Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [93]
She welcomed the pain. She embraced it, and the hellish fire embraced her in return. Orange fingers crept up her skin, crawling inside her mouth and nostrils like a living entity seeking to devour her from the inside out. The flames engulfed her, slowly and painfully purging her mortal existence and opening the way for Melissan's own ascension to immortality.
"This must stop!"
Instinctively, Melissan had closed her eyes as she had entered the sacred fire. At the sound of a seeming multitude of voices speaking in unison, they popped open.
Through the hazy orange veil of dancing flames she saw an enormous figure towering over her, its head nearly scraping against the roof of Bhaal's temple. It spread its massive black, celestial robe, dwarfing the naked woman. Melissan recognized this being-a solar, servant and messenger of Ao, the strange being that ruled over even the gods themselves.
Despite the all-consuming heat, Melissan trembled.
"This is not permitted!" the being warned. "You cannot do this." But the creature made no move to intercede. It stood motionless while the ascension ritual progressed, taking no action to disrupt the sacrament.
Melissan's fear slowly vanished as the truth dawned on her. This was no divine guardian of fate and destiny, no all-powerful entity sent to smite her down. This was a mere projection, a harmless spirit from another plane.
"You have no place here!" she screamed above the roaring conflagration. "And you have no power here!"
"A mortal may not ascend in Bhaal's place," the creature stated ominously. "Only one of Bhaal's lineage must be permitted to fulfill this destiny."
"What of Cyric?" Melissan challenged. "Was he not a mortal who ascended to the pantheon?"
"Cyric was a mistake," the entity admitted, "an exception that will not be permitted a second time."
"Then unleash the wrath of your master upon me," Melissan dared, made bold by her knowledge of the history of Faerun. Only once in recorded memory had Ao ever intervened in the events of Abeir-toril, during the Time of Troubles. But that era was over, and Ao had long since retreated once more into the mists of philosophical legend.
When nothing happened Melissan cackled with mad relief. She had called the solar's bluff and she had won.
"Your master is as disinterested as ever. Soon Balthazar will kill Abdel, or perhaps the other way around. It makes no matter. With either death I will gain access to enough of Bhaal's immortal essence to begin my transformation."
Powerless to intervene, unable to even dispute Melissan's bold words, the solar simply vanished.
The triumphant laugh of Melissan reverberated off the walls of the abandoned temple. The sacred fire intensified, and Melissan felt her flesh begin to melt. Her laughter turned to screams as her body turned to ash.
Melissan found herself standing in Bhaal's Abyssal realm. Her physical body was gone, devoured by the flames raging in the center of Bhaal's temple back on the material plane. Here in this nether realm she had form once again. She was beautiful once more, the scars and disfigurements of her initiation as Bhaal's Anointed had been cleansed from her body. She ran her fingers in wonder over her now-smooth, unblemished skin, marveling at her own perfection.
The heavy rumble of thunder drew her attention skyward. Above her dark clouds roiled and churned, riding the chill wind. Stretching as far as she could see in every direction was dark, rich earth. The gathering essence of Bhaal had brought malevolent life back to the sterile void. The Abyssal plane was now ripe with potential, simply waiting for a powerful hand to shape its growth.
Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, Melissan raised her arms and began a soft chant. In response the ground began to tremble, and the soil began to bubble and burst as tendrils of diseased vegetation struggled into