Satoru slept for a week after naming 40 elves and a Hellspawn. When he had woken up he immediately noticed some differences. Firstly, the children all had homes. The twins and Eden all choose to live together, and the rest of the children were adopted except for Nilon who chose to live alone.. There was also a change in the Hellspawn horse which Satoru noticed immediately. Now that he could sense and see mana and magicules, he immediately noticed the horse which had somehow gotten way stronger. It now had a sleek black coat and blue flames for a mane, it also had a huge sharp horn protruding from the center of its forehead that was at least 30 centimeters long. It also had two large black wings on its sides.
' Woah, hey Azeroth, please explain what happened to Nyx '
[ Notice ]
[ The Hellspawn Nyx has undergone an Evolution after receiving a name from its master. The Hellspawn horse has turned into a subspecies called a "Dark Unicorn" it has also acquired new skills like "Teleportation" and a *leader skill named "Demonic Authority" among other skills. ]
' Wow, that's amazing. '
Satoru looked at the horse as it seemed to have noticed Satoru's attention and seemed to almost be posing boastfully. Satoru thought that it must have been his imagination that the horse was behaving in such a ridiculous and childishly prideful manner. He then noticed the child which he had been desperately trying to ignore.
{ Lanceil… just.. what is it that has your eyes practically sparkling? }
Satoru felt uneasy, the gaze that he was receiving reminded him of a puppy he once knew before reincarnating. That's why he had been trying to ignore the owner of such a troublesome gaze but just like that puppy, this child refused to even look away until he was acknowledged. After finally being acknowledged he huffed in pride as he puffed his chest out and spoke.
" Father, I have an idea and I want your opinion on it. "
' Looking at him now, you would never believe that he was a 328 year old elf.. he's more like a young child.. '
Satoru practically grimaced at the boy who seemed to be grinning ear to ear with a scheme in mind.
{ Okay then, I will at least hear you out. Though, if your idea doesn't interest me I'll reject it immediately. }
Satoru decided to be a bit more strict in hopes that it would make the boy change his mind and leave, preferably. However, it only made the boy happy as he proudly stated that Satoru would like the idea or at the very least be interested in the idea.
" I want to start a religion. "
Those were the next words that came out of Lanceil's mouth causing Satoru to go silent and on his side, Nyx seemed to almost glare at Lanceil in a way that would have said " Is this guy serious? " But again, Satoru ignored it because there was no way the horse would do that.
{ Uh…huh… and why exactly do you want to start a religion? No rather, how would you even do that? }
Satoru was genuinely asking because he didn't know the rules of this would perfectly he was sure, but he was also pretty sure that one couldn't just "make" a religion out of thin air. However, his question was met with ominous laughter. The laugh of someone who had received the response they wanted after waiting patiently.
" Fufufu~ Father, if it's me, creating the religion would be a simple matter. "
{ Hm? How would it be simple? }
Looking at his son who seemed to practically light up with joy at hearing Satoru's question, Satoru sighed lightly and decided to give in.
' He really does remind me of him.. maybe this is my punishment. Kek '
Despite how Satoru seemed, he wasn't nearly as displeased as he acted. Being reminded of his old friend, he felt sad. He had no friends and no family, not before or after meeting Isagi. That's why he didn't know how to respond when Isagi kept showing interest in and clinging to him. After some time, Satoru and Isagi grew closer, they spoke often and ate together, they worked together often as well. In fact, they spent most of a vast majority of their days together, that's why even if Satoru never said it directly, they both knew, and everyone else knew as well that they were friends and quite close. No matter how much of a tsundere Satoru had been, refusing to admit to it, everyone knew that they were close. Now that Satoru had died and reincarnated, he couldn't help but think about his friend. Wonder how he was doing, how his relationship was going and if he was taking care of himself well. He missed seeing his overly enthusiastic expression and his suffocating optimism. Looking at his son who at times resembled himself with his calm stoic demeanor but then had the personality of his old friend made him feel a mixture of emotions. He thought, ' Maybe that's why I am so fond of you… or maybe not. '
He couldn't decide whether or not his fondness of Lanceil was due to how he reminded him of an old friend or because he was his son whom he had quite literally been with forever (in human terms at least). Regardless, seeing his son so happy made Satoru feel as though if he had a body, he would probably be smirking.
