Stepping through the gates, a force of resistance struck him. The glinmore that had concealed his true form was immediately stripped away. What had once been a human with black hair was now a figure with long ears and flowing hair the color of bleached silver.
However, this was not the unexpected—Samuel had known this would happen.
Beyond the gates lay a familiar sight, one he had seen countless times before. This very domain had been established aeons before Rahemo ascended to godhood, by her own hands.
Within the courtyard surrounding the hatch stood a sprawl of immense scale—a convergence of forests shaped by different seasons and climates. Creatures and plants of all kinds resided there. Those thought extinct, and those belonging to eras long removed from the present, could all be found within.
As Samuel took in the sight before him, his senses were assaulted. From the hatch, he felt a presence—one that surely should not have been there… and yet, unmistakably, was.
Samuel immediately bolted toward the hatch and tore the doors from their hinges.
The first thing that struck him was a cold, icy fog. Beyond the haze stood a frozen capsule, and the presence he had sensed radiated unmistakably from within. He approached steadily, his mind racing with possibilities—why was the presence here? Why in a capsule? Perhaps it was a prank.
He cleared the layer of ice that had formed over the screen and finally saw the answer.
Inside the capsule lay a lady of refined beauty, eerily resembling Samuel himself. Her ears were longer, her hair a pale blonde, and intricate vines seemed to wrap around her hand.
Samuel froze, perplexed. She shouldn't have been here. Even if she were, the timing and state made no sense.
Before he could dwell on it further, a chill ran down his spine. Behind him, he sensed another presence—Rahemo.
No matter the circumstances, this was bad.
Samuel tried to summon all his strength, preparing to flee from the hatch—but it was far too late.
A giant knock to the back of his head sent him face-first to the ground, his rear sticking out embarrassingly.
"Haven't I told you not to enter a lady's place without permission?" Rahemo's voice was calm, almost amused, as she slammed him again, this time squarely on the rear.
"Owuuu!" Samuel yelped, managing to roll to the side. He scrambled to his feet, face red, hair tousled, dignity in shreds.
And then he spoke the words that would damn his faith.
"Which lady? Stop spouting nonsense, you crazy old hag!"
The amused voice vanished.
What stood before Samuel now was no longer playful, no longer indulgent. It was rage given form.
"Crap."
"Old hag, you say. Old hag?"
Her voice cracked like a breaking sky.
"RUN."
Rahemo didn't need to say it twice.
Samuel vanished from the hatch in an instant, hurtling straight toward the gates. He had gambled like this before. Many times. And every time, the gates had been his sanctuary.
But this time—something was wrong.
No matter what he did—running, swapping positions, flying, tearing through space itself—the gates remained close… yet impossibly distant. Space stretched and folded, expanding and compressing without logic, as though the distance between him and escape was being rewritten moment by moment.
'What's happening?
This shouldn't be possible.'
Before he could reason further, something invaded his Mind Palace.
'Oh, it's possible.'
Rahemo's voice echoed from within.
Samuel was shocked.
The shock came in two parts.
To begin with, the Mind Palace was not the same as the ordinary mind. It was a higher construct—a sealed dominion. A place only its owner could enter, unless permission was explicitly granted. And yet, Rahemo had stepped inside as if it belonged to her. He hadn't felt her arrival. He hadn't sensed the breach. She was simply… there.
Secondly, before her ascension, Rahemo had already stood at the threshold of godhood. However, Rahemo is like Andrew and his family, she was not one who relied on spells or spellcraft. Her power was physical, absolute. When she wished to cross planes, just a simple punch was enough.
And now, she was using telepathy.
Not merely communicating—but overpowering. Dominating. Her presence pressed down on Samuel's Mind Palace as though it were fragile glass.
Oh boy, she had just begun.
===
Samuel's body went into autopilot, repeating actions he had carried out before. But Samuel himself was no longer in control.
The moment Rahemo entered his Mind Palace, he withdrew completely—entering full contemplation. Within seconds, he reached a conclusion.
