A curse almost involuntarily left my lips, the crack sealing itself as if it never broke. Like a muscle repairing itself, the barrier became sturdier.
The sound of breathing attracted my gaze.
Mediocris, the fairy on my shoulder, her face was flushed golden face. She was hunched over, her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily. If someone saw her now, they would think she ran a marathon.
I tapped her and, using the power of this void, healed her, restoring her stamina.
The stars in her eyes twinkled, as she looked at me with a grin on her face, her little canine poking out. Mediocris patted her bicep and flew to her chair.
A smile appeared on my lips, but it didn't last long.
Even through the screen, I could feel it, that putrid aroma of those accursed creatures. The beings made from dread. More were coming, even ones made of more complete laws. Stronger, sturdier with bits and pieces of ego.
"Creator, that thing." Her nose scrunched up in disgust. "Not nice." She nodded to herself. "Not nice at all, very bad." Her lips shifted to the side, as her right cheek puffed up.
The little fairy glared at the screen with her arms crossed. Her little galactic eyes narrowed, while her beautiful brow furrowed.
"No, not nice." I murmured to myself, my eyes glued to the screen.
Diana's party began to fight against the abominations, each member taking on an adversary, Diana and Ria taking on multiple.
Frustrated at my lack of success, I inhaled sharply. Which was strange in a void devoid of air. Like when I discovered how to use my dragon eyes, I moved the mana in my dragon heart. The mana within it stirred. No, not mana, something stronger, stranger, more holy?
Even in complete focus, I couldn't help but touch my lower lip.
Usually, when a swordman used mana, they let it flow through their veins from their core, but something else was flowing through my veins.
Lightning flowed through my veins, the sun shining in my chest. I could feel the Heavens wrap around my body. Yet it wasn't the heavens; it was something lesser.
The sky.
For in the sky lies the road to the Heavens.
My eyes widened in realization. The core that was revolving, summoning this energy was no core at all; it was a spark. A spark of divinity, and what I was doing right now was igniting it with holy fire, and I knew at that moment what was happening.
I was ascending.
Rather, I was evolving.
Perhaps it was the ignorance that came with not even being a year old. But I was a born god, the line of text said it, my summon said it. Even that saint said it.
Then what was this?
Clearing my head of unnecessary thoughts, I redirected my new divinity, which resembled a tiny sprout, and focused on the wall.
This time, instead of brute force, I opted for finesse.
It was natural, just like how blood flows in a human, or how one breathes. I intrinsically knew how to use the energy; it wasn't learned but inherent.
It wasn't the first time I handled this energy; it was the same concept as handling faith. In fact, the divine energy was a more refined version of faith. So, I used what little I had left, and in that moment.
I was the sky, and the sky was me.
It was beautiful, I could feel the birds flying, the sun shining in the sky, the clouds forming, rain falling, thunder roaring, even the small molecules of hail and snow forming in the clouds. Every sensation, no matter how small or how big, I felt it.
My eyes closed, and my words left.
[This isn't a Dungeon.] This time, a crack didn't form, but my words didn't completely transfer over.
Only a fragment.
Maybe it was the lack of faith, or the fact that I had little hold over this domain. Or maybe it was because I was just a fledgling god.
Yet it didn't matter.
She's a smart kid.
Right?
She will understand my words...
It's not like there were a lot of things, 'this isn't a' could mean.
I opened my eyes, but the feeling of omnipotence didn't vanish. I could feel this world more clearly.
It was mine.
The hint to leaving this place also surfaced in my mind. I was evolving, and when I was done, I would be gone.
It was why I was starting to see more, because I was changing on a molecular level.
There was no time for introspection, leaning into my seat.
I observed the party, it was like reading a fairy tale, or watching a movie.
The princess moved like a dancer, her sword cutting through her foes, not a wasted move.
"What an interesting girl." With my flame ignited, everything became clearer. I rubbed my chin.
"What's so interesting?" The eager little fairy chirped from her seat; her mouth was filled with popcorn.
I looked at her with a smile on my face, silence filling the room.
"Tell me." Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in, a curious gaze in her eyes, and her head tilted back and forth as if she couldn't stand still.
