Deep within the last G.o.d an impossible transformation was occurring. One that was permanently changing the G.o.d. Elevating him. He began to radiate an unusual aura. One of all four elements. Fire, water, air, and the very stones that made up his island, began to surround him and wrap him in a protective coc.o.o.n.
"This feels... Strange." The G.o.d himself muttered. The G.o.d felt new powers come into being deep within him. He felt them mix and mingle with his existing powers. And then his physical transformation began to intensify.
Within the unusual and unnecessary coc.o.o.n, the G.o.d"s form changed further. One of his eyes transformed from a regular eye, as "regular" as any G.o.d"s eye could be anyway, into an orb of flames. His other eye transformed into a sphere of water.
A transparent wing grew out of his left shoulder. The wing was formed from the wind and air that surrounded him and attached itself to him. Some of the very stones at his feet, stones he had created using his own power, freed themselves from his gravitational control and affixed themselves to his arm, creating an artificial hand made of rocks.
"What is this..." He muttered, shocked at the depth of the new powers he felt surging up within. And at the power he was radiating outward, immense energy that flaked off of his skin and was sent in every direction.
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Althos lived in a world on the edge. When he had first come to life, the tutorial and his caution kept the world ignorant of his existence. But certain actions of his had hinted of his existence to a handful of organizations.
His first wide-scale miracle had informed a handful of governments and other, smaller factions of his existence. The emperor and empress of the Ansari empire knew of him. The king of the dwarven kingdom of Atlantis and his daughter knew of him. But aside from them, only a few governments were capable of even speculating about the source of the radiant energy that exploded out from the Rodan forest.
Other factions were also speculating about the source of the explosion of healing energy that transformed the Rodan forest for days. But of them, none dared to send agents to scout the scene for fear that something might happen to their agents. After all, the Rodan forest was a remote section of the wilderness of a harsh island, known to be the last known location of an ancient black dragon. Only specially trained agents dared to visit that part of the world.
But the middle of an ocean did not inspire that same fear. The energy that Althos radiated as he began an impossible apotheosis served as a tempting beacon to the factions of the world. Greedy kings, an emperor, and even the entirety of a band of dragons sensed the power coming from seemingly the middle of nowhere.
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"This power... feels good." I muttered as I began to slowly get used to the new powers welling up within me. I could feel them stirring near where my heart would be if I were a human. And they made me strong. Or at least they made me feel strong. I hadn"t received a notification alerting me to the powers I possessed just yet.
"I feel... invincible." I whispered as I moved for the first time since I began to feel the new powers well up within me. I moved my stone-covered arm. I moved it into view so I could study it.
The stones that were attached to my arm were chunky ones. They clung to me like they were grafted to my skin, which was strange. They felt weightless and moved with my arm, both of which were stranger than if they had just been heavyweights stuck to my arm that made it harder to move.
After studying them for a moment, I came to a profound realization. The powers I possessed and would come to possess, were truly amazing. I had spent enough time among mortals to know how weak they were. To see their fragility and their dependence on things. But I wasn"t like that.
Even now, in my relative infancy, I was powerful. I was powerful beyond anything they could compare me to. And that was a heavy realization. But it was also one that felt... freeing. With power like mine, I could handle any concerns of theirs easily. I could blow most obstacles without batting an eyelash.
The powers that were stirring within me did away with the fear that I felt before. Being an elemental overlord, and a G.o.d, made me feel... powerful beyond measure. And being freed from that fear made it easier for me to rationalize being bold for one of the first times in my life.
Mortality? I could make them immortal. Hunger? I could feed them. Thirst? I could create water as easily as they could breathe. Homelessness? I could construct houses out of stones or metals.
"All it takes is for them to believe in me." I told myself, a smile on my face as I decided to do something truly and undeniably divine. I closed my eyes and allowed my not-so-minimap to spring into view. When it did I greeted it like an old friend. And proceeded to target every living creature in the world.
I knew what I was doing. I knew who all I was targeting. And I knew how to announce to the world that I was a G.o.d, and that I was a creature with powers beyond what their wildest dreams. I would do it in a way that was consistent with my character. By healing.
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In the moments before Althos activated his "Healing burst" power, only the most sensitive beings felt the strangeness of being targeted by the G.o.d.
A handful of creatures, less than ten in total, felt a gentle hand on their shoulders. Unbeknownst to them they were feeling the power of the odd G.o.d who was in the process of becoming something more than any other G.o.d had been. They were feeling his protective touch, and the warm desire he had for all beings to live free.
