The diabolical dark cathedral loomed ominously behind me. And in front of me, in the distance, I could see the first of the borders that marked the unofficial ending of the territory of Paimon and the beginning of my territory.

I stood on one of several newly constructed paths that adorned the community we were building here. The specific one I was on was one that led from the cathedral to the border gate, where a pair of guards, the odd sort of bow-wielding devils I resurrected earlier in the night, kept watch armed with dual pairs of bows.

They vigilantly scanned the grounds beyond their speedily constructed gates, and I studied them for a moment. The pair of them were two of the four males of their species who had been resurrected earlier. Their backs were turned to me, and I had free rein in studying their forms, their posture, and their body language.

They had casual body language like guard duty was common for them. They stood straight, though I could see that someone had provided them with chairs which was unexpectedly thoughtful of whoever it was unless it was someone like Silander who had a people-oriented personality and might do something like that out of kindness. They were relaxed and the bows at their sides and on their backs weren't drawn which hinted that the community wasn't in any danger.

Satisfied with my brief study of them, I turned away from the guards and began to look for other things to observe within the precious little community I and the others had begun to build.

Around the camp, community, town, or whatever else someone felt like calling the place, it was filled with activity of some sort or another.

I could hear the noises of jackaloid activity off in the distance, the barks and howls of their canine forms mixed with the noise of their intense labor as they endeavored to construct their temple in a speedy manner.

I could see relentless activity within the tiny patches of trees I had magically made when I first experimented with ecomancy. I could also see my Mi-Go celebrating something by raising its hand in the air energetically and boasting to no one about a feat of some sort.

The smell of my fungal gardens filled the air with a pleasant scent, as the fungi that grew in the gardens used exceptional means to lure their food to themselves. No one could smell the unpleasant scent of the jackaloids, or of the newly resurrected devils because of the efforts of the fungal garden.

When I finally gained something to do it was something violent. And it came from an unexpected source, though one whose attempts at interacting with me historically had always involved violence. Paimon.

[Master! Something is happening within the city of Bastille!] An animal's voice frantically shouted into my mind, the unexpectedness of it rattled me and caused me to freeze for a second before taking stock of the situation.

The source of the sudden declaration was one of the animals that had once been captured by Raverangos in the earliest days of our occupation of the cathedral. A tiny yet tenacious desert fox that had been captured and then awakened days ago, making it one of the few awakened friends we had in the desert and therefore a valuable spy.

[Hello? What is going on at Bastille?] I asked, reaching out through the connection and then sending calming energy to the tiny fox through our connection. The connection wasn't dead, even if the fox wasn't sending me a message, so I knew that the thing was alive and was more than likely merely watching whatever odd event was occurring.

I hissed in annoyance and immediately took to the skies above the place my allies and I were operating out of, ascending to a point dozens of meters in the air above my allies in an instant. And at that point, I finally received another message from my familiar.

[They have... flying objects! Flying things, five of them, these... big, round vessels that float through the air somehow have departed from the city and are heading in your direction. Please be careful master!] The fox warned me, sincere in both its warning and its call for caution. I grinned, despite the situation and spoke once more to the fox.

[Thank you for your warning little one. I appreciate it. Now go hide, stay safe.] I told the thing, casting an invisibility spell on it through our link and then looked straight ahead. In the direction of the city of Bastille, a place I had only visited once, at the beginning of my life. And I began to both forge a custom mystical effect in my mind, a potent barrier that might protect this place, and considered how to handle my first strategetic retreat.

In a matter of moments, the first words came to me. "Everyone! Come outside for a moment. Your presence is needed." I shouted, my voice easily carrying across the encampment that had appeared around the dark cathedral.

About two minutes passed before the residents of the newest settlement in Infernius showed their faces. All things considered, that wasn't bad at all if someone was being honest since well over 60 creatures now inhabited this place. I looked at them, all on the ground and waiting for me, and smiled. And then I informed them of the apparent reality we found ourselves in.

"Listen everyone. It's possible that we've been found." I told them simply. Their reactions to that news were fairly muted, but then again none of us had been under the impression that we were hidden since our home-base was in a public temple to a cult that wasn't unknown throughout Infernius, situated on the same layer our oldest enemy ruled over tyrannically.

I smiled at them and readied another statement. "I am going to send you to my plane, my dimension, to hide while I confirm whatever is going. It's possible I and my source are wrong. If they are it's no biggie, and if they aren't then no one can hurt you since you won't be here to be harmed." I explained, proud of my deductive abilities.

