[To activate your "Earth Control" power, merely will the earth beneath your feet to listen to you. You are a G.o.d.] The voice of the system entered my mind quickly, reminding me of who and what I was, presumably to explain why this might feel easy. I listened to its mechanical instructions with a casualness that would have probably been off-putting for a mortal. I nodded and closed my eyes. I ignored the not-so-mini-map which sprang into being immediately as my eyes shut. Instead, I focused on the ground beneath me and imagined it bending to my will. I imagined it being subservient to the one who was, in essence, its master. I imagined the earth greeting me as a domesticated animal would greet the human or humanoid who took care of it.
I focused on that mental picture for a few moments before I willed the earth beneath my feet to jut upward a meter, creating a platform for me and then scoot forward.
I was pleasantly surprised when it obeyed me, and I felt the ground under my feet seem to come alive. The patch of forested ground I was on suddenly visibly rose up and proceeded to dash forward, allowing me to effortlessly speed on a strange, organic platform towards the ogress who was trying to flee from me. I chuckled as I began to give chase to the woman.
I willed the thing in her direction but turned my gaze downward to examine what was now speeding me towards the terrified ogre. I stood atop a strange platform composed of soil and stone. Directly underneath my feet was a rolling platform of soil, pebbles, and larger rock. I was perfectly balanced atop it, and the thing moved with surprising speed.
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As I was ushered towards the speeding ogress I took a few moments to ask my companion another question. This one was an idle curiosity I had thought about while on my way to the ogresses but one that I didn"t have the time to question then and there.
"So... undead can worship G.o.ds, which makes me wonder would about the metaphysics of the undead. Are there any differences between worship received by mortals and worship received by the undead?" I inquired, hoping to begin to understand the differences between creatures a bit more.
There was silence on the other end of the mental "line" that tied the system and I together. It took the thing a few moments to reply to me, moments during which I was stoically conveyed by the very earth itself towards my quarry.
[It is... incredibly difficult for undead worshipers to grant you progress towards good domains and subdomains. Many types of undead also can"t help you gain influence over domains and subdomains that require or reward independent thinking. And lesser undead do not have souls, which you"d think would be a bigger deal than it actually ends up being given the countless treatises mortals have written about souls.] The system explained, taking on a scholarly tone as it spoke.
I nodded, the movement quick and appreciative as the system wrapped up its explanation. "So what sort of undead creatures exist?" I asked, taking this downtime as a way to begin to build my knowledge of the nature of undeath.
[Plenty. Some of them are really weak though. Those are things like the creatures you know as "Hungry Hands", zombies, skeletons, shadows, and b.l.o.o.d.y bushes. Greater undead creatures, monsters like ghouls, ghosts, mummies, and liches also exist. But the truly great undead are creatures you can"t yet begin to imagine. You just have too little experience in the world to be able to wrap your mind, as it is, around them.] My companion revealed, teasing me a bit at the end.
I chuckled and took that as a polite way of telling me that I needed to work to gain more knowledge and experience. I rolled my eyes at the thing and refocused on the scene in front of me. I was going to learn about those mysterious greater undead one day.
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Iret was dashing through the forest, her steps crushing leaves and roots underfoot. She was fast, faster than one might have thought possible given her size, but nowhere near fast enough to escape me. In moments I was on her trail, my ability to reach her made even more efficient by my mini-map tracking her in real-time.
"h.e.l.lo once again." I said to her, as I stood motionless on my mobile platform. I heard her gasp out in terror, her heartbeat becoming a terrified and explosive noise as she realized that I had effortlessly caught up to her. She tried to dash faster, actually slipping past me for a second, and I mentally urged my platform to speed up. It rocketed forward, allowing me to reach her once again.
Her heartbeat was hammering against her ribcage, audibly so at this point. As I reached her again I looked at her and studied her form. Her skin was glistening with sweat, and her brow was practically drenched. Her sweat quickly vanished underneath her fur armor, and I watched this happen to a few different drops of the stuff with rapt fascination.
