Nothing outlines how your world has changed than being able to step sideways through the dimensions. Ending up back in the Hall of the Gods while a vicious sharp-toothed, and dirty Goddess once again clinging to you just underlines it. Scratch that. No. Stepping sideways into the Hall of the Gods…and knowing how that works. That is the real way to know things are wholly changed. I’d known, of course, I had (the new body was a pretty big clue), but this just stomped on any idea I had that this would be anything like I had known before.
Glancing around, I took stock of the collected Gods. Smiling wide with a sly grin, I noticed that the Hall was still packed with Gods, and they were eyeing Conflict and me closely. They had to be wondering what Conflict had planned with me. Given Conflicts confused and angry look, the interest with my grin was spiking. I could hear a general murmur of low voiced talks - a bit like a high school cafeteria and teen drama.
In the back of my mind, I could feel Ms. BlueBox dinging away, but I forcefully ignored the alerts. I had one divine catastrophe to deal with, and I didn’t need to deal with the soul tied up with my own!
I’m sure my face had gone through a few different contortions there, but I pushed past the inner worries and marched up to Denda. I knew that Denda wasn’t the leader of the Gods, but she always seemed to be able to lead everyone else around by the nose, and I wanted her to help me do the same. Also, I wanted to take the chance to finally get her back for some of our previous deals.
“Denda? I have come to a decision about Joining the Compact!” I said, the capital letters seeming to spell themselves in the air for the two words without effort. Silently, Ms. BlueBox dinged twice in the back of my head as I spoke, but I was still not dealing with the System.
Pulling away from her husband’s embrace, Denda stood straight while the rest of the room suddenly became silent to watch the new drama.
“Oh?” She said, noticing the giant grin and my tight handclasp with Conflict. She glanced back at her Husband, Beld, who shrugged in response to her inquiry.
“Yes. I am afraid I must reject the Compact!” I said with an even larger grin.
Conflict straightened next to me, her hand clenching tight on my own, her naked and dirty form shifting to one decked out with gladiator-style plate as she straightened.
“Dale…” Denda began before I dropped Conflicts hand and held up my palm to stop her from speaking.
“…but I think we should make a new deal instead. One with all the old Clauses and two new ones as well,” I said, my grin spreading wider.
The Hall of the Gods dropped into complete silence at my words, none of the other Gods even pretending not to be listening in.
Conflict turned to me, a spiked club forming in her hand, betrayal, and anger flashing across her face.
In contrast, Denda’s concerned look had shifted into her familiar lopsided grin. I could tell she knew I had a plan, but not what. Strangely, Beld had relaxed the moment I had proclaimed my rejection of the Compact, his grin spreading almost as wide as my own. When I glanced at him, he nodded to me as if sharing a secret, which I guessed we now were. I would have to keep the Domains and powers of the gods in mind.
“First? That we are all working against Sandra, Goddess of Life and Creation, and Darius, the Arcane Crafter, to escape from the cage of this universe,” I said.
Next to me, Conflict’s hand, held aloft in a threatening gesture with the club, dropped down to her side while she blinked in wide-eyed surprise. My words showed the other Gods that the world had suddenly changed, and they hadn’t been paying attention. Everyone had been hung up in the two other Gods’ arrival and that we were caged and hadn’t really considered what that meant for the old Compact. Being new to the situation, it was pretty clear what we needed to do. That it would help heal the rift between Conflict and the rest of the Gods was simply an excellent bonus as far as I was concerned. Brownie points with my new colleagues with no real effort.
“Can she be trusted?” Vetta, Goddess of Light and Order, asked.
The other Gods turned and gave Vetta a dirty look. Even the tree-shaped god somehow managed to project a sense of disapproval. Vetta seemed upset to be asking but unwilling to take her words back. Surprisingly, it was Conflict who appeared to take the question seriously before nodding.
Denda hopped forward and grabbed Conflict’s hands, pulling them close to her and giggling while smiling up at the other Goddess. Her small size allowed Denda to easily pull off childishness. Still, the leather outfit matched with daggers ruined the image slightly. My next words broke the happy atmosphere.
“Of course, I still need to be convinced to agree to the New Compact. Since I’m the only one that has any real chance of escaping the cage,” I said while pretending to buff my nails on my dimensional clothing.
The happy conversations that had started up from the other Gods now took a sudden turn. Some were upset at my words, others confused, and Denda was almost outraged that I was taking this chance to turn the screws now that I had some to apply. Too bad, she had done the same to me. Yes, it had been in my own best interest at the time, but then, that just made this better.
“Dale, God of Space. If you don’t help us escape from the universe, those two will come back. Her words weren’t idle. She meant them,” Beld said, his voice sounding like words echoing from a dark cave.
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“Truth!” called out Mit, the God of Truth.
Despite the chuckles, no one seemed to be willing to let the tension break with the joke.
Mit stepped forward from the crowd, his book tucked under his arm and a severe look on his face. The balding god stopped in front of me and gave me a considered look before he spoke.
“Sandra, Goddess of Life and Creation, spoke truly. She was pressing as strongly against her agreement as she could. She was only able to speak as she did because she meant her words. If we have not escaped when she returns, she will rule us harshly,” he paused as he searched my face, then continued as if I hadn’t understood his words clearly, “you as well, Dale.”
