Zagan stood on his four legs, his thick coat of wavy black fur swaying as a strong westward breeze swept through. His head followed the breeze, looking back west, and he looked beyond as Li did, to the burning h.e.l.lscapes he had called home for many hundreds of years.

Li knew the demons did not at all operate their society through sentimentality, following only the strong without regrets, but at that moment, he almost felt as if the demon yearned for home, however brutal it might have been.

"I ask of you, Elder One," said Zagan as his crimson eyes flashed, widening in focused resolve. "Should you traverse westward to face the demonic see, then I wish to go by your side."

"Of course," said Li.

"And I wish, no, it is my responsibility to face the Burning One in battle and put him down. He my personage advised, rearing from lowly imp to archon of the demonic arts, and if my teachings have led to this, it is mine own strength that must end it."

"I can respect that wish. I have no true qualms against this Burning One – I don't even know him - but at this rate, our paths will clash, and only one path will continue to pave forward to the future.

My path. And you understand this. It is truly unfortunate that the one you reared must face the one you swore allegiance to, so at the very least, if defeating him with your own hands will give the two of you peace, then so be it."

=======

Li headed back to the berry bushes to check up on Azhar. Unfortunately, Zagan had not been able to help much, but at the same time, Li learned more about the demons. They were powerful, but they were not G.o.ds.

They were like the dragons – extremely long lived and powerful, but still distinctly physical, living species. Their power was only their own; they did not receive nor see the point in wors.h.i.+p or blessings. They helped mortals only in the same capacity as a chef investing many c.u.mbersome hours into preparing a fine meal: it was simply an elaborate means to satisfy their primal hunger. 

Which made Li wonder exactly how much power the four G.o.ds derived from mortal wors.h.i.+p. Or if it was even power they received. Certainly, they gave out their power through skills and spells and stats but did they did not seem to receive anything in return.

At the least, they were not that much stronger than they were in the game.

Perhaps there was some other benefit they got, but as to what it was, Li could not fathom, nor could he ask them considering they were holed up in Valhul, which he decidedly did not want to return to. Maybe when Chi You managed to manifest in Launcelot's body Li could open a dialogue about G.o.dhood. He was sure the war G.o.d would be friendly enough for it.

"Lad! Nice of you to join us once more," said Old Thane as he waved Li over.

"So, has he killed anything yet?" Li put a hand on Old Thane's shoulder as he looked to the garden, spying Azhar with the shears planted in the ground, a proud smile wreathed on his face.

"I'm done, that's what it is," said Azhar. "And I ain't killed anythin'. Old man said I might even have knack for this, though it's still boring as h.e.l.ls work."

"Boring only if you don't appreciate it," said Li as he scanned the pruned bushes, nodding. They were trimmed to acceptable quality, and Old Thane was right: Azhar had improved, managing to get through the bushes with some finesse even with one arm.

"Cut the young lad some slack," said Old Thane. "Young and rearing to go with energy as he is, I am sure merely pruning does not sate his adventurel.u.s.t."

"Slack doesn't exactly go hand in hand with improvement, but you're right: he's on a different path form us." Li nodded to Azhar. "Now get yourself ready to go back to the woods. You still haven't learned [Scattershot], and the wyrm needs her daily dose of fighting."

Li prepared to go to the cottage where the wyrm was probably sleeping by the fireplace – her favorite spot – but Old Thane stopped him, tapping his back.

"Lad, young lady from the stall wished to tell me she wanted to hear from you."

"Oh?" Li looked to the stall. Iona nodded to a trio of hunters that had come back from the woods. One of their arms was wrapped in a sling, and they pooled together coins to buy a few healing elixirs for their wounded friend.

Li came up to the stall as the hunters left.

"Late customers, huh?" said Li to Iona.

"Pitiful existences." Iona looked out at the hunters as they walked down the main road, their legs hobbling from exhaustion. "They brave the wilds from sunrise to sunset only to find nothing, for they lack the natural weapons of nature – vigor, strength, claws, poison –, all to lose coins at the end of the day. That is not a…," she paused, narrowing her eyes as she recalled. "A profitable venture."

Li wondered if he was accidentally creating a capitalist forest spirit. He shrugged and said, "They probably don't look at the big picture like that. They live day to day, in the now and present. They're probably just happy this stall exists and we helped their friend heal. In any case, what did you want to see me about?"

Iona grew cautious and beckoned Li to come inside as she shut down the counter blinds, the wooden gate and tarp falling to seal it shut.

