You're Merlin? From Greece?" Merlin nodded and bowed. "It looks like my outburst earlier made you gain some powers related to mine. As for what it is, I'll figure it out. Can you tell me what kind of knowledge entered in your mind?"
Merlin scratched his head and tried to recall. "I'm afraid that the knowledge I received are only fragments in the form of words and phrases, such as Door, Error, Fool, Sefirah Castle, Miracle, King of Time and Space, Zhou Mingrui, Lord of Mysteries, Great Old One, Beacon of Destiny and many more that are incomprehensible. I have deduced that these are your powers and your identity."
"You're right. I think I vaguely know how this power system works. For starters, the words Door, Error and Fool are my powers. These three combined become the King of Time and Space and the Lord of Mysteries. Under the powers Door, Error and Fool are many other powers with 9 levels below them. In one of these paths should be where your newfound powers belong to. The Sefirah Castle should correspond to this space. As for everything else, I still have no idea." Mingrui thought of it based on His own knowledge of programming and gaming, combined with His increased IQ as well as the spiritual intuition and divination of the Lord of Mysteries.
"Ah, my Lord. I have a question." Merlin never dared look up once again.
Mingrui noticed this and concluded that he was afraid of getting hurt again. "What is it?"
"You say that I am capable of inheriting Your power. Is it also possible for other humans to inherit Your power?" As Merlin said this, Mingrui's intuition told Him the answer.
"This should be possible by doing a ritual and praying to me. I will conduct some research on this and tell you the results."
"Thank you, my Lord." He bowed once more, showing his reverence and gratefulness.
"Don't, ahh, don't treat me as if I'm a God. It makes me uncomfortable." Mingrui sighed helplessly. How come I woke up from work and suddenly became a God? This is miserable!
"Yes, My Lord." Mingrui's eyes narrowed as he looked at Merlin, covertly showing a mischievous smile. "Should I call you "Master" or "Your Highness", Zhou Mingrui?" He was shocked when Merlin suddenly glanced up and looked like he was about to laugh.
"You-!" Mingrui sighed helplessly once again. It seems that I gained a rather troublesome follower. "You should go back and calm your group down before they declare war on my house."
"Yes, my Lord." The two fell silent in realization. "My Lord, how do I go back?"
The corresponding scenarios played in Mingrui's mind. You get in with the door, and you go out with the door. That makes sense. "There's a door behind you. That should take you back to the time before you entered this place."
"Thank you, my Lord. How should I contact you?"
"I'll come to you in person."
Wait, my Lord is coming in person? Is that even a good idea? "Yes, my Lord. I'll see you around."
"See you around." After Merlin left, Mingrui suddenly had a headache.
Not only have I become a God, but I now have a mischievous, fanatic follower that wants to follow me forever. He shook His head and pulled out a spiral notebook. I should start my investigation. As for my friends and family, maybe there's a person left in the human camp.
...
A door opened right in front of Merlin's bewildered teammates, and what came out was none other than Merlin himself.
"Goodness, Merlin!"
"What happened?"
The fog was still present since in the real world, only 5 seconds had passed.
"How long was I gone?" He observed his teammates and was a bit confused. He felt like it's been an hour since he encountered that God.
"You were engulfed by the door and appeared right after." Carym answered.
"What? I thought I was gone for an hour." This evoked questions from his group.
"What in the world happened when you were gone?" The muscle man questioned, inspecting Merlin.
"Well, it's a long story for now. I'll tell you once we go back to the cave. For now, let's navigate this grey fog." Merlin himself was at ease, making the rest of them feel at ease as well.
Once they came back, the people guarding the cave glared at the carts of food and drinks in awe.
"Everyone, we're back!" Merlin was surprised that the rest managed to cut down trees and pile a lot of wood.
"Merlin!" The man in charge of leading the wood piling waved. "You guys managed to stockpile a lot of food!"
"Yeah!" The teenager answered. "There's a supermarket nearby, and with that cycle phenomenon going on, we managed to secure an infinite supply of food! Can you believe that?"
The man arched his eyebrow. "Is that really safe?"
"It's safe." Merlin chuckled with absolute confidence. "I tried the food myself and there's absolutely nothing wrong about it."
"Not only that, the supermarket has everything! We can even cook there!" The muscle man added.
"Well Mark, if you say it's safe. Anyways, as you can see, we managed to cut down a lot of trees, and we have a Japanese woodworker on our side that says we can build without nails, as long as we have a saw and hammer." Merlin observed the group of carpenters who were busy chopping wood.
"That's great. There's also a hardware store nearby, so we can also supply an infinite amount of concrete. This way, we can recreate the city and build a church." The rest of them glared at Merlin.
"What is the use of a church?" The teenager glared at Merlin.
