170 The Face Of A God

Geoffrey Finagan was a crotchety old man and when he awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his door loud enough to rouse him from his sleep it put in a foul mood. He quickly got up, checked the time on a digital clock on his nightstand, noticed the ungodly hour he was being roused at, and began to stomp towards the door, purposefully pounding on the floor beneath him.

The noise he was making should have been loud enough to resound throughout the rest of the house. And had he been more focused he undoubtedly would have noticed how odd it was that it didn't. It quickly tapered off and before it got too far was inaudible to the man. That said the strange effects taking place throughout the house were affecting, among other things, his mind and thus prevented him from realizing all of what was out of place.

As he stomped off towards the stairwell, and then afterward towards the front door, a number of curious things happened. First, his children didn't wake up. But this was lost on the grumpy old man, who was too self-absorbed to question why none of his children were awake if he could hear a remarkably loud banging at the door.

The second thing, something he did notice, was that his hostile gradually decreased as he got closer and closer to the front door. This was mysterious and made no sense to the elderly human. The third thing that happened that was odd was that the knocking at the door came to a gradual end as if the person waiting for someone to open the door could hear him approaching, but this one was only a bit strange so it didn't particularly weird him out. Unbeknownst to him, that was exactly what happened.

As he approached the door he began to feel a strange yet undeniable wave of... happiness come over him. It was like he was expecting an old friend at the door. But he wasn't. He was sure he wasn't. And thus by the time he got to the front door, and before he actually opened it, he was filled with uncertainty.

He spent a moment in front of the door, unsure of what to expect whenever he opened it. The door was a solid block of wood and it had no peepholes so the man couldn't peer through the door. He purposefully lived far from any nearby people or settlements, so he didn't really need a peephole. That said he knew someone was on the other side of the door. So after a few moments, he manned up and opened the door. And in doing so found himself face to face with a creature unlike any he had ever met.

Geoffrey was shorter than Althos was, and he had been looking straight ahead, at face-level. So before he was exposed to the face of a god, he got a chance to study the chiseled form of the transcendentally attractive deity. He looked at Althos' chest, and the stern expression that had covered his face before just melted away. His eyes began to lazily trail upwards so that the man could look at the face of the strange intruder who had come to his farm and then his home.

His mind wasn't entirely inactive, rather it was being suffused with so much new information that he was unable to physically do much aside from just stare, doe-eyed at the god in front of him. One of the key bits of new information that his mind was being suffused with was that the figure in front of him was a god and some of the things that that meant.

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I silently observed the strange man who opened the door. Geoffrey Finigan. The very first human I had met in another world.

He was an older man, with an emaciated frame. That said, he was stronger than he may have looked at a glance, and as I silently read over his stats I recognized how much endurance and energy he had despite his old age. He was a farmer but was also in his early 70s. He had an admirable work-ethic if nothing else.

He had brown eyes and hair to match, but his hair was balding and I could see a cataract in one of his eyes which was straining his vision as well as gave his eye a strange, almost milky look. I could heal him, and I silently made the decision to do so. I had once healed an entire solar system. Healing one elderly man would be easy, especially since this health condition was brought on, in his case, by age.

He was blissfully enraptured by my powers, a number of auras surrounding me all at once and seeping into his mind. But the two most powerful effects that were altering his mind were two of my newer abilities: "Mesmerizing presence" and "Ascension". Because of them, the mortal in front of me knew what I was and he was enraptured.

After a few moments passed I folded my arms in front of me, and began to speak.

"Hmm... I wonder what you looked like when you were younger." I mused, a curious smile on my face. The man's mouth opened, but no words came out. After a few moments, he simply closed it again. I chuckled and I placed one of my hands on the man's face.

His skin was sagging and was rough to the touch. I made eye contact with the man and smiled sadly. Time had not been good to him. But I was about to be. He grinned at me, his face still slack. I could tell he was still mentally adjusting to the incredible power I exuded, especially in comparison to him. He was an aging human, a member of a short-lived species whose bodies and minds began to very slowly weaken over time as early as their third decade.

