A Solitary God In A Dark Multiverse

A few moments after walking into Dr. Cortes' laboratory I found myself staring at a familiar table. It was the table that was once filled with mortars and pestles, and now it was covered in papers. I approached it, and in doing so found myself standing on the other side of my teacher, the alchemist named Dr. Cortes.

"Althos, it's very good to see you." He told me, a goofy grin on his face. His face looked different this time. He had shaved the white beard he had when I first met him. He also had goggles like last time but they were hanging loosely around his neck rather than around his eyes.

I looked at the diminutive human's eyes and studied them for a moment. They were filled with genuine excitement, and after a few moments of silence, the good doctor tapped the table and motioned for me to look at it.

"Althos, my young apprentice." He said as I turned to study the assorted papers that covered the table I had performed my initial test on top of. I looked at the papers and immediately realized what they were: recipes.

"As of today, you are an officially an alchemist's apprentice, an alchemist in-training! How exciting!" Dr. Cortes declared, speaking boisterously. He was looking at me quite happily, while I visually scanned the various recipes my teacher had prepared for me.

I could see recipes for potions, beverages, poisons, and even a single one for a simple bomb. While glancing at them, I got to read some of their titles and mentally grinned at them. I could see recipes for items called "Spider's antidote", "Snake's kiss", "Manta-ray's sting", and "Regenerative potion". Seeing them brightened my mood, even as my tremorsense alerted me to something that didn't.

I sprung to action immediately. I looked at Dr. Cortes and began to speak, asking for directions.

"Dr. Cortes, my stomach is feeling... A bit strained. Before we dive into the wonderful lesson you have planned, do you mind if I go to the bathroom?" I asked, speaking somewhat urgently so as to explain why I'd have to run for a bit.

Unpleasant intruders were making their way towards the Rodan forest, and I intended to send them a powerful message. Plus they presented an opportunity for me to gain access to two subdomains I had wanted to gain access to but hadn't really had a chance to interact with yet.

When the Dr. pointed me in the direction of the bathroom, I smiled and excused myself. When I was out of eyesight of my teacher I teleported myself far from where I stood and to a land I had yet to visit: the area beyond the Rodan forest.

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A pair of creatures that could only accurately be described as bipedal hyenas were gradually making their way out of the valley that housed them. The two creatures were stealthily trodding out of the region where their kind, hyenoids, lived and towards the territory inhabited by all sorts of Althonians.

The two scouts were lightly armored and armed. They deftly held stone spears in their pawed hands and wore armor made from the pelts of creatures they themselves had hunted.

They were silent as they inched closer and closer to the outskirts of the forest which they had been tasked with exploring. The two were highly skilled, but they were no match for the powers of a god which was why the newborn deity that happened to reside primarily in the forest and in the human settlement closest to it detected them the moment they began their approach towards his territory.

When they were close enough that they could see the forest, a strange event occurred. A shimmering wall of light several meters tall appeared between them and the forest. They could see through the wall, but the forest beyond it appeared hazy and indistinct as if viewed through a heat mirage. This caused the pair of creatures to pause and look uncertainly at each other.

That was before the wall of light opened up ever so slightly and a strange creature stepped through it. The creature hadn't been visible until the wall opened up, so the pair of hyenoids immediately put up their guards and tightened their grips on their spears.

The creature had an annoyed expression on his face. He had a plainly human face, but the hyenoids had never seen a creature do what he did: put up what an obstacle of some sort that blocked off their way out of the valley and into the forest.

The apparent human, a rather plain-looking member of his kind, studied the two of them. He made no attempt to hide his appearance or to appear extra intimidating. After a few moments, he was obviously unimpressed by them and casually began to speak to them.

"I am only going to ask you once to cease your exploration of the Rodan forest." He said, speaking calmly to the pair of scouts. The two creatures froze when they heard his words, as they understood them quite easily even though the human was speaking their animalistic language.

One of the scouts, the bigger of the two, lifted his spear threateningly in response to this command and snarled at the human. The scout practically spat out a reply, hissing it through broken teeth.

