Eldritch

 

God damn, am I currently panicking.
At the moment, I have to give it my all not to cause any quakes, but that's not all that easy.
For real, it's not exactly a stress-free moment.
Not only is this going to be a very crucial moment that decides whether or not the people will accept Soraja, which is still quite a demand considering their last experiences with outerdimensional, supernatural beings, but also, the one who caused the last rather big incident is right here and currently freaking out about if she'll be seen and recognized.
Not to forget that their great sorcerer saint stands right next to me.
This leaves only one option.
Hide away before being seen.

 

"Chiaki, we need to hide! They can't see us!" (I)

"Well then, isn't this a good moment to check out the summit of this huge temple site?" (C)

 

There won't be much to hide behind on top of this mountain, as I left the plateau free for Soraja to place her own design there.

 

"There's nothing up there." (I)

"Nonsense! At least, there'll be a great view waiting for us! Now let's race for the top! Whoever’s last is an old grandma! No teleporting!" (C)

 

Damn, this girl.
She even has the mind to place crucial rules to her craziness.
I can't really leave her behind and start running after her, sprinting over the big bridge that connects us to the holy site I created on the other side of the river.
While running at top speed, I quickly notice how my legs change into bestial ones.

Nonetheless, Chiaki somehow manages to stay ahead of me, clearly utilizing body strengthening, which explains how she can take like twenty meters with each jump.
Did she at no point ever question this development of her own body?
Just saying, I would be concerned.
Okay, maybe I shouldn't be talking while running so hard that my legs have to be constantly repaired as every single movement would be enough to wreck any body that has no convenient unholy regeneration powers.

As soon as we make it to the other side, I notice that another contestant joined us.
A certain young boy that is propelling himself forward with lifeforce like a living rocket.

 

"Don't think you can just leave me behind!" (A)

 

Is it possible that even on the inside he's just a kid and suggestible to this kind of teasing?
I probably should never have acquainted him with Chiaki.

We rush onward, over a blank white plain.
The slight wetness from the sudden emergence out of the waters makes quick running difficult, and openly said, dangerous for anyone who can't heal up if they slip.
Should I worry about Chiaki?

But before anything happens the hardest part begins.
The steep rise up the mountain.
Chiaki directly jumps from one stone platform to the other, like a speed runner in a jump'n run.

I follow directly behind her, but despite my enhanced senses and uncanny thinking ability, the movements don't come nearly as natural to me as to the repeated winner of every sports medal our school's sports clubs have to offer.
More than once, I twist my ankle when I don't land as planned, scrape my leg to the bone when I miss a pointy stone, or just misjudge the distance when trying to take a jump naturally without relying on weirdly calculating numbers in the back of my mind that aren't the ones taught at school.
Thankfully, the pain is negligible, and the injuries vanish as fast as I cause them.

In other words, while I believe myself to be physically superior to Chiaki, she has the edge on me.
Aureas on the other side got a bit impeded by the fact that I'm leaving a gory, bloody trail behind me on my ascent to the top.
That solely consists of myself to soothe everyone.
And no, I won't comment on the fact that it's by no means a human color.
There's nothing wrong with black and purple!

While I'm on my way, my outer eyes tell me that Soraja is levitating at a relaxed pace in our direction.
Obviously, the thousand-year-old goddess has no issues with being a granny.

Eventually, I reach the peak, close behind Chiaki.
It helped that I got a bit more used to moving at that speed during the last third, but thinking about how I fared in general, I certainly can't brag with this degree of physical coordination.

 

 

"I won! Soraja, did you see me?!" (C)

"I saw... many things. Some of which I'd like to forget. But you were good. Even going as far as delivering a defeat to this eldritch nightmare of incompetence." (So)

"Hey!" (I)

"Look at this and tell me this was an example of proficiency!" (So)

 

I look down the way I came from.
Yep, it's a literal, gory mess.
With a thought, I let my world swallow up all the blood I left behind.
If any people pass by here, then a blood trail wouldn't be the best first impression of Soraja.
Following this line of thought, we should think about a way to improve her chances of a successful first contact.
Which could become rather difficult if they assume she's another demon from beyond the veil.
And her presumed reaction to this kind of claim won't help to disperse this image.

"Does anyone have an idea how we can prevent Soraja from being perceived as a hostile invader?" (I)

"They're on their way because that's exactly the case." (A)

"I suppose it won't be an easy task. Truly, I would've preferred a more decent entrance than whatever you thought to accomplish by pulling mountains out of the ground. Mortals fear too great power, after all." (So)

 

Unfortunately, she's right.
Someone who can raise mountains can as well level cities.
This leaves me with only one viable option.

 

"Aureas, can't you put in a good word for her?" (I)

"You want me to actively work towards my demise!?" (A)

"Look, you care about those people, right? Soraja here is a goddess of fortune. She can help with growing crops, being healthy, and in general, give of life of plenty. As far as I remember, there was an issue with producing enough food. With Soraja around, there won't be a problem like this anymore. The people will presumably develop very well. You wouldn't have to worry about there not being enough for your fulfillment." (I)

 

I don't really want to think about them massively multiplying within me.
However, it's a good point.

 

"Still, what if she replaces me?" (A)

"Soraja, if Aureas helps you to get established, would you be so kind not to try taking his place at the top of his pantheon?" (I)

"That's a moot discussion, with you still being around." (So)

 

Can she please just help me out here and give a clear answer?

 

"Soraja, please. Just tell him you won't." (I)

"Heavens! I didn't plan to do anything of this sort. I was fully content with ceasing in oblivion. I can very well do without a power struggle." (So)

 

That should be good enough as assurement.

