After an invasion by a private, for profit, organization of bloodthirsty gods, there was a war to exterminate the local gods. Each battle was ruthless and pushed the locals more and more into a corner by the superior resources of the invaders. In the end, Only 10 Gods survived the slaughter. Even though they were forced to hide and not dare show themselves in the outside world, they hadn’t yet abandoned their fight.
This part of the Cosmos was supposed to be overseen by a governing body. Most of this governing body and all the ‘registered’ gods from the worlds under them are usually in a higher plane called Haven. They were trying to seek justice through them but as expected, there were corrupt officials in the lower rug which let the invasion happen. As this was happening, there was another incident due to which, one of the group died about 3000 years ago. On top of that, they were labelled as terrorists due to their actions in the aftermath and now, they are fugitives. It has become difficult for them to go to those ‘authorities’ they spoke of after that.
The only solution they could think of was to bring this to attention to one of the higher ups of the governing body, the so-called supreme ones. But normally, it was almost impossible even for gods of their caliber to meet with those higher ups who are at the top of such a large ruling force of an entire sector of the universe. So, they could do nothing but wait in hiding for an opportunity. They’ve been at it for thousands of years and have slowly formed some contacts and collected enough information to know how things work up there. They’ve even formed allies with similar goals. Afterall, this wasn’t the first time these invaders have done something similar.
The method that they determined was the most probable to work was as follows. All newly ascended individuals to Haven from all the worlds under their care will be allowed to participate in a grand tournament every few years. The ones who reach top 5 are granted one wish as a reward for their performance. As part of this process, the top 5 are granted a direct audience with one of the supreme rulers. The plan was to get their champion to be one of the top 5 and as a reward, he would ask for justice for both himself and the Gods’.
“Well, at least that’s the gist of it. It wouldn’t be useful for you to know any more details on what Haven is or about our enemy organization. You’ll find out by yourself or be provided the information when they become relevant.”
Finlay had to take a deep breath to collect himself after listening to the brief story. They were certainly not telling all the intricate details but right now, he was certain he would forget most of it even if they did under his current state of mind.
‘Well, that is their story but I’m sure there is more to it. I don’t have a choice but to trust them for now.’
“Please rest for now. You’ve been through a lot the past few hours. It’s best that you give a rest to both your body and mind. We’ll be waiting in the next room till you’re ready. There is no hurry now. Take your time.”
He nodded in acknowledgement as Mr. Jinn closed the door as he left. There was nothing but a bed, a table with a water bottle on top, in this room. He wasn’t particularly thirsty. So, he just laid down on the comfortable bed.
‘Boy did I need some rest. I should be alarmed for sleeping in an unknown place with strangers around but these ‘people’ probably could turn me into salsa sauce with a mere thought.’
Finlay slept for 20 hours straight but there was no way to tell time here in this subspace ‘cabin’.
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He woke up, well rested and with a clear mind. All of the events from the previous day were still fresh in his mind. After a few moments of gathering his thoughts, he left the room into the previous large one. Only to find all the others waiting for him as if they already knew he was up. And they most probably could even see through that door.
He looked over each of them, recollecting their introductions from the previous day.
The first of the Nine is the one in the back with a stoic appearance and always carrying a solemn expression, Dinn. The strongest and most powerful of gods, not just amongst this small group of elite but even amongst the ones from the higher plane Haven. He is called the god of Destruction. He was also the first god of the world he was dropped in and will provide support through his authority and guide him with key information.
The second of the Nine is Lynn. He is a peculiar looking man. He doesn’t look particularly well built or intimidating. But that is far from the truth since he is the second strongest being here. He has unusual patterns on his skin in some areas and has 4 arms. I didn’t notice them being held behind his back till it was mentioned.. He is a god of Creation. He was the one who helped with making an exact replica of Finlay’s body in the previous ‘Act’ to deceive the Goddess. He can apparently, artificially create matter by converting various types of energies. Ofcourse, it’s a lot cheaper to simply transmute one substance into another. Apparently, that’s the method he used to create my replica, not that that actually helped me understand what he did was possible though.
