The omnipresent, in the universe of her own creation anyway, goddess Nevermoor watched the strange pair of creatures inside of the tiny lounge from the safety and security of her own personal dimension. The beautiful goddess stared at the strangers, whom she could see with mild safety due to the scrying pool she was standing over in the depths of her innermost sanctum.
She had spent the last few minutes interrogating the two odd creatures, but now she was able to sense a slight, almost imperceptible change with regards to the male human. She stared at the strange human, "Fohion Ironheart" with open curiosity. The handsome, dark-haired, and darker-eyed human had momentarily flickered in and out of reality and the sharp-eyed goddess was actually capable of seeing this occur!
Unbeknownst to her, the powerful creature she was gazing at was an omniversal traveler who was capable of spontaneous and significant growth. He was also a possessor and creator of multiple bodies, some of whom were busily having adventures while he entertained the goddess. While the body Nevermoor had kept her eyes on was busy politely entertaining her, his other bodies were adventuring and growing in power.
The instant that the body she could see had flickered out of existence it was because his other body had just entered Mareth. The powers, perks, skills, memories, and items he had acquired as a result of stepping into Mareth had caused his body to momentarily vanish and be reformed, stronger and more skilled than ever, an attosecond later. The reformed and rebuilt Fohion was stronger than he had been before now and filled with a dark sort of confidence that was visible on his face and in the animalistic grace he exuded with even the subtlest movements.
The goddess noticed these alterations and despite her immense pride felt something she hadn't felt in a long time... The slightest vestiges of arousal. She felt her lithe breasts begin to heat up and even felt her tiny nipples begin to grow a bit stiff.
I felt the goddess's gaze upon me even as my body subtly shifted and reformed due to the explosion of power that I had acquired as a result of one of my bodies finding and entering the portal to Mareth. The power surging into me as a result of my exposure to the corruption created by Lethice, the demon-queen of Mareth's unholy monsters, was surprisingly significant.
Among the other changes to my form and to my powers were stranger changes that I needed to consciously choose before they would fully take effect. One big change was that I was now a Marethian deity, though before I could fully become a powerful god of the world of Mareth I needed to pick something to rule over. Nevertheless, I was still reaping positive benefits from the new kind of godhood that I possessed since I possessed the considerable physique of a god of Mareth.
Some of the other benefits I was reaping at the moment were unusual ones. My physical form exuded a nearly imperceptible aura of corruption and submission that would slowly but surely make anyone in my presence submit to me even if they refused to submit to anyone else. I also possessed enhanced sexual abilities, desires, and skills, not only due to my nature as a traveler to Mareth but also due to some of the new physiologies I possessed such as my newfound nature as an archdemon of lust.
Solana was sensitive, from a sensory point of view, but not quite sensitive enough to detect my newfound powers. I was smart enough to know that Nevermoor was not quite as unperceptive as the high elf I had created. I glanced at the spot in the room from which her voice emanated, the place from which her mighty deific vision was centered, and smiled crudely at her. And then she began to speak.
"Fohion... I sense something strange in you. Something... familiar." She admitted, her beautiful voice echoing from all around us as if we were in a high-tech movie theater from one of the Earths I knew about. Her surround-sound voice had considerable hypnotic power but it was not strong enough to affect either Solana or me.
"Whatever do you mean oh mighty goddess?" I asked, with an ignorant smile on my face. As I spoke I sensed her skepticism and was annoyed by her godly senses for the first time. She was a mighty being, one who possessed a slew of abilities that she was holding back, but I knew that she was unable to fully ascertain why I felt familiar to her.
The reason why she felt "something familiar" when she gazed at me was that she was sensing my own divinity but cloaked and impossible for her to truly recognize for what it was. The goddess's voice paused, and I could see her peering at Solana and me.
"I... am unsure. And I do not like that." She explained, unable to stop herself from divulging more information. I could feel her skepticism and curiosity mixing as she began to formulate various schemes. Her godly mind was greater than that of any other being I had met to date, and she had a truly gigantic amount of influence in this world.
"I... Need to consult with my high elves. You two are odd but there is something else happening too. A subtle change occurring in this world. Are you connected to it? I am unsure..." She explained as she began to grow dimly aware of the activities my followers were engaging in throughout the world. I smiled savagely but did not utter another word.
In the back of my mind, I quietly made a powerful choice. A choice that would have ramifications that would echo beyond this moment. I decided to become a god of secrets, lies, darkness, and corruption. As I did I felt my powers begin to increase once more and I even felt my other bodies momentarily flicker out of existence, my bodies in Mareth and Northos blinking out of reality for the slightest of seconds.
"My goddess! We are your humble servants and devoted worshipers!" I exclaimed, a split second after I felt my powers beginning to grow once more. My words were packed with the newfound powers surging into me from Mareth and despite the fact that they were lies I felt them wash over and comfort the goddess.
As a god of deception, my lies were laced with persuasive power and they were capable of making even skeptics believe them. This mighty power would prove its worth in time, and I fully intended to master it to a staggering degree.
"Perhaps you are right, little one, but I still need to consult my people... I need to investigate these changes. I will leave you be for now, but know this; my eyes are upon you." She replied, her voice revealing the impact of my words. Solana's eyes widened as she heard this, and she turned to look at me curiously to which I replied with a quiet mental message.