"Mean creator." She turned back to the TV with a huff. She swallowed the popcorn with a loud gulp and inflated her cheeks to let me know she was angry.
My summon, Diana, moved with the skills of a seasoned warrior used to killing.
The paladin, like a weapon of light.
The Saintess supported them with prayers.
It was a classic story, a tale as old as time. if this wasn't the hero's party, then what was?
Nothing screamed protagonist like accidentally teleporting to a foreign country and helping out the natives.
Yet the joy from watching my summons party didn't last.
A hideous, vile aura tore through the void, and it watched from the other side.
A god. Its eyes were the size of stars, and the entire thing was an eerie green flame, one that reeked of rotten flesh, of fear and dread.
The foul god didn't notice me, instead, it was focused on something else.
A summoning circle appeared at the bottom of the deep ocean, the domain of another. The evil god didn't seem to care, its divinity like a horrid version of my own, drilling into the ground, the circle formed by rotten flesh.
Something was stirring deep beneath the ground, not quite a god but close.
What arrived was something that encompassed the word abomination. It had two rows of eyes, the top black, with orange pupils in the shape of an X. The bottom was black with slitted red pupils like snakes.
The creature was an amalgamation of a snake, a spider, a roach, and a giant fish. It had long Horns on the edge of its ears, its nose had tendrils that wiggled like they were its own creature. The body a sleek green, with patches of rotten flesh surrounding it, heads forming on its underbelly. Its body was wrapped in the laws of dread; any creature who saw it would fail to understand it.
There was no need to talk about its scent.
A single word sufficed.
Appalling.
The Fairy beside me shivered in disgust; she was even able to handle the energy of the world to create something to stuff in her nose. She was grimacing even with her nose blocked.
It was ugly and smelly enough for my dragon nose to wrinkle in disgust.
But it wasn't just disgust I was feeling, rage welled up inside of me. It's alignment evil, a small shard of divinity stuck inside me, screamed at me to kill it. That wasn't even the reason why, my blood boiled, why the lightning in my veins threatened to escape and drown the world in thunder.
No, it was because it dared target something that was mine.
How dare it? How dare it? How dare it? How dare it?
It wasn't like I could say I saw red in that moment, no, I could see clearly, more clearly than I ever had before.
A growl escaped my lips, and the world beyond the monitor trembled, lightning enveloped in the sky, and thunder screamed as if it was angry.
It was angry.
I was livid.
Clouds gathered, the white clouds darkened, and thunder rumbled along with my will. The sky shattered like an array of lights, and thunder sang. Right as the thing, the abomination, shuffled like a scurrying rat after it devoured the beach.
There was a certain joy, seeing a creature made from dread run.
A bolt of lightning, acting as my will, struck the creature, killing it.
The sky cleared, and the sun shone, as if to proudly state it helped.
[You have interfered with the laws of causality]
[You will suffer a penalty!]
[Calculating!]
[Calculating!]
[Error! You corrected the laws that were disturbed.]
But the words from the text, which I hadn't seen since I chose my evolution, didn't matter to me. No, I was more interested in the eyes that turned to me and glared.
I would have laughed if I weren't shaking with rage.
Two glowing orbs of fire were glaring.
It couldn't have been a funnier sight, yet I wasn't laughing.
The divinity inside me stirred, as it slightly grew larger.
"Tlaloc grows weary." The words echoed repeatedly in multiple different ways. Instead of hearing one normal voice, it was more like whispering.
Ignoring it, I glared back at the eyes.
Words popped up in front of my vision. A notification from the text.
[Lothar has invited you to chat!]
What the? The momentary confusion almost snapped me out of my anger.
Did that thing have text, too? Or was this something a god could do? I didn't know, but why did that thing want a chat?
It would have been smart to deny. I was out of my element, barely someone who stepped into the role of a god. Yet the draconic instincts drilled into me, the pride that was so strong that it led thousands of dragons to their downfall, swelled.
How dare it try to take something from me?
So, I foolishly accepted the invitation from a foreign god.
The void around me shifted, the room changing into something else.
I was being pulled, called somewhere to a different void.
The fairy shivered, but her big eyes blinked rapidly, and she flew to my shoulder, rubbing her head on my shoulder.
An action that slightly relieved my anger.
