“I feel like I owe you much, given my influx of power.”

  Lassa waved it away. “It’s no problem at all, and you helped me answer a question I’ve had for a long, long time. Anyway, how familiar are you with us, as in, the gods?”

  “Not at all, other than the knowledge that there are some. We had several on our planet pre-System, but they tended to be a lot more hands-off.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Meaning one couldn’t just pop in and say hello to one. They were much more faith based.”

  “I see. Faith does play a part in our function, but it is miniscule with respect to System records.”

  “Guide told me about records, or karma, or whatever it’s called.”

  “Good,” she said. “Then you know that the more you gain, through challenges or in the case of the Bounty of the Deeps, gifts from those capable of granting records, the easier it becomes for you to improve yourself, usually in the case of leveling faster or gaining access to better skills. Upon reaching godhood, this shifts a bit. You can gain records through challenge, but there are so few things that can truly challenge you that the System has given us other options to gain records. Namely, blessings that we can give to people. Those of newly initiated universes give an extra little oomph to the returns.”

  Understanding, I said, “What exactly would a blessing entail, should I accept yours?”

  She smiled, “I ask only that you continue to get stronger and challenge yourself, as any records you gain will reflect upon me as the one who blessed you.”

  “And doesn’t your being able to show yourself to the masses kind of ruin the whole faith thing?”

  She chuckled, “No, Dan. Reverence is only made stronger when one reveals their power.”

  “But faith is belief in the unknown, is it not?” I asked.

  “To some degree, yes. But not in the sense that you think it is. Faith and the relevant practices for me, such as sacrifices, are more often attempts to gain the bounty side of my power, or at the least to avoid the doom.”

  “People sacrifice to you?”

  “Oh yes! All the time. It happens mostly in the universe over which I have direct control, but occasionally elsewhere.”

  “I’m not going to be doing that.”

  “I figured as much. I don’t need any sacrifices from you other than to accept the blessing.”

  “What is gained on my end for accepting such a thing? Are there levels of blessing like item rarity?”

  “That is very astute. Yes, there are variable blessings, and each will grant you certain boons, usually in the form of stat increases or gained skills. Also, you can only have a single blessing at a time, so there can be no cross contamination of records.”

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  “What is the highest form of blessing?” I asked.

  “The options are Lesser, Minor, Major, Greater, Divine, and Chosen.”

  “So, Chosen is highest. I met a guy who claims to be a Chosen. I don’t actually know if he is, but he was fairly adamant. And you gain records yourself relative to the level of blessing?”

  She nodded.

  “And giving blessings must have some sort of cost,” I said.

  “Yes. The scale is - I believe the term is ‘exponential,’ but math’s more of the Weaver’s territory than my own.”

  “So, Lesser blessings cost almost nothing, while Chosen has considerable cost?”

  “Yep! Specifically in the forging of the connection.”

  “Okay, can I ask you something else before we get deeper into the nitty gritty?” She nodded again. “Why did you try to seduce me earlier?”

  My question shocked her, but she only looked slightly offended, “I am as fluid as the Sea, my dear, and I always seduce those who enjoy my bounty. Who doesn’t like a little pre-meal snack like me? You are one of very few on whom it didn’t work.”

  “Well, I won’t deny your beauty, but you didn’t really answer my question. I'm not exactly equipped for such anymore. Plus, as a god, I'm sure you have your pick of suitors. Why me?”

  “You clearly aren't aware of how big your four hands are, Dan, but fine. Two reasons. It's a way for me to test resistances to my aura. Yours are top notch. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you ate the aura. Lucky aura, indeed.” She winked slyly at me.

  “I think your Hunger of the Deeps title must be innuendo. And the second?” I said, returning the wink.

  “Now’s the time to go over Concepts. Your consumption of my seduction tactic, compiled with your complete consumption of the Bounty of the Deeps and my own sense of you when first you arrived has lead me to believe that you bear a Concept. For a little more background, we gods are subdivided into 42 subcategories. I preside over Hunger, which is under the umbrella of Gluttony.”

  “Have you heard of the Chainwright?” I asked.

  Lassa scoffed. “He was another who was able to resist my wiles. He oversees Control under the umbrella of Temperance. Gluttony and Temperance are diametrically opposed.”

  “Explains why his chosen disliked me so much.”

  “That bastard beat me to the punch of having a chosen?!” she growled and lashed out, slaying a nearby giant squid. I tried unsuccessfully to resist flinching.

  “Yeah, that’s my bad. It took me a bit longer than I’d’ve liked to hit level 50.”

  Her visage softened as she motioned for me to stand before her. “I have a final thing I’d like to test, if you are up to it.” I nodded as I moved in front of her. “Open your largest mouth.” I opened the mouth on my chest wide. She shook her head. “You know your torso is longer than it is wide, right?”

  I looked at her in confusion, but realization struck as she opened her own mouth wide and turned her head sideways. With a moment of focus, a much larger, vertical split across my torso opened. “Holy shit! I never thought of that!”

  “One of the many reasons I should be your patron, Dan. Now, hold your mouth open wide!” She extended a hand and a beam of a sickly green light erupted, entering directly into my hungry core. I felt a greater surge of energy than I’d ever felt before, growing and growing. I felt my skin beginning to itch and burn as the consumed energy flooded my pathways. What felt like hours had passed, but it suddenly was cut off. I was breathing heavily and had to fight to not run around the deck of the ship to burn some of the energy pulsing through me. The pain crescendoed and I almost blacked out. A deep growl erupted from my throat as I fought it. I fell to a knee and braced myself with my two lower arms.

  Thalassa was wide eyed and began to dance and clap with excitement. She charged ahead and picked me up by the throat, though she didn’t choke me.

  “I KNEW IT!” She screamed into the depths. She set me down gently. “I thought maybe it would have been Gluttony, but the very Concept of Gluttony is overconsumption. As it is impossible for you to overeat, you cannot be possessed of the Gluttony Concept. My Dearest, Dearest Dan, you have made me happier than I’ve been in a very long time!”

  “You don’t bear a Hunger Concept. You A-AAAGH!” Thalassa screamed and grabbed her head, bending over in pain.