After spending the rest of the day in the Sky Citadel, I finally returned to the Admin Room. This was the longest that I had spent descended in the world in… quite a long time. I think the only time I was gone longer was when we were sailing across the ocean? I couldn’t help but muse to myself as I arrived.

As always, Aurivy could be found relaxing on the couch in the living room, watching as scenes played out on the screen before her. Before I even announced my arrival, she lifted a hand to wave back at me. “Welcome back, Dale!” She called out, turning to smile at me. “How was your ‘Christmas’?”

I gave a small chuckle at that, walking over and ruffling Aurivy’s hair. “It was great. Thanks for helping them get it all set up.”

Aurivy’s arms flailed to bat my hand away, but once I sat down she began leaning over against me. “Next time, you’ve definitely got to spend it up here with us.” She said with an authoritative nod.

“Well, we’ll have to remember to have our own Christmas at some point, then.” I agreed, leaning back and looking at the screen. “Anything good happening?”

The Goddess of Ki leaned back in her crimson throne, eyes fixated on the ceiling above her. A small smile tugged at her lips, remembering how the Sky Citadel had appeared above their land several days ago, the Keeper and his staff descending upon them. For a day, she had been allowed to forget the burden of being the First Blood, Empress Scarlet of Bloodhaven.

As she remembered those days, there was a slight twitch in her eye. Her body vanished with a puff of red mist, appearing high in the crimson skies above her nation. Yet still, her eyes were directed further upwards. “Tower has been slacking off on his recruitment drive.” She muttered to herself, sensing that a powerful monster had appeared in the solar system, one that seemed to have reached godhood.

Tower. She sent a mental prayer towards the Goddess of Monsters far away, who she knew to now be managing his own dungeon world. Did you miss this one, or shall I dispose of it?

It took a few seconds for a reply to come, during which time she could sense the creature slowly roaming closer to the world. Haahh… I didn’t miss him. Actually, I had rather high hopes for that one. Unfortunately, I’ve no more room for monster gods. It’s taking longer than I planned for more god slayers to arise among my people. If it is causing trouble for you, feel free to remove it.

Scarlet gave a small nod at that, her body vanishing with another burst of red mist. When she appeared this time, the space behind her body solidified into a massive wall to black the incoming monster deity. The creature was a serpent with a body of pure gold, scales visible all along its outer layer. It had two claws near the front of its body, and a pair of long whiskers on either side of its mouth.

Halt. Scarlet demanded, appearing so small and insignificant compared to the monster god. Her body could not even be compared to the size of a single one of the opponent’s scales. In fact, it was hard to even know if it would have noticed her without sending that message.

Still, it came to a stop upon hearing her demand, its eyes searching around to find the source. It was quite a while before that gaze came to rest on the small figure draped in red. Who are you to command me, worm?

Scarlet’s eye twitched at that, a bloody aura spreading out around her. Someone that can destroy you in an instant. Turn back, and I will forgive this trespass. If you have sufficient reason for continuing, I may allow you to do so. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to go any further.

There was a deep, rumbling laugh from the mind of the monster deity. It had clearly gained a measure of intelligence with its ascension, but that only caused it to be more unbridled and arrogant, having never encountered a being that was its equal. I wish to devour this star. Is that sufficient reason?

No. Scarlet’s eyes flashed with crimson light, and she stretched her delicate hand out towards the monster. From the emptiness of space, a red hole appeared, a massive claw emerging from it. This claw was easily large enough to wrap around the entire body of the enemy deity, holding it firmly in place.

Naturally, the other party was not likely to simply allow itself to be grabbed. However… not only did it find itself unable to resist, but its body moved on its own to enter that giant claw. You dare!

I told you… I am someone that can destroy a little god like you in an instant. After sending that message, she licked her lips. Thank you for the meal.

The monster deity struggled, reaching out to scratch against the clawed hand holding it in place. As it did so, golden light began to spread along the claw. Or rather, the claw began to turn into gold. Even faster, however, red veins began appearing along the monster’s body, quickly spreading over its entire form.

The further the veins spread, the more desperate the monster’s struggles, and the weaker it became. The golden light shining across its body dimmed, until eventually the creature simply became limp. Then, a deep, crunching sound could be heard as the monster’s body collapsed in on itself, sucked piece by piece towards the half-golden claw holding it.

Scarlet closed her eyes as she absorbed the divine ki of another god. This was Scarlet’s method of defeating deities, though one she had never had to put into practice before. As the Goddess of Ki, she could devour even divine ki, filtering out the domain to absorb the pure energy.

As she did so, she lifted her other hand, a golden seed forming in it. From the seed, pure divinity could be felt, Scarlet looking at it while pondering something. After filtering out the domain from the divine ki, she had turned it into this small seed. Lady Terra, may I have a moment of your time?

