Chapter Summaries

Lolth’s forces overwhelmed the Arcane Tower as the Spider Queen’s vast God’s Realm opened through a rift. Elsewhere in the Underdark, a squad of Legendary Paladins confronted the Vampire God Child Reinhard and the Hell Poet, wielding the Tier 5 Holy Avenger Carsomyr.

• The Arcane Tower activated its defenses and Golem Legion, but Lolth’s monsters shattered the force field and tore the Golems apart.
• The Spider Queen’s God’s Realm sent swarms of Demon Spiders and other monsters through the rift, revealing a glimpse of its vast forest and central Palace.
• The Vampire God Child and the Hell Poet faced a squad of Legendary Paladins and recognized that the weapon they carried posed a serious threat.
• A divine servant identified the Vampire God Child as Reinhard and accused him of spreading Vampires and causing thousands of deaths.
• The Paladins sealed the area and prepared to judge their enemies with Carsomyr, a Tier 5 Holy Avenger.

Soren approached a battle near the Underdark exit and discovered that the Vampire God Child Reinhard was fighting the Paladins of Holy Avenger alongside a powerful Bard. Seeing a possible chance to kill Reinhard, Soren equipped the cursed Ring of the Lich +5, prepared the fused Elemental Crystal, and began casting buffs as he moved toward the fight.

• Soren left the Psion in a secluded corner and used Stealth to investigate the fighting near the exit.
• Soren recognized Reinhard by the scent of blood and saw him battling the Paladins of Holy Avenger with a formidable Bard.
• Soren realized that the Paladins might carry Holy Avenger, Carsomyr +5, which appeared to make Reinhard and the Bard wary.
• Soren put on the cursed Ring of the Lich +5 and readied the fused Elemental Crystal, which could summon an Elemental Legion.
• Soren activated his battle preparations, including Slayer Shape, and advanced toward the battlefield determined to kill Reinhard.

Soren realized the bard was a hell poet after witnessing his varied combat skills, then watched him summon a terrifying Xenomorph Demon. The demon killed a paladin and left the remaining paladins in grave danger.

• The bard used Hell Movement, swordplay, and performance techniques to parry Soren's attacks, leading Soren to suspect he was a hell poet.
• The bard activated a spell circle hidden in his footsteps and cast Gate, summoning a Xenomorph Demon.
• The bard cast Protection from Evil, redirecting the demon's attack toward the paladins.
• The Xenomorph Demon rampaged through the battlefield, shrugging off control and mind-affecting magic.
• The demon lost an arm but bit off the lower half of a paladin, worsening the paladins' predicament.

Soren intervened as the Vampire God Child used Time Stop to devastate the Paladins and wound the wielder of Holy Avenger. Though his first strike was blocked and the Vampire escaped in gaseous form, Soren seized Holy Avenger and attacked him with it.

• The Vampire God Child charged into the Paladins' formation as Soren's Slayer fought their forces, and the Paladin wielding Holy Avenger severely wounded the Slayer.
• The Vampire God Child lured the Warden toward the rear of the Paladins' line, then cast Time Stop and killed a cleric before badly wounding the Paladin with Holy Avenger.
• Soren rushed in and stabbed at the Vampire God Child, but a second Energy Protection Field blocked his strike, and the Vampire escaped in Gaseous Form.
• Soren vanished from the Vampire God Child's sight and grabbed Holy Avenger from the wounded Paladin, enduring its sacred power.
• Soren used Master Sleight of Hand to wield Holy Avenger and slash at the Vampire God Child.

Soren used Holy Avenger to withstand the vampire god child's powerful spells and turn the fight in his favor. After the Artifact dispelled the child’s protective magic and Greater Haste, Soren pressed his attack while the Warden watched in shock.

• The vampire god child blocked Soren's attack with a sleeve blade, then retreated under Soren's assault and cast spells that Holy Avenger and Soren's resistances rendered ineffective.
• The vampire god child transformed into gaseous form and cast Epic Spell: Energy Drain, but Soren was completely immune to it.
• Soren used Shadow Jump to close in and struck the vampire god child with Holy Avenger, dispelling his Greater Energy Shield.
• The vampire god child parried another attack, but Holy Avenger dispelled his Greater Haste.
• Soren activated Greater Haste and attacked the vampire god child with Whirlwind Dance as the Warden marveled that he could wield Holy Avenger and use the Swordmaster's Legendary Whirlwind Attack.