"I am a god of many things. We are safe, for now, due to my own divine powers." I explained, telepathically. I glanced around, feigning ignorance, and began to speak just once more.
"My goddess, please let u know how we can be of service to you. We would happily throw our weight and resources, paltry as they might be, behind your goals. We will honor you, however we can if you deign to give us a chance to do so." I meekly offered. The goddess did not reply, though Solana and I felt the power of her presence vanish as she turned her attentions elsewhere without a word.
Meanwhile, the world of Northos also felt the impact of the newly arisen god of darkness and deception in a rather distinctive way. The battle that raged between the twin werewolves and the forces of Castle Spree raged on, even while the god scanned the various mental theaters he could see and even act through. Eventually, after perhaps a few attoseconds, the god picked one theater and decided to exert his will through it.
The castle that the werewolves guarded was packed with powerful creatures who sought to retain control of the castle until the day they gained enough forces to overwhelm the village beneath the castle. Many of them were dashing towards the narrow entryway that led in and out of the castle so that they could reinforce the lycanthropic assassins who were currently hurling themselves at the castle's invaders.
At the moment that several of the fastest creatures inhabiting the castle other than the werewolves appeared at the bottom of the stairwell that led up to the floor level of the castle something else appeared at the top of that very stairwell. A strange, shadowy apparition in the form of a parasitic ball of darkness appeared at the zenith of the stairs and glared downward at the group of orcs, ogres, and trolls who were in the middle of sprinting. The quickest of them were able to look up and catch sight of the nightmarish entity the instant before it knelt down and placed one of its umbral limbs on the top stair.
The god possessed a vast tapestry of powers and he intended to use them to devastating effect. As the shadow that the god of darkness had created touched the stairwell the area where it touched began to suddenly burst into inky black flames. The flames erupted into life and began to race down the stairs, moving with a sort of animalistic hunger that compelled them to dash towards the nearest life forms; the motley crew of monsters who had been sprinting towards the mouth of the castle.
"Ah!" One of the orcs screamed as he panicked and saw the flames eagerly surging towards him and his companions. He stopped and threw himself backward, and while in mid-air his fingers danced towards one of the knives he kept on his person. Behind him, his peers let out animalistic, confused grunts and skidded to a stop even as the orc expertly grabbed a knife and with a deft flick of his wrist threw it at the shadow responsible for the ocean of vantablack flames dashing towards him.
The knife flew through the air, powerfully propelled by the muscles of the mighty orc who had chucked it at his enemy. The orc watched the knife, his eyes trained on it, and determined to see it pierce his mysterious enemy.
When the knife reached the apex of the stairwell it successfully penetrated the strange shadow, but to the dismay of the orc responsible for hurling it, the blade seemed to be absorbed by the darkness. It didn't stop moving even when its blade was all the way in the shadow and instead seemed to vanish into the creature's amorphous body.
The flames continued to surge forward, dancing and lunging towards the orc even as he flew backward in the empty air. The orc gasped as he watched the blade vanish inside of the shadow, but what he didn't know was that the knife wasn't out of play just yet. Fortunately for the orcs, they'd never have to learn just how their knife was about to be used as the flames continued an unstopped, unstoppable advance down the stairs and into the castle.
I sensed the knife of the orcish rogue stab the shadow I had brought to life utilizing my powers over darkness and chuckled. And then I sensed the shadowy creature absorb the knife that had been used, unsuccessfully, on it, and shivered as I felt the weapon be added to my inventory. My enemies noticed this and I watched their facial expressions turn into sneers of anger and hatred.
"I'm done with you." I told them, before the knife that my shadowy creation had just absorbed began to manifest, hilt first, in my empty hand. The knife in my hand took only a split second to fully manifest, and the very same instant that it fully materialized the sounds of pained screams began to emanate from inside of the castle.
Behind me, my minions began to smile cruelly as they listened to the pained sounds of the defenders of the castle. In front of me, the werewolves were caught fully off guard by the pained wails of the monstrous humanoids that had come through the portal. I watched their hearts begin to hammer in their chests and smiled savagely at them.
I leaped forward and with the knife in my hand, I impaled the first werewolf who had been challenging me. By utilizing brute force more than any sort of skill I pushed the knife deep into the heart of the werewolf and felt the blade cut into the creature. Without even looking at the werewolf I had just slain I turned to the fallen one's sibling and uttered a single word even as my eyes filled with necromantic power.
"Perish." I uttered, my words filled with darkness, malice, and cruelty. The other werewolf fell to his knees, his bark-colored eyes stiffening as life fled from his body, his organs immediately shutting down and his life coming to an abrupt end. His fur lost its luster and he fell forward onto the marble of the castle courtyard.
I had just utilized a mighty spell known as "Power Word: Kill" and by doing so snuffed out the life of the werewolf. The spell was one of literally countless spells that I knew due to my nature as a "Metamagnus", an almighty magician and master of magic.
The air immediately began to smell worse as the two corpses began to let out a series of gross gases. I pulled the knife out of the corpse of the werewolf I had slain with brute force and inelegant violence, and motioned for my minions to advance on the castle.
"Let's be conquerers, boys and girls." I proclaimed, arrogantly, even as the screams of burning orcs, ogres, and trolls continued to emanate from the interior of the castle. My minions began to sprint towards the castle, and I could hear their cruel cackles and delighted, almost pleasured moans as they drew closer and closer to the void-black fires.
