The world stopped moving, and the room morphed. Its characteristics changed, becoming more polished and functional, until it felt like he was on a viewing platform like the kind you might find at the top of a skyscraper. There was a massive window in front of Tom. It was currently completely opaque, but he knew that, when she wished it otherwise, it would grow transparent.


    There was a polite throat clearing behind him, and he turned to see Dux standing there.


    He was not at all surprised - he had been expecting something like this. She stood with her normal relaxed stance, and was impossibly beautiful. Her features had changed slightly once more and reverted away from Everlyn’s and toward what she had been like in the tutorial. Her hair, for one thing, was noticeably darker. Her appearance, as he knew from prior conversations, was tailored to his perception of beauty.


    She was a person and not. Forty years in the tutorial with only her for company had taught him that, but that wasn’t important. She had always been the DEUS avatar a couple of steps removed from the actual goddess, a shadow of a shadow of a shadow type of thing. He was pretty sure that today the link was going to be more explicit.


    More memories stirred, but these were less confronting that the others. “I’m about to watch a meeting of the GODs, aren’t I?”


    “Yes and no. Time, as you know, is not perfectly linear.”


    He glanced at her sharply. He hadn’t known that, but, given she was a GODDESS he wasn’t surprised to hear it. “How so?”


    “This will feel like a recording to you, but it’s not. There is only a single timeline. Your input here will matter.”


    “Why? Surely, I’m not needed here for anything specific.”


    “Because this is how I wish to do it.” She told him, and then the window was no longer frosted. He could see through it clearly, but reality twisted, and, rather than peering through a window, he was given access to all of DEUS’ senses - at least, those his mind could comprehend without going mad. However, the visual spectrum was what consumed his focus.


    The scene echoed with memories from his strained soul. He had been here before and witnessed this. The incongruity between apparent size and reality. The craziness of him being able to see it.


    There were seven GODS, their physical presence represented by unimaginably large clouds of swirling gases and energy. None of them were inherently more powerful than any other, though slight spacing differences showed a degree of deference to the one he knew to be SUPREME. He felt DEUS’s amusement at his thought. That respect was paper-thin on all sides. Usually, more space was left for the adjudicator of the current competition, but SUPREME was on a similar level to SANATORES and MAKROS in everyone’s esteem.


    “This is completely ridiculous.” MAKROS declared. “We don’t need an emergency meeting whenever I move to kill one of your reincarnated monkeys.”


    The enemy GOD, now that Tom was focusing on him, had a slightly different form to that the others. The apparent thunderstorm of energy seemed to have more lightning crackling inside it than the others had, and there were bursts of wind which puffed out of its surface. They were tiny and almost unperceivable compared to the rest of it, but they were there. These shearing gusts, he somehow knew, were capable of demolishing the town he lived in, if even the very edge of those explosions of energy touched it.


    The scale of these beings was terrifying.


    He knew he should have been reduced to a blubbering mess, but, like the last time he had witnessed this meeting, DEUS was supporting him. She focused on her fellow GOD. “MAKROS, don’t do this. The cost if you fail will be more than you’ll be happy to bear.”


    “What cost? A divine intervention for every eight results I need to change. It’s a price I’m willing to pay.”


    “And if he survives?”


    “He won’t, just like the last two did not.” There was a sense of triumph in the delivery of those words. “This precious child of yours will meet the same fate as the other two.”


    “SUPREME, I’m formally warning MAKROS. There are unknowns at play.”


    “What’s your point, DEUS?” SUPREME asked, sounding bored.


    Internally, Tom got the impression that DEUS was pleased with that response. Whether it was boredom, incompetence, or a change of heart, that indifference was playing into her hands.


    “I want my stance on record. Even if there is unknown information, he cannot use it to wiggle out of consequences. Desist, or suffer full penalties under our agreement.”


    “I’m not going to abandon a successful intervention like this because you’re scared and trying to bluff,” MAKROS snapped. “That’d be the height of stupidity.”


    “If he fails, I’ll be holding him to the letter of the competition agreement.”


    “That is bullshit. She can’t just warn me away and think that is sufficient.”


    “I didn’t act like this with the last two. For those, I gave no warnings”


    “She did not,” SUPREME agreed. “Consider yourself formally warned.”


