At the area just short of the doorway I began to feel strange, alienly sourced pleasantness well up within me. It came at me from nowhere I could see, but in an instant, I felt the strange sensation in every part of me.
The pleasantness that welled within me wasn't something I liked. It felt... bright, for lack of a better word. I was a deity, and therefore subtly influenced by my domains and subdomains. A number of them hissed within me, spitting and sputtering at the strange energy invading me. But the energy itself wasn't hostile, merely alien and active, exploring my body like an invasive insect inside the body of a new host, or victim.
The energy rushed through me, before settling in my muscles. Once there, the energy settled. And as a consequence of it, I felt a strange sort of passive increase in my strength, as my muscles rippled outward and increased in density. Though I now felt stronger I didn't exactly have a place to safely determine the extent of my newfound physical might. Nor did I even know the original limits of my physical abilities anyway, so I suspected it'd be hard to determine just how much my power had increased.
So instead of wondering about the ever-changing limits of my abilities, I examined my physical surroundings.
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The chamber just beyond where my allies and I stood was a circular one. It wasn't gigantic or gaudily built, but it did house something somewhat gaudy: an impressively tall platinum statue that was clearly supposed to be a representation of Athena. It had all of the symbols that marked previous Athenian artwork, from the cap, to the spear, and even had a shield that had a representation of the face of Earth's first Medusa's in the middle of it.
Before any of us could step the doorway and into the chamber, the dungeon spoke to me with a never-before-heard level of urgency. [We don't recommend letting your servants into the chamber beyond here. Not all of them anyway. Chaotic evil creatures who aren't divine will die outright. Chaotic but non-evil creatures will feel nauseous. Evil but non-chaotic will be in pain, though the pain will dissipate immediately once they leave this chamber.] The dungeon said, urgently.
[Wait, what? What is the cause of this?] I asked, stopping my followers from advancing forward with a single sweeping gesture.
[Deities of above a certain level of power project an aura of divine magnificence around themselves. What lies in the chamber ahead of you is a vestige, but Athena was more than powerful enough to project an aura and thus even the weakest of her vestiges is also strong enough to do that.] The temple said, revealing the nature of the danger that lied ahead.
[The properties of divine auras differ from aura to aura and are as malleable as the gods themselves were. In life, Athena's divine aura was not this... inimical to evil, but her vestige is not the goddess. The vestige is more simple-minded. It is confused by and seeks to protect itself from evil, or better yet redeem evil when it can, but its lawfulness renders its aura far less dangerous to lawful evil beings than to chaotic evil ones. And a vestige's aura cannot harm an actual deity.] Said the voice of the temple.
I sighed and began to perform a quick round of Identify on my followers. The results were intriguing.
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[Lawful Good: Rebecca
Lawful Neutral: Lisabeth, Mi-Go
Lawful Evil: All of the devils
Neutral Evil: Samyaza
Chaotic Evil: Gallow, Hagitha]
So that's the alignment breakdown of my pack? How interesting. I even have someone here who is lawful good! I remarked, in the safety of my own head.
The reason for my shock was partially because I hadn't had the time to sit down and do a mass alignment check on my minions, even the ones that I knew and had gone on adventures with. Having access to their memories, and even studying them, only hinted at their alignment. It didn't reveal it to me which was unlike my Identify power.
I refocused my attention on my followers and began to speak. "Listen. Of all of us, only Gallow and Hagitha can't enter the chamber with me. If anyone else wants too they can. That said if any of the devils come they'll be in pain while we are exploring the chamber and interacting with Athena's vestige." I told them, my voice commanding and revealing the unvarnished truth to my followers. I paused, and then added something extra to my explanation.
"I've noticed that each of us gets separate messages from the dungeon. I learned that while we walked here because I scanned your minds and 'recorded' the messages you got from the dungeon. I didn't and don't want to assume you all know what I was told about divine auras." I explained, just in case they were confused about why I had told them something they may have already known. And then I explained the effects of Athena's vestiges' aura, as the temple had told me.
Their reactions were to look at me with appreciative gazes because they recognized that I was worried about them. Or about the danger they'd put themselves and thus ourselves in if any of us acted without thinking.
"Well, in that case, Hagitha and I will simply stay put." Gallow told me. He had taken a matter of seconds to react to my statement. I had assumed he was contemplating how to react to my words. Hagitha turned to him and her eyes narrowed as she glared at him.
"But I want to see a goddess!" She said, her voice surprisingly childish as she whined at that. I turned to face the dark-elf and thought about how to proceed from here in a way that helped ensure she didn't try anything.
Hmm... how to advance from here safely? What if I used some spells? I could easily project my own senses to my followers who can't or won't travel beyond the doorway. And I could also seal up the path forward to ensure that my minions don't try to rush in anyway. Yes... Yes I think that'll work. I realized, having needed only a few moments to dream up that scheme.
