“How does any of that matter now?” Apollimi almost screeched in her anger. “What use are borders defined by ley-lines when an entire people have been wiped out in seconds and the continent of Atlantis sunk beneath the waves?”

She wasn’t wrong. In this Universe, the ability to grow and expand had come to an end for the Atlantean Pantheon. Other worlds might be reached as technology advanced, but there weren’t enough Atlanteans left alive with the heritage, culture, and genetic markers needed to rebuild what had been destroyed.

Not without System intervention, and while I had limited System access in this Universe, without a breach between the fabric of reality that separates Universes, something like the CERN accelerator tearing a rift in reality, the System was constrained from entering and integrating this Universe.

And those other worlds with civilizations had their own Pantheons in place. The Alpha and Omega had allowed for a wonderful mix of people and worlds without counting that could sustain life, but they had been wise enough to limit each Pantheon providence, to tie expansion across the Universe to the mortals that made each world home.

Those civilizations that hadn’t originated on Urd were so far removed across a wide breadth of Galaxies that no matter how advanced in magic and technology the people of Urd became, they would never be reached. The same reason the separation of civilizations and societies existed that served to limit the growth of Gods in every multiverse.

Apollimi and the Atlantean Pantheon might have survived the destruction of Atlantis if this had happened in the future when man began to spread across the stars. It had been their bad luck that I had been tasked with a [Quest] that gave Nyx the opportunity to free the Titans.

“What has been done cannot be undone,” [Justice] warned. “Since you can’t change the past, it is only right and just that we set the framework to determine how you will chart the future.”

[Justice] was known to be blind, and sometimes the forces that allowed her to function and those around her to act impartially could seem callous and emotionless. But that was not true, [Justice] was fair, even if she wasn’t what you expected. She worked tirelessly to see that everyone, no matter who they were, God or mortal, could find comfort when she extended her favor.

“I may have a solution,” a robotic voice added as a woman in twenty-first Earth business attire made her presence known. She was flawless. Skin without blemish, hair gleaming and pulled back into a severe ponytail, eyes sparkling with gem-like luster.

But she was different, alien, and the robotic voice suited her well. She moved with precision, a perfection of movement that was as alien as the rest of her. There was no life, no vitality to the woman. A suit of flesh that had been crafted and worn to interact with the congress gathered. Recourse to a body that was not needed in a room filled with beings that could survive the true semblance of each individual God gathered, no matter how horrific or insanity-inducing.

“You know you have no [Authority] here, [System Administrator],” [Justice] replied, having recognized the woman immediately.

I had only interacted with the System in this manner once before. I hadn’t realized this persona was a seeming of the System itself or that it had manifested as an individual. Although now that I was a God and had a moment to process what I knew, I understood that crafting a temporary body was the least of System’s abilities.

“I have no intention to integrate this Universe under [System] control,” the [System Administrator] replied, “but I have a connection with the God, Teigh. He has completed a [System] sanctioned [Quest], and it is within my [Authority] to reward his accomplishment.”

“That is a matter between the both of you. Why manifest here and now?” [Order], who had been silent to this point, asked.

“Because I can use the connection that I have demonstrated exists to offer a reward that will impact the Atlantean Pantheon.

“Teigh,” she said, ignoring the rest of the room as she began to make her case. “You have been the precipitating agent in three major events for the [System].

“You managed to identify and repair a virus that had affected a [System]. You closed the CERN dungeon breach that ripped a tear in the membranes between two Universes, allowing the [System] to expand. And you colonized and claimed a new planet for the Tuatha de Danann, the first ever. One that allowed for the first constructive [System Update] for the Sidhe people ever.

“You have already become a God. There is little left the [System] can do to reward you now that the Tuatha de Danann are awake, but there is something you can do here that will have a real impact.

“Atlantis is lost, the Atlantean Pantheon will fall in this Universe, but you are not constrained to one single Universe. The Tuatha de Danann can ignore the membranes that protect Universes from each other. And you, as a proxy, can extend that ability for this briefest of moments.

“The [System] has a new [Quest] for you.”

[System Quest: Save the Atlantean Pantheon. Allow Apollimi and her people to travel with you into the future and across Universes to Talahm. The [System] will open a temporary portal between Earth and Talahm and allow the Atlantean Pantheon to establish a place for themselves as Earth undergoes System Integration.]

[Reward: The Yeti, Beastkin, and Vampires across every System controlled world will be offered the choice to worship you and receive your boons of [Illusion] and [Glamor]. A small contingent of each race will be offered the choice to settle on Talahm.]

[Accept Yes/No]

“Gwyn ap Nudd, will you be willing to allow the Atlantean Pantheon to find succor under my [Domain] as you escort us back to Talahm?” I asked to make sure he would accept the parameters of the quest. I saw no harm in excepting the quest. Having another Pantheon owing me a favor seemed prudent.

It would do little good to agree to accept the quest and find out that I had no way to get them back. It might have been possible to use the Summerlands as a bridge, but that would be hit and miss, leaving the outcome to fate, something I was reluctant to do.