The moment he opened his eyes and found himself back in his bed he got out of it, speaking aloud in the hopes that the effect he wanted would activate properly for the various gods of the world to see.

“Allow all gods to see into my mind.”

Combining the rage he was feeling with his persistent migraine, Ben was in no mood to just let himself be robbed silently just because it was a group of so-called gods doing it. The very thought left him disgusted as he got dressed to leave, hearing as hundreds of notifications rang out in his mind from every watching deity being able to tell exactly what he was off to do.

 

<THE GOD ENETH WANTS PERMISSION TO RETURN YOU TO THE AUDIENCE. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD GULTASH WANTS PERMISSION TO RETURN YOU TO THE AUDIENCE. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD EXEL WANTS PERMISSION TO RETURN YOU TO THE AUDIENCE. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD V-TUO WANTS PERMISSION TO RETURN YOU TO THE AUDIENCE. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD SCLOTH WANTS PERMISSION TO RETURN YOU TO THE AUDIENCE. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD ALPAN WANTS PERMISSION TO RETURN YOU TO THE AUDIENCE. ALLOW?>

…

 

<THE GOD ENETH WANTS PERMISSION TO SPEAK IN YOUR MIND. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD OWOQU WANTS PERMISSION TO SPEAK IN YOUR MIND. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD ZAPHLINE WANTS PERMISSION TO SPEAK IN YOUR MIND. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD GORETH WANTS PERMISSION TO SPEAK IN YOUR MIND. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD NACA WANTS PERMISSION TO SPEAK IN YOUR MIND. ALLOW?>

<THE GOD QUNTELOPOGIS WANTS PERMISSION TO SPEAK IN YOUR MIND. ALLOW?>

…

 

“Deny all. I don’t give a shit about what any of you have to say on the matter,” He spat as he started stomping out, only for the single god he was willing to lend an ear to finally speak up.

<Ben, I know you’re angry->

“To put it mildly.”

<And I know that was wrong and unreasonable->

“Also to put it mildly.”

<But I’m asking you to reconsider what you’re about to do.>

“No.”

He’d specifically opened his thoughts up to any watching gods to make them see that the choices they made had consequences and that he wasn’t playing around. As soon as he got to the greenhouse he’d made he was going to be activating all of the defensive enchantments to destroy it and let the souls it contained move on rather than let himself be treated like that. A goal Myriad wished to stop.

He understood exactly why his apostle was so mad and if it was anything else he’d be less inclined to stop him. Whether those other gods truly believed that they needed to take what Ben had discovered for the good of the world or had simply gone too far and been blinded by greed at the thought of having such a handy tool, It didn’t matter. He just needed Ben not to go through with it. It was too useful to let it be destroyed. Even if the potions it made could only be used a single time that meant a single bit of quick and easy growth for millions of people, and every god knew the chances of them not working twice were incredibly slim.

With all of that in mind, he tried to get his apostle more agreeable the only way he knew how. Tempting him.

<Ben, right now you’ve shown every god here they can’t bring you up against your will and they don’t have any way of stopping you.>

“Good, hope they’re all sitting tight to see that actions have consequences.”

<What I’m getting at.> Myriad continued as Ben was making his way out of Sonya’s to his house down the street. <Is that you’re in an incredible position to negotiate whatever you want.>

That just briefly put a lull in his step. 

“Whatever I want huh?” He muttered, feeling his wheels turning in a way that could only worry Myriad. It was the feeling of far more going on beneath the surface of Ben’s mind than was clear to see for any god watching, a feeling that none but he and Helori had come to recognize.

<Whatever you want. We could get you a far better price than what you’d originally been asking for. Every god who was against this knew you were being exceptionally reasonable as it was, you should ask for more.> He said, trying to guide Ben into picturing the wealth he could have, only for Ben to not give a demand first, instead asking a question.

“Was this another stupid vote? How many gods were actually on my side this time and how many against? More importantly, where did Anailia fall?”