And then I whisked them away, sending them to one of the towns I had built in the plain habitat that I had once practiced my powers in. It was unoccupied since I had yet to create the creatures who would inhabit it so all they had to do was rest there for a bit while I resolved whatever was about to happen here, one way or another.

I was still for a few minutes, floating lazily in the air, before my senses and my radar began to pick up the earliest signs of an intrusion, or in this case: an invasion. Off in the distance, I spotted them, their gigantic, black vessels stealing what faint moonlight would have otherwise illuminated them but not hiding them from my vision or anyone else's. They were flying in an impressive V-shaped formation.

I smiled and prepared myself to witness their arrival. I'll let them make the first move. But if it's hostile... well they won't like the outcome. I thought, readying myself for what I knew would be a violent altercation between myself and them. I started it off by raising my hands and covering my home with a skilled weaved barrier that would hopefully protect the place from harm, or if worse comes to worst than shield it from utter destruction.

A thin layer of arcane energy was called into being over the camp. It began at the furthest gate leading into the area marked by my first usage of ecomantic magic, and then continued until it reached the furthest edge of my territory, the same pond that my Mi-Go had thrown itself into minutes ago. I heard its soft hum as it took hold and promised to at least take some of the damage the upcoming encounter may cause to the community and nullify said damage.

Well that's good. I thought, smiling as the distance between myself and the airships that were steadily making their way towards the base was shrinking every second. Though they had appeared moments ago, they were flying quite rapidly and I knew I had less than a minute left before they arrived if left to their own devices.

Why am I waiting for them so passively? I questioned for a moment. I should go say hello. I thought, chuckling to myself. And so I studied their flight for a few moments, before willing myself to be in front of one of the odd things.

In an instant, I traveled a distance that must have been hundreds of meters. I took myself from my initial starting point, within the dark cathedral's airspace, and teleported to the open air a few meters ahead of the airships that were coming my way.

"Whoa, he's right there!" The captain of the airship I was closest too shouted an instant after I appeared, with genuinely impressive reaction speed. I chuckled at him and waited to see if he'd be able to get his ship to stop in time.

Now I was close to the airships and could study them, which was the second thing I did after chuckling at the poor captain whose ship was on a collision course with me. For a moment I merely observed them. They were gigantic things, shaped like massive blocks of dark metal which were evidently the aesthetics of this layer of Infernius because I had noticed this popular trend in my travels throughout the desert.

They floated through the air, powered by what I assumed was magic given their likely density and their remarkable speed. They had a series of darkly tinted glass windows, objects I first saw in the city of Bastille, and behind those windows stood a number of figures who were running around in a panic, caught off guard by my sudden appearance. I grinned at them and used my appraisal ability on the ships.

[New Item Knowledge Alert: Cain's Cannons.

These are objects that are known as gunships. Gunships are a type of military vehicle, an aircraft, that is designed to attack targets on the ground with heavy-weapons that fire an assortment of bullets at their targets.

Cain's Cannons are a specific type of infernal gunships that are used most frequently by devils typically in technologically simple worlds wherein means to combat them are limited to either magic or arrows, rather than guns, cannons, and anti-air artillery.

Originally these gunships were produced in the first layer of Infernius, were most vehicles were produced, but since the abandonment of that layer, a number of other layers have invested in facilities to build these powerful weapons and other sorts of powerful Infernian weaponry and military technology.

Despite their name, Cain's Cannons do not fire cannonballs. In actuality, they attack targets with side-mounted Gatling guns and with an explosive payload of hellfire bombs that influence the tactics of their skilled captains.

Captains of these ships tend to start their assaults off by firing on targets without the means to defend themselves and drop their payloads right away before beginning strafing runs on survivors of their initial attacks. Their second tactic is to start with speedy strafing runs that target enemy leadership while their allies on the ground deal with anti-air defenses, and then wait to receive a signal before committing to a bombing run that incinerates enemy infrastructure.

These ships are made by artistically integrating technology and magic. They are made of metals that can be harvested throughout Infernius and then powered by magic, which means that making them is simple enough provided someone has the resources to construct them.

These ships are capable of interstellar travel, though the standard models aren't optimized for it and thus tend to be less effective in space, not to mention practically defenseless against spaceships that are built for space. That said, alternate models exist that are optimized for travel between worlds in the mortal dimension and are built to be able to serve as effective transports for warriors, emissaries, and even spies sent on interplanetary missions.]

