Christine stayed. Behind her, a cluster of High God Tier Beast Gods also held their ground with her, they were the core of their entire Pantheon.
"Anything else?" Haru asked.
Christine glanced at Celestia and Yvonne standing behind him, felt the Supreme God Tier Aura rolling off both of them, and looked away. The envy was brief but visible.
She had been cultivating for nearly three hundred thousand years. She'd fought in the multiple Divine Wars, killed tens of thousands of Demonic Gods, including pure-blooded high-ranking ones. In that era, her level had matched the Mordra's—stronger, even, than the Goddess of Death Micteya.
Yet Mordra and Micteya, after a hundred thousand years of further cultivation, had both ascended to the Supreme God while she hadn't. Moreover, Christine couldn't even see when or even if she would ascend.
She'd felt a trace of Supreme God Tier aura from Selene too. Half a step across the threshold, Selene would definitely get there. Christine was still where she'd always been. So she stayed, and pinned her hopes on Haru.
"Your Majesty." She said, "The Beast God Pantheon has no Supreme God Tier patron. We only have twenty-odd High Gods, but millions of Intermediate and Lower True Gods. More importantly, we are not weak."
She met his eyes, "If we could receive Your Majesty's protection, if we could belong to the Great Aetherium, it would be an honor for every God in our pantheon."
That was the point, delivered plainly. She wanted the Beast Gods to become a subordinate force of the Great Aetherium. It wasn't purely her idea. She'd proposed it, and the High God Tier Beast Gods behind her had taken about half a second to agree.
The reasoning was simple enough: the Great Aetherium now had six Supreme Gods, and after Haru resurrected the fallen Supreme Gods with his heaven-defying divine technique, that number would push past ten. Ten Supreme Gods was comparable to the Dimensional Demons ruling the Abyss.
And if Haru claimed the Throne in the coming Divine War, being the first pantheon to pledge allegiance would mean everything for their development. The alliance they currently held was real, but alliances ended. Direct attachment was permanent.
Haru looked past Christine to the Beast Gods. Every face showed the same thing: anticipation, reverence, and more importantly, hope. This wasn't Christine speaking for herself. This was a unanimous decision.
He turned back to her, "Christine, what do you want?"
She hesitated for only a moment. Then she told him the truth: she wanted a chance to ascend.
"That's not what I expected." Haru said, and meant it as a compliment.
He was quiet for a beat. A million Beast Gods joining his empire meant a continuous stream of Faith, nearly matching what the entire Great Aetherium currently produced, flowing directly to him. And once they were True Gods of the Great Aetherium, every enemy they killed would feed him exp towards becoming a Pseudo God King. The math was straightforward. The benefit was real.
"I agree." He said, "From this moment onwards, the Beast God Pantheon belongs to the Great Aetherium. All Beast Gods shall become my subordinate Gods."
He accepted the system prompt and the power of Faith came immediately, vast enough to nearly match what the entire Great Aetherium already produced. The tribute that had once flowed to Christine now flowed towards him. He was, in effect, the ruler of the Beast God Pantheon now. Christine retained the title only in name. The power behind it was his.
"Praise Your Majesty!"
Christine's bow was deep and genuinely felt. The Beast Gods behind her followed without hesitation, their excitement barely contained. From this moment, they were True Gods of the Great Aetherium, with the protection that came with it, and the ability to grow through combat that had previously belonged only to castle creatures.
Across the entire universe, on every planet, in countless Divine Kingdoms, millions of Beast Gods felt the shift. The cheering came back like an echo from every direction.
'"From today, we are the True Gods of the Great Aetherium!"'
'"Praise His Majesty Kazehaya! Praise the Great Aetherium!"'
…
Haru pulled up Christine's status panel.
Her growth potential was capped at the peak of High God Tier, the same ceiling every native god lived under without external intervention or some extraordinary opportunity. Getting her to the Supreme God Tier would require a bloodline evolution blueprint to break that ceiling first, then sufficient battlefield exp to push her through. She was already a peak High Goddess, so she had already maximized her potential. Only one step away from the threshold, by any measure, she was worth developing.
He was still reading when a system notification arrived from the GM.
_____________
What's this sudden prompt? Is this another one of those prompts for a faction blacklisting the Great Aetherium or is it a faction sucking up to them?
Stay tuned to find out!
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