The banquet was in full swing, with people dancing, singing, crying, and cheering.

  Duke Caldwell arrived with both Violet’s parents and Annabelle’s family. “Well, looks like they started already.” He chuckled.

  “They are not like human nobles. They don’t have to wait for us.” Lady Cambel giggled.

  Violet noticed them and waved them over.

  They arrived at what seemed to be the table of honor, where the main heroes were.

  “We heard you all succeeded. Word is spreading nationwide about the Forest Song and her rapidly growing legend.” Duke Cambel stated.

  Melody sighed in relief. “I like that title much more.”

  “You will always be the Crimson Goddess.” Violet teased.

  “So, who is this lovely new giant?” The guild master asked.

  “Oh! Everyone, this is my mother, Gaia. She evolved into a dryad herself.” Melody happily announced.

  “That is good to hear that she woke up!” Lady Cambel stated. “I am happy for you, Melody.”

  Heavy steps could be heard approaching. They turned to see a group of mountain giants approaching.

  “Mother Koda!” Melody quickly stood, grew to giant size, and moved to embrace the elderly giant.

  “I am so happy to see that you succeeded, Melody. I couldn’t wait for you to come to me, so we decided to come to you.” Mother Koda cheerily said.

  “Mother… Koda?” Gaia slowly approached. “It can’t be….”

  Mother Koda separated from Melody. “Little spriggan, not so little anymore.” She laughed.

  The two stood before each other.

  “You know, I never did hear the answer to my question, Gaia.” Mother Koda warmly smiled.

  Gaia smiled and hugged her old friend. “It took you dying to show me the answer. The cycle of life and death.”

  Mother Koda laughed. “Correct! Took you long enough!”

  The two old friends laughed heartily while hugging and crying simultaneously.

  Gaia abruptly separated from Mother Koda. “Oh! You have to try Fruit Cake! Come!” She excitedly dragged the mountain giant off to the large table to eat.

  “Your grace! Mother, Father! Come eat!” Violet called for them.

  Lady Cambel looked around. “Wait, where is Melody?”

  The guild master looked around, too. “Huh. Where did she wander off to?”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Melody found Lord Tulsen with Eric, enjoying a golden liquid while sitting at a small table, separated from the main festivities.

  “What brings you here, Melody?” Lord Tulsen asked with a grin that made him look like a villain.

  Melody took a deep breath. “Lord Tulsen, I like you, and I want to try to have a relationship with you,” she said.

  Lord Tulsen sighed and turned to face her. Eric scratched his head awkwardly before disappearing.

  “Melody, I am sorry, but I only have one woman I love. I don’t have any room in my heart for anyone else.” He answered her directly, but something gave her the vibe that he was hiding something from her.

  She sighed heavily. “Well, I tried.” Melody shrugged.

  He smirked. “You don’t seem too broken up about this?”

  “Did you want me to be?” Melody asked.

  Lord Tulsen laughed. “Let me guess, Eric warned you?”

  Melody nodded. “Yes. He didn’t give me any details but told me that you have one wife and that you have many who love you but are loved by you like family.”

  “Guess I owe him for this.” He chuckled. “Normally, things are considerably messy. I thank you for your feelings, but I cannot reciprocate.”

  Melody shrunk and sat down at the table. “Will you come back?”

  “The storm has passed.” He answered, pouring her a drink. “This is quite strong.”

  Melody picked up the glass and took a sip. The taste was strong, smooth, and spicy. “That’s okay, I have immunity to abnormal conditions,” she giggled.

  “It is not to say we won’t ever see each other again. Once you ascend to becoming a goddess.” He refilled his glass and called Eric back, refilling his glass.

  “Me? Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. How long till I do?” Melody asked.

  “When you killed Rul, you absorbed the divine power of Kraul, putting you on the path of ascension. It is hard to tell when you may ascend. A year? Months? Hell, it could happen right now.” Lord Tulsen answered while chuckling.

  She took a big gulp from her glass. “Will I have to leave this world? Actually, will I be okay!?”

  Lord Tulsen laughed. “You will be fine. Divine power is divine power. It doesn’t matter where it came from. It is like the silly question of what makes a weapon evil? It’s existence? Or the wielder?” He took a sip from his glass. “As for your stay in the world, Eric?” He turned to the man.

  “Mm.” He had to stop mid-drink and swallow. “Prick.” He laughed at Lord Tulsen. “You will be something special. See, I am something called a Free God, which allows me to travel the various worlds.”

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  “Though he is still learning.” Lord Tulsen chuckled.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Eric waved him off. “You will be able to stay in the world, but as time goes on, the time you can stay will get shorter. I believe your gods will pull you to the heavens to train you at some point. That is how I learned.”

  “So, are there different types of gods?” Melody asked.

  Eric nodded. “Free, World, Servant, and Omni are prominent.”

  “World gods would be like Lyuten and her group. They are connected to the world and cannot travel about or interact with world clusters like we can. They would need permission, and time away from their world would be limited. They would have to return and ‘Recharge’ at some point.” Lord Tulsen stated. “Servant gods are kind of like employees who can travel to different clusters but work for World gods. Their power is nowhere near the level of world gods. I guess you could say they are closer to Eric’s wives in power.”

  “The Omni gods are basically the top of the top. They can’t take care of worlds or move into clusters. They can only reside in the divine realm.” Eric added.

  “How powerful are the Omni gods?” Melody was curious.

  “Let’s just say if they were to descend into a cluster, it would explode,” Eric stated.

  “Or implode.” Lord Tulsen added with a chuckle.

  A chill ran down Melody’s spine.

  “Then what was Kraul?” Melody asked.