I read through the notification and my eyes went wide. I should try to seize one of these ships... I thought, hoping to have a chance to study it myself or give it to creatures like dwarves who could study it. And then the ship in front of me began to screech to a halt, slowing down even as it drew nearer and nearer to me.

It came to a stop less than five meters away from me. I looked at it, interest gleaming in my eyes. And then the thing began to talk, or more specifically figures inside of it began to talk through some sort of speaker system located on the thing.

"Hello. You appear to be the leader of a nascent rebellion, the figure known to us as 'Althos'. We are under orders from the rightful sovereign and overlord of Bastille to either come and collect you peacefully or to incinerate your forces and drag your unconscious body back to Bastille. Would you like to surrender?" A male-sounding voice asked me, informing me as to the intention behind this unexpected visit from my foe's forces.

I grinned at the ship in front of me. And then I began to talk in response to what I had just heard.

"Hello. I am indeed Althos, but you're wrong about a lot of the other things you said. Paimon is not the rightful sovereign of Bastille. And no. I would not like to surrender. But I appreciate your politeness, and so I will make you your offer. Would you like to surrender to me?" I asked, confidently. I knew their answer would be no, but I wanted to make it clear that they had had the chance to surrender.

I heard snickering coming my way from within the first of the ships, and I grinned.

"No, Althos, we would not like to surrender. We are under orders not to kill you, but we've been told by Paimon himself that you're sturdy. If you try to interfere with us while we destroy your base, we'll test how sturdy you really are." I was warned by someone from within the ship right in front of me.

I chuckled at them, confident that they would do no such thing, and begun my attack, satisfied that it was wise to do so due to their declaration of hostility towards me and my allies.

I backed away from the airships and commenced my attack by taking aim at the airship in front of me and clapping my hands together. I focused on the gigantic vehicle and considered ways to tear it apart. After a second of careful consideration, I realized I ought to just tear the thing apart.

I kept my gaze firmly locked on the gunship and separated my hands, envisioning the same thing happening to the massive enemy weapon in front of me, tearing it apart with my sheer power of will rather than any magic. I envisioned my mind tearing the utterly gigantic, titan-sized vehicle in half and I wanted this odd tactic to work. I wanted my mind to be powerful enough that even a building-sized mass of metal would be powerless before it.

It took a second, but I soon heard the strained groaning of the metal of the ship within seconds of my odd attempt to dismantle one of them and watched satisfied as a gigantic crack appeared down the middle of the vehicle.

Seconds later the thing fell apart, cleft perfectly in two and the two halves of the vehicle began to fall to the desert dozens of meters below us, pulled by gravity. The sound was loud, not just because it was the sound of a massive airship crashing to the ground below but because it was accompanied by the terrified screaming of the dozens of devils needed to man such a gigantic thing. When the two halves of the vehicle crashed to the surface below, the immediate silence was striking and probably traumatizing to the allies of the first vehicle.

I looked at the rest of the vehicles, all of which had stopped when the one in the lead had stopped, and raised an eyebrow at them, challenging them to advance forward if they dared. None of them moved forward, and I grinned.

I rose two hands, aiming both at the two gunships closest to me and fired invisible, powerful beams of flesh-to-stone, willing the spell to penetrate the metal of the ships and affect those unlucky souls trapped inside of their weapon. The beams shot forward, and I listened to the shocked gasps of the captains of the vehicles.

They were the first to fall victim to the spell, since they hadn't expected my method of taking them down to be that they would immediately turn to stone an instant before their peers did as well. In a matter of moments two more ships had been knocked out of commission, unmanned and even better: still floating, fully operational, and ripe for the looting.

And then there were two. I thought, amused as I looked out at the furthest two vehicles. Oh, wait. I thought, realizing that the devils in the first airship might have survived the crash and immediately looking down at the wreckage of that airship. I aimed a single finger at each of the two halves, and fired a stream of lightning at the things, allowing the electric energy to course into the ship for a few moments, and felt a streak of sadistic enjoyment from the surprised, pained, yelps I heard as my electrical power coursed through the metal.

I aimed my other hand at the ship and began to cast a wide-affecting version of a familiar spell: harvest souls. I shivered in dark delight as I immediately felt the souls of the devils bold enough to attack me moan in pain while being abducted from their corpses, and begin to flow ethereally into me. At this point the two ships left began to try and fly forward, clearly having recovered from their shock at what I did, and intending to take advantage of my apparent distraction.

An admirable attempt, but not one that'll work. I thought to myself, as I willed a third and fourth arm to emerge from my body. They took aim at the ships that had tried to shoot forward, hoping to pass me, and activated spells of their own.

