At the Tarot Club gathering, the members' expressions grew solemn after hearing the Hermit Odys's answer.
The Fool Klein realized how complicated the Divine War of the Second Epoch had been. Every faction involved had its own aims, and those aims seemed almost impossible to discern from the surface.
The High Priestess Cattleya wondered: Had the Blood Ancestor chosen to kill herself to keep from being completely corrupted?
She marveled at how powerful the Mother Goddess of Depravity's corruption was. Even the Ancient Gods could not escape it.
After a moment of utter shock, Moon Emlyn immediately asked, "Did the Ancestor decide to take the other Ancient Gods down with her? She wasn't forced to do it?"
"That's possible," Odys replied with a smile. "You know I can't give you a definite answer to that. I can only tell you what I suspect."
Emlyn nodded repeatedly. "I'd like to hear it. Please."
The Hermit's theories were generally sound. Even when they missed the truth, they were unlikely to be far off.
Odys continued, "I don't think the Blood Ancestor could have failed to notice that she'd been corrupted. Once she realized she couldn't remove it, she had only two choices: accept the corruption completely, or die to stop it from spreading.
"If she were completely corrupted, she would likely lose herself. But if she died, there was a good chance she could revive. She was a God, after all, and one of the spiritually abundant Moon Pathway at that.
"I doubt it was a difficult choice."
Emlyn relaxed a little. "So the Ancestor chose to perish alongside the other Ancient Gods and put an end to the corruption."
His eyes grew moist. "The Ancestor... She was magnificent!"
I think she was looking out for herself more than anything, Odys thought.