"I have the skills, Holy Light, Authority, and Shepard. With these skills and my status, I will have no problem creating a religion. "
Lanceil spoke with complete surety in his voice, devoid of even the slightest bit of doubt. This made Satoru curious to know what those skills were and why Lanceil was so sure that things would go his way.
{ Those skills, what are they? What do they mean and why are you so sure that they will allow you to make a religion? Also, what status? }
"Fufufu~ I knew it. I told you that you'd be interested! Since it's come to this I'll explain everything! "
Shocked, Satoru wanted to swear. He had unintentionally shown interest and thus confirmed that Lanceil was right. However, he truly did want to know more so in a way it was a win for him.
" The skill [Authority], allows me to set rules and give commands to those who are under me in terms of power and position. Meaning, in terms of everyone currently in the forest, aside from you and *that creature, I can use this skill on everyone and whatever I say goes. Like my words become law for them, literally. It doesn't work on everyone though, my authority only works on those who's attention and/or interest I've caught. For example, outside of the forest, my skills wouldn't work if I simply tried to command the next person or creature I saw. It only works on those who are…like-minded individuals. Meaning, if I announce a religion and someone takes interest in it even a bit, I have the chance to be able to use it on them. As compared to someone who hears about it but immediately dismisses or avoids it. "
Right now, Satoru was listening intently and taking mental notes. Or rather, having Azeroth keep details about the skill in her data.
"This kind of skill alone would make creating a religion possible. However, having the skill [Shepard] makes it impossible for those who have come "under my law" to be overcome by those with more power than me. Like sheep that follow a Shepherd, those who fall under my laws will obey only my laws. A sheep wouldn't come to another simply because they called out to them. Sheep with a proper Shepard only respond and obey their shepherd's voice and thus the same law applies to those under my authority. Last but not least in the slightest, my [Holy Light] skill acts as a type of dual purpose gift. What makes it highly valued is that with it I am able to perform healings and cleansings, both of which are very rare skills to have, only a select few in the entirety of the world have one of those abilities let alone having both. In order to use healing abilities, one would usually be forced to purchase a very expensive potion. Even for low tier potions, one would have to pay a hefty price and yet I could do that for free, not to mention that I can also perform a *cleansing which is like an entirely separate skill all on its own. "
After listening to the explanation given by Lanceil, Satoru was pleasantly surprised and impressed.
' Wow, it sounds like he's a saint, I can see how those skills would be valuable and now I understand his confidence in forming a religion.. Though, some of his skills sound really dangerous so I'm worried.. When did he awaken these skills? '
Immediately after he thought those words, Azeroth responded. which was slightly unusual because usually they don't tend to speak unless a question is asked directly. However, Satoru wasn't too surprised since he did ask a question, albeit indirectly.
[ Notice ]
[ The individual: Lanceil Verdanthel has still yet to understand his evolutionary hibernation. ]
' WHAT?!! Are you saying that he was BORN with those skills??? Is that even possible?? '
Hearing the response that Azeroth had given put Satoru in a state of disbelief. Afterall, he had named Lanceil quite a while ago and he has been in a safe environment for more than long enough for him to have awakened by now.
' Why would he not evolve in all of this time? '
[ Notice ]
[ Lanceil has stated that he would likely not be able to evolve any time soon because with him incapacitated for an unknown period of time, harm could come to the forest and he would not be able to protect the forest as he should. ]
The explanation made sense to Satoru. He has known that Lanceil had taken on the role as "Protector" for some time now. It only made sense to do so. He was here first before all of his siblings, he was also the strongest out of everyone, and until recently he was the one making decisions and taking care of his family on his own while Satoru hibernated. That fact has always weighed heavy on Satoru, he might not have had any experience being a parent but as a person and an adult, he felt guilty about not only leaving a child alone and unauthorized, but he also felt bad about the fact that it took him so long to wake up that his son felt the need to have to take on the sole responsibility and duty to protect and guide everything and everyone and could not rest or evolve because of those responsibilities. Now that Satoru was awake and active, he had been doing everything he could to be a parent but in the end, he couldn't help but feel like he was unfit to have that title as practically all of the elves were adults. At least by most standards. He really only could raise no more than 15 of them, and while all of the elves listened to and respected and loved Satoru, they treated Lanceil like a father and treated Satoru more like their God.
