The month of May belonged to the Righteous God, the Unlit Moon. Her divine purviews included Night, Secrecy, Conspiracy, and the Moon itself. June, on the other hand, was the domain of the Righteous God of the Universal Starry Sky, whose influence covered the Stars, Balance, and Capricious Fate. Of course, there were overlaps with other deities, in domains such as Fate, History, or even Negative Energy.
Because the divine domains of both the Unlit Moon and the Universal Starry Sky were so deeply connected to the night, the overlap between their purviews was the most significant among the Twelve Orthodox Gods. This led to a great deal of hostility between their followers, as their doctrines contained contradictory, even clashing, interpretations of the night sky. Consequently, both sides were fond of branding the other as "heretics."
This animosity had persisted even through the relatively peaceful era that preceded Jenkins's arrival.
His consciousness began to blur. As midnight struck once more, Jenkins's body fell into a deep slumber, but his mind ascended, soaring to an indescribable altitude.
He found himself enveloped in white clouds and mist, yet he could perceive what lay even higher: two magnificent figures standing together. They were the manifestations of two female Righteous Gods as seen through Jenkins's soul-sight, their forms embodying their understanding of the world—a collection of secrets that only a divine mind could comprehend and contain.
Jenkins cleared his mind, focusing on experiencing the mont. This ti, his spirit was not overwheld by the force of the encounter. Though the whispers in his ears, mingled with a disorderly chorus of hymns, remained chaotic, he could at least begin to grasp so of their aning.
Even emptying his thoughts and closing his eyes could not prevent him from perceiving the two divine figures. He took in everything beyond the scope of human senses, diligently committing the scattered fragnts of knowledge to mory, capturing every unnatural leap and turn of his thoughts.
A long while later, upon his return from that indescribable dinsion, Jenkins felt no lingering effects aside from a slight dizziness.
He remained seated with his eyes closed, taking a mont to confirm that all the newly acquired knowledge was intact within his mind before slowly rising to his feet.
He walked to the window, pushed it open, and took several deep breaths of the night air. Instead of imdiately moving to his desk to record his insights, he summoned the miner's lamp that symbolized his [chanical Light] ability and whispered a na.
"Rakul."
The Star Spirit of the astral plane sensed the call of the Lying God, and in an instant, Jenkins found himself drawn above a surging sea of stars. The spirit seed to stand there in eternal silence, as serene as the ancient, flowing cosmos.
"Good evening, Lying God."
The astral plane had no day or night; her greeting was simply a courtesy based on the ti in the material world.
"Good evening."
Jenkins responded. He had maintained contact with the Star Spirit, though he had only ever asked her to help transfer items between Nolan and Ruen. It had been a long ti since he had sought her counsel, but now, he had a truly important question.
"I have to ask," he began, "before the Righteous God of the Universal Starry Sky ascended to godhood, was her race... a Star Spirit?"
He asked with so hesitation. Among the trove of knowledge he had just received from the Month's End Whisper, he had been surprised to find the "grand gift of astronomical knowledge" that Rakul had once bestowed upon him. The degree of overlap between the two was extraordinarily high.
Rakul, in her female form, adjusted the transparent blue glasses resting on her nose.
"Yes."
She answered directly, without the hesitation Jenkins had anticipated. The straightforward response stunned him; he had been prepared to press the issue.
"You just... told ?"
"Why shouldn't I? You have walked your path, step by step, and acquired all the qualifications for godhood. As you are now, there are very few secrets in this world left for you to uncover."
"So the position of a Righteous God can truly be inherited?"
"It can be inherited, and it can also be created. Surely you don't believe there were twelve months in a year back in the very first Epoch?"
the Star Spirit inquired. Jenkins mulled it over for a mont before nodding.
"A Pseudo-God can add days to the year, so it follows that a Righteous God can add months. I understand."
"Inheriting the seat of a Righteous God requires a Pseudo-God with similar divine purviews. Before the current God of the Universal Starry Sky, for instance, that seat belonged to the 'Holy God of All Stars,' who was also the Twelfth Dominator. Creating a new seat for a Righteous God is far more difficult, as adding a month inevitably ans adding days. Accomplishing such a feat requires the creation of an entirely new divine system. The last ti the year expanded from eleven to twelve months was during the Ninth Epoch."
the Star Spirit continued, providing the first clear confirmation Jenkins had ever received that Dominators were, in fact, ascended Righteous Gods.
But this revelation sparked further speculation in Jenkins's mind. He already knew that Righteous Gods could create alternate aspects of themselves—the God of Music, for instance, was an aspect of the Sage. Perhaps, he mused, the purpose of this was to fill the vacancy they left behind after their own ascension to Dominator. After all, not every Righteous God could find a suitable successor with a sufficiently similar divine purview.
This led to a fascinating question. It was now the end of the Eighteenth Epoch, and tradition held that one Dominator erged in every era. If so, a Righteous God was bound to vacate their seat, which in turn ant a Pseudo-God would have to ascend to take their place, and a non-divine being would have to ascend to beco a Pseudo-God...
"So," he ventured, "is the purpose of a Savior's apotheosis in each Epoch simply to fill that vacancy?"
he speculated boldly.
"Of course not. The Savior's apotheosis is a fundantal part of the world's rules; it has nothing to do with filling a vacancy."
"This is far from the ancient, primordial Epochs. The stability of the world's laws and the growth of order have made it much more difficult for non-divine beings to ascend. Besides, the Savior is not guaranteed to succeed every ti... The vacancy that appears each Epoch can be filled by the ascending god's own power, but they typically choose not to. The gods prefer to find like-minded candidates among the Pseudo-Gods. This is why so active cults of Pseudo-Gods in the material world maintain surprisingly good relations with the Orthodox Churches."
"Why not? Wouldn't that be simpler?"
"Creating a new aspect of oneself is not without cost. Furthermore, to use that aspect to occupy one's own forr seat would be t with scorn by the other gods. This world needs new strength, new paths. It needs beings who can forge new orders and new laws, not those who rely tread the sa ground."
Rakul explained calmly, and her words reflected the wisdom of the gods. A world that operated this way, Jenkins thought, was a world with a future.
The Star Spirit went on,
"The full mysteries of this are not for to explain, for I am not a god. I only know that a god will only allow an aspect of themselves to inherit their forr seat under the most desperate of circumstances. Normally, when Righteous Gods create these aspects, it is to forge new divine purviews, to branch off onto different paths, to perfect the world's order, to bear and absolve more of its sins, or to claim new days for the calendar."
Jenkins nodded slowly, his understanding of the rules governing this world taking another significant leap forward.
"Then aside from the Savior's path to godhood, and ascension through shouldering sin—you know of what I speak—is there a third path? A way for a mortal to beco a god?"
he asked, pressing further, eager to uncover the secrets of divinity.
"I am not a god; I cannot know the secrets of gods."
Rakul repeated her earlier statent, then added,
"But according to the Star Spirits' observations of the material world's transformations, a third path does indeed exist. It is simply a divine secret, one that cannot be recorded by any ans."
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