[Master, the treasures look real, and the energy emitted from them is many times stronger than any SS-Grade item,] Thea’s melodious voice reported. A system panel materialized before Sunny, showing shimmering images of the artifacts. [But as my Omni-Cognition talent is just SS-Grade, I cannot check the status of these items. Portals also do not work on them; we will need to pick these treasures up manually.]
"Hmm... It looks real," Sunny murmured, his gaze lingering on the image of a single, luminous pill. In his mind’s eye, he didn’t see an artifact; he saw a vision of a healthy, restored Adam, the old god’s weary soul finally freed from the curse that was slowly erasing him.
"If it is real, I want this pill before any other treasure," Sunny said, his voice firm. "Who has the portal closest to it?"
[Master, the closest God is named Maneken, an S-Grade talent holder. Kitsune is also at some distance. The bad thing is, both of them are not in the Pantheon.]
"Truly bad luck," Sunny sighed. "Who is the closest to this treasure in our Pantheon then?" The portal of that God would be their gateway, their first step to securing the pill.
[Master, God Reflection has the portal nearest to this treasure.]
"Oh, Reflection," Sunny said. He sent a direct, private message to him, notifying him to keep his eyes on the treasure from a distance with the help of a demigod. With his scout in place, Sunny turned his attention to his own forces.
"Thea, call all the demigods back from wherever they are. It’s time for a meeting," Sunny commanded, his voice echoing with urgency. "Use the portals to call them. We don’t have much time." His prime focus now was to increase the strength of his demigods.
In just five minutes, they began to arrive. From every corner of the cosmos they served, the demigods of races and the demigods of laws appeared in the God space of Sunny. They stood in a silent, reverent line before his throne, arranged according to the hierarchy of their creation—a tradition born not from Sunny’s command, but from their own deep-seated respect.
At the head of the line, magnificent and magestic, stood Nova, the Guardian of Veridia. As the demigod of space and time, and the mother of dragons and the Dragonborn, her presence was a calm, steady anchor in the swirling cosmos.
Beside her, Umbra coalesced from the very shadows of the God space. The SSS-Grade Ring of Shadow on her shadowy finger pulsed with a quiet menace. She was the Demigod of Shadows, a silent assassin, a supportive power that could provide any buff at a whim.
Then came Shenlong, the demigod of miracles and hope, his serpentine form radiating a gentle, benevolent power, a being who could achieve anything if you held hope in your heart. He was followed by the grinning, ever-shifting form of Loki, the demigod of mischief and deception. His illusions were so perfect that no demigod, other than Nova and Mammon with their profound talents in perception, could hope to see through them.
A shimmering projection of pure energy solidified into the form of Thea, the demigod of communication and connection, the living system who bound them all together.
Next stood Isiah, the Demigod of Knowledge and caretaker of the Divine Library. His knowledge was so vast it felt as if he knew everything, and he truly did; every new talent, technique, or spell born in the multiverse was known to him and stored in his library. He was followed by the hulking, menacing form of Cerberus, the demigod of death and torture, the sole caretaker of the Netherworld.
Eighth in line was the divine pair, Uranus and Gaia, the Demigods of Life, rebirth, and reincarnation, their angelic wings folded serenely behind them. After them stood Mammon, the demigod of Greed, a trader whose debts must always be paid in full, and who was currently the strongest among them because of his unique talent.
The tenth and final demigod of a law was Sugata, the newest entry to their army, a being of peace whose contracts bound even gods.
Behind these great powers stood the progenitors of the races, a living testament to Veridia’s diversity. There was the human demigod, Aethel, a tall and burly man from whom an aura of pure strength radiated. Beside him was the beautiful elven demigod, Valeria, whose every graceful move crackled with mana.
The demigod of titans, Goliath, sat in a lotus position, yet his size was large enough to match Nova’s, the power clear in his coiled muscles. Then came Broc, the demigod of giants, five times the size of a human, his tusks sending chills into the surrounding space.
The chimera Kaelan, demigod of the Beastfolks, looked agile, dangerous, and strong all at once. From a summoned pool of water rose the seven-headed serpentine form of Hydra, demigod of the merfolks, its predatory gaze silent and watchful.
There was the dwarf demigod Magnus, tiny in stature but with a hammer in hand and an aura that spoke of an all-consuming passion for crafting.
The robot Nexus of the Machina race stood with him, each of his body parts hiding a lethal weapon. Then came Flicker, the demigod of the pixies, small enough to be caught in a human’s hand but agile enough to never be caught; the radiant Lumina, demigod of the fairies, an embodiment of light magic; the powerful, green-skinned Kargath, the demigod of the orcs; and finally, Diabolo, the demigod of demons, his black eye sockets and crimson pupils marking him unique to the humans and elves.
This was the army of demigods under Sunny’s command.
He glanced at his faith points, the number shimmering at a staggering 25 trillion, a testament to the faith spent by all the new Gods in his Pantheon. The net profit would have been far greater, but the consumption was also enormous, the main drain being his demigods and the lifeforms Thea was nurturing.
He rose from his throne, his cosmic robe swirling around him as he looked upon his creations. "It’s time to give you the strength you desire," he commanded, his voice echoing with purpose and power. "Speak your mind."