Hmm? The response came far faster than her communication with Tower. It’s not often that you call me. What does our dear Keeper’s daughter want today?

A faint redness entered Scarlet’s cheeks as Terra addressed her that way. Would it be safe to consume this seed? If not, I can just throw it away somewhere. However, as the Goddess of Fate, I believed it would be important to consult you first.

There was a brief pause, likely for Terra to understand the full situation. After that moment had passed, she let out a faint sigh. It’s no good. If you consume that as you are, it will clash with your current domain, and your body will fall apart. The same is true for anyone that already has a domain. In order to safely consume that, I believe that you would have to be only a single step short of ascension, that seed filling in the final step.

Scarlet shook her head in disappointment when she heard that. Very well. In that case, do you have any suggestions for how to properly dispose of it?

While it is unsuitable to be consumed directly, it is possible that you could use it to forge a divine artifact from it. Of course, the artifact would be best used by someone with a matching domain…

Scarlet once again shook her head at that explanation. I do not know of another God of Gold, or I might perhaps give this to them. Then, would it be fine to simply leave it with the researcher of Deckan? Perhaps he may have some thoughts on how to use this item.

Terra gave a light chuckle before agreeing. True. If it’s him, he may be able to come up with something.

With that settled, Scarlet turned around, gold flakes breaking off from the bloody claw before it disappeared through the red hole again. She waved her wrist, causing the solid wall of space to dissolve, returning to its normal state. Only once that was taken care of did she vanish with another burst of red mist.

When she appeared again, it was within the world of Deckan, just outside of the research facility near the palace. She casually walked through the halls, the divine seed hovering over one hand. She simply followed the sounds of machinery, ultimately arriving in what appeared to be a large workshop. Inside, the researcher and his team seemed to be studying a trio of crystalline objects.

After she entered, the dark-skinned man lifted his head, looking towards her. “Ah, hello your majesty!” He said with a faint grin. “Don’t think you’ve been here before, have you?”

She simply shook her head, her eyes glancing around the room. She was not much one for technology, so she had little idea of what the various devices around the room were meant for. “The goddess Terra suggested that I present this to you, as I have no use for it myself.” She said, glossing over the fact that it was her idea to make the delivery.

James blinked when he heard that, setting down his tools and walking over. He studied the divine seed with his eyes, eventually shaking his head. “I’ve got nothing for it. That looks like it’s a refined domain. Gold too, from the looks of it? If it was a domain related to energy, I might be able to use it as a power source. But you said that Terra sent you here with it?” He asked, stroking his chin.

Scarlet was surprised that even the researcher did not have an answer for what to do with this. Just as she was about to take it back, he smiled. “Ah, I guess you could use it for that… why not take it to Sanctum? Gold is a fundamental element associated with earth, so you can fuse it with that planet. There won’t be too big of a change, but it will probably strengthen the flow of divinity there.”

The Empress of Bloodhaven gave a small nod at his words. “Very well. Then, if you will excuse me, I apologize for disrupting your work.” For some reason, she was actually quite happy to be sent around to multiple locations like this. It almost felt similar to a quest chain within a video game.

“It’s not a bother.” James shook his head, waving it off. “If you come across one of those related to energy, though, be sure to bring it by. It might be just what we need to finish our latest project.”

Scarlet nodded her head, vanishing into bloody mist once more. As she had an avatar on Sanctum, it was a simple matter to locate the fast-moving planet’s coordinates. She arrived within a large, wooden palace, the wood having long since been colored red with her prolonged presence.

Like many other deities, she had employed the services of a particular Goddess of Wood in order to establish her home within Sanctum. Outside of this palace, a large patch of grass had similarly been turned red. Ignoring that, Scarlet crouched down, scooping out a handful of dirt with her dainty hands, and placed the seed inside. Once she covered the seed back up, she smoothed over the ground and focused. “Accept this divinity.”

The ground beneath her fingers shook, the world seeming to respond to her wishes. She could feel something changing beneath her as the trembling increased, her eyes going wide moments later. “This is not a small change, James!” She shouted, abruptly standing up.

The world of Sanctum was created with a variety of domains, each offering a fundamental aspect of the world. Now that the domain of gold was added in, the world naturally sought to find a place for it, a use for the power of gold.

Once the shaking had stopped, Scarlet immediately crouched down and began scooping at the ground again. To her shock, there was a lump of ore beneath the surface, rough and unrefined. However, this golden rock was not merely gold, as it boasted its own divine energy. Moreover… Scarlet could vaguely sense that this was not the only vein of this ore to appear in the world.

Placing her hand on the ore, she focused on transmitting a strand of divine ki through it. What she found made her shoulders tremble. The ore veins spread out through the planet, some having distinct properties after interacting with other domains, but all of the ore having an unprecedented level of hardness.