made sense, Susanne simply stood in place. Before she could even realize it, the figure stood directly in front of her. However, Susanne did not bother looking at the figure itself; instead, her eyes stared at the top of its head. Hovering there was a sparkling golden crown. Instinctively, she took a step back. She did not know what was happening this whole time, but she recognized that crown.

The crown indicated that this figure was the Deity she had been searching for. Suddenly, a realization hit her mind: this was the rat. Was the rat the Deity this whole time? God damn it, what is happening? Susanne thought. Wasn't it supposed to be Natalie? If she had known earlier, she would have squeezed it to death when it sat on her shoulder. While she harbored these thoughts, the figure standing before her also stared at Susanne.

"Who are you?" the Deity asked.

"Same to you, who are you?" Susanne asked.

"Are you Natalie? Or just some rat?"

"Kneel," the Deity said.

"What?"

"Kneel!" the Deity cried out, issuing a command with rage. As soon as the words left her mouth, golden chains erupted from the ground. The chains bound Susanne, pulling her to the ground and forcing her to her knees. Her wrists were bound, her legs were cuffed. In a single second, Susanne was restrained without any effort. Even though she struggled to break free, the golden chains did not budge an inch.

"Who are you?" the Deity asked again. Susanne, however, did not bother to listen to the Deity, as she was in great shock of her own. Was she not supposed to be immune to this Deity's attacks? Yet, she was instantly subdued. Did that Ratkin lie to her? Was this Ritualistic Item fake? However, the greatest question she wanted answered so badly was whether this Deity was the rat she had accompanied all the way. Or was it a different rat?

She looked at the Deity, who was staring at her, expecting an answer to her question. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Seeing there was no answer, the Deity's face started to contort. In the next second, the golden chains started to tighten, making Susanne's limbs tight.

"Who are you? Are you the Deity who made the Ratkin people a slave?" Susanne asked in return. Hearing Susanne, the Deity started to ascend the steps. The Deity was a woman with a beautiful face, seemingly in her thirties. She wore blue veils over her head, and on top of her head hovered a golden crown. Thus, Susanne could guess this was definitely the Deity she was searching for, and she was also the rat she had traveled with. A few questions were nagging at her heart.

First, if she was the Deity, then what was she doing as a rat far away from the Shrine she was supposed to live in? Second, how did she become a rat? Of all the questions, the one she wanted an answer for the most was how she became a Deity again with a crown and all.

"Yes, I am the Goddess of this land, and the ruler of the lesser beings," the Deity answered, standing a few steps away.

"Now tell me, who are you?" she asked.

"I am just a passerby. I was tricked by some rat into this place." Susanne did not know what else to do but tell the story of how she ended up here.

"What rat? There is no rat here, only Ratkin. Tell me the truth before you die," she demanded. Susanne was dumbfounded by this sudden development. Did she forget about being a rat just a few seconds ago? What the hell was going on?

"That rat promised me wealth if I helped to defeat you…" As soon as those words came out of her mouth, the golden chains tightened, and her joints started to make a cracking sound. Susanne could not control the pain as she cried out loud.

"Tell me, who are you really?" Susanne could not control her pain; it felt as if her limbs were going to rip away from her body. Her cry echoed in the hall. In the next second, a fireball materialized on her outstretched palm and hurled toward the Deity. The fireball attack landed directly on the Deity's face, exploding with a loud noise. However, the pain in her body did not go away. When the smoke and fire cleared, the Deity stood in the exact same spot; nothing had happened to her from that attack.

The face of the Deity darkened after seeing that no answers were coming from Susanne. Suddenly, her darkened expression loosened, and a small smile appeared on her face. In the next second, the golden chains that bound Susanne disappeared. With great relief, Susanne fell to the floor and groaned.

"If you cannot answer my questions, become my slave and work under me for a few centuries," the Deity said with a big smile on her face. Susanne heard what the Deity was saying, and she wanted to do something, but the pain was too great. She could do nothing but lie on the floor, resting and waiting for what would come next.

"In the name of the Soil and Sapling, I curse you to serve beneath me for a century," the Deity proclaimed. Susanne, who was still lingering on the floor, heard the curse and thought she was finished. She assumed a slave collar like the Ratkin's would appear and she would become a slave for a century. She almost thought the Trial was going to fail, and she was glad that the Failure Penalty of the Trial was 'None'.

However, while she expected either to get a slave collar around her neck or to receive a Trial Failure message, absolutely nothing happened.

"In the name of the Soil and Sapling, I curse you to serve beneath me for a century." Susanne slowly lifted herself from the floor as the pain started to disappear, hearing those cursed words once again. While moving her body, she noticed something on her hands; mist-like particles were shimmering around her body. Surprised by this sudden phenomenon, she looked up at the Deity. The Deity was still standing in the same place; her face, however, was ugly.

Using this opportunity, Susanne created a big fireball and hurled it toward her. Meanwhile, she stood up and started to run out of the Hall. First, she needed time to breathe and think about what was going on. If she stayed here for another second, she would be put into chains again. Susanne dashed down the hallway without turning back. She needed to find the exit now. She ran, crossing the path she had first come from, and continued straight past it, that was where the rat, Natalie, had first run.

Surprisingly, the Deity did not follow her; perhaps the fireball attack had actually landed. After running for a while, she saw an opening at the end of the path, which closely resembled the light she had seen previously. She ran without stopping, exiting the hallway path and entering into a Hall. It looked exactly like the one she had originally come from. The Hall even had an obsidian altar, but the top of it was empty. Looking around, she saw a door. Without waiting, she ran up the steps.

While running, she created a big fireball and hurled it toward the door. With a boom, the door was blown away. She did not have the luxury of time to test whether the door would open or not. At any moment now, she could be restrained. The doorway opened up to another hallway. Without waiting, she ran. She saw an opening and rushed into the next Hall, expecting a similar Hall with an altar. However, there was no altar. Instead, there were guards.

Ratkin stood in the doorway that led out of the building, holding armor and maces in their hands. Taken aback by the enemies, Susanne readied herself for battle to defeat these two Ratkin and exit the Shrine. However, before she could use her skill, the two Ratkin looked at her and suddenly knelt to the ground. Startled by this action, Susanne turned back, expecting that the Deity had caught up to her, but there was no one behind her. With no time to think, she took advantage of this weird situation.

She dashed out of the doorway, exiting the building, and ran away. The world opened up to her; far away at the horizon, the orange sun was about to set, and in front of her stretched a desolate land reaching as far as the horizon. She felt as if she had entered a new world as she stood before a deep pit. She could see Ratkin working inside those deep pits; from where she stood, the people looked like ants.

"What is this place?" she asked no one in particular. Sensing her presence, all those Ratkin turned their heads toward Susanne. Slowly, they knelt to the ground, just as the previous two Ratkin had done. Unbeknownst to Susanne, a crimson scarf-like cloth was waving around her neck, emitting misty particles.