The youngest of them was less than three years old. The oldest of them was well over ten thousand years old. Both were mortals, just very different mortals. Incidentally, both the youngest and the oldest of the creatures were asleep. Black dragons tended to sleep for long periods of time.
The G.o.d was well aware of the fact that in targeting every creature in the world he"d be targeting the sleeping dragon. He hadn"t antic.i.p.ated that it"d be so sensitive that it detected his divine touch, but even if he had known that he wouldn"t have altered his actions. He was accepting his powers, and the strength they conferred, and that meant behaving with pride. Behaving with belief in oneself.
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I chuckled as I activated my power, the legendary "Healing burst" ability I had used in the past. I felt an incredible amount of divine energy, an amount I never imagined I possessed, leave me all at once. But it didn"t make me feel drained. Instead, I felt... exhilarated by it. And the world around me lit up.
I was gazing at things through a hazy aura of dust, fire, water, and flying stones, but the transformation of the world was clear nonetheless. The second I activated my power all I could see began to glow a beautiful silvery glow.
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Althos was standing on a floating island in the middle of the ocean. But he was actually in a part of the world compared to where Puerto Rico was that was hours into the day rather than someplace where the morning was just beginning. Where he was it was roughly 1 P.M.
In Puerto Rico, it was about 9 o"clock in the morning. And in Reconquista was it was 4 in the afternoon. In some parts of the world it was the middle of the night. But no matter where in the world one was, Althos" powers detected and healed them. And also made them emit a faint, or in some cases a not-so-faint silvery glow.
A world-wide miracle had never occurred in the history of this universe. The old G.o.ds had followed too many divine rules for it to ever be possible for any group of G.o.ds to target an entire world at once. Althos was a G.o.d of change and chaos, and the last G.o.d in the multiverse. He followed no such rules. And that was what made that moment possible.
All at once, every single disease that plagued every single creature living in Torus was cured. Every wound that caused lingering aches and pains was healed. Every amputated or severed limb was regrown.
In most cases this took less than a single second to occur. In other cases, such as when a limb was being regrown it took slightly longer, but even the worst conditions were healed in less than five seconds.
People all over the world stopped and gasped in awe as they felt the effects of the G.o.d"s actions impact their bodies. The blind were given vision. The deaf could hear. Limbs were regrown, and incurable diseases were healed.
Entire cities fell silent for a moment as shock and awe were felt by their residents. And then came the tears, the shouts, the gasps, of a world freed from the scourge of disease, a world momentarily freed from pain and from the helplessness of a single terminal diagnosis.
Mothers and fathers with sick children were overcome with emotion as they laid their eyes on their healthy, silvery children. Soldiers in medical tents who had given up hope saw their wounds healing before their very eyes.
Friends of the blind broke down when their blind friends spontaneously regained the ability to see. Those who had been left paralyzed cheered when they took their first steps, thanks to the healing they had received.
Every single person who had been healed had a few minutes of amazed delight where they just reacted to the healing they had been given. But eventually, every single person in the world began to wonder how they could be healed. They wondered who or what possessed the power to heal them.
They didn"t have to wonder long. Minutes after the G.o.d healed them, he transmitted a notification to them that answered their question.
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[Alert: Praise be to He Who Heals!
The entire world, every single living being, has been healed of every condition that plagues them. This act of mercy and kindness was performed by a G.o.d unlike any other: Althos. Althos came to life on this planet and now he seeks to become its G.o.d. This is just the first of many miracles he will perform.
Althos is the last G.o.d in all of existence. And he is using his divine power to change the world. He wields power over healing, life, death, and disease, among many other things and he sought to create a level playing field from which no one could deny his divinity.
He is calling for a momentary ceasefire to all of the inter-empire and inter-kingdom conflicts, and for the immediate and global abolishment of slavery. He understands the significance of these demands, but they in no way are requests or suggestions. They are demands.
He is willing to aid those who are open to freeing their slaves but would need some sort of aid to continue to live their lives as is, provided they do not harm any of their slaves. And if someone attempts to hurt their slaves that person or those people will be punished for their actions.
More information will come, via global alerts, in the hours and days to come.]
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"No more hiding." I told myself, smiling as the silvery glow that illuminated the world began to slowly fade. It was a slight dimming, not nearly enough for it to fade away entirely.
"I will become who I am meant to be. I will master my pride, and my powers, and free this world, and all others, from the scourge of slavery." I muttered, a grin on my face as I spoke.
