"I did. I wanted to know your feelings. About me." She asked, continuing her habit of being a forceful, direct speaker. And she wasn't done.

"I have had a front-row seat to you changing the world. Your first act that I was ever aware of was you choosing to heal me. I've seen you bring back the dead, including my own mother, watched you tame a dungeon, and even felt your power deep in my soul. And through it all, you've helped protect the people of Jasper, and then the world." Sofia said, gently, almost reverentially. 

"You unified the planet, tamed a dungeon, and then your angels and vampiric spawn went into the rest and tamed them too. Dungeons may never again plague the world. And now the prosperity you've brought Jasper has been spread throughout the planet." Sofia told me, as she remembered how different the world was even a year ago. 

"I... I don't think I love you, romantically, but as someone who has seen you change the world, it's honestly impossible not to admire you. I want to know how you feel." She finished, before gazing into my eyes. 

I studied her for a moment. She was a breathtakingly beautiful half-elf with green eyes and long blonde hair. She wore the robes of a "Saintess" in the religion I had gradually been building, which functioned as a symbol to help people identify high-ranking and influential members of the faith.

In the time that I had known her, she had steadily grown in power and influence. When we first met I had just healed from a persistent illness that had been plaguing her for a few weeks. Now she was a potent magic-user who had participated in the very first dungeon raid that I had launched to confirm that I could tame dungeons. 

"My feelings for you are... complex." I confessed, softly. I gazed into her green eyes and took a quiet breath, even though I didn't need to do that since I was a true immortal being. 

"I can sense your drive. I know that you seek knowledge and mastery of both yourself and magic. I admire that more than I have readily admitted. And I admire you." I told her, before conjuring a small orb of pure necromantic energy and allowing it to float over my hand. It was a solid green orb that radiated strange, otherworldly energy. She gazed at it, drawn to the thing due to her fascination with magic. 

"I am... a god of necromancy. Of undeath. It was one of the oddities that occurred when I first became a sanguinarch. I have only rarely utilized this strange new power I possess, as I am afraid of it. I think you wouldn't be." I revealed, before turning and gazing into the orb.

"What... is that?" Sofia asked, as she gazed at it, her eyes filled with curiosity. 

"This? It's an orb of unlife. I can cast virtually any sort of necromantic spell or create any sort of necromantic magical effect through force of will alone. This is just... One example of what I can do." I told her, as I allowed the orb to float in the air freely. 

"What else can you do as a god of necromancy and undeath?" She asked, her eyes still glued to the orb floating in the air. 

"I can do a lot. With a simple act of will, I was able to create all of the undead monsters with which we defended the first floor of the Emerald Cavern so long ago. I have never pushed the limit of this set of powers though." I explained, before adding that important contextualizing statement. 

"Hmm..." She said, shortly before falling silent. She continued to gaze at the orb, watching it curiously. 

"You know... More than anything else I've always loved magic. More than myself, more than my own family even. Magic has always had a grip on my heart, one that it has never, for even a second, relinquished." She told me, as she gazed at the orb. 

"Every kind of magic, to me anyway, is amazing and has its own form of beauty. Even necromancy and the magic used by demons and other fiends have their own sort of beauty." She whispered as she gazed at the orb.

"Would you say they are as beautiful as Savannah?" I asked her curiously, a soft smile on my face as I asked her that question. As soon as I uttered the words she froze, stunned that I had noticed her ogling the object of her lusts. A moment later she relaxed and smiled, before beginning to laugh. Her voice was delicate and I could feel the sensitivity radiating off of her as she finally felt seen, for better or worse, for the first time in her life. 

"So you noticed huh? Do... you think she noticed?" Sofia asked me curiously. I could hear a slight edge of fear in her voice as she asked me that question. I chuckled and shook my head in response to her question.

"I... don't. My senses are extremely, painfully keen and I am hyper-empathetic. I don't believe she is quite so sensitive." I told Sofia, honestly. I wasn't the sort of person to lie, and I wasn't about to start here. Sofia listened to me and then her smile grew in size and brightness. 

"That's a relief. I... am not surprised that you noticed, but I am surprised you saw me lusting after her so quickly." Sofia confessed, a bright blush beginning to creep across and color her face. I gazed at the half-elf and began to speak, thoughtfully.

"You know... If anyone would be open to your advances, it'd probably be Savannah. Her entire angelic order is devoted to the pursuit of hedonism and pleasure. You could approach her..." I told Sofia, unbothered by what I knew might well be off-putting to others throughout the world. My words surprised Sofia, who gazed at me with wide eyes for several moments.