' I see.. that's not good at all. '
Satoru responded somewhat somberly. He sighed inwardly and figuratively shook his head as he came to his conclusion and decided to speak.
" If that's not enough to persuade you then—"
Satoru had cleanly cut off Lanceil and spoke.
{ That's enough. We can continue this conversation another time. I have something more important for you to do. }
He spoke firmly and with an even voice. This caused Lanceil to nod and his expression was no longer a playful and childish one but his usual stoic expression which showed that he understood that whatever Satoru would say was of utmost importance.
{ I want you to rest and undergo your evolution. Only then will I listen to the rest of your plans regarding this matter. }
After hearing Satoru's words, Lanceil opened his mouth to protest.
" B-but father—"
Only to be immediately cut down by satoru's stern voice and an intense pressure as his aura was momentarily increased.
{ This isn't up for debate or discussion. It's a direct order. I won't hear another word from you until you've finished your evolution. }
"… yes father."
Knowing that arguing would not result in any change, Lanceil simply nodded and bowed his head before leaving to his home. Nyx, who had been listening silently only watched intently as Lanceil left before looking up at Satoru and then laying its head back down and sleeping.
' Was I too harsh? I just didn't want him to make any excuses for not evolving, but I feel as though I went too far. '
[ Notice ]
[ While I am unable to answer conclusively, I do not believe that you were too harsh. Not undergoing evolution is a dangerous and cruel act. Like stunting a growing child's development simply because one deems it suitable to do so. Evolutions are things that once started can only be put on hold but never stopped, that's why, for longer life species, continuously putting their evolution on hold can be dangerous. They may not be able to properly develop their skills and abilities. They also will inevitably fall into an *emergency forced hibernation after a certain period of time which can be dangerous in and of itself, since unlike forced hibernations and regular hibernations, emergency hibernations take place anywhere at any time regardless of the individual's safety. Often resulting in the death of the individual due to being killed or dying to other elements and conditions. ]
' I see, so it turned out to be a good choice in the end anyways huh? I'm glad. '
Relieved by the words that Azeroth had spoken, Satoru felt the worry wash away from him and he continued watching over the forest as usual.
Over the course of the next week, Satoru had watched and spent time with everyone while keeping a close eye on the situation occurring outside of the forest as well. The events seemed to happen in a blur. Satoru felt extremely exhausted mentally as a result. Because I'm that week, he had lost the life of his child, and Hinato Verdanthel had died.
The boy had always had poor health, it's why his parents were always such worrywarts, it's always why every time Hinato would visit him, he would imbue the boy with small amounts of his direct mana, to extend his life and prolong his health while he waited for the fruit to ripen so that he could give it to him. However, despite what Azeroth said about the " Fruit of Life " ripening in just a couple of days, what that really meant was that it would take less than a year, the amount of time exactly was unknown but to a species that lives easily for a thousand plus years, any time under a year would be referred to as such. That's why, even after several weeks, the fruit had not ripened yet and thus, Hinato did not survive long enough to eat the fruit. Hinato's death occurred while he was resting peacefully against satoru's base, lying in the grass and holding onto a picture that he had just finished drawing. When Hinato fell asleep, Satoru didn't mind it because he was more than used to his children, this one in particular, sleeping against him. However, when over an hour passed and he did not respond to Satoru when he called for him to return home to his parents for dinner, Satoru got worried and knew something was wrong. He checked his pulse using Azeroth and when he found out he had recently passed away Satoru was in shock. Before anything, he called the boy's parents, Jiya and Carole, he told them what happened and apologized profusely. However, to his surprise, despite being obviously devastated about the death, they didn't seem surprised as if they knew already. That didn't seem possible to Satoru because how could they have known they weren't there when it happened and so he asked.
{ You guys don't even seem a little surprised. I know that he was sick but surely you didn't expect for him to die right? }
He hadn't asked to be cruel but he asked because he was genuinely concerned. That's when his parents shook their heads knowingly.
"No… to be honest, we had always held onto hope that he would get better and for a while he did. His health had improved, so did his mood and he even began sleeping better."