"You already see a god. And more than that... I never said you couldn't see a goddess' ghost. I said you couldn't get close to her." I explained. But my explanation wasn't done just yet. I readied a spell, a simple projection linked to my vision, but didn't cast it just yet.
"I can infer from what the Parthenon told me that the vestige's aura won't affect you if you stay outside of this chamber. It waited until just now to warn me of the effects of the aura, so it didn't think you would be affected until now. That said..." I said as I snapped my fingers at the same time activated my spell.
There was a wall on my right. It was made of a reflective, glass-like substance that was molded to provide a reflection of those who journeyed to the temple. The wall was unadorned by any particular tapestry and thus perfect for my spell. I unleashed it quietly while my allies were distracted by the sudden snapping of my fingers, and the reflections of myself and my followers the wall showed us was immediately replaced.
The spell overtook the wall in an instant, allowing the mortals and outsiders who had accompanied me into the depths of the Parthenon to see through my eyes. It even allowed them to see my H.U.D.
"Those of you who don't accompany me into the chamber will be able to see everything I see just by gazing into this wall." I said as I pointed the same hand that snapped earlier at the wall to my right. It was my left hand so the motion was odd, but it felt appropriate.
My followers all turned to the wall and were astonished to see what I saw, namely them turned away from me, but also the assorted icons that lined the edges of my vision and represented short-cuts of sorts to the countless menus I could use to influence reality.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"Now you can see what I can see. And because of that, those of us who wouldn't die if we entered the chamber ahead of us will be able to meet a goddess'... ghost. In its truest form." I told the gathered crowd of creatures, pausing for a second to consider how to most accurately describe a vestige. I settled on "Ghost" even though it didn't feel particularly accurate.
"It's time for us, for me, to meet what remains of Athena." I muttered, quietly as I prepared myself for what came next.
And then I turned to face the chamber containing the platinum statue and strode into it.
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I studied the interior of the chamber mid-step even as I crossed the threshold into the place. My eyes quickly flitted from one part of the chamber to the next.
The chamber itself wasn't a massive or imposing place. It was just over 17 meters wide and there was a thick ceiling visible above us, which couldn't be any more than 17 meters high. The main feature of the place was the platinum statue of Athena which stood an imposing 10 meters tall. And once I crossed into the chamber I became aware of more than just the statue.
Upon taking my first step into the chamber I could see normally in it but I was made visually aware of the thickness of divine power that covered every centimeter of the place. It becoming visible to me was enough of a shock that it made me catch my breath, causing me to freeze up for a second.
The power itself was odd. It caused everything in the chamber to change colors, on a subtle scale. It wasn't as if the chamber was completely dyed a single color immediately, but rather as if everything in the space was suddenly given a yellow tint as if being highlighted. Even more of the power-infused me with every step I took deeper and deeper into the lair of the vestige.
I was also keenly aware that I was being watched. I felt Athena's presence all around me. And it made me feel like my sins were crawling on my back.
For a moment I felt shame at the evil deeds I had committed throughout my life, which was an impressive amount given how short my life has been. And when it was amplified by shock that was an overwhelming sensation, but one that took me mere seconds to get over once I realized where it came from.
Truly impressive, but not enough to stop someone who has the subdomains of corruption and darkness under their influence. I remarked in my own head, as I shook off the sensation.
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Once I was a few steps into the chamber I stopped and waited for my followers to come in after me. Those of them who could quickly followed me. Unsurprisingly, all of the creatures wouldn't die in Athena's presence wandered into the area beyond the doorway and once Samyaza, the last and slowest of them, had done so I activated Earth Control and sealed the entrance off behind us by raising a wall of stone to cover the doorway.
"Sorry! This is for your own good." I said, to no one in particular. I spoke so that Hagitha and Gallow knew I was doing this for them. And I added another statement for good measure. "I'll reward you in a bit! Once we get out of the Parthenon I'm gonna give both of you something worthwhile." I told them, again speaking seemingly to no particular person, though it was more accurate to say that I was speaking to people who weren't present in the chamber.
My children, if the three creations could be called that, quickly wandered to my side. The Mi-Go silently crawled over the floor until it was right behind me, and stretched its head so that it was right beside mine.
Rebecca and Lisabeth walked hand in hand until they stood beside me, with Lisabeth in the middle, Rebecca on one side of her and myself on the other. Everyone else walked until they stood behind us, logically making a choice to have us stand in front of them since we were all different sorts of divine beings and they weren't.
"How are you feeling?" I asked the creatures who had accompanied me. In response to my question, I heard a number of things at once.
All three of my creations, the creatures present that I had personally and directly created, responded to me by uttering different variations of "Fine" or even "Good". Samyaza sent me a complaint-riddled mental message.
The devils all complained of minor, ambient pain. It was like they had been stricken with incredibly sudden but tolerable arthritis, painful but something they could handle without any magical assistance. After listening to them for a moment, I was slightly jealous they didn't have to feel guilty about their misdeeds like I had had too.
