“A mansion…” I stammered, before quickly catching myself and realizing, abruptly, that I was not behaving as a god should. I paused, mid-utterance, and closed my eyes. I knew, in my heart of hearts, that what Manuel was saying was not wrong. Was a dorm-room really fitting housing for a literal god? The sort of being that humans erected grand cathedrals and temples in honor of, really did deserve better than to live in a tiny, cramped room with another person…

I was not used to thinking of myself as a deity. That was something I would really need to work on, since it was such a change from how I had thought of myself before today. And I knew that I was a deity. It may have been hard to believe, but it was the truth. 

A few moments after I caught myself, Manuel smiled at me. There was a fanatical excitement visible on the man’s face. A joy that made each of the lines of his rugged, almost noble face seem crisper, more youthful, and very importantly, fanatical. Without even looking at the man I knew that my earlier actions had instilled in him a fanatical devotion to myself, a loyalty that would push him harder than he had ever pushed himself to fulfill my goals. 

My goals… I mentally uttered, now fully aware of the potent possibilities before me. As I contemplated what goals to pursue, Manuel took advantage of my silence.

“Yes, my lord… A mansion!” Manuel exclaimed, excitedly.

“I also believe that we should pursue the acquisition of a mansion.” Cecilia exclaimed, much more gently. That said, I could see a different sort of excitement in her eyes. One that grew as she studied me. A wholly different kind of excitement, but one that was no less interesting to me. 

Cecilia wore clothes that emphasized her figure, and it was hard for me, a healthy young man, to not notice her beauty and her assets. And she noticed me studying her. 

“Mansions are intriguing places to try and defend. I would enjoy the challenges of living in a mansion, with a master to protect.” Added my “Butler”, the potent human named Ortholox. He grinned as he spoke, and I could hear the excitement in his voice. 

Manuel smiled at the other members of the cult as they added their insights. I closed my eyes and chuckled, and after a moment of mental adjustment opted to accept the, admittedly pleasant, idea of living in a mansion.

“I… I suppose I ought to let you get to it, shouldn’t I?” I asked, as I accepted the idea. When I opened my eyes I could see the excitement on the faces of all three of my servants. Manuel in particular was visibly excited to have the chance to utilize his talents in my name. But he didn’t get up to leave. Instead, he turned to Ortholox and motioned for the man to retrieve something, which the figure did with surprising gentleness. 

I watched Ortholox activate his version of the “Inventory” ability, and as he did so he placed his gloved hands onto and then into the table we sat at. He then pulled his hands back up, gently, and when they came out they were holding a small computer.

“Master… Atlas Incorporated has yet another gift for you, the one person we truly aspire to serve.” Ortholox informed me, humbly. As I studied the innovative piece of technology my “Visual psychometry” power yet again put in the work, informing me of the ins and outs of the potent artificial intelligence contained in the computer in front of me. 

Ortholox stood up and approached me, before bending the knee and gently offering me the computer. I placed a single, ungloved hand on the thing and felt a rush of energy as the machine bonded with me in an instant. 

The nanosecond I touched the computer with my bare hand the computer itself vanished as it entered my mind and began to meld with me. I felt the artificial intelligence enter my mind and scan it, and chuckled as the information quickly began to overload the intelligence. I, relying on “Power Matrix” and “Worldmind” opted to help the A.I. adjust to the information overflow. 

“That’s it… You can do it.” I mentally uttered, coaxing the potent intelligence to relax and adjust to the information present in my mind. 

“Information overflow… Corrected.” The intelligence uttered, as my powers effectively took it by the “Hand” and smoothed out the issues the thing was having. A few more nanoseconds passed and it was able to adjust properly.

“Greetings master. I am the Siren Artificial Intelligence, a product of Atlas Incorporated to help you manage all sorts of technology and to make your life more convenient. How may I assist you?” The intelligence asked, its voice being telepathically uttered to me. 

“For now, please relax and connect to the wifi of the university.” I asked the thing, aware of its potent technopathic capabilities, and wanting it to integrate as smoothly as possible to the technology of Earth.

“Affirmative. Will do, master.” The voice uttered, making me chuckle. I idly reached down and began to fiddle with the “Toy car” in my possession. I turned to Ortholox and the rest of the people who had come to serve me. 

“I… These gifts are truly incredible. The Siren A.I. is sure to be an indispensable companion, and a wonderful new toy to place with. That and the ‘Perfect Vehicle’ would have been utterly transformational for any human.” I explain, causing my companions to smile widely at me. Cecilia actually stepped up to me and began to speak.

“If you think these gifts are amazing… Wait until you see the other gifts that Alphor has prepared for you! The palace world and the megaworlds are beyond my ability to describe. Or even the paradisiacal personal plane!” She began, and her words caused the back of my mind to fill with further awareness of the cosmos.

