Before the first fields and forests, there was nothing but a cold dark void. For how long it has been there, no one really knows.

In this void was a being. She had no name, for she was both everything and nothing. The end and the beginning. The Alpha and Omega. The foundation and chaos of our world.

She swam endlessly through the void, like a small fish in her aquarium. She had naught to worry about, for she was peace personified.

Yet she felt a pain much stronger than the crushing vacuum of space. It was loneliness.

What is the beauty of her might, if it can bewilder none? What is the reason for her life, if it can’t be proved to one?

She took her hands and tore them off, bringing life to Creation and Destruction.

She took her eyes and pulled them out, creating Light and Darkness.

Then lastly, she pulled out her soul and heart, gifting them to Life and Death.

The children danced around their mother, singing praises and hymns about her might. After so many eternities of loneliness, she wasn’t alone.

But not all was well. While she bathed in their love, the children developed a hate for each other. They sought to be the most beloved by their mother and fought brothers and sisters to earn her love.

Soon enough, war erupted between the children. They allied and betrayed, all the while their mother watched horrified as her creations fought to erase one another.

Broken by her children’s war, she wished to end it all. She mustered the remaining power in her body and released an explosion so great, that everything and everything that could be called nothing was destroyed.

Remains of the mother and her children coated the skies as a beautiful mist of stars. These celestial beings were conscious, each bearing some part of their predecessors.

That colorful sky is what we call the Pantheon. Those celestial beings are whom we call Gods.

– – –

Tanuki and Maduka sat in front of the Professor. They were immersed in his tale and shocked when they learned the truth about their world.

The Professor lightly patted the Gaia Core.

“Do you know who is the youngest god? You, Mister Hachiro.”

Tanuki’s eyes widened in surprise. He wasn’t expecting this answer, and he was baffled by the claim.

“But Professor, that’s impossible! I couldn’t possibly be a god! I was born to a regular human woman and man, I went to school and everything, and just look at me! I’m not just not special, but I’m below average in every possible way!”

“Mister Hachiro! While I couldn’t possibly accuse thee, and that is the last of what I would do, have you ever heard about the concept of reincarnation?”

Ba-thump.

Tanuki could feel as his heart slammed against his chest.

Ba-thump.

His entire body froze out of fear. The Professor, even if he didn’t say it out loud, knew his secret.

When Tanuki met Maduka, he decided it is best not to tell anyone about his worldbuilding abilities. People are prone to get jealous and greedy for power, and he knew that he wasn’t strong enough to defend himself if someone would try to take away his abilities.

So even if he considered the Professor a friend, this was very bad.

“I see.” The Professor nodded, then returned to his original topic. “Gods are not as strong as one would guess. Did you know that your last opponent was a god too?”

“Soup? She was a god?”

“Indeed. Her father was the God of Blue Minotaur. She inherited the blue minotaur’s traits and became not only the first horned goblin in all of existence but also the God of Horned Goblins.”

The God of Horned Goblins? Such a small group of people, the minority of an already rare monster type had its own god. Does that mean that every group of creatures has its own gods?

“Just how many gods exist in this world?!”

“Too many, Mister Hachiro. The universe is plagued by these powerful beings. You, and people like you, are brought into this world to deal with them. You are here to strengthen the immune system of this universe. To heal what little can be healed.”

Those were some pretty big words, Tanuki thought to himself for the second time today.

“Does that mean gods are my enemies?”

“Not necessarily. Observe thy powers again.”

Tanuki was pretty shaken by the new information. He didn’t want to check the Gaia Core, much less think about the truth that he’s here to fight gods.

Still, he brought up the system interface.

[ – – – Menu – – – ]

[ -> Expansion ]

[ -> Waves ]

[ -> Missions ]

[ -> Achievements ]

The last option he didn’t check was the [ Missions ] menu. Opening it revealed five separate rows. They were grouped into two categories, ‘Gaia Core’ and ‘Gods’.

The three rows belonging to ‘Gods’ were locked, but the two rows under the ‘Gaia Core’ were filled with text.

[ Mission: Combine 4 Tiles! ]

[ Challenge Rating: 0 ]

[ EXP: +10 ]

[ Rewards: ‘Shop’ menu unlocks at the Gaia Core, New Trophy ]

– – –

[ Mission: Kill 3 Monsters! ]

[ Challenge Rating: 1 ]

[ EXP: +15 ]

[ Unlocks: ‘Missions’ can now be taken from Gods ]

The Gaia Core generated two quests by itself. Both had rewards that Tanuki couldn’t imagine getting otherwise.

“I see. So the Gaia Core generates quests for the system, which upon completion improve the Gaia Core with new features. Basically, the Gaia Core is strengthening itself…”