Pantheon (4)
Everything after that went off without a hitch—no need to explain the details.
I slipped into the dream of Arcadia's sleeping king, spun a little tale for him, and brought back the first Beast God... Sirius. That wrapped it up. During the process, the king of Arcadia seemed oddly moved, so he ended up cleaning and repairing Sirius's temple. But that's a minor detail.
Plus, for some reason, his faith in me shot up too... Hmm. Is this what happens when a god shows up directly in a human's dream? Guess an ordinary human's mind just can't handle facing a god head-on. I should avoid popping into dreams from now on.
I only showed a tiny glimpse of divine majesty to make him believe me, and boom—the king of Arcadia's got serious devotion now. Of course, it's probably because I'm an outlier among all the gods.
Anyway, with that, I scooped Sirius into my arms and soared into the sky.
"Alright. This is the entrance to the Pantheon, where you'll be living from now on."
"Woof!"
I set Sirius down at the Pantheon's entrance, perched atop pristine white clouds.
"Let's see. First things first, I need to make a place for you to stay."
A doghouse... Nah, even if he's a dog right now, he's still a god. Can't be that shabby. He's a proper deity, so he needs a temple. Fine, let's build one.
In the shape of a watchtower overlooking the entrance perfectly. That way, if anything non-divine tries to pass, Sirius can charge right out. The simple white temple I whipped up was wide open, ready for him to burst out anytime.
Of course, that left the inside fully exposed, making it look vulnerable to outside attacks... but what can you do? You can't cover every base.
Besides, I doubt Sirius would go down easy even if attacked.
"There you go. This'll be your home from now on."
"Woof?"
"What do you do? Just live here and keep out anyone unauthorized. Stop 'em and chase 'em off. Of course, there aren't any authorized visitors yet..."
Sirius tilted his head at my words, like he was asking why not? But hey, what can I say? I just built the place!
For now, let's limit it to divine beings... and make a list? Perfect—I had just the thing for compiling a list of gods. That god-only messenger I hadn't used in ages. GodTalk.
One issue: there are so many gods these days, the roster's about to burst. Feels like every single thing in existence is getting a god crammed into it.
"Anyway, that's it—just guard the Pantheon like a watchdog."
"Woof! Woof!"
Sirius barked enthusiastically, like he was saying leave it to me! Hmm. With his faith still so low, he looks like a scrawny pup, but it's just cute.
I stroked his head and shared some of the faith gathered toward me with him. Super inefficient way to do it, but oh well. Handing your own faith to another god is inherently wasteful.
After a hefty chunk of faith evaporated like that...
"Awooo!"
Sirius shifted into a massive wolf form. Well, as the first Beast God, he's not bound to any one species anyway... But named after the celestial wolf star, he defaults to a canine look. Makes sense for a guard dog, though. And since he can shapeshift freely, no big deal.
"Take good care of things from now on, Sirius."
"Arf!!"
And just like that, I secured the Pantheon's guard dog—and protector god.
Now, time to tidy up the interior. Shall we prepare the coronation for Baal, king of the gods?
Preparing for the coronation wasn't anything fancy. Just... making a crown to symbolize Baal's authority?
But he's king of the gods, so a plain old crown wouldn't cut it. I crafted something special: a laurel crown woven from lightning.
The shape's like any laurel crown, but made by braiding pure bolts of lightning. Whoever wears it will wield thunder as their weapon.
Hey, it's basically ripping off Zeus from Greek myths! But even if it's a playful imitation, the power's the real deal—no faking it.
It generates lightning bolts and hurls them like javelins. As strong as real thunder, naturally.
Plus, lightning's been a symbol of bountiful harvests since ancient times. It reacts with nitrogen in the air, creating fertilizer that helps plants thrive. Like how Thor in Norse myths was revered as a harvest god.
The god of lightning is the god of plenty. For humans, abundant food means extended life. Thus, perfect for king of the gods.
Of course, not just anyone can wear it. The crown's power is so immense, only someone compatible with lightning—and strong enough to bear it—can even put it on their head.
Eh, minor detail. I made it as Baal's exclusive crown, so if other gods could use it, that would be a problem.
As I admired the finished crown, Nyx piped up softly from behind me.
"It's so dazzling with all that crackling..."
"Yeah. It's lightning."
Pure white bolts flickered endlessly in the laurel shape. Pretty romantic look, if I do say so.
Oh, right.
"Nyx. How long are you planning to stick to my back?"
"Ah, um, well... Can I keep sticking around?"
"It's been days already. Time to peel off, yeah?"
Having a black-haired, timid little beauty glued to my back wasn't bad at first... but days of it? Problematic. I need my personal space too.
"Ah, uh... Okay. I'll let go after the coronation..."
Nyx's voice drooped. Felt a tiny pang of guilt, but oh well. Can't have her hanging off me forever.
"Anyway, looks like preparations are done."
Several temples now dotted the Pantheon. All built by yours truly. While I was at it, I made ones for the kids too.
They're a bit smaller since the originals aren't here... Oh, but I made Shamash's extra big compared to the others. She's the goddess of light, justice, and law—different scope from the rest. And her importance won't drop even with Baal as king of gods.
"Shall we call everyone now?"
Might as well summon all the other gods too.
The Pantheon, permitted only to gods. Even its existence unknown to mortals.
One by one, gods began arriving there.
Following voices from somewhere, the gods ascended to the realm above the skies.
Riding beautiful rainbows visible only to the divine.
Passing the massive wolf guarding the clouds.
Through the entrance that opens when day meets night.
To the world atop the clouds.
Guided by the benevolent, noble voice calling all gods.
To the world for gods alone.
Thus, the grand hall for all gods—the Pantheon's doors—swung wide open.
Whoa. Way more showed up than I expected.
I'd used the god-only messenger, GodTalk, to blast a group message... but this many? Didn't see it coming.
"It's time."
I looked at Baal, who emerged from the back room of the temple, fully changed into his ceremony garb.
His sky-blue hair blended with his pristine white robes, evoking the heavens themselves. But for some reason, deep worry clouded his face.
"Something bothering you?"
"Yeah... A worry that won't go away easily."
"What kind?"
What kind of trouble does the future king of gods have at a moment like this?
"Hmm, can't tell Gaia about it."
"Me?"
What could it be that he won't even tell me? Hmm. Probably nothing major.
"I dunno what worry the king of gods could have... Hmm... Do you even need to worry?"
"Huh?"
I placed a hand on Baal's head and said,
"You're the one who's going to be king of the gods. Meaning, you'll stand above countless deities."
"......"
"Whatever worry you've got, won't the power of the king of gods solve it?"
God of gods. King of gods. Once he claims that seat, only me and my kids could even match him. And he's passed our trials... So really, no one left to oppose him.
"As king of gods, you'll have the right to grasp everything in this world."
"Everything in this world..."
"For someone who can hold something that vast—the king of gods—whatever worry you have now is trivially small. Don't sweat it."
Baal's got tons of kingly duties ahead; I can't have him moping over some petty issue!!
"Yeah... Thanks, Gaia."
"No biggie."
"That settles it for me. Really, thank you."
A bright smile lit up Baal's face as he said that.