"Why should we listen to you? Who are you to command us to cease our exploration?" The creature hissed, speaking angrily. Althos chuckled and grinned at the creature.

"I am Rodan's new master. My name is Althos." Althos replied, speaking without any hesitation. He grinned at them and wondered how they'd reply to what he had just said.

"And? That is not a reason for us to obey you." The hyenoid closest to Althos quipped. Althos considered this for a moment and then sighed. At this moment he suspected that a conflict was inevitable.

"The reason you should obey me is that I am the strongest creature you've ever met. If you value your health, your mind, and the future of your community, I recommend you stand down." Althos told the pair, speaking to them calmly and urging them to stay peaceful. They didn't. Althos' minimap pulsed and the color of their dots on it changed and became red. The color of creatures hostile to the youthful god.

The other hyenoid inched forward, now also tensing up. Althos turned his gaze to her and remained unimpressed after a few moments of thorough study. That said, the creature's purpose wasn't to intimidate, at this moment it was to distract.

The hyenoids were impressive and coordinated combatants, as Althos discovered when the one he took his eyes off of quietly reared back and hurled his spear at the young god. Unfortunately for the hyenoid, Althos was well aware of the silent strike and replied to it decisively.

The god's hand flicked in the direction of the silent striker, flaring outward with a flourish and casting an incredibly powerful spell. One that disrupted the spear's trajectory instantly.

The spear was caught in a sudden gravitational shift and immediately stopped in mid-air. It slowly turned around, and then flew back towards and then past the hyenoids. It collapsed onto the ground not far behind them, and the two scouts turned to look at each other in confusion.

The gravitational well that Althos had just created wasn't a particularly strong one, so the hyenoids barely felt its effects and at the moment weren't aware of its effects on a conscious level. Althos had opted to create one that was more disruptive to their attacks than an attack on themselves.

The young god took a step forward and then rose a single hand towards one of the hyenoids. He aimed his appendage in the direction of the male, and then grinned at the creature. It was at that moment that a potent burst of flames exploded out of the god's hand and sped towards the scout.

The burst of flames was a significant one, a curtain of golden fire that the god conjured with a frightening casualness. The hyenoid was shocked and was only barely able to leap out of the way of the fire. And even then he couldn't dodge it completely. A patch of his exposed fur was caught by the flames and caught on fire.

The hyenoid reacted by leaping back from the self-proclaimed master of the forest and turning his attention to his fur. He desperately tried to put out the flames, even as they spread to more and more of his body.

Althos grinned at the hyenoid's desperate actions and turned his attention to the female scout. She was watching her fellow scout with an expression of abject terror etched onto her Hyaenidae face. For a moment the god wondered about how he ought to handle her.

When the hyenoid turned to flee, Althos shook his head at her and acted swiftly. A jet black orb sped out of his hand and made contact with the scout before she had taken even two steps away from the god.

The orb knocked her down, and then its darkness exploded outward and engulfed her in an onyx-black field of darkness that rapidly began to cause her to freeze, and began to feed on her life-force. Althos kept an eye on her and watched patiently for the few seconds it took for her to fall unconscious due to the draining effects of his spell. When she did, he quietly deactivated the spell.

Light returned to the area around her, and eventually revealed her unconscious form, lying face-down on the valley's grassy floor. Althos chuckled, as he easily earned the first tier of influence over the third magical subdomain he could influence.

The other hyenoid was still flailing about in an attempt to put out the flames that were inflicting harm on him. As Althos watched this, he gained access to the simple quest he needed to undertake to gain access to the subdomain of fire.

The system informed him that in order to gain access to the first tier of influence over the subdomain of flames, he needed to set something on fire, since he had opted to set someone on fire earlier. This simple quest was fulfilled when the deity used telekinesis to lift up the spear he had deflected earlier and hurled a single bolt of flames at it, which exploded across the shaft of the spear.

Althos chuckled as he gained access to another of the elemental subdomains. And then he used one of the abilities he gained to put out the fires that were rapidly spreading across the body of the hyenoids.

