"What do I want?" I asked myself. It was an important question, one that merited legitimate consideration. "I like the freedom my current lifestyle affords me. That said, I also want others to be free." I muttered, keenly aware that I possessed the power to effect grand change and to forever change the world.
"I am staunchly opposed to slavery. If I want to oppose slavery effectively... I need to come out of hiding and declare that I am outlawing it. And that I have the authority to do so. Authority I can wield by virtue of my power as a G.o.d." I realized, firmly aware that the longer I hid my existence the longer practices that I hated and firmly opposed would continue to be practiced.
"The longer I am wishy-washy the longer slavery and other equally abhorrent acts continue to occur." I muttered, clenching my fists in irritation. I knew that I was at the point where I needed to make a decision and stick with it.
"I possess the power to change this world in ways I see fit." I whispered, beginning to feel something come up within me.
"I need to use it. And not run from it. I am a G.o.d. I still don"t know much about what that means, but I need to accept the power within me and embrace it as a means to achieve my goals." I said, speaking loudly now. Undead around me were looking in my direction, aware of my proximity but not who I was. I didn"t want them to know. Not yet anyway.
I was in the middle of planning something, something that I knew may well require their aid. But first I needed to be truly introspective. To look within myself. To examine myself and see who I was, versus who I wanted to be.
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I was afraid. I wasn"t sure of what entirely, but I theorized that I was afraid of my own power. And a part of me felt that that was comparable to being afraid of myself. G.o.ds were the closest thing possible to power incarnate.
The power I possessed gave me the ability to ravage solar systems and that sent shivers up my spine. If I was being honest that was likely why I had yet to use my more destructive powers. But those powers were necessary, important ones.
The fear I felt was a powerful one. One that had probably lurked in my heart ever since I first interacted with Okig and my lack of control over my own powers caused her mind to be altered. But I knew that I wasn"t the same G.o.d I had been when I did that. In the days since then, I had changed, and in turn I had changed entire societies.
I had met creatures all over the world and gone to s.p.a.ce. I had fought in major battles and converted entire settlements to my worship. I had gained the power to reanimate the dead. If I let my fear control me it would take me forever to gain the powers I wanted and to abolish slavery.
"How long will I let my fear control me?" I asked myself.
"How long will I restrain myself? And am I truly free if I continue to hold myself back?" I wondered. It didn"t take me long to come up with an answer.
"No... If I continue to let my fears go unnamed, unaddressed, and unresolved, then I am not free. And if I want to free others surely I must free myself first." I realized.
"But how? How can I confront this fear I feel within me?" I wondered, pushing myself to arrive at a breakthrough somehow.
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I spent a few minutes stuck in an introspective loop. I was pushing myself to find a way to free myself from a self-imposed cage of fear, limitations, and caution that kept me from acting on my desires. And a part of me, the part shackled by fear, was pushing back against my desire to free myself.
"But if I misuse my powers the consequences might be irreversible!" A part of me argued, advocating for my caution and for my continued slowness with regards to the usage of my powers.
"The longer I refuse to use my powers, no matter what justification I come up with to avoid using them, the longer slavery continues to be practiced. The longer people continue to be shackled. The longer I continue to deny something that is fundamental to a G.o.d: my own power." Another part of me retorted.
"I am not free so long as I allow fear to control me. To define me." That same part of myself argued.
"But what if I make mistakes?" That cautious part of me argued again.
"Then I learn from them. And if necessary I fix them. I am not a child. I can take responsibility for my mistakes and I can fix what I break." The firmer, bolder part of me retorted.
"How can I be a G.o.d of anything important if I refuse to use my powers? What is the point of my existence, if I let fear define me and keep me small? What can I create if I allow myself to be afraid?" The brave part of me, the free part of me asked.
For the first time, the voice in my head, the part of me that was afraid, was quiet. The brave part of me was winning. I sensed it. And it made me feel excited.
"I practice my powers. I hone them. I train with them. It makes me strong. And now I must let it make me brave. I must let it make me grow." That part of me whispered. And it wasn"t wrong. I did train with my powers. I did practice with them. I took them seriously and used them intelligently.
"I am a G.o.d. I am not a mortal. And I am not confined to the old ways of the G.o.ds of the past. I am my own person. And at the end of the day, if I am to grow I must not let fear hold me back." That part of me whispered, triumphantly.
"That doesn"t mean not listening to my fears. I can be intelligent and careful with my powers without being afraid of them." I told myself.
"And to prove that... I should use them." That bold part of me a.s.serted. I smiled as I realized what the courageous part of me meant. A way to use my powers that would be both ambitious and would be something I could do without harming people.
