God Of Velmoryn [ LitRPG, Progression, High Fantasy ]

As I considered what to do with the creature, Pintre stopped moving.

Its gaze locked onto the Crimson Guardian towering above it. For a moment, it stood frozen, then leapt back, startled, like it had only just now noticed the tree.

The same tree radiating overwhelming magical pressure.

Not the brightest, is it…

Since Pintre appeared to be a beast that had somehow gained divinity, it wasn't impossible that its intelligence remained limited. Or perhaps the allure of the offerings, the cyan light, the ritual, and all its distractions had been too strong, too urgent to ignore. Maybe it hadn't had the luxury to fully process its surroundings until now.

Whatever the reason, it had finally noticed the temple.

And now it was approaching, bouncing toward it with quick, eager little hops.

The moment it reached the point where it could see inside, it stopped again.

I watched closely, zooming in the Window. I wanted to see how it would respond. Mortals couldn't sense my divine presence unless I chose to reveal it, but Pintre was a deity. However faint its power, it should have been able to sense the lingering aura woven into the statue that stood within.

It sniffed. Hard.

Then stepped forward, slower this time. Each movement was more measured than the last, as if something heavy was pressing down on it, or perhaps it was simply trying to be careful. By the time it reached the temple threshold, it halted again.

And then it bowed.

Not metaphorically. Not a casual tilt of the head. It bent low in full, ceremonial reverence. The kind of gesture I'd only ever seen in old medieval games and movies, one hand against the chest, the other extended low, body angled down as the head dipped forward.

I watched, unsure what to make of it.

I'd expected deference, perhaps, given the divine hierarchy that likely existed in a world ruled by dozens if not hundreds of gods. But this wasn't just acknowledgment.

And it didn't stop there.

Pintre stepped into the temple and slowly approached the basilisk figure near the sacrificial altar. Its golden eyes scanned the chamber, pausing briefly on the Tree of Life before returning to the altar.

It raised one hand.

The fur across its chest shimmered as divine energy gathered beneath the surface. I saw it, a current rising from the core of its chest, flowing through the shoulder, into the arm.

Then another cyan sphere formed. Small. Beautiful. Hovering just above the creature's palm.

And it knelt. One knee down. Head bowed. Arm extended. The offering held forward toward the basilisk.

What the hell is happening? Is it submitting to me…?

I was still confused when a blue system notification flashed before my eyes.

Communicate with me?

The rest of the message said nothing I hadn't already figured out on my own. Well, except for the divine contract. That part, I didn't like the sound of. Binding myself to another god in any way, especially to one that jumped like a deer and ate with its face in a bowl, wasn't exactly on my to-do list.

But the possibility of communication… that was unexpected.

If that was truly possible, then it changed everything.

Direct communication with Pintre wasn't essential to my plans, not immediately at the very least. But if I could apply the same method to my believers, the implications would be enormous. It would allow me to guide them directly, bypassing visions, rituals, and vague emotional impressions. And more importantly, it could become a way to reach other gods in the future… or their apostles. If such a link could be formed, even briefly, it might become one of the most valuable tools in my possession.

But to reach that point, I had to test it. And far better to do so on an inferior deity than on a full-fledged god.

One way or another, I needed more information.

Whatever the cost.

Guidance.

[Warning: Guidance consumed 10 Divinity Points!]

Did it hear me when I thought I needed the information no matter the cost…?

Paying ten Divinity Points for nothing but raw information stung, but the truth was, the knowledge was worth it. Every part of it had weight. And now, more than ever, I wanted to test this dominion thing. I needed to.

But five hundred Divinity Points?

That was nearly a quarter of everything I possessed. And with the Yellow Tribe now almost entirely converted, save two hundred or so stragglers, I wasn't expecting another wave of energy anytime soon. Not until spring - the hunt on the spider mutant nest.

Still, if the information was accurate, if Pintre truly would be defenseless inside my dominion, then what if I simply didn't let it leave? Not until it submitted… or paid the price.

If I was to become the sovereign of this entire forest, then the being that claimed to protect every creature within it would have to make a choice - either bend the knee or vanish. There was no alternative.

Fuck it. This dominion thing has to be useful for more than just communicating.