[It's time for you to approach the statue.] The temple, which doubled as a dungeon, told me. I nodded, a seemingly nonsensical act that probably confused my followers, and took a single step towards the imposing statue. And the air at the feet of the statue froze, not in an icy way but in an expectant way. Tension filled the air, but I took another careful step towards the statue. And then I began to walk a bit more boldly towards the still air at the feet of Athena's platinum figure.
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The vestige began to manifest when I was perhaps five steps from where it would fully manifest. The frozen air that had first reacted to my presence began to change colors and take on a precise shape. The color it changed wasn't the strange shade of yellow that tinted everything in the chamber, but the bronze color of some humans.
The shape was harder to make out, at first anyway. The air that was changing colors quickly began to take on a defined shape, the shape of a muscular humanoid frame. Unlike when creatures were formed from magical circles, Athena's vestige began to manifest from the bottom up.
Athena's form first made itself known to me and my followers by manifesting a pair of feet in combat-ready boots made of divine energy shaped to resemble bronze. The feet were tanned like bronze, causing them to match well with the boots. And the divine energy continued to shape itself into the form of a beautiful, battle-ready woman, who for the first seconds of the manifestation was relatively featureless.
In a matter of seconds what stood before me was a tall, gray-eyed warrior woman who held a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. She had been still while she was forming a physical shell with which to interact with the world, but once the warrior was fully-formed she took a step forward, lowered her gaze and looked down at me with emotionless platinum eyes.
Despite the heavy spear she held in one hand and the shield that was strapped to her other hand, Athena was wearing a long tunic made of divine energy that was fashioned to resemble dyed wool that covered all of her body aside from her feet. The tunic was a shade of yellow that wasn't unlike gold.
Athena's vestige was almost four meters tall. Every centimeter of her was visibly muscular, enough that it was noticeable through her clothing as her body parts strained against the tunic she wrapped herself in, but not so much so that she resembled a berserker. Instead, she had the wiry muscles of a well-trained acrobat or experienced duelist.
Her aura surrounded her now that she had manifested a fully formed body and covered every centimeter she took up in a dense golden glow that mixed with her tunic and what little of her bronze skin in ostentatious ways.
She studied me as I studied her, and we were both silent for over an entire minute. That silence was broken when she opened her mouth to speak.
"And to think... the first god to creep into my temple in countless eons is but a lawful evil monstrosity." She said, coldly. Her voice was powerful, effortlessly filling the entire chamber and spilling past the blocked doorway into the hallway beyond, where my servants waited, curious and afraid of what was about to happen next.
I smiled at her, aware of her tone but not sensing any bloodlust coming from the vestige in front of me. She wasn't projecting a desire to commit violence, and I knew I stood in the presence of a creature that was at least theoretically an echo of a creature far stronger than myself. And it made it hard to think about how to proceed, which explained my next action: introducing myself to a goddess of wisdom, in her own temple.
"Hello Athena. My name is Althos." I told her. In response, her eyes narrowed at me and she angrily opened her mouth to speak.
"I know what you are, boy. When this place," At that remark she pointed her spear straight up at the ceiling above us, as if to indicate that she was referring to the Parthenon itself "Scanned you, it didn't just tell you about me. It told me about you." She explained.
For a second I felt a bit of nervousness as she continued to glower at me. But that didn't stop me from speaking.
"If my actions came across as rude I apologize. I was merely... doing what decorum from my culture would suggest I do in the presence of fellow nobility. Of a fellow leader. Or rather... a fellow divine being." I said, not quite lying but more so grasping to find an adequate explanation for my behavior. Athena kept her gaze locked on me and readjusted where her spear-tip was pointing, turning it back to me, before she next spoke.
"I know why you're here, but as a way to make amends for lying in my presence, even in such an unintentional way, state your reasoning for venturing into this place. And be honest this time." She demanded, and there was an audible tone of anger in her voice. A sort of righteous indignation.
Shit. I remarked mentally, not having wanted to deceive her but in the process having accidentally upset her. But I also knew that her reaction wasn't unreasonable. And so I decided, as I often did, that candid honesty was my best policy.
"I am here because the temple reacted to my presence and kidnapped my minions. It told me that it captured them and would release them if I come here, learned, and seek out an 'opportunity' to learn the 'Old Ways', about 'holy sites' and to become 'something more'. It also told me about you. This is the temple's doing, not mine." I confessed, not bothering to deal with pride at this moment and instead choosing to hope that my honesty would change how Athena saw me.
My words had an effect: they surprised the vestige enough that the thing's eyes opened wide in shock. And when she next opened her mouth it wasn't to talk to me. It was to talk to the dungeon.
"Is this true?" She asked, demanding to know how truthful I was being at that moment, though I didn't doubt that she sensed nothing but radiant honesty coming from me. And then the dungeon began to speak, its voice audible not only to myself and Athena but to my followers since the voice was coming from the statue itself.