34 Submission Mildly NSFW (1/2)
[To activate your 'Earth Control' power, merely will the earth beneath your feet to listen to you. You are a god.] The voice of the system entered my mind quickly, reminding me of who and what I was, presumably to explain why this might feel easy. I listened to its mechanical instructions with a casualness that would have probably been off-putting for a mortal. I nodded and closed my eyes.
I ignored the not-so-mini-map which sprang into being immediately as my eyes shut. Instead, I focused on the ground beneath me and imagined it bending to my will. I imagined it being subservient to the one who was, in essence, its master. I imagined the earth greeting me as a domesticated animal would greet the human or humanoid who took care of it.
I focused on that mental picture for a few moments before I willed the earth beneath my feet to jut upward a meter, creating a platform for me and then scoot forward.
I was pleasantly surprised when it obeyed me, and I felt the ground under my feet seem to come alive. The patch of forested ground I was on suddenly visibly rose up and proceeded to dash forward, allowing me to effortlessly speed on a strange, organic platform towards the ogress who was trying to flee from me. I chuckled as I began to give chase to the woman.
I willed the thing in her direction but turned my gaze downward to examine what was now speeding me towards the terrified ogre. I stood atop a strange platform composed of soil and stone. Directly underneath my feet was a rolling platform of soil, pebbles, and larger rock. I was perfectly balanced atop it, and the thing moved with surprising speed.
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As I was ushered towards the speeding ogress I took a few moments to ask my companion another question. This one was an idle curiosity I had thought about while on my way to the ogresses but one that I didn't have the time to question then and there.
”So... undead can worship gods, which makes me wonder would about the metaphysics of the undead. Are there any differences between worship received by mortals and worship received by the undead?” I inquired, hoping to begin to understand the differences between creatures a bit more.
There was silence on the other end of the mental ”line” that tied the system and I together. It took the thing a few moments to reply to me, moments during which I was stoically conveyed by the very earth itself towards my quarry.
[It is... incredibly difficult for undead worshipers to grant you progress towards good domains and subdomains. Many types of undead also can't help you gain influence over domains and subdomains that require or reward independent thinking. And lesser undead do not have souls, which you'd think would be a bigger deal than it actually ends up being given the countless treatises mortals have written about souls.] The system explained, taking on a scholarly tone as it spoke.
I nodded, the movement quick and appreciative as the system wrapped up its explanation. ”So what sort of undead creatures exist?” I asked, taking this downtime as a way to begin to build my knowledge of the nature of undeath.
[Plenty. Some of them are really weak though. Those are things like the creatures you know as 'Hungry Hands', zombies, skeletons, shadows, and bloody bushes. Greater undead creatures, monsters like ghouls, ghosts, mummies, and liches also exist. But the truly great undead are creatures you can't yet begin to imagine. You just have too little experience in the world to be able to wrap your mind, as it is, around them.] My companion revealed, teasing me a bit at the end.
I chuckled and took that as a polite way of telling me that I needed to work to gain more knowledge and experience. I rolled my eyes at the thing and refocused on the scene in front of me. I was going to learn about those mysterious greater undead one day.
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Iret was dashing through the forest, her steps crushing leaves and roots underfoot. She was fast, faster than one might have thought possible given her size, but nowhere near fast enough to escape me. In moments I was on her trail, my ability to reach her made even more efficient by my mini-map tracking her in real-time.
”Hello once again.” I said to her, as I stood motionless on my mobile platform. I heard her gasp out in terror, her heartbeat becoming a terrified and explosive noise as she realized that I had effortlessly caught up to her. She tried to dash faster, actually slipping past me for a second, and I mentally urged my platform to speed up. It rocketed forward, allowing me to reach her once again.
Her heartbeat was hammering against her ribcage, audibly so at this point. As I reached her again I looked at her and studied her form. Her skin was glistening with sweat, and her brow was practically drenched. Her sweat quickly vanished underneath her fur armor, and I watched this happen to a few different drops of the stuff with rapt fascination.