"What? Don't people need faith that they can place their hopes into? Not only is it beneficial, but this time, the God we're praying to is real." The people stared at him as if he was a lunatic.
"Are you alright, Merlin?" It was Carym who inquired this time.
"Ha, keep looking at me like that. Hasn't this apocalypse proven that powers are indeed real? These so-called phenomenon came from a God protecting this world. If you still don't believe me, "He" will come to us this week."
Carym understood something. "So, you managed to uncover this when you were gone?"
"Yeah, in that brief moment, I met "Him" and learned about the truth of the apocalypse."
"I didn't know you were such a...mhm, pious, person, Merlin." Merlin snickered and glared at the person who made this comment.
"I didn't know that either."
The man cleared his throat. "By the way, when you guys were gone, we managed to elect leaders in charge of huge tasks. Of course, the leader is still you, Merlin. But, we figured that the burden should be spread around. These leaders should help you manage everyone."
"So you guys just randomly made me the president?" He was dumbfounded.
"Merlin, you're the best fit for this role. You have all the qualities that a leader would have." The teenager declared.
"Yeah, not only are you intelligent, you also have the bravery and courage, as well as the charm that could lead everyone. It can only be you." This made Merlin speechless. He glared at Carym with surprise. If it's other people, he wouldn't believe it, but it was Carym who said this.
"Should I call these leaders for a meeting?" The man in charge of the wood piling inquired.
"Y-yeah. Let's discuss what I found out so far. Carym, from now on, you're my second-hand man." Merlin looked at him like he was dragging Carym down with him.
"Sure, Mr. President." He glared back, as if accepting a challenge.
...
"Everyone, we have gathered here today to discuss the future of humanity." Merlin announced to the so-called leaders who gathered together after 6 hours of helping around.
"Just get to the point already. We don't have all the time to discuss things."
Merlin cleared his throat, his expression getting serious. "You're right. Today, after gathering food, I managed to get a glimpse of what's behind the apocalypse. The vicious trees and plants that sprouted from the ground, as well as that crimson moon, is the work of multiple Gods that came from the cosmos. Luckily, we have a God on our side and managed to repel them. Of course, "He" is only one God, and so "He" wishes for us humans to stand up for ourselves and survive." The revelation caused everyone to be dumbfounded.
"You-!" The person was cut off.
"The Gods were actually real?"
"You managed to uncover this?"
Seeing this, Merlin smiled in satisfaction. "Of course, I met this God in person. "He" spread "His" benevolence across the Earth, and gifted us these phenomenon. The fog, these doors, and the cycles, are the manifestation of "His" power. "He" created these phenomenon to repel those evil Gods trying to take over the world." Despite the absurdity, the leaders subconsciously started to believe.
"Are you sure this is true?" A woman questioned.
"This God you're talking about really is benevolent, right?"
"Indeed, "He" also gave us a way to gain powers beyond imagination. If you don't believe me, "He" will come here sometime this week." The gray fog began to tremble and disperse, leading everyone but Merlin anxious and afraid of their own deaths.
"I'm not late to the meeting, am I?"How do I even figure this out? I was just an ordinary programmer until I gained godly superpowers. And then there's enemies camping outside Earth. If "They" do figure out that I'm not the Celestial Worthy, I will be in a disadvantage." He chuckled. "In the end, the world still needs a 007 social animal like me." He sighed in defeat as He stared at the sky of Sefirah Castle. There was nothing there but gray fog.
It's time to figure things out. What exactly do I do from now on? Unlike before where I worked under someone, I'm now free to do whatever I want. "Right, I am a God. The most important thing to do is to find out what exactly do I want in the future."
The possibilities were endless.
He could just leave the world on it's own. Gods would invade, but He knows that humanity would still flourish.
He could fight everyone and die, and it's alright with Him. At least He could finally be with the rest of humanity.
As for His relatives, His intuition told Him that there were none left, but He still held some hope in His heart. His intuition was also telling Him that He should still go to the human camp.
Merlin. "Merlin." The first person who believed in Him the moment He woke up. " I can't let Him down, can I?" He chuckled deprecatingly.
"It's time to go to work." He opened His eyes and saw countless threads attached to His fingertips. With the help of His intuition, He guided the "things" at the other end of the threads to move. After this, countless of crimson stars flew towards Him and twinkled. He touched one of the stars with His tentacles and saw the countless beasts covered in dark fog moving under His control.
He then opened a door connected to the beasts, but when He opened it, thick, white mist had covered the other end. I have a feeling that something bad will happen if I touch that white mist. He tried to send His consciousness to the beast, only to be blocked by the white mist. "What is this annoying white mist?"
He touched the white mist and was enveloped by it completely until He lost consciousness.
...
