When Lucifer crossed the threshold of the arena, Nemesis' body started to repair itself rapidly. Her broken arms twisted and contorted until they went back to their original shape. Her chest fluttered strangely for a moment before it started to expand outwards, and the bruises began to fade rapidly, and then her clothes began to stitch up slowly. He brought her up the stairs and into the observation room and set her down gently on the couch.
I quickly rushed over to her and was immediately relieved to see that there was no permanent damage done to her body. "That was a brutal fight to watch," I told Lucifer as I sat down next to Nemesis and watched over her.
"My apologies Lord Progenitor. When she used her judgment skill, she forced me to feel the pain of all the wrongs I committed. I lost control." He told me meekly as he took his spot next to Malek.
I let out a sigh of sadness. I wanted to be angry, she was like my daughter, but there was no use in freaking out. This was more of a learning experience for both of us. "I understand. It just hurt me to see her like that. When will she wake up?"
Malek waved, and the popcorn vanished into thin air. "A couple of minutes."
I pressed a hand to her forehead, and Lucifer stepped forward and spoke again, "I admired how she fought. She never gave up, even when she knew she had no chance of winning. My father was the same way." His voice trailed off as he started to relive his past, and he started to toy with that ring on his finger.
I felt Nemesis stir under my touch, and her eyes fluttered open. A tired groan escaped from her, and she forced herself to sit up. Her eyes seemed dull, and she slumped her shoulders. "That was rough. You win this time, Lucifer." She said as she let out a defeated sigh. I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a light, reassuring hug. I was glad she was okay.
Her words tore Lucifer from his thoughts, and he stepped forward. "Nemesis, you passed my test." He told her as she looked up at him and scrunched her face up in confusion.
"What test?" She asked as she started to massage her shoulder.
He gave her a soft smile and extended his hand out, towards her. "The first test of many."
She tentatively reached her hand out and took his, and he helped her to her feet. “You have impressed me with your display, granted you have much to learn, but I respect your style.”
She gave him a nod and a soft smile. “Thank you Lucifer, that means a lot to me.”
He went to speak again only for Malek to clear his throat and interject into the conversation.
"Well, that was rather entertaining, thanks for the show," Malek told me as he stood up. He snapped his fingers, and the gun that Nemesis was using appeared in his hand. He walked over to Nemesis and handed it over to her. "This is your gift for passing his first test. Please accept this Artificer as your own."
She fervently shook her head, "I can't take this. This is too rare of a weapon for me to take."
Malek gave her a large grin and forced it into her hands, "Nonsense. Take it. I have a few more laying around in storage. I would much prefer that you have this one instead."
With a look of resignation, she took it and attached it to her right hand. It shifted itself around for a moment before it shrunk down to fit her hand like a glove. She touched the top of it softly, and I saw a faint smile appear on her face.
Lucifer glanced over to me and dropped to his knee, "Lord Progenitor, please forgive me for not addressing you when we first met."
I quickly beckoned for him to stand, "No, please stop with the formality, it drives me nuts when my deities do it." I told him as he stood up and dusted the clothes off of his pants.
"Thank you. I request permission to stop by your capital world now and then to teach her what I remember of Nephilim etiquette"
"That's fine with me. I will see what I can do to start creating Nephilim on my world. It won't be now, but hopefully, soon enough, you can see the birth of your race once more." I told him and I saw a flash of pure elation cross his face.
"Thank you; you have no idea what this means to me." He gave me a deep bow, and I chuckled nervously. I never really liked formality, though I should be getting used to it I suppose. "Anyways, Kairos, back to our previous discussion, what other classes do you have for your deities?" Malek asked me as we walked back over to the chairs and took a seat.
"Currently, I have a divine monk, paradoxical fencer, metallic manipulator, justicar, and a solitaire." I told him as I tried to remember all the classes that I gave them.
Malek gave a brief cough and cleared his throat. "Did you say solitaire?"
I nodded my head and replied, "I did, is it a bad class?"
He shook his head, "No, not at all. It’s a genuinely terrifying class. I am just surprised you had that option is all. Anyways I need to get going, I have some pressing matters I need to attend to." He stood up and extended his hand. "It was a pleasure to see you, and I am amazed at how far you have come."
I took his hand and firmly grasped it. "It was good to see you as well, Malek."
