So that's the way it is, eh?' I thought as I looked at the new interface that had unfolded in front of as if the system had opened a secret door to another floor of the building.
When I unlocked access to my own domain, I expected sothing basic. A territory with land, an altar, maybe a customization list. The usual stuff. But this... this was a monster. The system didn't just give a piece of land: it dumped a whole new panel on , with hidden features I didn't even know existed.
It was so extensive and detailed that it wasn't in the sa general interface as always, but in a totally separate tab. An exclusive subnu, titled with golden letters that seed to float with a distinct authority:
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[⟦ DOMAIN PANEL⟧]
Main Domain: ⚡ Power (Level 1 – Affinity)
Progress to next level: ███▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 30%
☑ Refine your connection with the domain to unlock more capabilities.
---------------------------------------------------
There were new categories everywhere, and each one glowed with a soft blue glow that seed to say, "Touch , look what I have." I didn't make myself beg.
I went through and ntally tapped the sections one by one, and as I did, little pop-up windows opened up on the side with more details, as if the system was now taking its role as a guide more seriously.
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SUBDOMAINS (Unlocked):
▸ Energy Control (Latent).
🔎 [See Lore] 📈 [See Potential].
▸ Spiritual Pressure (Blocked Passive)
🔒 Requires Level 2
🔎 [View Lore] 📈 [View Potential]
▸ Presence Mastery (Passive locked).
🔒 Requires Level 3
🔎 [See Lore] 📈 [See Potential]
▸ Superhuman Strength (Passive)
🔒 Requires Combat Trial
🔎 [See Lore] 📈 [View Potential]
▸ Enhanced Vision Suite (Latent)
Includes:
– Thermal Vision
– X-Ray Vision
– Energy Spectrum Detection
🔒 Requires ditation at High Altitude
🔎 [See Lore] 📈 [View Potential]
▸ Kinetic Resistance (Passive)
🔒 Requires First Divine Body Upgrade
Allows resistance to blunt force, falls, and explosive impacts.
🔎 [See Lore] 📈 [View Potential]
▸ Energy Overdrive (Active Skill – Locked)
🔒 Requires Energy Surge Event
Temporarily enhances physical stats using internal divine power.
🔎 [See Lore] 📈 [View Potential]
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I stopped at the "View Lore" option in Energy Control. I tapped the icon and a new floating window popped up with a little buzzer:
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📘 Lore: Energy Control
"The first step for any god of power. The ability to sense, guide, and eventually shape energy at will. From channeling it into attacks, to transforming it into tools or defenses. One who masters their energy, masters their environnt."
📈 Potential (Evaluated):
Elental control Energy weapon formation Remote channeling Fusion with other sources Enemy energy nullification
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"Okay... that already sounds like fun," I muttered to myself, smiling.
I went back to the main panel and scanned the other categories:
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ACTIVE SKILLS:
⚠ None unlocked yet.
🔓 "Channel power in actual combat to unlock the first active skill."
PASSIVE SKILLS:
✓ Power Intuition - Perceives nearby power sources.
🔎 [See Lore] 📈 [See Potential].
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'Curious.' I activated the description of Power Intuition:
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📘 Lore: Power Intuition
"A primal perception that all gods of power instinctively develop. It's the equivalent of opening your eyes for the first ti to the web of energy surrounding you."
📈 Potential:
Range enhancent Differentiation by type/divinity Precision in chaotic environnts Automatic reaction to sudden energy shifts
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I kept reading. The more I saw, the more I noticed how the whole system was designed as a sort of hidden skill tree. Options that once looked like "endpoints" now looked like growing branches. And the Challenges to Ascend were listed as if they were part of so sort of sacred role-playing ga:
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CHALLENGES TO ASCEND TO LEVEL 2:
▢ Channel power in actual combat for the first ti.
▢ ditate on an altar aligned to the domain.
▢ Demonstrate control by avoiding a burst of emotional energy.
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Each one had a little help button on the side, but I didn't touch it. Not yet. Part of wanted to figure things out on my own.
'This is going to take ti... and practice.' I thought, as I closed the panel for a mont, letting the information settle in my head. Unfortunately I wouldn't have much ti for that, as I would get another notification shortly after.
