Sooo, nobody came to bother you about what had happened, right?
His god asked him sarcastically.
Since I did it in the mortal realm, it was really more ripping up than down.
<... Most left things be, but a few of them came by to ask, seeing that’s the sort of thing that mortals can be very sensitive to and even at the height of our power, most gods haven’t descended in their true forms more than a couple of times.>
That draining, huh?
Alright, yeah, my bad. I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you. Does it count as making it up to you if I was already going to do something you’d like anyway?
<... Maybe. What are you doing then?>
What you’ve always wanted, Ben grinned as he finished cleaning up for the day, seeing off the kids as they went to play at Delair’s home for a while. I’m getting you new believers.
I’m sorry, did I just hear you wrong? What the hell do you mean, absolutely not? You’ve badgered me about this for years, and now that I’m finally feeling a bit motivated, you’re telling me not to?
Wow, Myriad, how absolutely devious. Are you sure you’re not the evil god between us?
Ha, apparently not, because I’m actually going to be doing something completely different. Overwriting souls to make you even more believers since they’ll still have whatever skills the original demon possessed isn’t a bad idea, and I am going to need to do some experiments on some demons soon, so recycling wouldn’t be a terrible one either, but unless they’re a third-tier like Tress, or even a contender, it doesn’t seem worth the effort. Hell, when I can make a bunch of soul tiles instead, converting anyone doesn’t really seem worth the effort.
<... Fine, then why are you doing it? I don’t see your angle.>
Hmm? That’s simple. Just out of good old-fashioned spite.
Walking through a new city, his soul stretched out, Ben engaged in one of his new activities, only going further than usual. Since he’d gained the ability to do so, Ben had been giving skills to everyone within his range, letting them all learn crafting inclination, artisan’s touch, enchanting, and whatever relevant affinitied knowledge skills he knew, holding back only on connect out of consideration for his god, but unlike before, Ben didn’t stop there. Thera had said as much to him herself; people would want to know why they were appearing so suddenly, so with it, he sent out a message.
Another gift from the church of Myriad, he thought to each person in his range, with all of them having received at least one benefit from his god’s church before. Be it one of Ben’s many items bearing Myriad’s name, an awakening, or their soul modification, Ben had brought his god from the smallest faith on the planet to a household name, and, with his generosity, earned his deity endless prayer.
Prayer, but few converts. The impression of Myriad’s church was at an all-time high, being one of invention, resourcefulness, and generosity, given everything any common citizen could be aware of regarding their contribution to the war effort, but without seeing anyone specifically try to convert them, many of them were content to see it as one faith going above and beyond for the world. Grateful for sure, and worthy of prayer whenever their efforts were remembered, which could be as often as one of them looked at their equipment or checked their status, but only a fraction of them converted away from the more quiet gods they’d been devoting themselves to.
And despite all of that, Ben was actually fairly fine with that. Myriad didn’t need to be their primary target of worship to receive faith from them, and having all of the world’s mortals appreciate him was worth far more in the long run than it would be to convince another one or two hundred to accept the cube into their hearts as their primary target of worship instead. It was a matter of scale, and yet, even considering that, there were still reasons to want to grow their faith as well.
If the war ended and the world was safe once more, then there was no doubt that everyone alive would continue to remember the acts of Myriad’s church, but what about the generation after that, or a few more down the line? Plenty would still have Ben’s work, his designs wouldn’t break down in only a few generations, and plenty still might appreciate what those tools would do for them enough to give a prayer from time to time, but it would lack the weight they currently have. Those were tools that were giving hope, letting others believe that they had a future. The context would be too different, and the faith his god would gain would diminish.
No, what Myriad needed for his long-term well-being was consistency. People worshiped the gods of their lost worlds, yes, but more than that, it wasn’t too different from any religion on Earth. People worshiped the gods their parents worshiped, meaning that if he was going to ensure Myriad’s long-term comfort, he needed to recruit people who would one day teach their children to respect and love him.
Of course, all of that in reality was nothing more than a side benefit to Ben’s continued revenge against the gods who’d wronged him. If it really mattered, Ben could just keep making more and more soul tiles for Myriad, construct towers that touched the skies and burrowed deep into the depths of the world, all giving the cube faith, and if the world did win in the end, then maybe one day he’d even do so, but none of that would lose the defeated or coward gods their believers, which was a much greater priority as Ben specifically sought out such people as he looked in all of the minds he touched, judging them as he did.