Jiya said as he wiped his eyes which teared up as he spoke slowly.
"But.."
Carole began to speak with a dumber and bitter smile on her face as she hugged her hands to her chest tightly. Her small hands balled into fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
" Hinato knew he was dying and wanted to spend his last moments with you."
She said between sniffles as she put on a soft smile. Tears rolling down her face as she spoke. Her voice softly breaking as she nodded resolutely, held by her husband as he silently comforted her while also smiling warmly.
" That's why you can't do anything and have to let him pass away peacefully. Because he wanted to pass away in your care. "
" We're sorry, this must be as hard for you as it is for us too right? We know that you loved him and that you love all of us more than anything. "
After hearing their words, Satoru was overcome with grief and rage. Not directed at them, but at himself.
' What's the point of having powerful skills and being reincarnated if I'm unable to do anything? How could I be just as useless and powerless in this life as I was in the last when I am supposed to be stronger? '
[ Notice ]
[ High levels of stress and depression detected. ]
[ Unusually intense Mana leakage detected. ]
[ Please remain calm— ]
Despite Azeroth warnings, Satoru felt the emotions welling up inside of his very core as it felt like his entire body was getting hotter, and heavier, and breathing(even though he doesn't breath) felt as though it was impossible.
' How can I calm down after this? What am I supposed to do? Why can I do nothing? I couldn't then, I couldn't do anything when I was reincarnated and in hibernation, now, despite all of the mana and skills, I still couldn't do anything, and now, I'm unable to even feel anger or grief? '
While Satoru was busy grieving and angry, he had failed to notice that his mana had been leaking but not just that. It was so Strong and overwhelmingly intense that it was beginning to affect other things. The wind was blowing harshly and the life in the forest from the animals to the grass, flowers, trees and even the elves themselves were overcome with a deep sense of dread, unable to move or breath, unaware of the exact cause. Many of the living creatures fainted or fell down paralyzed and confused, and the grass and soil in the area closest to Satoru began wilting and deteriorating at a rapid speed, The emotions that Satoru had been ignoring for so long started to surface uncontrollably and had a physical and terrifyingly deadly effect on the things around him. Not just that, but his core which was ever expanding began pulsing, quickly corrupting as it devoured the intense negative emotions that Satoru was feeling. Satoru hadn't even noticed the sharp pain coursing through his core as his core grew bigger and literally began devouring the life around him. That was until he heard a frightening cry and he finally gained his consciousness back. Seeing Nyx who had returned to the forest after wandering about the outside of the barrier for a while. Nyx was looking at Satoru and making a loud cry worthy of a demonic beast. His blue fiery mane was flowing and burning intensely as he stomped his hooves into the ground and a huge transparent purple-ish shield-like force formed at the top of his horn and blocked some of the aura from passing. The shield was only big enough to cover him and a small portion of the ground behind him, he could protect a single house at most but the shield could be quite impenetrable if he was taught how to use it properly and that very shield was being used against Satoru's rouge mana in an attempt to protect the forest from meeting the same fate as the dead grass and soil and the deteriorating corpse of the young elf. Once Satoru was brought back to his senses he quickly calmed down and contained his mana and Nyx slowly and hesitantly got rid of the shield and approached Satoru. He himself wasn't affected by the corrupt and *cursed soil. He was a Hellspawn creature afterall, a demonic race and one as strong as him wouldn't be affected by something like this, but if any one of the animals or elves were to approach the corrupted soil they would meet an unsavoury fate. Nyx immediately noticed the small corpse and slowly approached it and bowed his head, his horn brushing against the small body as if mourning and then he let out a heavy huff of steamy air from his lungs. Nyx was sad and his sadness wasn't just because of the child, but also because his master was in such a distraught state.
[ Notice ]
[ Would you Like to use the skill, " Absorption " on the body? ]
Hearing Azeroth's question, the exhausted Satoru responded slowly.
' Why… what would I even-… '
[ Due to the circumstances, the corpse of Hinato Verdanthel is at risk of becoming an undead. To prevent this, the use of the skill " Absorption " is suggested. Would you like to use the skill? Yes , No ]
After hearing the urgent words from Azeroth, Satoru sighed deeply and spoke.
