Ryan looked in complete surprise, and was at a loss for words. He was confused about how I could know these things, but also surprised by my generosity. Ryan felt that even if her knew.. He might not have given up the chance to save money.
It was when Ryan accepted the reality of it, that he also felt an equally shattering feeling of shame. He wasn't a good person, and finding that out made him feel awful.
I was watching his expression from the side, and I put my hand on his shoulder again.
"You're not a bad person. You're just someone who has made bad decisions.
But you can change.
You can be someone your mother can look at and be proud of."
I smiled at Ryan and began walking again. I was smiling as I watched the vendor and his daughter, as it made me feel that perhaps the lives of others can have these moments of... Significance.
I didn't manage to find anything else of value, but with the tea set I bought I could easily get a few million. My money problems were now settled, but I had another place I wanted to visit.
Ryan continued to follow me, as we boarded another bus and headed downtown. Along the way, Ryan was lost in thought, as he was experiencing a massive episode of self reflection. I simply did the same as before, I learned the history of everyone I passed, and checked the chat feature on my phone.
The Gods were talking about some arbitrary things, but they did say something that caught my interest.
[Editherio: Have any of you used the Shop feature yet? I heard from a Middle God that the Shop can be incredibly helpful, just you have to be careful with it.]
[Adonis: I've used it. Without a stable world, you will end up causing the destruction of it, causing you to start all over. Either be confident or be careful.]
[Silvanus: Crazily enough, I agree with Adonis for once. The shop can be bought using faith from your believers, but it will inflict a 'trial' on your world. A challenge for your world. It can be anything, a plague, an invasion of an evil God, or even a rift of creatures from another dimension.]
After that they went off topic by talking about how great their worlds are doing, so I left the chat and focused on the bus ride.
****
Ryan and I were currently walking through an art museum, while I stopped and stared at every piece. I was currently experiencing the raw emotions and events that happened while the artists drew these pieces. I also discovered the ability to pivot from an object's history to another's from the original flashback. Allowing me to experience the life of the artists of the pieces I was currently looking at.
Ryan finally spoke.
"Are you... A god or something?" He asked, looking at me.
I turned and looked him directly in the eyes.
"I am a God. However I am not YOUR God. I have my own world. In this world, I am simply a passenger." I replied. I didn't feel a need to hide it from him. I didn't see any value in it.
Ryan was surprised at first, but he wasn't shook to his core like before. He oddly accepted it quickly.
"Why me?" he asked.
He wasn't specific but I knew what he meant.
He wanted to know why I felt he was worthy to know about my Godhood.
"I felt you were a good seed. That's all. I felt you were capable of being someone I could put my faith in."
After that we didn't say another word to each other. He simply followed me as I looked at all the art pieces. After spending an hour there, we left to a restaurant nearby that Ryan recommended, and had dinner. I had been paying for his expenses all day since we met, but whenever he tried paying I refused.
He began to understand a bit of the kind of person I was. I didn't worry about things like money, and I didn't spare expenses when it came to those who were with me. As we had dinner, I asked him about his dreams and aspirations. I asked him about the things he liked, and why. They were odd questions for two friends to have, and I knew the people who overheard us were thinking we were weird, but I didn't care.
I was having a bit of trouble understanding my feelings, and honestly I was even having trouble feeling. I felt like the things I used to enjoy or hate were so small in the grand scheme of things. I was now a God. I had a whole world to watch over.
'Speaking of, I should check on them again.'
Once Ryan and I finished our meal, I ordered takeout for him and his mother.
"No, sir you don't have to do that!"
"Take it Ryan. If you don't I'll go to your mom and deliver it myself. Trust me, I know where you live anyways."
With that Ryan gave up trying to argue. He was grateful either way, as he didn't want to deny his mother food. He gratefully took the food home, and bid me goodbye at the bus stop. I didn't currently have a working phone, as the phone I got was only used to go to Arsenia. So I told him that I would contact him if I needed him for anything, and that until then he should focus on his passions.
If I found him squandering his potential being a thug again, I would leave him to his own devices.
This statement sent a wave of fear throughout Ryan, as he now knew I was a God, he knew there was a whole world above what he thought was the limit. He was fearful of living a life of no meaning. He bowed politely to me, and boarded the bus.
I decided to go home and check on my world. When I got home, I hopped straight into Arsenia.
****
There had been a brutal century long war going on throughout the lands. The Elves encroached on our forests, claiming that all of nature belonged to no one, that Humans were destroying the planet. Orc attacks on our Southern border were increasing in frequency, but the Human race wasn't able to come together.
The Temples had not heard from our God, known simply as Michelangelo, for almost a thousand years now. However the temples still had complete control of the masses, and they refused to make a stand against the other races. They simply raised taxes and continued to take advantage of the poor faithful citizens.
Like my mother.
I felt that all hope was lost, that God had abandoned us for our blasphemy of taking advantage of the less fortunate, and this is our punishment.
I was standing on a bridge, high above the rushing rapids of the river below, when I suddenly felt a presence.
I turned around but I saw no one behind me. I looked all around but I saw no one. Just as I was about to jump, I heard a powerful voice in my head.
'Joan.'
I lost my balance for a moment, just barely being able to force myself to fall backwards away from the ledge. Falling to the ground, my head swiveled around looking for the voice.
'Your purpose is much greater than your status would make you believe. I think you are worthy of being my apostle... My sword.'
'You must help the people who are suffering. You have to fight off the forces encroaching on the land of Humans. You must become the protector of man.'
'Joan. I bestow upon you a title that will enhance your growth to levels others cannot understand.'
'Go forth, and spread my name. Joan...
of Ark.'
