Fifteen days later, Hastur appeared in the image of the Lord of Stars, extending two Chains of Order to summon the Son of Chaos and the Mother Tree of Desire.
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The Hall of Stars.
Hastur sat at the head seat, a star resting in his palm, silently watching the Son of Chaos, whose mood was clearly joyful.
The Son of Chaos manifested two golden arms and legs, his long legs sprawled across the table, arms laid flat, body swaying lightly.
A Magical wish-granting lamp, now acting like an overjoyed, complacent person.
After watching for a while, Hastur felt inexplicably that the Son of Chaos resembled Medici in his early years, willful, unruly, like a mischievous child in need of discipline.
Compared to the unruly Son of Chaos, the Mother Tree of Desire was steady, perhaps because she had experienced more things staying outside the barrier till now, making her seem incomparably calm.
Even after losing this wager, she did not care in the slightest.
The Son of Chaos said lightly: "Is the Temperance card ready? That's my spoils of war."
"I had my believers place it at West Balam's Harbor. Fetch it yourself."
"Are you trying to bait me?"
"What you think."
"We must change the terms of this deal. I don't trust you."
The Mother Tree of Desire remained silent, letting the Son of Chaos decide on his own. She had already witnessed his methods and understood his true strength and weaknesses.
This time, it had taken the combined effort of three churches to disrupt her descent ritual. That was no coincidence, it must have been the Son of Chaos who leaked the information to them.
By borrowing their hand, he secured his wager and at the same time avoided her suspicion.
The idea itself was clever. But even after being soundly beaten by the Mysteries, this Son of Chaos's wisdom had hardly improved.
Based on what she knew, if the Son of Chaos truly still had such great power, he would have personally sabotaged her descent ritual and mocked her across the barrier.
But he had not acted directly, this proved his current state was not good.
Bernadette had also not gone, this indicated one of two things: first, Bernadette was not truly his blessed follower; second, the Son of Chaos lacked the confidence to protect her during the ritual.
Either possibility confirmed that the Son of Chaos's situation was far from optimistic. One Temperance card was enough to probe his condition, this trade was worthwhile.
"I can have my believers conduct a ritual to chant your holy name. You'd only need to open your divine kingdom's gate to easily take the Temperance card."
"..."
Faced with another probe, the Son of Chaos's expression was slightly unnatural, though he outwardly sneered: "My divine kingdom has no wish to receive a filthy thing tainted by your consciousness."
He then turned toward Hastur, grinning: "This Temperance card, I had intended to gift to you. Do you dare accept it?"
Hastur, who had been watching idly, froze at the words, but quickly recovered: "I am only a witness. Such a little Temperance card is far from enough to please me."
The Son of Chaos laughed: "Then take it as a small gift for your believers."
Damn! This old schemer was waiting for me all along!
From the very start of his gamble with the Mother Tree of Desire, he had already planned to draw me in, preventing me from staying neutral.
This was obviously a way to probe my strength!
Just like the trap the Mother Tree of Desire had set for him, as long as I moved in the real world, some of my condition would be revealed.
Unless I admitted that I could not interfere in the mortal world, and that no believers worshipped me.
But doing so would strip me of deterrence, before the Son of Chaos and the Mother Tree of Desire, I would no longer be able to stand tall.
Based on the image I had been projecting, I should accept the gift calmly with a smile, making the Son of Chaos's scheme fall flat.
That would fit his persona. But this was difficult, truthfully, his situation was even worse than the Son of Chaos's.
At least the Son of Chaos still had Bernadette. But Hastur had no high-sequence powerhouse at his side. The Mother Tree of Desire also turned her gaze on Hastur, adding to his pressure.
Hastur's thoughts raced, before he spoke with a smile: "I don't mind informing the Seven Gods' Church and being the fisherman behind the scenes."
"I don't mind either."
The Son of Chaos tapped the table with his finger, still smiling: "Take it as a small payment for driving them to destroy the ritual."
The Mother Tree of Desire stayed silent, this time, it was her turn to sit back and watch.
At their level, few things could threaten them.
But she could not see through this Hall of Stars fully, that was frightening.
