Even as I was causing destruction in the world of Northos I was living a full and complex life in the world of Pagora. Pagora was the true name of the world created by the elven goddess named Nevermoor, a world wherein I was a vastly different kind of being compared to how I behaved in Northos.
In the wee hours of the morning, when the sun was beginning to rise into the skies above the city "I" found myself wandering the portion of the city I had fled from yesterday. I was wandering the outskirts of the portion of the city wherein elves were allowed to live freely. I felt the eyes of curious elves studying my every move. They watched me keenly, their attentive eyes capable of astutely noticing the impossible grace I possessed.
They watched me, often with abject interest, and even without looking at them, I could feel their curiosity. Their eyes were not as limited as those of a human and so they could see my muscles flex in ways that a human, no matter how observant, could never do. They knew there was something truly inhuman about my movement and some of them wondered what would happen if they asked their more knowledgeable friends and family about me.
I ignored them, knowing that they'd never uncover the true reasons I possessed ultra-human grace unless I wanted them to. The very nature of my powers, even ignoring ones like "Subtle" and "Mirror Juvenile", was so defensively oriented that if I didn't want someone to understand the origins of my abilities they just wouldn't.
With every step I took, I could feel my grace, my dexterity, my flexibility, and my speed increasing. To a very minor, but also very real, extent the elves watching me could see the beyond-human grace I exuded with every footstep I took. It made people want to watch me, enraptured by my very presence. None of the people whose gazes fell upon me had the courage needed to approach me, though I could fully feel their eyes on me.
I gazed back at some of the elves who studied me and as I did I made interesting discoveries. These discoveries were not limited to the usual discoveries I made whenever I gazed at people, especially now that the whole world was covered by my invisible eyes. No, what I was discovering was wholly weirder than the discoveries I made through psychometry.
As I gazed at elves I could see symbols appearing above their heads. These symbols were pictures depicting various things, but stylized like the cartoons I had been able to see when I touched and linked with the cosmic remote in my possession. At first, the cartoons themselves revealed very little, but when I mentally focused on them I felt my mind filling with information that was read aloud to me by the voice of "Worldmind".
"Alert: As your intellect grows you will gain more awareness of the active effects of the perks and powers that you possess. For now, many of your social perks and powers are related specifically to elves, due to the nature of this world, though you also possess a few darker exceptions to this rule. When someone falls under the effects of a perk of yours you can detect it through the symbols floating above their heads." The voice informed me, causing me to smile.
I stared at the air above the heads of those who gazed at me and silently allowed knowledge denoting the meanings of the symbols to embed itself into my mind. As I did I felt my own awareness of the tremendous power I possessed filling my mind.
"Perk detected; 'Human Dic-plomancy'. This perk gives you the ability to be trusted by elves for so long as they have no reason to distrust you. It renders you immune to prejudice that your visible appearance as a non-elf would otherwise engender in elves. This perk allows you to safely, easily, and effectively interact with elves in a friendly manner. It is not perfect protection, but it allows you to always have a foot in the door with elves that can smoothly help you interact with them." The voice from earlier explained as I gazed at a specific, common symbol.
The symbol floated over the heads of every elf who gazed at me. It was a cartoon-like image depicting two beings talking to each other, their hands open, visible, and weapon-free. Other symbols were visible above the heads of most women who gazed at me and some men, such as a symbol that was a cartoon image of hearts.
"Perk detected; 'Shoujo Prince'. This perk greatly amplifies how attractive people attracted to your gender find you, and makes anyone who is attracted to someone of your gender far easier to court and romance." The voice explained, making me chuckle a bit. That perk was one of several that was love and lust related that I could detect affecting the elves around me.
Hell, even some of the perks I possessed due to my time in Mareth were seen in the images above the heads of the elves. I saw images of cartoon-like representations of people prostrating themselves before a cartoon-like representation of myself.
"Perk detected; 'Domination'. This perk grants you an aura that only affects the weak-willed, for now anyway. This aura makes submission to you a dangerous choice. Submission to you feels especially enjoyable and those who submit to you, even non-sexually, will find themselves wanting to more and more deeply submit to your will and whims. Eventually it'll become nearly impossible for anyone who has submitted to you enough times to resist even your darkest commands." The voice explained, causing me to grin as I gazed at those who were feeling the effects of the submission aura.