Soren relentlessly pursued the Vampire God Child with Holy Avenger while the Warden empowered the Paladins with Divine Domains. When the Vampire God Child summoned vampire reinforcements, Soren answered with an Elemental Legion, leaving the battle still raging.

• The Warden used Divine Domain: Courage and Divine Domain: Sacrifice to strengthen nearby allies and protect Soren.
• Soren used Slayer Form and Shadow Jump to keep attacking the Vampire God Child as the Paladins pressed forward against the Hell Poet and Xenomorph Demon.
• The Vampire God Child summoned high-tier Vampires through his Vampire Portfolio to hold Soren back.
• Soren killed one of the summoned Vampires and opened a Portal to summon an Air Elemental Elder, a Huge Fire Elemental, and a Huge Earth Elemental.
• The Vampire God Child was driven to fury as Soren's summoned Elementals joined the battle.

Soren drove the Vampire God Child into a desperate defense, breaking through in battle and comprehending Whirlwind Attack. After Soren forced him to activate his Divine Energy Field, the Vampire God Child fled in gaseous form while Soren charged after him.

• Soren battered the Vampire God Child with the Holy Avenger, dispelling his protections and breaking his Sleeve Blade.
• Soren gained combat insights and comprehended Whirlwind Attack, then used it to wound the Vampire God Child.
• The Vampire God Child unleashed a Divine Power shockwave and activated a Divine Energy Field to shield himself.
• Soren charged back in, and the frightened Vampire God Child transformed into gaseous form to evade him.

Soren used Holy Avenger to overwhelm Reinhard, the Vampire God Child, while Hell Poet tried to turn the battle with a buff and the Paladins struggled to hold back Slayer. The chapter ended with a badly wounded young Paladin standing firm against Slayer, convinced that retreat would doom everyone.

• Soren relentlessly attacked Reinhard with Holy Avenger, overcoming his vampire abilities and weakening his Divine Energy Field.
• Reinhard revealed his Vampire Form and parried Soren with his claws, but Soren’s attacks burned him and eventually severed half a claw.
• Hell Poet used Praise of Corruption: Legendary Battle Song to strengthen Reinhard while remaining pinned down by the Warden.
• The surviving young Paladins risked their lives to keep the wounded Slayer from breaking free and reaching Soren.
• A young Paladin in silver-white armor, already grievously injured, refused to retreat as he faced Slayer at the front line.

Soren killed the Vampire God Child, Reinhard, after countering his Bat Form, but Hell Poet bound Reinhard’s soul and escaped before Soren could stop him. Furious over losing most of the Slaughter Experience, Soren charged toward the Xenomorph Demon.

• Soren fought through the Vampire God Child’s attacks and cut him in two, but Reinhard transformed into a swarm of bats to escape.
• Soren used Whirlwind Attack, thrown scimitars, arrows, and Shadow Jump to kill the bats and force Reinhard back into human form.
• Soren pierced Reinhard’s heart with the Holy Avenger and decapitated him, killing the Vampire God Child.
• Hell Poet used Hell Requiem and Soul Bind to trap Reinhard’s soul in a black crystal, then vanished while warning Soren he would return.
• Soren realized Hell Poet had siphoned away most of his Slaughter Experience and charged toward the Xenomorph Demon.

After killing Reinhard and the Xenomorph Demon, Soren gained new powers and the legendary God Eater feat. He returned Holy Avenger to the Paladins, where the sword acknowledged a young Paladin, then disappeared into the darkness.

• Soren discovered that killing the Xenomorph Demon had ended his Bloodlust and caused an unexplained mutation in his Slayer Shape.
• Soren absorbed power from Reinhard, gained the God Eater legendary feat, and extracted information from Reinhard’s Hunt and Fear Domains and Half-Elf and Rogue Portfolios.
• Reinhard’s Avatar corpse vanished, leaving an ancient ring that Soren recognized as an Artifact and put away.
• Soren tossed Holy Avenger to the young Paladin rather than returning it to the Warden, and the sword shone brightly in the young man’s hands.
• Soren urged the young Paladin to stay true to his convictions and left, vanishing into the darkness.

After recovering from his battle with the Vampire God Child, Soren left the Underdark with the unconscious Psion and headed back to the Overseas Islands. In Port Nyanzaru, Goria tested a Gith Silver Sword and learned that direct transformations between weapon forms still failed, before Lulumiao brought alarming news about Vivian.