There were some who just weren’t worth trying to convince. People whose devotion ran too deep, but those were far from the majority. There were plenty who felt their faith shaking with the end of the world, who needed a kind ear to listen, and it was those ones he reached out to, increasing their thought speeds and pulling them into his mind, giving them a friendly smile in the face of their confusions.
“Sorry to surprise you, but you seemed troubled,” Ben said to one man as he jumped, confused and not understanding what was happening. “There’s no need to panic. I am a humble follower of Myriad, one that was helping to distribute those new skills to you, but while doing it, I saw you were having a hard time. Please, if it’s not a bother, sit, and let me lend you my ear.”
He created a table and chairs as he said it, products of his mind designed to perfectly match the other’s comfort, along with both food and drinks with flavours strongly attached to positive memories the other held, that same bit of manipulation happening a hundred times over with others he’d pulled into his head as well, all of them giving in to his kindness in the end as the smells of it won them over, taking their seats and eating when Ben prompted them to, wearing a look of pure kindness as he did.
“Things haven’t been easy on you, have they?” He asked, choosing his words while reading the other’s mind to provoke the emotions Ben wanted to elicit.
“Ah, I think that’s true of everyone,” the man told him, sheepishly rubbing his head and embarrassed to be feeling such a thing when others in the world were surely going through worse, either losing their homes or losing loved ones to the continued devastation of the invasion.
“That doesn’t mean your own feelings matter any less. We all have our burdens, and with the way things are, those burdens are far from few. We can’t go weighing our struggles against each other to decide who needs sympathy. In the church of Myriad, we help one another, just like our god helps us.”
“For one of his priests, I’m sure, but…”
He stopped, too late in catching himself before he said something rude and was left all the more embarrassed for it, but Ben just gave a friendly laugh, shaking his head.
“I won’t deny that I’m a priest, but I will deny my god doesn’t act the same for everyone,” Ben told him. “In my time, I’ve met many people and many gods, and I’m comfortable saying that Myriad is the friendliest. He doesn’t have a single believer he doesn’t know the name of, nor one he hasn’t directly exchanged words with, and I can even give you a way to prove it.”
He created a resistance amulet on the man as he said it, both in his mind space as well as in the real world to remove any bit of incongruity once he was released as Ben went on. “Our biggest church is currently in Anailia; feel free to chat with any of the believers there when you get the time, but… Ah, I’m sorry to have given you a little spiel. He may be my god, but he’s also my friend, but this close to the third wave isn’t the time to be sharing his good points. I brought you here to speak, so please, do so freely, and I’ll be more than happy to listen.”
“Well, um, if you’re sure,” the man started, sharing his problems, all while Ben’s words circled his head. When it felt like the god he’d devoted himself to all of his life likely didn’t even know his name, the idea of one that he could meet, even if only once, was a temptation that wouldn’t leave, creating a sudden desire for change as his heart began to lighten.
Myriad told him, sounding stunned.
Too soon, man.
I’m converting them, just like you’ve always wanted. No lies, no mind control, no duplicitous actions.
Yeah, and?
Myriad, if you think other gods aren’t doing the same, then you’re being naive.
Yeah, they aren’t doing it as well as I can, but they would be if they could. You think other priests aren’t looking for weaknesses they can exploit when trying to get a new believer? Not trying to find people who look like they’re having a rough go of things to offer some comfort and some kind words?
Okay, well for one, I’m only doing this to believers of either the defeated or the coward gods, so it’s not like I’m screwing over anyone in my good books, and two, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think you’d be an improvement.
No, I’m fighting that. If you were worse than their current gods, then I wouldn’t be screwing over innocent people just to hurt their deities. In my eyes, you’re objectively better, and as such, they’ll be objectively better off for following you. This is a win-win.
Myriad, what is trying to change someone’s mind if not an act of manipulation? But also no. This city just happened to be close to a few of the first destinations I need to hit. Watch closely, because I’m going to the defeated gods’ biggest cities and towns one by one today and converting everyone I can. Be prepared, because you’re about to go from a god with thousands of believers to millions.