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🔔 DING!
📿 [System Notice: Faith Activity Detected]
🔸 Several mortals are offering prayers in your na.
🌟 Divine EXP 3.2 (gradual increase active)
📈 Passive accumulation of divine energy detected.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✨ New Concept Unlocked: Active Faith
"Prayers nourish you. The more they believe, the more you grow."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📍 [ALERT] Sufficient congregation detected near the Greek coastline.
🗺️ New access point: Improvised Temple at the Ruins near the Southeastern Coast.
🚀 [Would you like to fast travel to the place of worship?]
🟢 [ACCEPT] 🔴 [DECLINE]
🔎 Notes:
– The system allows instant travel to any location with a sufficient concentration of active faith.
– Requires prior link via prayer or symbolic structure (altar, statue, etc).
– Cost: 0. Travel to zones of your own faith is instant and free.
---------------------------------------------------
"What... the hell?" I muttered, unable to prevent it from escaping out loud.
I opened the pop-up panel and reread the part about EXP. 3.2 divine experience? From prayers? Had this been happening all along?
Until now, I had assud that growing as a god depended solely on challenges, fights or missions from the system. It hadn't crossed my mind that... simply being worshiped, passively, could make stronger.
"So... if I'm prayed to... do I gain power?" I said, as if to process it out loud.
The system, almost as if responding to my thought, illuminated an additional line:
—
📘 "The faith of mortals acts like a spiritual current. As long as it flows towards you, your essence rises. The quality, quantity and emotional intensity affect the speed of growth."
—
Well, that explained a few things.
Including why the old gods were so jealous of their territories. If every cult, every prayer, was literally a source of power... now everything made much more sense. Divine monopoly wasn't just about pride. It was about survival, advancent. Domination.
And sohow... even though I had screwed up royally by showing up in Athens, those early mortals hadn't just worshipped , they'd kept on doing it. They'd probably moved the altar, or improvised a new one out of Athena's direct reach. Which ant they were still following . Despite everything.
"Holy shit, these mortals are crazy," I muttered, almost with a smile.
The 'Fast Travel' button was still blinking, as if the system were waiting for my decision with robotic patience. I ntally approached the option and stared at it.
Go now? Appear before them as a true god?
Or... wait, study more, and plan sothing impactful?
I looked around. The Garden was still quiet. The Hesperides were busy with their own affairs, far away. It was an ideal mont.
"Let's see how faith goes," I finally said, and accepted the option with a ntal click.
-------------------------------
🔄 Teleportation activated.
🛐 Destination: Improvised Temple - Coast Ruins
🔒 Level of Faith in the area: Moderate
👥 Mortals gathered: 14
🕯️ Activity: Prayers, songs, placing of offerings.
📍 Estimated cultural permanence: Potential seed of worship.
-------------------------------
A burst of energy enveloped , gentle but firm, and in the blink of an eye, the Garden of Hera vanished from my sight.
The world flickered.
For a fraction of a second everything turned white, as if reality had been subrged in liquid fog. Then, with a silent sigh, the environnt changed completely.
Where once there had been golden trees and the floral perfus of Hera's Garden, there was now weathered stone, sea salt, and the distant cry of seagulls.
I found myself in what were clearly coastal ruins, carved over ti by the wind and the sea. The fallen columns and broken blocks of moss-covered marble spoke of a glorious—and forgotten—past. This place, outside the direct domain of Athena but not yet claid by any god, had sothing special. An ancestral neutrality. An opportunity.
The salty breeze hit my face as I looked around.
The Aegean Sea stretched to the horizon, calm, bright. A few ters from , the makeshift altar rose from the rubble of what seed to have once been a sacred room. They had built it with what was left: a polished stone base, small hand-engraved symbols, and above all, the presence of lighted candles, fruit, small personal objects... and a bronze dallion with a poorly carved silhouette that, honestly, looked like , quite impressive considering they had only seen once.
But that wasn't the most surprising thing. It was the people.
Fourteen people. Farrs, fishern, so in humble clothes and others in more elaborate robes. All gathered around the altar, murmuring prayers, their eyes turned to the sky... or fixed on the figure improvised on the altar.
They didn't know that I was watching them from a distance, among the shadows of a fallen column.
