The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 45: The New God Of Eclipse

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Staying in this world as its goddess wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, and neither was I going to become the goddess of any world either. I was done with that sort of job. I spent thousands of years doing that in Murim, overseeing absolutely everything, controlling everything, and making sure everyone was happy. It was too tiring.

Yes, I will offer my protection and guidance, but I won’t be a ruler any more; I don’t want to. Maybe I could become somewhat of... Well, let’s call me a CEO. I am the CEO of this new little company I am making, a company of “replacement gods” that will replace the worlds I leave godless.

After all, it seems to still be quite a big deal; all of that Faith and Divine Essence would go to waste, and I am not someone who likes wasting precious resources. Because even for a Venerable such as myself, these Faith Points and the Divinity I developed are all rather precious.

So, I decided to give this dragon the privilege of becoming the god of both thrones, and I get ninety percent of the Faith he gains—a pretty good bargain, right? Compared to just either being killed or spared, simply going back to being a big monster, now all wounded,.

He accepted anyway; it wasn’t as if he was going to get worse; in fact, he was going to improve a lot from his current situation, even with me taking ninety percent of his earnings.

“Fine… I accept. I accept! I-I can’t just reject this opportunity anyway! And you… You would have killed me if I hadn’t, right?”

"Maybe, or maybe not. I might have let you go, perhaps. But now, you’ve accepted our deal. Sign this paper with your soul.”

I showed him a long golden paper I summoned out of my Inner Realm, an Oath forged using Primordial Immemorial Venerable Essence and many precious materials, a Soul Oath.

“The terms and conditions are there; you may read them if you please,” I said.

“Y-Yes, can you give me some glasses?” He wondered. “I-I can’t see well without being underwater.”

“Okay.” I gave him a pair of glasses, small but somehow fitting of his gigantic head.

He looked rather funny as he read the entire paper more carefully. It seemed Leviathan was more reasonable than I had originally expected. Or perhaps he was pretending to care to give me a good impression, and it might be working.

“So you will be really taking ninety percent of Faith… It also says I am not allowed to Raid other worlds?! But isn’t that how Gods gain their income to begin with?” He asked.

“You can gain Faith over time with followers and churches; how is that not good enough?” I sighed. “Though, I guess I can help you if you need souls. You see, I’ve been growing a dungeon myself, one where monsters constantly appear and souls simply materialize out of the Soul Essence I naturally exude, without any pain. So maybe we could find a sustainable way to gain Souls for more Faith Points and Divinity without having to kill innocent people, and just mindless beasts that get constantly created and recycled out of the “waste” my soul naturally emanates.”

“What?! That’s a thing, boss?!” He asked, already calling me his boss.

“It is only theoretically possible for now; I might need to gather more power and Dungeon Fragments before that theory can become a reality,” I explained. “But anyway, are you accepting or not?”

“Y-Yes!” He nodded as he used his own soul, shaping it into a small little finger, touching the paper, and leaving his sign, which resembled a big fish.

FLASH!

The oath was immediately turned into particles of light that flew toward both of our souls. And it was finally done. The only thing left was this…

“There, you are the new God of Eclipse, Leviathan.”

I touched his forehead as two powerful Divine Thrones were given to him. Divine Thrones was a rather funny thing. They didn’t exist before these Gods were born, but now that they were slain, they remain.

They are quite literally the metaphorical seats the Gods use, which allows them to become pillars of a world, absorbing their energy and also the Faith of believers and even their haters. As long as they believe in you, either by hating you or loving you, you gain power.

The terms and conditions I gave to Leviathan were reasonable: no killing, no evil cults, no raiding other worlds, no drowning the world like he originally wanted as a god, and giving me 90% of his earnings.

The rest? He can do whatever he wants; he can start churches, force the churches to fight one another, and become a corrupt bastard. I don’t care.

As long as he doesn’t go past a certain line, I’ll allow him to handle things on his own; even as a god, he might punish mortals too.

No, actually, I am not letting him do that last part unless they’re truly vile people.

FLASH!

Leviathan’s appearance changed once he became the God of Eclipse. His blue scales became black on one side and golden on the other. His two other heads didn’t regrow, though, and from their wounds, a pair of wings came out.

The black wing resembled a demonic one, and the other golden wing was feathered, like those of birds or angels. His scars weren’t fully healed but became beautiful tattoo-like marks glowing with gold and red light.

It was as if the wounds I inflicted upon him had “marked” his body, therefore becoming part of what he is and represents as a God. He even developed a small Divinity out of his already developing one.

Apparently, when you live almost a million years in a world of magic and reach level 5000 or higher, your soul begins to naturally form something resembling a Divinity.

Is this how some Gods might also be born, I wonder?

Ding!

[You have allowed {Leviathan, King of the Oceans} to take both of the available Divine Thrones of the First Floor World: Eclipse.]

[Leviathan has now become the God of both Divine Thrones! His body and soul are barely strong enough to take on the burden of both powers at the same time.]

[His Developing Divinity has evolved into a full Divinity Tree!]

[Leviathan has evolved into the [Primordial Serpent God of Creation and Destruction: Leviathan]!]

[The message of having become the new God spreads through the whole world!]

[The entire population of Eclipse acknowledges the existence of their new God.]

[Eclipse’s Pillars have stabilized.]