• Soren concealed his severe injuries from the paladins, rested until he had mostly recovered, and left the Underdark with the unconscious Psion.
• Soren reflected on his new power as a Deity and estimated how sharply divine combat strength increased across the ranks.
• Goria used ET-1 to test the Gith Silver Sword and confirmed that its first-form transformations worked with full conversion and no delay.
• Goria's attempt to transform the sword directly from one form to another failed because of unknown energy rejection, so she stopped the test.
• Lulumiao burst into Goria's laboratory and reported that Vivian had suddenly fainted.

Vivian fainted again as her Divine Power grew stronger, while Goria received an Archbishop of the Goddess of Agriculture seeking a deal with Port Nyanzaru. The Archbishop proposed buying Soren’s fertilizer in bulk and promoting it among the Church’s believers, leaving Goria to negotiate in Soren’s absence.

• Vivian fainted, and Goria sensed her Divine Power had grown stronger before leaving Lulumiao to guard her.
• Goria learned that a priest of the Goddess of Agriculture had arrived and went to greet him at Port Nyanzaru.
• Goria discovered the visitor was an Archbishop and brought him and his party to the Council Hall.
• The Archbishop showed Goria Soren’s fertilizer and said the Church wanted to cooperate with Soren.
• The Archbishop explained that the fertilizer improved crop yields and proposed buying it in large quantities to promote among the Church’s believers.

Soren woke in the Spider Forest from a vivid dream of Half-Elves suffering under gnoll attacks after their god stopped answering prayers. The dream ended with a young cleric unable to save a dying warrior, and Soren wondered why it had felt real.

• Milan entered the temple with medicine and found the wounded after gnolls attacked her Half-Elf town.
• Milan discovered her father, the priest Bernier-Kasa Dick, had prayed for three days without receiving Divine Magic from Kst.
• Bernier-Kasa Dick put on armor and told Milan to flee to Falling Leaf City while he stayed behind to fight.
• At Broken Bone Heights, Cleric Fina prayed for Kst to save the dying warrior Bacalo, but he died without help.
• Soren woke in the Spider Forest, drenched in sweat and questioning the reality of his dream.

Soren suffered from overwhelming streams of dreams and prayers after absorbing the God of Half-Elves and Rogues’ Portfolio, leaving him barely conscious as he wandered the Black Wilderness. A Masked Woman brought him aboard a noblewoman’s traveling carriage, where she described him as her master and god.

• Soren’s mind deteriorated as visions and countless voices flooded him whenever prayers were offered to the God of Half-Elves and Rogues.
• Barely awake, Soren wandered the Black Wilderness with an unconscious woman and killed monsters that attacked them.
• Sir Eden stopped his armed procession after encountering the cloaked Masked Woman and Soren on the road to the Valoran Principality.
• The Masked Woman used her influence to calm Sir Eden and persuaded him to let them travel with the group.
• Inside the carriage, the Masked Woman cared for Soren while the Noble Girl asked who he was to her.
• The Masked Woman told the Noble Girl that Soren was her master and her god.

As the young man suffered under the previous Deity’s faith connections, the Masked Woman tried to help him sever them and resist being used as a vessel for resurrection. Meanwhile, the God of Half-Elves and Rogues died completely, leaving His followers without Divine Power and His temples in despair.

• Sir Eden made camp after the rain and arranged the night watch, then decided not to disturb the carriage.
• The young man convulsed in agony as information and faith from the previous Deity overwhelmed him, and Caitlyn fainted.
• The Masked Woman shared the young man’s pain and urged him to sever the old faith connections before the previous Deity could take over his body.
• Falling Leaf City faced raids and a refugee crisis after its priests lost their connection to their Deity.
• The God of Half-Elves and Rogues’ statue shattered, and His statues across the temples lost their Divine Power, confirming His complete death.

Soren survived the struggle against the dead God of Half-Elves and Rogues, erased His remaining Divine Will, and fully claimed His Portfolio. The Noble Girl awoke with no memory of what happened, while Soren’s changed presence and the fingerprints on a bronze brazier hinted at the power he had unleashed.

