[God of Games] 2 – Introductory

With the door closed behind me, I was left standing at the entrance to my supposed department with only a pamphlet in hand.

Stepping forward, I looked around...finding myself in what looked to be more and more like a plain and empty apartment outside of basic furniture. There was a kitchen, a bathroom, a single bedroom, and a living room. Other than the bathroom, each room had some modest furniture. The living room had two bookshelves, a coffee table, and a couch. Walking around, I found the bedroom had a small bed, an end table, a desk, and another bookshelf.

As for the bathroom...why? I doubt I had the faculty to use the restroom, nor do I believe I'd even need to clean myself with how I appear. The same could be said about the kitchen. I doubt I could eat anything due to my distinct lack of a mouth and, more than likely, internal organs. It was one of the first things I noticed with this...new body. I didn't need to breathe or eat, so what's to say I was burdened with the normal human quirks? 

Sitting down on the couch, I leaned back into the cushions. Why? Why did this happen to me? I was your average guy trying his best to live their life in modern society, and now I am a God? I looked down at my flame-covered hands and arms. I was a monster.

...

Hours passed, then a day...then finally, a message popped up before me on a blue screen.

[24 Hours until the Grace Period Ends]

I hadn't felt anything in the past day, yet I knew a day had passed. I sat perfectly still. I didn't feel hungry, thirsty, or tired; I didn't even feel the passage of time unless I wanted to. I wasn't human anymore. 

I looked down at the pamphlet that lay by my side, resting on a cushion of the couch.

Hesitant, I reached out to the Pamphlet and opened it, freezing when I found it expanding over and over to fill out the size of a newspaper.

[Welcome to Heaven, newborn God! This guide was created with the effort of hundreds of Gods and will help ease you into your new life!]

[Divinity and Why You Are Special!]

[Religion and Why You Need Faith!]

[Notable Services in Heaven!]

[Notable Gods and Pantheons of Heaven]

[Heaven's Districts and Real Estate]

[Enemies of Heaven]

Section after section of the pamphlet was filled with words and pictures; the more I looked, the larger the sections seemed to become.

I mindlessly focused on [Divinity and Why You Are Special].

[What makes a God, a God? Their Divinity. The special component that makes Gods...Gods. Divinities come in countless diverse and esoteric ways, the most common of which are Elemental Gods and the rarest being Gods with unique divinities, such as Lofi, the God of Bread Loafs, or T-Shirt, Goddess of Shirts. Divinities are an extension of who we are as Gods, such as Elemental Gods of Flames being known for their tempers and rage or Gods of War being known for their bloodthirsty, aggressive, and highly competitive nature. It is our Divinities that shape the way we interact with the world, especially towards our Mortal Followers who we can bless with our Divinities, granting them supernatural abilities and traits]

Does that mean I am unique, or are there others with a Divinity for Games? 

Shaking my head, I continued reading.

[Faith is the lifeblood of Gods and the one resource that Gods need to survive and thrive. The more Faith a God has, the stronger and more robust they are. There's only one way to gather Faith, and that is through Mortals, which is why every God needs to obtain the worship of mortals outside of Heaven. While a God can survive off the Faith of one Mortal, it is advised to gain the worship of as many as possible in the event that one mortal follower perishes and you begin to fade. 

Religions are the easiest way to increase your mortal follower count and gain more Faith in the long term. Religions can come in many different types, but regardless, it is recommended that the God be careful, especially depending on the Divinity they have, as mortals are moral and finicky creatures that could demonize your Religion to that of a Cult and endlessly seek to destroy your Religion. Still, it's not only the mortals that you need to worry about. Mortals are limited in number, and countless Gods wage wars and crusades against one another to spread their Religion further or weaken the other God, and even then, Gods have more enemies. Please consult the Enemies of Heaven section for more information.

There are a few ways in which a God can reach down to the mortal worlds of the Great Expanse, the most notable and easiest way being meditation. Down below is a diagram to help ease the process] 

Great...so not only do I have to worry about my Religion being considered a cult and hunted down, but I also have to worry about competition with other Gods in order to spread my religion further, but what do they mean by Enemies of Heaven?

I ended up skipping past every section and focused on the very last, [Enemies of Heaven].

[Heaven has existed for Eons; in that time, other groups rose into power alongside us. The Demons and The Old Ones. Demons are the sworn enemies of Heaven, and wherever Demons and Gods meet, there is bound to be War. Demons outnumber Gods 1000 to 1. However, Demons have weaknesses. They are trapped in hell just as much as we are trapped within Heaven. However, unlike Gods who can only descend at a massive cost to Faith, Demons can corrupt, possess, and influence the mortals within the mortal plane and eventually open a Hell Gate on the World, allowing for the Demons to pour through into the Mortal Worlds. Gods and Demons are polar opposites, and we can easily sense one another within proximity. While we Gods can usually only act through mortal agents, our blessings allow our Agents to actually fight back against the Demons. 

While Demons are our sworn enemies, there is one foe with which we can only band together: Demons and Gods alike fighting together in order to survive. Long, long ago, outsiders from the great void beyond, the Old Ones, invaded the mortal plane; these unimaginable and grotesque creatures were nearly unstoppable. They changed everything in their path. Demons and Gods alike changed to become Eldritch Monstrosities alongside all Mortals caught within the Old Ones paths, and only at a great cost did the Gods and Demons manage to push the Old Ones back into the Void and clear the influence of these Old Ones from the Mortal plane, but the Old Ones are not gone, they lie in wait outside the Great Expanse and lurk within the edges of the Void, waiting for a chance to invade and take over once again]

Skimming through paragraphs upon paragraphs of information about the Old Ones and Demons, I couldn't help but frown. Just what kind of hell was I thrown into?