He flashed me a smile and went over to Nemesis., "It was a pleasure to meet you, Nemesis."
She flashed him a toothy smile. "Likewise, Malek."
He cleared his throat, and Lucifer bowed to both of us once more. "Well, I am on my way, Thalmius should be back shortly, he had some stuff that came up shortly after you arrived." With those words, both he and Lucifer vanished in a bright display of lights.
Once he left, I realized that I never saw Thamlius leave. I should really be more observant. I glanced over to Nemesis as she finally took a seat across from me. "How are you feeling?" I asked how now that we were alone and I had a chance to speak with her.
"I am still pretty shaken. I can feel the phantom pain from that fight, and I am somewhat overwhelmed by everything that happened. It doesn't seem real." She told me as she let out a small yawn and played with her fingers.
"I didn't know all of this was going to happen. It hurt me to watch that fight between you and Lucifer."
She blushed slightly and clenched her fingers on her pant legs. "I knew I wasn't going to win. But I refuse to back down. I will do my best to win, no matter the cost."
I leaned forward and gave her a soft pat. "I know, but it still hurt me."
She smiled at me and wrapped her arms around me. "Thank you, father. But I promise I'll be okay" After a few seconds, I pushed her away and cleared my throat. "Now we just need to wait for Thalmius so we can figure out how to get home."
Right after I said that I heard a throat clear behind us, causing her and I to jump. "Waiting for me?" I spun around and saw the troll standing against the wall, giving us a fanged smile.
"Yes, we didn't even realize you left," I told him as Nemesis took her spot on my left side.
"Yeah, I do that. I had a small uprising on one of my planets that I needed to go sort out." He made a quick gesture and started to walk over to the door of the observation room.
"Is it all worked out now?" I asked him as we started to descend the stairs.
"Mostly, I still need to make sure that my people can overcome it without too much interference from myself. I wouldn't want them to depend on me. It makes for weaker civilizations as a whole if you do that."
I nodded my head in agreement. That was pretty much what I decided to do with my planet. "Yeah. I agree." I told him since I wasn't sure as to what else I could say.
We remained quiet as we walked to the large circular elevator. Thalmius pressed a button, and the door opened.
A lone administrator stood in the elevator and was engrossed in reading over a screen. "Hello Alexej." Thalmius greeted him as we all stepped in, and the elevator started its descent. The administrator glanced up from his screen, revealing a set of emerald green eyes. He gave us a small nod. He had blonde hair with strawberry colored streaks tied up in a ponytail on his head. His nose was pointed and sat on a round face, and he had the pointed ears of an elf.
"Hello, Thalmius." He quietly replied to us as he made a quick, dismissing motion.
"This here is Kairos, he is one of our newest members, and is currently in the strikers."
Alexej glanced over and gave me a nod. I went to extend my hand in greeting, but he shook his head. "I can see the Champion of Man title on you, which leads me to assume you were human. So with that, my kind does not typically greet with handshakes."
I dropped my hand at his words. I needed to research more so I wouldn't offend any administrators and start any unnecessary issues. "So, what is your race if you don't mind me asking?"
He eyed me for a moment as he was sizing me up. "I am a Blood Elf. You?"
"Celestial Nephilim," I told him, and he gazed at me more intensely for a moment. I could see the gears in his head turning as he continued to look me over for a moment.
"Never heard of them, though they do seem pleasing to look at. Would you be interested in selling me the template?"
I shook my head at him. "No. This is a personal template."
He shrugged and made a motion with his hand, which I guessed was him bringing his screen back up. "That's a shame." He told me as the elevator came to a stop, and he quickly departed it.
"He seemed a little weird," I told Thalmius once the elevator started it's descent once more.
"That's just how he is. He is one of our best researchers, so it’s easily overlooked.".
"I see." We all sat in silence as the elevator descended further before it came to a stop in a circular room that had a portal seated in the middle.
"This is the exit teleporter. Once you get high enough in rank, you can teleport in and out without it. But until then, this is how you leave. Now that you have already visited here, next time you teleport in this is where you will come to. Since you teleported here, it has your coordinates saved, so you should be able to go back without an issue." He told me as we walked into the room.
"Thank you, Thalmius, for the help, and tell Malek I said thanks once again for what he did." He nodded his head and extended his hand.