One of the hands cast the necromantic spell "Weight of the Dead" at one of the ships. The spell immediately struck the ship, and the ship began to tilt towards the ground, as spectral arms shot out of the ground and grabbed hold of it to prevent it from falling forward. Instead, the incredibly tall pillar of arms ensured the ship was speedily dragged to the ground below, causing it to land gently while ensuring it was grounded for as long as I willed it to be.

The other hand's spell caused a staggeringly powerful jet of flames to shoot out towards the remaining Cain's Cannon. The jet of flames was a deep-violet color, and it exploded out of my newest limb and incinerated the air between myself and the airship. I grimaced from the force of the fire, feeling its heat as uncomfortable to even me, an impressive feat.

When it struck the airship, it not only melted the thing it even caused the hellfire bombs within it to explode, immediately and utterly killing everyone on board in a fiery explosion that lasted but an instant but incredibly heated the air around me.

I didn't get to cast "harvest souls" on them. I complained to myself, annoyed by the sudden nature with which the ship was dealt with, even though I had a powerful feeling that the custom magical effect's power must have been due to the sub-domain of flames liking me, and hopefully inching closer to granting me a measure of influence over it. But as I examined the situation, I realized with a smile that the fighting was over, if it could even be called that, was over.

Now it was time for me to examine what was left-over. And so I drew the remaining ships, the ones in the air anyway, gently to the ground. And then I teleported the statues I created from within the airships, to the ground outside of them.

A few moments later I was on the ground beside the airships and studiously examining the artwork my spells had created. A number of statues stood before me, and behind me, the three ships were grounded but not damaged.

The statues in front of me were all of devils who appeared mostly human. This didn't surprise me, because Paimon, their master, had a hatred of animalistic devils, even ones that only were marginally animalistic, and this hatred extended to ones that were greater in power than their more human-looking counterparts.

I sighed and shook my head. Oh, Paimon... you're just giving me gifts at this point. I thought, grinning to myself. And then I received a summarized notification, alerting me to the nature of some of the beings who perished at my several hands. While reading the notification I willed my newly created hands to cease their existence, and the new limbs faded away as quickly as they had come into being.

[New Summarized Multi-Species Knowledge Notification: Pilot-Devil, Technologist-Devil, Torturer-Devil.

The intermediate branch of the devilish hierarchy is extremely regimented and devils who demonstrate talent at any particular area are often promoted in ways that allow them to become very specialized in a range of areas when they reach this branch. It turns out that this particular group of servants sent by Paimon exemplifies that.

Pilot-devils are vehicle specialists who come into being or gain upon promotion into pilot-devildom an incredible wealth of knowledge related to an incredible number of vehicles. Their purpose is to successfully use vehicles in a number of contexts and their knowledge allows them to do just that. They can be trusted with tractors, cars, planes, interstellar ships, tanks, and all sorts of other vehicles.

Technologist-Devils are the engineers of devil kind. These devils are both skilled planners who can expertly plan how to maximally use technology to their advantage and are scientists who can help develop new technology. Ancestors of the current crop of technologist-devils were the developers of everything from the guns used by some devils, to vehicles like Cain's Cannons.

Torturer-Devils are what their title implies. They are the most skilled devils at extracting the truth from their enemies, as they don't just use painful methods to extract the truth, they are more than capable of using psychology to convince hated enemies that they are their friends, their best bets at being released from their devilish captors while enduring minimal harm. That said, they infinitely prefer painful methods of arriving at various truths.

At least one of each of these souls dwell inside of you, as a result of your mass harvest soul spell. Would you like to absorb them?]

I grinned and informed the system that I would be happy to absorb them. I hadn't thought for a second to try and resurrect them, they were my enemies and were servants of Paimon. I will not resurrect my enemies. I will instead steal them away, and feed on them. I will subsume their power and create creatures like them, who will serve me. I told myself, as my powers flared to life and sealed the fates of my enemies: to be obliterated, completely.

I shivered as I felt the potent power of my ability to devour souls go to work on the souls of the comrades of the creatures who had foolishly come to my lair, intending to end my rebellion. The energies of my enemies swirled into me, and I felt my powers expand and increase to accommodate the newest sorts of creatures I could create.

And then I turned my full attention to the statues in front of me.

Let's see if these fellows have their minds. I thought, grinning as I was able to fully focus on the two dozen statues before me.

In turning my attention to them, all of my senses washed over the odd things. And after seconds of careful study, I detected no semblance of life from any of them. Including any ability to sense their thoughts, or draw knowledge from them. "Damn it." I sighed, knowing what I'd have to do.

