It did not take long for the general public of Sanctum to learn how to manipulate divine gold, though the process of its original creation was not publicly disclosed. Most people simply attributed it to the God of Metal, Tubrock contributing to Sanctum’s planetary makeup. However, that did not stop them from wanting to uncover its secrets.

Whether it was the divine gold, or the golden fruits that began to grow from trees around the world, numerous gods were beginning to study their secrets. Especially those with skills and domains related to crafting, the divine gold became an incredibly hot topic.

Previously, the name ‘divine gold’ had simply been attributed to the solidified form divine energy took when constructing an artifact. Compared to this new mineral, however, that method was now incredibly inefficient. This new material was able to create objects with incredible durability and a much higher capacity to channel and store divine energy. The difference was to such a degree that many gods immediately put in requests to have their artifacts reforged, creating a boom in the industry for craftsman deities.

As for the new golden fruits, tests were conducted to discover their effects. With the exception of fruits grown by the Goddess of Wood, Julia, most fruits of Sanctum could only be compared to a medium-grade healing potion. If properly processed, they could be considered high quality potion ingredients, or used in several products of divine alchemy.

Sadly, the golden fruits proved unsafe for mortal consumption. The rich divine power contained in just one fruit was enough to wreak havoc in the body of anyone who had not yet ascended to godhood. Even when diluted, the resulting product is only as potent as those potions sold by the Goddess of Wood.

If there was a redeeming quality to the golden fruits, it was not their effects on mortals, but rather the effect that they had on deities. When a god consumed such a fruit, or a potion made from one, their divine power would experience a considerable increase. For combat gods, this represented a healing potion that was unprecedented for its powerful effects on divine beings.

Scarlet, the unknown instigator of the divine gold’s appearance, was keeping a keen watch on the news related to this material from her palace on Earth. Whenever a new piece of information was discovered, or a new use was found for either the divine gold or the golden fruits, she felt a secret jolt of happiness. Even if nobody knew that this was her contribution, it was something that she did, a way that she changed the world.

For the most part, her duties as the Empress of Bloodhaven were delegated to a number of special advisors, leaving her more time and freedom to act as the Goddess of Ki. At first, she was concerned that her advisors would gradually push her out of the political scene, secretly making power grabs behind her back. However, no such thing happened. Okay… it didn’t happen much.

Her advisors gave her regular reports on the issues that arose within her empire, or the relationships they held with other nations, and the decisions that they made relevant to those issues. Reading these reports became the primary task for her as an Empress, with her only needing to truly take action if there were conflicting statements in any given report, or if an urgent situation emerged that required her immediate attention.

Sometimes, these discrepancies could simply be attributed to a differing viewpoint. For instance, one advisor believes that the relations with Gandor need to be further improved through increased trade, while another does not know about the increased trade and simply believes that Gandor is taking advantage of the existing trade policies. Typically, it is simply problems like this where people do not properly discuss with one another, and these issues are resolved by reminding the advisors to speak with each other.

However, there are also times when one or more advisors try to cover something up in their reports. Maybe their child harassed a group of civilians, or their spouse took some money from the treasury in order to buy a gift. It was cases like these that required her to pay strict attention to the contents of the reports, analyzing them to look for any irregularities. When something was deliberately hidden or fabricated, she had to find out who was responsible and see to it that the appropriate punishment was given.

On the other hand, her ‘duties’ as the Goddess of Ki were… far more relaxed. She did not have anyone in particular that she answered to, lest the Keeper himself or a member of the Greater Pantheon descended. Otherwise, her ‘job’ was simply to ensure the safety of the world as a whole. If something happened to threaten that safety, such as the golden dragon god from several days prior, she would remove the threat as quickly as possible.

Naturally, these events were few and far between, leaving her quite some time to just sit on her throne and read articles on the internet. This was what she was doing now in order to track any information related to the divine gold. For instance, when she saw that it was possible to infuse a deity’s domain into the unrefined version of divine gold to grant it new properties, she immediately began to wonder what would happen if she did the same.

As the thought crossed her mind, she saw that she had an incoming message. Blinking, she closed the tab she was reading and opened it, a smile forming on her face when she saw that the sender was Elisae, the Queen of Hanbei. Scarlet had quite a good impression of this girl, as well as the almost blindingly bright karma she possessed.

Lady Scarlet, I hope that this letter finds you well. If you have the time, I would ask that you visit Hanbei so that I could seek your guidance as a friend and more experienced ruler.

That was all that the message said, leaving Scarlet quite confused. Regardless, she vanished in a puff of bloody mist. There was no sign of matters which urgently required her attention, and her advisors knew how to reach her if something came up.

When she reappeared, she was standing before the stone gates of Hanbei’s central palace. She instinctively spread her senses out over the area to confirm that there were no dangers, and began walking inside. The guards present seemed to recognize her, despite her only paying infrequent visits to the castle. After all, a short girl with blood-red hair, crimson eyes, and a matching dress was rather recognizable within the realm of nobility.