The desire overtook me and I stopped second-guessing. I stirred my divinity and let the current swell through me, accepting the price. Then I turned my thoughts to what the dominion would be. What it should look like. What it must become.

At first, my mind conjured Olympus - the shining peak, the throne of Zeus, surrounded by lesser gods offering their reverence. But the image felt wrong. I wasn't presiding over other gods. And the Velmoryns were not angels or demigods. That vision was too clean. It felt too much on the side of light... I needed something darker. Something closer to what I truly was.

Sauron's burning eye crossed my thoughts. Morgoth's endless pit. But I dismissed them just as quickly. That was too far in the other direction. Too monstrous. Too cold.

I needed something in between.

Then I remembered the vision Avenor saw during the Goddess' trial - the throne woven from vines and roots. He had thought it unfitting for a god. But I had disagreed. I was no gilded deity of sunlight and marble. I was a god of a wild race, people created by the merger of elves and demons. My temple was carved from the roots of the Crimson Guardian. My statue had been etched into its bark.

There was no better image than that throne - woven, not built, alive with purpose, formed of crimson roots.

So I shaped the scene in my mind.

A clearing, fog-heavy and dim, with dense mist curling low across the ground. The same mist that shrouded parts of my divine realm. At the center stood the pillars, dark and tall, with crimson runes carved into their surface. They stood in pairs, one after another, forming a corridor toward the stairs.

And at the top of those stairs, my throne.

It would be alive - not stone, not wood, but shifting, breathing, growing. Crimson roots pulsing softly as they entwined into the seat of power. Behind it loomed the Crimson Guardian, its form towering in the distance, so massive that even gods would feel small in its shadow.

Then I crafted my own image.

The God of the Velmoryns.

Eyes as red as burning embers, their glow simmering like heat beneath ash. My face marked by thin, elegant crimson lines - divine markings, like veins of living power carved beneath the skin. My armor was dark steel, layered and etched. The same crimson patterns crawled across its surface, like runes that breathed with every movement.

I held no weapon. I had no crown or scepter. I didn't need one.

And behind the throne, coiled my basilisk.

Not as a chained beast, but as a guardian. Its massive body curled in the darkness, scales glistening like obsidian laced with red. Its eyes remained half-lidded, watching everything with quiet, predatory stillness. A creature that had no match.

That was the image I cast into the realm.

That would be my dominion.

[Warning: Creation consumed 500 Divinity Points!]

My entire divine realm began to shift.

The mist receded, slowly pulling back as space was carved out for the dominion I had envisioned, or at least, that was what I expected.

But it wasn't just a corner of my realm that changed.

Everything did.

The realm itself reshaped into the vision I had crafted - the crimson runes, the corridor of living pillars, the throne of evershifting roots. Even the projection of the Crimson Guardian folded into the new image, towering behind the throne like a silent sentinel. The stars adjusted around it, drawn into the frame as though they had always belonged there.

Fortunately, the slumbering angel and the divine stars remained hidden within the mist. No eyes would see them, not even god's. No one would guess that the almighty god who ruled such a place had only two thousand believers.

As the dominion took shape, I found myself waiting, expecting, or perhaps hoping, that my form would change with it.

It didn't.

Instead, I watched the image I had crafted take its seat on the throne. The god I had imagined - scarlet eyes, dark armor, crimson markings… settled into place like a vision made real. But I remained as I was: a translucent, smokelike figure.

Well. That was disappointing…

I should have known better.

Gaining a true body wasn't that simple. It was tied to something far more fundamental - Rank. Still, even in that smokelike state, I couldn't help but admire the result. The dominion was everything I had imagined. It felt right.

I was still studying the details, still taking in the full image, when a new notification appeared, this time glowing gold.

Guidance was beginning to change. It no longer outright refused to answer, and had instead started offering fragments, while trying to sell the rest of the information. But even that was enough to make it clear just how significant the dominion truly was.

My own kingdom.

In the future, I wouldn't just be able to communicate with living beings directly, but I could impose contracts. I genuinely laughed when I imagined Avenor's face as I dragged him inside. It would be too damn disappointing if Hollow Core prevented that.

But Avenor could wait.

Before that, I needed to welcome my first guest, Pintre.

I was truly excited to see the effects of my dominion. I had spent five hundred Divinity Points to build it. Now it was time to see what it could do.

Divine Kingdom.