Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

Despite how smoothly the meeting was going, Myriad couldn’t help but feel like everyone’s eyes were on him.

For once, Ben wasn’t the heart of the topic, the matter concerning other updates on the world at large, and yet, through it all, the cube couldn’t help but continue to think that someone was going to out his apostle’s latest act, bringing a whole new realm of chaos with it.

And how could it not? Ben could take from a god’s soul and craft himself a blessing. That was, in essence, some of the worst of that world’s gods’ fears made true. So many of them constantly worried about what Ben would do with his every-growing powers, a boy who always seemed to want more and whose sense of morality could best be described as ‘complex’, and when that was tied into both his lack of respect for the divine as well as his status as the coming god of sacrilege, it was hard to say they weren’t right to be worried, even if he had absolute faith in his believer. As evil as it seemed Ben was intent on making himself appear, the boy had a good heart.

I mean, he mostly has a good heart, Myriad told himself. He… probably has a good heart. No. Okay, no matter what else he might do, he isn’t going to come up here and start cutting blessings off of anyone’s souls, and as long as nobody else realizes that he did that to the forbidden gods then there’s nothing to worry about. Things have been going well. When we talk about him, people are largely behaving, only voicing a few issues compared to the constant arguments we’d have before. So long as nobody realizes that he did that, things can stay that way and-

“Myriad.”

“Hmm, pardon?” the cube said, seeing Phixth address him.

“We were talking about how the planetary job advancement went and is currently going and were looking for your input, but it seems you’re somewhat distracted.”

“Ah, my apologies everyone,” he hastily said, trying to come up with a quick excuse, settling on blaming the very source of his current headache. “My apostle has been dumping his work on my oracle and high priestess. I’ve been distracted trying to figure out how to address it, but the two hold him in high enough regard that I’m not even sure if I should bother.”

He got a few sympathetic nods over an issue that Myriad had actually long since accepted would never change, with other gods still appreciating that Ben was a pain, even if they were becoming more tolerant of that fact.

Phixth was the most understanding of all, given that he was the god who seemed to have to deal with the consequences of Ben’s choices the most, just behind Myriad himself, nodding as he spoke up. “I see. Given the boy’s nature, I’m sure that isn’t going to change, but from what I’ve seen, both your oracle and your high priestess are outstanding. I’m sure they can more than handle the work.”

“Thank you,” Myriad nodded. “But, as for the job advancement, I’d say Ben is doing his best there at least. I’m sure you’ve all already seen in your believers that he was producing a steady yet constant stream of experience to give them all enough leeway to get to their job crystals multiple times a day. While I’m sure that hasn’t exactly been convenient and has probably been leaving each crystal fairly busy, he’s currently on to his next one with his partner. Based on how he’s been producing experience, it’s easy to project when he should be finished in a couple days.”

“The results have been tremendous,” Phixth agreed, getting nods from the other gods around. “If we can manage to secure even one more third-tier awakening before the third wave arrives, we really will be thriving.”

Considering the argument Ben had made on the matter, more than a few were willing to place their hopes on Thera managing to get such a thing herself, but even without her, there were still a couple of individuals the group was optimistic about. Even if the odds weren’t great, just one more awakening of that level would mean even more experience that could be used and created for the wider world.

“Which does still leave the matter of if we want a second soul modification for everyone,” another god spoke up, provoking a round of groans as the others were once again forced to face that issue, with the same points being gone over again. It would undeniably help with the war, but the chaos such a thing would bring both before, and more importantly, after, couldn’t be understated. There’d been enough damage and destruction after the first round as the gods tried to keep any mortals from being too destructive with their newfound strength, but Ben had only grown in the time since. While he could choose what to give anyone as far as attributes went, so long as it was below his maximum limits, his upper limit rose with every day that passed.

Worse still, the time they had to decide if they were going to let such a thing happen was constantly shrinking. If they didn’t eventually make the choice themselves, it would be made for them, but even then, they couldn’t come to a consensus, pushing the matter to the side as other topics were broached.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Any progress tracking the demon or demons responsible for either source of settlement destruction yet, then?” A different group of gods was asked, leaving the one in charge among them to shake their head.

