“Welcome Lord William!” The elk man sitting at the far side of the large table said as he stood up.
“We are most honoured that you’ve decided to join us for dinner tonight! And, if you will, may we hear your title?” The man who I assumed to be the mayor asked.
I was a bit weirded out by his request to hear my title, as I hadn’t seen anyone else asking for it the moment they met me, but also, this was the first time I appeared before someone as an unknown Deity and not some weird undead.
But this was also the first time I was in front of someone as an unknown Deity, and not some weird undead. So, I deserved some respect.
“Shouldn’t you give me your name first, Mayor?” I asked him as I strode towards the empty seat on the side of the table opposite to him, and sat down.
“Apologies, Lord William, I am Mayor Beniamin of the Lublin village.” The Mayor said with a bow.
“Ah, so this place is called Lubin... good to know...” I thought to myself before introducing myself as well.
“I go by many names such as The Eternal One and The Lord of Souls. You may refer to me as either one of those titles.” I said, and the Mayor nodded towards me as he sat down.
And as he sat down, the servants finished bringing the last of the meals to the grand table and I could see things ranging from weird looking fruits, baked goods like pies and breads, and meat from different kinds of animals and there even was a... deer?
Wait, isn’t that cannibalism? I mean, I’ve been calling these people elk-men but honestly, I’ve got no idea what’s the difference between a deer and an elk is.
But... even if this thing on the table was a deer, would they even see it as cannibalism? Afterall, they seem to posses at least human-like intelligence, and walk on two feet for some reason, and a deer is... well, a deer.
So, they may just see themselves as a different species from the common deer which they probably are.
But... you couldn’t find me eating a monkey, no matter how different they look from actual humans... not that I am a human anymore. But I still wouldn’t eat a monkey in this form of mine... though I would definitely kill it.
Anyways, what I am saying is that I just find it a bit weird that they even had the idea of eating a deer.
“Lord Eternal, if I may ask you a query while we dine?” The Mayor Beniamin asked.
“Go ahead, mayor.” I said, allowing him to ask his question but the question he asked baffled me.
Not because it was something hard to answer but because it was a question someone in his position should have an answer to. As I had already told the answers to his questions to Jarek.
And for his other questions that I hadn’t talked to Jarek about, he should’ve been able to reach to their conclusions after a bit of thinking.
“Lord Eternal, why are you journeying up north?”
“To reach Teria.”
“Lord Eternal, do you have any reason to have come to Libia?”
“It was simply on the way.”
“Lord Eternal...” And he just continued asking me questions that... really did not matter.
And soon, I realised that he was biding his time for something.
“But why is he bothering with slowing me down with stupid questions? They have a priest here as far as I understand, and their Deity should’ve given them at least a semi-divine core, or a full one to commune with him at the least.
“And seeing as how fast the communication between me and Rifu-san is, I’d assume all the other deities have fast if not near instantaneous communication between themselves and their followers, right?” I wondered.
“...Rifu-san, how fast do you answer the questions of your priests?” I asked Rifu through our connection as I began thinking of what might be happening right now.
“It depends on how far they are, and where they are.” She started.
“Divinity of every Deity and god I know of, including me, has some sort of will of its own, and can sort through information on its own and if it decides that a priest that is trying to contact me is of lower priority than something else I am dealing with, or just another priest, it will just put them on a queue of priests and other followers that are trying to reach me, and depending on how high their priority is, me connecting with them can take anywhere between mere seconds to a few days.
“Though, that is only a problem for deities like me as I know that gods can compress their divinity into angels or demons if they have enough divinity and a willing soul at hand, which allows them to divert their attention to more important things while also dealing with the less important priests through their angles and demons.” She finished.
“That’s... useful to know... wait, does that mean I can make angels before I ascend to godhood? I mean, I can control souls after all!” I asked.
