Lifre’s awakening of her second domain did not take long after meeting Terra, and she was able to properly gain the Trials domain that she had been trying to achieve. Not only that, but she immediately began training herself as a priestess of Terra. That said, her true identity was rather different from other priests of Terra.
The three goddesses had come together to discuss with each other what they wanted to do for the members of the Sky Citadel, which had ultimately culminated in the creation of this ‘apostle’ position. An apostle, as they created it with their divine authority, was someone incredibly special to a deity.
Each god or goddess following their pattern could only have a single apostle, and this was due to the fact that a pseudo-clone of the deity would be gifted to the apostle. This clone would reside within the body of the apostle, stimulating their divine energy while acting as a reserve for them to draw from. Additionally, the range of powers available to them as priests was drastically increased.
For example, a normal priest of Terra was able to sense when danger was coming more acutely than any trained warrior. Their gift was closer to foresight, and far greater than the psychic ability developed by the felyns. However, Lifre obtained not only this power, but also the ability to incorporate Terra’s Stories domain into her own powers. This bestowal would only last so long as the clone continued to reside within her body, but it had essentially upgraded her to a goddess with three domains.
Similarly, Tsubaki had been granted a divine clone of Irena, and had been allowed the choice of which of Irena’s domains she wanted to receive access to. Despite giving this choice, Irena fully expected Tsubaki to choose the Justice domain. As the right hand of Dale, she served as the executor of his will, and the guardian of his worlds.
However, she instead chose the Death domain, surprising Irena. When she asked why, Tsubaki simply bowed and answered. “I am my Keeper’s blade. Where he points me, death follows. Though I have been in his service many years, it is not for me to define his justice. Should my power be needed to resolve a situation, it will only be because there is something that I must kill. Should my mind be needed, then it matters not whether I possess the power of justice or death. As such, I feel as if the power of death would allow me to be of more aid to my Keeper.”
Irena gave a small smile when she heard that answer, agreeing to bestow Tsubaki with her requested domain. Thus, Tsubaki had essentially become a goddess of Light, Stealth, and Death. She began training herself as the silent reaper, able to bestow death without a single trace of her passing.
Perhaps, the greatest quandary between the three was what to do about Dana. She was not a goddess, but someone that had walked an unconventional path to complete the Saint’s path, merging with her World’s Shadow. They weren’t entirely sure whether her body would be able to accept Ryone’s divinity the way that it was.
In the end, Dana’s apostle position was slightly different from the other two. She still held a clone of Ryone in her body, but it did not give her access to her divinity. Instead, the clone only served to increase Dana’s mana reserves in proportion to the power it possessed. While she felt that this didn’t really compare to the buffs that the other apostles received, Dana was thrilled at the drastic increase to her mana.
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Scarlet clenched her fist, looking at the information being displayed in front of her with a satisfied smile. After the process was confirmed safe with both of the Citadel’s resident deities, she had tasked them with forging her own divinity as well. Finally, she had obtained the domain that she originally wanted when ascending to godhood. She was now the Goddess of Ki and Blood.
Admittedly, Scarlet was somewhat disappointed that her father had not taken the treatment himself yet, but she knew that it was only a matter of time. She left rather strict instructions with James after she had her own divinity forged. The final portion of her blood was not to be used for anyone other than the Keeper, and she would not supply another portion until he had obtained his forged divinity.
This was not merely her being selfish, but rather her belief that something like this must be possessed by the Keeper and his closest assistants before becoming available to the rest of the world. Even she herself waited until the two members of the Citadel had completed their forging before going in for her own.
As she was thinking about that, she felt a powerful presence filling the surrounding atmosphere. Her eyes lifted, and she suddenly saw him standing before her. “Dad!” She called out with wide eyes, surprised by this sudden visit. “What brings you here?”
Seeing her wide-eyed innocence that did not match her age or status, the Keeper simply chuckled. “I came to talk to you about something important.” He said, glancing around the throne room. “Could we talk somewhere in private?”
Scarlet’s eyes narrowed as she looked around the room, staring towards the various guards. As if feeling that their lives were in danger, they quickly fled the throne room, together with the rest of her servants. Once they were out, she waved her hand, isolating the space that they were in from the outside world with both her divine power and a spatial ki barrier. Only when that was done did she smile again. “There, nobody should be able to spy on us anymore.”
“I suppose that’s one way to handle it.” The Keeper chuckled somewhat awkwardly. He took a deep breath, conjuring a chair of stone positioned in front of Scarlet’s throne. Normally, this would be an extremely disrespectful act, but Scarlet simply leaned forward, eager to hear what the Keeper wanted to talk to her about.
“What I’m about to tell you is an absolute secret.” He began in a serious tone, causing Scarlet to lose a lot of the playfulness in her expression. Seeing that she understood, the Keeper seemed relieved. “A lot of people have guessed this over the years, and I’ve all but confirmed it myself. However, I am far from the only Keeper that exists. All of those invasions we face, the monsters that even I have to descend to handle, those have been from enemy Keepers.”
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Scarlet gave a firm nod, having known as such long ago. “I understand, father.”
“Good. Now, the way we Keepers shape our world is through a system of nigh-omniscient currency, which we refer to as simply ‘points’. These points can alter the law of physics in a world, create entire universes, or be used to birth a species. Combined with the Keeper’s imagination, there is almost nothing that can’t be done with sufficient points.”
