Chapter 64: The Bargain

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"I Will Be The God Of This New World."

– Light Yagami, (Death Note)

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<Omniscient POV>

"What... what is this place?" Phil stammered, bewildered by the sudden shift in his surroundings as well as the mysterious and handsome 'divine' figure wrapped in golden light, claiming to be God himself. 

'I sure hope this is not another prank by the boss... or worse, one of his loyalty tests.' Phil thought as he remembered how quirky his boss could be at the most unexpected of times.

The New God, on the other hand, regarded him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. "This is the realm of the mind, your mind to be exact, Agent Coulson. A place where physical bodies are completely useless."

Hearing this, Phil's mind raced with disbelief as he remembered his previous words. "You... you can't be... THE God, right?" Coulson struggled to speak after a few moments of definitive silence. However, his confident voice was not without a certain amount of uncertainty.

"I am the God that is meant to protect and guide the flock," the metahuman God interrupted while speaking in an exaggerated otherworldly tone of voice. "But you can believe whatever you want to, Phil. You have the free will to do so. Not believing me won't change reality. But don't worry, I am not here to harm you." Atem revealed. "I am simply here to save you all, to give you all a second chance..."

The moment Phil heard the 'God's' bold words, his instincts screamed at him to resist, to reject this being's claims of divinity. Yet, as he remembered the missiles thundering toward him in the real world before he was pulled into this unique space, he couldn't deny the truth: this... entity had saved him from certain death. Even if the being might not be THE God, he was most certainly someone an ordinary agent like him could not comprehend.

'Wait, is it possible that he is the very same Metahuman God Natasha has been tasked to get close to?' Coulson suddenly had an epiphany. 'Now that I think about it, he does look pretty similar to that guy. Perhaps, he is finally coming out in the open with this incident... But if he is really as powerful as he claims, then his threat level is way higher than the boss believes. Hell, he might even be a god, just like he claims.'

"The Iron army that you mortals have created is doing exactly what they were meant for, massacring ordinary people. And as you can see, they are quite efficient at that too. That last missile had a hundred percent chance of killing you and your friends right then and there. If I hadn't summoned you at that exact moment, you would have turned into a pile of dust and smoke by now. So, you are here for your own good." Atem stated offhandedly.

"I see. But that raises a very important question. Why did you save me? What do you stand to gain from it? If you want to negotiate a deal or something, my boss is the person you should speak with." Coulson calmly expressed.

"There isn't much of personal gain for me in this endeavor. My primary motive is the preservation of all of your lives. In return for that, I simply request your faith. Pledge your unwavering devotion to me, and I will shield you from any peril. It's only through your faith in me that I can utilize my power to its fullest potential to aid you. After all, only if you have faith in God, will God have faith in you." Atem spun his web of manipulation by mixing his words with some small white lies.

The New God of Domination didn't rely on Coulson's faith or belief to save him; his formidable abilities alone could have easily accomplished the task, regardless of the fact if Coulson gave him his allegiance or not. The true motive behind his actions lay in something completely else— the presence of a certain "Faith" stat within his system. Despite his efforts, this stat remained inert, stubbornly refusing to budge. The New God theorized that garnering new dedicated followers who would place their faith in him might bolster this stat and unveil its true power.

But that theory required some experimentation to test out along with some fresh devotees. And rescuing some non-powered people to convert them into dedicated followers was probably the first step toward it. That was why currently, Atem was not just trying to recruit Agent Coulson as his new believer but, also most of the other people who were facing danger from the drone army as well. Even if not all of them would give him their belief although he was sure that they would, he was sure that he would still be able to get a substantial number of new believers and their faith since he would be saving their lives as their god.

Hearing the New God's words, desperation clawed at Phil's soul as he weighed his options. With death looming overhead, he knew that he had no choice but to accept the being's offer if he wanted to continue to live after today, even if he didn't completely believe in his words. And so, with a trembling voice, Phil finally made his choice.

"Fine, I agree." Phil whispered, "I... I will accept you as God. I will be one of your believers. I will serve and worship you as long as I live..." He declared, his voice trembling with uncertainty, "Just don't try to steal my soul."

The metahuman God smiled in response, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "... I only asked you to become my believer and place your faith in me as your god, not serve me for eternity. But fine if you really wish to be a devout devotee of mine, I won't refuse. Also, I am a God, not the Devil. I don't steal souls." Atem said as he sported a huge, pleased grin.

