2 The system and the core

The group of new gods heaved a collective sigh of relief. They hadn't the faintest idea on how to begin, so the system alleviated a great many of their concerns. Each one was typical in the thought that they would be successful in their creations, only time would tell exactly how many of them even survived the initial stages.

"Now if you would all please follow me, we will retire to the world core generator. While we are there the system will be bound to you, and you will be able to make several choices with regards to the way your world core functions."

Xeron's voice still carried that hint of impending doom, but that was overshadowed by his obvious delight in the number of individuals who had chosen exaltation.

'Haven't seen this many new gods in a long time.' Xeron mused inwardly, a faint hint of anxiety and hope ran circles round his mind. 'Lets hope that this group is able to help the situation.'

Xeron led the group through vast halls of alabaster stone. The artwork and craftsmanship defied normal adjectives and could only be described as divine. Even that description fell a little short of the incomparable beauty and majesty with which they were surrounded.

Enormous gardens, grand ballrooms, huge fountains that spewed a golden liquid that seemed to burn with a fierce light. It was beyond anything they had ever imagined, but still it all fell short once they entered the world core generator.

The room itself could fit several stadiums but was mostly occupied by an enormous crystal sphere. The insides of the sphere seemed to spontaneously spawn entire galaxies, nebule, and other cosmic wonders which left the new gods speechless.

Xeron allowed them to simply gaze in wonder at it before clearing his throat loudly to regain everyone's attention.

"What you see before you is one of the first wonders created by the first pantheon. After their ascension they knew that they needed a system that would allow the expansion of their influence to combat their enemies. The worlds that they had created up to that point were filled with chaos, and very often did not produce any great results. Neither the gods that came from them, nor the resources they naturally produced afforded them any great advantage."

At this point a rather petite young woman raised her hand. Xeron calmly paused his explanation and nodded towards her to indicate she could speak freely.

"I am just a little confused, I have never heard about a first pantheon or the enemies that they are facing. Could you elaborate just a little bit?"

Nodding his head gravely Xeron allowed himself a heavy sigh. "At this point in your eternal lives there is nothing you can do to affect those things. But suffice it to say both evil and good have sources of existence. And they lie beyond what we would call the organized planes. The first pantheon are those beings whom achieved exaltation through the rules set by existence itself. For knowledge cannot be created, conscience is self existent and draws naturally from one of the two great springs. Both good and bad are necessities of existence, and the first pantheon are their products."

Silence reigned heavy on each of the new gods ears. Everything they had learned up to that point paled in comparison to the true beginnings of what they called existence. And they had, by their own choices, unwittingly stepped directly onto a battlefield so ancient it literally spanned the entirety of everything.

Xeron continued, trying to bring some hope back to these new gods who just peaked at the tip of the iceberg. "As I said, at your current levels and positions within eternal life there is nothing you can do to affect those things. However there is something that you CAN do. And that is build a new world, and nurture it into a force capable of making the changes that we need to see."

Before anyone could proffer any more questions Xeron turned around and approached the sphere. Once he stood directly in front of it he turned around to address everyone one last time.

"Here is where you will make the core of your world. You will place your hands on the sphere whereupon the creation system will be bound to you, and you will be given access to all the features available to rank 1 gods. You will learn more about those ranks and their abilities later on, but for now just focus on building the world you want to make. Now remember, to this new world you ARE God. Set whatever rules you like, make things the way you want them to be. But be warned, the rules you make will bind you. God cannot break his own law."

Several moments went by as the group processed this information. They had thought that they would be given a prebuilt core from which to work, but this approach was much more palatable for them. 

"Veron!"

Xeron called snapping him back to attention.

"You were ranked by the counsel of gods to be first among this new batch therefore, you will be first to make your new world."

A light applause broke out in congratulations for him, while some might have felt slightly envious of him not a single one whished him ill.

Veron walked slowly forward until he stood in the spot Xeron used to occupy. He stood silently for a few moments just gazing in amazement and the wonderous structure before him. Gathering his thoughts he firmly placed both hands on the sphere and closed his eyes. It didn't take more than a split second for him to hear a voice in his head.

"Welcome Veron, I am the administrator of the creation system as built by the first pantheon. I will be guiding you through the next steps as you generate a unique world core.

The first thing we need to determine your starting potential and attributes, please give me a moment to scan you."

A brief surge of energy came from the sphere and pulsed through Veron's body. When it was over a bright golden screen popped up in his vision despite his eyes being closed.

"Name: Veron

Race: Exalted Human

Core: Rank 1

Stage: Gaseous

Divine energy: 10/10

Dominion: 1 World(unfinished)

Creations: 0

Scan complete, overall evaluation normal."

Veron was perplexed to say the least, he had no real idea what any of this meant, but the system was quick to elaborate.

"A gods race is only ever the exalted version of what they were upon their death and subsequent resurrection. Any being who fails to attain exaltation would simply be referred to as a resurrected version of their race, angel is also a good term for those who fail to become gods. As a side note the potential of exalted beings is by definition infinite, this is the reason it is not shown on the panel.

When you create a world core for the first time a core of divine energy is also developed within you. It stores your divine energy and is fundamental in your future growth. You spend this energy to make your creations become reality, in other words this is the amount of power you have to generate your creations. As your creations grow they will generate power for you allowing you to grow beyond your current limits, at each mile stone you will be required to compress the energy inside of your core to change its state from gas, to liquid, to solid. After that you can make an advancement in rank which will return your energy into its gaseous form. Please note that each stage and especially each new rank hold far more power than the one before it.

Your dominion is the number of worlds, galaxies, and universes within your sole influence. These are the things over which you can claim to be God."

Once again Veron found himself flabbergasted by the information being presented to him.

"Eternity is VERY different from what I imagined it to be." This among other thoughts raced wildly through his mind as he absorbed the information. He knew immediately that his eternal journey was going to be much more difficult than he had initially anticipated. He had scarcely processed all the new information when the voice began to ring in his head again.

"Now that the explanation is done for now please choose from the following list of initial templates. You will be able to make any adjustment you wish later on.

Planet type: Gas giant, Rock giant, Oceanic, Temperate, Frozen, Volcanic, Continental, etc."

The list went on and on. There were types of planets that he had never even heard of, but he remembered the type of planet he came from so he just went with that.

"Continental type chosen, generating preview."

Veron had opened his eyes at this point but was surprised to see the inside of the sphere rapidly changing. Different particles of multicolored light were shooting towards the center of the sphere as a large planet began to take form. After about a minute went by the particle's stopped flowing towards the center. A large planet had formed and was now floating, silently waiting for the process to continue.

Veron's jaw had practically hit the floor as he said. "But that looks like..."