I just realized, this implies the Dead Three knew that turning everyone into illithids would “destroy” their souls. At the end of the game, Withers scolds them for this, yet it seems it was their intention all along. But to what end … ?
If you notice none of the dead three cultists have tadpoles. Their plan was to destroy the souls of the other gods followers and weaken their power while increasing the dead threes power in return.
They deny them to ALL the other god, this is kind of foreshadowed with the Gnolls outside the cave. Yeenoghu can't claim their hunger as they're being literally hijacked by the absolute, the same is said of the goblins and is the whole reason for volos research into them, he mentions how they've abandoned their original god for some strange interloping deity
Gods in DnD if I'm not mistaken are powered by souls and the people who worship them. If the Absolute ends up killing everyone except the worshippers of the Dead Three, that would automatically make them the strongest gods, not because they themselves got stronger, but because all the other gods got a lot weaker. Thats what i got from it at least
If you accept an alliance with Gortash, he goes with you to confront the Netherbrain, but gets killed. The Emperor will rescue you and will also drag Gortash's corpse back with you to the Astral Plane so you can loot it since the game won't let you go back to the pool and he's got some good stuff on him.
