Lia jumped as her evening was interrupted by Jerry’s voice in her head. Apologies for contacting you like this, but do you have a bit to help me out with something important? It shouldn’t take more than an hour and a half.

Um, yeah. Lia replied. I’m not really doing anything right now. But, are you sure you need me, not Amelia?

Yes. Please meet me in the god’s domain. Do you remember the spell we taught you?

I think so. Give me a minute to let everyone know and then I’ll be over.

Thank you, Lia.

Currently, Lia was the only one in the living room, so she chose to let her wives know via telepathy instead of physically finding them. Hey guys, Jerry needs me for something, he said it won’t take more than an hour and a half, but don’t panic if I’m not around when you get back or something.

Did he say what? Rose asked curiously.

No. Lia replied. Just that it’s important.

I think I know what it is. Amelia said. But I’ll let it be a surprise. If I’m right, it won’t be anything bad.

I’ll come with. Connie volunteered. Do you need help with the transport spell?

No, I think I remember. Lia replied. I’ll let you know if I have trouble, though.

Okay, just making sure. Connie said. I’ll see you in a minute.

Lia put down the book she was reading, then stood up and began to focus on her Mana. It took her a second to get the image of the spell right, then put a tiny bit of Blood Money in as a catalyst. A moment later, the world shimmered, and she found herself in a sitting room in the domain of the gods.

Connie rushed over, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Jerry should be here in a second.” She said. “Knowing him, this is probably something related to the whole eldritch situation.”

“It is.” Jerry said, walking into the room. “Lia, I need your help in giving a soul to something, as well as converting it in the process.”

“You need my help giving something a soul?” Lia asked, taken aback. “Surely you’re better at it than I am.”

“To tell you the truth, I’m reasonably sure you’re the best person in our entire faction at giving things souls.” Jerry said. “You have as much a knack for it as Amelia has for system crafting, as well as a rather large amount of experience doing so.”

“I’ve only done it…a dozen or so times, I think.” Lia said. “I wouldn’t call that a lot of experience.”

“Comparatively speaking, it is.” Jerry replied. “In my long life, I have tried it only five or six more times than you have, and I am by far the most experienced amongst our faction. It usually isn’t a particularly common event, to say the least.”

“Oh.” Lia said quietly. “Um, what am I giving a soul?”

“I don’t recall if I mentioned it earlier today when I introduced you to everyone, but when I gave Kali that plane, I gave her one of my pet projects with it. Unfortunately, as it is, it’s not well-suited to aid in our war, and it is my opinion that converting it into a more convenient form and then granting it a soul will be the best way to make it useful for the war effort. Once we’re done, I plan to give it back to her, but I think you’ll find that the experience you’ll get from converting it will be well worth the time you spend here.”

“You’re letting a member of the swarm loose on Kali’s planes, and Levi at that?” Connie asked, taken aback. “Are you sure that’s…wise? Kali knows about this, right?”

“I’m going to take away all capability to produce modeling wax or convert others before giving Levi back, and I’m going to see if Amelia can undo the conditioning on it.” Jerry said. “Were this not the easiest way to modify Levi’s form into something more usable, I wouldn’t be doing it. Of course, if they so desired I would be happy to allow the swarm to spread to their planes, but they do not want it, so I’ll be carefully watching to ensure no such thing happens.”

“Are they gonna even work properly if they’re not connected to our system?” Lia asked doubtfully.

“It won’t have the capability to analyze things or gain experience in the normal ways, but I designed Levi in a way that allows it to natively absorb Mana from things it eats. It was originally an experiment in making a sort of self-contained system that was abandoned for being too Worship-intensive, so most of that should theoretically transfer over. Just in case I’ll be personally overseeing the conversion once it’s underway, though.”

“So…do you need anything special from me in the conversion process?” Lia asked.