With but a thought I began to undo the effects of age on his body. His skin grew thicker, more vibrant, and he even grew taller and more muscular before me. I felt the awe and reverence he felt towards me, a mysterious and divine stranger, grow as I watched age loosen its grip on his life and on his body.

The man was 71, but by the time I stopped reversing his age he had the appearance he once had in his prime. I kept my hand on his face for perhaps five seconds, and in that time I undid about five decades worth of aging on his body, and by the time I lifted my hand from his face he was physically in his mid-twenties.

His eyes were healed, his hair was back, and the simple sleeping outfit he had on went from fitting him perfectly to squeezing him tightly. I chuckled and studied him more.

"Hmm... I suppose you'll have to do." I said, aloud, after giving him a once-over. This visibly confused the elderly man. He looked at me and finally began to speak.

"I'll 'have to do'?" He asked, clearly confused. I laughed audibly at his confusion. I then nodded at him.

"Yes. You'll have to do. It's okay, I'll further enhance you." I said, understanding that he was confused. He looked at me, his confusion only further increasing with my vague words. He wasn't distressed by my words, but he was mystified by them.

He was a straight man, both romantically and sexually, and thus not capable of falling in love with me romantically or sexually. That didn't bother me though. His love for me and my influence over him grew even from just spending time in my presence. I could feel him becoming more and more devoted to me the more seconds passed.

"Althos... I don't understand." He confessed, after a few seconds of silence. At this point the amount of my influence he was under had already exceeded 20%. I began to speak in response to his words. I was humored by his confusion and felt like indulging the man's curiosity and desire to understand.

"You are going to serve me, Geoffrey. Even now your heart and mind are slowly being turned over to me, as a natural consequence of standing in my presence and looking upon my face. You'll be my first worshiper in this world." I told him, speaking with the confidence of someone who had done this before. Because I had. Though never with these powers. Geoffrey's eyes widened in shock and alarm.

"Serve you? I just... I just met you!" He exclaimed, in alarm. I chuckled at his shock and had to work to not laugh. I mulled his words over for a moment, before opting to try something new on a whim: behaving as a lawful god and establishing a cult of order, hierarchy, and authority, here on Htrae.

"And? You know that I am a god. That alone is enough of a reason to worship me." I stated, telling him something that was quite frankly the truth while trying to project the pride that gods were capable of exuding naturally. Gods could help mortals in any way imaginable and so it only felt fair for a god to ask for worship and service in exchange for the things we did for mortals.

Geoffrey began to try and formulate an objection to my words, but I could see that he was struggling with it. I smiled at him and began to speak once more.

"Geoffrey, moments ago I touched your face and undid the effects of age on your body. I can do that freely. I am power incarnate, creation, destruction, nature, and more all rolled up into one and given a conscious form. You can't even begin to think of the things I could do if I felt like it." I told him, speaking honestly and neutrally of the power at my disposal. His awed eyes widened as he realized what I did.

"To worship and serve me is your fate. Do not be afraid of it." I told him, speaking comfortingly. I towered over him and I had to look down to make eye contact with the man. At this point, my influence over him was nearing 35%. He was still, and mentally I could sense that he was struggling with the idea of serving a god he had just met, but I could also feel the creeping, increasing power of my influence over him and how it was being to corrode his efforts to resist it.

"Serve me. Worship me and never again shall you experience worry. Worship me and you can attain whatever you desire." I told him, speaking honestly. The more I spoke the faster my influence corroded what remained of his ability to resist me. I watched him close his eyes and I felt his heart begin to turn towards me, in the same way that I had felt so many billions of creatures turn to me in prayer and submission. After a few moments, he began to speak to me, speaking sincerely and from his heart.

"Althos... I am just afraid. I know nothing about you." He confessed, having met me moments ago. There was a troubled look on his face as he spoke. He wasn't wrong and I could see why, even for a short-lived mortal, this hesitation would cause him to resist my words.

That said, with my newfound powers over emotions I could do something about that. Wordlessly, I rose a hand and placed it on his chest.

"You will never have need of fear ever again." I told him, a smile on my lips. I then activated one of my newer powers, "Empathetic conversion", and transformed the feelings of fear he felt into feelings of love and devotion, all aimed at me. I watched as the troubled expression on his face melted into something new, something serene and accepting. He glanced at me and nodded, accepting his destiny with poise and grace.