  Lord Tulsen answered. “The Gods of Tartarus are the opposite of the Divine Gods. The divine creates, builds, and maintains worlds. By doing so, they can grow in power. The Gods of Tartarus cannot create, only increasing their power by killing or fighting. They are obsessed with power, coveting and desiring it. Long ago, they became jealous of the Divine Gods and their power of creation. Their goal is to kill the divine gods to gain the power of creation.”

  Melody tilted her head. “So, why did Kraul want to invade our world?”

  “Tartarus and the Divine realms are completely separated. The only thing that can connect them is the mortal world. He had to invade your world to be able to access the Divine Realm.” Lord Tulsen explained.

  Melody leaned back. “This is a lot to take in.”

  “You will need to know. You will be joining our numbers soon,” Eric said.

  “Well, I am glad I don’t have to leave my family and friends,” Melody commented.

  “Ah, here.” Lord Tulsen pulled a thick book out of thin air and held it out to her. “A gift from Lyuten.”

  “And this is?” She took the book and opened it.

  Eric chuckled. “I remember when I got mine! That is basically the Godly Rulebook and Guide.”

  Melody raised an eyebrow as she looked over the first few pages. “Why does this make no sense?”

  The pages contained words and letters, but they seemed more like gibberish written by a five-year-old with impeccable writing skills.

  The two men laughed, and Lord Tulsen answered. “It is because you haven’t fully ascended yet. Only a full god can read it during normal circumstances, but I can help you with that.”

  Drawing a finger across the cover of the book and touching Melody’s forehead, the book became clear.

  “Thanks!” She smiled and began reading. “This… is going to take a while.”

  Each page had a lot of information on it.

  Eric chuckled. “Don’t worry. Once you fully ascend, your mental faculties will greatly increase, making it quite simple for you to memorize all of it.”

  “How was the ascension for you?” Melody asked Eric.

  He shrugged. “Honestly, underwhelming. You would think ascending to becoming a god would be epic, but it was more of a burst of energy within, expansion of the senses, clarity of mind, and you glow until you figure out how to turn it off.” Eric laughed at the last bit.

  They heard a huff from someone approaching. “You have no idea. We couldn’t sleep in the same room as him for weeks.” It was Eric’s first wife, Micah, and the rest of his family.

  Eric laughed as he stood. “Be thankful Alex bound the book to you so you could read it. There is a section that goes into controlling your ‘Divine Glow.’ I recommend checking it out before you ascend.”

  Eric gathered up his family. “With that, we’ll be taking our leave. I am glad we were able to help you all. I wish you the best of luck in the future. Oh!” He pulled out a small gem and tossed it to Melody. “When you ascend, use that to give us a call. We’ll celebrate!”

  Melody thanked them, and the group disappeared.

  Lord Tulsen snorted and laughed as he stood.

  “What is it?” Melody asked.

  “To put simply, they’re going to get lost.” He shook his head. “Eric knows how to move between worlds and clusters, but not great as directions. I better head after them.”

  Melody giggled. “I see. Um, Lord Tulsen.”

  “Hm?” Before he turned his head, she quickly kissed him on the cheek.

  “Thank you for helping me save my world, even though you could have done it alone.” Melody stepped away.

  Lord Tulsen laughed. “Guess he blabbed about that too.” He shook his head and then faced her. “Just to be clear about the test, it was to see if you have the ability to ascend on your own, which usually involves dealing with the pawns of Tartarus. I mostly get involved when things get dicey.”

  “So I’m guessing I passed?” Melody asked playfully.

  Lord Tulsen chuckled. “With flying colors. See you soon, Melody.” With his final words, he vanished.

  “Mm?” Melody paused. “Wait, is Lord Tulsen a Free God, too? He never said…” She muttered.

  “Melody?” Rui called.

  She turned to face her sister, and a warm smile came to her face. “I’m not going anywhere, Rui.” Melody could feel her sister’s unease and worry.

  “You really won’t?” Rui asked.

  Melody walked over and hugged her sister. “Yes. I may go on trips and such, but I will always come home to see my little sister.”

  “I hope you will include us in that.” Okan chuckled as he, Gaia, and Autumn approached.

  Melody beamed. “Of course!” She grew to her standard size and hugged her family. “You are my family! I would never leave you behind!”

  “Still, to think my little great-granddaughter will ascend to godhood before me. It makes me so proud!” Gyyanrel spoke, sounding teary.

  “Good job, Melody!” “Be sure to stop by my Grove!” “Congratulations, grand-niece!” “Don’t forget about your other granduncles!” The voices and warmth of Melody’s family rolled over her like an ocean.

  Melody closed her eyes, and her smile got so big that her cheeks began to hurt, but then the pain vanished.

  “Ack!” “Huh?” “Uh…” Melody heard Rui, Autumn, and Gaia.

  “What is it? Melody opened her eyes and saw the whole area was lit up by a blinding light.

  “What is that light?” “What’s going on?” Various voices of those enjoying the party away from the area could be heard.

  “Melody.” Okan chuckling. “You’re glowing.”

  Melody looked down at her body. “Huh?”

  Her mind then spun for a moment, and an unknown strength and power exploded within herself.

  “Wait… WHAT?!” Melody couldn’t believe it was happening now!

  Melody’s mind cleared, realizing she could now sense… everything. The spirits of the world, every blade of grass, all the tiny insects, and the largest creatures were now within her range of sense.

  “Melody?!” Violet called out as she saw her friend.

  “Oh… my… goddess!” Annabelle cried happily.

  “What is going on?!” Duke Caldwell demanded to know.

  “Well,” Melody said as she picked up the book that automatically grew to a giant size, “I guess I have some required reading now that I am a god.” She laughed.