As soon as she appeared, she could sense a messenger running deeper into the castle, likely to report her arrival. Her lips crept up into a small grin as she imagined the look on Elisae’s face from her sudden arrival. Though, her imagination did not have to suffice for long, as the queen herself soon emerged in the hall, walking towards Scarlet with a wide smile.

“When I asked for you to visit, I had no idea that you would do so immediately.” She said with a light laugh, though Scarlet was briefly caught off-guard by the sight of her human friend. Something had changed about her since the last time that they met. Not her karma, as that was still as radiant as ever, but… her body was no longer one of flesh and blood.

“You’re ascending?” Scarlet asked in a concerned tone, Elisae nodded her head.

“I knew you’d be able to tell. That’s right. Shall we talk privately?” With that said, Elisae began leading Scarlet towards a small reception room, sitting down at the table and leaning back in her chair.

Scarlet kept her eyes on Elisae, thinking how reckless it was for her to do this so suddenly. The former queen, Saruko, died due to a failure to ascend. This was not something that could just be taken lightly, and yet Elisae seems to have done just that. Not only had she started the process… she seemed to be ready for the final step, creating the divine will.

Elisae seemed to sense Scarlet’s gaze, smiling towards her. “Don’t worry, I took every precaution. Before attempting my ascension, I first achieved perfection both spiritually and physically. Thanks to that, the burden I felt was considerably less throughout the process. If I felt that I was having a hard time, I would have contacted you far sooner.”

“Then… what is it that you’ve called me here for now?” Scarlet asked in confusion. Elisae said that she wanted advice not only as a friend, but as a ruler. Was she trying to ask if she should abdicate the throne, or become subordinate to another deity?

Elisae let out a long sigh. “I… can’t decide on a domain.” When Scarlet heard that, her eyes began subconsciously twitching. “No matter what I think about, every domain seems incredible. I want to follow the examples of yourself and the Goddess Udona, becoming a proper God-Queen for my people, but I can’t decide on what power I should choose to lead them into the future with…”

Everyone else is agonizing over the pain of the first two steps, and whether or not they’d even survive the process. You make it all the way to the end… and you stop because you can’t think of what domain to train? Give me back my concern! Scarlet shouted in her mind, though did her best to stop the twitching of her face. “What options are you working with so far?”

Elisae simply shook her head at Scarlet’s question. “There are too many. It’s like… every day I’m inspired with a new domain. Last week, I wanted to try the domain of Gold, but then the incident at Sanctum happened. Then, I wanted to become the Goddess of Luck, because I like to consider myself quite fortunate. Just today, I decided that it might be nice to be the Goddess of Hope, becoming a beacon to lead my people for generations.”

Scarlet let out a small sigh. She did her best not to focus on the ‘extravagant problem’. “It seems as if you really don’t know where your path lies. Then, in the opinion of one who wishes to become a God-Queen for the sake of her people, what is it that you believe that a country requires most?”

Elisae blinked at the question, lowering her head in focus. “Strength, unity, peace, advancement, hope, fortune… all of these things seem to be incredibly important in governing a nation? But I can only choose one domain, right? Should I choose something like the God of Queens?”

Scarlet couldn’t help but snort at that, shaking her head. “Only if you want Udona to descend and scold you. All of those things are incredibly important, though. If you were to ask me, though, a ruler is nothing without their people. It is not the Queen’s place to simply offer strength, unity, or even hope. Rather, it is the Queen’s actions that inspire these things by listening to the wishes of her people.”

Elisae’s eyes widened in understanding. “I see, so you want me to choose the Wish domain!” She said, as if realizing some great truth. “If I take this domain, I won’t be able to do much on my own… but if someone else gives me an earnest wish, I would be able to release a wider range of power in the name of granting that wish… yes, it’s really the domain of a ruler that wishes to stand with her people.” Elisae’s bright smile seemed to illuminate the room as she looked at Scarlet.

Scarlet, meanwhile, was simply blinking with a confused expression. I was trying to guide you to the Inspiration domain so that you could follow the path of the Goddess Terra. How did it suddenly become the Wish domain?

“I knew that I could count on you to help.” Elisae stood, walking over to Scarlet and wrapping her in a tight embrace. “Yes, the Goddess of Wishes, a queen that answers the cries of her people… I might not be able to make everyone happy, but this would surely be a path for me to lead my people into a brighter tomorrow! I’ll go and prepare right away.”

After making that declaration, Elisae quickly ran out of the room, no doubt to find someone to begin practicing wish-related powers so that she could saturate her divinity in that domain prior to her final ascension. Scarlet, however, was simply left dumbfounded as Elisae ran off to perform her sudden training.

“I… feel confused… and somewhat cheated. But, mostly confused… what just happened!?”