<Twenty percent explicitly on your side, thirty against, and the other fifty declining to vote so that's how it got pushed through. Anailia was on your side.>

“Cool, in that case, they all have until I reach the greenhouse to make up their minds on this. First off, we’re going with the original offer I put out but I’m going to be taking seven times the price of a lifeblood potion for every potion made instead of half of one. Look at me, aren’t I sweet, still going less than the ten times Helori suggested?” he said, continuing before Myriad could respond to his sarcasm. “In addition to that, I want the four soul crystals they’re getting to be entirely under Anailia’s management with all other gods to provide the resources she’d need to make things run smoothly, be it money or people since she’s going to need to bring in plenty of plant mages as well as people to harvest whatever fruit they end up growing.”

<Done.> Myriad said as all of the gods who’d stood neutral were dragged in to see what was happening, the desire to infight among them was squashed by the knowledge that Ben was going to destroy the soul crystals if he didn’t get his agreement.

“Second,” He continued, not caring at all for whatever the gods were going through at the moment. “If my remaining soul crystal or the soul it contains is either lost or destroyed, I’ll immediately get one of the ones I’m loaning out to you all, because let’s be clear, this is just a loan.”

<Done.> Myriad said again as the gods quickly rushed to figure out the logistics of ensuring nothing would happen to the crystal he would be keeping.

“Third. You all need to bring as many of your apostles, oracles, and head priests up for an audience as you can to swear you’ll honour this agreement in front of them all. I get bringing all three up is going to be an issue, but you each need to bring up at least one and in practice as many as you can. And you all need to be human-sized. None of that towering bullshit they were trying to pull for an intimidation factor.”

This time Ben didn’t get an immediate answer. None of them wanted to look like they were showing weakness to their core believers, but by then Ben had arrived at the front of his house and all of them could see he wasn’t calming down.

<Done.> Myriad said once they all accepted that he was really going to do it if they didn’t give in.

“Cool. And finally because fuck Eneth in particular, me and Thera both get his blessing and he’s going to bow and apologize for how he acted in front of everyone. Are we clear?”

Again there was silence. Ben could only imagine that the reptilian god was arguing against the idea with all he had but he didn’t care. Whether he got what he wanted or not, the gods would be feeling punished for the choice they’d made to think they could act like that and they all knew it as he finally reached the greenhouse, placing a hand on it to activate the defensive enchantments that would destroy the interior. Enchantments in place in case the souls of the gods and demons were able to alter the plants housing them to any extent, but had ended up seeming meaningless if not for now.

 

<ACQUIRED ENETH’S BLESSING>

 

…So I guess I don’t need to grant permission if it’s beneficial? That’s interesting.

“Anailia, can you confirm that Thera received a blessing as well?”

<I can.> The goddess said, a hint of smugness in her voice.

“Okay, good.”

<And that’s done.> Myriad sighed, happy that had all worked out as Ben lowered his hand from the greenhouse. <Can I bring you up here now?>

“Don’t bother,” Ben told him as he took a seat, leaning against the building he had been about to destroy and closed his eyes, forcing himself to walk the unfamiliar path he’d just been pulled up as his own intimidation tactic, while the gods watched in shock as he forced his mind into the realm without their aid getting him there.

When he arrived he immediately noticed two things. How much smaller the gods all were now, as well as how much the crowd had grown, not only being filled with the gods who originally hadn’t bothered to show up with their neutrality being their excuse, but also the swarm of believers bowed at their feet on the other side of him, none of them understanding why they’d been brought there but knowing it must have been important. None had ever been pulled to a gathering like that, being told to stop what they were doing and sit down for what seemed like an emergency as they all came to find themselves in the presence of more divinity than they’d ever had before, the feeling all but oppressing them and they kneeled in front of it.

None of that mattered to Ben though. Instead, he just tapped his foot and glared at the gods as he waited for them to fulfill their side of the bargain.

It was a god who hadn’t spoken before but had been undeniably on the side of those who had tried to take from him that spoke up, with Eneth off to the side being held by three other gods whispering in his ears to try and calm him down.

“Priests, oracles, and apostles,” The god started, trying to maintain the dignity he couldn’t help but feel had been stripped away for needing to obey the will of a mortal. “I am here to speak as a representative as you all stand witness to the agreement between the gods and the Apostle of Myriad. In exchange for giving-”

“Loaning.”

“Loaning us four soul crystals, items that can be used to strengthen the people of the world-”

“Which I created and figured out how to use.”