Atem knew that the Shield Agent did not completely mean what he said but he could still feel a tiny amount of faith pouring into him from Coulson the moment he agreed.

'I was correct. Declaring me as his god by his own will does generate some amount of faith points for me. I could almost feel the... 'connection' that just formed between us. The only thing left to be seen is if this 'connection' can persist on its own for some time. I wonder, can I farm more faith points if his faith in me increases? Also, what can I use these points for once I accumulate them enough?'

"I walked right into that one, didn't I? Hill was right, I am an overachiever." Phil sighed as he realized the utter stupidity he had just committed.

"Don't worry, as long as you have faith in me inside your heart, you will be able to achieve anything you wish. Who knows, maybe you will even succeed your... Furious boss one day." Atem quipped as the New God reached out with its ethereal hand and touched Phil's forehead after being satisfied with the agent's oath.

In an instant, the world around him shifted once more, and Phil Coulson once again emerged unscathed in the physical world amid the battle. But this time, no missiles were coming towards him. In fact, nothing was coming in his direction anymore. The missile that was almost going to touch him before he went into the mental world had completely disappeared and even the armor drone that had been attacking him and the group had halted in its steps looking like it had been shut off by something.

"Was I hallucinating?" Phil murmured to himself, his gaze darting around for an answer. However, a swift scan of the faces surrounding him provided the confirmation he sought.

Each individual present there bore the same air of uncertainty and skepticism, mirroring his own bewildered expression, as though collectively pondering the same question: What on earth had just happened to them?

In fact, not just them but the hundreds of people who had failed to get out of the Stark Expo site in time had the same bewildered gazes on their faces as they wondered if they had truly just gotten a second chance after meeting God.

The only one among them who looked less confused and more shocked was Virginia, aka Pepper Potts who looked like she had just seen something that she had never expected. 'How come God is the same guy who... closed a billion-dollar business deal with us last year and calls himself a sugar baby?' She thought to herself as she felt a headache coming her way.

But the most outlandish scenes for them that day were neither the 'mass hallucinations' nor the hundreds of militarized Iron Man drones suddenly shutting down on their own, thereby saving a lot of human lives. Instead, it was when Justine Hammer who was previously dead was suddenly resurrected from his death, and the dozens of bullet holes in his body healed right in front of everyone's very eyes.

"I am alive? I am alive... I AM ALIVE! Yes! I knew it, I am immortal. I am fucking undefeatable. Take that Stark. I am the immortal weapon maker, while you are just a mere mortal. I am invincible, I am Death himself." The billionaire CEO of Hammer Industries celebrated with happy tears in his eyes. 

"Congratulations Mr. Hammer for getting a second life. However, you are still under arrest, and you will be coming with us on charges of alleged terroristic activities on US soil, corporate espionage, damage to public property, assault, murder, attempt to murder, and a host of other criminal charges. Whatever you say can and will be used against you..." Phil Coulson began as he walked towards Justin Hammer to arrest him.

However, Hammer wasn't in the mood to listen to him. "Arrest me? HAHAHAHA. You stupid piece of middle-class shit. Don't you get it? I am immortal and invincible. I cannot be defeated. I HAVE EVEN MADE GOD MY FUCKING BITCH" He confidently shouted as he stood in a t-pose.

"I will reclaim my place on the leaderboard of America's most successful businessman at the very top. There is nobody in the world that can stop me now. I AM INVINCI..." Unfortunately, Justine Hammer, however, could never complete his words as a massive chunk of broken glass from the destroyed building suddenly fell on the not-so-invincible billionaire, killing him just like that... once again.

***

Standing on the top of the Stark Expo building, Atem sighed in annoyance as he watched the spectacle on the ground.

He had revived Hammer as a favor and a gesture born of mercy and goodwill. However, it soon became evident that Hammer's intellectual faculties were too limited to appreciate such a valuable gift. Hence, regrettably, the benevolent New God found it necessary to take back the very life that he had bestowed upon the idiot weapon maker.

"And that's why kids, you should never swear at or compare yourself to a God irrespective of their or your religion because you never truly know which one is real... or if all of them are. So better be safe than sorry." Atem muttered to himself after using his telekinesis to drop the sharp chunk of glass on the rich arrogant asshole.

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