“No. Empty villages we still suspect might be the space contender, given how elusive they’ve been recently, but as for the others, while we suspect it’s death magic, we’re having no luck tracking them either. They’re more localized as they move to a point, but eventually they change their hunting ground completely. We have had no luck finding them.”

More groans went around as the rest of the gods were forced to deal with that remaining issue. There were demon contenders on the world they still hadn’t found, whose existence they could only infer from what they were leaving in their wake, but as more potential sightings were discussed, followed by different issues and war plans, eventually things came to an end, letting them all return to their realms and their work in peace.

“Phew,” Myriad let out once he was alone, no god there having brought up what his apostle had done which meant that, for the moment, the boy’s ability to make blessings from gods was unknown, and he could relax for at least a little bit.

Or so he thought, but it was only a second later that the chance slipped away. Another god joined him; Myriad’s privacy was gone.

And not one he regularly associated with. Myriad recognized him of course, every god had at least a cursory acquaintanceship with every other one that shared that world, but that didn’t mean they were all on casual terms either, and as one of the gods who chose to keep their opinion of Ben to themselves, Myriad instantly feared the worst.

So this is it. This is how my stupid apostle finally gets me blackmailed over his actions.

He was instantly having visions of Ben’s newest horror being out and held over his head, but that wasn’t what he got as Plyzar, god of beasts and bloodlines, gave a slight bow.

“Myriad, I’m sorry to intrude on your realm like this, but is there any chance you could spare me a bit of time?”

“Um, of course. What can I do for you, Plyzar?”

“It concerns your apostle-”

Oh, fuck fuck fuck-

“-and his talents. I was hoping I’d be able to hire him, say, two days from now, if he could spare the time?”

“Hmm? Uh, oh, for what?” Myriad asked, trying to hide just how frazzled he’d felt up to that point.

“I was looking to have one of my churches renovated. In these times, an updated design could certainly boost some spirits, and if I’m going to hire someone, I should go for the best.”

“Um, I see. But if you don’t mind me asking, are you sure you’d rather hire him than one of your own people? I’m sure the honour would be more meaningful to any of them.”

“No doubt you’re right,” he nodded. “But… let’s not be coy about it, we all know that your apostle is going to be one of the more powerful gods to exist one day. Actually, no, let’s be serious. He’s going to be the most powerful god one day, and all of us have to decide just how we want to approach that fact. Plenty are choosing to cool their more negative attitudes, but in the face of eternity, more are going to begin to realize that it would be better to have a more positive relationship than simply a neutral one, and this is my attempt at it, with the payment worthy of the work. Since I’m asking for the best from the best, the payment I’m offering is my blessing.”

“What? Are you being serious?”

“I am, and while I take it from your reaction that I’m the first to put out this offer, I wouldn’t be surprised if this begins happening a bit more often. I suppose the others looking for an excuse are deciding to just wait and see how the war turns out first, but, well, given there’s no way to know how that might turn out, I don’t want to be so patient. Considering how he’s complained in meetings that he never gets paid in them, I’d like to hope this should be sufficient.”

“I have no doubt he’d agree, but if you give me a moment, I can bring him up here-”

“No, sorry, but even if I’d like to have a positive relationship with him, I’d really prefer to work through you,” Plyzar said, holding up a hand to stop him. “It’s embarrassing to admit it, but your boy scares me.”

Fair.

Fear was an understandable response given all that Ben had accomplished, but despite that fear, Plyzar was still willing to try to look past it to make a positive connection while Ben was still technically mortal, offering a hefty fee for his work, and that meant something, both to Myriad, and he was sure to Ben as well.

Which means I really need Ben to do a good job of this before what he did to the forbidden gods slips out.

“Alright, he’s currently working on a personal project of his, but I’m sure he can be free in two days. I’ll talk to him about it, but I can’t imagine that he’d say no.”

“Wonderful, then I’ll let you be to chat with him, and you can let me know how he responds when you have the chance. I’ll look forward to his work.”

With only a few more words between them, the other god left, leaving Myriad alone again in his realm, feeling far more positive about Ben’s position among the gods. For all of his faults and all the others saw as faults, his work was beyond ignoring and his value recognized and it left the cube hopeful that, no matter what else might come out eventually about Ben to cause havoc in the heavens, the trend would continue, not knowing how, in the background, other plans unfolded.