"I must accept who I am. What I am. It is time for me to become myself. To embrace the G.o.dly pride that dwells within me. The G.o.dly pride that dwells within me is a gift from my ancestors. And if I am to become who I am meant to be, I must accept it. I must accept my own power." The bold part of me whispered, coaxing me to accept who I am and to be myself. Power, pride, and all.
Feeling a surprising certainty and boldness I closed my eyes and teleported out of the undead city. I was going somewhere far away from it. A place that wasn"t dark, or crawling with the undead.
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I found myself in a new place an instant after I realized that there was a safe way for me to use my powers and begin to fully and truly confront my fears. I was floating freely over the ocean.
As far as even my gaze could see all I could see was an ocean. The ocean that stretched around me in every direction was a stunningly beautiful crystal clear blue color, and it teemed with oceanic life. I wasn"t here for the ocean though. Instead I looked to the sky.
The sky stretched endlessly above me. It was cloudless and breathtakingly beautiful. And it was also the perfect place for me to begin to use my powers fully and artistically. I rose a hand and pointed it into directly above me.
I saw the empty air that endlessly stretched out above and around me and willed it to no longer be empty. And I watched as reality itself changed at my behest.
Stones and soil began to appear above me. Slowly. I chuckled as I watched them gradually come together and struggle to form a cohesive surface on which something could form. I rose another hand and aimed it squarely at the scattered collection of stone and soil.
"I must be brave." I told myself, as I activated an ability of mine for the first time: my mastery over gravity. I shivered slightly, feeling a bit of anxiety, as I began to utilize this potent power. I was worried that I was going to mess it up, and create a gravitational core that would be too big and attract too many things.
[Oh wow, you really are experimenting aren"t you?] Asked the system, an interested tone coloring its question. I gritted my teeth and ignored the question.
I carefully and determinedly focused on a distinct mental image. I envisioned an invisible "center" of gravity for the stones and soil to circle around and come together to surround. And I watched, as they began to do just that. It took a few moments, moments which eventually turned into minutes, but the rocky base of my future island did begin to come together before my very eyes.
I quietly fiddled with the power I had just begun to use. I took a second to make sure that the gravitational core I was creating would not be bothered by other sources of gravity. I had magical powers after all, I might as well use them to advance my own ends shouldn"t I? Especially since I was neutral. I"d be neutral towards things like gravity when it advanced my own ends. And ignoring gravity was definitely advantageous right now.
After enough of a solid base for my floating island was built for me to walk on, I willed myself further into the air and above the lovely ocean I was floating over. I ascended, ignoring wind, gravity, and any other things that might otherwise try to keep me down, easily.
It took me just a few moments to reach the top of the rocky island. I set foot on it as I recalled the details of the quest to become an elemental overlord.
I had chosen this quest, because it required me to flex my powers. It demanded that I make use of some of my more potent abilities, and that I do so without fear. Or at least the way that I envisioned the quest being fulfilled would require me to do that. And I was going to be creating a whole new place, instead of just taking over an existing place, with existing people. Which meant that I could begin to tackle my fears of my bigger powers.
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[Quest information: To become an elemental overlord, you must create a sustainable, flying island. Once you do you"ll gain access to the abilities granted to the weakest elemental overlords. This flying island must have s.p.a.ces dedicated to all four of the elements.]
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""s.p.a.ces dedicated to all four of the elements" huh? Well that"ll be fun." I told myself, chuckling as I stretched an arm out towards the ocean. Without even really paying much attention to it, I called out to the ocean and mentally whispered to the body of water.
"Come to me. Obey me." I told it, coaxing it to serve me. I felt it obey me without any hesitation, as all other elements had, and a moment later I watched a long tendril of salt.w.a.ter appear off the edge of my floating island. The water snaked its way towards me and then proceeded to wrap itself around the hand that I outstretched towards the ocean.
I looked at the stone floor under my feet and tapped it with my right foot. While doing so I willed the earth in front of it to stop being perfectly smooth and instead made it a bit b.u.mpy. I made the surface of my island b.u.mpy enough for me to have some s.p.a.ce in which I could pour out some of the water coiled around my arm into it. It created a b.u.mpy portion of the floating island that was a few meters deep and a few meters across.
I moved my hand over the b.u.mp and then willed the water into it. The water, moving as if it were a strange, elemental serpent, slithered from its position coiled around my hand to the imperfection I had just created quite easily. I watched as the long tendril of water moved as if it were alive until the strange part of the island was completely filled with clear salt.w.a.ter.
"That should be enough." I muttered, chuckling as I admired the tiny pond-like area I had just created. I had basically created a decorative salt.w.a.ter pond.