[Leviathan has been granted the opportunity to create his own Divine Realm.]

“Looks like it’s done. You want to make your Divine Realm, my disciple?” I asked him.

“Y-Yes, boss.” He nodded. “If preferably, can I get the skies? Now that I can fly… I’ve been in the seas for so long; it is tiring.”

“Okay, I get it.” I nodded. “Let’s go; I’ll help you.”

We moved to the skies briefly, and as he expanded his Divine Powers, the Thrones did most of the job as a new Divine Realm was formed. For a moment, I thought that I could farm Divine Realms and Divinities by constantly allowing other living beings to take on the thrones.

They need to be very strong, though, but it could be possible, right? However, I would never do such a vile and cunning thing anyway, and I believe the world doesn’t have endless energy. The Divine Thrones are fueled by Eclipse’s own World Essence, something that comes from the planet’s core.

It regenerates over time, but it is not something that should be abused, or I would risk getting this world entirely destroyed.

“Ahh, this realm is so beautiful! The skies! All mine! Hahaha! This feels so nice, boss!”

“Glad for you. How about you bring some of your minions back as your subordinates? I remember that goddess had a lot of angelic spirits.”

“Can I do that?!”

“You should be able to revive them by using their souls left behind. I didn’t take them.”

“T-Then…!”

Leviathan wished it, and streams of Divine Essence flowed everywhere as hundreds of souls of many giant and horrid-looking sea beasts appeared around him. They quickly were reborn as Angelic Spirits, gaining big, feathered wings and smaller, cuter appearances.

Yet they still looked like just flying fish, octopuses, sharks, and squids. I’ve created quite a peculiar Pantheon of a single God and many little Divine Spirits.

“Master Leviathan, you’ve become a god!”

“We are so happy you succeeded in defeating that human!”

“Hurray! Hurray!”

“I can talk now?!”

They were quite an amusing little group of sea monsters.

They quickly noticed I wasn’t dead, though.

“Wait a second, she’s not gone?!”

“Careful! She’s behind you!”

“Uaagh!”

They screamed and cried, trying to alert Leviathan that I was about to attack him from behind.

“No, it is fine. I am now working below her protection.” He spoke. “She allowed me to gain the throne for... Err, she acknowledged my strength!”

He didn’t want to say that I just had pity for him.

“Yes, that’s right.” I winked at him, deciding to go along with his little lie. “He was very strong and mighty, so I simply had to concede the thrones to him. Admire and praise him; he’s your new god!”

“Ooh! Lord Leviathan!”

“Woooohhh!”

“I always believed in you, my lord!”

“You look so cool too!”

“Please give me your babies!”

“Who said that?!” Leviathan looked around to find a little fish with three heads.

“Eeep! S-Sorry!” She covered her face with her fins. “I’m just in my egg-laying season…”

“Hah…” Leviathan sighed. “Anyways, we will start doing godly stuff! W-Whatever that is, actually, I never thought I would get this far; what the hell do I even do now?”

“Hahaha! Well, you can start by spreading your doctrine. I don’t know.” I said. “Maybe make a new church?”

“How do I do that?! Do I just go down there and tell them?!” Leviathan wondered.

“Yeah, I mean, you should.” I nodded. “Make yourself real to the people; show them you exist.”

“T-Then…! I will do it!” He said it bravely, but then stepped back. “Aaahh, I am so nervous though! P-Please boss, can you come with me? Pleaseeee…”

It was as if he was a young child, afraid of doing things on his own.

“I will watch you from afar, but you’ll do things on your own.”

“O-Okay!”

Like that, Leviathan descended from the skies. With my own recommendations, he appeared as a gigantic mass of light and darkness, surprising everyone as he created an artificial eclipse with his powers.

“Kneel before your new ruler, mortals! For I am the Primordial Serpent, the devourer of life and the bringer of death! I was born from your Gods’ corpses; I am both of them, yet I am also my own self!” He roared. “Those who want to become my believers! I will soon bring you miracles! Those with the strongest belief will get the best miracles. I will give you classes, special skills, and even items, as long as you offer me your eternal loyalty!”

“Oooh, a new god?!”

“It is him, the snake!”

“H-Holy sh*t, this is the first time this happens in the tower, right?!”

“I don’t think so, but it is certainly the first time in our lifespan.”

“Woah…”

As he gave his show, I nodded from afar as he looked back at me nervously. Once the show was over, we retreated back to the heavens.

“D-Did I do a good job? I was so nervous, I thought I was going to pee myself!” Leviathan cried.

I patted his big head and laughed.

“You did well, haha!” I laughed out loud. “Now let’s see what happens. For the moment, I will go back to my family and enjoy the rest of the day. You… You should probably rest. Leave your minions and everything else.”

“I should, yeah... Thank you so much, boss! I will make sure to be a good god!” He said.

“You better be.” I smiled. “After all, my income from Faith Points will depend on that.”

Finally leaving this whole ordeal to the side, I joined back with my entire family, where we enjoyed the beach, ate the delicious sea monsters we hunted, and then moved back to the city, where we reported the last S-Rank quests we completed.

"Congratulations, Bing Xue! Everyone! You finally completed all ten missions! You can now climb to the second floor!” Peperina was very happy.

Tomorrow was our date, by the way.

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