RE: Deity - The Breath of Creation

"This is better, is it not?" Morgan asked as we sat in the Void. I hummed in response, eyes closed as I allowed myself to drift in the silence. The Four Realms were just barely on the edge of my senses; I could do little more than feel their general location in relation to me. Other than that it was just my own self and Morgan in the endless, empty Void.

"It is pleasant." I allowed, tracing the edges of my wound with my mind. I was pumping the energy I created through my very existence into the smooth edges of my removed arm, promoting regrowth and rebuilding the limb cell by cell. But a small part of my mind told me that this was not the way; this was merely redirecting energy, not the process of true creation. I had plenty of hints about what that meant both from observing the Progenitor and experiencing Mr. Boxes' language, and the prideful part of myself told me that if I was going to do something, I should do it right. Morgan lay down beside me, sighing in relief.

"So much better," they muttered. I hummed absently, reaching out with my one good hand to scratch it between the ears. Surprisingly, Morgan leaned into my touch, as if it took comfort in my presences. The thought brought a smile to my face, even as I drifted deeper into my meditative state.

Time continued to pass. I could feel it ticking away within me, swirling in my soul, marching forward relentlessly…and I could feel Morgan playing with it, twisting time around its spidery legs like string and folding space within its stomach. A small smile twitched on my lips. What a silly puppy. It really had been influenced by Nyxteria's realm, hadn't it?

Every once in a while we would converse. Morgan would ask questions. I would answer them. I would ask questions, and Morgan would dance and snarl about the topic. But as time continued to pass, thousands of years turning in to tens of thousands and I continued to fall deeper into my mediations, Morgan started to become more and more restless. It began with a bit of shifting about, which graduated quickly to the wolf padding about through the Void, sniffing and searching.

Then the stillness apparently became too much, and it pulled out the chunk of primordial chaos I had gifted it so long ago to play with. One small part of my mind observed the way it twisted and turned the chaos, pulling it into shapes and objects that gradually become more and more complex. After another few thousand years later, and I was pulled out of my musings to peer at that which Morgan had made.

There were two different beings. One was clearly mortal, its body protected from the destructive Void by my and Morgan's presence, while the other radiated an aura of immortality. The mortal looked humanoid, yet distinctly…arachnid. Eight eyes rolled in its head, dripping fangs filled with venom sprouted from its mandible-covered mouth, and eight spidery limbs stretched from its back. Dark black chitin covered most of its body, its hands tipped with sharp claws that would make dexterous work…difficult. Physically it was something to be admired, but the energetic pathways within left much to be desired.

"Make it less evil," I said softly, startling Morgan enough that it jumped, fur bristling. "And it will be wonderful."

"I will not." It snarled. I shook my head.

"You misunderstand my words. You are making its internal energy networks too focused on chaos and hatred – they will burn themselves out in a short time frame if you do not lighten the load. I am not saying to not make them predatory; simply cut back on the outright viciousness. Choice must be involved, the body cannot impose too much purpose onto souls. Too little purpose and they are left aimless, too much and they will either die out or fight you with all their might." I advised. Morgan narrowed its eyes and glanced at its mortal creation as I turned my attention to the next one, the Immortal.

It was little more than a clear ball. Yet from it, I could feel the rippling waves of time and space. Even now, without a soul to guide it, I could sense its power reaching out, trying to warp whatever reality it could find, folding the little space around itself and unfolding it in the same motion. Their nature was clear; they would be expanding the Hidden Realm. Yet their intent and purpose was far purer than the mortal arachnids, as Morgan had no desire to oversee the actual Realm itself. Merely to observe it.

"Wonderful. Truly wonderful. An excellent first creation, Morgan." I praised. Pride flashed across the wolf's face at my words for the briefest of seconds, only to quickly be replaced by a scowl as it huffed. "When we get back to the Realms, we will introduce your People." My promise went unanswered as I closed my eyes again, settling in my meditative pose to merely observe.

It was a few more years when Morgan finally responded.

"I find myself missing substance." It said, defeated. I cracked open one eye to look at my child, the wolf staring out in the Void with a bored expression. One spidery limb toyed with the mortal body it had created, rearranging energy lines so their chaotic nature was less forced. "Why do I miss the Four Realms?" It was my turn not to answer, turning my full attention to Morgan. Something had changed within it, during our time here. I, respectfully, did not peer through that change. It felt far too personal for that. Morgan sighed heavily and stood, refusing to look me in the eyes. "Arachion. Arachion and Dimensional Creators. Those will be the names of my Peoples."

"So be it. May they enter the Four Realms and prosper." Morgan's tail thrashed as I spoke, its spidery limbs tapping against each other.