"Anytime friend, don't be afraid to drop by or to visit some of your guildmates. It may be beneficial in the future to do so."
I shook his hand, and he shifted his attention over to Nemesis. "It was a pleasure to meet you as well, young Nephilim. Stay safe, and good luck."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
She gave him a nod, and he waved as he walked back to the elevator.
"I hope to see you again soon, Kairos."
I waved back and turned my attention to the teleporter. "You ready to go home?" I asked her as we walked to the swirling entrance.
"Very much so. I want to claim a room and go to sleep. I am exhausted." She told me through another large yawn. I nodded my head and stepped up in front of the swirling blue vortex.
"Then let's go home."
----------------------------------------
I felt my body being torn and rearranged for what felt like an eternity before I was jerked back into reality, though the sight was unfamiliar. The floor I was standing on was slightly curved and shifted like fire on a star. It was a light purple and seemed to fluctuate in brightness. I glanced up and saw that instead of the familiar metal walls, was just the vast emptiness of space that was framed in by light wisps of colorful gas.
This couldn't be right. I don't remember my control room looking like this. "My liege welcome home." A familiar snnoying voice tore me from my thoughts. Yes. This was home, no doubt about it.
"Hello, Helios. I see you have applied the theme as I asked." I told him as I walked around the room. As I moved, I could see that I was standing on the surface of a small star.
"I did, my lord. Though due to the fact that the Celestial Nephilim do not have architecture yet since they do not exist, I did have to take some creative liberty and make something unique for you. I do hope you like it." He told me as he finally started to come into view. The clothes he wore were better made and looked a little better than the last time I saw him. Good, that means that my races were starting to advance.
"I do like it. Though how do I get to the control room from here? All I see is space."
"Follow me, you two. I'll show you the way. Nemesis, I saved a room for you. So feel free to do as you please with it." He spun on his heel, and I saw something flutter behind him. Was he wearing a cape? Maybe I just imagined it cause I don't remember seeing one when he first started talking to me.
"Thank you, Helios. I just want a bed right now." She told him as he chuckled and waved his hand, and a deep black portal opened.
"Through here is the rest of the control room. I had to break away from the observation room due to its unique nature." He stepped through the portal and Nemesis, and I followed shortly after.
I was blinded by light for a moment before my vision returned, and I was greeted by the familiar sight of my control room. Everything looked exactly the same as I left it. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, and I was finally home.
"Nemesis, your room is the last one on the far left of the corridor," Helios told her as we walked down the hallway.
"Do you mind if I go ahead and go there, father?" She asked me. I turned my head to look at her and saw the bags under her eyes.
"Of course. Do whatever you have to do. Helios and I have a few things to discuss anyways." She nodded off and meandered down the hall and stumbled into her room.
"She looks a little worse for wear." Helios eyed her as we watched her stumble into the door and the door closed softly behind her.
"She had a long day, though I am sure that she will fill you in on it when she gets up," I told him as we both turned down the hallway and turned left down a corridor. "So, what I missed since I have been gone."
"Well, I changed the theme of the observation room. I have also updated the theme in the Hall of the Gods. That was about it since I ran out of creation points. With Ouradia, though, almost all the species have managed to make it to the later stage of what could be considered the iron age. Large handfuls of city-states now dot the surface, and some have started full-blown empires." He explained to me as we reached a set of towering double doors that were composed fully of wood.
The wood was a deep beautiful brown, and the grain was oiled and stood at stark contrast. Metal bands framed the doors and led to a pair of charcoal grey handles. "I will be visiting the humans here soon, and spending some time with them. I may end up joining one of their militaries so I can get some experience in war. How are the affairs with the Angels and Demons going by the way?"
With a grunt of effort, Helios forced open the doors. They swung open, revealing a large room with massive stone pillars that reached up to the ceiling. Large red silk tapestries hung from the ceiling, and a red carpet lined the walkway. At the end of the long walkway was a small set of stairs that led up to a semicircle of thrones. On the far right sat a throne that was grey and plain, and underneath it was the name Inovia. The name was inscribed with care and intent.
The next one was a throne that was inlaid with a rainbow of colors. The cushion extended from the bottom of the chair to the top and had a checkered pattern that alternated between bright orange and light blue. Hanging from the side was a mask that had the same plaid pattern as the cushion. One side of the mask looked to be grinning evilly while the other was locked in the look of despair. Inscribed under the throne was the name, Steve.