Mingrui woke up, seemingly dazed as He tried to focus His vision, only to fail miserably.
What was that white mist? Why did it try to eat me? He held His head with His right hand and breathed non-existent air around Him.
The feeling of not being able to breathe air made Him panic a little. Thankfully, He managed to keep calm and slowly sit upright.
"I feel like I'm supposed to feel in pain right now, but I don't feel it due to my god-level cultivation." He chuckled deprecatingly and looked around once again. When He finally managed to clear His vision, the eternal gray fog was suddenly replaced with white.
"What the hell? What happened here?" His intuition told Him that the mist was dangerous, but it was manageable. "So, what do I do?" He looked around and remembered that He could control the grey fog. He gathered the grey fog that was mixed in the white mist and quickly opened a door to dispel it.
"Phew." What could have happened if that white mist stayed around for longer? Visions appeared in His mind. In His eyes, He could see multiple shadows moving around, treating the place as if it were Their home.
"So, I'm trapped here as a group project?" They should be the ones trying to covet my position. What happened to Celestial Worthy anyway? A scenario popped up in His eyes.
He saw His own body waking up in His apartment, surrounded by white mist. "Hah, those cowards, switching my Spirit and Astral Body with a mere human." Multiple shadows enveloped Him, killing Him with all their might. He tried to fight back, but as a mere human with no powers and authority, He was ultimately killed.
His soul almost went up the Sefirah Castle, but before He could take back His body, those shadows enveloped Him once again.
"So, this Celestial Worthy guy was tag-teamed?" This poor guy. I don't wanna end up like him. Mingrui stood up and peeked at the crimson stars. He tried to control one of the monsters to walk around and take in the view of its surroundings. His intuition then told Him to touch the crimson star, so He did.
He then woke up in the body of the monster that He was controlling. Although, He couldn't sense most of His power with Him. He looked up beyond the Spirit World, above the grey fog, and saw His own body, not moving an inch.
Alright, this enough should suffice. He transformed the monster body to His appearance. Then, He traversed the darkness with no trouble thanks to His intuition.
After two hours of walking, He finally saw the light and smelled the scent of the ocean. He then saw a huge port covered in rubble. Even though it was barely recognizable, He knew what place this was. "Isn't this Europe?" Wait, I could just open a door.
He opened a door that took him to a supermarket. He could sense that it was enveloped in His power, mostly due to what He did when He woke up in this body.
In addition to being able to turn things into marionettes, I could also customize the marionette's appearance into what I want, and in addition, I can possess it any time. Not only that, I can basically go wherever I want, even outside Earth. He gazed at the cosmos and saw multiple Gods lying in wait. Nevermind, I can't go there. Stepping outside Earth is basically just asking for death. Still, my powers as a God is quite similar to game developing. I could control the space, create a character, and make rules out of it. I really can't escape my job as a programmer. He gazed on His fist and opened a small door, which contained the white mist.
He then closed the door and took a deep breathe. This should be a right time to think of a prayer, and experiment on how people could gain power. I wonder what would happen if I prayed to Celestial Worthy? I already assumed His identity, so His prayer should point to me, or the me in that grey fog.
His intuition told Him that this would be safe for now, but it doesn't tell what will happen next time. He immediately clasped His hands and prayed. "The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings,
The Sky Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.
The Exalted Thearch of Heaven and Earth for Blessings,
The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth." He heard loud murmurs of Himself praying. He then looked at the Him in the fog and noticed a crimson star twinkling.
It works, but now I need a real name for myself, a name that would only point to me. He thought of Celestial Worthy's honorific name and found that it was quite similar to God's honorific name.
He clasped His hands once again and prayed. "The Fool that rules the space and time,
You are the embodiment of millions of doors,
The King of Logic and Errors,
The Lord of the Mysteries." He heard Himself praying, which meant it was a success. This should suffice for now.
Notes:Everyone looked at the newcomer wide-eyed. The eternal gray mist bent to His will as He moved. It was then that they realized.
"My Lord!" The whole room bent on their knees and kowtowed before the God.
I don't know if I should compliment them for being able to recognize me immediately or criticize them for bowing down as soon as they saw me. "Let's continue the meeting, shall we?" He sat down on a chair beside Merlin.
Merlin saw this and offered his chair. "My Lord, this is your seat. I am but a humble follower of yours, after all."
He glared at Merlin. This guy is such a flatterer. Who would know that this guy is a trickster? What a troublesome follower. He switched seats with Merlin and observed the rest of the people in the room.
"My Lord, what brings a being of Your status in this humble cave?" The one that spoke was a man with a bulky figure, a body that Mingrui envied.
"Spare the pleasantries. Before this apocalypse, I was a proud citizen of China. Naturally, I want to reunite with my countrymen and family."