Inside, Li found pure darkness, though since both he and Iona could see in the dark, this was no impediment.

"Forgive me if you wished to keep this from me, but did you unleash a divine decree?"

"I see. There is a chance I did. Explain what a decree is to me."

"Spirits at the level of divinities such as guardians like yourself are capable of uttering decrees, words with immense power, that carve into the world itself, making them true. Any spirit would be sensitive to such a decree, and there is only one divinity left in the entirety of this realm: you."

"I see."

Li nodded to himself. This further confirmed that demons like Zagan were not spirits or divine ent.i.ties. They might have had similar power and even control over souls and spiritual forces, but they themselves were corporeal existences.

"I didn't do much. The ranger you've been seeing following me. I've been training him, and he decided to become my follower and claimed I needed to have some kind of doctrine for him to follow. So I said what came to my mind."

"It is right that a being such as yourself have mortal wors.h.i.+ppers, but I am surprised, yes."

"I'm surprised too. I thought I wasn't in touch with my divine powers considering I'm actively trying to prevent them from overpowering the bits of humanity I have left. All it took was me saying a bunch of random stuff I thought up on the spot to unleash something as heavy and serious sounding as a divine decree?"

"Fundamentally, your divine power is a natural part of you, an extension of your will. It is unsurprising that it can seep through without your knowing, especially with your words. Words are supremely powerful, especially those heralding from divinity. Words give shape to thought, and thoughts give shape to the soul – a divine word gives shape to reality itself."

"It isn't as if all my words are changing things, though."

Iona sat on the work table, her head c.o.c.ked in thought. "That is true, yes, but perhaps this case may be so because you willed your words in your capacity as a divinity, not as a human."

Li paused. "Perhaps? You mean to say you don't know for sure?"

Iona shook her head. "I am no divinity. I am merely a forest spirit, and a degraded one at that, considering the human lives I have devoured that have diluted my being."

"But didn't you give blessings to mortals? Teachings?"

"The teachings, I did so through my own effort and time. I did not forward them knowledge and power, merely counseling words and understanding. The domain of blessings and decrees was not mine to claim, left solely to the discretion of guardians."

Li nodded. So she wouldn't be too helpful in this whole follower-religion ordeal either. He was beginning to understand that the beings around him, as fantastical as they were, were not him. They only grasped certain parts of him.

Zagan knew of his eldritch powers and the nature of his mortal soul. Iona knew of his side as a guardian and forest spirit.

But neither of them had a truly full understanding of him.

"What does a decree do?" said Li.

"It depends, yes." Iona's tone became didactic. "It depends on your Dominion, of course, which is what aspects of the world are under your control.

Greater spirits, for example, may embody certain elements. A spirit of rain, for example, may decree that it shall rain, and it will. A forest guardian may decree to raise up trees that have fallen to errant fires.

Of course, there are limitations as to the effect of the decree depending on the power of the spirit or divinity behind it."

"And in my case, I'm a.s.suming the limitations are that I simply can't access the full brunt of my divinity."

"That seems to be the case, yes, though I see now that your divinity can bleed through."

Li realized it had happened once already before. When he made that oath to Old Thane, promising that the farm would be eternal and reach heights never before even conceived of. That had not felt like him speaking at all during that time, but now, he realized he had issued a decree without it feeling unnatural to him.

To some degree, his divinity had become stronger, though not by much.

"What does this mean for me? For the ranger?"

"You should not worry for your human nature, no. This is merely an echo that has managed to well up through the many layers of humanity you yet still possess." Iona pursed her lips. "For the mortal? You said you established a doctrine, no?

Then words have been engraved upon the world, words heralding the beginning of your faith. You have become a shepherd, and all those that place faith upon you and heed your words will become your sheep."

"Huh. So I really have started a religion. Just like that."

Li crossed his arms, conceptualizing the many ramifications of this decision, but ultimately, he knew that the conditions he had placed on Azhar and his own commitment to the farm made the spread of this fledgling faith unlikely.

"What about blessings? The ranger, I guess he's my follower now, wanted me to give him power."

"I do not truly know, for I have never given a blessing myself, no. Through my experiences, I believe it is a natural process. One as easy as thinking. But you are a mortal turned divinity, so none of this would seem innatel to you, and so I have little idea."

Iona looked down. "I am deeply sorry for my lack of ability to aid you."

"It's fine," said Li. "We all work within our own means. Looks like only time will tell what'll happen."