After a few seconds of idly standing beside the cowardly ogress, I opened my mouth and began to speak. As I did so I envisioned my voice sapping her of the will to stubbornly deny the logic of what I was about to say.
”So what's the game plan here? Are you hoping you'll escape me? Because in case you can't tell, you can't. There is no escaping me now that I've laid my eyes on you. But more than that, you don't even know what I want. I told you I was a god, you laughed, I froze the woman you hate, and then you fled.” I said, pointing out that her actions weren't based on much knowledge.
”I'll freely admit petrifying your hated foe may not have given you the impression of me I wanted to convey, but in fairness, I was reacting to you two. And so I wanted to make a show of what I could do. Now, why don't you just... stop running and hear me out?” I asked, pouring kindness and understanding into my voice.
Iret looked at me, still sprinting. She had an impressive form while running, one that implied that she was more athletic than I had originally thought. Her legs deftly carried her a few dozen meters away from the statue that had once been and would be again the living form of her hated superior.
She had a look of contemplation on her face, contemplation, and fear. It lasted for a few seconds. And then she began to slow to a stop.
As she stopped I whipped the platform around and turned the thing so that it was in front of her. She towered above me, but her fear made her feel far smaller. I chuckled at her, examining her height with an impressed stare.
She was a powerfully built woman, she had to be given her ability to flee from me and get so far in what was actually only half a minute. We stood perhaps half a kilometer away from Okig's statued form. Iret had long legs and powerful looking arms. Her limbs were thick, and currently glistening with the afterglow of her physical exertions.
I took a step back, widening my platform as I did so. And then I wordlessly motioned for her to step onto the platform and thus join me atop it. When she hesitated I rolled my eyes at her and readied myself to make what I felt was a great point.
”If you don't do as I say, I could just turn you into a statue.” I lazily explained. This caused her eyes to widen in terror and she energetically stepped onto the platform. Perhaps a bit too energetically, as she actually almost fell backward shortly after joining me. I rolled my eyes at the ogress and caught her by mentally manipulating the earth around her to steady the woman. Once she was secure I mentally urged the earthen platform to take us back towards Okig.
The platform sprinted towards where it had come into being. It was even faster now than before.
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In a matter of moments, we reached the place where Okig's statued body was currently standing. As we did so I studied my first work of art. The frozen ogress was locked into place with a look of horror and discomfort permanently etched onto her face.
Once the platform had come to a complete stop I willed it to return to its natural positioning. The platform faded back into the earth, and Iret and I were lowered back to floor level. I then took my first step since I chased down Iret and got her to come back here. I stepped away from the ogress and took another look at her.
She was visibly afraid, trembling more now than she had been before. The look of childish, almost primal fear on her face was both surprising and amusing.
”Why are you so afraid?” I asked her, genuinely not understanding why she was so terrified. I could understand a bit of fear, to be sure, but she seemed truly terrified of me. She looked at me, silently for a few seconds before beginning to speak.
”Because you de-defe-defeated Okig before she even knew you were hostile. And because you knew that I hated Okig. Heck, you just knowing Okig's name is weird. I don't know what you can do, and what you know, but I know you shouldn't know that I hated her.” The ogress explained. I was impressed for a moment when I realized this meant she had been paying attention to what I said earlier. That improved my impression of her just a bit.
”You were already scared and you already picked up on that. Not bad Iret.” I muttered, expressing that she impressed me. I chuckled after that and began to speak again.
”I am not your enemy. In fact, I am actually your master.” I began, which elicited a sudden but subtle reaction in the eyes of the ogress. There was a flare of anger that flashed in them. It made me grin at her.
”Calm yourself Iret. Petrifying your friend was the least of my powers. She already serves me. And if I don't wish her to be in that pose...” I said, threateningly, before attempting to mentally command the statue in the same manner I commanded the earth.
”Move your arms. Bring them to your sides.” I mentally told the statue, hoping that the thing would obey me as smoothly as the earth had.
