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Chapter 153: Pantheon (2)
Chapter 153: Pantheon (2)
Alright, the general Pantheon and the temple of Baal, the God of the Sky, have been completed for now.
Now, what should I do next?
I still have to make a place for my temple, though. but it's a bit of a hassle.
Maybe I can just finish it roughly and let the incoming gods take care of the rest? That would be more comfortable for me.
What should I do? How should I go about this? I'm starting to not want to work anymore. But other tasks are piling up during this time.
Ah, if only I had one more of me. Then I could divide the work and get it done faster.
Ah, that's it! What about creating an artificial intelligence or something like an automated response system?
The task that takes up the most of my work as the Goddess of Life is responding to the prayers of believers. If I could create an AI or automated system to handle that part...it might be able to reduce 20%, no, 30% of my work!
But even if I create an AI, I'm not sure how to make one yet. There aren't any computers, calculators, or vacuum tubes in this world.
I'll have to think more about that idea later."Wow.... that's amazing..."
As I was finishing up the Pantheon, an exclamation came from behind me.
Hmm. So she has been lurking behind me the whole time.
I almost forgot she was there when I wasn't paying attention.
"To see the creation of a new world, it's truly astonishing..."
Nyx's voice was full of wonder. This must be a sight she had never seen before.
Well, as a newly born goddess, everything must feel new and wondrous.
"This is the world where the gods will reside. I built it above the clouds so it's not easily accessible."
"Ooh, what is the name of this world?"
"I've named it the Pantheon."
"The Pantheon..."
"A grand temple where many gods will dwell. Or rather, it's more of a world than just a temple."
"Will all the gods live here?"
I shook my head slightly at Nyx's words. All the gods... that would be too much.
Not that the size is too small or insufficient. It's just that there will be gods who cannot come here.
For example, the gods of mountains or rivers.
Those gods are deeply tied to their natural elements and cannot stray too far from their essence. In a way, they are like bound deities, though they are still gods.
It would be difficult, even dangerous, for a god to distance themselves too much from their core nature. The newly born gods are too weak for that.
Only the gods whose essence is more free, or those with great power, could potentially come here.
"Then, there won't be many gods coming here, will there?"
"But I must consider how many more gods will be born in the future."
I did make the space expandable in proportion to the number of gods and the faith directed towards them, but there is a limit to the maximum size, which is equal to the expanse of the sky in this world, around 40 km in height.
"But, if it's built this high up, how will the other gods enter?"
"Hm?"
"Not all gods can fly, right? I can't either..."
Ah, I see. That's another issue I overlooked.
My children and I have such great power that flying is no problem, so I didn't consider that.
What should I do now? I can't lower the height of this world, and making a staircase or ladder all the way up would be a hassle.
Hmm... a staircase reaching up to the sky... a ladder... Ah, that's it!
Rainbow? Like the Bifrost of Norse mythology?
Hmm, should I abandon the concept of opening at dawn and dusk? If I use that rainbow to let them climb up, it would certainly look plausible, but I don't want to give up the concept of opening only at dawn and dusk.
And if I put a rainbow bridge to let them climb up, there will surely be humans climbing up on it.
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Hmm... Okay, let's do it this way.
They can climb up the rainbow bridge, but they won't be able to enter the Pantheon directly.
A gateway to the Pantheon... Another gateway, huh. Sigh. I've made so many of those in the afterlife too...
Anyway, let's create a space on the clouds where they can wait before entering the Pantheon. Like a checkpoint to manage the entry. I'll place a god I can trust there to oversee the entry management.
That way, even if a human or other subrace tries to climb up, there won't be any issues.
The rainbow may not appear that often... But I can make it different from a regular rainbow. Create sky-climbing points all over the world and connect them with a rainbow bridge periodically.
No, maybe I should make it an invisible rainbow that only the divine can see and use. Put a restriction that only those with divinity can see and climb it.
Yes, that's better. Visible to the gods but invisible and inaccessible to mortals.
And... Hmm. Rather than a rainbow bridge, a rainbow elevator might be better? It would give the feeling of ascending upwards. It's quite high, so it would take a long time to climb directly.
Really, if all the gods could fly through the sky, I wouldn't have to go through this hassle. How annoying.
So I created a space on the clouds as a waiting area before entering the Pantheon, and placed rainbow elevators around the world to connect the lower realm and the Pantheon.
The elevators are shaped like cylinders attached to the rainbow. They're quite fast, taking only about 5 minutes to reach the entrance of the Pantheon.
I even isolated the space inside the elevators to ensure the passengers don't feel any discomfort... Am I being a bit too meticulous?
It would be fine to just make it roughly, but I seem to be putting too much care into each detail. Hmm.
Well, since I'm making it, I might as well make it well.
After testing the completed elevators a few times, I got a good evaluation from Nyx.
"Amazing! The ground is disappearing in an instant!"
Okay, this should be enough.
Let's see, then... I should go find the god to guard the entrance of the Pantheon.
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The entrance of the Pantheon... It must be managed thoroughly, and I should entrust it to a god I can trust.
The number of gods will continue to increase until human intelligence develops further, and it is inevitable that these increasing gods will act as they please.
Among them, there will surely be gods who want to bring their favorite humans to the Pantheon.
Therefore, the god guarding the entrance must have enough power to suppress other gods, and must be a god I can trust.
Naturally, the candidate had already been decided.
"It's been a while."
A considerably dilapidated temple, far from its former glory. It's hard to believe this was once the temple of a god who commanded the entire faith of the great nation of Arcadia.
Curled up on the central dais of the temple is a small dog. It stands up as it notices me.
The first beast. The god of the beastmen.
In the past, the beast god traveled the world with the hero and me.
Hundreds of years have passed. Due to the strong influence of the beastmen, the beast god who was worshipped as a national deity in Arcadia has lost a significant amount of faith, as the main faith of Arcadia has shifted to other gods.
"kkngg... (Whine)"
I stroked the head of the beast god who was curled up at my feet. Even though it has lost much of its faith, to see it diminished to this extent.
I had heard about the state of faith in Arcadia, but I never imagined it would decline this much.
This is due to the changing demographics of Arcadia due to the influx of foreigners, and the changing faith of the younger beastmen.
In past, the beastmen were marginalized compared to other subraces, and even among the beastmen, there was discord depending on the animal they were associated with. The unification of faith by the first beast and the psychological support it provided were crucial.
But now, the position of the beastmen has improved, and they have the leeway to believe in various gods. As a result, the first beast, who could not provide meaningful blessings like other gods, has gradually lost its faith.
This is a small dog-like figure before my eyes now.
"I have prepared a place for you, so let's go together."
After all, we used to travel together. I can't just leave it here.
"nng... (Whine)"
But the first beast shook its head, as if it could not leave this place.
As if it couldn't leave a temple that was so old and dusty compared to the others.