- Lomogre Empire, capital -

  The temple stood at the heart of the capital, a magnificent blend of marble and magic, its towering spires glowing faintly with divine aura. The temple was more than just a sanctuary; it's both a home for the gods and demigods and a venue of diplomacy.

  Not anyone is allowed inside the temple; one must be either a deity, have an invitation from a deity, or be born with divine power.

  Those born with divine power are classified into four categories: priest, nun, bishop, and paladin.

  This classification comes in accord with their connection with their god; this connection is formed in two ways: at the moment of their birth or the moment of their god's birth.

  For those who are born with divine power and don't possess a connection with a god, be it because their god died or was not born yet, they are not much different from a regular person. They must rely on their own innate abilities and skills to navigate the world.

  But for those who were lucky enough to have a connection with a god, they can harness divine power and guidance to excel beyond the limitations of mere mortals. Depending on the strength of their connection, they can even utilize part of their god's power.

  The strength of this connection dictates their status within the temple as a representative of said god.

  Priests and nuns either have a weak connection or no connection at all; bishops, on the other hand, have a strong connection with their god, which grants them, within the temple, the authority to act as a substitute for their god, expressing their wishes and wills in political discussions, judging in case someone asks for a judgment in the eyes of their god, or simply being one of the managers of the temple and ensuring that everything runs well inside the temple. Well, of course, this only happens in the case of the god not being present or in case the god doesn't want to act.

  Paladins are an entirely different breed; paladins aren't born, they're made. It's a blessing given by a god to his most devoted bishops; a god can have a maximum of 10 paladins. The blessing works as a potential enhancer; it's so strong, in fact, that throughout history, a few paladins managed to fully surpass their limitations and ascend as demigods. Usually they work as bodyguards for their god, as well as the god's (or, in rare cases, the bishops, representing the god) counselors.

  On this night, there were currently 50 people inside it: 46 humans, 3 fairies, and the fairy god Lumina.

  Lumina and her companions were using the temple today as a place to rest for the night; she was on her path back to her homeland, Shaton Island.

  - murmur, murmur, murmur -

  ''Hey, what's all the fuss about?''

  ''I'll check my holiness.'' One of the fairies said, standing up from her bench on the big flower vase.

  The other two fairies looked at each other before getting up from the leaves they were lying on.

  ''If you don't mind, we would like to join her too.''

  ''It's alright; you may go.'' Lumina spoke in a flat, bored tone.

  With this, the three of them flew out of their luxurious room.

  At the hall there was a commotion among the humans; their expressions varied from sheer excitement to anxiety and fear.

  - murmur, murmur, murmur ... -

  ''Hey fellow human, my excellency wants to know what's the fuss a-''

  -Slam-

  A tall old man walked to the hallway.

  ''Attention everyone, I want every priest and nun within the confines of the capital to gather at the Hall of Accord. It's an emergency; treat it as our top priority.''

  - Yes, sir!!!...-

  ''Hey sis, how is he?''

  ''He's the head priest of the capital temple.''

  ''Humans have no god; how can he be in charge?''

  ''It's decided by age order; that was established a thousand years ago in one of the divine conferences.''

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  ''So he probably knows what's going on. Let's ask him.''

  ''He won't tell us; he's evoking an emergency for the humans, not for the temple, and therefore not for us.''

  ''Well, he can still tell us the problem, can't he?''

  ''Maybe we can help!''

  ''You idiot, if they are calling an emergency for the humans, that means it's not our problem to deal with.''

  ''But if we help, maybe we can gain something from it.''

  ''How many times do I have to tell you th-''

  ''Stop, both of you. I'll talk to the head priest.''

  ''Greetings, head priest. I'm here on behalf of my superior to inquire why there's so much noise this deep into the night.''

  ''I'm sorry about the noise. We have stumbled upon a complicated situation.''

  ''What happened?''

  ''I cannot disclose that information.''

  The fairy couldn't believe the audacity of the human in front of her. 'Did he not hear that my holiness wants to know? Did he not hear that I'm here on her behalf?'

  ''I think you misunderstood. My ho-''

  ''I understood you very well. But I'm acting in accord with the temple procedures; if you or your Holiness has a problem with it, you can register a formal complaint to judge me under the scrutinies of the gods, and I'll formally respond there.''

  The fairy wanted to kill the human, no, the bug in front of her, but decided to contain herself and not risk dragging Lumina into this.

  ''Very well, I'll remember that.''

  ''Please do.''

  The fairy turned back and left with the other two.

  …

  Returning back to their room, Lumina asked.

  ''So how did it go?''

  ''The head priest declared an emergency situation for the humans; the details were maintained in secrecy.''

  ''!'' Lumina finally got out of her flower petal and flew down to meet with the others.

  Her short blue hair waved in the wind as she landed gracefully; her griffite eyes were shining with curiosity.

  ''An emergency for the humans, and they denied us the information?''

  ''Unfortunately that's the case; he went as far as to challenge our authority and say that if we didn't like it, we should invoke the judgment of the gods.''

  ''A punny human really said that? It must be very important for them to dare to defy my authority.'' Lumina said with a mischievous grin.

  ''Do you want me to kill him, my Holiness?'' One of the fairies said with clear anger in her eyes.

  ''I appreciate your dedication, but there's no need for it. Besides, killing inside the temple is forbidden; I don't want to find a problem with the other gods, especially the dragons.'' The fairy god said while flying close to the window.

  'But I also don't plan to let this go; I hate being left out.' The fairy god thought.

