As the two grand gods started moving with their angelic escort, another god ascended. The sight of which more than startled Kroft. His mind was filled with questions and rising suspicion. How come three gods ascended in quick succession? It is either a heck of a coincidence or a lot of gods died recently. Only something like that can create so much void in godly positions to be filled. After all, this is not the era of godly ascension that came immediately after the era of transcendents. Gods were ascending in bulk because it was the most feasible path forward after transcendence. The plane couldn’t cater to transcendents anymore and the ancient battlefield was bloody with wars for opportunities. Becoming a god was a safer and easier alternative to growing stronger back then, so a lot of ascensions did take place.
But what era are we now? New godly positions are not created anymore and gods hardly ascend but here we are, with three of them at that and at the same time no less. Where did so many godly positions come from?
‘Something is up. A lot of gods have died, could it have something to do with the siege that is currently going on the divine plane?’ Kroft began to suspect that the gods might not be at peace as he thought. Maybe they were fighting faction wars. He has heard of that before. A war between factions of the same organization. It was supposed to be a scary story told to wayward kids in the family to teach them about the concept of unity.
‘Are the gods so laid back that they will watch one of their own besieged by others without stopping it? If so, what could the besieged god have done to warrant such a thing?’
His mind was sent into turmoil.
‘Is this why the GodKing is inviting me? So that I can choose a faction. Or maybe he wants to advise me against doing so. What should I do? I am just a new god.’
He didn’t know what to do so he decided to bring up his doubts when he meets the God King. He would also like to know how such a figure allows something like this to happen. This isn’t even assassination or a quick assault, it is a full-blown divine war.
Even though he had a divine belly full of questions, he didn’t ask his escorts. Angels might be eternally loyal but that didn’t mean their masters confided in them. Angels do not know what is going on with the gods, they only follow orders. Even if they knew he wouldn’t ask them. They may be as strong as him but their class is fundamentally different. They are just an extension of the influence of a god, like their hand or a footprint. There is no way he would be seen frolicking with the help.
‘Divine or not, angels are beneath gods.’ It will just create a bad image for him to ask an angel for help. He is a grand god now and must act like one. He must act grandly.
He noticed that no angel was going to invite the third new god.
“Aren’t you going to invite her?” He asked the angel that spoke to him earlier. He immediately regretted asking that question. His curiosity overwhelmed his grand restraint.
“Her divine grace is not a grand god. We have been ordered to bring only new grand gods.” The angel replied without looking back.
‘Is that so? Special treatment. I like that.’ Kroft thought to himself. There might be a lot of shady aspects in his experience as a new god but he was liking his new status more and more. And unlike the time people used to act deferentially toward him because of his father’s vast wealth, this is totally due to his own influence. He has finally overtaken Ghoto and all his cousins that performed better than him. What was there to be unhappy about?
The small group approached a grand divine kingdom seated at the highest point in the firmament. It stood out among the rest, like a glorious cathedral among village huts. The divine kingdom of a god is a miniature plane. It is a large piece of land that is completely under the control of its god. It is surrounded by a barrier that demarcates this area of influence of the god. Within the barrier, the god can do anything, change the weather or the terrain. Each action will cost the god a certain amount of divine force. This barrier also functions to protect the divine kingdom from intrusion, it can be made opaque or transparent.
The size of the divine plane is determined by the strength and the influence of the god in the main plane. The divine kingdom of the god King is the largest one that “Grand god Kroft” has seen so far, he doubted any other one can be bigger and doubted even more, that any divine kingdom can come close to its opulence and grandeur.
‘The God King might not be richer than my father but he knows how to live right.’ Kroft appreciated the display of wealth, it was totally unlike his father whose major vice is trying out exotic cuisines. The man didn’t even need to eat but he was strangely fixated on food. He had asked his father several times in the past and his father would simply smile. The only time he ever answered the question, his father had said that taking time to eat might be considered a waste of money and effort but it has saved his life several times and will continue to do so.
Kroft shook his head at the thought of his father. He planned to settle things with him later.
His father’s meals might be expensive but they couldn’t compare to tiling the very ground you walk on with grantz plates or having gem gardens. Using grantz plates for anything is considered the apex of luxury. It is not useful for anything, it is not durable, strong, or possesses high tensile strength. It is fragile and easily bendable. The only good thing about it is its ability to release diffracted light. In order words, it is a metal that breaks down under normal conditions into electromagnetic radiation in the form of a rainbow. Even if they are used for anything you will need to replenish them because the metal will constantly lose volume and mass. But what you use them for will have an automatic light show put up for you until the metal gives out completely.
If he were not a grand god and had to be mindful of his actions, he would have whistled at the sight of the gorgeously lit-up walkway. By the side of it is the garden of gems. Instead of flowers and beautiful plants, why not plant a sea of precious gems? It has to be very precious gems or the opulence factor wouldn’t be obvious. These gems absorb the rainbow light show and release it after adding some unnatural colors to the mix.
‘It is honestly a grand sight worthy of the top god.’ Kroft continued to admire the light show as they flew by.
The funny thing is that you would expect poverty to have been eradicated amongst the believers if the god can be so wasteful, but it isn’t true. Poor believers are the best source of faith and provide a steady stream of prayers. A god must not get rid of the poor. Poor and weak people will always need gods, plus it doesn’t take much to amaze and awe them. A little rain here and there will keep them faithful and as long as their stomach isn’t full, they will always come to church for prayers. Poor believers are the best stock of believers.
They were brought into a tall building at the top of a mountain within the center of the divine kingdom. The entire mountain is made up of a single glowing gem whose only job is to absorb all surrounding sounds and convert them into music. It is a music mountain of incredible value.
‘I have never seen a music stone so big. I didn’t know that they could get so big.’
Kroft wondered how the god King could get something like this.
‘Maybe I should ask him. He surely has good taste.’
A music stone isn’t a highly valuable thing. They are usually seen as pebbles or small rocks that children play with. It is marveling that the god King has been able to turn such items of low value into luxury ones.
‘Maybe the apex of luxury isn’t spending the exorbitant amount on precious things, it is turning valueless things into precious ones by spending an exorbitant amount on them.’
He felt enlightened about the way of life of a god. While mortals use their wealth to hoard valuable things, gods use the wealth that they gained from mortals to hoard worthless things. In a way, it is being a pacesetter of luxury.