[Cleared: The Lost Divinity Raid]

No later than when the notification and her voice appeared in my head did I suddenly disappear, entering yet another world of nothingness.

This time, though, it was an almost familiar experience similar to when I left the actual nothingness 'between worlds'. Like when I left the between realm, all the darkness in my vision was sucked away to a single point ahead of me, revealing a blinding bright area full of thousands of familiar bodies.

I had been transported alongside everything else alive in the dungeon to somewhere outside where real sunlight illuminated the world and clouding my view. After several days spent in the underground it took a few seconds even for my body's eyes to acclimate to the new and sudden settings. Especially after the complete darkness of transport.

The people around me were all still rubbing their faces and recovering from being blinded by the world around us as I looked around, finding myself surrounded by the other clan leaders and our elite teams near the front of the dungeon's players at the front of the thousands of dungeon dwellers not in the outside world.

Looking ahead of our position, I find myself staring at what could only be the raid's original executive figure. A very large woman who stood twice as tall as I did was floating in the air about a hundred feet away, dressed in layers upon layers of gauzy and free flowing silk that was both wrapped and draped about her body.

The loose ends of her drapery fluttered upward and about, as if drifting along with a gentle stream that obviously could did not exist in the air around her personage. However, in lieu of water she was surrounded by shimmering and flowing golden light that looked like light reflected off of water flowing around her.

She had long golden hair that looked more like actual gold metal than it did any blond hair tones and her figure was incredible. Her legs were fairly exposed by the silk drapery with a healthy golden glow for coloring, giving her skin an almost bronze appearance wherever it was exposed about her arms, legs, face, and some of her ample chest.

It was not just that she was twice the size of a person which gave her such a large figure, even with a human sized body her proportions could only be described with one word. HUGE. Even just floating in the air surrounded by watery light currents, there was very noticeable movement on her upper front and lower back.

Standing on the ground only ten or so yards away from her was a golden skeleton along with a group of a few hundred naked white skeletons looking around at themselves and each other in evident shock. They were the humanoid creatures who had bonded with the biomass after decades of exposure, retaining little more than their will to fight and destroy the biomass itself.

Looking around himself, the golden skeleton begins embracing his closest companions and suddenly I could here dozens of ghostly voices in my head cheering and greeting one another. Even though they were not physical voices, I could clear feel the joys and sorrows these people felt as they called a comrade's name and embraced each other. I could not even imagine how happy and free they must have felt after existing in that hellish state for so long.

As waves of hugging and celebrations passed through those freed spirits, Sir Pence stepped forward and knelt before the goddess. However, even in a semi-prone positions, his divine raiment on his back fluttered out to the side without the assistance of wind to avoid touching the ground. It was honestly pretty cool to see in that setting.

"Sir Prys Pence," a both audible and telepathic voice says in warm and soft tones, speaking tenderly to the multiple hundred-year-old knight kneeling on the ground before the goddess. "I am sorry that I forsook you for so long… things did not progress as they were meant to. We cannot converse as much as I would like at this time, but we will soon enough. Please, anything to make this up to you, ask of me."

Keeping his head lowered without daring to gaze up at the goddess, Sir Pence's undead telepathy suddenly rings out in my head, saying, "M'lady, getting to see you in person once again even without proper eyes if the greatest blessing I could ask for myself. However… if it pleases you, would you please grant my men the chance to finish living out their mortal lives?"

Many ghostly voices suddenly rang out, almost ignoring the goddess entirely as the knight's men calling out to the knight in various forms of disagreement or yearning. The popular consensus was that there would be no point in living again without their leader to follow back into hell. A few of them even claimed to already have been too old to live again.

I could tell in an instant that the loyalty of these undead soldiers to the now undead knight was the main source of their strength when corrupted by the biomass, allowing them to maintain whatever shred of sanity that allowed them to target the sight-seer's biomass. Without that loyalty they might still have continued fighting against the biomass but they might have also attacked the other players and I on sight.

"Please, there is no need to keep your head lowered. From one immortal to another, at least," the goddess' voice replies suddenly, as if answering the cries of the soldiers. Then there was the faintest of smiles on her face as Sir Pence looked up and she asked, "Just like for myself, things may not be as you expected them. They would gladly follow you all over again, are you willing to lead them once more?"

Meeting his goddess' gaze in silence for a long time, Sir Pence eventually looks away and behind him toward where the players, cathedral NPC, and the surviving thousands of demons were gathered.