Vast cosmic empires existed in the omniverse, and even in this very universe. I knew that, due to the potent knowledge I was infused with when I acquired “Worldmind”. Those unbelievably gigantic empires, on occasion, possessed two distinctive types of worlds.

The first kind of world in question was a “Megaworld”. “Megaworlds” were enormous planets that were highly valuable and were vast cosmic megalopolises that the greatest empires used for trade, industrial production, and occasionally for tourism. Most empires only possessed three, four, or at the most, five or six. Atlas Incorporated was giving me over three dozen! 

The other kind of distinctive worlds worth mentioning at the moment were the mythical “Palace worlds”. “Palace worlds” were a luxury item that cost as much as some entire universes may have, if they pooled their resources together. 

These mythical planets were custom-created by corporations such as Atlas Incorporated and were owned by people, groups, and organizations that were so mind-bendingly wealthy they made Earth’s billionaires look positively destitute. They were people who were in the same general area as me, as far as my level of wealth went. 

Atlas Incorporated was giving me a palace world of my very own, one that they no doubt believed I’d make the very center of… whatever it was that I opted to pursue. They were also giving me an staggeringly enormous number of megaworlds, no doubt to finance my efforts throughout the omniverse. And if they were intent on financing me so… I’d go ahead and take them up on that. But there was one more gift they were giving me that was truly breathtaking. A personal plane.

Personal planes were dimensions owned by singular individuals. These were the peak of both luxury and power for many beings, giving the wealthiest mortals a chance to experience a facsimile of omnipotence since even mortals could experience something akin to the rush of being almighty when within a personal plane attuned to them. 

Inside of a personal plane anyone who owned one could momentarily attain a false sort of omnipotence that persisted so long as they resided inside of their plane, and they could design the plane as they saw fit. And for gods that rush of power was especially powerful, since gods could, over time and with the proper amount of discipline, inch towards true omnipotence.

Atlas Incorporated had designed a personal plane for me, as part of their tributes to me. Alphor was intent on convincing me to welcome him into the still non-existent fold. And with these last few gifts… He had ensured that the day would come when I would welcome him into the faith I was going to create. He had earned his spot in my faith.

A few minutes after Cecilia’s excited exclamations about the other gifts that Atlas Incorporated had prepared for me, I found myself, along with Cecilia and Ortholox, on an empty street at the less populated end of the university. Manuel had made use of “Planeswalker” to go and purchase the mansion for me. 

My two companions excitedly glanced at the object in my hand. I also excitedly and nervously glanced at it. It was the, currently, small object known as the “Perfect Vehicle”. I knelt down and placed the thing on the road before me, and the incredible technological marvel began to transform the instant that I got up and backed away from it. 

Before our very eyes the toy-car melted away and, at staggering speeds, reformed as a massive, elegant-looking 2022 BMW 7 series luxury sedan, astounding me and causing my companions to visibly cheer! I myself was excited by it, seeing the incredibly sleek and luxurious vehicle as sure-fire proof of my divinity.

“Amazing…” I muttered, even as Ortholox regained his composure and professionally stepped forward, opening the rear-door for Cecilia and I. I nodded at him, and stepped into the car, followed by Cecilia, who got in besides me and wrapped herself around my arms, affectionately. As soon as we were in, Ortholox closed the door and opened his door, before smoothly stepping inside of it.

Inside of the excellent, elite vehicle, I was able to admire the potency of the machine. I looked around and studied every feature of the thing, and was aware of the machine subtly shifting on the outside to properly adjust to the circumstances we found ourselves in. I could hear the wheels shifting to be able to withstand the poor conditions of the deserted street we were on. I could sense the machinery inside of the vehicle whirring around us and utilizing potent arcanotech sensors to detect the conditions around us. And then the vehicle truly came to life.

“Hello master. I have detected the presence of the Siren Artificial Intelligence. Commencing synchronization with her in three… two… one…” The vehicle itself uttered, its own onboard A.I. speaking to us, and immediately detecting the presence of A.I. that lurked within my mind. As soon as the countdown stopped I sensed the two A.I.’s beginning to mingle and share information. 

“So the A.I. here is comparable to the A.I. of the Siren? Remarkable…” Cecilia exclaimed, even as Ortholox began to study the wheel and the other, driving-based features of the machine we were in. It was a perfect imitation of the car it was copying. 

I studied Ortholox as he studied the features in the front of the vehicle. He seemed intent on driving the vehicle, despite the fact that the thing was more than capable of driving itself, due to the incredibly potent artificial intelligence that ran the thing. Eventually though, after a full minute of quiet relaxation, the voice of the artificial intelligence of the vehicle could be heard again.

