8 Plans for the future

Deo POV:

Once the Spartans had been returned to the city, I focused again on the black cocoons surrounding me, unsure of how long this evolution would last. But I felt that my generals would experience a significant power increase. The only ones unable to evolve were the shadows I had obtained during this battle.

Now that I think about it, my army has grown too fast. I currently commanded an army of almost a hundred thousand shadows. Although this number could have been much higher if I had decided to summon the shadows of all the Spartans defeated in this battle. However, I chose not to do so because it wouldn't be well-received by the Spartans to see their fallen brothers resurrected as shadows. It was still too early for them.

Although in the not-so-distant future, I would begin summoning human soldiers defeated by me. But if I had done that, the Spartans would have feared me too much to listen clearly, always feeling oppressed by my commands. In the not-so-distant future, they might try to rebel, although it would be futile since I could currently destroy the city without breaking a sweat. But that wasn't my goal. I wanted to be seen as a merciful and respected god. Although, of course, there would always be fear of the unknown and the powerful. Believing in gods is one thing; witnessing a god in action is another.

However, the fear they currently had was good, not negative. Of course, in my previous speech, I had hinted several times that only my army and I had entered battle and that I would protect them in the future to change their mindset about the other gods.

I don't mind them believing in other gods, but I want them to understand that only I protected them while the other gods abandoned them. Because in the future, if anyone tries to do something inhumane in the name of the gods, they will have to use my name for people to accept it. I will be the main god. At least, that's the current plan. Of course, if anyone tries to do that in the future, they will suffer the consequences.

That's why I also introduced my generals as gods of their affinities, so that we occupy more space in the humans' perception. Only tomorrow remains to take the first step for people to truly know me.

Many in my position would try to prohibit the Spartans from starting wars and battles. But I won't be so drastic because we have to consider the era we are in. We are in an era where when a city or country shows weakness, it is attacked by its enemies.

But all of this is a story for tomorrow. Now, the main thing is to see the changes in my generals and soldiers.

After what I assumed was 30 minutes, Shenlong appeared in front of me and informed me that many of the cocoons had started to break.

"My lord, they have begun to emerge."

"I see. Any significant changes?"

"For now, only the soldiers have started to awaken. The change seems to be an increase in their strength and a shift towards a specific destiny depending on their abilities."

"Oh? Go on."

"Yes, my lord. The rabbits seem to have evolved towards increased speed and sharpened horns. The boars towards increased muscle and size to endure more. The snakes have also evolved similarly, with some growing an extra head, increased speed, and size. The wolves and bears have evolved in general, without specializing in anything yet."

"I see. The wolves and bears are evolving in all directions, while the others are evolving in specific directions. This works well for us; I can better utilize each shadow depending on its evolutionary path."

I turned my attention back to the six large black cocoons in front of me, where my generals and my father were located. I assumed Deacon's evolution would take longer because his body is not made of shadows, so it would take longer to assimilate.

Although I didn't know how long it would take since it's the first time I've granted part of my powers to a living being, especially a human.

I touched the mask covering and hiding my face. In this battle, I realized that my normal human life was about to end.

One of the signs of this change is how my mindset has shifted after this battle; something within me has changed. It's as if I no longer belong among humans. Although technically true, it's strange to explain how my thoughts are slowly changing.

An example of this is how I refer to the Spartans as humans, as if I am not one of them. But, it was something that was bound to happen sooner or later, although I never expected it to take 5 years to occur.

But what can you do? I have to enjoy this life I have now.

I don't know how long I was lost in my thoughts, but a creaking sound snapped me out of them.

I lifted my head and noticed that the five cocoons surrounding my generals were trembling and slowly beginning to crack.

When they cracked, a great explosion of energy occurred. Fortunately, I controlled the shadows to create a barrier around my generals so that the energy they emitted wouldn't go out of control.

"Control your auras."

Upon my command, the five generals who had just evolved realized the energy they were emitting and quickly obeyed my order.

As they tried to control their auras, I began to see their appearance changes. I couldn't be more surprised, as I never expected Nag and Ruby to change so much.

But first, I looked at Udyr, as the youngest of the five and experiencing his first evolution, his appearance hadn't changed much, but his size and aura had increased enormously.

Then I focused on Bolt and Pumba, who had also experienced the same changes as Udyr, but what they liked most about their new evolution, especially Bolt, was that they finally gained the ability to speak. And luckily, both had masculine voices, so no name changes were needed.

After thinking about that, I looked at Udyr again, as he was the only general who hadn't gained the ability to communicate. I hope I'm not so unlucky that Udyr turns out to be female, right?

Finally, I focused on the two who had changed the most, Ruby and Nag. They had taken on human form.

Nag was a male about 1.9 meters tall, his muscles were there but not prominently defined. His most distinctive feature was his green hair and eyes, although they still retained snake-like traits.