“Which he is responsible for,” The god spoke, trying not to grit his teeth at the constant interruptions. “We here all vow this. The remaining soul crystal is the apostle’s sole possession, if anything happens to it, be it lost or damaged, he will receive back one of the ones he has loaned out. Additionally, we will all work together to ensure that the goddess who will be handling them specifically, Anailia, can put them to proper use, and the pay for each potion they go towards making will match seven times the standard price of a lifeblood potion. Have you all bore witness to this?”

Mutters of agreement went up among the believers, none of them understanding what a soul crystal was or what they’d agreed to witness, but knowing they needed to remember exactly what they’d been told.

“Good,” The god said hesitantly, having no desire to deal with what was to come next but knowing he needed to get on with it for the sake of strengthening the world. “And with that done, there’s one final thing that needs to be witnessed in order to… make proper amends. Eneth, if you would?”

Shaking off the ones holding him, the god came forward, clearly gripped in rage as Ben muttered something for his ears only, though the surrounding gods could pick it up easily enough.

“Hope this is a valuable lesson on choosing your enemies carefully.”

The god bared his teeth but knew that at least in this regard, he had lost. He had been the one to convince enough of the others that a mortal shouldn’t have access to anything like that and it had ended worse for the gods as a whole than he could have imagined. At that moment he had few allies, so he started to bow his head as was the deal, only to stop as Ben raised a hand.

“Wait,” He said, making him think the boy had the sense to spare him the humiliation of bowing to a mortal, but instead Ben turned to the various believers and snapped his fingers. “You lot, I don’t care how you feel about this, eyes up here.”

The various members of each faith weren't sure how to respond but did as they were told, forcing past the feeling of divinity to obey the direction they thought they had to since they’d been brought up there as Ben turned back to Eneth.

“Okay, now go on.”

Heaving a deep breath, trying to stand it the best he could, Eneth bowed down, lowering his head to the shock of all the believers present, especially his own as he spoke. “Apostle, I apologize for my improper acts before, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

It was a half-hearted apology but he waited for the answer with his head lowered, expecting such a thing to be more than enough to clear the air but getting a different response altogether in the form of a sound he couldn’t place and a feeling of wetness as each god and mortal watching was silenced by the shock and horror of Ben spitting on the god before him before vanishing from the realm.

 

---

 

Ben opened his eyes, his mind back where it belonged as he sat against the greenhouse wall, once again denying all but a select few gods access to his thoughts. He was feeling significantly calmer than he had before. Thinking about everything rationally, he’d gone too far by a horrifying margin, but he didn’t care. If he could go back in time he would have done the same thing all over again, he doubted he’d have been able to calm down if he didn’t.

Although not gaining my third tier of sacrilege after all of that is honestly a disappointment. Like, I straight up humiliated Eneth there. Am I really not getting it unless another god dies?

Did a god deserve to die for any of that? The answer was a clear no. Ben didn’t think theft and general dickishness deserved the death penalty, but that made a pretty strong indication that he wouldn’t be getting the third tier of his skill any time soon, with the likelihood of it ever happening looking slim.

“Oh well, I’ll still take those jobs but if it never happens it never happens. Just gotta worry about what to do now I guess.”

The first thing being to return home. It was blissfully dark and quiet out, with the cool night air helping to soothe his pounding skull, but after a bit of time he started to get up to get some sleep, only stopping as Myriad spoke in his head, the god's voice sounding more tired than Ben had ever felt.

<Ben, would you do me a favour and come up here for a bit? To my realm specifically since you’ve apparently become enough of a beast to learn the path of whatever realm you’re brought to.>

Knowing that he’d likely just made things very complicated for Myriad he did as he was asked, leaning back again to close his eyes, only to open them to find Myriad’s realm unusually packed.

There was of course Myriad, laying against the ground as he always did while he despaired, and as usual there was Helori perched on top of him, seemingly trying to consol the cube, gently stroking his god’s side, but there was also Anailia and another god he couldn’t recognize, seeming more like a great spirit than anything else as Ben casually stared at the hominid-shaped magma before him as Myriad muttered.

“Why did I even try asking him not to go too far? Why did I waste my breath? Don’t I know my own apostle by now? Haven’t I realized that if he gets the chance to cause me stress he will?”

“There there,” Helori said back in a gentle voice, trying to calm the cube down. “You couldn’t have known he was insane when you took him. The mind that was examined seemed so normal, there was no way to know he would grow to be like this.”

