Rebirth and Second Chances

The System messages were the first thing I noticed when I finalized and accepted the changes that tempered the energy from the [Divine Fairy] matrix. My body felt different, the weft and weave from the [Laws] that governed [Illusion and Glamour] beginning to transform my body from immortal to the Divine.

I transitioned into my [Ring of Hidden Depths] to meditate. The changes were extreme and powerful. Powerful enough that I needed to relearn how to control my strength. Even more important was my need to understand the constant bombardment of stimuli I was forced to process now that my [Domain] had evolved.

Only the Alpha and Omega were omniscient and omnipotent, but when it came to those facets of reality that dealt with my [Domain], I came close. If I ever reached SS Rank, I would match even them for control and knowledge for matters that touched upon my [Domain].

Time was subjective inside the [Ring]. I could control how it passed, and while it took me thousands of years of subjective time to fully embrace the changes that had occurred now that I had evolved into a Demi-God, only seconds passed outside the [Ring].

Once I was ready to return to reality, I did have a passing curiosity about how other Demi-Gods managed to gain control over their [Domain] without the features of the [Ring] to create time dilation.

The changes to the glen where I had planted the [Fairy Ring] were the first thing I noticed once I had marshaled my control.

There had been a paradigm shift within that glen as the oppressive and dangerous feelings that had assailed me within the boundary of [The Forest of Nightmare Plants] had been supplanted with the natural harmony that [Fairy] exuded.

The [Fairy Daisies] that I had used had transformed, each taking on an aspect of my bloodlines. [Fire], [Ice], and [Shadow] aspected flowers grew in clusters. Interspersed among the clusters were plants resonating with heart song and [Fertility].

Beleros, Cyronax, Cailleach, and Arianrhod. Each of them represented an element the flowers emulated, and surrounding the ring of these flowers was another layer, flowers teaming with illusion and glamour. Flowers that acted to shield and hide the [Fairy Ring] from prying eyes or accidental discovery.

They had been created anew, birthed in the Divine. Each aspect of my bloodline gave birth to a new type of flower. The System allowed me to [Identify] them as [Fire Tulips], [Ice Chrysanthemums], [Shadow Orchids], and [Lifelight Hydrangea], each representing my disparate bloodlines.

The [Phantasm Moonbeam] and [Forget Me Vervain] reflections of [Illusion and Glamour]. My [Domain] made manifest. A living, growing, interconnected network that anchored my bloodline and made a cohesive whole, my bloodlines given order and structure, the competing nature made complimentary. Each was working to create the fertile soil that would allow [Fairy] to prosper, set deep roots, and grow.

I watched in fascination as the petals of flowers opened, each releasing a Demi-fey attuned to fire, ice, shadow, fertility, illusion, or glamour. The scent of flowers was no longer subtle, as hints of oranges, frost, vanilla, and freshly tilled earth filled the clearing.

The flowers continued to mature after the Demi-fey were released, the stalks and leaves growing brambles and thorns that were heavy with ripening fruit. Each fruit had been graced with the Divine that [Fairy] had co-opted.

One of each type of flower reached the end of its growth cycle. And as they did, dandelion-like seeds were carried by the wind to spread like weeds across the forest. The dead plants became compost, were re-seeded, and grew again. Each plant was encouraged by [Fairy] to repeat the cycle of life and death.

The seed fluff that was dispersed by the wind each contained that kernel of [Fairy] that had been laced with the [Divine]. It would take time. Millions of years, probably. But if Asgard did not root out this corruption within the [Forest of Nightmare Plants], then it would be subsumed and claimed.

This area would stand as a beachhead for the Tuatha De Danann. A place of power that would give egress into the Asgardian Realm.

The changes to the glen were probably more profound than the changes that I had undergone, but my changes were more immediate. The restructuring of my body, mind, and soul to harness the Divine's energies was hard to quantify.

Of course, I was stronger, faster, and wiser. I had more control of my abilities, and my spells and skills were now boosted with a portion of the [Divine Domain] that was mine by right.

While those changes were hard to quantify, the trickle of faith energy that I was beginning to absorb was even harder to understand and measure. Still, by concentrating, I was able to trace the root of that faith.

Most of that energy came from the Yeti that I had saved. They visited the shrine I had created and worshiped the statues that had been touched with the power of the Tuatha de Danann. Even without my image encapsulated in that shrine, they remembered that I was the instrument of their change. Their echoes of thanks transmuted into streams of faith that were unique to me.

A large number of Sidhe visited this shrine, but the Yeti were unique. As each God had a people they blessed with life, the Yeti becoming Sidhe was the product of my intervention. They had been changed and accepted those changes because of my intervention.

I had not created the Yeti, but I had helped them claim their Sidhe heritage. That connection would grow with time, with worship. When my rank reached [S Rank], they would be mine to claim as a people.

The faith they had in me, the small stream of energy was building, and the changes that my body had just undergone could now hold that energy. New organs reminiscent of dantian and meridian channels formed, these organs following and merging with the magical pathways that traversed my body.

A network and conformity sculpted by the [Divine] to allow me to store the faith energies I was absorbing. Storage created and the sprouting of an inner sea that would contain and refine the Divine into my [Domain].

That was the secret of becoming a God. The changes to their bodies allowed them to cultivate faith, filter and purify the prayers and devotion of their followers, and repurpose that faith into a mindscape that was teaming with the aspect of the [Law] they controlled.

For those Gods that had no worshipers, those beings that were invested with the Divine at the Universe's inception, they cultivated [Order] or [Chaos], the very building blocks that the universe was modeled on.

I could barely perceive the power behind those concepts. But a slight connection between myself and chaos was beginning to form. I understood the reason. [Illusion and Glamour] ignored [Order] by super-imposing what I would have over what was real.

The changes were not permanent, at least for the most part, but it was enough of a disruption to the [Law of Order] that my [Domain] would be coupled with [Chaos]. That did not make me evil. Concepts of good and evil were mortal inventions. I was becoming more. And as I transcended, those mortal concepts would have less meaning.

It was why Odin and Zeus acted as they did. Morality simply had no impact on the actions of Gods. Even this scheme that I was attempting to thwart, the theft of the other God's divinity and [Domain], had little to do with good or evil.

The Olympians acted out of greed. Most of their actions were based on emotion. One of the many baser emotions of many that had infiltrated the Pantheon after Pandora's box had been open. Those darker emotions were a curse upon the Gods for imprisoning Pandora and allowing her to escape.

The Asgardians were just as easily swayed by emotion. But for the most part, they ignored the mortal realms to fight and drink within their own realm. Why Odin had ignored the long isolation of his people was a mystery. That isolation had transformed his Pantheon into a people that cared for little besides entertainment to escape the boredom.

I knew that soon, he would be inspired and learn how to usurp and eat the divine spark that coursed through the Pantheons of Gods. This plan would be of his making. One he had shared with Zeus as he manipulated Olympus so that only he would remain standing at the end of time.

A God equal in power to the Alpha and Omega.