The Four Realms

I stared at the enormous sun that appeared in front of me, unsure of how to feel about the sheer, gargantuan size of the thing. The orange and yellow fire swirled and roared in a cosmic maelstrom of heat, radiating forth from the seemingly infintely powerful heavenly body. Though, to be honest, I wasn't quite sure how it matched up to other suns, from other universes. My memories were pretty fuzzy...though they had gradually started to become clearer after the creation of the sun. Was this a side-effect of creating light and darkness, all in one fell swoop?

Either way, my musings were interrupted by a strange feeling, and a strange sound. It sounded like some enormous being let out a breath, and as it did so a power rushed over my incorporeal body, transforming it. It felt tingly and warm, somehow reminding me of the embrace of a mother or father. Then, my form began to change. It was a very, very strange feeling, having a body created for you while you are still concious, and able to watch it all happen. Was this how my children felt? No, I got the feeling that they were not concious during the process. Anyways, it was still a little strange, and when the process finished I set about exploring my new body.

It was humanoid, like my children, with two arms, two legs, eyes, a nose, a mouth, and rounded ears. All that. It feels weird, having to confirm that I had all those appendages. My skin was a healthy tan, my body and face completely androgynous, with black hair showing a hint of age in the form of white streaks. Six appendages sprouted from my back, ever shifting and never fully visible -its was as if six wings of Primordial Chaos were stuck to my back, following wherever I go. As soon as I thought that, I realized that was the case. The six appendages, six columns of chaos, were just that. Primordial Chaos, in its purest form. What function that had, I don't know. As for my eyes, they were...green. That's it. Just simple, straightforward green eyes. (I didn't know how wrong I was in that assumption at the time.)

How I knew all this was because I could view my body in a strange, almost disembodied manner. But, more than that, I simply knew what my body looked like, how it moved, and how it worked. This body had been created for me from the purest parts of my soul, and I knew it inside and out. Because of that, I also knew that this single form was not the limit. I could change.

So I toyed with my body for a while. I transformed into a girl, I turned into a guy, the primordial chaos that followed me condensed into six balls that floated in a semi-circle behind me, and turned into great wings. Eventually I figured out that my body could change in a pattern something like a circle, with the perfectly androgynous form at the very center. I couldn't extend my body outside of that circle (or else it'd be considered a transformation, not a part of my 'original form'), but anything within that circle was fair game. Strangely, I couldn't change my eye color, and my hair color would never go lighter than a deep brown, without counting as a 'transformation.' The difference between 'transformation' and 'original' being comfort. I felt perfectly at home in an 'original' form, but upon undergoing a 'transformation,' I could clearly tell that it was no longer truly my body.

Eventually I settled into a single form, one of a rather feminine-looking male, with shoulder-length black hair streaked with the same white as before. My primordial chaos settled into the form of six rings, floating in a circle behind my back. For some reason, I got the feeling that not all deities had forms as fluid as my own. It was then that a ding echoed in my mind, and a blue box appeared before my eyes.

Congratulations! You have completed [Stage 1] of the [Deity Trials]!

Of the twelve souls participating, you finished 8th. Results will be displayed below.

I frowned and looked at the box, waving my hand through it to see if it would dissappear. When it didn't I focused on the [Stage 1] thing, wondering what the entire thing was about. A long, comprehensive explanation in the form of a blue box appeared, and what I managed to get out of it was thus: the [Diety Trials] is basically a grace period in which new, universe-creating deities figure out how things work without having to fear too much interference from outside forces (though there are ways to slip through the cracks, so the box told me to be careful despite this grace period.) As for [Stage 1], it was a test to see what my powers as an [Origin Diety], or creator of a universe, would be, along with the form of my 'Universe,' or 'domain.' This test was to create five objects, which would be analyzed, thus deciding my powers and the shape of my domain.

It also stated that the blue boxes were part of the powers of the creator diety of the entire Multiverse, and would dissappear along with the grace period. The nigh-limitless powers of creation that I had will be severely limited after the end of [Stage 1] as well, and I'll need to get back up to that level on my own, however that works. With that in mind, I focused on what the results were.