After a few seconds of idly standing beside the cowardly ogress, I opened my mouth and began to speak. As I did so I envisioned my voice sapping her of the will to stubbornly deny the logic of what I was about to say.
"So what"s the game plan here? Are you hoping you"ll escape me? Because in case you can"t tell, you can"t. There is no escaping me now that I"ve laid my eyes on you. But more than that, you don"t even know what I want. I told you I was a G.o.d, you laughed, I froze the woman you hate, and then you fled." I said, pointing out that her actions weren"t based on much knowledge.
"I"ll freely admit petrifying your hated foe may not have given you the impression of me I wanted to convey, but in fairness, I was reacting to you two. And so I wanted to make a show of what I could do. Now, why don"t you just... stop running and hear me out?" I asked, pouring kindness and understanding into my voice.
Iret looked at me, still sprinting. She had an impressive form while running, one that implied that she was more athletic than I had originally thought. Her legs deftly carried her a few dozen meters away from the statue that had once been and would be again the living form of her hated superior.
She had a look of contemplation on her face, contemplation, and fear. It lasted for a few seconds. And then she began to slow to a stop.
As she stopped I whipped the platform around and turned the thing so that it was in front of her. She towered above me, but her fear made her feel far smaller. I chuckled at her, examining her height with an impressed stare.
She was a powerfully built woman, she had to be given her ability to flee from me and get so far in what was actually only half a minute. We stood perhaps half a kilometer away from Okig"s statued form. Iret had long legs and powerful looking arms. Her limbs were thick, and currently glistening with the afterglow of her physical exertions.
I took a step back, widening my platform as I did so. And then I wordlessly motioned for her to step onto the platform and thus join me atop it. When she hesitated I rolled my eyes at her and readied myself to make what I felt was a great point.
"If you don"t do as I say, I could just turn you into a statue." I lazily explained. This caused her eyes to widen in terror and she energetically stepped onto the platform. Perhaps a bit too energetically, as she actually almost fell backward shortly after joining me. I rolled my eyes at the ogress and caught her by mentally manipulating the earth around her to steady the woman. Once she was secure I mentally urged the earthen platform to take us back towards Okig.
The platform sprinted towards where it had come into being. It was even faster now than before.
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In a matter of moments, we reached the place where Okig"s statued body was currently standing. As we did so I studied my first work of art. The frozen ogress was locked into place with a look of horror and discomfort permanently etched onto her face.
Once the platform had come to a complete stop I willed it to return to its natural positioning. The platform faded back into the earth, and Iret and I were lowered back to floor level. I then took my first step since I chased down Iret and got her to come back here. I stepped away from the ogress and took another look at her.
She was visibly afraid, trembling more now than she had been before. The look of childish, almost primal fear on her face was both surprising and amusing.
"Why are you so afraid?" I asked her, genuinely not understanding why she was so terrified. I could understand a bit of fear, to be sure, but she seemed truly terrified of me. She looked at me, silently for a few seconds before beginning to speak.
"Because you de-defe-defeated Okig before she even knew you were hostile. And because you knew that I hated Okig. Heck, you just knowing Okig"s name is weird. I don"t know what you can do, and what you know, but I know you shouldn"t know that I hated her." The ogress explained. I was impressed for a moment when I realized this meant she had been paying attention to what I said earlier. That improved my impression of her just a bit.
"You were already scared and you already picked up on that. Not bad Iret." I muttered, expressing that she impressed me. I chuckled after that and began to speak again.
"I am not your enemy. In fact, I am actually your master." I began, which elicited a sudden but subtle reaction in the eyes of the ogress. There was a flare of anger that flashed in them. It made me grin at her.
"Calm yourself Iret. Petrifying your friend was the least of my powers. She already serves me. And if I don"t wish her to be in that pose..." I said, threateningly, before attempting to mentally command the statue in the same manner I commanded the earth.
"Move your arms. Bring them to your sides." I mentally told the statue, hoping that the thing would obey me as smoothly as the earth had.
