Rumi squinted at the skeleton, trying to decipher its odd behavior.

"You said you wanted to learn about the gods?" Rumi asked.

"Yes, if that's possible," Aurelius replied.

The two were organizing books on the bookshelves, Aurelius having come over earlier that day and asked Rumi to teach him how to read.

"For one," Rumi started. "You do know about ascending to godhood, right?"

Aurelius looked puzzled.

Rumi sighed and took out a piece of paper.

"Think of Maglubiyet, the great hobgoblin general who wants to ascend to divinity," Rumi drew a small icon that represented a hobgoblin's face, presumably Maglubiyet's. "He's still a mortal, but those who achieve enough on the mortal plane of existence can ascend to godhood." The rat looked at the skeleton. "Keep in mind, though, that no one actually knows what occurs in the realm of deities. In fact, there really isn't even an official name for it, and most people call it Heaven."

"However," Rumi drew an arrow pointing at the hobgoblin icon and wrote something in Common. "Those who ascend to godhood from the mortal realm are known as lesser gods. For any information on how to ascend beyond that, you'd have to ask a priest."

The rat drew a triangle and marked out three sections. "The ancient gods, also known as the creators of everything, are Chronos, the god of time, Magnus, the god of space, and Elohim, the god of life."

"What about goddesses?" Aurelius interjected.

"Goddesses?" Rumi was bemused. "The ancient gods are not associated with any particular sex, which might speak to their incomprehensibility and might. Though we call them gods, they are not denoted as specifically male."

Rumi used the pencil in his hand to write a question mark on the paper. "However, this is all myth, and we really do not even know what happens when mortals 'ascend' to godhood. Do they really become higher beings, or do they perish? What is it that distinguishes those who can ascend and those who cannot?" The rat shook his head. "So many questions and so little answers."

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Aurelius brought a bony finger to his chin as if deep in thought. Rumi thought this scene was quite amusing, a living undead learning about the world. Well, a being that looked like a living undead, anyway.

At this moment, an elf opened the door to the bookstore and walked in.

Rumi turned to his skeletal student. "That's all the time for learning about gods that we have today; make sure to dutifully study your written Common." Aurelius smiled at the friendly rat.

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The entity took the shape of a man, a man so regal and composed that he might be mistaken for a monarch. He appeared in the form of a middle-aged man with clean-shaven facial hair, bearing a short beard that jutted out at the end, like the edge of a cliff. His nose pointed when needed, and his brows furrowed when appropriate. His appearance was not so much that of a supermodel's as that of a fearsome general of the heavens, someone who could inspire legions of men to fight to their deaths.

Then, he transformed. A shimmering of light could be seen as the body of a man turned into that of a woman's.

The light dimmed, and a brunette woman with an aura of grace replaced the stern man. She wore a creamy cotton dress that reached to her ankles and stepped on white high heels.

The entity sat on a throne of sorts, dressed in a multitude of items found throughout time. It was a bit of a mess but was large enough for all kinds of clothing to be draped over it.

"This form is a bit uncomfortable," she said.

Another bright light formed around the woman, and she turned into a young man in his late teenage years, with a bright smile and deep eyes reminiscent of the ocean. Clearly, he was reasonably athletic but still managed to give off the vibe of a thinker. It was the perfect median between looking imposing while maintaining a philosopher's dignity.

"As expected, this one is what I most like," he said with a grin.

"Master," an angelic voice twittered. "Do you not want to take the form of a beast or something of the sort? You seem to always be biased when it comes to humans."

"Hmm," the entity considered this for a moment. "I've taken a liking to one particular human, the anomaly we were talking about in the Deific Hall. An outlier that has the power to cross worlds, how amazing is that!" He laughed for several minutes. Quite a long time for ordinary mortals, but his lungs were infinitely powerful.

A shining ball of light appeared, flitting around the entity. From the light, a voice emerged.

"I got tired of speaking whenever the mortal died, so I ended up using a recording instead." The ball of light had a voice that befitted an angel. "Heehee!"

The man-entity thing on the throne started laughing again, this time lasting for half an hour.

"You know you shouldn't be lazy," he chided the ball of light. "After all, he's going to take my place someday."

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Aurelius sneezed. He wondered if he contracted an illness but shrugged it off.