"I wish to return to the Four Realms." It said slowly, reluctantly, grimacing as if admitting that it was bored and wished to return to the Realms physically pained it.

"Do you know the way?"

"No."

"Then here." I tossed out a small ball of light that would lead the way. Morgan glared at it as the concept of light and shadow was introduced into this part of the Void. "When you are ready, simply tap the ball and it will guide you home. It was a pleasure spending some quality time with you, Morgan. Perhaps we can do more when I return. Maybe see what we can do about your Hidden Realm, or simply take a walk, hmm? It is up to you."

"I know it is. That is always your point." Morgan sighed and shook its head, one limb reaching out to tap the ball of light. Without another word it raced off through the void, a dog chasing a ball as it led the way home.

"Make sure to put your People someplace safe to start! They need help to get their feet on the ground!" I shouted after it, a part of my mind keeping track of the wolf as it ran all the way back to the Four Realms.

Who would have thought that Morgan, of all beings, would become bored of the nothingness?

Only once I was certain Morgan was safely back within the Four Realms did I push those thoughts out of my head and settle back down, lifting one hand to test a few of my theories about the Void. It was true nothingness, and I was, seemingly, the opposite. I was creation…or was I? Sehuyun had been a Shadow and an Origin; her breath destroyed and created in equal measure. What made an Origin Deity different from a regular god; was it the power of creation? Simple power? My gut told me it was not the latter at the very least.

I willed a bit of dust into existence, expending some of my divine power to do so, and watched it be immediately destroyed by the Void; and the tiny shred of power I had used to create the dust went with it. A frown tugged at the corner of my lips. That wasn't right. My power shouldn't vanish when the Void ate it away like that; yes, I had created matter out of my own energy, but that hadn't been the case when I first created my universe.

That had been creating something out of nothing; like what the Progenitor did, but to an even finer degree. It had been using energy not to create, but to induce a reaction in the Void that spawned creation. Truth be told, I didn't want to just heal my arm. Mr. Boxes had said, when I first lost it, that this would be a great opportunity for me to learn; or at least something to that effect. His teaching methods may be incredibly…hands off, but at least he had the decency to hand out a few hints here and there.

My arm needed to be recreated, not just healed.

I expanded my senses to the utmost degree, observing all of the Void I could. Now that I had an idea of what to look for, my meditations could truly begin.

***

Time flowed ever onward. Not in the Void of course but in the depths of my own soul such a thing continued to flow. And my conscious mind flew far afield.

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True enlightenment eluded me as my body was behind, left to slowly mend what it could while my consciousness tried to understand what could never truly be understood. As my mind expanded I spotted the Four Realms, and the ball of memories and energy that was the Mad Scientist's existence floating just outside of it. It appeared as a blue…balloon, for lack of a better word, tied to her body through a thin string – such was the truth of her existence; the soul and body in the Four Realms were a mere copy, made by the existence floating outside of it. I brushed the little ball as I passed it by, sending through a wave of comfort, and continued on.

The multiverse expanded before me. Other parts of the Twelve I passed by, unable to get close enough to really see what they were doing, only notice them. The Emperor's Heaven and Earth, the One World…even the mysterious twelfth universe I detected on the very edge of my senses – within it, too, was one of the Monkey Wrench's floating memory balls, though that was all I could sense. Other universes had Monkey Wrenches as well, but I paid them little heed, my astral projection continuing to expand the horizons through which I saw.

I backed up, and up, and up, stretching my sight as far as I could see, pushing against the veil that threatened to contain my vision until, with a pop, the Universe was plain for my eyes to see.

It hurt my mind to look at.

Universes trillions of times larger than even the One World blended together in a symphony of color, impossible for me to discern which was which. A giant hole filled one of the spaces where a universe had been destroyed, the echoes of its collapse still rippling through the rest of nearby reality. My breath caught in my throat, eyes burning just from looking at the sheer amount of power rippling through those universes.

Gods existed there, not even Origins, who were powerful enough to wipe out the Four Realms with barely a thought. We were but babies compared to those ancient, comparatively omnipotent beings; my initial attempt at discovering the Void was stalled by this massive revelation. Everywhere before me, universes stretched endlessly, the Void clashing with creation in massive, soul-churning waves, waves that found themselves wanting against the might of the universes. Yet my gaze fixated on a single point in an attempt to make sense of it all, one of the few things that was truly immovable in the Void itself.

A ball of memories, far larger than the one connected to the Four Realms, that stretched a line down into one of those universes. The Void left it untouched. Immobile and immovable. My fingers reached out as if to touch it despite the distance between us and, to my utter shock, I accidentally did. Images flashed through my mind's eye, of a being with blue skin and a snake-like lower body fishing in a river. It was peaceful. It was pleasant. And then it was over as my mind was gently pushed away, the multiverse blurring behind whatever veil I had pushed through.