' Yes, use the skill. '
Shortly after confirming that Satoru wanted to use the skill, Satoru felt his roots begin to move and he watched as they moved under the soil and the ground seemed to open up. This caused Nyx, who was resting next to them to move and watch as the large thick roots opened up the ground and countless smaller roots wrapped around the small corpse and slowly began "consuming" it. Before long, the body was gone, not under the dirt, but gone completely, the essence and mana once belonging to the boy was now being absorbed into Satoru and he could feel the warmth of the boy's remaining withering life coursing through him into his core.
After absorbing the body the warmth in his body intensified and he felt a tingling sensation. A bright light enveloped the tree and once it slowly dissipated all that was left was a body. It belonged to Satoru. A naked body that was the same height if not slightly taller than the body of the deceased child that he had just absorbed (standing approximately 157cm), the figure had clear glassy porcelain skin and sharp narrow eyes and long turquoise green flowing hair and their body appeared to be that of a young boys minus the reproductive organs one would have. He had a beauty that made it very easy to mistake him for a cute girl and an intense heterochromatic gaze, his right eye was a bright turquoise greenish colour and his left eye was a bright blue colour that boarded on being turquoise. They had a light iridescent shine in them that made his sharp gaze all the more pronounced and majestic. When the boy stretched his limbs looking over his hands and feet that he now had, he noticed a half withered paper on the ground and picked it up.. it was the picture that Hinato had drawn for him. It was a picture of Hinato smiling happily holding onto a leaf from Satoru, half of his body had been withered away with the missing half of the paper, seeing the paper brought up the remaining feelings Satoru had been holding. A deep sadness, tears fell from his face as he looked at the picture silently.
In the midst of all of the chaos, a sleeping elf began waking up from their slumber.
***
It all happened so fast, it was sudden and unexpected, so much so that even after everything had been settled I needed a moment to process.
When I woke up I immediately knew something was wrong. The forest felt eerily still and quiet which made me feel worried.
When I got out of bed and left my house I was greeted by the sight of the forest in shambles. Withered mana overloaded grass and soil, unconscious animals and siblings. I got all of my siblings to a safe place and laid each of them down as comfortably as I could and made sure that they were safe and covered with warm blankets, then, I did the same to the animals making sure that they were together and safe in areas not affected by the withering. After I was sure that everyone was safe I immediately followed the withering to its source and was shocked, I had been feeling a sense of dread and anxiety as I had worried that maybe something bad had happened to father while I was asleep, but to my surprise instead of the tree being where it should have been, a young androgynous figure stood. I slowly approached and noticed that they were crying, and despite them suppressing their aura, it was still very strong and intense, and beside them stood a still unicorn. It was Nyx. That's when I knew immediately that the figure standing still in place of the tree was father. As he stood crying with a blank emotionless expression, he looked like some kind of celestial being in mourning.
I approached slowly and covered him with a blanket I had brought for any elves or animals that I would find. Luckily it managed to cover him because he was so small, going all the way down to his knees.
"Father.. What happened? Are you.. alright? "
That's when he looked up at me and spoke.
"You're awake. I'm sorry that you had to see this kind of thing as soon as you woke up. You did well, Lanceil. "
His voice was warm and soft. It wasn't as deep as it was before but that was probably due to the fact that he was in the body of a child. It was smooth land clear like water, and he smiled softly, tears in his eyes as he moved a hand to pat my head. Hearing him praise me would have usually made me feel overjoyed and proud. While I was happy and grateful now, it made me feel sad instead. He was smiling but he was sad and instinctively, before knowing the reason why, I had felt the sadness inside of me too.
After I cleansed the area with my skill [ Holy Light ] and got rid of the cursed soil overwhelmed with intense mana, I took father to where the others were and together we cleansed and waited for them to wake up. I had dressed my father in some of my clothes, albeit they were way too big. After everyone woke up, Father carefully explained what had happened and apologized. No one blamed father, not for the death of our young sibling or for the state that everything ended up in afterwards, we mourned and held a funeral. Since there was no body, we simply offered our prayers and blessings, and father used a skill to grow a duplicate " Tree of Life " in the spot that he once stood. There, he built a small shrine and placed all of Hinato's drawings and placed preservation magic on the items and prayed. Shortly after the ritual, the night arrived and slowly, everyone went to their homes to rest. The forest was fine and so were the animals and everyone else. Now that father has a body, even though he doesn't sleep or eat, I couldn't shake the feeling that he should have a home like everyone else. So I let him stay in my home and I began planning where to build his home and the design. It had to be special after all , it's the home that our father would stay in from now on.
