Rites

Battle of the Mind XIII

True battles unfold within...

Your painting was your creation, but who created you?

Did a gentle god shape your form with divine hands, while a particularly cruel one poured thoughts into your mind?

Yet, weren't you created by your father and mother... by everything you've experienced?

Who created more of you - gods or the world?

Does divine will truly participate in your existence?

You stare at your reflection, contemplating...

ID: 5004830

Type: Enemy

Tips: None

Duration: 1 days

Waits For: 3 days

Marked as New Only on First Occurrence: 0

Starts Automatically: No

Triggers Result Automatically: No

Tag Tips: None

Tag Tips Up: None

Tag Tips Text:

Random Text: None

Random Text Up: None

Actions When Wait Expires

Action:

Slots

Slot #3
Your Own Thoughts

Locks: No

Is Key: No

Is Empty: No

Is Enemy: No

Conditions:

Pops: None

Slot #4
Your rationality can help, if you possess it

Locks: No

Is Key: No

Is Empty: Yes

Is Enemy: No

Conditions:

Pops: None

Slot #6
Consider the people and events around you for inspiration

Locks: No

Is Key: No

Is Empty: Yes

Is Enemy: No

Conditions:

  • Any
  • Not Slot #5 = 1
  • Not Slot #4 = 1
  • Not Slot #7 = 1

Pops: None

Slot #7
Creator's essence

Locks: No

Is Key: No

Is Empty: Yes

Is Enemy: No

Conditions:

  • Type = Item
  • Card = Aether
  • Not Slot #4 = 1
  • Not Slot #5 = 1
  • Not Slot #6 = 1

Pops: None

Activation Conditions

This rite has no activation conditions.

Outcome

Prior

This rite has no prior outcome.

Regular

Self Terror
Unable to find answers, you tell yourself...

You and this world perhaps emerged from complete chaos, continuing along chaotic paths.

Today you're insects beneath the Sultan's rule; tomorrow you might become upright cattle or meat on platters. The world lacks order - everything you've painstakingly built resembles sandcastles, because fate and creation occur randomly, like shaking sugar cubes in a sealed jar; you cannot expect them to form neat rows when opened.

What are you, then? A period punctuating random sequences? Some tangled lines? The more you examine yourself, the more every vein and curve seems intentionally significant. You compulsively scratch your skin until blood obscures these talkative patterns...

Your household covers all mirrors with cloth and wraps you in fabric, temporarily preventing you from scratching yourself raw.

But they've grown hesitant to speak with you.

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Result:

Action:

Lost Path
You foolishly seek to resolve your spiritual crisis through the absurd gods of the cultists.

You pray, plead, beg... only to be answered by cold laughter from the darkness.

Perhaps you still need to prove your worth to the chaotic gods.

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Action:

Impurity
You attempt to resolve your inner conflict through the god will of the Purist...

A white light surges into your mind, piercing your spine and triggering waves of agony - this is the Purist's response to your prayer -

"You are unworthy," says the pain. "Think again, consider what you could do for the Purist."

It "helps" you ponder for quite some time before gradually subsiding.

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Action:

Beyond Gods Power
You run fingers through your hair, rubbing your scalp against the grain.

You know several small cysts cause pain and occasional infection. Were these cysts also the Creator's design, if you're His handiwork?

You touch your throat, recalling childhood swelling that nearly prevented breathing. Your parents took you to Purist priests, who saved your life with sacred words... If this ailment was divinely created, wouldn't curing it with divine power constitute collusion?

You don't know humanity's origin, but your reason, knowledge, and intuition confirm: human origins stem from no god you've encountered.

They lack omnipotence - otherwise, wouldn't they rule directly rather than laboriously persuading you to serve them?

This realization invigorates you, filling you with boundless energy.

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Action:

Order's Kingdom
If gods created physical forms, what about intangibles?

Generals commanding soldiers, nobles oppressing commoners, slaves bleeding for masters - did gods establish these "orders"? Does the Sultan rule others like cattle because gods positioned him atop the hierarchy?

You suddenly realize divine creation operates differently - rather than shaping bodies, They focus on intangibles. They use dreams, visions, miracles to reshape the world, subtly compelling us to construct systems pleasing to Them...

Then we run through these rule-mazes like blind rats.

A cold, purifying breeze arrives...

Divinity captures your thoughts, approving your attitude: mortals should indeed compare themselves to rodents, and this fleshy world resembles a labyrinth.

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Action:

Mouse Beneath the Lamp
If everything truly comes from god creation - regardless which god - haven't you, having crossed the threshold and gained spiritual power, earned the right to share this creative force? Imagine what amusing things you could do, especially those pleasing only to you while causing others suffering!

Gods creation resembles filling oil lamps, while you, a mouse, hide in darkness waiting for spillage to lick... Fragrant, rich oil will transform you into a sleek, ferocious rodent; perhaps you'll even frighten the gods - maybe devour the cats They send to patrol the earthly realm!

You resolve to continue lingering near the gods... seeking opportunities to steal their oil.

A golden die mysteriously rolls into your hand, accompanied by bloody scent and soft laughter.