The people narrowed their eyes on the God. His said origins were doubtful, but His power to wield the gray fog cannot be mistaken. Therefore, humans can become Gods.
With this conclusion, many started to turn their eyes on power. Power that Merlin had told them before.
Naturally, Zhou Mingrui knew of this intention that brew just from His presence. Human greed truly is persistent. He shook His head at the thought.
Of course, Merlin knew this as well. He turned his head to the God that he served with all his heart and observed Him carefully. His human form was undoubtedly average-looking. Other than His Chinese features, He was a little thin, fitting for a programmer. His glasses is but an accessory, but it did quite suit Him, suggesting that He wore this glasses for such a long time. He really was from China. It's quite hard to believe.
"Tell everyone to gather those from China." Merlin ordered the man standing on the door.
"Sure." The man bowed before leaving.
Merlin observed the rest of his comrades. They do look like people who can be swallowed by greed. My Lord needs to demonstrate His power and put them in place. "My Lord, I advise Your Grace to demonstrate Your power."
What do you mean demonstrate? I barely have any power. Do you want me to pray to myself? Wait that idea isn't bad, if demonstrated privately. "Why do I need to demonstrate my power? While I used to be human, I'm the reason why this planet still has humans around. I'm the reason why you still have food to eat, and most of all, I'm the reason why monsters haven't attacked any of you until now." In other words, I'm calling all of you insolent.
As expected of Him. "I sincerely apologize for overstepping, my Lord."
The rest kowtowed once again, realizing that their lives are at His mercy. "We apologize, Your Grace!"
Mingrui glanced at Merlin, who had a small smirk on his face. Turns out that this guy is also an expert in wordplay. How vicious.
"Get up, we need to discuss the upcoming days." Everyone obeyed Him and kept their heads down.
He sighed at this sight. Although keeping your heads down is considered bad manners on the table, this is actually a good practice in the long run. Who knows if they'll combust after seeing my face in person? Merlin turned out lucky, but that occurrence is a really low chance. He only glimpsed at my tentacles at the time, but if he saw my face.
"My Lord?" Merlin cleared his throat.
"Right. There will be a day when I will lift this fog and monsters will rush in and surround this place. I hope that when that days comes, humanity can fend for itself and fight back. After all, it's the 21st century. You don't really need Gods to call upon for help, right?"
This statement made them feel like they were abandoned, but at the same time, ignited something in their hearts. Those who recognized this fire agreed with Mingrui.
One of the men inside stood up and bowed, not daring to look at the God. "This is right, Your Grace. But, we don't have magical powers to fight back. Merlin told us that we can get powers by praying to Your Grace."
Is this man trying to pull me down with him? Merlin secretly glared at the man.
"That's right. I'll give you power to fight those monsters by praying to me. But, this has a small side effect, which is that your personality will slowly turn into me. Do you still want this power?"
The rest of them looked at each other hesitantly.
"Give me your answer sooner or later and pray to me. My name is, The Fool that rules the space and time,
The embodiment of millions of doors,
The King of Logic and Errors,
The Lord of the Mysteries. Pray to me as how you pray to God. I will take my leave." He stood up and glanced at the door where His potential relatives could be. All of a sudden, He could hear Himself praying once again. My ears would go deaf hearing this everyday. Although, He had this feeling that He will be needing this a lot.
"My Lord, shall I escort you?" Merlin went to His side and opened the door for Him.
"Sure. Oh right, we're supposed to train your powers. If you have time, just pray to me. It's a convenient way to call me."
Merlin's eye twitched. How... creative! As expected of My Lord. "My Lord, do you have any relatives left in this camp?"
Mingrui looked at the group of Chinese survivors and sighed. "I don't. I knew it beforehand, but I still held out some hope."
Merlin recalled the moment when they first met. Mingrui was crying for His family.
It was the same feeling when he lost his parents on a hostage situation back when he was merely 2 years old. The scene was still vivid in his mind. "Here we are, My Lord. These are the people left from China."
His intuition told Him to look at the two couple. "You two, do you happen to know anyone named Zhou Xuance and Lin Youzhi?"
The couple looked at each other, with the man nodding at the woman before they looked back at Him. "We do." Instead of feeling joy, Mingrui only felt dread, and knew that they were probably dead already. "We were there when they got dragged away by those vines." The woman began crying in grief, while the husband calmed her down by patting her back.
The corresponding scene replayed in Mingrui's eyes. He saw as His parents got dragged by huge, green vines while a couple dragged them back, only to no avail. The couple turned into a pile of black goo, spilling the ground and filling up the gaps in the concrete.
He wanted to cry, like how He saw this scene in the first time. He wanted to scream and call out their name. Yet, He was awfully silent, as His emotions were almost absent.
He knew what this was.
It was divinity.
Notes: