Chapter 9: Chapter 9 - The Eyes of Other Gods
Chapter 9 — The Eyes of Other Gods
The shrine suddenly felt much smaller.
Much colder too.
The moment Lady Seraphine said other gods had noticed me, the atmosphere changed completely.
Until now, everything had almost felt manageable.
A village.
Some monsters.
A suspicious saintess.
Accidental religion.
But this?
This was different.
Real gods.
Ancient beings ruling kingdoms and divine factions.
And somehow...
their attention was turning toward me.
Fantastic.
Absolutely fantastic.
The red energy lingering in the shrine slowly faded away.
But the uneasiness remained.
Elena stepped closer to Lady Seraphine immediately.
"Can they locate him already?"
Seraphine’s silver eyes narrowed slightly.
"Not precisely."
Good.
Very good.
Let’s keep it that way forever please.
The goddess looked toward me calmly.
"But new divine authorities create disturbances within spiritual currents."
Translation: I accidentally announced my existence to the universe.
Wonderful.
I rubbed my forehead tiredly.
"So what exactly happens when gods notice each other?"
Elena answered before Seraphine could.
"That depends on the god."
Not reassuring.
"At best," Elena continued, "they investigate."
"And at worst?"
Silence.
That silence answered enough.
Seraphine finally spoke quietly.
"Some gods destroy threats before they can grow."
Yeah.
That sounded about right.
Powerful beings rarely enjoy competition.
Especially unpredictable competition.
The blue divine core inside my chest pulsed uneasily.
Almost instinctively reacting to danger.
I frowned slightly.
Interesting.
My authority was becoming more alive.
More responsive.
Was that normal?
Or another weird side effect of Earth’s spiritual system?
Honestly I had no idea anymore.
Seraphine slowly walked toward the shrine entrance.
Silver light flowed around her softly.
"You possess potential unlike any authority currently active in this region."
That sounded both exciting and life-threatening.
Elena crossed her arms thoughtfully.
"Technology adapts too quickly."
Exactly.
That was the scary part.
Most divine authorities sounded fixed.
Fire.
War.
Healing.
Protection.
But technology?
Technology evolves endlessly.
Meaning my authority could theoretically absorb concepts forever.
Communication.
Transportation.
Information.
Weapons.
Artificial intelligence.
The internet.
If faith shaped divine power...
then modern human civilization itself was basically an infinite source of conceptual evolution.
Holy crap.
No wonder the original God of Technology dominated Earth.
Seraphine looked directly into my eyes.
"You must grow carefully."
I nodded slowly.
"Any suggestions?"
The goddess actually smiled slightly.
"Do not announce yourself dramatically to every village you encounter."
Elena immediately looked at me.
"...That explains a lot actually."
Rude.
Technically true again.
But rude.
I sighed deeply.
"To be fair, I wasn’t planning to become a god when I arrived here."
Both women became silent briefly.
Then surprisingly—
Seraphine laughed softly.
A quiet elegant laugh.
"Perhaps that makes you more dangerous than those who do."
Interesting answer.
And slightly concerning.
The shrine doors suddenly opened behind us.
Chief Rowan rushed inside nervously.
"Lady Seraphine! Lord Kaiser!"
He stopped immediately upon seeing the goddess directly.
Then nearly collapsed from shock.
"D-Divine Mother..."
The poor man looked seconds away from fainting.
Seraphine’s expression softened kindly.
"Rise, Rowan."
The chief obeyed shakily.
Honestly, watching actual divine interactions was fascinating.
The difference between Seraphine and me was enormous.
She didn’t need dramatic performances.
Her presence alone inspired faith naturally.
Ancient gods probably accumulated overwhelming divine pressure over centuries.
Meanwhile I was basically running a startup religion with emergency phone applications.
Big difference.
Rowan looked toward me anxiously.
"Forgive the interruption, but travelers arrived at the village gates."
Everyone became alert immediately.
Elena frowned.
"Travelers?"
The chief nodded nervously.
"A merchant caravan."
That didn’t sound too bad.
Then he added—
"They claim they sensed a divine miracle here."
Ah.
There it is.
News spreading already.
Seraphine’s expression hardened slightly.
"That was faster than expected."
The goddess turned toward me seriously.
"You must remain cautious."
Elena immediately nodded.
"If outsiders discover a newly awakened god exists without an established temple..."
She didn’t finish.
Didn’t need to.
Predators smell vulnerability.
And currently?
I was spiritually equivalent to a newborn animal pretending to be a lion.
A very charismatic lion.
But still.
Seraphine’s projection flickered weakly again.
The goddess sighed softly.
"My strength cannot remain manifested much longer."
Elena’s worried expression returned instantly.
"My lady—"
Seraphine gently raised one hand.
"I know."
The silver light around her slowly dimmed.
Before disappearing completely, she looked toward me one final time.
"Kaiser."
The way she said my name felt strangely heavy.
"Your world lost its gods."
I nodded quietly.
"But perhaps..." Seraphine continued softly, "...that world also created something entirely new."
The blue core inside my chest pulsed.
Strongly.
Then the goddess vanished.
Silver particles drifted through the shrine briefly before fading away completely.
Silence filled the room.
Chief Rowan still looked spiritually destroyed from witnessing his goddess directly.
Honestly understandable.
Elena stared quietly at the place Seraphine disappeared.
For a moment, she looked smaller somehow.
More vulnerable.
Like seeing her goddess weakened reminded her how fragile everything truly was.
Then she looked toward me.
"We need to deal with the merchants carefully."
Back to serious mode immediately.
Impressive professionalism.
I nodded slightly.
"What’s the danger?"
"Information."
Makes sense.
Faith spread through stories.
And stories traveled faster than armies.
If rumors about a new god spread too quickly...
stronger divine factions might investigate.
Which sounded very unhealthy for me.
We exited the shrine together.
Outside, villagers immediately gathered anxiously.
Some clearly noticed Seraphine’s divine manifestation earlier.
Chief Rowan raised his hands quickly.
"Everyone remain calm!"
Nobody remained calm.
Naturally.
The villagers instantly surrounded us with questions.
"Was Lady Seraphine truly here?"
"Did she bless the village?"
"Did she speak with Lord Kaiser?"
Oh no.
The mythology was evolving again.
Elena handled it smoothly.
"Lady Seraphine blessed Erald for surviving the corruption crisis."
Technically true.
Nice.
The villagers erupted into emotional prayers immediately.
Meanwhile, I noticed something disturbing nearby.
A group of children had built a tiny wooden shrine dedicated to me overnight.
Complete with badly carved symbols.
One child proudly held up a drawing.
"Look! I made Lord Kaiser’s divine artifact!"
It was my phone.
Or at least a horrifying medieval interpretation of it.
The drawing looked like a cursed brick possessed by lightning.
Honestly?
Pretty accurate considering their understanding.
I crouched slightly beside them.
"You built this?"
The children nodded excitedly.
One little boy grinned.
"The God of Technology protects us!"
Warm divine energy flowed into me again.
Stronger now.
Cleaner somehow.
Faith from children felt different.
Pure.
Simple.
Dangerous realization: innocent belief generated enormous power.
I quickly stood before my conscience started feeling guilty again.
Elena watched me quietly.
"You’re smiling."
I blinked slightly.
Was I?
"...Maybe."
Interesting.
I hadn’t smiled this much on Earth in years.
The village suddenly became noisy near the front gates.
People moved aside nervously.
The merchant caravan had arrived.
Five large wagons entered slowly while armed guards scanned the village carefully.
The merchants wore darker clothing than the villagers.
Cleaner too.
More educated perhaps.
One older man riding the lead wagon narrowed his eyes immediately when he noticed the shrine glow nearby.
Then his gaze landed on me.
And froze.
Ah.
Not good.
The divine energy around me must’ve been visible now.
The merchant quickly climbed down from his wagon.
Unlike the villagers, he didn’t kneel immediately.
Interesting.
Experienced around divine matters perhaps.
But he did lower his head respectfully.
"I am Dorian Vale," he introduced carefully.
"A merchant of the western trade routes."
I nodded calmly.
"Kaiser."
His eyes sharpened instantly.
Just hearing my name affected him.
Interesting.
Dorian glanced subtly toward the villagers surrounding me.
Toward the tiny shrine.
Toward the glowing blue traces still lingering faintly around my divine core.
The man was analyzing everything rapidly.
Smart.
Very smart.
Dangerous too.
"You arrived during unusual circumstances," he said carefully.
Elena stepped slightly closer beside me.
Protective positioning.
Interesting.
Dorian noticed it too.
Then his expression changed subtly.
Recognition.
Ah.
He knew who Elena was.
Which meant—
he also understood how significant this situation might be.
The merchant smiled politely.
"But perhaps fortune favors us."
That sentence immediately activated every survival instinct I possessed.
Because on Earth, whenever businessmen smiled like that...
someone was about to profit.
And in this world?
Faith itself was the most valuable currency imaginable.