The secretive chaotic god rather enjoys your idea.

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Action:

Creation as Cooking
You think of Habib.

His hands, stained with blood, oil, and flour, are creator's hands. He conjures delicious dishes from nothing, seemingly extracting flavors from ingredients through his touch.

Perhaps gods create worlds similarly. Beginning with chaos, all materials mixed together; then skillful heating, careful shaking, constant stirring, timely seasoning...

You consider that even master chefs like Habib must have begun clumsily. What about gods? Perhaps your "world" merely represents god practice - containing excessive bitterness from overboiling, lacking sweetness and fragrance because They forgot to add mercy's sugar...

But Habib continues making more dishes, and gods continue crafting more worlds; everything earthly merely represents experiments, steps toward Their conception of "perfection."

Yet you harbor your own vision of "perfection," and considering this, you cannot help imagining "world creation" scenes; these rich, mad thoughts spread like blood in seawater... attracting sharks.

The Cultic God enjoys your thoughts. He devours your fantasies as you devour Habib's stew.

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Action:

Imperfect Victim
You think of Shama.

Her body... though providing you incomparable pleasure, indescribable experiences - remains misshapen, deeply troubling her, not to mention the abandonment, hatred and accusations she suffered because of it...

If we were godly created, which god deliberately created such an imperfect victim? For what purpose? You cannot imagine the Cultic God or Purist doing this; the former would be more extreme, while the latter's priests helped her father expel her from home.

Since gods couldn't create Shama, her existence must be random, occasional, uncontrolled; doesn't this apply to everyone? We all harbor unspeakable sorrows, unique damages...

We're all imperfect victims, also works completed by ourselves. Wonderful - this imperfection wasn't god intent; terrible - that perfection bears no god relationship either.

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Action:

World's Essence
You examine this vial of Aether.

According to legend, Aether existed at creation's beginning - the essence of everything, the world's extract.

You wonder whether gods used this substance to create everything; otherwise, why would everything return to this form when extracted?

You swirl the Aether, observing from various angles its slow, gravity-defying movements, pondering...

Somehow, the Purist's thoughts enter your mind.

...give me...

...gift, relic...not your plaything...

...ah...give me...

You awaken startled, empty vial falling onto your leg... The Purist has taken your offering, slightly elevating you as compensation.

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Action:

Imagined Friend
If everything came from god creation, why would gods create their opponents? Did the Cultic God create the Purist, or vice versa... Or were They once inseparable before diverging?

Considering this, your throat suddenly tightens, as if something strangles you from behind...

The Cultic God catches your overly presumptuous thoughts, displeased - Their displeasure typically demands death.

You quickly restrain your thoughts, close your eyes, desperately seeking resolution...

Of course - perhaps the Immaculate Purity didn't create this world, but this pompous deceiver misleads ignorant followers into believing so. When people praise "our pure creator," They neither deny nor confirm, stealing another's creation... Therefore, the world's true creator must be the Creation God - the Cultic God. Isn't this obvious? Has the Purist created anything besides wounds on priests' backs? When isn't the Cultic God creating? Consider Their otherworldly manifestations!

How magnificent, Cultic God supreme! They tolerate another god borrowing Their reputation... But not much longer - the Purist's pretense will end, and you'll return to greatness under the Cultic God's command!

The force choking your throat gradually relaxes - the Cultic God approves your solution.

Sweating profusely, exhausted, you think... Experience serving the Sultan works equally well with these gods.

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Action:

Imagined Enemy
If everything is godly created, what about god-slayers? Are they also god creations? Why would gods create such things?

These thoughts barely form before cold sweat breaks along your spine... The all-knowing Purist catches your thoughts, clearly displeased...

You close your eyes, gathering your thoughts, seeking resolution...

Perhaps god-slayers exist to demonstrate true faith's value... They futilely attempt to shake the true god's position, repeatedly emphasizing its unshakeable nature. They drive believers to explore deeper doctrines, both for debate and defense - like clever mothers deliberately exposing children to minor illnesses, developing resistance against deadly plagues. The omniscient god intentionally creates non-believers, helping followers develop unwavering faith.

With these thoughts, the pressure behind you gradually subsides... You sigh with relief, wiping sweat from your brow.

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Extra

Rebuking Darkness
You dare invoke the most unholy name before the Immaculate Purity!

They thunder through your mind, Their light a spear piercing heaven and earth, a ruler lashing the world...

Until the next day's sunset, whenever your focus wavers, everything before you shatters into light and flames... This divine punishment They foretell... fortunately, They cannot execute it immediately.

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Ancient Enmity
Darkness boils as you mention Their enemy's name before a god.

Their anger transforms into a dark forest, intending to make you lost forever... Fortunately, you still pray for light in your heart. This beam, like a faint lamp, illuminates your path back to the mortal realm... it also reveals the monstrosities the evil god created from your fears. Masterpieces crafted from your inner terrors... about death, betrayal, failure, love... After waking, these images linger.

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Result:

Spiral of Destruction
Two gods, two enemies both craving world destruction, meet unexpectedly in the depths of your mind.

Here is an excellent battlefield where They can destroy each other... destroy your mind... again and again.

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