One day I'll be able to detect the minds of people even if they are petrified. I told myself, promising myself that one day I wouldn't need to do this, even as I readied myself.

I stirred the spores that coursed through my body, even as I picked the first victim of many victims who'd surrender their secrets to me. I moved to the first statue and willed the transformation to begin to become undone.

And when the devil's mind was restored, even as her head gradually shifted from being one of stone to one of flesh, I pressed my lips against hers and channeled an unparalleled number of spores directly into her. A second later I pulled away and grinned at the devil in front of me, feeling her struggle to retain her sense of self and sense of purpose as the spores invaded her mind.

I stole into her mind and took everything in an instant. I copied her memories, her knowledge, her thoughts and her secrets.

And then I sent them to one of the other "me's", the one who embodied my mind at its max potential. The one who lurked in our realm, who spent his time studying memories and playing with his toys, the people he created.

I looked at her gently, almost sympathetically, and began to speak. "Just surrender. There's no hope for you to prevail against the spores. They won't kill you. And frankly, neither will I. I am just going to turn you into my ally. My friend." I said, honestly. She looked at me with a glazed look on her face but one that didn't hide her outrage and her shame, and I almost felt bad for her.

"More than anything else you've been dealt a bad hand. You were told, by a shitty boss, that I was an enemy you could defeat. I'm not." I told her, simply.

"You came here, filled with confidence, and in an instant, lost everything. And more than that, I've gained a lot. For instance... I've gained you. I've gained your vehicles. I've gained everything you've ever known. And you've lost... so much." I told her, grinning savagely as the last part of her body was finally freed from the total effect of my spell and she began a pressing struggle to stay on her two feet.

She struggled to focus and tried her best to glare at me even as the spores infected her. It was a challenge, and I could feel both the hate coming off of her as well as her desire to spit at me. I grinned and spoke once more. "Your mind is mine already. You just don't know it yet. I'm going to rewrite your memories and make it so that you know that Paimon is your enemy. Which he is. He's an enemy of all of devil-kind." I told her, truthfully and somewhat cryptically.

She continued to resist, glaring hatefully at me. I chuckled and spoke once more. "Did he even tell you all what I was? If he didn't, that would explain why you thought you could win." I asked. This caused a crack to develop within her, a moment of confusion and concern that was visible in her gaze. I studied it, and then smiled widely at her, my own eyes widening in realization.

"Oh... You didn't know, did you? I'm a god Samara." I said smugly, already knowing her name thanks to my instantaneous invasion of her mind. She looked at me with wide, terror-filled eyes when she heard what I said. After seeing my powers first hand she didn't doubt what I told her, which rose my estimation of her a good deal.

"Your master left out that detail, didn't he?" I asked, again. And then I began to laugh when my mind was filled with the knowledge that Paimon had indeed left that out.

"Paimon is such an asshole. He sends devils like you to kill me when he couldn't do it himself TWICE! And he doesn't even tell you what I am, or why he's failed to kill me." I said, almost overcome by how ridiculous that was. But then I refocused on the matter at hand, my gaze returning to the first of the devils I had released from my spell.

"If it makes you feel any better, you'll be treated fairly by me. I won't lie to you about the true nature of someone I send you to kill." I told her, chuckling as I felt her mind begin to succumb to the effects of the spores. I sensed her resistance ebbing away, seeping into nothingness as the spores ate away at the emotions that prevented her from simply surrendering and accepting a chance to live.

And then I turned my attention to the others before me.

It was while my attention was focused on the devils that a plan began to form in my mind. A plan that involved terraforming the desert, and establishing a border between Paimon's territory and my territory. As well as building an army, a new army. This is an exciting scheme. I realized as the pieces of it began to come together in my mind.

An hour passed before I dealt with all of the devils I had captured alive, including the ones in the other ship who weren't statues. When I had secured all of their memories, turned them into my servants, and done away with those nagging memories of Paimon, I was satisfied with my work and willed the people I had sent into my realm back to me.

They returned in various states of activity. Silander and Gallow returned with food in their mouths. Raverangos returned holding a bloody rabbit in one of his paw-like hands. Tristan and Nefarious returned mid-sentence. As did many of the senior devils I had resurrected and recruited. The younger devils, or rather; the lesser devils had been doing various tasks appropriate to their skillsets and came back in poses that reflected that.

