When the door clicked shut behind her, silence settled like a heavy fog.
I stood there for a while, staring at the spot she'd just occupied, trying to process everything she'd said. Chaos. Mad gods that want to consume the world.
Yeah, that was a lot to digest.
I sighed and dragged a hand through my hair. "Just another normal day in godhood, huh?"
The mirror in the middle of the room rippled softly, responding to my voice. I moved toward it and crouched beside the water's surface. With a thought, the image shifted, clouds rolled away, and the mortal world came into focus.
Elren.
The kingdom stretched beneath me like a living organism, cities pulsing with life, smoke drifting from forges, wagons cutting trails through the countryside. People moved about their day, unaware of the cosmic mess looming above their skies.
Good. They didn't need to know. It wasn't their fight anyway.
I zoomed in on a small village near the western border. Farmers were out in the fields, using a strange new layout, rows cut in straight, even lines instead of the chaotic scattering they used before. One of the men barked orders with confidence, showing others how to rotate their crops for the season.
My lips curved slightly. That one. He was one of the people I'd nudged a few weeks back, a farmer who kept praying for a way to feed his family through the droughts. I hadn't given him miracles. Just... a little inspiration. A memory that wasn't his. The knowledge of irrigation, fertilizer balance, and crop rotation. Simple stuff from back home.
Now, he was teaching it like he'd come up with it himself. And the others listened.
"Ba***rd" I chuckled
I switched the view, now to a workshop in the capital. A young blacksmith stood over an anvil, hammering metal into shape. Sparks flew as he worked on a strange design for a more smooth and efficient crossbow mechanism.
He didn't know it, but the pattern had come from me too. Not through direct command or divine message, just an idea that slipped into his dream one night. A dream of a better trigger, a better way to reload.
Bit by bit, the kingdom was changing.
Watching them, I felt... calm. It wasn't the kind of power trip the other gods probably got from their followers. This was something else, it was quiet and it felt purposeful not like i was winging it. Not like I didnt know what the hell is was doing.
My role wasn't to rule them or smite their enemies. I just wanted them to stand on their own, to learn and to survive.
I leaned back and exhaled slowly. "Looks like they're figuring it out," I muttered. "Good. Keep going, you stubborn ba*****s."
For hours, I sat there, watching. The sun fell over Elren. The streets started to thin as they emptied. Merchants bargained, children ran home through wet roads, scholars debated in candlelit halls. No sign of the undead. No green circles. Just life and not the strench of corruption.
I didn't realize how much I'd missed the sight of ordinary people living their ordinary lives.
Maybe this was what protection really meant, not just shielding someone from harm, but giving them the tools to thrive without you and then watching them living and thriving.
By the time the moonlight replaced the sun's glow, my thoughts were becoming cloudy. The mirror's image dimmed, fading back to calm water. I sat there for a while, listening to the quiet hum of divine energy in the air.
"Let's keep this going," I whispered, more to myself than anyone else.
"One dream at a time."
As the hours stretched, I felt it before I heard it, a soft, silken voice echoing through my mind.
"The Council summons you, God of Protection and Swift Judgment."
I blinked and turned toward the door just as it swung open. Standing there was a green-skinned god, his body glistening faintly under the golden light. Scales shimmered along his neck and arms, and curved claws tapped against the doorframe. His crimson hair fell in loose strands over slit-pupil eyes that gleamed like rubies.
When he smiled, rows of sharp teeth flashed.
"The God Council has summoned you, my lord," he rasped, this time speaking aloud instead of in my head. "You are to present your testimony before the gods, and the Godheads themselves."
That last part made something in my chest tighten, but I gave a small nod.
"Right. No pressure, huh?"
He didn't laugh.
I stepped out of my house, the cold marble ground biting against my bare feet. The reptilian god's grin widened as he looked me over, and then he placed a clawed hand on my shoulder.
The world popped.
Light warped around us, and in the next instant, we were standing in a massive marble hall. Pillars rose endlessly into the sky, their tops lost to clouds of light. My guide turned to the far end, where two enormous golden doors loomed, tall enough to crush a mountain.
"I'll go in first," he said with a rasping chuckle. "Prepare yourself, mmk?"
Before I could answer, he slipped inside. The doors sealed shut behind him with a soft thud.