"She doesn"t have to be." I audibly said, as Iret turned to look at the statue in fear. And then the thing"s arms fell to its sides. They were stiff limbs, but the sight of the action was enough to once again unnerve Iret.
"You are already my possession. I do not wish to harm you. I just want you to realize the truth." I told the ogress, speaking calmly and soothingly. I even grinned at her.
"That said, if you"re still feeling rebellious, I can have Okig keep you company. Okig is only happy to serve, aren"t you Okig?" I asked, allowing my voice to wash over both of them. And then I focused on the statue and willed its lips to flip into an eerie smile.
The thing"s lips obeyed me and curled silently, as if of their own volition. The sight of the statue"s lips moving was a deeply unsettling one, but that made it all the more effective. Iret took a step back, her eyes widening in shocked terror at the sight. But the sight of it made me have a question for the system.
"Since the statue is a petrified person... is it aware of things?" I asked, curiously. My question was an inward one. I heard a soft chuckle come from the system.
[No. But... do us a favor and develop this thought a bit. Because we can design divine powers. If you want to design something that doesn"t exist and you tell us what you"re thinking, you"ll earn that immediately.] The system revealed, causing my eyes to widen in shock. A pleasant shock, one that filled me with excitement.
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In the depths of my mind, I took a second to envision Okig gaining some sort of awareness. But not quite an actual awareness. Instead, the ogress would gain an awareness I could manipulate. One that I could control.
At that moment I felt an alien urge well up within me. The urge was powerful, but also clearly unnatural.
"What should I do about this?" I asked myself, honestly unsure of how to approach this.
[If you experiment with it your powers now, there might be rewards later.] Suggested the system. There was a sinister smile audible in its voice, like it was testing me. But if I was being honest, that did sound tempting. The part of me that wanted to experiment with my l.u.s.t-based powers felt dark and sinister, but I recognized that it was a legitimate part of me, albeit one that was being egged on by some foreign influence.
[So you"ve already noticed huh? Not bad. It"s important that you have some awareness that the domains and subdomains can influence you. It"ll only grow stronger as you grow older and more powerful. Do you want to resist it this time?] My companion asked me, genuine curiosity audible in its voice. I considered what to say for a second.
"Honestly? I kind of want to see what happens if I indulge a domain or subdomain for a bit... And if I opt to indulge the domain of corruption, at least at this low level of influence and with the sin of l.u.s.t, I won"t kill or permanently harm someone right?" I asked, mostly asking myself. I heard a gentle chuckle from the system.
[In fairness... you are choosing to use this power on an ogress. We, the domains and I, can a.s.sure you that"s she done far more vile things to other creatures than anything you choose to do to her.] The system promised, attempting to a.s.suage my consciousness. I had to suppress a chuckle. A not so small part of me wanted to be mean, but I had to work to contain that part of myself. I was able to do so, but it took a lot of self-control on my part.
[Well... it won"t cause you to do something you can"t undo. So what do ya say? Why not be curious for a second?] The ent.i.ty asked. I grinned and nodded.
"Help me design something fun." I told the system, a dark joy audible in my mental voice. And then a sinister idea came to my mind.
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"Can you design a power that allows me to control what Okig perceives while she"s in the statue? Especially a perception wherein I could cause her to feel pleasure while trapped in her stony state? I want to use the time she"s helpless to make her experience a sort of addictive pleasure that makes her want to serve me." I explained, consciously aware that this was almost certainly caused by the influence of the subdomain of corruption.
[So wait, you want to pump her full of l.u.s.t and pleasure while she"s a statue?] The system asked. I could hear the tone of its voice and knew that it was asking this to help me push my idea.
"Yes. But if it"s at all possible I don"t want whatever power we create to be limited to making her feel pleasure. I want this power to be able to allow me to inflict pain, fear, happiness, anger, a range of emotions and sensations, on those I petrify. A sort of upgrade to my "petrification mastery" power." I explained, hoping that the system could make it happen.
