The Outer Sphere

“Where am I?” Alicia asked, glancing around the pitch black emptiness she suddenly found herself in. There was a floor, so that was good, but it was invisible. Or merely the same color black as everything else.

She could see herself with perfect clarity though, so there had to be light. She didn’t seem wounded, either. As a matter of fact, she wasn’t even wearing the same clothes…She was wearing her favorite shirt that was destroyed a year ago.

How on Earth am I here, wearing clothes that no longer exist…unless…

“Am I dead?” she wondered aloud. Her voice reached out into silence.

“You are not.” Came a rumbling voice.

Alicia suppressed a yelp as a table that formed a circle around her materialized from nowhere. Around it were five giants, the likes of which she’d never seen. Gods?

On the right was a black haired woman with sparkling crimson lips, in a dress that shone like liquid, so tight that it concealed absolutely nothing.

Sitting beside her was a white-haired man wearing a billowing grey robe made of clouds flickering with electricity. His hair was uneaven and frayed, even burned in some places. He had an intense look to him, almost glaring.

To the left of Alicia was a brown skinned, green haired woman with the biggest breasts Alicia had ever seen, as if someone had asked how much, and the only answer was ‘yes.’ She was wearing massive green leaves, and waving excitedly like a Garthspawn at her child’s soccer game.

Beside that one was a thin woman wearing full light armor and a sneer. Her hair was blond, hacked off below her ears, and she wore no makeup or jewelry.

The thing that really stole her attention though, was the monstrosity sitting in front of her. A fleshy thing with eyes, mouths and talons constantly erupting from it, only to die back down and rejoin that main mass. She could feel it looking at her, even if its eyes were constantly changing.

How does it even sit in a chair? She thought.

“With great patience.” A buzzing voice echoed through the darkness.

“Good afternoon, Alicia, You’ve come here to petition a Patron, and we are the ones who find you interesting and have no qualms about your…pedigree.”

“My Pedigree?” Alicia asked. “Patron?” None of this made any sense.

The thin blonde woman closed her eyes for a moment.

“Her master didn’t tell her what the amulet was for,” she said with a mean smile.

“Alicia, Alicia, over here!” the brown woman with grossly exaggerated features called as she continued to wave. No woman could possibly be that voluptuous.

“That’s mean.” She muttered, frowning for an instant before brightening again.

“I came in case you didn’t get any attention, but it looks like I worried for nothing.” She said with a smile. “You’re being offered an apostleship by four different gods! Isn’t it exciting!?”

“Apostle…ship?” Alicia asked. “but that’s…from the age of the fall of man…legends. They don’t exist anymore.”

“I feel like I exist.” The ruby lipped…goddess said, sucking on some kind of sweet.

“Who are all of you?”

“Beladia! Goddess of Hearth, nature, Love and Fertility! I’m just here to make sure my apostle’s new lover gets a Patron.”

Alicia chose to ignore the ‘lover’ bit.

“Stacy. Goddess of Vengeance and the scorned.” The armored blonde woman said. “You did whatever it took to give them what was coming to them. With my help you could make it stick.”

“Kuragor, God of Chaos, Mutability, Perversion, and Rebirth.” The blob of flesh said in its disconcerting voice. “I advocate reinvention of the self. You have done that admirably.”

“Gorn, God of Storms.” The white haired man shrouded in cloud said. “I enjoyed your amateurish display of lightning and clouds, and I wish to see that talent nutured.”

The black-haired woman in the tight dress popped the candy out of her mouth long enough to speak, “Munasei, Goddess of lust.” She said. “I’m just happy to be here.”

Of course she is, Alicia thought, glancing over the tasteless dress and overbearing lipstick. This only seemed to make Munasei smile wider. It didn’t help that despite all this, Alicia couldn’t help but be aroused by her. Probably using some wicked magic.

“Why are you here then? I didn’t do anything that would impress you.” she demanded.

“You prayed to me?” Munasei said with a grin.

“No I…” Alicia recalled the thousands of times she’d technically prayed to the goddess. Munasei, leave me be! “Damnit.”

“So what’s happening, how does this work?” she asked.

“Choose one of us,” The blob of flesh buzzed again. “And we will give you power fitting an apostle. And…” The thing formed several warped noses like pits in it’s flesh. It breathed in, sending shivers up her spine as she felt it taste her.

“And a Class. Yes, that is why you are here.”

“Oooh, a blank slate. I’m interested.” Munasei said, leaning forward intently.

Alicai thought for a moment, and something kept bothering her.