“Not at all.” Jerry replied. “I’ve personally prepared the cocoon in such a way that the first option should be the most preferred one. Just select that, let the conversion happen, and provide the soul when you’re done. Then you can head on home and you’ll be ready to evolve, so you can do that at your leisure.”

“You think so?” Lia asked. “It’s been quite some time since I evolved, and I’m not exactly close to another evolution.”

“It should be enough to evolve you several times over.” Jerry said. “Levi would be capable of standing toe to toe with Rose in a fight, and potentially even winning. Between converting something of that caliber and becoming a Higher Being, you will have such a massive amount of Mana that I expect this evolution to put you on par with Amelia and Rose, or at the very least get you close.”

Lia raised an eyebrow. “If you say so. Anything else I should know before we do this?”

“Just read over the description first and make sure that it will have a reasonably-sized humanoid form like I hope it will.” Jerry said. “And be prepared, it’s big. I’m going to teleport us over to it now, so be ready.”

Lia nodded, and Jerry snapped his fingers. A moment later Lia found herself in a large field of some sort, an absolutely gargantuan cocoon in front of her. Save for the World Tree, it was the single largest living thing she had ever seen, provided the bulk of the cocoon’s size was coming from Levi and not whatever else Jerry would have put into the cocoon to supplement the conversion.

“How…how big is this thing?” Lia breathed. “It’s…enormous.”

“It’s grown since I gave it to Kali, but I would estimate it to be somewhere in the realm of a kilometer and a half long.” Jerry said. “It’s supposed to be the apex predator of whatever ocean it finds itself in, and it does that job admirably. Regardless, it’s awaiting conversion; all you need to do is start the process.

Lia gave a nod, turning away from Jerry and placing her hand on the cocoon. She pulled up the list of options, resisting the urge to scroll down the list further to see what could have been, instead focusing on only the top one.

“I think it’s what you want?” Lia said questioningly. “The description implies that it’ll be humanoid, and it definitely retains the system stuff you were worried about. Um…do you want me to read off the exact description?”

Jerry nodded. “I can see the window, but just in case it looks different for you, I would appreciate that.”

Lia read off the description, and Jerry gave another nod. “Perfect. Get the process started, and I’ll be back for you once it finishes. In the meantime, do whatever you please, but please stay within the domain of the gods in case something goes awry and I need you.”

“Why don’t I give you the full tour?” Connie suggested. “We already gave you the quick overview, but it can’t hurt to be more familiar with this place; you’ll be coming here more often in the future, after all.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Lia replied, beginning Levi’s conversion.

“I’ll send you on your way, then.” Jerry said. “Enjoy your tour. Oh, and while you’re at it, Connie, will you give her my contact information? It’d be nice to be able to text her instead of intruding upon her mind whenever I need her.”

“I didn’t even think of that.” Connie said. “I’ll give it to Amelia and Rose, as well.”

“Perfect.”

True to Jerry’s word, an hour later Lia received a notification that she had gained a massive amount of experience from Levi’s conversion. Then, almost before Lia had finished reading the short notification, her phone buzzed. She took it out of her pocket to find a text from Jerry, saying that he was ready for her again. “How did he know my number?” Lia asked, sending a quick reply that said he could pick them up whenever.

“Probably just looked for it.” Connie said. “Administrators get to cheat a little when it comes to clairvoyance for stuff like this, especially when we’re in the realm of the gods.”

Their surroundings blurred, and they found themselves in that field once more, the gargantuan cocoon no longer obstructing the view in front of her. In its place was a tall, voluptuous, woman with dark blue hair in a similarly colored dress. Even so, Lia couldn’t find it in her to appreciate the woman’s beauty; the woman practically oozed danger, her blood red eyes sharp and focused, tracking every motion Lia made.

Lia felt all the hair on her body stand on end, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something incredibly dangerous was standing not even twenty feet away from her. The woman took a step forward, and Lia unconsciously took a step backwards, her instincts screaming at her to get as far away from the woman as she physically could.