There was silence on the other end of the mental link the system and I shared. And then I received a pleasant alert.
[Alert: You can now use a new synergistic power. This power is dubbed "Stone Prison".
Stone Prison: This is a pa.s.sive power that ties together the mind domain and the earth subdomain.
With it, you gain an enhanced degree of mastery over petrification that allows you to cause petrified creatures to experience sensations you wish them to experience and gain false memories justifying the sensations, while petrified.
New t.i.tle received: The Architect of Falsehoods.
t.i.tle explanation: This t.i.tle is one you"ve received for creating a new divine power that relies on lies. It is something bestowed upon you by the domain of trickery and the subdomains of lies and falsehoods.
Architect of Falsehoods pa.s.sive powers:
Undetected lies: This is a lesser version of a power you"ll gain when you gain the lowest tier of influence over the subdomain of lies. It makes your lies harder to detect.
Enchantment Magic: This power grants you a few enchantment spells, a necessary part of eventually gaining influence over the domain of minds and the school and subdomain of enchantment magic. Enchantment magic ensnares the mind and creates falsehoods perceivable only by specific targets.
Architect of Falsehood active powers:
A sensual lie: Upon activation of this power your next lie takes on a more s.e.xual connotation or is understood in a s.e.xual sense. As a deity with influence over l.u.s.t, this makes the lie a bit more believable. This power can be activated an unlimited number of times a day.]
I activated my new power, aiming it at the only applicable target. I envisioned Okig experiencing a storm of pleasure, a constant torrent of pleasurable intrusions that reduced her mind to mush. I chuckled as I felt the power begin to take hold and then turned so that I could refocus on the ogress who wasn"t a statue.
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"Okig is having so much fun right now. You see, she"s trapped in an unholy prison I created just for her." I muttered, approaching Iret. I pointed at the statue and willed it to change just a bit.
I envisioned the statue"s lips being freed from the petrification. And an instant later they were. The stone fell off of the statue"s lips, hitting the ground beside the thing, and the petrified ogress began to moan. The voice that inexplicably managed to escape from the statue was sickening, but there was a disturbing sincerity to the moans as if she was approaching some sort of climax.
I set aside how I personally felt about the quality of the voice of the statue, at least on the outside, and began to smile at Iret. She was scared stiff, and the moans continued unabated. They filled the forest air, and had an unholy enthusiasm to them.
Most of them were unintelligible, but as I allowed the voice to continue to escape from the statue I began to hear words leave the statue.
"More!" The statue shouted, demandingly. "Harder!" The statue commanded, as if she were somehow in charge, despite the ridiculous situation the pride of the ogresses had put them in.
I let this continue for a full minute, beginning to somewhat s.a.d.i.s.tically enjoy this by the time I decided that it had had the full effect possible and willed the statue"s lips to be petrified once again. The forest fell silent once there was another layer of stone covering the Okig"s lips.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself." I arrogantly said, grinning monstrously at the unpetrified ogress.
"I am Althos. I am a G.o.d of undeath, of earth, and of l.u.s.t. And I am your master." I told her, my tone no doubt informing her that I wasn"t asking if she"d serve me. And I suddenly had one final stroke of genius. One that involved the one creation of mine that was hidden away in the shadows.
"And let me make this clear. If you cling to some notion of pride... There is more than one way I could make you serve me." I told her, before gesturing behind me at the skeletal stag who had hidden in a darker part of the forest behind me.
As the undead creature stepped out of the shadows and proudly walked over to me I spoke once more. "You can serve me in life, or in death. But you will serve." I a.s.sured her, hoping that this smashed the last bit of her that was strong enough to not serve me.
Iret gasped when she saw the thing, and I watched the last flicker of hope and resistance in her gaze die. She must have realized in that moment that I wasn"t a creature she could hope to resist and that since I declared that she was my servant I was simply declaring a fact. She probably a.s.sumed I had killed and reanimated the stag myself, and I didn"t correct her.