The male hyenoid watched as the flames that were devouring his fur vanished. It caused the dimwitted almost-beast to stop in shock. That was when Althos spoke again.

"You and your companion have lost this battle. She is unconscious, and her lifeforce has been considerably drained, to the point that she's nearly dead. And because of your stupidity, I am even stronger than I was before. I am letting you live, but only if you retrieve her unconscious form and head back to your community. If you do not, I will pay them a visit myself and you don't want that." The god told the scout. Althos was delighted by the collection of abilities he had just gained.

The male hyenoid slowly recovered from his shock, and looked up at Althos. He stared at the god, a mixture of awe and fear etched on his face. And then the bestial humanoid turned to the unconscious form of his companion.

He shuffled over to it dejectedly, picked it up, and began to walk back towards the hyenoid community. Althos watched as the creature retreated, and when the creature was suitably far away he teleported back to the workshop of Dr. Cortes.

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[Dual subdomain description:

The subdomains of alteration and flames are potent ones. The subdomain of flames is a powerful and multifaceted elemental subdomain that can heal, hurt, and even create. The subdomain of alteration is a magical subdomain that is involved in magic that alters the physical world.

As a deity of flames, you possess control over fire and can manipulate it in various ways. You can also regulate someone's internal temperature and can now travel freely through space. You can cause and control natural disasters related to fire and you can command spirits of the inferno.

As a deity of alteration, you possess powers that can greatly transform the world around you. You can create portals, can cause a number of unpleasant status effects in your enemies, and modify allies, weapons, and armor in meaningful ways. You also gain the first degree of control you will ever possess over anti-magic fields.

To gain greater control over flames you must build fire-worshiping cults. All manner of creatures revere flames and there are plenty of creatures composed of flames so this won't be an overwhelmingly difficult task.

To gain greater control over alteration you must work to meaningfully alter the world through the usage of magic. This involves but isn't limited to the creation of cults that worship you as a harbinger of change and transformation.

Dual subdomain passive powers:

Temperature control: You can regulate your own internal temperature and that of other creatures. This allows for you and others you choose to safely travel through otherwise hostile environments that would burn or freeze those traveling through it.

Enhance: You can use alteration energy to enhance an item of your choice. You can sharpen it, harden it, and more. This is the origin of the lost art of grafting magic to items, one of many practices that has faded into near obscurity since the end of the mythic age.

This power works on items of all sorts and can improve any of their properties including their deadliness, protectiveness, ability to heal, and more.

Alter: You can use alteration energy to alter lifeforms. Effects that can be done to living creatures, such as granting them night-vision, the ability to ambiently detect other lifeforms, and more can now be done non-magically through the application of alteration energy to a living creature.

Cancellation: This is an alteration ability that allows you to cancel out magical effects that impact an area. As an example of some of what you can do with this power, you can nullify any attempts to magically poison a community or to cast an area of effect healing spell.

Portal creation: You can now create portals in any environment. This is an upgradable power that at the moment is somewhat limited in that your portals must be linked to locations in the same universe and the same dimension as wherever they are created.

These portals can be one-way or two-way, and they can be turned on or off at any point. This allows for a lot of vicious opportunities in the hands of the right god.

Flame-mastery and manipulation: You can conjure and control flames, including magical flames, at will. You can alter a flame's properties, including making a fire particularly virulent or making it unharmful to living creatures or even solidifying it. You can also put out any sort of fires at any distance.

This power starts off strong because you are over halfway done with the process of becoming a lesser elemental overlord.

Property manipulation: This is an alteration ability that allows you to manipulate a creature's properties.

You can edit or even delete properties possessed by creatures, such as resistances or vulnerabilities. For instance, if a creature is normally immune to fire you can strip them of that immunity.

Volcanic god: This is an elemental overlord ability that has become yours as a synergistic award for the influence you've acquired over the subdomains of air, earth, and fire.

With this power, you become a god of lava, ashes, magma, and volcanos. Volcanos become holy-spots dedicated to your glory, and at will you can cause them to erupt. Additionally, the first time you step onto a world you gain a supernatural awareness and mastery over all of its volcanoes.