This can only be an Authority.
"You were taught well," Rahemo's voice echoed within. "However, you were too slow to recognise it."
She moved to strike, her fist drawing back. "Let this lady help with your processing."
Just inches before Rahemo's punch could connect, a cheeky smile formed on Samuel's face.
He spoke a single word.
"BANISH."
Rahemo's mental image was violently expelled from Samuel's Mind Palace. He had figured her out.
An Authority was the power of a god. From that brief intrusion alone, Samuel deduced that Rahemo possessed at least two authorities: authority over space and authority over the mind. However, from what he had experienced, she could not yet wield their full extent.
Though Rahemo had entered and dominated his Mind Palace, she had not subjugated it. The Palace still recognised its owner. As long as that remained true, Samuel's commands would be obeyed.
Furthermore, while space continued to expand and compress under her influence, Samuel was still able to swap positions and tear through that same space. The Authority had not locked him down.
Now that Rahemo had been banished from his Mind Palace, all Samuel needed to do was exert himself—and he would break free from her control.
But Rahemo wasn't done.
The very moment Rahemo was banished, Samuel regained control of his body, ready to go all out.
Then he felt it.
Something was wrong.
His senses screamed.
Samuel spun around instantly and cast "Reflection."
After being expelled from Samuel's Mind Palace, Rahemo did not pursue him physically. Instead, she continued with a Speech of Command. Weaving her voice with divine force, she spoke a single word.
"HALT."
Under the law of power, Samuel knew his body should have obeyed. That was the nature of a Speech of Command.
But Samuel also knew how to counter it.
Even though his quantity of divine force was inferior to Rahemo's, he could nullify the command by reflecting the sound waves before they reached him. By doing so, the command itself would never take hold.
At least—that was what was supposed to happen.
Samuel had halted.
Just as Rahemo had commanded.
That made no sense.
He had successfully cast Reflection.
And yet, his body obeyed.
Realisation struck Samuel like a bolt of lightning.
"This isn't the Speech of Command. This isn't even an Authority."
His voice trembled, equal parts shock and disbelief.
"This is Law.
How?
HOW!?
How is a god able to wield the power of a Deity?"
Samuel had every right to question the absurdity of the situation.
Gods possessed Authorities. Deities wielded Law, and the Nulls, Rules.
Though they appeared similar, the three were fundamentally incompatible. Keeping them in equilibrium. Neither side could use the other's power. Even if one of the Three attempted it, a simple analysis would expose the result as nothing more than an imitation.
Yet here Rahemo was, using the power of a Deity. Not mimicking. This was True Law.
"Quite the perspective one, aren't ya?" Rahemo said at last.
She stepped out of the hatch, and the moment she did, the expanding space snapped back into place, returning to normal as if nothing had happened.
"Yo, Sammy," she said casually. "Who am I?"
"Why ask?" Samuel growled. But he knew better than to dodge the question.
"You are Rahemo. Rahemo Delafies Phi."
"Good." She continued approaching. "Then tell me—" She pointed at herself."What am I?"
Samuel hesitated, he didn't know which answer to give to such a question. But with her gesture, only one answer made sense.
"You are an elf. A high elf, to be precise. Those vine marks are proof."
"Correct."
To be exact, the woman in the capsule resembled Rahemo far more than Samuel ever had—save for lacking her in the chest and rear departments. The vine markings confirmed it. Both were high elves.
Unlike Samuel.
He bore none.
"Now then," Rahemo continued, her tone deceptively light, "before all this high elf nonsense—how did the elven race come to be?"
"It was the Magus," Samuel answered, all the while searching for a way out. He already knew.
The topic may have shifted, but this woman was petty.
"The Magus intermingled with the Deities. What was born from that became the elven race."
"Bingo."
She smiled.
"I may possess no spiritual power, nor be a Deity," Rahemo said, spreading her arms slightly, "but all elves are descendants of the Deities."
Her gaze locked onto Samuel.
"What's stopping me from obtaining a Law or two?"
"What!?"