Standing among the front of the leading groups, I could feel our own gazes meet for a moment before Sir Pence turns back to the goddess and says, "M'lady, I am old. Older than most men need to be. I think it's time for this old hero to step down and become an old legend. I think it's time to make room for the heroes of the new generation to step up."

Finding myself reminded of the goddess' words, I remember what Melpomene had said about players forcing the raid to take place a little early. Smiling under my masked helmet, I step forward into a silent Flash Step which brings me just a few feet shy of Sir Pence while dropping into a heavy kneel.

I had intended to simply make an impression but my kneel was more like a super hero landing. The solid granite ground on which I came to a harsh and sudden stop fragmented under me into a shallow crater while fissures stretched out for several yards in every direction.

I, for the life of me, could not remember this goddess' name and thus simply copied the intimacy of her and Sir Pence's references by saying, "M'lady, if it pleases you, may I seek Sir Pence's guidance?"

Sounding only slightly surprised and fairly pleased, I could almost feel a smile in the goddess' voice and she says, "It would please me greatly for Melpomene's and my champions to share experiences."

Bowing my head lower until my chin touched my upper armor, I slowly stand up and directly face Sir Pence before softly saying, "None of us here have any deep affiliation with your goddess. The other Traveler clans found and trespassed this place seeking nothing but gains. I proudly admit that I am one of them, sent by Melpomene to help things along on all parts of the spectrum.

"As such…" I say slowly, carefully considering my next words. "Aside from the land itself and the history, there is not much here which will be considered her gain. Sure, we can build a new cathedral and monuments when we build a new city, but the people here are Travelers and there affiliations will all be different. If you pass on… not only will she gain nothing, but she will have lost a champion. Please, advise me on how to make things better."

Turning his head sharply to look at all of the other players, the golden skeletal knight slowly turns back to the goddess and asks, "Is this true, M'lady?" Probably aware of the fact that everybody here will hear whatever she said in reply, the goddess merely nods their head with a small sad smile.

Looking to me with a slightly tilted head, as if curious and confused about me while attempting to understand my existence as a whole, Sir Pence remains silent for a long time. Finally, though, he says, "Your city… your plans… what part would I play in all of it?"

"None, if that is what you wanted," I reply honestly, lightly bowing my head to acknowledge the subtleties that he had caught on to. "If you were willing, I would ask you to lead the army protecting the city and its surroundings. Aside from the Travelers, that army includes all of the demons you see back there. There will also be Travelers, but they will be constantly cycled garrisons."

"With an army of demons at your beck and call, what could you need my troops and I for?" He asks seriously while looking back toward the players again. "This army could eat a quarter of the Imperial Legion before being subjugated. Are you afraid of something?"

Following his gaze to look back at the other players, I give the alliance of clans a friendly wave before saying, "Them. Their loyalties are all too divided or biased as Travelers and I remember telling you that we don't stay dead. The greater masses of them are only a problem en masse but there are many of them who have already acquired threat-worthy power. As well… not all Travelers are good. I myself am only neutral, if you catch my meaning."

"How many of you are there?" Sir Pence' voice suddenly asks in shock.

"How many people already lied in this world?" I counter with a question in kind. "There are more of us than even I know but I know it rivals the native population. Your history contains Travelers who were all kinds of things, but only a few at a time. Now, I can confidently say your world is going to contain all of them. At least one third of them WILL seek war, as well, which is something I wish with all my heart to avoid."

"M'lady…" Sir Pence says with obvious uncertainty.

Nodding here head slowly and only slightly, the goddess says, "It would please me greatly for the two of your to share your wisdom." After hearing this obscure but relatively direct response, I cannot help but wonder if this goddess was actually afraid of the players. As soon as the thought occurred to me I was quickly answered.

[You said it best, but you don't know the half of it. The players stole this raid from its benefactor and beneficiary. She has lost everything that her faction's clans should have gained. The players and their clans who follow her could be said to have been crippled because of the present clans. For reference, just imagine that all those divine mana crystals originally should have been divided among her own affiliated clans]

"Please, M'lady, allow me the chance to live again," Sir Pence says while dropping into a swift kneels as he respectfully addresses his goddess. However, he never looked away from her ever so slightly sad face. "Except… This generation's hero came here with a purpose. His purpose was to claim the imperial rewards for finding my mantle so I ask you to please allow me to bequeath your aegis artifact to them."

Aegis artifact? Not specifically the mantle? Does that mean the other gods all have defensive artifacts with the same properties?