Results

Diety of Balance, creator of the Four Realms

Creations

1) Souls; 2) Opposing Siblings; 3) Balancing Realms; 4) Realm Guardians; 5) Realm Sun

Analysis

1) Souls: Your desire for companionship overcame your desire for substance, resulting in the birth of souls. These souls were born both of your own being, and were drawn in from the endless spaces beyond the Multiverse.

2) Opposing Siblings: Taking two souls who responded to the wavelengths of your own, you created two siblings with powers that both compliment and clash with each other. These siblings went on to create two realms that matched with their powers.

3) Balancing Realms: Seeing the chaos of your children's creations, you created two new realms to balance them out. One realm acts as a buffer, and the other as the glue which holds them all together.

4) Realm Guardians: Immediately after, you called for two more souls to balance out the power between the four realms, resulting in much more stablility.

5) Realm Sun: In [Stage 1], all dieties will, at one point, utter the words "Let there be light," with varying effects. In your case, it created a sun that would shine its light down upon all of your creation. Hence the title of Realm Sun.

Domain

Four Realms (Three Realms Variant). The Four Realms is an incredibly rare variant of the Three Realms template (which consists of the Heaven, Earth, and Inferno realms). Currently no other Four Realms exist within the Multiverse, as they all either collapsed from poor management or were destroyed by outside forces. From henceforth, your domain shall be called the Four Realms. Good luck.

Way to end on an ominous note, jackass. Honestly, that's no way to introduce someone to a game in which an untold number of souls were at stake! Good luck my deific ass. With a sigh I shake my head, shaking off the pressure I felt. Things were just getting started, there was no need to worry about that at the moment. (Subconciously I realized why my body was so fluid in nature. Of course the Diety of Balance would have a fluid body. And thus, two new forms were added to my 'standard forms list.' A much more masculine version of my current form, and a purely female form.) Another ding drew me out of my thoughts, the previous boxes dissappearing and being replaced by another.

All participants have completed [Stage 1]. [Stage 2] is starting now! Time until completion: 500 million years.

The goal of [Stage 2] is to get started on the actual creation of your domain. With the foundation set, it is time to start building. Create a system for souls to travel through, learning along the way and gradually increasing their power...so long as they do things right. The main goal of being a Diety is to raise as many souls into a higher realm of existance than before, to become a part of your 'army.' How this is achieved is up to you, although most do this through purification of the soul. Good luck.

Side note: In a few million years, all twelve souls currently creating their domains will have a meeting, and compare notes. This is a good way to build camaradarie, as this is a friendly competition. Additionally, your personal power will increase with your influence, and can also increase with a number of other, obscure ways. Have fun figuring out what works and what doesn't.

[Stage 2] will now begin. 5...4...3...2...1... [Stage 2] has begun. Delivering power and returning natural memories to the participants...

I clutched my head as information ran through it at the same time that power surged through my body. An inherent knowledge of the powers of Balance was ingrained in me as I recalled my life as a soul in my old universe, mostly living as a human on the planet Earth. Ten lifetimes total were spent on that planet, and I even ended up becoming an angel somewhere around 2587 of that world's calendar. All knowledge I had amassed during that time returned to my mind as well, bringing along with it...my personality. It had been but barebones until now, and the fact that I had been 'chosen' for this 'honored task' against my will thoroughly pissed me off. There had been no selection process, I had been manipulating some mortals so that they'd stop being such jackasses, when suddenly BAM! I'm a deity. No warning whatsoever.

"I DON'T WANT THIS DAMNED JOB!" I roared at no one in particular. Just being an angel overseeing a single planet was hard enough! I don't want to be in charge of an entire universe! Unfortunately for me, though, that was the case, and there was no crying over spilt milk. I wasn't going to use my old world's system, this universe was already too different for that. That universe had tied purification of the soul and 'power' to karma. The more good karma amassed, the more powerful one could become. In the spirit realm, at least. I'd have to think of something else. Brainstorm a bit.

With my venting officially finished, I floated off towards where my children were gathering to look at me. Since I'm here, I guess I'll do my job, which begins with getting my four realms in order, and setting up a few systems and guidelines. Oh! And while I'm at it I'm going to become so freaking powerful that I won't be plucked out of my spot EVER AGAIN!