“I very much doubt so as while angels are connected to their creators in ways I cannot comprehend, they are still separate entities and any angel you may or may not be able to create will be a massive drain of divinity on you, and will likely die after a few weeks of its creation, due to being in the overworld rather than the divine realm, no matter how hard you try to keep it alive.”
“Oh... that’s not that great then... wait, Rifu-san, how high is my priority according to your divinity’s will? Afterall, you answer all of my questions, right? So, I must be pretty high, right?”
“Actually, you are on the same level of importance as a bishop. I am just keeping an eye on you and the other Deity candidates of mine so I can help you out in a pitch.” Rifu-san said and, while being compared to a bishop while being a literal Deity was hurtful, it also made sense as I was a “Deity” with not even a single priest.
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But now that I have some new insight thanks to Rifu-san, I can understand why the mayor is trying to keep me bogged down with these... honestly annoying questions.
“...Lord Eternal, is the food not of your liking?” The Mayor Beniamin asked, seeing that I was not touching any of the food from the feast they had prepared for me.
“No, no the food is—” I started, but before I finished my sentence, I stopped myself.
Beniamin was trying to just waste my time, right? And not like I had any intentions of calling him out on his attempts as doings so wouldn’t benefit me in any way.
But that didn’t mean that I could entertain my self while wasting time, right?
“Actually, Mayor, the problem is not with the food, but simply my body.” I started and saw the Mayor getting confused.
This wasn’t something I’d normally say, as while I had been joking about larping as a corpse stuck on a gilded throne to myself, I didn’t actually hold any views that said I was a “higher being”.
Even though I am slowly becoming a Deity, and then perhaps a god, I am still me, William, the human reincarnator.
I am not holier than thou, and I never will be, and I need to act while recognising that fact... but, also, the mayor was frankly fucking annoying and this world really, really lacks entertainment. So, I may as well have fun while developing my... godly larping skills.
Then, I started getting ready to entertain myself with a little trick I realised I had in the last few days with the goblins.
See, I can’t see my mana or soul even though I can manipulate them to my will. I can only sense them.
But me not being able to see them doesn’t mean that others can’t either.
A few days ago, when I was just experimenting with my soul as usual, one of the goblins asked me about some rainbow clouds, and what they were, and I just couldn’t answer them as I didn’t have any idea what they were talking about... and just assumed they were on some shrooms or something.
But soon, I realised that they could see my soul... somehow.
I tried to get them to explain things better to me, but it was mostly futile, and I decided not to pursue the subject any further... for now that is as talking to someone that had a more analytical mind about my soul would be invaluable... probably... actually thinking about, unless the other person also has access to soul magic, or at least some understanding of souls, any conversation we could ever have would be mostly useless.
But the fact that my soul was seeable by others remained, and that meant I could have some fun by acting as this enigmatic and powerful Deity!
Of course, it’d was just going to be just a bit of larping... but I believe I’ve deserved this after all that has happened to me in all my time in this world.
“Actually, Mayor, the problem is not with the food, but simply my body.” The Deity said, which confused me.
Was he an Herbivore? Was that why he couldn’t eat any of the food before him?
It wouldn’t be that weird if he was as I had heard tales of people who could only eat meat or plant, and if my memory serves me correct, Father Elijah had once said that Ojciec Lasu could also only eat plants.
“I am so sorry Lord Eternal—” I started as I got up, from my seat.
“—If I had known of your preferences I would’ve, I would’ve ordered the feast be set up accordingly, but if you give me a few minutes, I am sure we can bring some plant-based meals worthy of a Deity!” I said, and realising what I was thinking, the elders near to the Deity started apologising as well, and the ones away from him started ordering the servants around.
But, as I was and the elders were worried about pleasing the Deity’s palate, he started laughing.
“HAHAHAHA—” The Deity let out a boisterous laugh which lasted for a few seconds, and then immediately started talking after he was done laughing.