[Yes and now. All of the righteous gods have an aegis artifact with varying degrees of potency, but they all have a defensive artifact with those properties and only the righteous gods have them. That is what I meant about sending you here to keep things under divine control]

"Since it pleases my favored servant, how could I say no?" The goddess asks shamelessly while giving me a smiling look with an underlying meaning. She was probably aware of my conversation right now.

Admit it, you sent me here to steal an exclusive artifact!

[Borrow. After your allies Duality and Thirteenth decided to focus on the same myth, she and some of the other gods began reassessing their plans and sought help. I put my money on you and said you could keep the other clans from freeing the sight-seer so she put her money on you as well]

After learning this, I could not help but lower my head in a small bow to the goddess even as Sir Pence removed the unnaturally pinned artifact from his shoulders and personally affixed the mantle to my armor. My armor was not actually designed with pauldron pieces which would help to secure the cape but that was not a problem.

The cape single stuck to the tops of my shoulders by its upper corner and began trailing off to the side in the windless air. I now had the cool flowing-in-the-wind effect! I could actually feel a light breeze blowing across my face and body.

"Do you think you're prepared for whatever you think is coming?" Sir Pence asks me in a deathly silent telepathic whisper, keeping his bony hands on my shoulders while standing in front of me. "This mantle comes with a great deal of responsibility, my young friend."

"No, but now that I've reached this level I finally can," I reply with a grateful smile. "Up till I got here, I had little direction besides growth. Now, I have received inspirations from my own goddess as well as yours."

"Well said," he says softly as he begins shining lightly with white and gold light as if preparing for transport, lowering his hands before turning back to face his goddess as a naked golden skeleton. "I am ready, M'lady. Thank you for this opportunity to preserve our futures."

Nodding her head with relief in her eyes while the rest of her face portrayed a simple satisfied smile, the goddess waves her hand and says, "I look forward to telling you all about the world you've missed while you were away." Before she even finished talking, Sir Pence and all of his men were gone and even I had been more or less forcibly returned to the rest of the players.

Fading slightly in visage as if she were now running low on power, or deciding she did not want to spend any more time here, the goddess flickers a couple of quick times within the same second. Turning her attention to the rest of us, the goddess gives a short and light sigh to express her exhaustion before saying, "Please, do not think that I forgot about all of you. While I still have time here, allow me to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for helping to save my world. Especially to Melpomene's chosen. Thank you."

After saying these words, she raised her hands up high and released intense amounts of golden light particles that filled the air with their blinding presence. As I found myself for hopefully the last time blinded, I could not help but appreciate how she had shoved Melpomene's- my- clan straight to the forefront of everybody else in his brief speech.

Then, I found myself blinded once again.

[Cleared: The Lost Divinity]

[Clear Rating: S+]

[Clan (Founder) Clear Reward: +20% Material Gain, Lost Divinity Clan Blessing, Divine Favor]

[Clan (Founder) Rating Reward: +15% Material Gain, Divine Clan Title, Lost Divinity Battle Blessing]

[Clear Reward: +300000XP +300 Gold +1 Random Skill]

[Clear Rating Reward: +250000XP +300 Gold, Chaos Favor, Demonic Favor, Divine Favor, Divine Protection]

[Leveled Up x5]

[All stats raised by 5]

[Acquired Clan Blessing: Lost Divinity's Reclaimer]

[Lost Divinity's Reclaimer: Active. For having cleared The Lost Divinity Raid with an S or greater grade, you and your clan are recognized as the official successors of The Lost Divinity. +5% EXP/Loot. Can be activated for 24hrs every other day]

[Acquired Clan Title: Lost Divinity's Reclaimer]

[Lost Divinity's Reclaimer: Active. For having cleared The Lost Divinity Raid with an S or greater grade, you and your clan are recognized as the official successors of The Lost Divinity. +10 to all stats and +100 to MP/HP. +1000 Clan Reputation]

[Acquired Clan Battle Blessing: Lost Divinity's Sanctity]

[Lost Divinity's Sanctity: As the true successors of The Lost Divinity Raid, your clan receives +10% True Damage to all attacks and +10% MDEF/PDEF when in combat. Effects are doubled when in combat against otherworldly forces]

[Acquired Random Skill: Tangible Aura]

[Tangible Aura Lv1: Surround yourself in condensed and aligned mana of various types to perform constant AOE damage or defense based on type of mana used. 10% True DPS or 10% Mana Diffusion within (15)ft of the caster for 50MPS. Cooldown: 1min after discontinued use]

[Acquired Perk: Divine Protection]

[Divine Protection: After having been recognized as the successor of the divine artifact Mantle of Aegis, you are hereby granted an additional +5% to all defensive parameters and resistances]

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