After watching the last flicker of hope and stubbornness in her eyes die I felt a cruel sort of satisfaction. It was fun to chase her around and get her to acknowledge my superiority. But I also wanted her to serve me, not just acknowledge that I was greater than her. And so, a mere second later I made her an offer.
"I am not an unkind master. If you serve me, I"ll allow you to take out your anger and hatred of Okig, on her. And she"ll be helpless to resist you." I explained, grinning at the ogress who I had made give up.
"I know of the hatred you possess for her. I know how cathartic it"d be for you to get to beat her up. All you must do to get to do that, what you"ve wanted to do for so long is serve me. All you have to do is worship me." I told her, whispering evilly to the humanoid.
There were a few moments of silence while she considered what to do. And in those moments I began to walk over in her direction. I wasn"t approaching her though. Instead, I was approaching Okig.
As I did so I unfroze the petrified ogress" chest, from the top of her hips to just below her neck. An entire section of stone crumbled to the ground and caused a loud impact as it smashed into the floor.
When I reached the ogress I curiously began to run my hands over her soft skin. I felt the skin underneath the leather armor and realized that I didn"t feel like exploring it obstructed by armor. I grabbed the armor covering her chest and tore it in half with a single forceful yank. I threw the halves to the floor, discarding them with ease and then ran my hands over the newly exposed skin.
Okig"s skin was old and flabby. But that didn"t stop me from exploring it with interest. It was my first time doing something like this, after all. Her skin reacted to my touch, and I felt the blood that gave Okig life begin to flow excitedly to wherever my fingers were as they lightly traced her skin.
I also felt Okig"s heartbeat. It was a powerful, steady, rhythmic drumlike beat.
I started off near the bottom of the freed area and rapidly ran my hands over her partially exposed form until I got to the area just underneath her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Hers were nice and large, even if they sagged due to age and physics.
I looked at them, admiring their size and the width of her puffy nipples, which were erect and thick. They stood firm due to the sensations a.s.sailing her mind and my exploration of her body as well as the cool forest air that touched them. After a few moments of visual exploration, I boldly began to run my hands over her chest.
Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were soft to the touch and seemed to absorb my fingers. It was like they were eager for contact and stimulation, and I found them quite fun to touch. I also touched, pinched, and pulled on Okig"s thick nipples, feeling and enjoying their relative hardness. Behind me, I was keenly aware that Iret was watching me with an eerie fascination.
I could feel her eyes on me, as I amateurishly explored the body of the ogress I was dominating. And at that moment, as I was being watched, I decided to just outright dominate Okig.
I mentally undid the petrification on Okig"s lips and lightly pressed mine against hers. As I did so, I felt her hot breath seep into my lips, and I felt her moan into my throat, the vibrations of her throat delighting me in an unexpected way. Her mind was still imprisoned under my power, and so I received an alert that didn"t surprise me in the slightest a second later.
[Alert: Your activation of "Incubi and succubi Caress" combined with your other powers and aura have left the ogress Okig thoroughly dominated. Okig is now under your control.] The system alerted me, as I felt the ogress" power seep from her defeated form and into me.
The physical might of the ogress seeped from her form. I felt my muscles thicken under my skin and had to suck in a breath so as to not sigh in pleasure from the unusual sensation. The only thing that kept Okig from falling over was that her feet were petrified. I chuckled and grabbed onto her to steady her as I undid the petrification that kept her glued to the floor.
The ogress flopped onto me as her feet were freed from my unusual prison. The stone that encased her head peeled off of her skin and clattered to the floor beside us. I held the thick woman upright as she regained her composure just enough to stand.
Her lips were still on mine, and I opted to tease her. I deepened the kiss for a single second, before swiftly pulling away. As I did so I heard a sad sigh escape from Okig"s lips. And I heard the familiar voice of the system peel into my mind.
[Alert: Your actions have caused you to gain an explosive amount of influence over Okig. They have also damaged her mind, which makes her a better worshiper of yours but also damages her intelligence.
