My eyes opened, a smile forming on my face as the memories with my Virtual self synchronized. Everyone seemed to be having fun while playing a variety of games that had been developed for this new virtual environment. Using the power of the Games, Maps, and Technology domains, Ashley had released a customizable development kit for aspiring developers to make a wide variety of games. Currently, we seemed to be in the midst of a game rather similar to laser tag within a three-dimensional maze.

A soft chuckle escaped my lips as I thought about all that had happened, before a noise from beside me drew my attention. “Hmm?” I turned my head, seeing the spectral feline that had come to reside in the little grove I had created. “Sorry, it’s nothing. Have you eaten again?”

The creature gave a small nod of its head, an intelligence in its eyes that wasn’t there when it first appeared. Although it was incapable of speaking, it was able to read the intent of my words through spiritual perception, allowing it to understand me. With its answer, I reached over and placed my hand on its head, cleansing it of any remnant wills left by the monsters it had devoured.

As I did so, I felt something click inside of me. The last of the empty divinity had finally been filled with this action. There was a chilling sensation inside of me as this forged divinity began to dissolve on its own, mixing together with my natural reserves. It felt like… almost like allowing myself to soak in a warm bath, feeling the water brushing against me.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation while it lasted. Once it was over, I scanned through my divinity with my world sight, noticing how the subtle changes affected me. For one, there was the achievement window, which I promptly dismissed.

More importantly, I could tell that my divinity had become more solid compared to before. This was not simply the stability of having three domains forming a trinity, but rather seemed to be the effect of having my divinity forged. While this quality increase was nothing incredible, it would help me better control my power in the future.

Giving a small nod, I stood up, letting my body stretch out. The spirit next to me lifted its head, looking curiously at what I was doing. “Sorry, but this is all of the time that I can spend here.” I said with a smile, shaking my head. The creature looked almost sad to see me go, so I fell into thought. “Would you like something?”

As if understanding what I meant, it brought its mouth over to me, biting gently at my sleeve to try and nudge me back to the chair. I couldn’t help but laugh at that, shaking my head. “I’m sorry, but I might have something better for you.”

It looked at me in confusion, but I simply placed my hand on its head, closing my eyes and focusing. Divinity used thought and imagination as fuel, words as the power to take action. Thus, I clearly envisioned what I wanted to achieve here, using what I had observed over my time in the Underworld as the foundation.

“As the God of Souls, I grant you my blessing, that you may become the king of dark spirits. May those devoured submit to your will and follow your ways.” A golden glow suffused the feline spirit as I spoke, establishing a filter within its body to cleanse any spirits it consumed in the future. “I bind this blessing to you with the name of Chitau, the black panther king.”

As my words fell, the spirit… no, Chitau looked up at me. There was gratitude in its eyes, but also an unwillingness to part. “Where I’m going, I can’t take you with me.” I told it gently. “Instead, I ask that you defend this area that I’ve created, and protect the wall of souls. Try not to go on a rampage, okay?”

Chitau simply nodded its head, backing away as if to signal that it would let me go. With a nod, I tore open the air in front of me. Now that I had become the God of Souls, I could more freely control spiritual energy, determining my exit point when traveling between the Underworld and the living realm.

When I emerged, it was within the courtyard of the Sky Citadel. It was time to start practicing on my new divine powers for a while.

“Thank you for being so patient with us.” The Metong High Mother said with a comforting smile as she looked towards the rocky figure of the Aurans. “We believe that we have finished assessing your internal structure, and can confirm whether or not any of you are containing viruses or bacteria that would be harmful to the organic creatures of this realm.”

The Auran chief let out a gravelly sigh of relief. “Thank you.” He said with a sincere tone. Since their arrival over a week ago, they had yet to see any members of this realm, aside from the Metong and the mysterious halfling goddess. Thus, several of their kind were starting to feel nervous, though they were trying to remain calm.

“Now, there is one last test for us to perform, where we will need to scan each of you individually.” The High Mother spoke up, gesturing for several Metong carrying various devices to step forward. “If you could get your people to form orderly lines, that would be most helpful. After we’re done, we’ll be able to give you several options to relocate. Though, if I may ask, there is something our people are rather curious about when it comes to your physiology.”

The Auran’s lips cracked into a grin. “Our internal alchemy engine, I assume.” He knew that this was the most iconic feature of their race, and the main reason why they were so sought after by other races. Something that only they could achieve thanks to their unique makeup, which other races struggle to achieve even with technology on their side.

“That’s right.” The High Mother confirmed. “We’ve been able to piece together that this special organ is capable of breaking down materials into their elementary components, and then alter them through some process. Could you tell us how that works? Any information would be helpful.”

The Auran shook his head. “This, we do not know. All that we know is that we can sample an element, whether raw or refined. After that, if we focus, we can convert that which we eat into this material. Once we retrieve it from our stomachs, it is often fit for a smith to operate on. Ah… I should mention that this only works with mineral and crystal objects. We can’t create plant or animal matter, or anything of that sort.”

The High Mother nodded her head. “And, how exactly do you sample these materials? Do you consume them, or do you have to go through a process of scanning them?”

“We simply eat.” The rocky figured explained patiently. “Once we have eaten a substance, our bodies remember it.”

“I see…” The High Mother nodded, holding a hand out as a lump of silvery metal appeared in her hand. “I apologize if this is rude, but could you perhaps demonstrate with this material? It would help our research quite a lot, and this is a resource found only in select worlds. We call it dimensium.”

The Auran nodded his head, as if expecting such a request. While gesturing for the rest of his people to line up, he took the metal from the High Mother and tossed it into his mouth. There was the sound of crunching and grinding, as well as what seemed to be the low hum. After a few moments, the process subsided, and the Auran let out a tone of exclamation. “This is truly an unusual resource. It is a mineral, but… there is something more to it as well. A strange energy that comes naturally?”

