Long ago—well, about half a year ago, when Princess Qiuqiute had first arrived in Transia—the Feathered Serpent God Kulkulkan had reached a mutual-aid agreement with Murphy.
In exchange for helping Murphy fight the Black Calamity, Kulkulkan had asked him to find out from the then-Spider Goddess, Lolth, how she could split off one of her aspects.
It had been a pleasant transaction. Both sides had gotten what they wanted: Murphy had gained a band of warriors capable of wielding the power of heavenly fire, while Kulkulkan had learned how to divide her aspects. Murphy had originally suggested that this was dangerous and that they might try another approach—perhaps follow the path of Yunlan Heaven and see if Old Ao could help the Feathered Serpent God complete her purification. That way, she wouldn't have to endure the agony of splitting herself apart.
Unfortunately, before Murphy could get things moving (he'd been so busy that he forgot), the situation in the Warp had changed dramatically.
In a sense, Kulkulkan had been screwed over by Murphy. If she'd decided a few months earlier to split off the corrupted part of herself and throw it away, she wouldn't now be in such a sorry state, suffering a "sudden illness" while fleeing for her life.
But on second thought, perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing.
If Kulkulkan had completed the split early and fallen into a prolonged period of weakness, she might not have made it this far during this desperate breakout.
Either way, though, her illness had become impossible to ignore. It had to be treated.
That was why Lolth was here.
As Murphy's "intimate" comrade-in-arms on many levels, Lolth had now tied her interests to those of the Creator's Chosen. She couldn't allow Kulkulkan to fall to Chaos at a time like