As the light on the stage dimmed, Ashur once again descended from his divine realm.
"Just like everyone has seen, this forum has many functions. It's simple, not complicated, and even the gods can easily adapt to it. You can block followers you don't like, restrict their speech, or even kick them out of your chatroom."
"You can create a long-term chatroom, where you can hang out with friends or followers, exchange knowledge, or simply talk about anything. You can also head to the public forum, where live news from various worlds will be posted."
"In the future, even more features will be added."
"We've prepared one thousand of these account rings. Now, while they're called 'account rings,' they're merely login tools. As long as you protect your password, even if someone steals your ring, they won't be able to log into your account."
"As for password formats, we offer nine options: fingerprint, number, rune, facial recognition, faith phrase, codeword, secret knowledge, strange symbols, and madness glyphs. These options ensure that your conversations remain private, unknown to anyone—even me, under normal circumstances."
Yes, under normal circumstances.
But there were always exceptions in this world.
"If you're interested in this chat tool, you can visit the Church of Fiction tomorrow to claim one for free. The first batch only has a thousand, with some reserved as bonus prizes for the winners of our upcoming gaming competition."
"And since there's a bonus prize, naturally, there must be a grand prize too. This is also the final highlight of our event today."
Ashur raised his hand, and strangely, his sketch-like fingers morphed into a white ball—like the arm of some cartoonish blue raccoon, accompanied by a bizarre sound effect.
A card appeared in that round hand with dramatic sound effects in the background.
"This is the Virtual Wish Card."
"Its function is simple—it makes fantasies come true."
Huh?
Not only were the mortals dumbfounded, but the gods were equally perplexed.
What did that mean? Was it as literal as it sounded?
"Is this some kind of wishing tool?" murmured the War God, who looked like a muscular doctor. "I've seen things like this in certain magical worlds—something like a 'crystal gem' or a 'brass oil lamp.'"
"You rub the gem or lamp, and out comes a big guy with no legs and barely any clothes. Then, he'll grant you a few wishes, at least one but no more than three."
Beside him, the God of Impurity curiously whispered, "Is it really that magical? Could it grant any wish? Not even the gods can do that, right?"
"Hah! Most of those things are just magical artifacts, and what's inside varies. Could be demons, devils, kobolds, murlocs, goat demons, octopus-heads, ghosts, liches—even the very mage who made the artifact."
"As for wishes? It's only things magic can do. If it can't be done with magic—sorry, no dice."
The War God and the God of Impurity continued their whispered conversation, overheard by Ashur, who internally rolled his eyes. Most wish-granting tools really were like that—either easy to fulfill or outright impossible.
So Ashur immediately clarified to the audience, "The effect of the Virtual Wish Card is different from those magical artifacts. It's even more miraculous than divine blessings because it taps into the 'virtual value' I've collected."
"You all know that value is the most precious thing to a god—an abstract concept, one that differs from god to god. Each god seeks a different kind of value, and the uses vary greatly."
"My virtual value can create more fictional things and make them real for a short period."
This was a new power Ashur had discovered after messing with Death and Harley twice.
Since fictional worlds were composed of information, and Enlightenment Runes excelled at gathering information, even fake data could be given real form, enabling it to interact with the real world.
So, if Death could extract real death value from a virtual world, then, conversely, virtual beings could temporarily exist in the real world—though they'd need an abstract medium to host them. That medium? Ashur's virtual value.
Believe in the God of Fiction, and your 2D waifu could come to life, remember?
The concept of fictional things becoming temporarily real was the ultimate form of fiction, capable of generating enormous value.
"No matter what kind of fantasy you have, it can become real for a short time. It doesn't even need a physical form. Even things described only in words—settings, landscapes, fictional characters—can all step into reality with the power of the Virtual Wish Card."
"But remember, even if they form a genuine bond with you, they are still fictional. Treat it like a dream. Unlike transformation magic, these fictional beings have their own consciousness, so even after they disappear, they'll remember the time they shared with you."
"Thank you all for attending our church's event. Special thanks to God of Death and Professor Harley for their contributions."
———
Mr. Litt opened his eyes.
A faint glow of light surrounded him. He was back in his room, but his heart was still racing.
Outside the window, dawn was breaking. In this gray world, under the soot-laden sky of the Steam Empire, the air was perpetually thick with dust and smog. One deep breath and you could practically taste the Industrial Revolution.
But sometimes, you could catch glimpses of rare, clear skies.
"Just like Professor Harley said, I don't feel tired at all. It's like participating in the online event was equivalent to sleeping. It relieved my fatigue and mental stress. Or maybe, after leaving the mental world, I just slept dreamlessly?"
"Deep sleep?"
"God of Fiction's power are really weird."
This bizarre phenomenon left Litt astonished. He felt like he could live half a lifetime longer.
People always said that those who worked too hard barely needed sleep. It was hard to believe—until now. Now it was real: sleep was no longer necessary.
Compared to the gods of dreams, who ruled over realms of "weirdness," "horror," "chaos," and "silence," wasn't the God of Fiction the true god of dreams?
"I could live in the God of Fiction's mental space for a month."
Litt began to imagine his future, daydreaming about becoming a cyber café legend gamer, with no sleep, living on noodles.
"Oh no! The sun's up—today's Sunday."
"I need to hurry to the Church of Fiction."