Scarlet gave another nod, a thought seeming to cross her mind. “Are you, perhaps… running low on points and placed in a dangerous situation, father?” She asked, concern obvious in her voice. However, the Keeper shook his head, reaching across to ruffle her hair slightly. Scarlet dipped her head, a flush rising in her cheeks as she happily accepted the gesture. This was something that she often saw fathers do, and had always wanted to receive it herself.
“No, you don’t have to worry about that, Scarlet.” He assured her gently. “I’m just telling you this to prepare you for the next big reveal. You see, time flows differently for me. Or to be more precise, I choose how time flows in the world relative to me. A minute for me could be a year for you. But, every one of my years, there is an annual meeting for all Keepers like myself. During these meetings, Keepers can participate in various games and events in order to earn a large sum of points.”
Scarlet’s eyes went wide, looking up at her father as she understood where he was going with this. “You… want me to attend this meeting with you?”
She saw him nod his head gently. “So far, only Tsubaki and Dana have ever joined me, and only for the last meeting. This time, I would like to invite you along as well. You’ll have the chance to earn points yourself, which you can use to ask me for a favor. For instance, if there is a change you feel needs to be made to the world, or a special kind of item you want to learn how to make.”
Scarlet nodded in understanding. “Then, this divine forging method… was that also obtained with points?”
Her father smiled. “That’s right. Soon, we’ll be getting some new arrivals from another Keeper’s world. This one is friendly, so don’t worry. I’ve invited their people over to live in our world peacefully. Once they’re here, I plan to have my own divinity forged. But, back to the topic at hand. One of the reasons that I want to invite you to this meeting is that I’m getting married, and I feel that you should be there.”
Scarlet nearly jumped from her throne when she heard that, forcing herself to remain seated by clenching the arms of the gilded chair. However, she could not suppress the gasp that left her. “I’m… I’m going to have a mother?” She asked in disbelief. Dale blinked for a moment, before laughing lightly.
“Three, in fact. Irena, Terra, and Ryone will be the ones involved.” Scarlet’s eyes widened even further at that. It was public knowledge that Ryone had a child with the Keeper, so she had immediately assumed that the Goddess of Magic would be her father’s bride.
“Three… dad’s a pervert.” Scarlet pouted her lips softly, causing her father to blink again, a wry smile on his face. “Still, three mothers…” Scarlet had never really been able to enjoy the love of a parent, and wanted to experience what it was like. Seeing her father like this, acting so gentle in front of her, she began to understand what those children of her people experienced.
Dale nodded his head towards Scarlet, keeping that gentle expression. “That’s right. So, if there is anything that you want, I want you to think it through. Think of this as a very long overdue present.”
It was Scarlet’s turn to blink in surprise, an idea coming to her. “There is… one thing I would like, dad.” She said in her softest voice, as if afraid to voice her thoughts. “But… would it be okay to ask before that meeting?”
Dale looked at her curiously, seeming unsure of what she meant. “Sure.” He nodded after a moment. “As long as it’s not too much, I can give it to you a bit early.”
Scarlet’s lips tugged upwards slightly. “Could I… come live with you? Like Leowynn, I mean. I can still govern my people from there, just like Leowynn is being a proper goddess now, can’t I? But it would let me be closer to all of you… is that okay?”
Dale looked at her in surprise, having not expected that kind of request. His gaze softened, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Leowynn, myself, and those you call the Greater Pantheon all live in a very special place. We can descend to this world, yes. However, transportation doesn’t work both ways. For someone from this world, or even from the underworld to reach where we are, they have to die completely. Then, I can remake them where I am. With Leowynn, she died in battle, so I brought her to my side.”
Scarlet clenched her fists at her side, a look of resolution on her face. “I’ll do it. Give me a chance, and I will ignite the flames of my existence. You can bring me back on your side, right? It’ll just be like going to sleep for a moment.”
Dale’s hand seemed to tremble, seeing just how far Scarlet was willing to go for this request. Conflicting emotions passed through his eyes before he closed them, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Scarlet’s. “Do it quietly…” He said in a gentle whisper. “I’ll go back, and have you created at my place immediately. You can descend and return like nothing happened. I don’t know what will become of your current reserves of divinity, so… if you have a way to store it to retrieve when you return, I would suggest you do so.”
Scarlet’s lips spread into a wide smile at her father’s acceptance. “Yes, dad.” She said, gathering as much of her divinity as she could in her hands. “I will leave my power for my future self, the one that can stand by your side. She will bear my name, my memories, and my heart. And she will always be thankful to the me that gave her this chance.” As she said that, she generated a solid sphere of divine energy, separating it from her divine will and placing it next to her throne.
Afterwards, her body seemed to lose its color, slowly becoming gray and ashen. Despite this, her expression was one of almost profound happiness, even as her skin began to crack and fade away. “I’m going to sleep now, dad… be sure to wake me up soon.” She said, her eyes closing before her form seemed to entirely scatter.
The Keeper clenched his fists, gritting his teeth as he watched her body dissipate. However, a moment later his eyes went utterly blank.
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“Terra.” I called out, closing my eyes as I returned to the Admin Room. “I need Scarlet’s personality profile.” I wasn’t surprised to see that Terra was nearby already, a warm look in her eyes.
“I know.” She whispered, holding out a red tome towards me. “As soon as I saw what was happening, I got ready. So don’t keep her waiting, alright?”
I nodded my head, taking the book and focusing. Creating a companion was an easy thing for me by now, and having the personality profile ensured that there wouldn’t be any problems. Soon, a short girl appeared in front of me, her blood-colored dress matching her hair. When she opened her eyes, she blinked, looking around the room.
After taking in her surroundings, she closed her eyes, a few tears falling from them as she turned to face me again. “Good morning, dad.”