On the opposite side sat a stone chair that had flowers and vines crawling up the side. The cushion was composed of a pile of spring green moss, and a small tree ran up the back of it. Inscribed underneath it was the name Aphelia.
Next to her seat was a large slab of grey metal that was chiseled and distorted, and ample space was chiseled out of the front of it in the facsimile of a sitting area. The name Ferraris was written on the bottom of the slab of metal.
The next seat was beautifully crafted and had a myriad of jewels encrusted onto its surface. The predominant material of the chair was gold, and the cushion was scarlet red. The name Helios was written across the bottom of it in sprawling text.
In the middle sat a throne that had small wisps of gas floating off of it. The cushion was a deep violet and flickered like a flame would. The material of the throne was space black and had small flickering lights across its surface like stars. Written in star fire across the bottom was Kairos, the Silent Overseer.
Next to my throne on the left was a simple stone pillar that had Nemesis' name written across it. I glanced over to Helios and asked, "Does Nemesis not get one?"
He shrugged as we walked into the large room. "She wasn't here to tell me what she wanted. Once she wakes up, I'll talk to her and see what she wants."
"Fair enough," I told him as we walked closer to the thrones. "You did a pretty good job. I enjoy how this area looks."
"Thank you my lord. However, follow me, behind the thrones is a meeting room; we can discuss your plans there." When we reached the bottom of the staircase, Helios guided me around the platform, and behind it sat a plain metal door. He pushed it open, revealing a circle stone table that had a holographic representation of Ouradia hovering over the middle.
Helios and I sat in the simple wooden chairs next to each other, and he dragged the floating hologram over to us and shrunk it down to a smaller size.
"You have probably noticed that you have not received any notifications involving Ouradia since you left. I intercepted them since they were the typical advancement stuff. All the creation points from it have been collected and dispensed accordingly. Inovia received one hundred for the defense of the control room. I used all of what you previously had plus an extra hundred for themes and cosmetics. I banked the leftover one hundred, so we have some currency for future purchases."
I nodded my head as I thought over what he just said. At least Inovia is structuring a defense. The theme stuff was a little more expensive then I hoped it would be, but at least we have some leftover. "That's doable. Can you bring me up to date on the goings of my races?"
He shifted the hologram over to the supercontinent. "Here we have a few notable things going on. Most of the drow have consolidated into a large civilization known as the Ever Dark Republic. It is mostly a matriarchal society now, but the spell singers are still the ruling class." He pointed in the general area where I put the first drow, and I nodded my head as I quietly listened to him update me.
"Next up that humanity has spread quite a ways. There are a few large kingdoms and some small city-states in existence on the largest continent; you have Orsalon, which is a kingdom that has a heavy focus on magic. Currently, it has become more of a plutocracy than anything else since the merchant leaders have gained power. Its biggest competitor at the moment is the Church of Eternal Light, which has a theocratic government."
"Wait, a church has already grown that large? Tell me about it." I asked him as I settled into my seat and looked over the territory lines that were starting to form.
He gave me a coy grin as he spoke, "Well. Remember that small test fight we had before you left?"
"I do. But what does that have to do with anything?" I asked him as I shifted in my seat.
"Well, some humans saw it, and founded a religion around it. However, here is the kicker. They see me as the creator god, and you as the destroyer."
I stared at him for a moment. They see him as the creator and me as the destroyer? I felt annoyed at the revelation, though it may work out in my favor. I didn't really intend to interfere too much with the comings and goings of my races. Though this also helped me figure out what I was going to do next. "Helios, can I appoint you as a diety?"
He lost his smile and looked at me strangely. "You can, but what are you planning on doing?"
I didn't say anything as I pulled up his character screen and ran through the commands until I found the one that I needed. I clicked on it and appointed him the domains of Creation and Life.
His face paled for a moment, and he grumbled at me. "I didn't expect you to do that. I was only going to make a joke out of it."
I shrugged at him, "I know you were, but it helped me figure out what I was going to do for you, if you don't like it then we can reconvene later and see what we can do to change it." He grumbled for a moment and quickly wiped the look of annoyance off of his face.
