Avatar Challenge (1)
Vivian had collapsed from an inexplicable surge of power. Yuna and Beatrix rushed her to the hospital, where the avatar specialist diagnosed it as a power overload. Fortunately, she came to soon after.
Constellation, Whispering Star Cluster, worries about their third avatar.
"...Status window."
I shook my head and shifted my gaze to this dimension. It seemed I'd messed up the power control again. At least she was conscious now, so I could relax. For the time being, I'd mull over lifeform creation here. The biological tissue Vivian brought had sparked some ideas.
[Father. That. Dimension. Apostle?]
Perfect timing. Whether she'd spotted the AI information entity or not, Shub-Niggurath's gaze sparkled with curiosity. A galaxy divinity wouldn't have eyes per se, but that's how it felt, so it was probably right.
[A toy made by an Outer God from another dimension. Here.]
I flicked the information entity over to Shub. More like warping it across space, really.
[Other dimension. Apostle. Tiny thing. Father. Interesting.]
[Doesn't interest you, huh?]
[Father. Pet lifeforms. Far. Tinier things. Indifferent. Incomprehensible.]
Along with Shub's indifferent attitude, the AI information entity floated back to me. Considering what she'd just said, she meant these were far tinier than my pet lifeform, Naiserria, so no interest. Fair enough. Even Naiserria, a Galaxy Spirit Body, had left apostles in other dimensions unattended. From Shub's perspective—utterly incomparable to typical Galaxy Spirit Bodies—that was natural. Would she care if life started inhabiting her space?
[Father. Small things. Creation. Looking forward.]
The inspiration from Vivian's gift in that dimension was plenty. But like with Shub, creating immortals before mortals seemed smart. All immortals born of my power would have resistance to Cosmic Power environments. I could use their help to craft lifeforms.
Wait... Instead of creating gods myself, what if I had Shub do it? Like a multi-level pyramid. Higher divinities spawning lower ones. Mortals created by lower divinities might struggle in that harsh galaxy, but I could handle that part directly.
[Shub. Don't you want to make kin or children?]
[Father. Question. Children. Kin. Unnecessary.]
[The boredom that grows with time is hard to endure.]
Shub's galaxy twinkled as if pondering. Focusing my gaze and lowering my viewpoint, I saw her experimenting with creating various divinities.
[Creating. Divinities. Kin. Children. Prolific. Unexpected. Fun.]
Tree-like forms reminiscent of that world's, but black with tentacles. Similar to the amorphous slime I'd made before, but made of eyes and mucus. Gas-spewing ones covered in countless eyes and mouths, and more. She began spawning all sorts of lesser divinities. Even as lower than Shub, they seemed a notch above Galaxy Spirit Bodies.
I watched her creations for a while. If Shub was my daughter, were these grandchildren?
[Father. Shub's. Children. Evaluate.]
[If you made them, you probably don't need my evaluation.]
[Question. Discard. Recreate?]
[No. You just made them; no need to kill them off...]
Countless divinities were born, but the ultra-massive galaxy was so vast it barely filled. Leaving Shub engrossed in creation, I checked back on the avatars in that dimension.
Vivian was still hospitalized. Beatrix and Yuna were lounging at home. Since collapsing, Vivian had been oddly terrified of me from the hospital bed. Probably the Cosmic Power surge. I was holding back constellation messages to her, so the fear should fade with time.
Excluding her, the other avatars were enjoying relatively peaceful days.
"Yaaawn~ Bea, when are you heading back?"
"Does Yuna want me to leave soon-wa yo? How disappointing-wa yo!"
"...You forgot your summon wrecked our house?"
"Tch. Friends forgive that-wa yo!"
That purple tentacle thing, the Cthulhu-like one—was it not invading the federation? Since the avatars had warned in my name, maybe it had some effect.
Constellation, Whispering Star Cluster, asks about the constellation warned last time.
"My lord? You mean the evil god beyond outer space-wa yo?! The federation's dispatching an outer space exploration team of avatars-wa yo!"
"Oh. And they say your constellation's involved too? A Single Planet Restricted Spirit Body constellation... 'Steel War Poet' volunteered personally..."
A descended constellation showing interest? But a Single Planet Restricted one wouldn't achieve much even incarnated.
"They're contacting Sky-Supporting Great Tree for more info. Don't worry too much."
"I've heard that name-wa yo. A mortal who ascended to constellation-wa yo."
"A war hero from another planet thousands of years ago?"
Not all constellations were innately immortal. Among Single Planet Restricted Spirit Bodies, some had gathered faith to claim divinity. Others became lesser constellations empowered by Planet Spirits. The gods' world was vast indeed.
As silence fell, Yuna grinned and spoke up.
"More than that, lots of folks in the federation are imitating you lately. Know about it?"
Constellation, Whispering Star Cluster, demands a detailed explanation.
"When you took Vivian as your third avatar, you held a federation-wide contest, right? Other constellations are copying it..."
Contest. She meant when I announced through avatars: bring satisfying info, become my third avatar?
"There's this trend called Avatar Challenge now. Avatars were seen as lucky chosen ones-wa yo? With the federation's population, constellations aren't that many... But lately, it's about earning the avatar job through effort..."
Earning avatar status through effort?
Yuna held up her handheld terminal in the air and continued.
"Constellations started listing conditions or talents for their avatars-wa yo. Many announce through their own avatars, like we did... It spread into a trend, now with planet- or system-scale tournaments."
Avatar Challenge. Avatar Contest. Avatar Competition. All names for this trend I started?
On reflection, it wasn't strange. Constellations want top avatars matching their ideals. People want to showcase talents to become avatars. My spark as a known Galaxy Spirit Body ignited it?
"Winners of civilian martial tournaments becoming avatars happened before-wa yo. But federation-wide recruitment? First time."
Thanks to it, scrutiny on my avatars eased. Vivian drew massive attention as third avatar, but folks chased their dream constellations, deeming her qualified as institute director.
Avatars gained comprehensive boosts—superhuman physiques and superpowers beyond mortals. Natural.
"Federation subtly encourages it-wa yo. Variety shows now scout candidates... Probably want constellations and avatars under leadership control-wa yo."
"Huh? Why's that?"
Beatrix smirked smugly, hand over mouth. A fan in hand, she'd be perfect villainess lady... but her analysis was spot-on.
"Yuna doesn't know politics well-wa yo. Avatars are chosen by constellations—one-on-one, no interference-wa yo. But contests or federation training camps for selection let states meddle-wa yo."
"Uh... uh..."
"Recognize humans as social creatures while positioning as mediators between federation and constellations..."
Beatrix was fascinating. Villainess looks. Princess status. Goofy speech. Sharp judgment. Hard to find funner avatars.
"Hmm. Decline this too?"
"What's that-wa yo?!"
"Seven constellations officially invited us as guests to a massive tournament."
High chance of new avatars there. Varied constellation tastes meant even dropouts could catch eyes.
"If we go, Vivian's hospitalized, so..."
"...What should we do-wa yo, my lord?"
Mortals' desire for divine contracts. Fierce competition to become apostles.