The island I had created was dozens of meters wide, and it easily ignored gravity. It was a free-floating structure that was situated above an ocean that was undisturbed by islands or even seafaring vessels.
I walked a few meters away from the pond I had just created and proceeded to create another imperfection, a depression, on the island"s surface. Making this one was even easier than making the first. But it was also more uneven, so I spent a few moments correcting it and making it conform to a specific set of dimensions rather than allowing it to be organic. I could decorate my island how I wanted too after all.
As soon as it was constructed, I outstretched my other hand over it. I grinned as I activated my powers over fire, and I reflexively willed a bright red flame into being just underneath my hand. The fire came into being in the form of a solid, dark scarlet orb. It was a perfect circle in shape.
I admired the orb for a moment, distracted by both its shape and its color. "How pretty..." I muttered, looking right into it. And then I shook myself out of my daze and proceeded to gently drop the orb into the depression I had created for it. A sort of fire-pit.
When the orb hit the bottom of the pit, it energetically spread out across the s.p.a.ce that I had designated for it. As soon as the lively fire tried to spread out further than the area I had intended for it to occupy it, the actual pit, I chuckled and stopped the blaze with a slight flex of my mind.
The flame immediately retreated, slinking back into the artificial confines of the fire-pit. I watched, lazily, as the fire was pushed back by the invisible force exerted by my mind over it. It only took a few seconds. As soon as it was done I grinned and turned back to study the rest of the island.
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The island stretched out before me, perfectly smooth and unshaped by anything other than my handy elemental powers. It was beautiful, in an unapologetically rocky sort of way.
I still had two more sets of elemental subdomains that needed their own little areas before I"d be awarded access to my next set of powers. Air and earth.
I walked away from the fire-pit, and when I felt that I was a reasonable distance from it I took the same hand that I had conjured the fireball underneath and outstretched it once more. And then I pointed my index finger straight down, pointing it at the ground underneath me.
I closed my eyes and envisioned a tiny tornado begin to swirl out from my fingertip. I pictured a tiny funnel that came out of my fingertip and nearly touched the island"s surface but managed to stay just above it at all times. I shivered as I felt the air reply to me with vigor and begin to dance to my whims.
When I opened my eyes I was delighted to see a thin funnel cloud that spun just underneath my fingertip. The thing was pretty tiny, less than a meter tall, but it quickly gathered dust from the stones around us and became visible to the naked eye since it had a swirling cloud of debris that effectively outlined it.
The tiny almost-tornado spun harmlessly. I watched it for a few moments and laughed happily when it began to freely roam the island. That said, I wasn"t careless and reached out to the wind with my mind. I ordered it not to approach the other spots wherein tiny displays had been or would be created. I didn"t want the tiny twister to mess with my other efforts.
I had a single element left. The element of earth. And this one, my first element, was easy.
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"The element of earth." I muttered, as I knelt down. I reached out and touched the stone at my feet.
The stone was solid and unyielding to my touch. I felt its strength, its st.u.r.diness, against my fingertips. And I also knew that for all of the strength and st.u.r.diness of the stone it would not resist me. I was the creator of this place, and its master. I dug my fingers into the stone that the island was made of, and then proceeded to activate my powers.
"Grow. Up!" I muttered, as I yanked some of the stone straight upwards, creating fragments. I was able to easily rip stone out of the island, and as the stones and fragments I set free were separated from the island and regained their own, lost, independence they began to stretch.
I watched, amused, as I created another sort of monument on the island. This one was of enlarged stones. The stones I had pulled free from the insidious and tyrannical grip of my gravitational powers began to eagerly grow as soon as they were exposed to the air.
Dozens of tiny stone fragments grew in the blink of an eye. They sailed through the air for a moment, growing as they did. They only stopped growing when they collided with the ground from which they had been liberated. By the time they did though, they were each around half a meter wide and half a meter tall. They had been centimeters wide and tall earlier when they were torn free from the ground.
The portions of stone that were bigger than fragments that were freed grew as well. Heavy chunks of stone were almost a meter wide and tall by the time their weighty ma.s.ses collided with the floor underneath my feet. As soon as the last stone was pulled back to the island by the gravity of Torus as well as the gravity of the island itself, I felt something new.
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The instant the final stone collided with the island"s surface the young G.o.d completed the quest. And as he did, he began to undergo something new: an apotheosis.
The deity fell to his knees, breathlessly. This frightened a part of him, but the sensation wasn"t uncomfortable, it was just distracting. Its suddenness had caught him off-guard. That was when the G.o.d"s skin began to glow a lovely shade of bright blue and emit a radiant light that matched his skin tone.
The young man was undergoing an apotheosis. A transformation into something new, and possibly mysterious. Or even something truly special: something divine.