The unknown brings fear. The greater the unknown, the greater the fear.
In unveiling the true face of this Master of Stars, she and the Son of Chaos stood aligned.
"Tests often come with a price." Hastur gave the Son of Chaos a meaningful glance.
"It's just a gift. You may choose not to take it." The Son of Chaos looked unafraid.
'At this point, whichever choice I made, it would be inappropriate. The best option left was to overturn the table. Overturn the table? A barbarian's act?'
Hastur's eyes lit up. With an Outer God like the Son of Chaos, surely his barbarian roleplay could accelerate.
'Tsk tsk… Son of Chaos, are you getting arrogant? Or do you think I am a paper tiger?'
Hastur glanced again at the Son of Chaos, who suddenly felt a shiver of unease, as if something bad was about to happen.
"This is the Hall of Stars. Why can't you ever find your proper place?"
With a murmur, two chains of Order flew out. The Son of Chaos tried to dodge, but the power of the stars pressed down, pinning him in place.
The chains pierced through his body, suspending him beneath the vast hall.
The Son of Chaos tried to curse, but found he could not open his mouth, clearly, a rule had been added to forbid him from speaking.
He attempted to alter the Hall's rules, but failed. These rules belonged to the stars, outside his dominion.
Not only could he not change them, but he was also bound by them!
For one who claimed to rule over law and order, this was a humiliation, and a grave threat.
He thought of the relationship between the Mother Goddess of Depravity and the Mother Tree of Desire, they shared the same domain, but the Mother Goddess of Depravity was a pillar, containing greater and broader authority.
In simple terms, the Mother Goddess of Depravity was the superior; the Mother Tree of Desire, the subordinate.
Now, his relationship with this Master of Stars was the same.
He was the lesser. The other, the greater.
If the other wished, he could devour him, the only cost being an increase in madness.
Reflecting on his behavior tonight, it was clearly because he won against the Mother Tree of Desire that he grew arrogant, daring to act so recklessly.
Now, he regretted it. The other had clearly given him an out, but he had kicked it away.
The Mother Tree of Desire merely gave him a glance, offering no plea for leniency. She too felt he had been too reckless, too unaware of his limits tonight.
This was someone else's domain. They were only projections. A Sequence 8 daring to bare fangs at one of the highest Outer Gods, he truly needed discipline.
Back then, when she first appeared and struck out, the Son of Chaos had also laughed at her.
Now, the wheel had turned.
"Put away your petty schemes. This place has no shortage of Outer Gods."
As Hastur spoke, the starry dome above shimmered, each star shining with its own brilliance.
Starlight cascaded down, making the Hall of Stars even more sacred and extraordinary.
Even the steady Mother Tree of Desire was moved, falling into contemplation.
Every star in the sky represented an Outer God, but here were only eleven seats.
Excluding this Master of Stars, only ten remained.
Though she still did not understand the meaning of these eleven seats, they must hold extraordinary significance.
Every Outer God able to arrive here was superior to those who could not.
This might be a fortune, a creation.
Only recognized, powerful Outer Gods had the chance to sit at this table.
The power of the stars… A being who holds dominion over the stars themselves?
Could there really exist such a one in this universe, who governs the fate of the stars?
A sliver of fear arose in the Mother Tree of Desire's heart.
The Son of Chaos too was shaken. He had suspected as much, but seeing it firsthand still sent waves through his heart.
In the vast cosmos, countless Outer Gods were like stars, yet here were eleven seats, able to overlook their fates.
What kind of transcendence was that? The deeper he thought, the more terrifying this Hall of Stars became.
Sitting at the head, Hastur forced himself to appear composed. Seeing both the Mother Tree of Desire and the Son of Chaos fall silent, their attitudes more respectful than before, he relaxed.
He had planned that, if he failed, he would immediately eject them and shut the Hall, barring them from entry again.
Even without meetings, he could still wield the Hall of Stars' power.
"Tolerance and forgiveness, only once."
Hastur's voice was calm yet authoritative. The chains of Order withdrew from the Son of Chaos, allowing him to sit back down.