"Wait... That doesn't bother you? Either my own desires or the idea of me sleeping with one of your angels?" She asked, seemingly genuinely taken aback by my response to her feelings for the angelic commander of an order of hedonists. I looked at her curiously and then began to chuckle. A few moments later, I replied to her.

"No, it doesn't bother me that you have feelings, even if they are just physical attraction, for a hedonistic angel who worships and serves me. I desire for people to love and be loved freely. For people to act on their desires, so long as those desires are reciprocated, and for everyone to indulge in pleasure, joy, and life. Even if you and I were married, I'd still encourage you to see to tell Savannah how you feel and see how she reacts. I am non-judgmental when it comes to love, lust, and pleasure." I explained, openly and proudly. 

"I will always encourage my followers, friends, and those in my empire to follow their feelings and to be honest with themselves. That includes you. I would be happy if you followed your heart, and listened to your body." I told her, gently. 

"The empire I am going to create will be one where people are not judged for those who they love. Nor for the pleasure they seek, so long as any partners they have readily consent to the pleasure they indulge in." I informed Sofia. She smiled at me and when our eyes next met I could see that my words resonated with her.

"I see... Hmm... My whole life I was politely and often unconsciously pressured by my family to marry a man with whom I could have children. And believe me, compared to many parents my father was positively wonderful about this. He wanted me to marry someone, but he never pushed me into a marriage, or even an engagement, to someone I didn't want to marry. Until we met. And somehow even in that I think he was being kind." She confessed, revealing a layer of stress and frustration I knew she had never talked about before. 

"Before you came and overturned... every aspect of common sense that once governed the world, I was subtly pushed to marry, usually not by my father but by others in and out of Jasper. I was and remain the future head of my family, the future lord of Jasper. But now... Well now, my family is immortal. And that raises interesting and important questions about the future of the very concepts of nobility, heirs, and governance. Questions you will someday need to answer..." She told me before her voice slowly trailed off. I looked at her while she spoke and when she was done I began to speak again.

"Well... What do you want? What are your goals?" I asked her, my questions quite simple, but filled with intent and meaning. She slumped back in her seat when she heard my question and didn't reply right away. Instead she considered my question. 

I watched my question provoke a serious bout of introspection from the fairly young half-elf. Over the course of this particular conversation, the amount of respect she had had for me had grown. And now I watched the results of that cause her to seriously and carefully ponder my question. An entire minute passed while she silently considered my question. When she broke her silence, it wasn't to give me an answer like I would have thought it was.

"Can this be... anything? Oh who am I kidding, you destroy common sense and any sort of limitations placed on you, of course this can be anything." She asked, and then immediately answered her own question. Her voice contained a sort of relief she was feeling as a result of this conversation. She again fell silent for a few moments. The silence was shorter that followed this time was less than the last bout of silence. 

"I want to be a goddess of magic. And knowledge. But honestly mostly magic. I love magic more than I could express if I had one billion years to spend doing nothing but that. And now... If I could do anything, become anything, I'd do that." She told me, a genuinely happy smile on her face. It was one of the first I had seen on her face, aside from the one when she first saw her resurrected mother. Internally I asked the system if that were possible, or more specifically if there were some way that I could help her achieve that status. The response came to me only a split second later. 

[Yes you can help Sofia undergo an apotheosis. The most direct way would be for you to empower her repeatedly through the power of your 'Empowerment' ability, but that is the not only way for you to help her. And it would take years of sex, of nothing but sex. Which is a valid option, but presumably not what either of you intends when you think of ways to aid her in her ascension.]

[One method would be for you to bless her so that she shares your magical abilities and then aid her in gaining a following that worships and reveres her as a deity of magic. Eventually, with your aid, she will gain the followers and resources necessary for her to undergo an apotheosis on her own. If that is how she ascends then she will become a goddess of what her followers revere her as a goddess of, be it magic, knowledge, or anything else.]

[Another method would be for her to become a sanguinarch like you are, for her to gain the 'Absorption' major sanguine power, and then for her to sleep with a divinity of magic. That is a fascinating route, but dealing with it would involve dealing with the complications of having another sanguinarch in your harem or at least in your empire. But it does allow for a segway into a rather interesting method for you to help her ascend and become what she seeks to be.]

The system's recommendations were intriguing but I paused before sharing them with Sofia. I wanted to see what the next method was, before I said anything.

[The most intriguing option is actually for you to bless her with your powers over magic and then turn her into a free-willed vampire or even one of your 'Dark Brides', and then giving her the 'Cultured' focus. She is unopposed to necromancy, undeath, and has thus far been unphased by your sanguinarch abilities, which suggests that she might take well to the transformation your spawn undergo.]

