171 Learning About Htrae (1/2)
The two Htreaian humans who just entered Geoffrey's kitchen were his children. Geoffrey turned to them and began to smile happily, before speaking while also motioning for them to sit down in front of me.
”Good morning my children!” He said, sounding quite chipper. There was a brightness in his eyes that helped hide the bit of fanaticism in them that I could clearly see and feel radiating from him. My ability to detect emotions allowed me to detect the fanaticism he felt towards me which was a consequence of the powers I used on him moments after we met.
I turned to Geoffrey's children, smiled, and activated two potent powers of mine at once: ”Ascension”, and ”Aura of Authority”. Both of these powers were significantly powerful law-based abilities that cemented my authority. One of them, ”Ascension” was, in essence, an empowered version of one of my faith-domain abilities, and the other ”Authority Aura” was an auric power that informed creatures that I was an incredibly powerful creature of law and authority.
I quietly performed a surface-level reading of their minds while their vision clouded over from the notification they received. Purely coincidentally I was able to read the notification as it filled their heads.
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[Alert: In The Presence Of A God
You are standing in front of a god, a supreme being who embodies power, creation, destruction, and more. You stand in front of Althos, a god of things as primordial as love, law, and nature.
Althos himself is a god who leans more towards embodying the ”power” aspect of his species, and as such is a powerful being of law and change. He is capable of healing entire planets and civilizations that recognize his power need not fear starvation or defeat. He understands his innate position as a creature that exists at the top of hierarchies, and many of his powers help mortals quickly begin to recognize that as well.
He is also a primal entity and god of love and standing in his presence without feeling his powers tug at the mind and claim portions of the heart is impossible for mortals. Even now you can no doubt feel his proximity wearing away at you. Embrace it and surrender to the joy he can bring you.
If you submit to him, worship him, and vow to obey him, he shall protect your whole family. All who serve are protected and join an interplanetary faith that ensures that they and their families will live long and prosperous lives.
Submit.]
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I turned to Geoffrey and asked if he could give me some water, as I gave him the mug I had created. He joyfully turned back to me, accepted the mug, and got up out of his seat. When he turned his back to me, I turned back towards his two children and activated my powers in full.
I gazed at them as I turned on the full, unrestrained potential of a few of my abilities. But I had a plan in place. I intended to test the powers, but not permanently. And to do so in an impermanent way, I would need to test two of my other abilities, ones I had never used before.
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The entity that calmly sat at the kitchen was a creature of many things. He was a creature of vast power, of considerable curiosity, and a being who was filled with many truly terrifying abilities. And the moment he turned his gaze back at the children of Geoffrey Finigan, it was clear that he was momentarily allowing his curiosity to be at the forefront of his mind.
For a single brief instant, the young man and the young woman who gazed upon the god were subjected to the full and unrestrained effects of a few different abilities. The first was the potent ability known as ”Absolute beauty”, which was a passive power of Althos' that was always in effect but was usually more than a bit muted. But the one second it wasn't, it's true and sinister effects took hold in the minds of the human mortals who happened to be looking at the young god.
Saoirse Finagan, a bisexual woman, instantly felt her heart be snatched away from her and from her boyfriend. Althos' potent powers washed over her and seeped into the deepest crevices of her soul. It was an irresistible, mind, and heart altering wave of divine force that didn't care what relationships it destroyed. In some ways, it reflected Althos' own cold attitudes towards mortals.
Althos ultimately favored negotiating and gaining the worship of mortals of their own volition, but he was more than willing to destroy their minds and then remake them in a way that suited him. He had done it in the past with creatures like Ygaynth, Glacial, and Milene, and was quietly getting over his reluctance to do it to more creatures, as this act of curiosity demonstrated.
That said, ”Absolutely beauty” wasn't the only power of his he freely unleashed here. Althos sensed Saoirse's heart become his, and so he turned away from Geoffrey's daughter and instead turned towards Geoffrey's son, Seamus. His eyes coolly washed over the young man, and for a single moment, he wondered what to do with him. And then he began to smile cruelly.
The god was a man on a mission, and that mission involved making a cult in this world. To do that he needed loyal and fanatical followers. And so he started with Seamus.
As Geoffrey began to fill Althos' mug with water, the god himself beckoned for Seamus to come forth. The mortal did so, happily. Althos placed one of his hands on the human's chest and activated two of the new and dark powers he possessed: ”Love negation” and ”Relationship modification”. By fusing those powers Althos got a chance to gaze at the relationships Seamus had built over the course of his life. He got a chance to see all of the people that Seamus loved, including his family.
Althos didn't modify how the man felt about his family, for he wanted the family to be the center of the cult, but he did modify the other relationships Geoffrey had made and his modifications weren't subtle. Using ”Love negation”, Althos destroyed the other relationships Seamus had made with people outside of his family, and he had to work to suppress a grin as he did so.
As Althos' powers wrecked the relationships Seamus had made over the course of his life, he also activated a few particularly nasty abilities. He began to actively crush Seamus' sanity using ”Maddening touch” and began to turn the young man into a fanatic of his utilizing ”Fanaticism Inducement”.
Seamus felt relief and gratitude surge into him even as the god's touch actively corroded his sanity and bent his mind towards the god. The god coldly considered kissing the young man, but after a moment decided against it. It wasn't necessary, and Althos knew that that was his ultimate power. He wanted to save it, even if it did have unlimited uses. That said, he did use one final power on Geoffrey: ”Love inducement”.
He didn't put another hand on him for this one. Instead, he just gazed into Seamus' eyes. And then he activated the power and instilled in the human such an intense love for him that it made the love he felt towards his family feel like the passing fondness one had for a classmate who complimented them once.
This power was another of the love powers that completely transformed souls and hearts indifferently, with the same level of passion that a human might treat stomping an insect who made it into their living room. The powers of the love domain were utterly horrifying, and their ability to totally transform a mortal's life made them handy tools of the gods but also cruel powers to utilize on mortals. Not that a power being cruel had ever really stopped Althos before. Especially since the god had a plan in place.
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