I clicked on the insectoid head in my mind's eye. Doing so caused me to suddenly see a new notification.

[Swarm Selection:

Welcome to the swarm selection menu. This unusual menu was unlocked when you gained influence over considerable numbers of insects, and is the result of you mixing three subdomains: corruption, agriculture, and vermin.]

That notification vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Fortunately for me, by now I had slowly begun to notice that I could perfectly recall the contents of every notification I had received to date, even ones that came and went in a blur.

A second later a new menu showed itself in my mind's eyes.

[Swarm Selection Menu:

Soldier Ant: Soldier ants are the fierce warrior caste of ant-kind and they perform both offensive and defensive functions for their colonies. You currently have influence over 700 soldier ants.

Worker Ant: Worker ants are non-reproductive female ants. They can perform defensive functions but are most commonly known as being the scouts and foragers of ant-kind. You control over 1250 worker ants.

Other kinds of ants insect. Drone ants and ant queens exist. Additionally, this has begun to grant you influence over the insect subdomain, and as you increase your influence over this subdomain you'll be able to increase the strength of your swarm and eventually it'll enable you to forcefully evolve members of your swarm and grant them other powers and abilities.

Command: 1/1 usages left for today

Dream: Unlimited usages but this would require an ant with greater intelligence, such as an ant queen, to be used on. That said, clever usages of this ability could be used to subtly influence ants and eventually other insects in your swarm.]

I visually explored the menu for a second, before willing it away. Once the thing was gone I immediately closed my eyes and allowed for the not-so-mini-map to fill up my view once more.

Mentally exploring the mini-map in my head, I focused on the areas where hundreds of tiny dot were situated. I spent a few moments locating "Drone ants" and "Ant queens" and familiarizing myself with where the things were located on the minimap since they were the main ants I had missed the first time I set off a fruit storm near the braver and more outgoing ants.

I quickly cast "Create food" dozens of times, spreading the strange and eldritch food I can create throughout the parts of the forest populated by ants. It took perhaps a few seconds before my notifications started to go crazy again. In fairness, I had created over three times more food than before, as I was determined to make being thorough a habit.

That said, being prepared allowed me to weather this storm with little more than a sigh of annoyance. I sat down next to my new friend and waited until the notifications had passed. That took around half an hour due to the sheer number of ants I had to wait to gain influence over.

Once I had gained influence over all of the ants in this segment of the forest, nearly 7,000 little fellows who were now influenced by me. I stood up and beckoned for my caiman companion to ready itself for travel.

"Come on little guy it's time we now go meet one of my other friends." I told the thing, excitedly.

The caiman, now thoroughly influenced by my powers and effectively sedated while in my presence clambered off of its feet and turned to look at me. I grinned and began to walk, starting off quite slow to ensure that my awkward crocodilian companion was able to keep up without any difficulties.

The thing began to follow me, and it moved deceptively fast. I was impressed with my companion and so to reward its efforts I softly scratched the space between the predator's eyes. It made a deep sound, a guttural, pleasant one that emanated from the back of its throat. I grinned, and each step took me closer and closer to my goblin ally, the little creature I had saved once: Troik.

By the time I had trekked deep enough into the forest to reunite with my little green buddy he was beginning to make his way back to his own home. Fortunately, I was able to catch him before he could get close to the outskirts of his tiny tribe.

I caught the little guy in a tiny clearing, one where the first stars to appear in the skies could be seen if someone looked straight up into the sky. The goblin had begun to nervously draw his weapon when he heard me emerging in the distance but dropped the tiny knife he used in self-defense when he realized who I was.

The goblin cheered and began to run at me when he realized who I was. He ran perhaps a few dozen meters on short, stubbly legs, before actually reaching me.

When the goblin reached me the thing leaped into the air and began to cackle madly. I grinned and accepted the thing's energetic greeting by catching him in mid-air and hugging him close. He smelled of wild things, leaves, fruits, trees, mud, and dirt.

"Whoa, you're so excitable." I told the tiny creature, laughing as he began to make excited noises. He was light and easy to hold. My newest companion looked at me, visibly confused and agitated by this sudden outburst of activity.

I gestured for the creature to relax, nodding at it and gesturing to the ground calmly. The caiman did as I suggested, and sat down, crushing several meters of grass underneath its prodigious length.

