Chapter 22 – The banquet of the gods

Insides Zeus's main citadel

 

While most Creator gods only have the ability to control one universe a superior creator can create a sub-universe known as a citadel galaxy. This galaxy has a size equal to dozens of galaxies and the only being that has the power to invade such a place is another superior creator. Most refer to such a place as the faction's capital universe where many creators will trade large quantities of goods. Even though creators can create anything by using CP, however, Creation points are better spent on improving troops or buying more schematics for advanced technologies.

 

Many creators specialize in creating and selling goods here using the resources from their worlds. Zeus allocates certain sectors to these crafters and merchants to help bolster the strength of his faction while receiving a thirty-five percent tax from the goods sold. Two currencies are normally accepted in transactions here. The first one is CP, however, it will only cost a fraction of the price to buy large quantities of an item from a craftsman or merchant then using the CP directly. The last but least favorite method to Zeus is creators trading their children. They trade the demi-gods of creation because they are able to create a new star system. Which is beneficial in times of war or for a sustainable way to gather new resources.

 

At the center of this super galaxy where a massive black hole lays is a citadel that is larger than some star systems. This is the main system of the Zeus faction where hundreds of thousands of shops reside in. Most creators will send gods to run businesses here and it is one of the biggest hubs in all existence. Most creators will apply when they reach a mid-ranked creator for a gate to be placed in their divine realm however, the upkeep of such a gate costs a large sum since it must always be active. The gateway is the same type that allows creators to transport to each other's realm however, since most transports happen instantaneously between each creator's divine realm there is no need to expend mass amounts of CP to maintain the portal. Zeus is the one who maintains the creator system that allows easy usage of many key features of creation energy. This is why most merchants inside his faction will give donations during the annual meet-up to help with the expenses of maintaining these systems.

 

Zeus is beloved inside his faction since he is considered one of the kinder supreme existences. Zeus may have many wives and will even happily experiment on a few mortals if necessary. He will even destroy a world if needs be, but everything he does is to make sure of the continuation of the people under him. The uncountable number of lives that require his protection is more important than anything else to him. He will turn a blind eye to most things a creator does inside their universe as long as it benefits the faction in the long run. This is why he constructed such a large citadel so the creators under him can find help and bring prosperity to their people.

 

The citadel has three special halls. The second-largest hall is the main building where all creators are allowed inside and the only place most low-ranked creators can enter inside this building. The smallest hall is the hall meant for high-ranked creators, they segmented the two halls to allow the higher ranked creators not to be overwhelmed by hundreds of requests from the upstart creators.

 

The largest and the most beautifully decorated hall is for when other factions come as a delegation. Every twenty or so years a delegation will come from another faction to discuss matters of great importance. This includes the newest issue of the Demon god faction gaining increasing power due to the past policies of one of the other factions.

 

Inside the high-ranked creator's hall, a festive atmosphere was starting to prosper, even though a large number of secret deals were being discussed during the event however, many came to catch up with old friends. A strange rumor was circulating the hall leaving many deities red-faced. The rumor was that the princess many were seeking had married and had already gotten pregnant from a low-ranked creator. This was a big scandal especially since the rumor was getting twisted heavily.

 

Aphrodite: “Have you heard Princess Aura has eloped with a low-ranked creator, how unsightly. I assume if that creator comes to this event Zeus will kill him on the spot.”

 

Hestia: “I can’t believe it! Aura has always been a woman cold to everyone and how would she elope without Zeus noticing?”

 

Aphrodite: “She probably had the help of her ungrateful mother. I wanted to marry him but he married me to that bastard Hephaestus.”

 

Hestia: “I think you might just be jealous and you better watch your mouth since Gaia is one of Zeus's favorite wives.”

 

Similar conversations continued around the hall until the sounds of fireworks were set off. All the creator's turned around in the halls. Even though both halls were separated they were only separated by them being on two different levels. The higher-ranked gods were able to look down upon the lower-ranked creators since their hall was on a higher platform.

 

Floating between the floors was a platform with Zeus and twelve beauties one of which was Gaia, Auras mother.