    “I’m doing nothing wrong. I haven’t broken a single rule. My hands are clean. My divine invention left the intent of his fate use completely intact. If he is stupid enough not to protect himself against this, that’s not my fault.”


    In the middle of the space, a greatly amplified scene appeared. It still looked tiny compared to everything else, but it was easy to watch. A shadowy, indistinct figure with no defining features was stupidly throwing a wooden disk around. The only reason Tom knew it was a reflection of what he had done was because he could remember all the movements there.


    Dux moved to stand next to him. “MAKROS doesn’t know who you are. He is just targeting the promising youth of an opponent. If he knew who you were, he wouldn’t be doing this. You obviously won, but win or lose here, humanity would have profited. He lost the moment he decided to act. Admittedly, you surviving is going to make him lose a lot more.”


    Below him, the figure completed the thirteenth toss.


    “MAKROS, for your own health’s sake, please reconsider before spending another divine intervention.” DEUS interrupted.


    “He has used his eight changes to force these thirteen straight ones. He’ll be annoyed at having to use a second.” Dux explained to him quietly. “But cost no longer matters. He is fully committed.”


    The targeted GOD puffed up slightly. “If you care about my health, give up the competition. Hand the humans over to me.”


    “I won’t do that. I refuse to doom them.”


    “Which reveals the false sympathy hiding your lies.”


    The fourteenth disk landed as a positive, and he saw the past - or was it the present? - him standing in front of the no GOD shield door, psyching himself up.


    “And I win again,” MAKROS crowed in triumph. “Your humans, despite their so-called spark of genius, are too predictable. Their psychology is so easily manipulated.”


    “Give up now,” DEUS tried again. Tom could tell she wasn’t trying to dissuade, but rather infuriate her opponent, and it was working. “We can still back away from this and pretend it never happened. Give your blessing, and I’ll act to save his life, and, if there are unexpected consequences, you won’t need to suffer them.”


    There was some hesitation from MAKROS. Non-linear time complexities aside, this was supposed to be happening in real time – yet, while the GODs talked, the image of his current / past actions had been frozen. “I’ll do that for ten divine interventions…. No, twenty,” MAKROS corrected after a moment. He was gloating with everything he had.


    “That is ridiculous. I won’t be extorted. Remember when the shit hits the fan that I warned you in good faith.”


    “Your warnings are tainted. You never do anything for free.”


    “Not only a single warning, but I’ve given you four of them. And I’m warning you again - don’t do this.”


    Dux chuckled maliciously. “We need him angry and not listening. Playing the concerned sister will enrage him.”


    “It’s too late, DEUS. You’ve lost. He’s going to die.”


    “Is he?” she said quietly.


    Below them, the shadow figure took a step and then doubled over, clutching at its stomach.


    “What is this!” MAKROS yelled in sudden fury. “Cheater. Explain yourself. How is this happening? DEUS, you did something, didn’t you? You cheated!”


    “I did nothing.”


    “She’s blameless.” SUPREME confirmed.


    “But…” MAKROS stuttered. “The human’s Danger Sense wasn’t strong enough to act like this.”


    “I warned you.” DEUS said simply. “The disk was a more advanced version of his skill.”


    “You admit to cheating - artefacts aren’t allowed.”


    “Self-crafted ones are.”


    “How could a six-year-old do that?”


    DEUS said nothing, and it was clear she didn’t need to. Her opponent was enraged and had fallen for her trap. “The only explanation is manipulation. For him to have created that... He would have required a lot of fortunate events to have occurred to make that possible. Trust me, DEUS I won’t let this stand. I will destroy those vermin.”


    The GOD was talking about him, and he had promised to… The world started falling apart around Tom, and there was blackness for a few moments as DEUS put him back together. When he was able to see again, the location MAKROS occupied was obscured. Tom had no doubt the GOD was still there, but DEUS was stopping him from seeing anything.


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    He had never been so grateful for anything in his life.


    “Sorry, that was on me,” Dux said quietly. “There are some things mortals shouldn’t see.”


    “There’s something wrong with him.” Tom muttered, as he tried to understand the anger and mood swings and those puffs of energy the GOD had been losing. It was like its core was unstable.