Influence over Okig: 55%
Okig worships you as a G.o.d of the earth and of l.u.s.t. While she was petrified her mind was wracked with l.u.s.tful images and sensations, and she heard whispered, sensuous chants devoted to your glory. Okig is now your first living worshiper. Her worship is granting you progress towards the domains of faith, and evil, and the subdomains of corruption and of pain.]
As the system"s voice faded at the end of the alert I felt the powerful sensations of a new creature worshipping me surge into me. I felt a powerful, pervasive sense of l.u.s.t and a potent desire to inflict harm on others surge into me in the same way that I had just felt Okig"s strength surge into my muscles.
I looked over at Iret and grinned. "Now... what do you say? Will you worship me willingly? Because if not, I can definitely do what I did to her," I said, and pointed a single finger at Okig, who was staring at me l.u.s.tfully. "Or I can do worse things. But if you worship me willingly... you can get all you want and more." I told her, speaking truthfully.
Iret looked at me fearfully. She studied me, and her half-naked tormentor. And then a look of anger surged into her eyes. She kept her gaze locked on her slack-eyed tormentor, and began to speak.
"Earlier you said you"d let me beat her up. If I agree to serve you, and learn more about you, will you still let me do that?" She asked me, while her eyes radiated heated hate in the direction of Okig. I chuckled.
"Why won"t you worship me?" I asked, aware that we were standing in a field of "Religious fervor", the power of mine that rendered people more likely to worship me.
"I don"t know you. Your powers are amazing and terrifying, but I don"t know you. I want to get to know you, before I commit to worshiping you." She replied. I sighed, unable to fault her logic.
"That"s honestly fair. Annoyingly so in fact. So I"ll accept your terms. But you will come to worship me. In time you may not even feel that you need to fear me." I told her, confidently.
"Now... come to me. Come to your master." I declared, grinning. Iret looked at me, fear again appearing in her gaze. That only served to make my grin a bit more monstrous. The ogress began to approach me, doing so slowly.
When she was close enough to reach out and touch me, I willed the earth underneath me to rise up and bring me to eye level with the ogress. It did so a heartbeat later. I reached out and touched Iret"s face. I gently stroked her cheek and she flinched at my touch.
"You are fun. Now... give in to your l.u.s.t. You may not kill Okig, or rip off her limbs, but otherwise, you can be as brutal as you want." I told the ogress. Her gaze warmed significantly as I gave her permission to savagely attack the woman who had tormented her for a period of time I didn"t know but could only imagine was quite extensive.
Iret looked at me with a grim smile and took her first steps towards her tormentor. And then she howled, before becoming the center of a storm of violence that would last the following half an hour and leave Okig a b.l.o.o.d.y mess.
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As Iret threw herself at Okig, I reflected on the dark power I now possessed. I felt it within me, and I wanted to dislike it, but I couldn"t. Not completely anyway.
It was surely a sinister power, but logically I recognized the real potency of a power that let me break minds. Even more so since I could break them non-violently. With the real potential these powers displayed I could bend people to my whims without ever inflicting physical harm. It still came at a cost though, as it inflicted something worse than physical harm.
"But this is... brutal." I reminded myself, aware of the cruelty these powers possessed. I hadn"t intended to break Okig"s mind, I had just wanted to make her obey me. I"d need to fix her mind if I could.
There was a part of me that felt that I didn"t need to make it a priority, I had no doubt she hadn"t treated her enemies as kindly as I was treating her, but still my power was too much to use unless I had a serious reason too. I ignored that part of me, and wondered how I"d fix her mind. To which the system sent me a message.
[We"ll tell you how to fix her mind in time. Now why don"t you sit back and enjoy the show?] It asked, encouraging me to relax and watch Iret pummel her oppressor. I could tell it was annoyed with me still clinging somewhat to something that vaguely resembled a moral compa.s.s, albeit a rather loose one. I chuckled and did as it suggested.