”She doesn't have to be.” I audibly said, as Iret turned to look at the statue in fear. And then the thing's arms fell to its sides. They were stiff limbs, but the sight of the action was enough to once again unnerve Iret.
”You are already my possession. I do not wish to harm you. I just want you to realize the truth.” I told the ogress, speaking calmly and soothingly. I even grinned at her.
”That said, if you're still feeling rebellious, I can have Okig keep you company. Okig is only happy to serve, aren't you Okig?” I asked, allowing my voice to wash over both of them. And then I focused on the statue and willed its lips to flip into an eerie smile.
The thing's lips obeyed me and curled silently, as if of their own volition. The sight of the statue's lips moving was a deeply unsettling one, but that made it all the more effective. Iret took a step back, her eyes widening in shocked terror at the sight. But the sight of it made me have a question for the system.
”Since the statue is a petrified person... is it aware of things?” I asked, curiously. My question was an inward one. I heard a soft chuckle come from the system.
[No. But... do us a favor and develop this thought a bit. Because we can design divine powers. If you want to design something that doesn't exist and you tell us what you're thinking, you'll earn that immediately.] The system revealed, causing my eyes to widen in shock. A pleasant shock, one that filled me with excitement.
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In the depths of my mind, I took a second to envision Okig gaining some sort of awareness. But not quite an actual awareness. Instead, the ogress would gain an awareness I could manipulate. One that I could control.
At that moment I felt an alien urge well up within me. The urge was powerful, but also clearly unnatural.
”What should I do about this?” I asked myself, honestly unsure of how to approach this.
[If you experiment with it your powers now, there might be rewards later.] Suggested the system. There was a sinister smile audible in its voice, like it was testing me. But if I was being honest, that did sound tempting. The part of me that wanted to experiment with my lust-based powers felt dark and sinister, but I recognized that it was a legitimate part of me, albeit one that was being egged on by some foreign influence.
[So you've already noticed huh? Not bad. It's important that you have some awareness that the domains and subdomains can influence you. It'll only grow stronger as you grow older and more powerful. Do you want to resist it this time?] My companion asked me, genuine curiosity audible in its voice. I considered what to say for a second.
”Honestly? I kind of want to see what happens if I indulge a domain or subdomain for a bit... And if I opt to indulge the domain of corruption, at least at this low level of influence and with the sin of lust, I won't kill or permanently harm someone right?” I asked, mostly asking myself. I heard a gentle chuckle from the system.
[In fairness... you are choosing to use this power on an ogress. We, the domains and I, can assure you that's she done far more vile things to other creatures than anything you choose to do to her.] The system promised, attempting to assuage my consciousness. I had to suppress a chuckle. A not so small part of me wanted to be mean, but I had to work to contain that part of myself. I was able to do so, but it took a lot of self-control on my part.
[Well... it won't cause you to do something you can't undo. So what do ya say? Why not be curious for a second?] The entity asked. I grinned and nodded.
”Help me design something fun.” I told the system, a dark joy audible in my mental voice. And then a sinister idea came to my mind.
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”Can you design a power that allows me to control what Okig perceives while she's in the statue? Especially a perception wherein I could cause her to feel pleasure while trapped in her stony state? I want to use the time she's helpless to make her experience a sort of addictive pleasure that makes her want to serve me.” I explained, consciously aware that this was almost certainly caused by the influence of the subdomain of corruption.
[So wait, you want to pump her full of lust and pleasure while she's a statue?] The system asked. I could hear the tone of its voice and knew that it was asking this to help me push my idea.
”Yes. But if it's at all possible I don't want whatever power we create to be limited to making her feel pleasure. I want this power to be able to allow me to inflict pain, fear, happiness, anger, a range of emotions and sensations, on those I petrify. A sort of upgrade to my 'petrification mastery' power.” I explained, hoping that the system could make it happen.
There was silence on the other end of the mental link the system and I shared. And then I received a pleasant alert.
[Alert: You can now use a new synergistic power. This power is dubbed 'Stone Prison'.