    “And other things they shouldn’t think about.” Dux said seriously. “That observation you just made - never say that out loud again.” This time, her voice was like steel. “You’re protected here, but nowhere else would be safe. Now watch.”


    “Sprung,” the shadow-figure said proudly. “Sprung. I know a GOD just targeted me.”


    The figure was frozen as time stilled, and the reaction of the GODs was telling.


    “He didn’t,” FAMES whispered.


    GOBUS was laughing in delight.


    SUPREME was detached, but also invested. He felt like he was worried.


    “DEUS’ children are always so random. Especially these humans.” WADOR chuckled.


    “He knows,” GOBUS finally got out. “He knows, which means it’s going to cost MAKROS.”


    FAMES flared up in distress. “This only occurred because of that cheat from earlier. We must have an audit.”


    “There was no cheating,” SUPREME snapped. “I’ve checked this person’s history explicitly. There was no cheating.”


    Time started up, and the figure went through the safe door.


    He watched as MAKROS became visible once more. The puffs of air, while individually not larger than before, grew more numerous. “An unfortunate outcome, but no harm done.”


    “He recognised the meddling.” WADOR said. “That makes your mistake more costly.”


    “He was clutching at straws,” MAKROS retorted. “There is no evidence that was anything more than the random muttering of a barely sapient bug. The human didn’t even look distressed.”


    “Exactly,” FAMES said quickly. “There is no harm done, and nothing needs to be paid.”


    “No. This trick killed two reincarnators, and it was agreed in advance that humans would be compensated if your actions were discovered. That was the condition of you being allowed to be doing this. I wanted it banned, but SUPREME, in his wisdom, set the rules.”


    The storm part of MAKROS grew in strength. “No one cares about two of your ants.”


    “You cared enough to use two divine interventions to try to kill one,” DEUS said. “That speaks to their value.”


    “What do you want, then?” FAMES said, his interruption caused MAKROS to settle.


    “Acknowledgment of the facts. He knows about godly interference, so he gets two levels of Known Heretic under standard rules and half a million competition points from your team.”


    “Too much.” MAKROS interrupted.


    “Two levels are too much for a single event.” FAMES said.


    “No, it’s not.” DEUS disagreed. “Not only did you plot to kill him, you also directly interfered in the world to do so. That’s two actions, hence two levels.”


    “They’re the same action.” FAMES protested. “SUPREME, you can’t let this slip through.”


    MAKROS studied SUPREME intently, so DEUS did the same. With the help of DEUS’s experience at reading her fellow deities, Tom could tell that SUPREME was leaning in her direction.


    “Fine, he can have the titles.” MAKROS declared. “Level two is not much stronger than one. But if he gets the titles, it means no ranking points.”


    “You spent divine interventions to try to kill him. The ranking points reflect that expenditure, the titles are for the fact he identified GODs acting against him.”


    “Agreed. He gets the titles and ten thousand ranking points.” SUPREME said, settling the argument.


    Tom could feel DEUS’ displeasure at that ruling, but she chose not to object.


    “Is there any other reason we’re here, DEUS?” SUPREME asked. The words were very pointed.


    “We agreed on standard rules and, as he is already a Known Heretic, I assume those levels get added to the top.”


    The cloud that was MAKROS started to expand. Lightning glowed within it - bolts that, Tom knew, were powerful enough to wipe out an entire country.


    Then, once more, MAKROS’ location was obscured.


    There were a long thirty seconds of silence which Tom imagined was taken up by the dragon GOD screaming insults.


    Finally, SUPREME flashed with anger. “Control yourself.” There was a pause. “Better, but no more outbursts. And yes, DEUS - the two levels will be added to his existing title.”


    MAKROS reappeared. “How is it possible for him to have already had the title?”


    The smugness radiating from DEUS almost exceeded the level of MAKROS earlier gloating.


    “Oh, that,” DEUS’s surface sparkled. “Oh, that’s a funny story.”


    “Spit it out,” MAKROS warned as she paused without elaborating further.


    “You know how you’ve targeted mortals before.”


    “I played the game.”


    “Yes, but I’m talking about ones you’ve personally yelled at. You know, actions that might earn a title like this.”


    Silence deadened.