Dual auric abilities: Enemies that approach you feel the air that fills their lungs burn them. Allies in your presence find that their attacks burn their enemies. Creatures that you are romantically or sexually attracted too find that they feel especially passionate in your presence.

Enemies in your presence are burdened with a negative condition, usually fear, when they engage you in combat. Allies are healed by your presence and find that negative conditions are removed when they stand beside you in combat.

Create fire-spirit: You can create spirits of fire.

Dual subdomain active powers:

Combustion: This flame subdomain power causes a creature's internal organs to burn and then explode, killing and cooking someone from the inside. This power can only be used on living creatures at the moment but does effect extraplanars and ignores immunity to flames. It can be used twice per twelve-hour-period.

Create anti-magic field: This alteration subdomain power allows you to create a field where magic doesn't work unless you permit it too. This field can be several meters wide and many meters tall.

In this field, any spells cast or spells that enter the area must have your permission to work, otherwise, they fizzle out of existence. This is a twice per three day period power that is exceptionally powerful.

Dual subdomain blessing and curse details:

By blessing someone with the subdomain of flames you make them immune to fire damage, and grant their attacks a potent ability to burn enemies. You also make them more reckless and passionate. By cursing someone with this subdomain you make them vulnerable to fires and dampen their passion.

By blessing someone with the subdomain of alteration you make them immune to negative conditions and grant a random beneficial condition per day. By cursing someone with this subdomain you burden them with a negative condition and no positive conditions can affect them.

Special note:

You have gained your very first set of elemental overlord powers. The domain of nature and all of the elemental subdomains you've acquired so far have all gained new abilities and the cooldowns on your active powers in those areas have decreased.

Upon completion of the acquisition of the final elemental subdomain, the subdomain of liquid you'll gain access to the quest to become a lesser elemental overlord.]

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When I returned to the good alchemist, he was waiting patiently for me. My encounter with the hyenoids only took me a few minutes, but it was enough for the doctor to fully prepare for the lessons.

Now the table wasn't just decorated by papers, but by two pairs of mortars and pestles. I was delighted to see the familiar tools and smiled as I approached them.

"Are you feeling better my youthful apprentice?" Cortes asked, a goofy grin on his face. I looked at him and nodded, my grin stretching up to my eyes.

"That's good news! Today I'm going to teach you how to make the three most basic items that alchemists are known for: potions, poisons, and bombs." The doctor explained. As soon as he said that I received a positively delightful notification.

[Alert: You may now complete the quests for the first tiers of influence over the subdomains of alchemy and poison, and the domain of creation.

Alchemy: In order to gain the first tier of influence over the alchemy subdomain, create one potion, one poison, and one bomb. You've already created a potion so you just need to make a poison and a bomb.

Poison: Create one poison.

Creation: Cook something, smith one suit of armor, and two weapons, create a potion, poison, bomb, and make a work of art.]

I read through that notification and willed it away with ease. As soon as I did so, I looked over at my teacher and asked a question.

"Why do you say that alchemists are known for poisons and bombs?" I asked curiously. Dr. Cortes was himself a potion-maker, but since he was an expert I was unsurprised to hear that he had other skills as well. My instructor smiled at me and then launched into a lecture I suspected he had readied beforehand.

"Well you see, alchemists are some of the best inventors of poisons and bombs. Gathering ingredients for alchemy is a dangerous task, and so we tend to build things that can help us survive some of the more dangerous places we need to trek towards. Poisons can be useful to either weaken monsters who'd stop us from gathering our materials, or to scare them off." The medical professional told me, grinning all the while.

"Bombs are more for when we are attacked by other humanoids. Of the two I prefer poisons because they have more of a personal touch. Which is why I'll be teaching you how to craft a poison first." The doctor explained, eagerly discussing his plans with me.

This was deeply exciting to me, and the thought of gaining influence over another subdomain was one that filled me with joy. I nodded at him, and moved over to the table so that we could dive into our work.