“What was that about my pedigree?” she asked. “My family line?”

“Your Master’s Master is a rather polarizing individual. A persona non-grata among Kolath’s clique.” Kuragor buzzed. “Which I care nothing for.”

“Same.” Stacy said.

“I owe him for a couple…” Munasei coughed into her hand. “Favors.”

“Me too.” Beladia said, nodding.

Gorn just crossed his arms, tiny bolts of lightning travelling through his cloudy clothes.

“So, what kind of apostle will I be?”

“You’ve got a lot of potential. Choose me,” Munasei said, leaning forward and deliberately squishing her breasts up on the table. “You’ll be irresistible.”

I’m offended she even thinks that would work on me, Alicia thought, staring at the cleavage.

….

“Ahem,” Stacy cleared her throat, allowing Alicia to tear her attention away from Munasei. Is this what men feel like all the time? What a horrifying thought.

“My blessings include enhanced scrying, an intuitive knowledge of who deserves vengeance, and a powerful boost to fire magic, for the purpose of smiting.”

Ooh, I like smiting.

“My blessings are a malleable form, enhanced durability, Corruption aura, and Flesh-shaping magics.” Kuragor spoke.

That’s…really weird. I don’t like the sound of any of those things.

Kuragor faded from his seat as soon as she had that thought.

“I offer Quickening, Lightning resistance, Enhanced Weather Magic, and a Voice of Thunder. With a class built to suit, you could fly and release your lightning as naturally as breathing. No more relying on that stick.”

Gorn made a convincing argument.

“If you choose me, you could have-“ Munasei started.

“I choose Gorn.” Alicia interrupted the goddess. Munasei narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.

Stacy scowled and vanished. Alicia wasn’t interested in living for vengeance the rest of her life. That sounded exhausting. She might have been vengeful in the moment, but staying that way forever? Not her cup of tea.

“Bye, have fun!” Beladia said, waving before she winked out of existance, leaving only Munasei and Gorn.

“Which of my blessings do you wish for?” Gorn asked. “Each after the first will cost you five points from an attribute of your choice. There’s no need to be overly concerned though, as your limits are about to increase greatly.”

“The first three.” Alicia said. “I don’t particularly feel the need to shout. Take five points each from Senses and Strength.”

“As you wish,” Gorn said, holding out a finger.

A bolt of lightning leapt from his hand and slammed into Alicia’s chest sending searing pain out from her heart, through every nerve in her body. The pain rushed to her head and flooded her body with a wave of powerful adrenaline that tingled everywhere, forcing a tiny moan from between her lips.

Nobody heard that. The lightning is too loud, too bright to see through.

Munasei raised a brow, resting her chin on her palm as she watched the show. Her lips curled into a mischievous smile.

A few seconds later the bolt of lightning fizzled out, seemingly being drawn into Alicia’s chest. She hadn’t noticed the bolt lift her into the air, and Alicia was startled when she dropped to the ground, panting, her arms and legs shivering with an overabundance of adrenaline.

“Now, for your Class,” Gorn said, lifting his hand again, only to have his cloud-sleeve caught by Munasei.

“Gorn, can I talk to you for a minute, over there?” She asked, pointing into the darkness.

No. A shiver of dread went up Alicia’s spine. No, this can’t be good.

Gorn, the white haired, stoic god of storms blushed.

“Of course, Munasei.” He said. Alicia tried to interrupt, tried to say something, but her body was practically a quivering mass, completely unable to move.

They can read my thoughts, though, right? Get back here! Don’t listen to that slut!

Munasei glanced over her shoulder and winked. She guided Gorn into the darkness beyond the range of Alicia’s sight. As she walked away from the desk, Alicia could see that the goddess of lust’s dress split around her hips, leaving her backside completely exposed.

Munasei, leave me be!

Together they faded into the blackness surrounding them, and Alicia desperately struggled to recover from the bolt of lightning to the chest, her limbs ever so slowly regaining their strength. Too slowly.

One minute became two, then three.

Alicia was trying to stand by dragging herself to her feet, leaning on the giant’s table when her wobbling legs wouldn’t support her weight, when an explosion of lightning pulsed outward from the darkness in a wave of crackling energy, knocking Alicia down again. It was shortly followed by another, and another, each diminishing in strength.

Then a steady wave of lighting washed over everything and stayed there, crackling with power for a good thirty seconds before it receded. The bolts of power didn’t seem to hurt Alicia, though. Maybe the Lightning resistance was already in effect.

Alicia was crawling to her feet again when she spotted Munasei walking back from the darkness.