    “As I said it’s a funny story.” Then her voice hardened. “That rat of mine you explicitly targeted, despite my warnings… Well, by an amazing and funny coincidence, that rat is TOM.”


    Given the buildup, he had been expecting some sort of reaction, but it actually went the other way. FAMES, MAKROS and GOBUS all went very, very still.


    “I warned you,” DEUS continued grimly. “That it would be costly and gave you lots of chances to back away.”


    “Is she lying?” FAMES finally asked.


    “She is not,” SUPREME answered.


    “That’s ridiculous. I hadn’t been told. No one knew. I’m not at fault.” MAKROS tried to argue half-heartedly.


    “You targeted TOM despite an agreement not to.” DEUS spoke over him. “You’re a GOD. You can’t argue it was an accident.”


    Warning lightning flashes were going through MAKROS. He was almost glowing, so bright and consistent they were. “This is a…”


    “No, MAKROS,” SUPREME interrupted. “There are no excuses here. Not after how past events played out. We agreed that it was a HARD rule.”


    “But she planned this - look at her! She was planning it - why else would she have championed anonymity for humans in the Divine Champions’ trial?”


    Dux next to him shook her head and laughed. “I championed anonymity because if I didn’t, he would have organised his assassins to kill them directly.” She told him quietly. “But it does not help my cause to argue that.”


    With a click, the external time, which had been frozen, started up.


    “Of course I did.” DEUS chuckled her voice merciless. “And now I will get compensation for my diligence.”


    “The double upgrade is enough.”


    “It is not, MAKROS, and you know it. I agreed, as a condition of reincarnating my select few, that you could hunt them without penalty. I accepted FAMES placing that blessing on Tom,” she twisted the word ‘blessing’ so that Tom heard the word ‘curse ‘at the same time. “I even allowed you to direct your species’ fate ritual to target berserking reincarnators.”


    “You did not allow it.” SUPREME interrupted. “I made the ruling that it was acceptable.”


    “Yes, because it was technically allowed under our various agreements, even if it was completely against the spirit.” DEUS said her voice beyond angry. “But the wording specifically states that MAKROS cannot target Tom, and he just did so directly. He was warned not to, and so I demand satisfaction as per the contract without the distortions brought on by arguing about intent or anything like that.”


    “My hands are tied, MAKROS,” SUPREME apologised. “You will have what you desire, DEUS.”


    Somehow MAKROS had gotten even smaller as DEUS had delivered her speech, and then shrunk even further at SUPREME’s interjection. “What compensation would you ask?” the cowed god asked.


    Everything seemed to freeze.


    “As I said earlier,” Dux told him. “Time is not perfectly linear. We can discuss how we want to play this.” She handed him a folder. “This is your new upgraded title. Please, familiarise yourself with it.”


    Tom read his eyebrows rising as he did so.


    Title: Known Heretic (4): The regard of GODs is a heavy burden especially when you are aware of it, and it must be balanced by positives.


    Reward: All who know you, even in passing, will be affected by a passive influence.


    <ul>


    <li>Benefit 1: Those stronger than you will think more highly of you and will be reluctant to act against your interests and more likely to frequently gift you a valuable item tailored to your needs. </li>


    <li>Benefit 2: Those weaker will perceive you to have more strength than you actually possess, and treat you accordingly. They will regularly feel compelled to give you tribute that will also be shaped to benefit you as much as possible.</li>


    <li>Benefit 3: Those who view you as an enemy will struggle to plot against you. Orders and requests for help from their allies will be garbled and mistranslated in your favour. Magical tracking spells will be significantly more likely to fail.</li>


    <li>Benefit 4: System Resources will be more tailored to you. </li>


    </ul>


    The title makes it almost impossible for anyone but yourself to recognise the effects of it. Any gifts received will not be noticed by others.


    Awarded for:


    <ul>


    <li>Being aware that you are known by name and reputation by all eight GODs. </li>


    <li>Have had at least two GODs actively plot to affect your life</li>


    <li>Have had a god physically try to kill you by affecting Existentia directly. </li>


    </ul>


    Mythical Title. Title is hidden from all but you and your patron GODDESS, so no ranking points or experience may be awarded until this status is revoked.