"That is enough, little one." A voice boomed, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Go back to your body; you have seen enough for now."

My eyes snapped open as my mind was gently pushed back into my body, inhaling sharply as all that I had seen echoed like waves against cliffs in my mind. Constant, rhythmic thunder echoed in my ears as my one good hand reached out to grip part of the Void, enlightenment spurring my movements. Sehuyun's breath, the Emperor's slash, the feeling of Void eating away at my body as I struggled to keep it back during our fight, the Progenitor's creation process, the Monkey Wrench's seeming invulnerability to the Void, the baby Paradox I had fought…

It all swirled within me as my power reached out, my stump arm lifting as the Void was incited.

"[Let there be light.]" I said, and a single, small, pure beam of white light rocked the Void. It churned and screamed at the sudden reaction and I acted swiftly, condensing the beam of light and churning Void, shaping it with my powers while the metaphorical iron was still hot. First came the shape, then the muscles, then the bones and ligaments and passageways for energy to spread, then finally the nerve endings to cap it all off as my new arm was fused to my stump.

And the Void was still once more.

I let out a long, slow breath, clenching and unclenching my freshly remade hand. It was different than before. Not just divine power flowed through my flesh and nerves, but the Void, too. Flecks of it drifted in my bloodstream, contained solely within the power of my left arm.

I chuckled at myself as I stood.

"With the power sealed in my left arm," I intoned dramatically, striking a pose and lifting my fist in the air. Good thing no one was around to see that. I smiled to myself and relaxed, stretching and feeling my bones pop in multiple places. How long had I been meditating? I lost track of time, but it was about time to return to the Four Realms, see what had happened and changed. I could still sense it there, though it was clearer than before, the range of my senses far larger. "Should be able to replicate that trick," I muttered, reaching my hand out and inciting the Void once more. Instead of my power vanishing in an act of creation it lashed out and created a small explosion, no larger than a fingernail, that created a chunk of rock that was immediately consumed by the Void.

It doesn't require me to sacrifice my power, but this method does agitate the Void itself. No wonder Mr. Boxes starts us small with the creation process; this must be one of the primary ways Void Beasts are made.

The reaction I caused made the Void practically writhe with discontent, which made me understand something I had fundamentally misunderstood. The Void was nothing. Until we disturbed it. Even by giving the Void a name, that caused it to suddenly become something; and it was suddenly getting too philosophical. I had spent who knows how long meditating, it was time for something else.

Ding!
{[Enlightenment!]

[Through your actions, you have gained two [Sub-Domains.] Sub-Domains are lesser enlightenment pieces that bolsters a full-domain and, after their power has grown, will blend into your main Domain to lessen the restrictions that come with it. Enough Sub-Domains merging may even lead to an evolution of your main [Domain.]]

[[Sub-Domains] gained! Domain of [Creation] and [Destruction].]

[Alert! [Sub-Domains] of [Creation] and [Destruction] are equal in strength and power. Therefore, they are being combined into your main domain of [Balance.] Limitations of the [Balance] domain decreased by [3%].]

[Notable Sub-Domains in progress; [Fate], 92.9%. [Valor], 85.1%. [Love], 73.6%. [Elements], 13.3%. [Draconian], 25%. [Guidance], 33.33%]}

I blinked, feeling the truth behind the words Mr. Boxes had supplied in the power that flowed through my veins. Three percent may not seem like a lot at first glance, but at my power level, that was a massive increase. Not only that, but it wasn't a straight power-up. I could build up my own energy on my own – no, this was a decrease in the limitations that bound me.

I flexed my energy, feeling the way it pressed and flowed within me, reaching out in a bubble of safety and protection against the Void…

This was more like it.

Ding!

{[Public Service Announcement!]

[Please avoid trying to peek through the barrier set up around the Trial Grounds. This is for your own safety. Thank you for your cooperation.]

[Personal Note: Congratulations on your success, Statera, but do not attempt to see through the barrier again until you are more powerful. Truesight is powerful, but not without its risks, especially for someone of your caliber. You are bleeding from your eyes.]}

Absently I reached up and touched my face, my fingers coming away wet and sticky with golden, glowing blood. I blinked a few times, feeling the cells in my eyes regenerating from the burn they experienced, and shook my head a little. Now that I was paying attention, I was feeling a little foggy in the head…

For a few moments I stood there, letting myself get accustomed to the changes I had just undergone.

But, in truth, they needed a test run.

And I wanted to see how much my children had grown in the time I'd been away.