The darkness folded upon itself and reformed around me. A mountain was carved out of gold, a temple surrounded us, a sigil of the sun on the top, and in the back was a literal sun. The peak was shrouded in lightning, and it continuously poured down, like it was raining lightning.
Surprisingly enough, the fairy on my shoulder wasn't frightened; instead, she looked amused, looking around in wonder.
A throne of lightning formed around me, and my body morphed into a human's, the stifling feeling still there but slightly comfier. The change wasn't my choice, but I sat on the throne anyway. There was a helmet on my head, and armor adorned my body. Similar to the warrior that the native leader had.
Another throne materialized in front of me. It was held by the souls of the damned, the throne was made of obsidian, with intricately carved symbols scattered about, the lines were green flames. The symbols depicted a descent into darkness and the great fears of the world.
A being formed, and instinctively, I knew it was a god. Only something as holy as that thing could be called a god.
But while holy, its aura reeked of evil, and just that was enough for me to meet it with disdain.
On the top of its head was a red feathered plume; the helmet was like a turban, one you would see on an Ottoman's armor. The black chiseled armor was pristine and perfectly crafted, with a black sheen. And a face screaming in terror on its chest, carved so lifelike I had to look at it twice. He had a cape on his back; it was made of green flames. His eyes were the same as they were in the sky. The face of the helmet was a sheet of black metal that was carved to look like a face.
Before I could register any surprise, it opened its mouth.
"Tlaloc." It seethed, its eerie eyes glowing. "In that form." He clicked his tongue in displeasure. "To mock me?" He shook with his hands clenched on his throne. The area behind him was erupting in green flames.
After nearly a second of silence, he leaned back.
"This is not your mess, do not be involved," It warned, its throne of souls trembled. Screams of the damned, echoed only stifled by the sound of raining thunder.
Huh, a small chuckle left my lips, one of anger.
Did I look that weak? This attitude, this way of speaking. My human hands clenched, the anger muddling my brain.
The peak seemed to mimic my fury, as it erupted in a cacophony of thunder.
Even if what was speaking to me was a god. How dare it speak to me like that?
"Mind your tongue, wretched god." I slammed my leg into the ground, and cracks of lightning formed underneath.
"You." It slammed its fist onto its throne. The ghoulish flames behind it erupted, like wings. The black and green throne snapped at its armrest. It repaired itself, a soul dragged down, and another replaced it.
His divine aura flared. I could feel it bearing down on me like a weight. Yet I shrugged it off.
"Strong as ever." He leaned back in his seat. His eyes made their way towards my shoulder.
"I see you brought that wench with you." The flames churned as if it were a furnace, and coal was being fed.
Why was it calling me Tlaloc? And who did he think the little fairy was?
Confusion seeped in, but my anger at his disrespect hadn't faded.
The little fairy poked her tongue out and blew a raspberry.
"Call her that again." My nostrils flared, and flame blew out of my nose. The thunder boomed, lighting the peak.
He chuckled as he stood up from his throne.
"Angry now?" He laughed as if mocking me, it rattled like the sound of death. His head tilted, as if observing prey.
"Or what?"
"You were silent, then, you were silent for eons, you were silent when I was dragged to hell. Yet now, when victory is nearly in my grasp, you are willing to break it for that..."His fist clenched, and the flames behind him came alive; he couldn't even say the name.
Silent for eons? I'm sorry, buddy, you have me mistaken for someone else, not that I care. If this meant stepping on his toes, I didn't mind mimicking the god he thought I was.
But if it invited me to talk, perhaps there was a way to solve this without bloodshed. The inner seed of good inside me dimmed my anger.
"You attacked someone who belongs to me." My response took him back, he held his forehead as he fell into a fit of laughter.
I stared at him in disdain. He stopped and looked at me, his green flames growing brighter.
"Always selfish, only caring about yourself and that stupid notion of good."
"You are as much of a hypocrite as that bastard."
"Where were you? Where the hell were you?"
"The shining sun, the god of thunder and rain, the light of justice." He spat the words like a curse, his footsteps heavy as he walked forward.
"You who spoke of justice, of the good in the heart of man, fled like a coward at the first sight of conflict."
Lothar's body radiated hatred; around him, mirages of fear appeared.