"I hate this," Danna said. She and her would-be mentor sat side by side in his cavern. The seats he'd created still feeling more comfortable than the fluffiest chair. For a moment, she wondered why this god could spend so much time with her, but her attention was inevitably drawn back to her singular follower and reincarnated husband, Richard.
"It can be tough to see one's followers stumble and to lose hope especially for you, I suppose. He is your singular follower. If he loses faith, you die."
Danna scoffed. "I don't care about that. If I die, then I die." Well, she did care about that a little. She wasn't in the same dark place she'd been when taking her own life after all. "What bothers me is that I don't have any control. Memories of his Father are having more impact than me, his supposed god."
"Our ability to affect things is directly related to our amount of believers. With a singular low ranked follower? The small boon he gets through the Divine Conduit is about all you can muster. If he was in an altered state, you might have enough power to deliver a short message to him."
"And thus why I hate it." Danna had checked the River of Truth several times during that last fight, hoping for some better answer. Even as removed as she was from a mortal body, hearing him call for her and being unable to help hurt. That did remind her of another question though. "Why did Hillin help him? I checked during their first conversation and he definitely planned to betray him. What changed? I feel like I should be able to know, but it's... blurry for some reason."
"Is it now? Gods and other powerful entities can have that effect. Omniscience isn't quite what it used to be now, is it?" She suspected the Draconian God was making a joke, but it wasn't funny. "Now, one thing you may want to concern yourself with is solidifying your religion just in case it gets locked in against your control."
Irritated because it felt like he was changing the subject, she dipped into the River of Truth and discovered that he should have been much more urgent than he had. With a thought, she pulled up a screen of her own.
Goddess: Danna
Realm: Strength and... Family… Light? Oh and water probably.
No other data found.
She sighed. Her existence was being literally defined by her husband's flippant remarks. A light touch on the River of Truth and she knew the important ones to solidify. She willed some changes and took a look.
Goddess: Danna
Realm: Family and Strength
Dominion(s): Water and Light
Favored Weapon(s): Blunt
Preferred Race: N/A
Ideal Sacrifice: Gems
Looking it over, she thought that was an excellent balance between what her husband believed of her, what would be useful to him as a aquatic boss trait monster, and things she herself valued.
To her, family was a better realm than just strength. Vaguely, she knew that some gods had realms specific to certain elements, but generally, gods focused on concepts and then held dominion over certain elements. They were less a focus and more like window dressing.
However, it would affect what types of skills or abilities that her followers could gain. That was important. For the others, she just did what felt right. Not having a preferred race would make her more appealing to the general populace.
Lastly, she spent some time typing up a history of her own rise to divinity and a few extra details that a religion needed. As Gi might see it eventually, she first tried to give him a direct message, but the system wouldn't accept it. Instead, she had to weave her message in a bit more subtly.
"Not bad," her mentor said. "You made it just in time."
*****
Nori cradled the seared flesh where her left arm used to be. She still felt delirious from the pain of biting off her own hand to escape, but she'd managed it. She checked her notifications again just to be sure.
Eldritch Arcane Horror (Leader) defeated!
1 Heart Orb received.
She almost started cackling to herself again, but another shriek stirred her from her self-impressed stupor. Krayli, the orc, fired off a few dozen arrows into what Nori was fairly confident was nothing. The orc screamed out a sob of rage, an impressive feat, before slowly disappearing.
Did she ascend? A spark of jealousy went through her, but it quickly faded as she'd achieved what all of them could not. She'd bested a Leader. She went ahead and used the Heart Orb and checked increases across the board.
Nori
Stats:
Strength - F+
Agility - D (capped)
Vitality - F+
Wisdom - G+
She grinned cackling again, but the shaking motion made her missing arm and burnt torso hurt. She was slowly coming out of her stupor and the pain was coming to the forefront.
She clambered to her feet and started working her way back through the forest. She'd need to rest a bit, but with her Agility and traits, she should be able to finish the Child Stage in no time at all. Get her Soul Orbs back, throw a few goblins into the Dungeon until some Elites popped out, and then once she had all her power consolidated she could do the run herself.
No one would be able to stop her.
****
A shadow fell on The Father. It felt cool and solid, but also powerful. His mind felt more clear than it had any time before his recent illness, but his memories of before felt somehow more distant. He pondered that, but it didn't concern him. He knew enough to know that he'd built a powerful family and he had few regrets.
The cool shadow continued to lay across him bringing a strange truth to the fore. I am the shadow. To him, that made sense. He was strong. Why wouldn't he be this powerful shade? Not only did he believe that, but he also knew it to be an undeniable Truth.
With a thought, the Father grasped the shade, and once dominated, forced it to his will. He formed a body for himself, but not as the frail thing he'd been before his death, but as he was in his prime.
He opened his eyes and still found only darkness. Two faraway flames burst to light with a derisive snort.
ANOTHER ONE? The voice boomed, reflecting impossibly on every speck of shadow and surrounding the Father and filling him up. He felt the sheer weight of this existence in his very soul. All from a simple two words.
"Who are you?"
I AM THE ONE WHO COMES BEFORE AND THE ONE WHO ENDS. I AM THE PROGENITOR OF MONSTERS AND THE BRINGER OF SURGES. I AM ALL AND I AM FIRST.
The being's power crashed against his soul and the Father found himself struggling to hold onto the very concept of his own self, such was the might of the being before him. Yet somehow, he managed it. "I'm... not impressed."
The being laughed and the rumblings threatened to rip his soul to pieces, but again, he steeled himself and fought on, locking in his sense of self. I LIKE YOU, DEFIANT ONE. WHEN YOU'RE NO LONGER A SPECK OF DIVINITY, COME CHALLENGE ME.