I swallowed. The air felt heavy, almost stale, as though each breath carried the weight of divine scrutiny.
I waited for a few heartbeats, then stepped forward. My toga dragged slightly behind me, the fabric feeling heavier with each step. When I touched the golden doors, a ripple of light spread across their surface.
They opened with a groaning rumble that shook the hall.
And what waited inside almost blinded me.
A surge of brilliance, white, gold and blue, crashed against my senses. I had to squint as my eyes adjusted, the world slowly coming into focus.
Rows of gods filled the galleries on either side, their forms shifting between human and inhuman shapes. Twelve banners hung from the high ceiling, each embroidered with a different symbol, a trident, a quill, black clouds, crossed swords. Some bore dual insignias, two authorities united under one pantheon.
And at the far end of the radiant hall were three blinding lights.
The Godheads.
Their halos burned blue, yellow, and red. Pure, unwavering, and suffocating. The closer I walked, the heavier the air became. My steps faltered. Breathing felt like dragging air through water.
I grit my teeth and released the seal on my power.
Warmth burst through my veins. My spine straightened. Light crawled along my skin in thin gold lines that converged at my chest, forming the shape of a pointed cross within a shield.
My halo flared behind me.
Strength returned to my limbs, and I walked forward again, light for light.
When I reached the front, I looked up at the three figures.
The one in the blue halo was painfully familiar, golden hair, clear blue eyes that held shock and curiosity in equal measure. To his right stood a man with dark hair and a yellow halo, his violet-red eyes gleaming with amusement that didn't reach his smile. And to the left, a hooded figure radiating calm menace, his green eyes glowing faintly from the shadows of his cowl.
"Welcome, God of Protection," said the man with the yellow halo. His grin widened, predatory and false.
"It's a rare honor to finally meet you."
The hooded one spoke next, voice deep and even. "Quiet, Ludfrick. Let's not forget the reason we are here today."
Ludfrick's grin didn't falter. "Of course, Kalrus. Today concerns Chaos, after all."
He descended the marble steps, each click of his heels echoing like a drumbeat.
"So, Adam," Ludfrick said, stopping a few feet from me. "Tell me, what do you know of Chaos?"
"Nothing," I answered, keeping my tone steady. "Just what's written about the War of Heaven. Beyond that, I know as much as anyone else."
"Mmm." His eyes narrowed. "Then why did the forces of Chaos manifest in your domain? The God of Death has been silent for centuries. His power hasn't be able to touch the mortal plane because of the seal on the well. Why now, and why you?"
Before I could respond, another voice spoke from the gallery above.
"The beastmen gods recently submitted to Ada.. I mean, the God of Protection, and to me."
I turned. Ramona stood among the assembly, her silver eyes sharp as blades. "They were the ones who last came into contact with Death's essence. If anything, they brought remnants of it into his lands."
Warmth flickered in my chest at the sound of her voice.
But Ludfrick's smirk didn't fade.
"They were cleared of suspicion, were they not?" said another voice, smooth and calm, from the opposite gallery. A young man with shoulder-length red hair stood there, his gaze locked onto me.
"Yes," Kalrus said slowly, his tone shifting. "Which is precisely why he must be examined for the scourge."
"Agreed," Ludfrick purred. His grin grew wider. "Let's begin, shall we?"
Before I could react, a golden pressure slammed down on me.
Bars of radiant light formed around my body, their weight crushing the air from my lungs. My knees buckled, and I dropped to one knee, teeth clenched.
"Why are you treating him this way?" Ramona's voice cut through the hall, furious. "You didn't bind Karinas and her pantheon like this when you tested them for taint!"
Her footsteps echoed rapidly, and then she was there, kneeling in front of me, hands on my face. Her eyes darted, full of panic.
"Move, Zamira," Ludfrick said lazily. "We must bring him to the Well. For his… test."
I forced my head up, struggling against the pressure. Ludfrick was signaling someone from the crowd.
Heavy hands grabbed my arms.
"Father!" Ramona shouted.
The man with the blue halo, the one with the piercing blue eyes, still hadn't moved. He just stared at me, shock frozen on his face, as I was dragged toward the doors.
And in that single moment, before the light swallowed everything, I realized something.
He wasn't just looking at me, it was like he found me familiar somehow.