 

Zeus spoke in a dignified voice to all below him. I am glad to see so many of my peers today at this year's faction meet-up. We have prospered greatly again this year and I look forward to seeing us do so again next year.

 

This was Zeus's normal greetings, however, what came out of his mouth next was a surprise to everyone. “Today is a happy day, I have gathered three new children to join us after a hefty selection process inside my world. Firstly, is Akatosh Creation God of Time, he was someone from my main fantasy world. He was a god of time prior and he will be a great asset to have. The second is the God-king Horus from my secondary cultivation civilization. He was the ruler of several worlds. Lastly but the most anticipated is Genesis. He is my new son-in-law so be kind to him.”

 

With shocked gasps surrounding the room, Zeus spoke with a mischievous smile as fog rose to the side of him. “He has been wed to his childhood friend, Aura my daughter. They grew up together on one of my newer worlds that barely made the selection process however, do not be mistaken. I did not rebirth him into a creator due to his relationship with my daughter. He earned a place using his own merits and conquering the hardest divine tribulation set to the civilizations in my worlds.”

 

Standing by his side was Aura with a slightly confused expression written on her face. Gaia stood up and spoke with a happy smile. “Today is a happy day for Zeus and me. Our first daughter together, Aura Garner is now pregnant with a child so please send congratulations to the happy couple.”

 

Ares had spread several rumors about Nathan and Aura however, everyone was more stunned that Zeus was smiling. With low murmurs spreading around the surroundings everyone was surprised that Zeus allowed Aura his favorite biological daughter to marry someone he had just ascended to the status of a creator.

 

Zeus with a fake smile on his face spoke up after Aura and Gaia flew down towards Nathan and his group.

 

“My last announcement before I get on with some serious business is that my son-in-law will have a battle with Ares using new worlds a month after this event. They have begun their preparations prior to this meeting and I will be hosting a live feed for all of you to watch. I am glad Ares was such a good sport and gave Nathan such a loyal deity with the domain of End.”

 

After poking fun at Ares Zeus began to explain the current situation with the other factions. “Heliopolis faction has been shrinking recently due to their stupid idea of trying to mass-produce demon gods. They planned for them to be a new fighting force however, it backfired upon them and the strongest demon god they created rebelled against its high-ranked creator and stole his universe killing him. They have managed to suppress the growth of the demon god faction for now however, they are officially counted as an individual faction. They can communicate with other demon gods using a broken system. Luckily they are unable to use most core features of our systems due to them being unable to properly withstand pure creation energy.”

 

After letting out a small sigh Zeus starts to explain new rules about demon gods. “From now on, demon gods must be destroyed as quickly as possible and everyone must help if requested to eliminate one. We must not spread the plague of demon gods ourselves. Lastly, a creator god must avoid demon gods if at all possible unless you're certain of defeating it. None here show look down upon someone who is fighting a threat this serious and anyone who is so brazen to look down upon my rules will be removed from their position as a creator.”

 

After hearing this many people's faces went as white as a ghost knowing what that meant. It would be the complete annihilation of their soul. It would be impossible to ever be reborn again and everyone knew in this room that Zeus was not joking nor was it a threat. Zeus's power is several hundred times more powerful than even a high-rank god and even among his peers of Superior creator deities he is the strongest.

 

 

 

Nathans POV (Just before the faction meeting)

 

Zeus sent us an invitation to enter his world. I was shocked especially since we were transported to a massive shopping district. Where we were sent was next to Aura's mother Gaia. “Hello son-in-law, welcome to the central hub of our faction.”

 

After a brief conversation explaining where we are and about the citadel we are on currently I was amazed. Athena was looking around inquisitively, I guess her domain of wisdom was well suited for her. Different domains will grant unique skills and the domain of wisdom allows the deity to use far more than just mere knowledge. It will allow the user to use the information they gathered to its utmost. I once heard a man say. ‘Knowledge is knowing what to say, wisdom is knowing whether or not to say it.

