Alright, the general Pantheon and the Sky Temple of Baal are all set for now…
So, what’s next on the agenda?
I still need to whip up a place for my own temple, but ugh, that’s become a bit of a hassle.
Maybe I should just slap a finish on it and let the other gods who roll in figure out the details? That’d definitely make life easier for me.
What should I do? How should I go about this? I’m really not feeling the work vibe right now. Meanwhile, other tasks are piling up on me!
Ah, if only I had a clone or something. Then I could just split the work and get things done quicker.
Oh! Wait a minute! What if I make an artificial intelligence or something like an automated response system?
Considering that the bulk of my time as the Goddess of Life goes into answering the prayers of believers, if I could create an AI or some kind of auto-reply system for that part… I could slash about 20%, maybe even 30% off my workload!
Of course, even if I decide to make an AI, I have no idea how to pull it off. Are there even computers, calculators, or vacuum tubes in this world? Nope, none of that!
I guess I’ll just noodle on that idea later.
“Wow… that’s impressive…”
As I was checking out the finished Pantheon, I heard a gasp from behind me.
Hmm, seems like she’s been right behind me this whole time.
I almost forgot she was there since she managed to be so stealthy.
“To witness the creation of a new world, it’s truly awe-inspiring…”
Nyx’s voice was full of wonder. She must be drinking in sights she’s never laid eyes on before.
What can I say? For a newly born goddess, everything must seem brand new and amazing.
“This is the world where gods will dwell. I built it in the clouds so it’s not easily accessible.”
“Ooh… what’s the name of this place?”
“I’ve called it the Pantheon.”
“The Pantheon…”
“A big, fancy temple where many gods will live. Well, it’s more of a world than just a temple, really.”
“Will all the gods live here?”
I slightly shook my head at Nyx’s question. All the gods… that’s just too much.
It’s not like the space is too small or anything; it’s just that some gods can’t come here.
For instance, the gods of mountains or rivers.
These guys are tied to their natural elements and can’t stray too far from what they are. In a sense, they’re like bound spirits… or should I say bound deities since they’re actually gods?
For a god to distance themselves too much from their essence… that’s a tough and risky gig. Just your average mountain or river god wouldn’t even have a shot at it.
Unless we’re talking about powerful deities like Sagarmatha or Tethys. But these newly born gods are just way too weak to make a trek like that.
Only the ones with a more flexible essence or significant power might be able to swing by here.
“So, I guess not many gods will be able to come here, huh?”
“Yet we should keep in mind how many gods are going to be born in the future.”
I did make the space expandable to match the number of gods and their followers, but there’s a limit to the size. It’s tied to the height of the sky in this world, roughly around 40km, I think.
“But if it’s up this high, how will the other gods get in?”
“Huh?”
“Not all gods can fly, you know? I can’t either…”
Oh right, that’s another little detail I forgot about.
My kids and I have such huge power that flying is a walk in the park for us, so I didn’t even think about it!
What to do now? I can’t just lower the height of this world at this point, and I can’t exactly put in a staircase or ladder. I could… but nope, too much effort.
Hmmm… a stairway to the sky… a ladder… Ooh! What if I created a rainbow? Like the Bifrost from Norse mythology!
Hmm, should I ditch the idea of only opening at dawn and dusk? If I use the rainbow for them to climb up, it’ll definitely look all epic, but I really don’t want to give up that cool concept.
And if I throw in a rainbow bridge, clearly, humans would try to use it too.
Hmmm… Okay, let’s do this.
They can climb the rainbow bridge but won’t be able to walk straight into the Pantheon.
A gateway to the Pantheon… Great, another gateway! Ugh, I’ve made so many already in the afterlife…
Anyway, we should create a space on the clouds as a waiting area before entering the Pantheon. Like a checkpoint to manage who gets in. I’ll stick a trusted god in charge of overseeing the entry management.
With that setup, if a human or any other subrace tries to sneak up, it shouldn’t pose any issues.
I mean, the rainbow might not come around that often… But hey, I can always create it differently from regular rainbows. Just design sky entrances throughout the world and connect them with rainbow bridges periodically.
Nah, wait, what if I made it a magical rainbow that only divines can see and use? Restricting it so only those with divine essence could see or climb it might do the trick!
Yeah, that’s the bet. Easy for the gods to see, but totally invisible to mere mortals.
And… Hmm. Instead of a rainbow bridge, wouldn’t a rainbow elevator be better? It gives that upward-ascension vibe. Since it’s quite tall, climbing directly would take forever.
Honestly, if all the gods could just sail through the sky, I could skip this whole annoying ordeal. Ugh, what a drag.
So, I went ahead and created a waiting area on the clouds before you hit the Pantheon, and set up rainbow elevators across the globe to connect the lower realms to the Pantheon.
The elevators turned out to be these cylinder-shaped beauties attached to rainbows. They zoom pretty fast; you only need about five minutes to reach the entrance of the Pantheon once you hop on!
I even made sure the elevator cabin is sealed off from the outside, so nobody feels any discomfort… Am I overthinking this?
It would’ve been fine to just toss it together, but here I am, fretting over the tiniest details. Hmm.
Well, what the heck? If I’m making it, I might as well make it good.
So, after running a few tests on the completed elevators, I got some solid praise from Nyx.
“Amazing! The ground disappears in an instant!”
Alright, sounds about right!
Now, let’s go fetch the god who’s going to guard the entrance of the Pantheon.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The entrance to the Pantheon… It needs hardcore management, and I’ll have to entrust it to a god I genuinely trust.
The number of gods is just going to keep rising until human intelligence starts advancing, and it’s basically inevitable that these new gods will cause some chaos.
Among them, there will definitely be a few who’ll try to drag their favorite humans into the Pantheon.
So, the god stationed at the entrance needs to have enough power to keep other gods in check, and they have to be someone I can trust.
Of course, I already had a particular candidate in mind.
“It’s been a while.”
The temple looks downright shabby compared to its former glory. It’s hard to imagine this was once a temple that commanded the faith of a gigantic nation called Arcadia.
On the central dais of the temple, I spot a small dog curled up. It springs up when it sees me.
The first beast. The god of beastfolk.
In the past, this beast god traveled the world with the hero and me.
Now, hundreds of years later… thanks to the strong influence of beastfolk, this once-worshiped national deity in Arcadia has lost a massive chunk of its faithful followers, as the main faith in Arcadia has shifted to other gods.
“Yip….”
I bent down and stroked the head of the god of beasts as it nudged against my feet. Even if it’s lost a ton of followers, to shrink down this much is just sad.
I’d heard something about the faith situation in Arcadia, but I never thought it would plummet this badly.
The background to this change involves the influx of different races altering the demographics of Arcadia and the changing beliefs of the younger beastfolk.
Long ago, beastfolk were often shunned compared to other subraces, and even among them, there was discord depending on their animal traits. They were in desperate need of the unifying faith and psychological support provided by the first beast.
But now, the situation for the beastfolk has improved, and they have the freedom to believe in various gods. At this point, it’s no longer essential to keep their faith solely in the first beast.
And that’s how the first beast, who wasn’t able to provide relevant blessings like the other gods, has gradually seen their faith dwindle.
And here we are, staring down at a tiny dog-like embodiment.
“I’ve got a spot for you, so let’s head out together.”
After all, we’ve traveled together before. I can’t just leave it behind.
“Yip…”
But the first beast shook its head, seemingly unable to leave this place.
As if it couldn’t break away from this temple that has gotten so old and dusty compared to the others.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