The High Mother gave a small smile, nodding her head. “That’s right. Is this a material that your kind can reproduce?”

“Of course. We are no stranger to materials containing energy.” The Auran assured her. “So long as it is not a truly exotic energy such as divine power, our internal alchemy engine will gather the necessary energy from our bodies and the surrounding atmosphere to reproduce it.”

The High Mother’s eyes lit up at that, as it opened a wide array of possibilities. There were many materials that were hard to come by without turning to the Boundless Caravan’s divine features. If these Aurans were able to consume common stone to create these materials, they would never need to worry about running out of currency.

Seeing that the process of scanning the individual Aurans was going smoothly, the High Mother gestured towards their chief. “Once everything is taken care of, I’ll introduce you to some advantageous information of this realm, so that you and your people can properly establish a foothold.”

Scarlet let out a sigh as she looked down at a sheet of paper in her hands. Ever since she approved of the information being spread from the research institute, she had been swarmed with people requesting a meeting with her. All of them were established deities, each hoping for the chance to flatter, bribe, or persuade her into giving them her ‘blessing’.

Whenever a new name came across her desk, Scarlet used the method that Aurivy taught her to briefly check into the individual’s past and determine whether or not she would offer the blessing. Regardless, even if she had no desire to grant her blessing to these individuals, she had to schedule the appointment to meet them. Only in such a way could she reject those she needed to reject.

Sometimes, if a particularly wicked deity was rejected, they would immediately resort to threatening her and her people. When that happened, Scarlet did not see a reason to give them a chance to atone. With a wave of her hand, she would strip them of their divine ki, absorbing it into her body. What was left, she painted red, allowing it to melt into a puddle on the ground.

“Next up is… ah, is it Lily now?” Scarlet asked, her expression softening. She had naturally observed this deity as well, and knew of her past. Originally an elven girl in an abusive home, she had lived most of her life in pain and sorrow. One day, when her mother had lost control of herself in public, it was a passing stranger that had grabbed her wrist to stop her.

After that incident, it was discovered that her mother was unfit to raise a child, and Lily had been put into foster care. For an elf, such a situation could last for decades until their bodies finished maturing. In that time, she saw all sorts of situations, families both good and bad. Whenever she saw a child walk into the orphanage with a bruise, she would remember her past self.

It was this memory and conviction that set her down her path. Using her mastery of ki, she gave herself the appearance of a child. Training as a rogue, she snuck through the lower rungs of society to punish those who would harm an innocent child. Originally, her methods were more severe, willing to do whatever it took to protect the children she saw.

That is, until she made a mistake. One day, she silenced a man that had been abusing his child both in public and private. However, instead of that startled relief that she often saw in the faces of these saved children, she saw grief. The child cried for their father, wanting to know why he wouldn’t get back up.

Later investigation revealed to Lily that the father had simply been overworked, and was often an incredibly loving and caring parent. She hated what she had done to that child, and immediately began to change how she approached her goal. From violence, she turned to harmless, if annoying, pranks. She would make the life of the abuser harder and harder the more they hurt a child, while rewarding them for improving.

If she came across another incident like the one she had seen previously, she would do her best to help behind the scenes. This was all something that Scarlet could approve of. She was so determined in her goals that she sought the path of divinity, even going so far as to rush to Lorek afterwards and spend over a century there obtaining her second domain.

A small smile crept over Scarlet’s crimson lips as she thought about Lily, nodding her head. “Let the next one enter.” She called out, the door opening a moment later. The figure that walked through was a young halfling boy, or at least it appeared to be. When Scarlet saw that, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in amusement.

“If you’re going to use your real name on the application, the least that you could do is show up in your real appearance.” She chided gently, earning a wry smile from Lily.

“Apologies, Empress. I try not to use the same face twice, to prevent any trouble from following me. To be honest, I’m not even sure I remember what I originally looked like anymore. I hope you can understand.”

Scarlet waved off the pleading of the young ‘boy’, shaking her head. “It’s fine. You’re not the first I’ve seen with such a quirk. Now, you have come here to seek my blessing, have you not?”

“That’s right, Empress.” Lily nodded, offering a low bow. “I will be perfectly honest with you. The domain that I wish to pursue with your blessing is the Children domain. Using it and my existing skills, I want to create a better world for children everywhere. They are our future, our hope… someone has to look out for them.”

Though Lily spoke so emphatically, Scarlet could tell that Lily didn’t have much confidence in receiving her blessing. “I have nothing to offer in return, nor do I know what you might want. That’s why I have come here, simply to state my intentions.”

Scarlet’s lips curved upwards as she listened. “Wishing to protect children is a noble goal. Furthermore, I can see that your karma is mostly pure.” She knew where the darker parts of Lily’s karma came from, and did not wish to bring up an event that Lily herself deeply regretted. “Do one small task for me, and I will grant you my blessing.”

Lily’s eyes went wide, nodding quickly. “If it is within my power, I shall do so.”

“It’s quite simple.” Scarlet said, resting her arms on her throne. “Of the materials required for your forging, I want you to obtain at least one of them yourself. Which material you choose is your decision, but it must not be purchased or traded for. You must acquire it without any outside assistance.”

Lily blinked, but quickly nodded again. “I understand.” In truth, this was a rather easy requirement. Not all of the materials that were required in the forging process were hard to obtain. For instance, there was the divine gold dust. However, while divine gold itself was easy for a deity to acquire, refining it into a dust was far more difficult. Thus, Lily chose to acquire the orichalcum necessary for the forging. Finding an existing orichalcum mine wouldn’t be too difficult if she put her mind to it, and she could easily sneak in and grab enough ore for the process.