I wanted to go and bully them, but I was able to restrain myself. For now, anyway. I had to work to stifle a smile since I could see another little cartoon above the heads of those closest to me who were also sexually attracted to me. This cartoon was of a little mist, and as I focused on it the information I was presented was quite intriguing to me.
"Status effect detected; 'Vulnerable to A-dick-tive Substance'. This status effect is one that you have inflicted on those close to you that you would not wish to be immune to it and who are also attracted to you. It renders such individuals doubly vulnerable to the powerful perk you possess known as 'Addictive Fluids'. This powerful perk makes your sexual fluids addictive and causes those exposed to them to feel an incredible high that you can control. This perk is powerful enough that even being in your presence in a non-sexual context can actually cause an echo of it." The voice casually revealed, which was a heck of a reveal.
"This perk is highly synergistic with 'Domination' and various other perks and powers that you possess that relate to sex and sexuality. It can also be used with the 'Alchemist' perk you possess to make potions that include bodily fluids of yours." The voice informed me.
Within the depths of the void my true form lurked in, I willed my "Inventory" to open its menu. The thing popped into being in front of me, and I began to study its contents.
The menu in front of me was not empty. Due to my choices the instant that I acquired the cosmic remote which was easily my most prized possession the menu was filled with dozens of potions each of which contained powerful liquids. These liquids were "Essences" from a famous and popular "Choose Your Own Adventure", and each of them gave those who imbibed them potent superpowers.
Some of the essences included things like "Essence of the Warlord", "Essence of the God-Emperor", and other potent substances. Until now I had been able to ignore the temptation of the substances since I had already finished the last battle by the time I had the chance to really take in the descriptions of the essences. That said, now that a part of me was continuing my deadly campaign in Northos it was much easier for me to go ahead and consider which of the substances to drink.
There were dozens of them, and each of them offered an array of benefits to anyone who was both lucky enough to get them and brave enough to drink them. While my body in Northos continued to wage its war on the halflings I began to chug the potions, and as I did I felt their power begin to settle within me. With each potion, I drank I felt my powers increasing and warping, though some of the essences were decidedly stronger than others.
I chuckled as I drank the essences, and as the powers, they bestowed anyone who drank them settled within my vast core. As they did, I felt my form beginning to subtly change and take on elements of the new powers lurking in the depths of my deific spark. And I subtly began to make use of my new powers.
As "I" approached the halfling fortress I could feel my powers subtly, and sometimes not-so-subtly, altering. I felt my mind shifting as I immediately gained new knowledge thanks to the mighty essences my truest self was imbibing, and I even felt my perception of reality itself changing.
The chaotic scene all around me slowed to a crawl as my powers were touched, enhanced, and improved by the essence "I" was imbibing. I felt my very understanding of the world around me shifting to reflect new senses, and the spontaneous creation of whole new trains of thought as fully active as my primary train of thought was.
I gazed at objects that were now nearly frozen in mid-air, such as tiny balls of fire hurled at my enemies by red minions and rocks hurled by halflings whose creativity and resilience could be admired even though they were about to die or suffer a fate worse than death. The halflings who had hurled the projectiles at my minions were otherwise unarmed and they boldly faced my servants, creatures as large as orcs and who wielded powerful and wicked-looking blades. Nevertheless, I was ready to flex my power.
I waved a hand in the direction of the floating stones and with a thought caused them to cease existing. The stones turned to dust and scattered on some sort of light breeze, their attacks turned to nothingness by my potent and overwhelming power. I then turned my full attention to the halflings themselves and peered at them, my eyes fully and intimately taking in all they were and all they'd ever be.
As the deific being acclimated to the powers nestling themselves within the depths of his soul he began to change. The last Living God was not only growing in power, he was growing in magnificence.
The dark divinity's splendor was great enough that the instant he slowed himself down enough to feel the passage of time return to some level of normalcy the creatures who had the misfortune of looking at him found themselves gazing at a creature unlike any that had ever existed. As the powers within the depths of Fohion mixed and became wholly new things within his heart his body was actively refining itself.
The creature had not only taken on the mighty powers of the feared and adored Emperor of Mankind he had also imbibed the very heart of the Force itself. He was actively undergoing a litany of impossible apotheoses all at once, each of which was mighty enough on their own but put together they meant he was morphing into something that had never ever existed before; a true, nightmarish mishmash of a number of distinctive, powerful beings and kinds of beings.
The essences that were mixing within the god's impossible spark, his equivalent of a soul, were turning him into something... else. And as he gained a greater and greater awareness of the new abilities he possessed, he began to smile.