Yes, she could feel that this woman was a member of the swarm, but it really didn’t help when Lia knew that the conditioning that applied wasn’t foolproof when faced with extremely strong-willed and powerful beings.

And then the woman knelt down, and the pressure that Lia was feeling dissipated. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding, and only then could she spare the time to properly look at her surroundings. There were previously unseen mountains in the distance, yes, but more immediately noticeable was the fact that Jerry wasn’t there.

“Thank you for cooperating with me, Lia.” A melodic woman’s voice said from behind her. “We’re almost done.”

Lia almost spun around, but at the last second her instincts forced her to stop, and she ended up awkwardly turning to the side so that she could see both Levi and woman behind her. Though she couldn’t get the greatest view with the way she was positioned, the woman was of average height, with long blonde hair tied up neatly in a ponytail, revealing her pointy ears.

Lia’s brain, still operating half on instinct after the scare Levi had given her belatedly began to put two and two together, but Connie reacted before Lia could finish her thought. “Jerry?!” She exclaimed.

The woman nodded. “The process went off without a hitch, so I had an hour of free time.” She said. “I said before that I’d be changing my form to better align with the swarm so as to maximize my Worship gains, and since I needed to be right here the whole time just in case something did go wrong, this seemed to be a productive use of my time.”

“Just like that?” Lia asked, dumbfounded. “You’ve been alive and a man for…eons, I guess, and you’re willing to just change?”

Jerry shrugged. “I don’t really care about sex or gender in any significant fashion.” She said. “Not for me, not for others. The mindset I give all of my freshly-created Higher Beings in this regard is simply an extension of that; it’s optimal to be able to switch if something like this comes up, so I made sure that, at least at the time of their creation, they wouldn’t care. So…yes, I am willing to change. This is going to get me the most Worship, which increases our odds in this war, so I’m doing it.”

“What should we call you?” Connie asked, already seeming to have recovered from the surprise.

“Jerry is unisex enough, so I see no reason to change my name.” Jerry replied. “We can discuss this more later, though; Lia is looking a little on edge, so we should finish this up as quickly as possible.”

Lia nodded slowly, eyes flicking back to Levi. “Are you sure she’s safe?” She asked.

“Absolutely.” Jerry confirmed. “Levi never had much of a strong will or anything, and I’m more than capable of keeping you safe even should you be attacked. Just go ahead and give Levi a soul and then I’ll take her away.”

Lia gulped, turning back so she was facing the still-kneeling Levi. Though the primal fear Levi had caused her was gone, the memory of it remained, and Lia had to force herself to take each step towards her, ignoring her instincts as she moved.

After what seemed like an age, she arrived at Levi, and for the first time made eye contact. It was like staring into a bottomless abyss; she got the impression that something old, powerful, and hungry was looking back at her, something she could never understand the true nature of.

And then Levi bowed her head, breaking the eye contact and ending the spell. Hesitantly, Lia laid her palm on the woman’s hair, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and gave her command. “Be enlightened.”

Lia hadn’t granted something a soul in quite some time, and certainly not since becoming a Higher Being, and the sensation was…different than she remembered. There was still that momentary pause, the feeling that her words carried more weight than they had the moment before, but now she could feel as a soul was provided to her, the rush as she passed the soul to Levi and the void in Levi’s mind was filled.

Lia withdrew her hand, and Levi looked up, a new intelligence in her eyes. “Thank you, my Queen.” She said softly, her voice deep and comforting. “Please, call me Levia.”

“I…yes. It…it’s a pleasure to meet you, Levia.” Lia squeaked out, unconsciously taking a step backwards.

“Are you alright, my Queen?” Levia asked, standing up. “You seem unwell.”

“F-fine.” Lia replied. “Just a little overwhelmed.”

“Sorry, Levia.” Connie said. “You’re exerting a lot more pressure than she’s used to.”