“I am thankful for your attempts at being hospitable to me Mayor Beniamin, but you, and your fellow elders are sorely mistaken.
“I am not partaking in the feast you’ve prepared not because I don’t find what you’ve brought me appetizing, but because I simply can’t partake in it.” The Deity said, which surprised me, and the rest of the elders.
“Lord Eternal, can you explain it further?” I asked, wondering what the Deity meant by saying he couldn’t partake in the feast.
“Hmm...” The Deity hummed for a few moments before starting to talk. And then, asked me a weird question.
“Mayor Beniamin, can you tell me what you think about my title “The Lord of Souls”? And how do you think I got it?” The Deity said, and I immediately started talking about it from my mind, not wanting to insult the Deity by making him wait.
“Well, the word soul is derived from Dusza, which is the core of everything that is alive or the thing that lets us, and every other living being from animals to plants, live. So, I assume you’ve chosen it because of your mastery over nature and its bounties?” I said, and the Deity hummed once more.
“Hmm... you are close, Beniamin, but still not quite true.” The Deity said and turned his sight from me to the elders.
“Does any of you have any other ideas you’d like to put forwards? Or would you like me to stop playing this little game of mine and just tell you why I have the title The Lord of Souls?” The Deity said, being honest about this being a play for him.
Not that I assumed any different, as I had seen Baron Laski and other nobles act like this too, but I hadn’t assumed the Deity would be so straightforward with it.
But I guess, Deities are just different like that... not that I’d know any better, mind you, that is a subject Priest Elijah is more knowledgeable on the matter.
For a few moments the Elders Talked amongst themselves as to what the meaning of Lord Eternal’s title, The Lord of Souls may be, and came forward with their own ideas as to what it may be, but none of them were correct.
After all the elders were done giving their opinions, the Deity waited for nearly a minute to be sure that everyone had given their opinion, and started explaining what his title meant.
“All of you had good ideas as to what my title may mean, but my title is... more literal than you may assume at a first glance.” He said, and started extending a hand towards a cooked chicken in front of him, and a single thread of string started coming out of one of his fingers, and lowered towards the chicken.
And then the death animal, that was ready to be eaten moved again in front of our eyes.
“My title was given to me because of my control over souls. Its life-giving abilities—” The Deity continued, and from the rest of his 4 fingers, new rainbow threads shot out towards various things on the table.
And then one thread separated into two, and two into four, until every single thing within the Deity’s reach had a thread connected to it.
The decorative flowers in their vases started entwining with each other, wooden bowls and silver ware started moving in their places, food jumping from bowl to bowl, dead animals coming to life once more.
It was a... very bizarre sight to say the least.
But the only thing the Deity wanted to show us wasn’t this weird play of his, as he continued after a few seconds of us looking at his powers.
“—and its life-taking abilities.” The Deity said, and yanked his hands, and all the threads snapped, and everything in the table stopped moving... though the cooked animals and other foods were back in their plates and bowls which was a nice move.
And the other elders seemed to think as well as they seemed to be happy from the small show put on by the Deity—after all, not many can say that they had given a show by a Deity personally.
But the Deity didn’t seem to have finished his show after all.
“I am happy that you all enjoyed my little show... but, as you may remember, I didn’t start talking about my title because I wanted to entertain you, I started talking about it to explain why I couldn’t partake in this... grand feast.” The Deity started, as he moved a hand towards his face, and slowly, vines and branches started coming out from under his armour.
Bronze plates, pushed aside, revealed a forest’s worth of vines which climbed up and up the Deity’s body.
Soon, any visible part of his body, except its head, were covered with branches, vines, and leaves.
“As I’ve shown you in my little play, I can easily take life from anything. And as easily as I can take life—I can give it. To anyone, and anything... including myself.”
Then, as the Elders and I were left confused, the Deity lifted up a part of its helmet, and I can only say that I was glad that he didn’t force us to gaze at his form that lay beneath the layer of bronze and plant.