Then there was Ruby, who many would call beautiful in any era, as both her face and body were model-like. She was about 1.7 meters tall, with white hair like her old fur and red eyes. The curious thing about Ruby's appearance was that she still had her rabbit ears and small horns similar to those in her rabbit form.

"Nag and Ruby, what do you think of your new appearances?"

"To be honest, my lord, I'm not sure I like having a human appearance. I prefer my old appearance."

Listening to Nag's opinion, I could only shrug.

"Can you change forms, Nag?"

"It seems so, my lord, so if you don't mind, I'd like to be in my other form."

"I don't mind at all, Nag. It's your body; your appearance doesn't change my opinion of you."

"Thank you very much for your words, my lord."

And so, Nag

 transformed into a hydra, reaching 10 meters in height. But without saying anything, Nag began to shrink until he stood at a height of 2 meters.

"And you, Ruby, what do you think of your new appearance?"

"I like my new appearance; it suits my fighting style very well and gives me even more freedom of movement with my limbs."

"I understand, very well."

Although they hadn't mentioned it, I could feel how their affinities and control had increased.

"Now there's just one more."

I turned to see the cocoon containing my father and my chosen one.

"Don't worry, my lord, everything will be fine."

"Thank you for your words, Pumba, but I'm not nervous about my father's transformation, but rather about the repercussions it may bring to my family."

"If they try anything, I'll take care of them, master, don't worry."

"Hahahahah, don't worry, Bolt. Tomorrow, when I present myself again to the humans, I'll make it clear what will happen if anyone tries something with my chosen one."

"I see."

I could see the disappointment on Bolt's face as he heard my words.

"But if they try anything, I'll send you to take care of them."

"Yay!"

It seems Bolt has the mindset of a child, although it's not so strange since when I captured him, he was still a cub. I wonder if he will mature over the years or if he will remain like this. Only time will tell.

Hours passed, but Deacon still hadn't emerged from the cocoon enveloping him. After the first hour, I started to worry about him, wondering if I had overdone it with the power I gave him, and his body couldn't assimilate it properly.

However, upon touching the cocoon and feeling that Deacon was fine inside, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

But after another couple of hours, another concern arose. What if he turns into something other than human? I mean, all the soldiers in my army have been physically modified when I summoned them. The clearest recent examples would be Nag and Ruby.

I hope Astoria forgives me if Deacon changes a bit.

While waiting for Deacon to emerge from the cocoon, I started receiving news from the shadows I had placed throughout the city.

When I told the Spartans that I would always be watching, I wasn't lying.

According to my shadows, the Spartans I transported back to the city were in a state of shock and even some in a state of euphoria.

I wouldn't blame them. I could perfectly understand the feelings of each of the Spartans. It was the first time a god had spoken to them, and the first time a god had promised them protection. Many of the Spartans, especially those who were not warriors, went straight home to see their families and tell them what had happened. Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

Of course, as I said, I wouldn't protect them from everything, only from that which is inhumane or impossible for them to defeat.

But what I would do is gradually implement commandments to make Sparta the best city in the world, thus attracting more people.

The more people who come, the more merchants. This will bring more wealth to the city.

My main goal is for the name of Osiris to be known throughout the world. Although my original plan was to remain more covert, with the appearance of the Deviants, the plan to make myself known has been pushed forward several years.

But that's also okay.

However, I will have to implement precautionary measures against various dangers, such as spies from other cities, diseases brought by people from outside, and others.

However, the plan to attract more people to Sparta will have to be implemented slowly. Because, as I mentioned before, if there are too many people in a limited space, an epidemic could occur, there may not be enough food for everyone, or there may not be enough space for so many people.

That's why Sparta will have to evolve. I will start implementing ideas from the future in today's Sparta to make it an innovative and stable city.

But we will have to take it slow. Many times, what happens and will happen with people in charge of cities or countries who want to implement revolutionary ideas is that they try to do so as quickly as possible so that people adapt as soon as possible.

But in my opinion, this is counterproductive, especially in this era where freedom and fundamental values of the future do not exist.

Although we never know how people will react; often, a person called crazy is known as a genius in the future.

"My lord, it's happening now."

I lifted my head to see the sun peeking over the horizon.

But Pumba wasn't referring to the dawn; he meant that after more than 6 hours, Deacon was finally breaking out of the cocoon.

After a few brief minutes, the cocoon burst, revealing a Deacon very similar to before but with the difference of a large black tattoo in the shape of infinity on his back.

A tattoo I had designed myself, as I am an immortal being, so are my chosen ones. There will always be one in this world.

"It's time to go. The show begins."

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"Heyyyyy, how's everyone doing? Here's the author. I had some issues with my laptop and couldn't write, but we're back now, so hold on tight because the good stuff is about to begin."