"I am! I am very excit... excited! You came back!" Troik told me. There was a sort of familiar manic energy in his voice. I chuckled.

"It's good to see you Troik. I missed you," I told him, somewhat honestly. If I was being honest, his energy was kind of a lot. But he was nice, to me anyway, and if I said that I liked seeing him again I'd mean it. "How has today been? It doesn't seem like you've hit anymore traps." I asked the goblin.

Before the thing could answer me, I cast "Abate Sickness" on him. I did that to ensure that he wouldn't be possessed anymore. I didn't want my friend to lose control of his body, unwillingly, again and I had the power to intercede and ensure that he didn't.

"Today has been good. No more mishaps!" He told me, happily. At that point, he leaped out of my arms and landed on his feet. The goblin looked up at me admiringly after successfully landing on his feet.

I grinned at the little guy, happy to hear that. That news was itself a minor defeat of a fear of mine; that the creature's mysterious possessor would still be able to affect it even from a distance and even without possessing it. I wasn't 100% sure that my strange foe was completely stymied by my actions but at least for a day my friend had been able to be himself.

It was at that moment that the creature volunteered something surprised. His voice piped up as he did so.

"And my friends really liked the fruit that spirit... Cosecha, gave us. It was delicious! They even told me they'd pray again tonight!" Troik volunteered, giving me totally unexpected and positively delightful news.

"Oh really? That's wonderful!" I told my friend. I knew that they had eaten the fruit, as one of the things I had done earlier while walking to this part of the forest was check out which creatures I had "influence" over and seen the names of the goblins who had prayed to my persona last night.

Troik grinned at me, proud of his success, and the part of my brain that seized on opportunities began to quietly scheme.

In the safety of my mind, I began to consider how to capitalize on this. A not so small part of my brain wanted to quietly step into the dreams of Troik's friends and hint at my divinity to them. I wanted to carefully sow the seeds for a cult to begin to exist that revered me, and this was as good a chance as any. And so I began to ask questions.

"Hey system, is there a limit on my ability to grant magic to mortals? Aside from that I can only grant healing spells to my followers I mean." I asked, my mental voice polite and curious.

[Actually, there isn't. You can grant spells under domains you control to as many people as you want. You can also write out the notification that those being granted magic will gain. If you wish to state that you are yourself and not your persona, that's perfectly fine but you can also lie.] The system told me, its mechanical voice causing me to feel considerable excitement at that moment.

"Excellent! Can I attach minor conditions to the granting of the spells? Like I can require that someone publicly, visibly pray to me before they can cast them? I'd like to make my worshipers perform public acts of devotion." I inquired, slowly beginning to see how far I could go with this newfound and potentially wonderful ability.

[We like that you are scheming, and are delighted to inform you that you absolutely can attach requirements to the acquisitions of the spells. Once we free up the "faith" domain you'll be able to fully see the sorts of requirements you can attach to granted spells, but for now, just know that demanding that a creature who is granted magic by you pray before they can use your magic is totally doable.] My mental companion revealed, eagerness slipping into its robotic voice.

I grinned, beginning to envision the possibilities that the domain of magic had opened up to me. I could already imagine the possibilities before me. I already knew what I was going to do tonight: sneak into goblin dreams and make first contact with more of Troik's friends.

And like that, I began to spend the next hour with my goblin friend. We discussed his day, my day, and something he was surprisingly passionate about; the mysterious spirit, Cosecha. Before long it was time for me to begin to head back home.

I watched my goblin companion begin to vanish from view. He was walking home so that he'd get back before dark.

Shortly before he was completely gone, into the darkened depths of the forest, I reminded him of something. "Hey! Remember, Cosecha will be paying you and your friends a visit tonight. Tell them. I doubt it'll want to spook you all. Pray tonight, and pray tomorrow morning, and you'll get more food." I yelled, my voice carrying deep into the woods.

Troik nodded at me, his face breaking into a wide grin as he did so. I could tell the goblin was excited to share the news with his friends. And I wondered how they'd react to it. I'd be able to find out quite soon though. Knowing that made me quite excited. I turned around, and alongside my large reptilian companion began to stride back home.

My companion split off from me when I told him to head back to where I found him. I did that close to the edge of the forest, and as I did so I also cast "Create Food" near where my coyote acquaintances were. And once today's companion of the day began to wander back into the forest I fully devoted myself to heading into back home.

I had a busy night ahead of me. One that would be filled with dream-based activity. And frankly, I was extremely excited to dive into it.

Getting back to the room I had claimed as my own was an easy enough affair. That said it took me long enough to get back home that the sun had fallen below the horizon and by the time I was back inside of the Silver Xana night had come out and overtaken the strange land I found myself in.

In my room, I sat on my bed and closed my eyes. I allowed my mind to drift for a second, as I wanted to give the system a fair chance to speak to me before I began to reach out to creatures I had influence over.

[So do you feel ready to begin to dive into more dreams tonight?] The system, my long-time companion, asked me. I nodded, even with my eyes closed, a confident smirk on my face.

"Yes I do. I feel... more powerful today. I want to begin to do the work of acquiring worshippers." I told the one figure in my life who knew the truth of my nature. A part of me knew I'd be changing that today.

[We can feel the excitement radiating off of you. It makes sense for you to be excited, the you of today is both smarter and stronger than the you of yesterday. Do you think you might gain a worshiper or two tonight?] The voice asked me, curiosity audible in its voice. I wasn't arrogant.

I shook my head before I began to explain why I didn't think tonight would be the night I gained a worshiper. "I don't think so. I think tonight is the night I begin to gain an understanding of what it'll take for me to acquire worshipers." I told it, not bothering to take a breath until the end of my second sentence.

"And I think tonight might be the night I meet some of the first creatures to become worshipers of mine. But I'd be surprised if tonight is the night I actually gain worshipers." I continued, not daring to be arrogant right now.

[That isn't a bad response. It's a humble one, which almost always helps a response be not that bad. That's definitely the proper attitude to have going into this sort of thing, so that's absolutely a good sign.] My odd friend told me, recognizing the humbleness in my answer to it.

I grinned, but not before receiving a pleasant surprise from my ally and frequent partner. [We're going to go ahead and partially unlock your faith domain powers. You'll find that one of them, in particular, will be especially useful in the shenanigans you're about to get up too.] It told me, and I could almost hear the mischievous grin in its robotic voice.

A second later I received a handy new notification, alerting me to the powers I now had under my control.

[Alert:

The domain of faith's powers, aside from the ability to listen to prayers, has been unlocked for your usage.

Faith domain passive power:

Soul sensing: This power, a synergistic one that is the result of possessing access to the powers granted to you by virtue of your tier of influence over the knowledge domain, allows you to glean someone's soul and see specific information. Specifically, you'd be able to determine if someone would make for a good cleric or paladin.

Faith domain active power:

Religious fervor: This is the name of an unusual active power gained by any and all deities when they gain access to their faith domain powers. Using it causes you to create a zone of awe wherein those who witness your divine acts because more susceptible and more likely to become worshipers of yours.

This potent power is one of the key abilities gained by gods at an early age. It works on any sentient creature regardless of their alignment and lowers their resistance to your worship. In essence this power renders people more likely to find themselves in awe of your power and more likely to believe your claims that you are divine.

At the lowest tier of influence over the faith domain, this is a short-range ability and one that isn't extremely strong but it's still an incredibly useful power that can speed the process of acquiring worshipers.

This divine power can be used freely, but it cannot be incorporated into your aura. That said if your goal is to acquire worshipers and just that then this is the perfect power for you.

Faith domain knowledge:

This domain is a potent one that governs belief, religion, and superstition. Deities who quickly master this domain become experts at building cults and religious movements to themselves. It also synergizes well with the domains of the soul, knowledge, life, and the subdomains of corruption and purity.

Faith domain blessing and curse information:

The faith domain's blessing is a blessing multiplier that increases the strength of other blessings. The question worth asking is "By how much do other blessings get multiplied?" And the answer to that is dependent on the worshiper who has the blessing.

Their level of fanaticism is what determines how much bang they get for this blessing's buck. The more they worship you the stronger this blessing will be.

With regard to cursing someone using this domain, they fall victim to a mind-affecting curse that fills them with cynicism towards everything. For a bit they become bitter and morose. For right now this just makes them apathetic, though the more tiers of influence you gain over this domain the stronger this divine power becomes.]