 

After walking around Gaia took us to a space dock using a floating platform with a seating area. This station uses flying platforms for transport. Since the shopping area is a massive open area that even comes with a day and night cycle it might as well be called its own world. After we arrived, we walked into a large open space that showed off many designs of ships. Gaia wanted to show us some possible models for our battle with Ares.

 

Gaia took us for a walk around the floor room and apparently, she had booked an appointment for us already.

 

“Oh, son-in-law, even though you have your races building new ships it is still quite important that you stay above them in technology. I would recommend you create something similar to an angel race that will allow you to reincarnate some genius researchers after they die. They can help you do more advanced research on their fields of expertise. Your Athena should be a good fit to help start it since her domain is wisdom. ”

 

With a smirk, she continues in a teasing tone. “Especially since it's going to be important for you to segment roles for each of your wives. Zeus allocates a galaxy to each of his wives but for you, it would be quite difficult so it's probably better for you to segment your tasks. Research for Athena, give any military or combat matters to Freya and for my precious daughter... ”

 

With an even bigger grin on her face, she spoke slowly. “House management.”

 

With a confused tone, I ask my mother-in-law what she meant by house management. She gave me a happy smile and continued with a cocky grin.

 

“Every god has his main wife who leads all his other women. That goes for Zeus as well however, I am not his head wife though. She will manage them to make sure your women and children are doing their tasks properly. It will be an essential role to set up early to stop in-fighting and factions forming in your household. She will then help you manage and maintain your domain in her free time. It will be an important role for her especially since the situation.”

 

In a slightly concerned tone, I looked at Gaia, Aura, and Athena since the last two were blushing while looking embarrassed. "What situation are you talking about we have several at the minute?”

 

While looking away Gaia changed the subject after giving me a playful wink. “I know you have bought several ship designs from Zong but I want you to commission a new military station from him. He had previously offered me the design but Zeus had his god of construction and God of crafts build me a set so I didn’t need it. They were a quite high-end design that has the possibility for upgrades to the 5th world tier. It's still a prototype and he will want feedback however, you should be able to get it for a cheap price. Should only cost you around 3000CP.”

 

Pretty cheap, that’s a large amount for cheap that’s nearly half my current CP. While thinking complaints to myself. Gaia gave me a knowing smile before speaking. “It's fine even if it takes a lot of your current CP since it should be useable in your fantasy world if you can create the mana shielding on the station. It will help solve two of your problems at once and Zong may even throw you in a free sample of the station.”

 

Freya looked at Gaia amazed by what she had just witnessed. "Can you read minds lady Gaia?”

 

With a small chuckle, she spoke again. “No, no, it’s a skill most women have. Something on the lines of a woman's intuition. Just like yours when you knew Ares was no good.”

 

With a happy smile, Freya hugged my arm. Athena and Freya have been taking it in turns sharing my right arm while Aura had my left.

 

After hearing a few claps from behind us we noticed a man wearing a golden kimono with red and black embroidery on it. “Lady Gaia and young miss Aura, welcome to my humble shop. I am sorry I was late but I was preparing to go to the meeting. The young man at the back I assume you are Genesis, right?”

 

Zong was an old-looking man with wrinkles all over his face however, his body looked very sturdy almost like a young man's. He had grey long hair that reached his shoulders. I had a sudden thought though, why do so many of the gods take the appearance of old men? Feeling a headache coming I decided to reply to take my mind off this topic. “Yes, that’s me and it's nice to meet you in person Divine emperor Zong.”

 

“Hehe, I am glad you recognized me, Nathan, I hope the designed you bought last time was a help.”

 

"The Flagship design was great and I have one of my civilizations to create altered versions for a bunch of different purposes. A war is about to begin between two major powers so they will be able to do a test on different designs.”

 

“That's great, let me know if you need anything else. I should be able to do you a deal if it's for a design that uses mostly the same tech as that one. We also specialize in mass production of ships if you need that, but you will have to pay the CP to maintain the gate until all the ships have passed through on orders over 10,000.”

 

“I won't be doing a construction order just yet anyway, since we are still coming up with strategies for my new ships. It’s a bit hard to learn a lot of strategies without competing against another force before. That’s why I didn’t stop the war on my new world and it would be good for them to develop from it.”