With that the voice and the presence disappeared as if they were never there, while a power filled my veins that made me feel as though I could level a mountain.
I knew that what I just experienced was no dream... I had my purpose, and the edict of God... I stood up and headed towards my home. Along the way I bought a sword. When I got home I began to swing my sword in the yard, preparing myself to enter the dungeons tomorrow.
It was this day that a hero of humanity was created.
The name Joan of Ark would shake the world.
****
*Sigh*
"Acting like a God is more tiring than actually being one. Also, is it a coincidence that her name was Joan? Perhaps the spirit of heroes is inheritable? Transmigration might even be a thing..."
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, before I exited the world and opened the Shop.
It was my first time even opening it, and when I did I was surprised at how much I could purchase.
[Power of Revival - 1,000,000,000,000 Faith.]
[Avatar - 10,000,000,000,000,000 Faith.]
[Personal God's Artifact - 100,000,000,000,000 Faith.]
...
...
[Seed of Divinity - 1,000,000,000 Faith.]
I read the description of the Seed of Divinity, and found that I really wanted it. The seed would be able to make my body into that of a God's. It would grow as I gained more and more Faith, increasing my divinity, while also strengthening my body. I felt as though this was the first REAL step towards becoming a fully fledged God.
However I had to first focus on collecting Faith.
[Faith is the source of all Gods' powers. You collect Faith everyday, from your believers. Use this Faith to increase your strength. After you reach a certain level of strength and influence, you will become a Middle God.]
'Hm. How much Faith do I currently have?'
[Faith: 355,000,000]
Still a long shot away from it... Hmm.. Perhaps I can do the classic 'One Posing As Many' trick. I then got to work, finding different people with incredible potential and righteous morals. All from different races, and backgrounds. I began sending out visions to people and letting them experience the 'voice' of god.
I created a multitude of different religions, telling them all the same thing, but posing as a different God than the ones other races worshipped. With this I had set the groundworks for a potential creation of a world council, with representatives of each race being created. I set the system to add in a Hero class, and then I just watched as time went on.
****
The Great War was long and tiring. I had managed to unite the Human race and fight off the invaders, however I was nearing the end of my life. I was currently a member of the Council. A collective of representatives from each race, that got together to talk peacefully about different things. Hoping to end conflicts before they escalated to another war.
Everything was peaceful, but there was one thing that bothered me.
With everything I had done, I never got to hear the voice of God ever again. It... definitely tested my faith. However I remained unwavering. I continued to spread the name of Michelangelo, and make sure everyone understood that everything that we had was thanks to him. We build monuments and temples. The were blessed with his holy aura, and the increase in divine power in the cities allowed us to raise more priests and paladins.
The world was at peace... At least I thought it was, when suddenly the dungeons all across the world experienced outbreaks, causing monster waves to run rampant across the world. It was in the face of helplessness that I had my prayers answered.
'Joan of Ark.'
'You have united the human race, and spread my religion across the world. Now, you are faced with yet another tribulation, the monster outbreak.'
'You want to go out and begin hacking down the hordes of monsters, to protect your people, but I am sorry to say that is not your role this time.'
I felt confusion at the words of my God.
"Not my role? Then what is it, God?"
'To raise to next generation, and work with the other races to bridge our differences. Come together to beat back the monsters who's only instincts are to maim and reproduce.'
'My final decree to you Joan.
Find Alice, the next Sword Saint.'
The voice then disappeared again, but I felt an indescribable warmth enveloped my body. I felt the embrace of God at this very moment, and he lay his hand upon my head.
I rose from my knees and looked at the dark clouds that were collecting on the horizon. I steeled my heart and walked briskly back into the temple.
"Is there something wrong, Pope Joan?" a priest said to me, as I walked by him.
"Send out a decree, we are looking for a girl named Alice. She is the next Sword Saint. We have to find her immediately, she is the key to defeating the monster outbreak."
"Yes, your holiness! I will spread your decree immediately! But where are you going now?"
"I am calling a Council meeting. This time the strength of Humans alone isn't enough." when I said that I saw fear really strike the priest for the first time. Everyone had the misconception that the monster outbreak could be handled by their own race.
However dark the future seemed, I saw a ray of light that pierced through the dark clouds. My God had not forsaken us, and he was now coming back again to guide us.
****
I had gotten enough to buy the Seed of Divinity, but when I bought it I truly learned what the consequences would be.
Monster Outbreak. An event where all the Dungeons I placed all over the world, opened and allowed the monsters within to run out into the world of Arsenia.
I quietly watched as the monsters began to run through villages of all races. I felt guilty, as their deaths began to weigh on my shoulders, and I resolved myself to help. I began to contact my apostles of different races, and created a new generation of heroes.
A Sword Saint, a great Sage, a peerless Elementalist, and more. Each race gained a new hero class, that would then be passed to the generation after. After watching this generation I felt a higher sense of fulfillment watching them achieve peace, so I gifted them with a blessing that alleviated the pains they would feel with old age.
I made sure that they would all live in comfort, and die comfortably. As I had finished everything for now, I decided to let time flow naturally, while I accompanied my first heroes along the rest of their lives. I quietly watched them, and when they were on their deathbeds I would be next to them in their final moments. Each one was a somber memory for me, as I held their hands as they took their last breaths.
Each of these people I had created. They had the potential but I directly influenced their paths in life. The hardest death was the last one.
Joan.
It was the hardest because she was so happy to feel my presence. I felt... Reverie.
Which only made me feel more guilty. Her life was just one of billions or even trillions that would die before me, but I didn't want it to lose it's value in the face of that statistic.
So I spent the rest of the night alongside Joan. My first hero.
When she quietly slipped away in the middle of the night, I felt myself lose something.
Something human.