Right now, I'm sitting here in another dimension, drinking explicitly not-coffee in a cafe, to discuss the current state of the local main god.
I don't mean to freak out about this, but I think it's important to sometimes call the weirdness of a situation back to mind.
I gather my thoughts and make extra sure that the ignore-us field is in place around us before speaking.
"Alright, what exactly do you have to tell us about Aureas?" (I)
"Well, foremost, that he isn't doing his job. Which in itself is a huge issue, both to the development of the People, as well as to his own sustainability." (So)
What does this mean, "he isn't doing his job"?
How can a god stop what he's doing?
Okay, I dodge my responsibilities as well, but at least I have the decency to avoid even getting started with any commitments.
This makes me better, right?
Right?
"So he isn't being the god here anymore?" (C)
"Well, factually, he still is. I even started some advertising matters to keep it like that, so I may uphold my part of our pact. However, he isn't making this easy for me. For decades already he has refused to do more than the absolute minimum. Barely anyone experiences breakthroughs in their personal development. Of course, souls develop even without assistance, but I dread the day the mortals become aware of that fact. I certainly preferred it when this amplifier got a hand in this. Since then, the artisans always remained rather mediocre in my opinion. Not to speak of that he also quelled some more "questionable" personal advancements." (So)
I seriously don't wish to dwell on what she could possibly mean by that.
Oh damn, Aureas was basically a minor!
Just what did he have to see in all this time?
"Uh, are those 'questionable practices' the reason why he became like this?" (C)
Sure Chiaki!
Why not pull out that sledgehammer?!
"I won't say that it didn’t play a part, but no, at least it wasn't a key factor. It's more of a realization of vanity. When disaster struck, our little god certainly did his best. However, he soon realized that the interests of people shift in response to the times they're living in. When you don't have enough food for the next day, as the storages collapsed upon the stocks, your homes came down, and your family is simply gone, at those times self-improvement becomes less of a factor, as artisans aren't as much in demand while you care more about surviving the next day. This reflected back to our god, who became doubtful in his own abilities, just as his People became doubtful about their own fate." (So)
I feel like what happened here will haunt me for a long time.
The only thing I can currently do is suppress my guilty conscience, as I don't know how I would handle it if I were to confront myself with the full scale of my actions.
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They seem to have recovered from it, and even thrived in the aftermath of the destruction, given what numbers they reached already, yet I should face it that Aureas might not be happy to see me.
Nonetheless, I have to talk to him, as I at least bear responsibility for the god I created to not only make certain he carries out his duties, but more importantly, to make sure he is fine.
There are far too many stories about neglected gods who became assholes.
Nope, won't happen here.
"So, uh, where is Aureas?" (I)
"Great question, Iori!" (C)
Sigh.
"Of course, in his sanctuary. Yet as I understand it, he claimed it from you." (So)
Eh, come again?
"I can read your face. To clarify, there was apparently some room within the first building you created that was conveniently cut off from the rest of the world, from where you could observe all of the civilization. He found it appropriate to claim in response to your revelation. Or he just wanted to come back at you. This could be it as well." (So)
That guy claimed my room!?
It's mine!
"Grmbl"
At this, a lot of people seem distressed, some even going as far as to throw themselves on the ground.
"Iori! You need to calm down! You can't do that here!" (C)
She's right.
Especially, now that I know what this did to all these people in the past.
I force my mind to calm down again and signal Soraja to proceed.
"Also, it's apparently rather comfortable in amenities. He seemed to find particular enjoyment in a so-called 'gaming console'. I'm not unfamiliar with the term, but never found much interest in this subject. I doubt it's of much importance." (So)
My console!?
Has anyone any idea how frickin' expensive that thing was?!
"Grmble"
Promptly, I get smacked in the face by a fluffy tail.
"I'm not telling you stuff only for you to freak out and threaten to eradicate everything I built up here!" (So)
"Yeah, it's a bit much over an electronic device, Iori." (C)
You don't get to talk to me about being "too much", Chiaki!
Still, I get that I might overreact here a little.
I mean, that thing basically did lie around here since the beginning of time in this dimension.
Oh my god, the accumulated wear on it!
I don't even want to imagine what the surface looks like by now!
No!
No, you have to focus here, Iori.
"Alright, you said he's at the castle?" (I)
Instinctually, I let my gaze wander.
Of course not my real one.
While the surrounding buildings aren't all that high, it's literally impossible to see anything beyond from my vantage point in this plaza.
Instead, I create eyes far above the city, kept up in the air by their anchoring in reality.
From here out I swipe across the landscape, to search for my castle.
Yet it's more difficult than I thought.
I can somewhat remember the outline of the river, but it's hard to make out any distinguishing features.
Even though the castle was a fairly iconic construct.
I mean, I was sure it was just there, but so much has changed.
Even the hill seems to be gone.
I can barely recognize...
Wait a moment!
"Ehm, Soraja, what happened to the castle?" (I)
I can't find it where it used to stand.
In its stead, there's now some other huge complex on a hill, but that's not even close to the cliff fortress that was there before.
"You mean that stone structure on a sloped mountain, with at best questionable statical architecture? Yes, that one didn't even make it through the first quakes." (So)
Excuse me!?
My castle is gone?!
"Gr-"
No!
No quakes this time!
If there's anyone in charge of quaking I want you to put a stop to this!
"It's gone? But you just said he would live in my old room that was in the castle." (I)
"Yes. He claimed this place as his base. Aureas is right there." (So)
Soraja uses her tail and points with it at a certain angle, roughly to where my castle used to stand.
I follow the direction she's pointing at, keep looking, check again the trajectory of the tail, check with my other eyes the indicated space, and check thrice if those eyes aren't just playing a trick on me.
There, floating up in the air, is a block of stone.
A construct of decent width, with a terrace to one side.
It doesn't take much to do the mental comparing to identify it somewhat with the floor where my room used to be.
It may be the same, just that it's now floating, really far above the city.
WTF!