Levia blinked, tilting her head in confusion. A second later, understanding dawned on her face, and the feeling in the air shifted yet again. While only a moment prior Levia had been a cool, intimidating beauty, she now felt like only a somewhat shy-looking young woman. “Sorry, my Queen.” She said. “I’m afraid I’m not used to holding myself back.”

“It’s fine.” Lia said. “Um…how much do you remember?”

“From Levi’s life? Most of it. From mine? Little.” Levia said. “I feel like I was no one of significance, but rest assured; I have full control of what remains of Levi, he was little more than a beast.”

“You are correct in that regard.” Jerry said. “You were no one the world would have considered important; you simply had an extraordinary will and sense of self. That made you the perfect candidate to control Levi’s power.”

Levia paused, giving Jerry a quizzical look. A moment later, the veins in her arms began to glow a bright red, the bioluminescence running up to her torso and then down her back before vanishing entirely. “You are…my creator, yes? You look…different, but have the same…” Levia floundered for a moment, clearly looking for the right word, “feel as he did.”

“Yes.” Jerry replied. “Like I mentioned, I needed to change to better prepare myself for the coming war. A war we are hoping to use your power for.”

“I would be honored.” Levia said. “What would you have me do?”

Lia couldn’t help but feel surprised that Levia showed so much deference to Jerry. Almost every single member of the swarm would have asked Lia that question instead of Jerry, but Levia hardly seemed to consider it.

“Do you remember the other universe I sent Levi to?” Jerry asked.

“I do.” Levia said, nodding. “Do you wish for me to conquer it?”

“Far from it.” Jerry replied, smiling. “I want you to become one of its most stalwart defenders; the Administrator there is a dear friend of mine, and her, her wife, and her universe are the keys to winning our war. Please wait here for a moment; I’ll be calling in the creator of the swarm to remove its conditioning from you before sending you back to them. I will give further instructions while we wait, okay?”

“I understand.” Levia replied. “If need be, I will lay down my life for them.”

“Excellent.” Jerry replied, giving Levia a smile. Then, she turned to Lia and Connie. “Thank you for your help.” She said. “I imagine you’re somewhat keen to go evolve now, so please, don’t let me keep you for any longer than I have.”

“Right. Um, thank you too.” Lia said. “I’d like to go evolve, yes.”

Jerry gave her a smile. “Though it may not seem it to you, you’ve helped us far more than I’ve helped you. Thank you again.” With that, she waved her hand, and Lia found herself back in her house. She took a moment to let Amelia and Rose know that she would be evolving, then went to her bed and started to look through her options.

Fighterman481

So, I actually had some different descriptors for Levia's introduction, and retooled it a couple of times. Going from 'almost being able to picture a giant predatory face behind Levia' to what we have now. I decided that imagery didn't really work in a written style, not like it would in, say, an animated show or manga or something. Instead it felt better to depict the pressure in other ways, which is what we ended up getting.

Levia aside, let's talk about Jerry. I was not originally planning to do this now, but the way things ended up going as I wrote, Jerry had a lot less need to be hands-on in the process than before. And, with an hour of free time...well, Jerry doesn't really do free time in the current situation. She already had her form 'drafted up', so to speak, as it had become all but a certainty she'd be changing, so she just needed to do the work, and that was a lot less attention-demanding than anything else she had on her list.

I debated changed the spelling of her name, but decided that Jerry is "unisex enough", especially since it's short for Jeryl in this case, which is already a feminine-leaning spelling. Traditionally, you'd see feminine variants of Jerry spelled with an i instead of a y, but that's a small thing, so why bother?

And, finally, I don't expect to write out Lia's evolution in this series. It's not super relevant to the overarching plot, and doing it this way gives me a little more wiggle room with Lia's evolution path at the time of Swarming Sovereignty (Since evolutions typically reference the current species as a comparison). That being said, if/when we get to this point in Swarming Sovereignty, expect to see it then.

Anyway, that's all I have to say, next time we're going to probably introduce Levia back to Kali's planes, so look forward to it!

And, as always, thanks for reading!