“Greetings master. Where would you like to go?” The voice asked, causing both Cecilia and Ortholox to turn and gaze at me curiously. I sighed and allowed myself a moment to consider what to do next.

At the moment Manuel was out searching for a mansion to purchase. I lived in the city of Redsville, North Carolina, and there were certainly a few mansions in the city’s swankier neighborhoods, and along the shore of the local lake, but even with his powers it would take him a few hours to find and purchase such a highly sought-after location. And beyond that I had no real plans for the day either. I telepathically reached out to the man and bestowed him with a few psychic abilities, all for the sake of smoothing over the move-in process once we acquired whatever manor we’d acquire later in the day, smiling as I did so.

I only had one class today, and that was the class I had been in when my powers as a god made themselves known to me. I had… total freedom, as far as what to do next. And even as I contemplated what to do next, I sensed a voice in the back of my mind awaken more of my powers, causing me to frown in annoyance. I turned to Cecilia and gazed into her eyes as I began to speak to her.

“So… I know that I need to learn how to act like a god, but I am just going to be honest. Until now I lived a life where I was nearly completely alone. I was in the foster system growing up, the local way the government took care of children without parents.” I began, speaking seriously and earnestly. 

“I do not know how to behave as a god should. I just don’t. I only ‘know’ how to behave as a rich person should specifically because of things like the internet, and the added help I have received from ‘Worldmind’. I am going to need your help.” I explained, sincerely. This caused Cecilia’s eyes to widen in shock and amazement. 

“Antonio…” She uttered, speaking surprisingly informally. While we had walked to the street where I transformed my newest mode of transportation into its current form I had informed Ortholox and Cecilia of my human, or rather, government name. Now that I was a divinity, at some point I’d need to go ahead and make a new name for myself. 

“I… I promise, I will do my best to aid you. That said, now may well be a good time for you to summon more of the cult that Alphor created.” She told me, her soft eyes gazing into mine with a surprising amount of tenderness. I chuckled at her suggestion, but she ignored that sound and continued to speak.

“I’m not kidding! I think that someone like ‘The High Priestess’, ‘The Advisor’, ‘The Seraph’, or even ‘The Consort’ could actually help here.” She added, causing my mind to fill with information and mental pictures depicting each of these individuals. 

“Honestly this may well be the perfect time to introduce you to ‘The Consort’. She’d be overjoyed to meet you and she’d leap at the chance to aid you in these manners.” Cecilia offered, filling my mind’s eye with an image of an unbelievably beautiful brunette woman with incredibly soft, ruby lips, clad in the finest furs I had ever seen. She was easily the most elegant woman I had ever seen, perhaps a few years older than me at a glance, wearing a necklace and bands made of gold and adorned with diamonds. 

“She’s… beautiful.” I muttered, taken aback by how incredibly, perfectly beautiful the image of the stranger in my mind’s eye was. Cecilia smiled at my remarks.

“She is! She’s the daughter of the emperor of the fifth largest empire in the omniverse. Her father was one of the few royals to take Alphor seriously when he wandered the omniverse, seeking people to convert to our faith. Her father instilled in her a fanatical devotion to you from birth, and now she’s perhaps as fanatical as ‘The High Priestess’ is. She was trained from birth with the express intent that she’d become one of the wives of the… Lord Inheritor.” Cecilia explained, uttering that last bit with a mirthful grin on her face. The “one of the wives” part of her statement didn’t escape my notice, either, but I didn’t want to unpack that at the moment.

“I’ve never even had a girlfriend, and now there is a consort out there looking to become my wife? How… strange.” I remarked, idly, and truthfully. In my current form I wasn’t bad looking, but I wasn’t especially attractive either, and until now I hadn’t had time to waste on dating. Cecilia giggled as she heard my remarks.

“That said, if what you want is to learn how to act like a god should… ‘The Seraph’ is the best choice for you, for the moment. They are an angel who in the wake of the vanishment of the last living gods decided to wait until a new living god, the inheritor of their ancestor’s legacies, emerged. They are overjoyed that you have appeared and made yourself known, at least to those who know how to look.” Cecilia explained, even as Ortholox finally became unable to contain himself and began to drive the car. 

As we began to move, Cecilia and I looked at each other and smiled, laughing gently as our companion and friend began to experiment with our current mode of transportation. 

“Oh yeah… That feels nice.” Ortholox purred, as the car began to slowly make its way out of the backroads of the university. 

“So Antonio… Where would you like to go?” Ortholox stated, a split second later. 

“I don’t know Ortholox. Let’s just… go for a drive.” I replied, a smile on my face as I turned inward and began to activate the new powers lurking within the back of my mind.