The third of the Nine is Ronn. He is a fierce looking man with an everlasting smile. His hair is bright red like a fire with thick eyebrows, big ears and red eyes. He is a god of war, fortitude and weapons.
The fourth of the Nine is Gonn. He’s a short but buff man. One would expect him to be a warrior type but apparently, he’s a docile man who stays away from violence and is only ever interested in creating things. He was in a loose sleeveless shirt, it appeared as though he might have had too many digits on his limbs. He’s a god of smithing, which explains how he became buff, I suspect.
The fifth of the Nine is Kahnn. He’s a sharp looking man with a chiseled, wide jaw, a piercing pair of eyes in amber colour. He had a very small horn-like protrusion in the middle of his forehead. His attire is similar to a trench coat over leather combat clothes except, everything is shades of gold. He is a god of…something. Not sure what he said if he did at all. ….Moving on-
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The sixth of the Nine is Jinn. He’s the handsome looking nerd who had been talking to him on behalf of the group. He mostly appeared human but given that none of the others actually looked normal, it is unlikely he actually has a human anatomy on the inside. His attire is a simple but sharp looking office worker outfit. A full sleeve, perfect fit shirt tucked in his formal looking pants and black shoes. His professional attire is contrasted by small embroidered decorations here and there. He’s the god of the system, if he had to choose something to represent, in his own words. He’s basically the go to guy for anything ‘system’ related. Apparently, he was both a pioneer and genius of system design. Apparently, most civilizations would eventually lead to a system centric way of life for various reasons. Hope to discuss more about that with him later on. I have a feeling, as an Engineer myself, we would get along very well.
The seventh of the Nine is Bann. He was covered in strange tattoos with face paint and eye makeup. He was tall and well built but looked like a lean killing machine with platinum blonde hair. He wore an unbuttoned shirt and simple form fitting pants and barefoot. His appearance was more similar to an Elf’s with a pair of sharp and long ears. Except for the muscles and his vertical pupils. He’s the god of the hunt, nature and taming etc.
The eighth of the Nine is Xinn. He was the most exquisitely dressed person here in a very elegant and tasteful tuxedo that looked very expensive and glittered all over. He had elegant facial features, blue eyes and golden hair, perfectly combed. He had a perfect business smile. He also had 2 horns on his head, curved backwards and a pair of black wings, looking like a devil. Yet was the most friendly and approachable looking person here somehow. He’s the god of speechcraft, empathy and social constructs and society. Looks like I will be frequently consulting him for advice, considering my constant failures in social settings.
The last of the Nine is Mann. He is technically the weakest in terms of combat power but he has a special domain of speciality. He’s the god of possibilities and probabilities. He mostly looked like a human but it was difficult to evaluate for certain because he was in a dark corner and not talking much unless spoken to. Apparently, he’s a key figure in being able to manipulate the system the enemies are currently employing.
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Once he was done recollecting the information he was given on each of them, he slowly made towards them and took his seat on a couch set before them. They remained silent, awaiting him to speak up first.
"I know you already know but let me introduce myself again. My name is Finlay. You can address me as Fin..? Huh?", Only now did he seem to notice how funny a coincidence it was with the names.
“Anyways, I have a few questions.”
“Ofcourse!”, Mr. Jinn answered as always with a smile.
“I understand you expect me to ‘cultivate’ to become an immortal through this ‘cultivation world’? I presume it’s no simple feat?”
“That is correct but you don’t have to worry though. With your aptitude and our careful planning and support, the possibility of success is not too bad. Of Course, there will still be hardships and it’s not guaranteed to go as planned. But we have faith in you.”
“I understand. But my question is not about that.”
Jinn looked at him as if to say go on.