[Imagine if someone with Sofia's mastery of and passion for magic well boosted by the 'Power Boost' aspect of being one of your spawn? That'd be a truly terrifying and mighty archmage you just enhanced. But if she were made into a dark bride, she'd be able to experience and use the boosted magic of the culture focus. If she were gifted with such a scale of magical control and the infinite magical energy needed to use such magic, she'd not only become a loyal follower of yours she'd also move much closer to the day that she became a true goddess of magic.]

[Not to mention that even though you don't horde knowledge, many sanguinarchs do. Knowing her, she'd likely do that for you. And the best kind of sanguinarch focus for that is the cultured focus. Making her your cultured dark bride may well be the best way for you to aid her in her journey to becoming a goddess of magic and knowledge, and it'd have the side effect of empowering you a great deal as well.]

The system's explanation was quite compelling and it brought a small smile to my face to read through it. When I was done, I silently transmitted the information on becoming a dark bride and what all that meant to Sofia through our mental link. Her eyes filled as she felt my mind act on the strange connection we had shared for many weeks now but only rarely used. And then she began to blush as she read through the information I had shared with her. 

"I... see." She said, softly as she learned about dark brides, that Piper was one, and that she could become one as well. 

"If you make the choice to become a dark bride, which is admittedly a drastic choice, you inch far closer to your goals. And you gain a truly gigantic amount of power. Not to mention you will become perhaps my most important diplomat, a herald of sorts of mine." I told her, honestly. She listened to my words intently. 

"You and Fara are two people who I have considered turning into my brides. You, my cultured bride, and her my bride of savagery." I revealed, opting to show her the trust she deserved. This revelation made her smile.

"That would make Fara incredibly happy. And I think few people have proven that they deserve your trust and love more than she has, even if you haven't seen been around to see her." Sofia exclaimed, her voice an incredibly gentle whisper. 

"She has trained warriors, spread your worship, and embraced your faith. She... loves you, I think. She is one of the first people to have seen your back, watched it carry the world, and fallen in love with you. But I highly doubt she'll be the last. And I think that you making her a bride would be a good way for you to show her how you feel. If you reciprocate her feelings at all." Sofia told me, causing me to smile. 

"I admire her. She is fiercely beautiful. Intensely strong. She is what I think of when I think of a warrior." I admitted softly. She was an incredibly skillful warrior, a smart fighter, and she enjoyed battle. I had respect for her, for her power, for her grace, and for her love of her cultural values. 

"I... wonder how terrifyingly powerful any children the two of you could have would be. Even if she doesn't become a dark bride, she is easily the most athletic mortal being I've ever seen, and she has a number of powers... That, mixing with your genes as a deity and ascendant being, would be truly planet-shaking." Sofia told me, as she momentarily considered what children of myself and Fara would be like. Upon seeing her do so, I allowed myself to do the same thing for a moment and instantly concluded that such demigods would be incredibly powerful and athletic beings, demi-gods of war, combat, battle, and strength. 

Sofia and I gazed at each other and laughed together as we both thought about the sort of incredible children Fara and I could have. It was a strange thing to find funny, but we both knew that any such children would be truly terrifying. It was after we laughed that Sofia spoke with regards to her choice.

"I... don't think I should become your cultured bride. Fara and Piper both love you in their own ways. I don't. I do admire you, but I don't love you. And I don't think that taking such a shortcut to my goals suits me. But I know that you can still empower me. Would it be wrong for me to ask you to do that while refusing to become your bride?" She asked me, gazing at me curiously. I smiled and looked at her proudly.

"No, it wouldn't. I respect your commitment to your values and your decision to pursue your own kind of power without 'shortcuts'. Which is I shall do this." I told her, before activating my "Bless" ability and sharing even more magic-based abilities with her. She began to radiate a faint, otherworldly green energy as she was suffused with power over necromancy. 

"I... Whoa." She said, almost silently as she gained an intense mastery over necromantic magic. 

"I like your goals and have a lot of respect for your dedication to achieving them your own way. One day I'd like for you to join the pantheon of gods worshiped by the Raulites, as a true, full goddess. For now, consider this a gift from a friend." I told her, without any hesitation. Her large green eyes filled with tears as her mind was fed information by the system about her newly acquired abilities. 

"This is... an incredible gift." She said, awestruck as she felt herself move much closer to her own goals. 

"Thank you..." She whispered, as she felt in her heart that she was now much closer to her true love, magic, than she had ever been at any point in her life.