The Goddess of Lust was carefully reapplying her lipstick, her raven hair standing up straight, three feet in the air, with tiny blue sparks travelling between the strands. Perfectly composed, she took her seat and ran her hand through her hair, collecting the sparks on her hand and shaking it off like water, causing her hair to fall perfectly back into place.

In a second, it was like nothing had ever happened.

“Gorn has something to tell you.” She said with a smile.

The ancient storm deity staggered into the light, adjusting his cloud-pants. There was lipstick on his cheek, and neck…and Alicia suspected lower as well.

“Munasei and I have had a…discussion about your class, and she had some suggestions for alterations that might suit you better than I could do alone, so she’s going to help out.”

“You bastard!” Alicia groaned, climbing to her feet. “How can you just hand control over to her!?”

“I’m the god of storms, not the god of celibacy, or resisting temptation.” Gorn muttered. The desk ceased to exist, and Alicia tumbled to the ground again, her support lost.

“Here,” Munasei murmered, her towering form sitting down beside Alicia and scooping her up like an errant cat to sit in her lap. This close, the giant goddess smelled amazing, and the way she felt was like a bed in the middle of a daydream, sending a listless pleasure through Alicia’s entire body. Munasei was soft.

“let me show you what we decided on.” Munasei whispered, setting her fingers on Alicia’s temples.

Alicia felt a door open in her mind that she had never realized was there. Behind that door was a being of pure light, that stepped into her mind, sending tendrils throughout her entire being. Building, rearranging, fixing, adding. Never subtracting.

Tears began to stream down her cheeks as something metallic and warped inside her was ironed out, polished and reinforced.

Gorn stooped in front of her, and pressed his finger to her forehead, and another being stepped through the doorway, and suddenly there were two cosmic entities rummaging through her very essence, working together to create something…strange out of her.

Alicia felt full, like her head was stuffed with far too much, and if she untensed her tightened jaw, raw deity would come shooting out of her nose. She knew it was illogical, but that’s how it felt. She could feel parts of her…changing, as the pressure built.

“I’m…” Alicia choked out the words past the mind-boggling power that assaulted her senses. “going to stay me?”

“Of course,” Munasei said from inside her, the words ringing through her body like a bell. Alicia let out a gasp of relief.

A few minutes later the white beings left her mind, and for an instant she was lonelier than she’d ever been before. Life had no meaning compared to that sensation.

“There there,” Munasei said, petting Alicia’s limp body in her lap. “That’s why we don’t generally do the Class Imprint ourselves. You’ll feel better in a minute.”

It was true. A few minutes later, enough of Alicia’s mind had come back to push herself out of Munasei’s lap, grumbling all the while about seductresses.

Gorn nodded and disappeared, leaving Alicia alone with Munasei as she brought herself to her feet.

“I do hope you’ve relaxed enough to choose me next time.”

“I’ve felt what you can do.” Alicia said. “Couldn’t you just make me want to?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She winked at Alicia again and vanished.

Freaking…Just ‘cuz I like…bah. Alicia had lived her entire life with a shameless slut, and following in her footsteps was not high on her priority list. Not anymore.

You don’t have to be the same kind as Maggie. You don’t have to be mean about it.

Nope, not thinking about that. Instead, let’s think about how to get out of here.

Alicia looked around the darkness.

“Is this supposed to end, or…”

The darkness around her popped like a bubble and Alicia found herself falling through space, tugged back to her body, she could instinctively feel its presence waiting for her.

Ah, so I’ll be back to my body in a couple seconds, Now all I have to worry about is the fact that I’m captured by Inquisitors and quite possibly going to have no memories of the last couple months. No big deal.

Something caught her, arresting her gentle fall back to her body.

Something made of flesh.

Alicia glanced down at the flesh-net she found herself in, squirming around her in a way that set her hairs on end.

“What the hell is this!?” she tugged on the net that began to flow around her. Suddenly the rest of the scenery came into focus, and her stomach turned. Everywhere she looked was a hellscape of shifting flesh that threatened to consume her.

“Welcome, Apostle of Gorn,” Kuragor said, his voice buzzing from everywhere at once, hurting her ears. “I have no Faith on Earth, so I would like for you to relay a message to my Apostle.”

“Who?”

“It’s of no consequence to you.” A shiny black talon formed out of the ceiling and pressed itself to her forehead, and suddenly she felt her entire body resonate so hard she felt like she’d crumble to pieces.

“I am bored.”

....

“Garth.”

Macronomicon