“You said, I could go back home as long as I’m able to expose our enemies but if it takes as long as you make it seem, what’s the point of going back if all of my family and possibly, the rest of humanity perishes by then?”
Hearing his question, a few of them chuckled as if I asked the most trivial question of no importance, including Jinn. Finlay’s expression couldn’t help but frown at their reaction.
“Don’t be in a hurry to misunderstand. Your problem is actually not a problem at all. This world operates in an artificially created time field. If this was before the invasion, in the natural environment, the situation might have been different but right now, every year back in the outside, the natural universe, is equal to a full 1000 years here. So, as long as you complete your journey in a few thousand years, you can return back home in at most a few years time. You don’t have to worry about accidents occurring to your loved ones either. We have discussed and have come to the agreement that we will arrange a watchful guardian through a contact of our’s, from the sector of your home planet.”
Finlay couldn’t help but shudder at the mention of the timeline he’s working with. Will he be the same as he is now after such a long time? Will he change how he feels towards his people and planet? But he was someone with a strong mental fortitude as well and he slowly came to accept his situation and resolved himself that he wouldn’t ever forget himself in the pursuit of his goals. He will retain his ‘self’ even if it takes 10,000 years.
The others did not interrupt his thoughts or offer words of support. They know, as beings of millennia old, that this was an essential step for the beginning of his journey and even they themselves couldn’t obtain justice let alone help him without any effort or suffering from his side. Besides, they chose him as their champion, not their adopted child. There would be no room for coddling.
“Okay, what now? How do we start this?”
Seeing that he was mostly mentally ready, Jinn and the others put on their serious, business faces.
“We will have to abandon your previous identity. Your soul will be sent into a suitable, mortal’s body. Before you misunderstand again, the mortal candidates are chosen based on strict criteria that do not cross our bottomline. We do not want to see ourselves ever become our enemies.”
“The mortal soul that would be chosen would be one that is suffering with no liberation in sight. The soul will be inserted back into the cycle of reincarnation. Your true body will be preserved with us safely. So that you may have it back once you are at your journey’s end.”
“We also cannot change the world where the system is initiated. This means you will still have to be on the lookout for that damnable woman but she shouldn’t be able to know your true identity. As long as we keep our sabotaging activities underwraps, there shouldn’t be too much of a risk of being exposed.”
“The biggest tool in your hands will be the system you will be getting. It's derived from their currently implemented system but on steroids, if I had to borrow a term from your vocabulary.”, Jinn chuckled.
“Their greedy rotten nature even extended to their system. Can you believe it?! They outsourced the system design and maintenance to the lowest bidder. Truly ridiculous!”, he finished with an expression full of disdain.
“Their code has so many holes, you can see right through their security. I will redirect their resources and use their tensor coordinates to hook into-….”
Finlay was starting to have a mounting headache. The amicable, gentle looking nerd, went on a rant on how the security design was terrible in their cheap system and how wasteful of resources it was even though they are greedy, and on and on. He sneaked a few peeks at the others in the room and everyone seemed to have a gloomy expression towards Mr. Jinn. It seems he wasn’t the first victim. Thankfully, Mr. Bigshot, Dinn, came to the rescue of his and the other’s mental sanity. Jinn promptly stopped with a single word from him, either from respect, fear, or perhaps a healthy dose of both.
The gist of the matter is that the current system is flawed and wasting resources and Jinn is able to redirect them and make use of the flaws to give Finlay a custom system that is powerful. In addition, he might be getting periodic influx of resources and Jinn would let him know how, when and in what form the resources will be available throughout the journey.
“We will provide all the cultivation knowledge we can fit in your mind before you depart, along with all the basic knowledge of the world you would need.”
“With that out of the way, we have one last task before we start cram school, Character creation.”, Jinn laughed.
“Ah! The holy ritual to sink hours into, even before we play any RPG. Marvelous!”
To be continued