 

"And now everyone, take each others hand and shake in agreement!" (C)

 

For real, Chiaki?!
They certainly don't seem to want to follow up on this.
Which doesn't keep Chiaki from running over, grabbing both their hands, and sticking them together.

 

"Yay!" (C)

 

Was she always this irresponsibly reckless?

 

"Sigh, that's you." (So)

 

It might have to do with her former life, which I'm still concerned about.

 

"Don't just assume that I agree with this! How do you even think I would influence the people?" (A)

"Can't you just send a vision if you're connected to all of them?" (C)

"It's not that simple. I can't just intrude into their minds. They have to accept it." (A)

"Well, just send a message. Someone's going to receive it, right? I'm sure we can prove to them that it's you." (C)

 

 

 

She makes this sound so simple.

 

"Do I have to? Is that an order?" (A)

 

The look goes directly towards me.
I guess he's aware that I'm the one controlling this world, even though I don't want to mess with the people.

 

"It's more of a request. You don't have to make up a big revelation for the entire society. Couldn't you just address some key personnel?" (I)

"It's still problematic, but not impossible. However, the biggest problem is how to go about it. The kind of message they would receive." (A)

 

Yeah, saying "Here! New goddess! Be nice!" would maybe be slightly improper.

 

"It's not that difficult. Trust someone with far more experience than yourself. You just have to declare it in a positive way. Make it sound like your doing. Believers don't tend to question the boons they're given. If you tell them that you're responsible for my appearance, nobody would think twice about accepting the things I have to offer. Which are plenty, by the way. All I require is some initial handle. The trust you have is just the thing I need to get started." (So)

 

All this shows that deities also have to be politicians to maintain their position.

 

"As you say. But I don't like it." (A)

 

It's hard to tell what exactly happens next.
Probably the part of me that handles all the higher outer god mathematics could, but I don't like having it so present in my mind that it actively affects my thinking.
The thing is, there's suddenly something like a lifeforce flow emitted from Aureas, rushing through the dimensions, or rather a message in the form of pure energy.
This one is connecting in data streams to what my world sense tells me are the people.
Not all of them, but many.
It seems I just witnessed a divine revelation.
Crazy, but kinda aesthetically artsy.

 

"Done. Many are freaking out right now." (A)

 

Which was to be expected.
I have to rein myself in quite a lot to avoid spying on them in their homes.

 

"What about those on their way?" (I)

"I contacted three of them. The leader, second in command, and a cleric." (A)

 

Well, there's no need to freak out everyone of them.
But something about what he just said makes me nervous.

 

"Cleric? Don't you mean scholar?" (I)

"After I revealed myself theology became a new subject among the scholars. While some still focus on knowledge in general, many chose to study me and the inexplainable things among them. So the order of the clerics was created, dedicated to support belief in me." (A)

 

Oh damn, I got religion in my world.

 

"I, I understand that this is part of this whole 'being a god' thing, but promise me you’ll intervene if they try to bring you human sacrifices, okay?" (I)

"O-okay." (A)

 

It might be that my eyes flashed black just now, as the starting out god's expression tells me.

 

"So, how much more time do we have before the visitors arrive?!" (C)

 

Chiaki, this isn't some tourist hot spot.

 

"Not very long. A tenth of a mealtime maybe." (A)

 

We really need to work on proper time measurement in this world.

 

"Whatever this means, it should be plenty for the next step." (So)

"Which would be?" (I)

"Building my shrine, naturally. Now watch and witness how a true deity creates their foundation in a world!" (So)

 

I'm not sure how to take this attitude.
But before I can respond, I notice the same workings of golden aura that marks Soraja's portal workings on a massive scale, directly over our heads.

Then it seems to rain out of it.
It soon becomes apparent that what falls there is building material.
However, it doesn't just crash into the ground, rather it aligns while falling into patterns and neatly lodges itself in position on the plateau right in front of us.
Giant wooden beams are quickly surrounded by golden-red maisonry that stacks upon each other and rises higher and higher.
It finishes off with golden brackets that form the ceiling.
Eventually, a complete eastern temple is created.
Soraja looks back to all of us.

 

"And this is how you build a temple, without relying on your corrupted sources." (So)

 

Yeah, yeah, I'll give it to you that it looks neat.

 

"Wow! How did you build this?" (C)

"I imported the material by deconstructing the temple out of my realm." (So)

"Then that means you're really committed to this?!" (C)

"At this point, it wouldn't make sense to do things without committing to it. Either I push through or perish during the attempt. In this sense, I don't require another base." (So)

 

That's kinda impressive.
To think that she would go that far for a thing that she was just dragged into by me and Chiaki.

 

"At least the people will probably be in awe at that sight." (I)

"As if this meager thing would be all I am capable of!" (So)

 

At this, she walks to the cliffside in the direction of the bridge and swings her arm in a wide arc.
When she does so, thousands of glistening dust particles scatter in the air.
Like snow that consists of light and is much smaller, the dust settles to the plain.
And from one moment to the other, countless plants start to sprout as far as one can see.

 

"This is the way I do my workings!" (So)

 

She might be haughty, but just looking at the beautiful field that consists of so many different types of crops and plants makes me think that there's more to her than just this abrasive character.
I mean, she's literally rather constructive here.

 

"Yes, that was certainly quite a feat, and at least I could see your workings of construction, but the people are almost here." (A)

 

So quick!?
That's not good, that's not good!

 

"Chiaki, this was our signal to get out of their way!" (I)

"Okay, but only because I want to see the interior of the temple as well!" (C)

 

If it works, whatever.

 

"Fine, then let us get in there, Chiaki, before anyone can see us." (I)

"Yay!" (C)

 

Seems like this is truly going to happen.