  Because of her small size, like all other fairies, Lumina usually struggled to use regular-sized things, that is, everything made to be used by humans, elves, dwarfs, orcs, and goblins. The major population of the Eldrathar.

  Normally when a god comes to a temple, the temple is in charge of preparing the most optimal accommodations possible for said occasion, but because Lumina appeared there unannounced and was only staying for the night, the temple wasn't able to prepare optimal accommodations.

  'Such a hassle; it better be worth it.' Taking a deep breath, Lumina pointed her finger at the window.

  The window started to open very slowly.

  'Please, don't make a noise, please don't make a noise …'

  -click-

  'Heh, I'm so good.' Looking at the small opening, Lumina took a big inhale and started to whistle.

  It was inaudible, for humans that is.

  -flap, flap, flap…-

  An owl came from afar and stopped close to the gap; Lumina approached and whispered something in an ancient and forgotten language that only the fairies and spirits were capable of speaking.

  The owl proceeded to dive down onto the street and a few minutes later came back holding a dead centipede.

  Lumina gave a wide smile.

  ''Good girl!''

  She then blew air onto her fingers and touched the insect.

  It started to move again, and the owl tossed the centipede inside the room.

  ''You can go away now; I'll see you tomorrow, Buffy.'' The owl flew away.

  ''If I may ask your holiness, why did you use your divine power on this insect?'' one of the fairies inquired.

  ''Normal creatures cannot go inside the temple; there's an ancient magic that is cast in every temple construction to prevent that.''

  ''So you used your divine power to violate that rule?''

  ''I'm not violating it; I'm following it.'' said Lumina with a smug grin.

  ''As expected of our god, she is so smart!''

  ''You're so wise.''

  ''…''

  The smugness on Lumina's face grew with the flattery.

  ''Now, now, be quiet. I need to concentrate.'' Lumina said closing her eyes and sitting on the ground next to the centipede.

  The centipede started to run across the room, and after a few minutes, it went out from the gap below the door.

  …

  Inside the temple, the humans had reunited in the Hall of Accord. 80 in total.

  The Hall of Accord was the quintessential meeting place for all important decisions; this was the most important place inside a temple, and it was reflected in its architecture.

  The hall was built with size and flexibility in mind. Massive pillars lined the edges, wide enough to bear the weight of a resting dragon.The floor was a mosaic of polished obsidian and marble, forming an intricate map of the known world, with celestial constellations spiraling outward from the center. Each god’s domain was marked by their sigil, glowing faintly with their divine aura. When a god or their emissary entered, their mark would pulse brighter—a silent announcement of their presence.Its ceiling arched impossibly high, a sweeping dome of enchanted glass that shifted colors with the passing hours, mimicking the sky itself. The hall was a sight to behold, truly fit for royalty.

  Currently at the center, the head priest of the temple was preparing for the upcoming announcement.

  - murmur, murmur, murmur…-

  ''Silence.'' The head priest ordered, and the room went silent.

  ''At this point you all know why you're summoned here. A new human god has been born.''

  - chatter, chatter, chatter… - The noise grew once more.

  ''I demand order.'' The head priest said in a flat tone, and the room quickly fell into silence again.

  ''As we all know, it has been more than a millennium since a human god appeared; we cannot let this information leak, or the other gods might want to hunt him down in the shadows. We can't have the luxury of being naive; we need to find and protect him. We need to bring him into the temple, our temple. The fate of our entire existence as a species depends on it.'' The priest waited half a minute to let his words sink in before he continued speaking.

  ''We will be following the protocol established 200 years ago. You're all already more than familiar with it by now. If you have any doubt about it, I suggest studying it.'' Then again he took a small pause.

  ''Raise your hand if you formed a connection.''

  Fifteen people raised their hands.

  ''Very well, follow me to my office.''

  ''The rest of you will stay here and wait.''

  The head priest walked away from the giant hall, followed by the fifteen people who raised their hands.

  - a few minutes later-

  The group came back, and the head priest walked to the center again.

  ''Our god was born in the North!''

  ''!!!!!!!!''

  Lumina opened her eyes inside her room.

  ''A human god?! Born in the North?!''

  The other fairies gasp.

  ''A HUMAN GOD WAS BORN!?!?!?!''

  They were in complete shock trying to process what this information actually implied.

  Lumina, on the other hand, went from shock to fear.

  She knew what this signified very well, and thus a plan started to form in her head.

  'If the humans ascend, the current position of the fairies and gnomes might even need to engage in a war. We are at risk! I need to get rid of him before it is too late!… What should I do? What should I do…?'

  Her fear became panic.

  ''Wait, isn't the north elven territory? Maybe he's a halfling?'' one of the fairies said while discussing with her companions.

  '!!!!!, That's it, the elves! They won't let this pass either! Besides, I'm not doing anything wrong, just passing the message. Yeah, this is for the best… In the worst-case scenario, it will be Tassarion's or Oberion's problem to deal with. If he is strong enough to deal with them... well, it's not like I'm hunting him down; in fact, it was just a simple messa- .'

  'No, I was just delivering the news! Yeah, that is it. I like how this sounds! Even if he is strong enough, he won't come after me later; he has no justification for it! This is brilliant! I'm so smart!.'

  She called her pet Owl again.

  -flap, flap, flap…-

  ''Buffy, I need you to deliver this message to Tassarion.'' Lumina said as she scribbled with her finger in the air.

  ''Hoot'' the owl let out a confirmation noise and left.