I knew that I was being bold, something unusual for me, but I also knew that if I wanted to change the world I needed to take decisive action. I felt a number of things at this moment. Interestingly I felt no fear. I felt no uncertainty. I did feel curiosity. And I also felt powerful pride well up within me.
I, personally, felt incredible joy. And moments after the notification went out, I began to feel the faint echoes of the emotions of the world"s living inhabitants.
I felt their hopes. I felt their joy. Their triumph. I felt their hearts turn towards me, and I heard the shouts of elation of those who I was freeing from slavery. I felt the sorrows of those who were angry that their world was changing.
Not all of the world was overjoyed. Some people were angry. They were angry at me for swooping in out of nowhere and in their eyes "taking from them what was theirs". "What was theirs" in their eyes were the people they enslaved. I chuckled at the slavers who I predicted would resist me and ignore my demand.
Others felt that I came too late. Even as they themselves were healed, they felt that I came too late for their loved ones. They remembered those who weren"t alive to receive my healing. Their children, their brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives. Their neighbors. I understood the powerful sorrow and frustration they felt.
Others were angry at me for another reason. They hated that my healing was indiscriminate. They wanted me to heal them, and not their enemies. Their fury was powerful. I chuckled as I felt it. Their hatred for their foes wasn"t unpleasant to experience echoes of. It was... different, darker, than the other emotions I had felt.
I sat back and allowed these emotions to wash over me. A few minutes pa.s.sed, and the first prayers to me began to reach me. I was about to begin to explore those prayers when a mauve-colored portal appeared not far in front of me.
The portal was a gigantic circle of alteration energy that stood tens of meters tall. It was diluted and weaker looking than my portals were, as well as not providing me with a clear view of whatever was on the other side, but I watched and waited for whoever had opened it to step through. When no one did after a full minute had pa.s.sed, I chuckled and spoke.
"Do you think that I"ll just go into random portals that open in front of me?" I asked, shocked at how foolish whoever opened the portal seemed to think I must have been. I heard a low chuckle emanate from the other side of the portal.
"Do we have permission to step through the portal? Onto... Your island?" A low, animalistic voice asked. It spoke to me in a language I never heard, a serpentine one that hissed each "s" sound.
"Identify yourselves first." I replied, even as I focused my gaze on the portal and began to try and see all the way through it.
"We are the order of the Golden Dawn. Does that name mean anything to you?" Asked the same voice. I began to see... something through the portal.
"It doesn"t, but to be fair I"ve been living in a remote community on an island colony so my knowledge of the world isn"t... significant." I told the voice.
"I see... In that case, would you allow us to show ourselves? You"ll find that that will provide you with more immediate information than if we talk your ears off." The voice replied. I sighed and appraised the creature. And then smiled when I realized what it was.
"Sure Alucard, why don"t you come and say h.e.l.lo?" I asked, smiling. The speaker, Alucard, took a single step through the portal. He stepped through foot first.
All that was initially revealed was a single, sinuous, scaled leg. The scales that covered it were every bit as opulent as should be expected from someone who was a member of an organization that had "Golden Dawn" in its name.
[Name: Alucard Radiant Burst (Level 10 Warrior)
Species: Golden Dragon
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Personal Virtue: Patience
Personal Vice: Greed
s.e.xuality: Heteros.e.xual
Magic sensing: Dragons are incredibly skilled spell-casters. Alucard, as an adult golden dragon, is no exception to this rule. He became a warrior to augment the incredible mastery he has over alteration magic.
Faith sense: Alucard believes in the cause of the order his ancestors established, the Golden Dawn. They are freedom fighters who worked to free the world from slavery by outlawing it a kingdom at a time.
Authority detection: Alucard is the chief spellcaster of the Golden Dawn. He is trusted by all of his peers in the organization when it comes to all matters related to magic.
Soul sense: Alucard has the perfect soul to become a cleric of any G.o.d of freedom.]
Rather than take another step, the dragon pushed its head through the portal. For the first time in my life, I found myself standing face to face with a dragon.
"h.e.l.lo freedom fighter. Have you come to pledge yourselves to me?" I asked, curiously. I sensed a number of other dragons behind Alucard himself. I grinned at the dragon, and the dragon gave me a curious gaze.
I was feeling positively G.o.dly for the first time in my life, and I bathed myself in a combination of "Religious fervor" and "Unfettered divinity". The dragon stepped all the way through the portal and was followed by three other dragons who possessed similarly colored scales and faces.
The four dragons spread out across the area in front of me. Each of them was facing me and eying me carefully.