Since this morning I continued to feel giddy for some reason. I couldn't sit still, no matter what. So I decided that it was best to seek places out my followers wouldn't come looking for me.
I found one on this roof providing ample view over the bustling city undergoing reconstruction. Not undisturbed, sadly.
There was one girl bothering me, kneeling with her head bent, touching the hot roof tiles. And a whole expressionless contingent of soldiers scattered about.
While I thought, some days ago, that she'd leave me be if I don't care about her or behaved rudely, the truth differed. The girl couldn't be smitten with me, right?
She must've seen me furtively glancing over, for the girl spoke. "Mightiest of the gods, please grant us your blessing."
The very same sentence I'd heard who knows how often already. From her repeatedly, from the ones before her... from cornered leaders, defiled priestesses, helpless grunts, and utter madmen.
All they had in common was the desire for longevity beyond the grave. I had enough issues with my believers, with those who turned undead on their own.
So it stood to reason that I wouldn't stupidly add to my own workload "The answer remains the same. No."
I dashed her hopes without glancing her way. This was not because I happened to be haughty, arrogant or put on airs.
While I was still furious about the loss of my grand collection, I wouldn't unload these feelings upon the brittle shoulders of mortals. This wasn't my first millennia of being a god, after all.
Suddenly, the strange feeling increased in intensity. Without further ado, I followed my divine instincts, ready to react to whatever deplorable event was orchestrated next to put me down.
Yet instead of some darn plot unfolding, I saw a cloudless sky where the midsummer sun was but burning down mercilessly upon us all.
However, this simply couldn't be. I wasn't suffering from dementia or hallucinations... So I circulated my divine power through my body, essentially turning into a demigod for the time being.
While the girl was shuddering under the suppressed might I passively exuded, I pierced the concealments and... had to take a very deep breath.
"Mightiest of the gods, if my plea displeased you, please tell this lowly me how I can make amendments. May you quell your anger..."
Despite not targeting her or any of the mortals for that matter, the fear deeply ingrained in their bodies made my actions look worse than they were.
I didn't answer. Because the thing I saw took away my breath. If not for my divinity's feedback reassuring me that I was as sane as I could get, I'd have doubted myself, truly.
There were a bunch of high elves running about, each more scared than the next. They ran up from below the roots of that malnourished sapling, crashing into the others fleeing downwards.
All this confusion for the simple reason that the realm they were in was cracking, disintegrating even, shrieking for good ol' Spice to come and collect.
Then there were countless vines that tried to protect the bunch of headless chickens, stabilise the groaning sapling and at the same time hinder the countless dimensional tears from widening.
Even the evident lack of energy those vines suffered from was not the reason for me spacing out. Rather, it was the perpetrator of all this change.
"Please, mightiest of the gods, grant us your blessing." Like hell, I'd do that! In the middle of all this chaos stood a figure I matched perfectly with the nightmarish brute of the past.
If earlier I was still unsure if that *Thoth* who had been washed ashore to my saloon was the real deal, now I couldn't quite picture the repercussion of his announcement.
The announcement figuratively shitted onto the Just Federation's top dogs and all the darn rules and regulations they stood for.
The Eternals were not yet dead... thus the future would be extremely turbulent and full of bloody clashes.
Had he only been silent enough to not be noted... but no, his true self was about to destroy the biggest surviving piece of Álfheimr.
"Greatest of all the gods, we shall proclaim your glory. We shall whine and turn at your almighty feet for just a smidgen of your boundless wisdom."
I was glad for the woman's shameless buttering up. Since I had set eyes on the gigantic, squirming mass of law and source that Thoth had turned into, my mind was attacked by all the concepts he embodied.
Rustic force of Mother Nature none but the true Eternals could harness... too much to bear on all accounts.
I felt my vision churn and glimpsed something of even greater disastrous consequences. From everywhere and on all timelines, a hand was stretching out.
One small yet giant, unassuming yet impossible to miss, brittle yet equal to the greatest of forces making up the universe, it didn't seem to move, to exist even.
Nonetheless, the contrary was the case. The dark hand almost escaped my perception as fast as it was. My senses soon turned useless because of these contradictions.
This was something I wasn't allowed to understand. It was more than a simple piece of the shattered order, now mostly forgotten. A nostalgic era...
I felt something itch on my face and returned my attention to the mortal realm. At one point, the girl had stood up, braving the pressure and came close.
At second notice, she was even wiping my face with a handkerchief, soaking up deeply metallic blood. Unbeknownst, I had been injured just now.
She was considerate, but not without reason. As always. I sighed. "Listen, peace is a distant dream. I will not help.
I will not bless your people so that you can take up arms even beyond the grave. I will not bother with the issues your careless rebellion makes you suffer from.
I will not hinder other empires and kingdoms from intruding. This is but the answer to your decision. And as such, it is what you and your people have to overcome."
I left the girl posthaste, taking with me only the handkerchief. While I was travelling, I felt the space around me quake, as did my godhood, felt the shackles vanish.
"The Just Federation's most prized barrier hindering all of us from exhibiting might beyond the greater grade, shattered.
Conflict will flare up. Conflict will mould the universe anew. Damn Thoth, your hasty decision kicked me into the abyss of slaving away.
Stupid work, stupid divinity, just why have I fought hard for this position?!?!?!" As always, my rant remained without an answer.