I smiled at them, and when they noticed that they were back, they examined their surroundings and then turned to see me. They grinned at me, and then their eyes grew wide in fear and confusion when they saw the assorted devils behind me, as well as the grounded gunships that had attacked our home. I saw their confusion and moved to address it.

"Whoa! Don't panic." I said, before kicking myself mentally. Saying "Don't panic" is a surefire way to incite panic. I chided myself, annoyed that I made that mistake.

"Believe it or not, these fellows are our friends. Now anyway. I just had to... make them friendly." I told my gathered allies, a wide grin on my face.

"We all know that I'm good at... making friends, don't we?" I asked the first rebels I had recruited, grinning widely at them. They smiled back at me for a moment.

"I promise, I'll tell you what happened. But first, I must mark our borders." I said, confidently. They looked at me in confusion but I willed myself away from them, activating my teleportation ability to whisk me into the air.

Paimon is finally reacting huh? Which means that things are going to get... trickier. I mused, high in the air above the dark cathedral and my allies.

I guess we're in a real state of war now huh? I thought, before beginning to laugh. I took a deep breath and began to prepare a powerful ecomantic effect.

I looked down at the ground at beneath me and realized I was very close to the cathedral. Yikes. I better move. I thought, before beginning to fly forward. I flew forward for about two minutes until I was out of sight of anyone at my base of operations, flying in the direction of the city of Bastille; the headquarters of my enemy.

Althos' rapid flight sent him sailing into the desert. He came to a stop about a quarter of the way to the capital of his long-time foe, close enough that he could see the city in the distance but not close enough that they could detect him.

He aimed a solitary hand at the desert floor and exhaled. A powerful magical effect shot forth from the palm of his hand, one that slammed into the sands protecting the desert floor, and immediately began to change it.

The sands were transformed, melted away in an instant and reshaped, reforged into something new. Althos' magic was rapidly reshaping the very landscape itself!

If my enemy is going to attack me actively, then I'll prepare defenses that can detect and even repel him. I told myself in the air above the desert.

A powerful ecomantic effect was shooting forth from my hand, a laser of magical force that was undoing the sand and desert-floor it touched, reshaping it into something far better for my defensive purposes: an ornate and tall stone wall. I watched silently, as meters of sand were done away with, in an instant. While I did this, I sent myself a message.

[Do me a favor, would you? Build me an army. An army to man this long line of fortresses I'm building.] I asked myself, specifically the me that was in my divine realm, in the process of going through the memories I had absorbed from the enemies I had defeated and turned into my servants, or killed and absorbed.

[An army?] The person I had messaged, my mind-self asked. I grinned and responded right away, even as I began to move, determined to transform the length of the layer into my territory as a way to show the layer that I was here and that I had real power.

[Yes. An army. I am going to turn a section of the entire desert into a long line of heavily defended fortresses, and in order to do so effectively I need an army to man it.] I messaged myself.

[I'll also be creating creatures myself, specifically I plan on making all sorts of devils. It'd be great if you could make humans, dark elves, and high elves, to man the fortress. Eventually, I plan on also making vehicles like Cain's Cannons for pilot-devils to man and make use of.] I told myself, feeling rather odd for having a conversation with myself. But I knew that was just the part of me that was influenced by mortals, and I needed to ignore that part of me.

The other me sighed in my, our, mind. I smiled as I felt it begin to get to work. [Thank you!] I told it, happily.

And so marked the beginning of a two-month period of adventuring, army-building, border planning, and miscellaneous scheming within the Infernian desert, various places within the world of my birth, my realm, and even the desert-giant city of Namira.

During this period, countless memories were absorbed and processed, sacrifices were made, and at the end of the two-month period, I received a single notification. One that suggested that after I willed it away, I'd be even more powerful than I already was.

[Alert:

Your ability to copy the abilities of your worshipers has been hard at work. This was due to the enormity of worshipers you gained at once, going from a few hundred to over 11,000 over the course of a few hours, it took... a significant period of time to process the skills and abilities now at your disposal. Not to mention that your worshipers grew in number by over 3,500 over the course of the past two months which really didn't help.

That said: once you will this notification away, your mind will be rocked by notifications as your body adjusts to the gigantic number of skills, abilities, and more that are now at your disposal that weren't yours to use before your vision rocked Undermoon. Take a bit to adjust to them.]

I read the notification and dreaded what would come after I willed it away. I took a deep breath and willed the notification away. Suddenly, a dense sea of green text filled my vision, and I felt an incredible diversity of powers surge into me.

And I thought I was powerful before... I thought as I read through the multitude of notifications that filled my vision.