    “It’s a lot stronger.” Tom said finally.


    “There’s going to be a discussion of rewards. Is there anything you would change in the title?”


    Tom hesitated.


    “Share your thoughts, no matter how outlandish they might seem.”


    Tom felt a thrill of excitement. This was his chance. He looked Dux straight in the eye. “I need the Briana situation to be fixed.”


    Instinctively, she shook her head. “No. This is not the type of opportunity that you’d use to solve that problem.”


    “But it’s important to me. Please.” He waved the folder. “It’s more important than some stupid title. I don’t want to have to listen to her crying every night.”


    “I know,” she answered patiently. “I know what you’re feeling, and I’ve already dealt with it. I’ve used a divine intervention to protect you and Kang. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’ll buy you time until you’re both ten. Then, provided you’re on good terms, she can be protected by your title.”


    Relief flooded through him.


    “Are you serious? Have you really?” He felt like crying; it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It was more important than anything.


    “Yes, it’s done, but,” She waggled her finger at him in a warning manner. “Don’t keep making those mistakes, because I won’t always be able to bail you out.”


    “Does that mean I can stop directing fate toward her?”


    “Yes, it does, but, Tom, what you did was good. It reduced the cost to me to fix the mistake.”


    “Dux, thank you. Thank you. You can’t understand how relieved this makes me.”


    She laughed. “I am a GODDESS. Trust me, I do. Now, let’s focus on the important stuff.” She tapped the folder. “What do you want improved or changed?”


    “It seems unfair that my good fortune costs my allies’ resources.”


    Dux nodded. “I completely agree. It also seems unfair that the amount of resources you receive depends on how rich your allies are. For example, there’s no reason you should be penalised for leaving a civilised area and exploring.”


    “I guess...”


    “Well, is it or isn’t it?” She pressed.


    Tom narrowed his eyes. She was clearly playing a game, and he was happy to buy into it. “It is, and why we’re at it, it doesn’t seem right that my enemies don’t get punished.”


    She smiled. “I like that.”


    The rest of the world restarted.


    “I’ve consulted with Tom.” DEUS declared.


    “How?” MAKROS asked dangerously.


    “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “This is what he wanted.”


    Information passed between all of them, and in front of him three lines were added to the title.


    <ul>


    <li>Gifts granted can be stored in soul storage and, when removed, will be 2 tiers stronger, provided no one notices the improvement. All gifts received will be bumped up to a minimum of tier 4. </li>


    <li>Those granting gifts will get their world luck increased until they’re compensated at three times the value of the gift given. </li>


    <li>Enemies seeking Tom’s death or imprisonment will suffer losses equivalent to Tom’s recent gains from the title.</li>


    </ul>


    Tom read it and the first point jumped out at him as an issue. “I really like it, but sometimes I’m going to want to give these to my friends.”


    Dux smiled. “That’s something I’m sure we can slip in.”


    The negotiations started in earnest.


    Offers and counteroffers went back and forth, until SUPREME finally interrupted them, sounding bored. “Are we in agreement?”


    There were no objections, and then, between one moment and the next, he found himself deposited in his system room once more, the full text of his new title displayed in front of him.


    It had gone up to the sixth level, but he focused on the changes that had been made during the upgrade from four to six.


    <ul>


    <li>Gifts granted can be stored in soul storage and, when removed will be upgraded to tier three or a single tier higher than the original gift. Whichever is more valuable, provided no one notices the improvement. In the event that friends are unaware of the original gift, the upgraded version can be shared with them without penalty. </li>


    <li>Those granting gifts will get their world luck increased until they’re compensated at twice the value of the gift given.</li>


    </ul>


    Additional Negotiated Rewards.


    <ul>


    <li>One million ranking points are to be transferred to the human’s total from the dragons.</li>


    <li>MAKROS (or proxy) will have no communications, explicitly or implicitly, with any individual or species about humans. This includes changing, accelerating, or cancelling any existing orders given to assassin teams. Breaking this condition will result in MAKROS immediately forfeiting the competition. </li>


    </ul>


    All the rewards were great. They were massive boons to him personally and to humanity, but Tom stared at that second last line. Everlyn and Dimitri were both going to flip when they saw his new ranking points.