** ~~ The Next Evening ~~ **
"So, as promised I'll be hearing you out about your previous request…"
Satoru spoke while looking at Lanceil. His body was no longer that of a child's. Now, he looked more like a teenager or young adult, taller and his features were more well defined and suited for his stoic expression and calm but intense nature. Apparently, he had the ability to change his form as he pleased. He had decided that using a child's body may come in handy at times but it wasn't in any way comfortable. His limbs were short and he also didn't like the idea of looking like a child if he didn't absolutely have to.
' It takes significantly less energy to use the child's form and it takes the most to use an adult or elderly form… interesting. The child is cute, I can't imagine a world where one wouldn't like this form… it's not as cute as the *original though. The adult form is rather…. Hm.. '
Satoru had stood gazing at his clones and they stared back at him silently.
"It's not bad but.. You're way too beautiful. It's uncomfortable."
With that, his clone seemed to be both pleased and slightly insulted. Satoru shook his head and decided to go with an even middle. He hadn't even dared to look at the feminine versions of himself.
"If the male forms are this pretty then the female forms must have killer features. Just the thought makes me shiver, I'll stick with this for now."
'Besides.. until we get settled, this form is the most convenient, none of the clothes fit me as a child, and while I could be an adult it would take so much energy just to keep the form for a while that I'd eventually end up becoming a child again so I'd rather not. Anyways, now that this is done. I should start working towards my plans. '
Satoru flicked his wrist lazily and the clones he had made of himself withered away and blew away like ashes in the wind. Then. Satoru dressed himself in a long white thin coat and a black turtleneck crop-top with slim golden trousers and ankle high black boots. It was a surprisingly decent outfit. In normal cases the outfit would probably, not it would definitely be strange.
' It's way too modern and realistic to be in-game clothes for a fantasy world right? However, while the clothes seem really modernized, clothes like these are rare and expensive. In fact, I'm completely surprised that I've seen them at all. In-game I only had one outfit that was so… modern for lack of batter words. It was an item I had custom made. As a beta tester and loyal player of the game for so long, the devs were very generous to people like me. However… this is no longer a game, it's real, and I've already learned that there's a lot that I don't know and that has changed. If just the clothing is enough to surprise me then I won't be able to have confidence in my survival here. '
Satoru left the room to go and find Lanceil to have a few serious discussions.
***
*AN: (From now on, the journey starts here. I don't intend to have too many more pov switches, and the current pov will now be switched semi-permanently to Satoru's pov. Meaning that pronouns like "He/his, and such will not be used anymore(or at least not as often. Neither will the name Satoru, it will mostly just be "I/me/my" pronouns. I only wanted to clear up future concerns before they arise, please feel free to continue reading.)
"More importantly, how do you plan to start a religious following? Where exactly would you go to worship, do you even have a church layout designed, or someone to build it? How about a place for it to be built, and arguably, what followers and what god would you have and follow? Even if I allowed such a thing, have you truly thought about and considered all of the most rudimentary aspects?"
I sat across from Lanceil, legs crossed and a blank expression. I sipped my hot tea while waiting for his response. My tone was stern but it wasn't meant to deter him in the slightest. I simply couldn't help but be this way. More than it just being my personality, it was because of the knowledge I had from experience.
"Creating anything in your head is simple but bringing forth those ideas into reality won't be so easy no matter who you are. Not if you don't have a proper plan. So then, we need to start from the beginning. Make a goal, create a plan, and execute that plan step by step to the best of your abilities until you reach your goal. "
To sum up the entire meeting, things went like this; Lanceil will become the head of the church which we will begin building. Or rather, he will; begin building it. He believes that as the one who had the idea to start a religion that he needs to be the one putting in the most effort. I agreed and so I sent Lanceil out to search for a proper place to build a church. I didn't send him alone though, not that I was worried about his ability to fend for himself but.. I created a clone and gave it orders to help Lanceil on his journey.