"Holy sh..." I muttered.
I could feel them. The energy. The emotions. Not as background noise, but as a real, living vibration. Hope, fear, desire for protection, for justice, for purpose. All of that was there, floating in the air, connecting to like invisible cables.
A golden glow began to illuminate the palm of my hand. The system didn't need to explain it: that was the result of their faith.
-------------------------------
🔔 DING!
📶 [Spiritual synchronization in progress...]
🔋 Divine EXP: 2.9 (growing slowly)
📊 General emotional state: Latent devotion / Active hope
💡 Tip: Appearing in person can either strengthen the bond or destroy it. Be wise.
-------------------------------
I swallowed.
I could go. I could demonstrate in front of them. Officially start my cult. Give them a sign that their prayers were not in vain. That the god they called upon... was here with them. But on the other hand, I was afraid of ssing up again.
"What if it wasn't what they were expecting? What if when they saw , their faith crumbled? What if they said, 'Oh, look, he was just a boy, a boy with an air of grandeur'?" I thought silently.
However, that wouldn't matter.
Because before I could decide, one of the mortals — a woman with dark hair tied back in a scarf and skin tanned by the sun — saw among the ruins and shouted with a fervor that cut through the air:
"IT'S HIM!" she pointed with her finger, trembling. "IT'S LORD AKHON!"
As soon as he had uttered those words, as if so ancestral reflex had been triggered, the rest turned towards . The silence lasted only an instant. Then, one by one, they began to fall to their knees, bowing their heads, so even with tears in their eyes. Others prayed in a low voice, with their hands joined or resting on the ground.
I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to move. I stood there, transfixed, as if I had unwittingly summoned sothing greater than myself.
In the crowd, I saw him.
The old man. The one who had promised that he would guide these mortals in my na when I had left Athens. And there he was. He had not only kept his word... he had gone even further.
Our eyes t. And instantly, he rose with dignity — not with the speed of a young man, but with the firmness of a believer — and approached with a smile that radiated pride.
"Oh, Great Lord Akhon," he said, his voice raspy but strong. "You have returned. As you can see, we have followed your will... although not exactly by choice."
I frowned slightly.
"What happened? Why did you leave Athens?"
The old man sighed, looking down for a mont, as if it still pained him to say it.
"The King... The Basileus of Athens expelled us. At first he thought we were just a few madn seeking solace in a new symbol. But when he saw that we prayed with devotion... when he found out that we didn't pray to the Great Athena, but to you..." he said, pausing.
"He summoned his soldiers," he continued, clenching his teeth. 'He accused us of heresy, of treason. He said that worshipping another god within the walls of Athens was a direct offense to his protector and patron. That our prayers were 'empty air' and that you, Akhon... did not exist."
I felt a sudden pang of anger course through my chest. The system seed to detect my change in energy, because a small golden spark ran through my skin.
"He gave us two options," the old man continued. 'Either give up on you... or leave the city."
"And they chose to leave,' I said, more as a statent than a question.
"We never doubted," he replied proudly. Behind him, several of the other followers nodded, still on their knees. "Your words, your promises, your presence and the fortune you brought us that day that allowed several of those present here to feed their families... were more real than any statue resting in the Parthenon. They expelled us, yes. But we found this place. These ruins. And when we laid the first stone of this altar... we felt sothing."
He paused, and then looked up to the sky.
"A different breeze. A warmth in the chest. And we knew... we knew we were not alone."
I remained silent. What had been fear before was now sothing else. It was a mixture of a lump in the throat and fire in the stomach.
The system, as if reacting to my internal decision, projected a new notification:
-------------------------------
🔔 DING!
📘 [Update: Formally Recognized Cult]
🌱 Status: Stable
👥 Followers: 14
📈 Divine EXP: 6.2 (direct manifestation bonus)
🎁 Unlocked bonus: 1 Temporary Charisma while you remain close to your followers
⚠ Regional reputation: "Protector God of the Exiled"
-------------------------------
I looked again at these people. At my people.
I saw their faces full of hope and above all devotion and determination, perhaps because of my presence here, before them. The only thing I knew at that mont is that they were the beginning, the beginning of sothing big, sothing very big.
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