• Soren endured the dead deity’s Divine Will and the overwhelming prayers of His believers, nearly losing his sanity as he connected to the Faith Network.
• The Psion cut off Soren’s faith connections, giving him time to recover and erase the deity’s weakened Divine Will.
• The God of Half-Elves and Rogues’s statues lost their power, while Soren claimed His Portfolio but had yet to take over His believers.
• The Noble Girl awoke in the carriage and, after speaking with the Masked Woman, noticed five fingerprints on Sir Eden’s bronze brazier.

Soren returned to Shipwreck Bay and began organizing his pirate forces for a major operation. He ordered intelligence gathered about the Half-Elves and laid out a fleet mobilization, while the Masked Woman said she could still use large-scale Telepathic Suggestion.

• At Howling Wind Canyon, the Noble Girl examined the powerful marks left in the carriage and wondered what kind of monster Soren was before Sir Eden urged her to meet a wealthy descendant of Queen Isabella in Verdun.
• Soren entered the White Shark Tavern with the Masked Woman and forced its pirates to summon Old Sea Dog by overwhelming them with his presence.
• Soren asked the Masked Woman about her remaining strength, and she said she could barely reach the Legendary Domain but could still cast large-scale Telepathic Suggestion.
• Soren ordered Old Sea Dog to gather news about Half-Elves near Falling Leaf City and summon nearby pirate leaders for a fleet review at Port Nyanzaru in three months.
• Soren ordered ships and fleets redeployed across the seas, told Kasa to dock the Dragonhead Warship at Port Tyler, and directed his forces to prepare for a possible passage through Eastern Pirate territory.

Yugin’s Blade Tooth Clan defeated the Half-Elven army and returned to their ancestral land, but the gnolls demanded that he find a piece of the Flail of Ages for Yeenoghu. Meanwhile, Goria and the Fallen Witch discovered that the ancient Wizard Tower’s Mythal concealed a vast demiplane, though its entrance appeared to lie inside the tower they could not enter.

• Yugin silenced a gnoll, accepted Salot’s submission, and celebrated the Blade Tooth Clan’s return to its ancestral land after defeating the Half-Elves.
• The Gnoll Chieftain demanded that Yugin deliver a component of the Flail of Ages to Yeenoghu within half a month, threatening to destroy the tribe if he failed.
• Yugin agreed to hand over the artifact component but told an Orc warrior that Yeenoghu would die if he assembled the complete Legacy Flail.
• Goria entered the Shadow Plane and asked the Fallen Witch what she had learned about the Wizard Tower’s Mythal.
• The Fallen Witch explained that the Mythal drew power from a hidden demiplane with several Elemental Pools and might contain an immense, undeveloped otherworldly space.
• The Fallen Witch pointed to the Wizard Tower as the likely location of the demiplane’s entrance, but she and Goria could not get inside.

Soren returned to Port Nyanzaru, where his expanding influence and the city’s growth showed the reach of his power. He carried the cursed Ring of the Progenitor and learned that mortal priests could not remove the Psion’s curse.

• The Naga Priestess ordered her guards to tell Soren that the Dragon Bone Warship was nearly complete and demanded he fulfill his promise.
• Soren returned to Port Tyler, organized his pirate leaders, ordered supplies moved from Serpent Island to Sand Fury Island, and then headed back to the Overseas Islands.
• Soren observed Port Nyanzaru’s rapid expansion and dismissed the contest between the Temple of Wealth and the Temple of the Sea as irrelevant to his plans for the pirates.
• Soren examined the Ring of the Progenitor and decided not to wear it because its Vampire-only restriction would inflict Blood Thirst on him.
• The Psion told Soren that mortal priests could not remove her curse, and the enlarged Wyvern circled above him as he arrived in Port Nyanzaru.

Soren returned to Port Nyanzaru with Butterfly, a Psion from the Astral Plane, and reunited with Goria. He found Vivian asleep in the same mysterious state as before, while Lulu insisted on continuing to guard her.

• Butterfly compared Port Nyanzaru to the lost city of Baldur's Gate, founded by the Legendary pirate Beldan, and explained that Astral Travelers recorded the histories of many Planes.
• Goria welcomed Soren at the city gates and showed jealousy toward Butterfly, who introduced herself as Soren's follower and playfully called Goria her mistress.
• Soren saw how Port Nyanzaru had grown, with expanded roads, finished drainage, new buildings, a garrison, and wheat fields outside the city.
• Soren went to Vivian's room and found that she had fallen asleep in the same state as before.
• Lulu told Soren she had been guarding Vivian and refused to rest until the girl woke up.