 

While leaning over Zong suddenly started laughing. “Didn’t anyone tell you about the simulator game on the market?”

 

“What is the simulator game?”

 

“It is a game that allows you to compete against other creators in fleet battles. There is a ranking and everything. Even some mid and high-rank creators play it to help improve their skills or test newly designed ships. I use it quite often especially when testing new principles for ships. It's quite costly since you have to pay per new ship design however if the design has been uploaded prior you can use it for free. ”

 

“Wouldn’t that mean anyone could steal my designs and likewise I could steal their's Zong?”

 

“Everyone always asks this question and the answer is no. You still are required to input the design and if the system detects a ship that has over 85% similarities it will be counted as the same type. Before you ask having 85% of the design that has the same type of technology, armor, etc is actually quite hard to achieve. Even changing the armor type and a few pieces if tech could move it out of that range. Even changing the shape of the ship would probably move it to around 65%.”

 

“Oh, that’s a relief, so that means the system looks for ships with similar principles as the one you're uploading and since most ships will have slight alterations, they allow a small deviation to the design but if it is too much you will be forced to count it as a new model.”

 

“Yep, that's right. While I think, all the ship designs shown on the floor out there can be used freely on the game. We have a deal with Zeus’s god of games who is in charge of running it. It’s a win, win situation for both of us since I get advertisements and new creators get to learn how to use advanced ships of all types.”

 

While we were talking the four girls were happily chatting while drinking tea at a nice table... … … …

 

With Zong and I looking at the girls having a tea party in the middle of the showroom with complete amazement Gaia spoke up. “Oh, are you two done now, you really shouldn’t forget about us but it seems Nathan has the crafters spirit after all. So, it can’t be helped I guess.”

 

With a quick bow, Zong apologized to the girls. “Ladies I am terribly sorry about this; I will give you a five percent discount on the request you have Lady Gaia.”

 

“That sounds fine Zong, do you remember that design you sent me recently? The one I rejected.”

 

“Oh, the military satellite, yeah it was one of my new anti-energy-satellite designs. Since more and more creators have been using a hybrid of fantasy and tech worlds, I designed a base that could be used at a lower tier. The technology itself should have a large amount of growth itself which is always useful. I have made modular units so certain sections could be replaced easily for future upgrades or repairs. It does weaken the armor slightly but if their weapons manage to get past the twin energy shields they would likely destroy the base anyway.”

 

“Yes, that’s the one, Nathan here wishes to buy the design.”

 

“My lady, the lowest I could go with this design is 3,000CP. I understand Lord Zeus has given him a large amount of CP when he started but wouldn’t this be a drain on his finances?”

 

With a playful smile, she spoke to Zong. “He has the CP so it's fine. Let me tell you a secret even Nathan doesn’t know. Whisper, whisper, whisper, and make sure not to tell anyone before the event ok.”

 

Zong looked at me like a kind old man and spoke in a gentle tone. “Ok, 3,000CP for the design, and I will throw in the production model for free. After the event please come back here, I will have something for you.”

 

While feeling left out of the conversation we left to go to the event after I agreed to return here after the faction meeting.

 

After we spoke for around 10 minutes, we arrived at the event. The giant building was surprisingly even larger on the inside by the use of a mix of spatial technologies and magic. Walking through the massive doorways we entered a long hall. Thousands of people were inside socializing and many who noticed us walk in shot us a gaze. A large amount of clammer started as we slowly walked past the people on the first floor. Normal low ranked creators like myself would be sat down on the first floor, however since I was Zeus’s child and husband of Aura this allowed me to attend the meeting on the higher floor.

 

When we entered the high-ranked creator hall there were only a few hundred gods inside. Gaia had informed us she had to leave since she was required to be with Zeus so after a brief goodbye we began to walk about.

 

The happy Aura walked about on my arm showing me off to the nearby people in the hall. A handful of men came to speak to Aura but they were rudely rejected by her in response. “This is my husband and it is rude to try to court me especially in front of him.”