“Guys, listen, if you just brought me up here to try and make me feel guilty it’s not going to work,” He told them. “I like all of you, but more and more I’m not seeing how gods are any different from mortals with a bit too much power and authority. Frankly, the fact that an average believer can’t be expected to stand up for themselves means they were due to be put in their place. Hell, I’d do it again.”

At that, Myriad continued his muttering as Anailia burst into laughter, moving to coil around Ben in a way that seemed more affectionate than threatening. “Ah child, don’t pay your god too much mind, he’s just a worrier. Frankly, I agree that some of them needed to be shown they can’t always get what they want by virtue of what they are, and given how much you just put the situation in my favour, I’ll be sure to help Myriad out the best I can.”

“Really?” Myriad asked, perking up.

“Of course, Since I’ve essentially been granted sole control of the soul crystals and the potions that can be made from them, as well as a promise of resources to help manage and use them, how could I not?” She laughed. “Not that the others will be able to do much more than grind their teeth or any equivalent. They picked a fight, even if they didn’t realize they were doing it till they’d already lost, and I along with the others who were on your side got some entertainment, even if we are admittedly worse off than we would have been for you boosting the price you’d receive by so much.”

“Cool, so all’s well that ends well,” He said, shooting his god a winning smile that the cube ignored. “But since we’re on the topic of gods still, I can’t help but notice a new guy?”

“Ah, don’t mind me,” The lava god said casually. “I felt a little responsible for how things turned out so I wanted to check on our little cube since I’m a friend.”

Hearing he felt responsible, Ben’s eyes narrowed, only for Myriad to clear things up. “He voted on your side so it’s not that Ben. You might have heard of him, this is Nare, a god of challenge and craft who happens to be the one who recommended I suggest Falk to you.”

At that, his eyes shot open as two words filled his head. Crafting god.

It was the first one he was meeting and even after how things had just turned out, he didn’t want to let the opportunity pass.

“Well, I haven’t heard of you but I’d love the chance to get to chat sometime. You should swing by the realm, I’m here most nights.”

“Ha, I think I’ll do that. Love an interesting mortal and I’ve got a bit of a keen interest in that little connect skill of yours, but for the time being, it seems like your god is well in hand. Myriad, I’ll come talk later.”

“Sounds good,” His god replied, regaining a bit of the energy he’d lost as the other god vanished and he switched his focus onto Ben. “Alright, so there’s a lot I want to say, but let’s just start with the big one shall we? I get you were angry, but did you really need to spit on Eneth?”

Anailia burst into laughter as Myriad yelled it out and even Helori couldn’t help but chuckle as she tried to comfort him, but Ben only shrugged.

“I’m going to be honest, it was pretty spur of the moment. I’m like ninety percent sure I wouldn’t have done it if his apology had been remotely sincere.”

“When in the history of the universe has a forced apology ever been sincere? Admit it, you were hoping to awaken sacrilege again, weren’t you?”

“I mean, to be specific I was only disappointed when I realized I hadn’t, but it wasn’t the goal during any of that.”

“...I don’t know why I keep saying this, but please don’t go out of your way to stress me out. I don’t suppose I could talk you into laying low for the next three or four years, could I? Just till things calm down?”

“Well, since by then me and everyone else on the planet’s probably going to be dead there’s not much point. Hell, if any gods complain to you about me just tell them to wait a bit.”

“Ugh.”

 

---

 

<ACQUIRED TITLE- THE MAD APOSTLE>

 

“Okay, rude,” He muttered as he got back home, hearing the notification as he cracked the door open. “Who’s it talking crap that’s giving me a title like that?”

“What title did you get?” Thera asked as she yawned, walking up to him from the living room at the sound of his voice.

“Oh hey, it’s the mad apostle this time. Honestly, I feel like someone’s trying to get me attacked in the streets again with this. More importantly though, why are you up?”

It was still late into the night and she’d clearly been sleeping at some point, dressed in a nightgown that he tried to keep his eyes from being pulled to.

“I woke up and noticed your door was open so I decided to read a bit to see if you could answer something for me whenever you got back.”

“Uh, sure, shoot?”

She looked him in the eyes, trying to see through him to get the truth as she addressed exactly what had woken her so late into the night.

“Ben, you wouldn’t have any idea why I randomly got a blessing from Eneth, would you?”

…Ah, right.