A viscous, gaudy interface, exuding a cloying sweetness, bloomed fully before Rivane's eyes like the most exquisite of poisonous flowers.
Borders woven from silk, limbs, and vines of decaying roses; dancing figures flickering faintly in the background alongside soul-stirring sighs; and at the center, a heart-shaped rose emblem radiating the most extreme allure and beauty...
None of this brought a sense of power or knowledge. Instead, it struck straight at the depths of the senses, a fusion of temptation, indulgence, and ultimate pleasure.
It was as though countless gentle, dangerous hands were caressing her nerve endings, inviting her to sink into an endless whirlpool of ecstasy.
"What... what is this?" Rivane's brow furrowed sharply, and she instinctively stepped back half a pace. Behind the virtual character's faceplate, Cheng Ke, in reality, felt a faint flutter of unease.
This aura ran counter to everything she was accustomed to, whether the cool self-discipline of real-world fencing or the precise restraint of sniping and honor duels in the game. It carried a wanton, chaotic quality that instinctively put her on guard.
Just as she tried to close or make sense of the interface that had abruptly appeared, a figure rushed swiftly to her side.
It was [I Am Not God]. Daniel's character had seen that distinctive purple glow, different in style yet equally striking compared to the other Chaos God-chosen triggers, and understood almost instantly what had happened.
"No way!!"
Daniel's voice rang out over the nearby channel, laced with unmistakable shock and, underneath it, a thread of excitement.
"Chaos God's Chosen quest! It's the last one! Rivane, do you have any idea what you just triggered?!"
Rivane was still trying to parse the tantalizing quest text. "What last one? What kind of mechanic is this? A game bug? Some special event?"
"It's not a bug! It's Old Devil Medici's... ahem, I mean, creator Medici's design, one of the top-tier hidden mechanics: the Chosen Contract of the Chaos Four Gods!"
Daniel's words tumbled out rapid-fire, clearly a subject he knew inside and out. "See that? That special UI, that trigger tied directly to a player's behavior pattern? You've already met some god's 'conditions of interest'!"
He pointed at the purple interface and rattled off the details like reciting scripture:
"The Chaos Four Gods. So far, three have already gone public in the game!"
"Khorne, God of Blood, craves slaughter and conquest. Triggered by [Scorchwind], the condition being: in a single match, by the eighth minute, accumulate exactly 88 kills, and they have to be player kills. He later became the World Eaters, Khorne's eternal chosen."
"Nurgle, the Merciful Father, dotes on decay and 'love.' Triggered by [EndlessSpring], the condition being: in a single match, by the seventh minute, accumulate 77 allied saves, without firing a single shot the entire time. He took on the 'Sevenfold Mercy' quest."
"Tzeentch, Lord of Change, is obsessed with schemes and knowledge. His trigger condition was even more twisted: in a single match, by the ninth minute, use a battlefield support protocol to kill a large-scale unit (like a Deamon Engine or a Titan), with your personal score landing on exactly 999 points at that very moment. He became Tzeentch's psyker."
"As for Slaanesh..." Daniel's voice dropped, taking on the tone of someone revealing a secret.
"Lord of Pleasure and the Senses, seeker of ultimate experience and the artistry of indulgence. Her trigger condition has always been a mystery.
The player community has speculated endlessly: some kind of extreme kill streak? A special execution method? Or maybe some ridiculously flamboyant maneuvering? Nobody knew. Until now..."
He looked at Rivane, his expression complicated. "Until now, you figured it out! At the sixty-sixth minute, completing your sixty-sixth honor duel kill... 'Six' is Slaanesh's sacred number! Rivane, you've become the first vessel of the Slaanesh bloodline!"
Rivane processed the information. She thought back on her own battles: her near-obsessive pursuit of ritual in "honor duels," her enjoyment of the trembling instant of victory or defeat in one-on-one combat, how she'd even begun actively seeking out and creating such opportunities...
These behaviors, in the eyes of some supreme being, had somehow become traits "worth noticing"?
"That's... 'lucky,' huh?" Her tone carried a certain subtlety. This didn't feel like winning a prize. It felt more like being "chosen" by something, without ever realizing it.
"This isn't ordinary luck!" Daniel emphasized. "This is a Pathfinder-tier achievement! Your ID, your trigger condition, your quest content, all of it will get recorded in the game's chronicles.
If you can complete this 'Sixfold Senses' quest, you'll become Slaanesh's first eternal chosen, with an exclusive class path, resources, and maybe... uh, some rather 'special' abilities too."
He clearly had heard something about the nature of Slaanesh's blessings, and his expression turned a bit odd.
Rivane turned her gaze back to the purple quest panel.
The description of [Sensory Edge], sharpened perception, enhanced prediction, faster melee attack speed, and an agility bonus on kill, these were undeniably tempting enhancements for a fencer who prized precision and rhythm.
And the quest itself, though demanding (strict timing, specific targets, mandatory honor duels), fit precisely with her pursuit of "control" and "ritual."
Executing one person per minute, like performing a death march on the battlefield where every beat had to land with precision... there was something in that, a cruel yet extreme kind of beauty.
That instinctive discomfort still lingered. Slaanesh's embodiment of "pleasure," "indulgence," and "sensory stimulation" clashed with the disciplined, restrained side of her nature.
But on the other hand, her hunger for challenge, her drive to conquer difficult tasks, and her desire to grow stronger in pursuit of ever more extreme duels, all of it pushed hard in the opposite direction.
"Fine." Rivane finally nodded, her voice settling back into its usual calm certainty. "I'll take the quest. The conditions seem a little... finicky, but they should be within my ability."
She raised a finger, hovering it over the glowing, alluring "Accept Quest" option, and paused for a second.
Then she pressed it.
[Quest... accepted.]
[May the Prince's... 'pleasure'... be with you...]
[Go and play out... your movement of the senses...]
The resplendent purple light gently enveloped her, as though draping her in an invisible, magnificent, and dangerous veil.