 

This similar sentence resounded dozens of times before everyone realized the truth. Many promised to send apology gifts at a later date for their rudeness. Many did not know my rank, however, even if they were stronger than me it did not mean they could stand against Zeus their master.

 

Feeling a bit awkward about the situation of me piggybacking off Zeus, Freya spoke in my ear since it was her time on my right arm. “Nathan, if you wish not to use Zeus’s name begin to speak in Aura’s stead so everyone knows we are yours.”

 

Around ten minutes past and another new guest arrived. He was muscular with a youthful face. This creator had red hair and a goat goatee that suited his short hairstyle well. He was a pretty Handsom man probably more so than me. He had three women that looked like Aura with him. The biggest difference where their race. One was an Elf, one human, and one demon-like. The demon girl had a slightly red skin tone and bat-like wings near her hips.

 

“Hello Aura my love, it has been such a long time since the last time we met.” After he handed Aura a gift I began to feel my anger rise. The others were still quite respectful and wouldn’t say anything that could be rude. So, before Aura spoke, I barked at the man in anger. “How dare you say such things to Aura, you Tode.”

 

With anger boiling over my head, I didn’t think of the possible consequences of my words but I didn’t care at this point. I couldn’t help but let my anger out after hearing his words.

 

Neptune: “You dare speak to me Neptune a high-rank creator like that you lowly guard. I will ask Zeus to have your head.”

 

Nathan: “So you are a Tode after all! You dare to court my wife in front of me and bring imitations of her while attempting to do so. How shameful can one be!”

 

Neptune: “Don’t spout nonsense, we all know Aura is not married and Zeus will have your head for lying about such matters especially over his favorite child.”

 

We suddenly heard footsteps and a tall Handsom man with all black hair and eyes walked over. His skin was slightly transparent and a sense of power washed over me. “You two dare try touch my little sister. Firstly, Neptune if I find you in front of my sister again, I will personally kill you.”

 

After the man said this, we all felt killing intent that made it hard to even breathe, and Neptune apologized and left. “Lastly you........ Get your filthy hands off my dear little sister.”

 

Feeling his rage, I couldn't help but freeze. Then I heard a voice from my side in a panicked tone. “Brother stop now, you have misunderstood.”

 

The man showed a surprised expression before removing his killing intent. “What do you mean misunderstood? This dirty man is holding your Arm by force look at him.”

 

Aura was holding my arm quite tightly and I assume her brother misunderstood the situation.

 

Aura: “Brother this is my husband Nathan, Father sent me off a while ago.”

 

DivinePrince (Spirit): “WHAT! My cold little sister got married? Did someone force you, if so tell me and I will destroy everyone involved?”

 

Aura: “No your wrong stop jumping to conclusions stupid brother!!! He was my childhood friend when I was still living with my mother on earth. He passed Dad’s test and he was rebirthed into a creator.”

 

After a brief second, he looked at me and spoke. “I am sorry Lil bro! I didn’t know of your marriage but I know of the trials father was hosting on his worlds. I have actually spoken to another creator he had recently rebirthed. His name was genesis. Anyway, my username is Divine Prince but you can call me Spirit.”

 

Nathan: “... We have spoken before then. It's been a while my name is Nathan and my username is Genesis. ”

 

The hall was silent prior but now you could hear a pin drop before Spirit began to laugh. “Hahaha, little bro I can’t believe it.”

 

After a while of speaking to Spirit, the main event started. I was surprised to see Aura disappear partway through and reappear on the platform with Zeus. What came out of his mouth next made me even more surprised though. Aura was pregnant... Why didn’t she tell me?

 

“Haha, little bro congrats! I will make sure to send you a gift later on. Who would have thought I find out genesis was my brother-in-law and now my Lil sis is pregnant such a good day.”

 

Slightly after the event Aura, Athena and Freya were dragged away by Spirits wives. Spirit and I were on our way to Zong's Ship showroom alone now with wry grins on our faces.

 

 

Author note

Nice large chapter. I combined two chapters since it made more sense that's why this chapter is a bit late. Let me know if you like quite long chapters like this or would you prefer them to stay between 1k-3k words.