"Anyways, there are a few other human kingdoms that came into existence as well. On the furthest continent to the east is a kingdom that is based heavily on innovation, and is well known for their cavalry. There are a few other kingdoms of man that have some claim to fame, but we can get into the specifics later."
He shifted the hologram back to the largest continent and started to point again. "The church has almost wiped out all of the Nazghoul presence here, so they are on a steep decline. Unless things change, the Nazghoul may become extinct within a few centuries. They have one major city left called the Necropolis, which is based deep within that giant chasm you made."
I looked over the map, I felt a twinge of sadness over the Nazghouls, but if they were going to die off, then I had to let them go. "That is kind of sad, but its life I guess."
He nodded his head in agreement. "It is, but what can you do. If they die off then it is meant to be." He pointed to a small darker patch of territory based around the forest in the mountains. "The Dark Elves have settled down into a decent-sized kingdom, with the capital city named Voltung. They have an emphasis towards darker magic, so I guess we will see what they end up doing. Thankfully Steve has kept them away from darker paths, but we will see. Most of the Dark Elves on other continents have formed small settlements but nothing of note yet. "
"What is Steve up to? I remember he bailed shortly after I created him."
Helios let out a sigh and pinched his nose. "He has become a traveling performer. Though he has done more than just that, he is the sole reason the Dark Elves have started to unify on the main continent. But he is also the reason why a few budding kingdoms have fallen."
I grabbed the hologram and rotated it to look over the planet and thought about what he just said. I mean, I expected it. I did make Steve just to have a light-hearted deity. "I am not surprised. But anyways on a different note, what are the Angels and Demons up to?"
He grabbed the hologram and moved up to the two continents up north. "Well, they have both unified. The Angels own this continent here, and the demons own this one." He gestured to the left for the Angels and the right for the Demons. "Currently they are having a cold war, though tensions are starting to rise. I have managed to use my influence to stall out the outbreak of the war, but the Demons are beginning to grow somewhat restless, and tensions are beginning to boil over. We may have to result in letting ourselves be known and forcibly unite them both if we don't want them to fight. Usually, I wouldn't vouch for us interfering with them, but those two races will grow to be very beneficial, especially if we manage to unite them."
I forgot that those two races hated each other. This may complicate some things in the future. "If we forcibly unite them, won't that cause unrest and strife?" I asked Helios as I tried to figure out a plan.
"Without a doubt, however, you are looking at it as a mortal and in the short term. Look at it from the perspective of an immortal. A few hundred years of civil unrest doesn't mean much to us though I can try and lobby for some changes that may help out in the long term."
"Alright, I will move that further up on my to-do list. How are the Ancient Ones doing? Are they thriving?"
He nodded his head, "They are. Due to their nature, they haven't really even entered a primitive age. At the moment, they have a few small hives that are thriving and growing but that's it. We may need to introduce a new factor that can accelerate growth for all the races we have."
I strummed my fingers across the stone table, and I opened up my inventory. I feel like I have something that may help, but I don't remember what. After searching through it, I found my Orc template. I forgot I had this. Maybe now would be a good time to put them on Ouradia. "Hey Helios, I have the Orc bundle. Is it safe for me to apply it?"
He grabbed the hologram and quickly looked it over. "Yes, everyone seems to be somewhat situated, go ahead and apply the bundle. It will take a few years for them to gather, but it should be a welcome change. Do you mind if I use some of the creation points we have to buy another monster package to add? I think they are outgrowing what we are currently using."
"Go for it," I told him as I dropped a copy of the bundle onto the surface, and a small notification appeared.
Monster template has been added to Ouradia. Updating sub system lists.
I dismissed the notification and brought up my own menu. I think it is time for me to select my domains while Helios is buying the next bundle of monsters. I already decided that I wanted to have a domain involving dimensions. So I quickly scrolled through the search list and clicked on the interdimensional domain (?) Mostly because it seemed cool, and I was rather curious about what it could do with it. I thought seriously about my next choice. Do I pick something that synergizes well with my class or a path that I was walking? I remembered what Malek was telling me about becoming a god of Oblivion. It seemed like it would be a good fit, and he did tell me that it would help me out in the long run with this path. I confirmed it, and my screen flickered for a moment.
Congratulations! Your domains have been chosen. You are now a transdimensional god and a deity of Oblivion.