I smiled as I read through the notification, feeling more of my powers, powers that ought to have been under my control and usable the minute I first opened my eyes, revealing themselves to me. I was beginning to slowly feel more and more... godlike, and like I was slowly stepping more and more into my own skin. It was a good feeling.

"I think... I think I'm ready now." I muttered, trying to get myself more excited and in the right state of mind. "I do wish I could see all of my powers displayed in one place though..." I said, quietly.

[Oh that can be arranged.] The system told me, right before a notification like list of all of the powers I had gained flashed into being before me. I looked it over and began to smirk.

"I already have such a wild and fascinating diversity of powers at my disposal!" I observed, inspired by the list of assorted abilities that had sprung into being before my very eyes.

[And you'll get even more in the days to come. Allow us a second before you go any further because we think it's time that you get a clear understanding of what it is that being a god means.] The system proudly told me. The odd entity took a second to clear its throat before beginning to speak once more.

[Gods and goddesses are creatures of supreme power. Once a deity has matured they have the power to lay waste to entire galaxies without breaking a sweat. In the ancient past, before the devastating cataclysm which decimated all higher beings throughout the multiverse happened, deities stood at the top of an eco-system made of species with similar but ultimately pared down power.] The system uttered, reverentially remembering the ancient past.

[We don't know much about the multiverse spanning catastrophe that wiped out... well until you came along we were certain that it had eliminated all higher-beings but not much about the catastrophe besides that. It was a tragedy that forever altered the course of history.] The voice mournfully declared.

[And now that you are here... well we don't want to get ahead of ourselves but we are very excited. You being here means there's a chance, a small one at least, to right the wrongs of the enigmatic past. And to discover the mysteries at the heart of that inscrutable past.] The voice told me, the tone of its utterances suggesting that it spoke the truth.

They also suggested a particular order to the thing's priorities, which struck me as rather curious since it wanted to "right the wrongs" more than learn about the past.

[Listen, we're on your side. We, as in the system, and we, as in the domains, want to see you succeed. All of us.] I heard the voice say, speaking to me as if I knew what it meant to "succeed" in this context.

"But what does 'success' mean to you?" I asked the system, curious to have a definitive answer to this.

[That's a fair question and one that you deserve answers too. 'Success' to us means two things. First and foremost it means that you become an omnipotent god. We want you to become a legitimately all-powerful entity. You'd be... the first to ever exist. But if you opt to pursue that goal you wouldn't be going about it alone. And we have plans...] The system uttered, speaking cryptically but also powerfully.

"Omnipotence..." I said to myself, quietly. That was a big word, and it was one of the ones that made sense to me. Whispering it to myself felt right. It felt good to say it aloud. I wondered what the system's more cryptic plans meant for a second, but the thing wasn't done talking.

[The second thing 'success' means to us is that we, through you, learn the true nature of the cataclysmic event from eons ago that wiped out all of your ancestors. We need to know.] My friend told me, revealing the truth surprisingly candidly to me at this moment.

[An immature god can mess around and create a continent in a day. A mature god can bring a planet to ruin in half a day. A truly powerful god, one of the great ones, can cause a lifeless galaxy to teem with life in an hour. An omnipotent deity could theoretically create entire universes in the time it takes to blink.] The voice muttered, before projecting images into my mind of deities doing those very things.

[We need you Althos. And we're here to help you. So... go visit the dreams of the creatures you want to converse with. We'll discuss this more when you return. Each second you're here you're wasting valuable time.] My companion reminded me, causing me to snap out of my curiosity-driven mode and into my more opportunistic and opportunity seizing state of mind.

I nodded, appreciating my companion's attempt at candor. I now felt that I had a clearer picture of the circumstances and objectives of the system than I had had moments before this. It wasn't a much clearer picture, but it was one that I could begin to work with since I now knew a few things I hadn't before.

It was at that moment that I activated my dreamwalker power and selected the first figure whose dream I'd be visiting tonight: The dreams of the goblin named Mawby, one of the goblins who prayed to Cosecha last night.

In an instant, I was whisked away to the dreams of the girl goblin. There was a smile on my lips as my consciousness was phased out of my mind-place and into the outskirts of the goblin's dream.