Nodding, I smiled, letting my carefree attitude show to everyone in the Hall of the Gods. The happy smile seemed to be disturbing to most, though Denda was starting to grin. Somehow, I thought she would see where I was going with this before everyone else. Still, she seemed more impressed with me for a good prank than angry, which made me happy. As much as I wanted to stick it to her for past slights, I actually liked the smaller Goddess. She seemed to be the mother figure for the rest of the Gods. She was always working to steer things to help everyone else.
“Oh, sure. I get that. But I was, until recently, a Dungeon. Before that, I was a mortal. It’s going to be tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of years until she comes back. That might as well be forever to me. No, I’m not worried about it,” I said while staring down into Mit’s intense gaze.
To my words, Mit nearly snarled, “Truth!”
This proclamation seemed to break whatever damn had been holding everyone from speaking since the room filled with anger and shouting. The only ones unbothered were Conflict and Denda. Conflict seemed almost euphoric watching the yelling and screaming, taking extra delight when her mother’s voice joined the rest of the Gods yelling at me. Denda, because she was grinning her lopsided smile, staring at me, then chewing on her lip in thought. She knew there was a plan, but she didn’t know all of it. I could see the gears spinning inside her head, but she hadn’t solved the problem. Catching her eye, I winked then glanced at Vetta. That single glance had been enough to cause the diminutive Goddess to figure out my plot.
“As the last clause…I demand a debt from every God to have my agreement!” I shouted, the outrage growing even louder. This time, even Conflict had joined into the yelling.
I let the shouting match continue for a bit before I waved my hands above my head as a shouted, “Enough!”
It hadn’t worked as well as I wanted, but Denda calling for silence stopped the most vocal of Gods.
“If someone had a debt that I owed them…” I started and watched as everyone turned to look at Vetta. Knowing who owed a debt was automatic for Gods. It came with our instincts, and I could see the obligation from me to Vetta. It was an old debt from before my Ascension, specific in detail and partially coerced, so it was a weak link. It was something that I could quickly fulfill when she asked. Still, I had absolutely no interest in owing a debt to anyone, especially a Goddess that I didn’t like much. Debts were a massive deal to a God, and I was not happy to be starting with a negative. I did that as a mortal with school debt, and I somehow knew this could be worse. It was a narrow, weak, and partially coerced debt, but one I wanted to be wiped clean.
Crossing her arms, Vetta frowned with a horrible pout. Her shining light somehow shifting to a dark brilliance instead of the previous golden-white splendor. Despite the contained tantrum, I noticed she threw a quick glance at Conflict with a look of regret before she uncrossed her arms and let her glow return.
“Fine. I will agree to release Dale, the God of Space, from his agreement of a champion challenge for me, Vetta, Goddess of Light and Order. In exchange, he will be able to nullify our agreement if he agrees to the New Compact,” Vetta said in a formal tone. Her words flickered with essence and mana. No sooner was her words spoken than my own voice was pulled from my throat.
“I Dale, the God of Space, now pledge to accept the agreement and will nullify the debt of Vetta, Goddess of Light and Order, in exchange for my agreement of the New Compact.”
The line of debt connecting me to Vetta was strained. The essence and mana released with our words soaked into the cord and waited in tension for the new agreement. When I gave my word to the New Compact, then the old debt would dissolve. I loved these new divine instincts. They actually made sense and informed me about things. My dungeon instincts had been closer to my human ones; no instruction manual anywhere to be found.
The wording forced from us was a tad odd, but I understood it. Debts could be exchanged, or one person could be empowered to nullify the agreement, but no debt could be used to force a God into a contract. We had essentially created a new debt, one where we would mutually agree to act in a specific way if I signed the New Compact. She would allow me to nullify the old agreement, and I agreed to nullify it. It was an odd way to do it, but no one said the accounting of the Gods had to make sense.
Denda was quickly working through the crowd of the gods, making sure that each agreed to the New Compact, the terms of which were pretty simple. Keep Domains hidden from mortals. If you let the news out, you had to make sure the mortal was monitored and unable to speak about it. Which had been the two “blessings” that Denda had saddled me with. I understood the reasons now, but it had still been a dick move. There were other clauses. Things like not intentionally working to cause a God or Goddess to become Evil (capital letters, again, very noticeable on the word). Not working to change another’s Domain except with permission. Etcetera. All good things.
I smiled as I spoke the agreement at my own turn, a substantial ding from Ms. BlueBox firing off in my mind after I spoke.
Conflict practically threw herself into the arms of Denda and Coldona. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised that the, now less monstrous, Goddess and the tricky Goddess had been Conflict’s friends. It seemed clear to me that Denda would mother everyone if she had a chance. A Goddess rejected by her own mother would get some help even if it meant working around the Compact as much as possible.
Turning my mind inward, I began to go through the torrent of messages the System had produced, and I had been ignoring.
Ding!
Congratulations, you have reached the minimum level of competence in [Divine Knowledge], Level 12.
[Divine Knowledge] bestows a sense for the rules of divinity and the ways of the Gods.
Following that was line after line of [Divine Knowledge] level increases. Finally culminating in a level of thirty-four and a personal level increase of one, but it was the last line that freaked me out and made the earlier messages unimportant.
Ding! Ms. BlueBox - The System, Agrees to the New Compact.