"Althos... Yes, I see it now. I can feel it now. And also... How rude of me, please come inside!" He said, his attitude transforming as a result of the powers I had used on him.

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Over the course of the next three hours, Geoffrey would tell me about his life, his understanding of the world, and answer any question I had to the fullest of his abilities. He also willingly gave me his memories. By the time he was running out of things to tell me about himself the sun was starting to peek above the horizon.

I didn't have to let him talk, but he had wanted too. He seemed to like talking, and so I had opted to allow him to continue to speak. During that time I quietly inspected the final set of new powers I had just acquired, through the first tier of influence over the domain of creation. And by the time I was done reading through them I was quite fond of them.

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[Creation Domain Details:

The creation domain is both as simple and as intense as it sounds. It allows for gods to create all manner of things, and governs things related to creation like alchemy, technology, cooking, blacksmithing, art, and more. It is a critical domain for the most ambitious gods.

With power over civilization and creation gods can create entire settlements and kingdoms over the course of a single day. With power over blacksmithing and creation a god can arm an army in an hour. All domains can be powerful depending on when and how they are used, but creation is an excellent all-around type domain with plenty of handy abilities and some awe-inspiringly powerful combinations that come from synergizing things.

To gain greater power over the domain of creation, create creatively and use these powers to gain worshipers.

Creation Domain Passive Powers:

Material mastery: You can manipulate a wide variety of materials and use them to create an assortment of things. You can manipulate glass, ceramics, clay, plastic, oil, many kinds of metal such as gold and silver, wood, and all sorts of other things to create all manner of objects.

Construct creation: You can create constructs, magically powered machines and robots, out of an assortment of materials and things you can manipulate. Constructs you create are loyal to you and follow your orders absolutely. You can grant them true free will and sentience if you opt to give them a soul.

Duplication: You can duplicate things, creating perfect, flawless copies of even plants if you want too. So far you can't use this power on things with souls, but that may change if you increase your influence over the right domains. That said, you can target areas and recreate them if you wish, making this power an incredibly versatile and potent. This power is perfect for say, feeding people.

Instantaneous creation: You can create small objects, even things like daggers and knives, watches, and instantly.

Furniture creation: You can create practically any type of furniture you want, even larger pieces of furniture such as beds, sofas, or tables, out of many sorts of materials.

Currency creation: You can create inanimate currency at will, allowing you to elevate those you target out of poverty or destroy economies if you want too. This power is a useful one for gaining materially oriented worshipers and for showing people the perks of worshipping you. This is synergistic with the law domain, as the law domain governs business and economics.

Creation Domain Blessing And Curse Details:

You can bless creators, such as alchemists, blacksmiths, engineers, or others with similar careers, and improve their ability to create effectively as well as the qualities of the objects they create. Cursing them does the opposite. You can also bless individually created things and improve their quality as well as their longevity. Cursing them, unsurprisingly, does the opposite of that, damaging them, worsening their quality, and shortening their longevity.]

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As the sun began to climb into the morning sky I silently conjured a glazed, ceramic coffee mug, using "Instantaneous creation" to test out my abilities. The thing phased into being in my hand, and Geoffrey smiled at me, delighted at the display of my powers.

"Something from nothing... Nice." I muttered, smiling at the mug as I examined it. It was far from the most impressive thing I had ever conjured, but it was a nice display of the utility of my newfound powers.

He and I were in a small but functional kitchen, seated at a nice table. I quite liked the arrangement of his house, and had enjoyed the few hours Geoffrey and I had spent chatting, though admittedly most of that time was him chatting, not me.

It was at this moment that I heard the children of the man begin to stir from their sleep. Before another ten minutes had passed, the two children, who were actually adults who were around the same physical, apparent age as Geoffrey and myself, began to get dressed. It wouldn't take them less than another ten minutes before they were on their way downstairs and towards us.

They wouldn't see me until both of them, distracted by their own conversation entered the kitchen from the hallway. When they stepped through the empty doorway that separated the hallway from the kitchen, they stopped their conversation and starred at me. I glanced at them and smiled, feeling far stronger than I had ever felt before.