Chapter 7: Deadly Sins

As the omnipotent ruler of her universe, Etris was very active. She grew to enjoy the fleshy form her bodies took and the pleasures that offered. The demands she made were many; her whims were chaotic, fleeting, and carrying high costs for the mortals in her domain.

Anxious anticipation lurked in the hearts and minds of all her subjects--and she loved it. It kept them on their toes. It kept them worshiping her of their own accord. Mortal minds were clouded with worries on when she’d next show up, what demands she’d make next. Every action they took was with a worry it’d upset her in some way and she’d punish their entire planet for it, as she had done to countless others.

Etris’s divine senses were ever present, but with her flesh-bodies she could enjoy things at other, often more base levels of delight. And, when Etris wished to indulge, she never held back.

She quickly discovered the most visceral pleasure her human-based form offered. The deity experimented with the sex organ she possessed, and found it delightful. She’d show up to cities, completely nude and straddle herself over buildings. Sometimes she’d just lie face down upon them, smearing them beneath her tits and crotch. Other times, as punishments or when her libido’s wants were large, she’d loom in a star system and mash entire planets of sapients into her clit. Many mortals were space-fairing, and she’d often order them to fire all their most powerful weapons deep into her folds. She’d delight in the warmth and tingles they offered when they harmlessly fizzled out against her erogenous flesh.

Etris normally ate by consequence rather than with intent. Before Omnimento, simply existing had her light-form imbibing countless universes and lesser divines as she spread across the astral ethers. She soon realized the fun of human-like taste senses. Her avatars would appear in cities, demanding the finest foods they had to offer. Planets starved so she could sample their selections of harvests. Governments hired scores of chefs to prepare villages worth of food, just in case she’d show up wanting a snack. Starving underclasses wrapped in tattered rags salivated at the delights as close as the armed guards and barbed wire would let them get; usually it rotted away out of reach. When not satisfied, Etris set her appetites on the cities or planets themselves. The divine found her fleshy stomachs an excellent source of punishment. The acids within burned the mortals slowly. One fond memory of hers in particular was the time she punished an entire interstellar empire by practically inhaling all their holdings. They felt wonderful against her tongue, and she felt satisfied at the knowledge that they melted away in a gut of hers.

The blonde god also made it clear have everything was hers: even the most treasured possessions of mortals. She’d reiterate this by randomly destroying priceless heirlooms and the like. A couple of mortals could be reminiscing over a photo one second, only to feel the burn as it combusted to smoke in their hands. Precious minerals caught her divine eyes: gold, silver. Jewels too. She decreed many more statues built in her rule alongside monuments of all sorts. Despite being able to make anything with a thought, she never replaced the resources she had them use. As a deity, she didn’t want them getting too comfy or spoiled.

Even an active deity like Etris wanted some rest now and then. There was also fun in having mortals do tasks which took entire armies: especially when she could do them in an instant. While floating through space admiring her planets, her celestial-scale bodies would often brush against space fleets or moons. Normally, she’d just wipe away the dirt and dust with a thought, but once in awhile she’d order the empire in question to devote resources towards cleaning her up themselves. Ships would land on a her massive reclining form of hers. She let them break apart meteor and moon-sized debris while she relaxed. Teams tethered to vessels laboriously broke apart and removed their fallen comrades from beneath her nails. Occasionally, she’d twitch during the process and end lives beneath minute shifts of her perfect skin or ruffles of her elegant garbs.

When Etris was upset, she let everyone know. She broadcasted the big punishments across the universe to reiterate that no transgression would be tolerated. Mortals as a group were punished for the actions of just one. In one case, a disgruntled man in a human city cursed her name when a hover car hit him. Not even a second later and the blonde woman loomed over the metropolis, casting the city in the shadow of her foot before ending it in just one stomp. In another case a small mob of Krotathalik sapients formed to deface one of her towering statues with the phrase “Etris is a monster!” in red paint. A divine body showed up right after, her face commandeered their sky bereft of any amusement. She acted without words, first taking the planet between pinched fingers and then casting it beneath her searing gaze. Golden light coated their planet, washing the insectoid mortals in pure agony. Death didn’t come for hours, at which point she let them dissolve beneath the radiant eye beams.

Once in awhile a mortal would impress her with their creativity. A particularly well made statue, for instance, or an amazingly extravagant temple to her splendor. She enjoyed these gifts, but it was important that her subjects knew that even the most genius among them was a stupid, pathetic speck to her. She’d often point out minute flaws, fix them, then punish the creator by smearing their hometown beneath her toe. Other times she’d say a piece was so close to perfection, that its failings were especially disgraceful. She’d at times remove the creativity from those craftspeople, which often forced them to languish as the skill-less underclasses in whatever horrid society formed to facilitate Etris worship and avoid her ire.

Above all other pleasures, Etris demanded worship. There was an unrivaled satisfaction to hearing quintillions of lifeforms praise her name. She listened to their prayers, which, through trial and error, turned over time to laundry lists of praise. They exalted her clothes, her smile. Every contour or feature of her body, head to to, had a verses to their own. Any act of hers, no mattered how shameless or horrible, got lauded as a most deserved delight for herself or a most clever and fitting punishment, where applicable. News stations across the universe gradually focused on her more and more, speculating on her actions. Screens everywhere dedicated every hour of the day towards showing imagery of her bodies in the sky, past and present. Societies everywhere revolved around her, for to do otherwise meant a destructive end sooner or later.

Etris ruled them absolutely.

Ultimately, universes don’t last forever on their own: especially with a self-absorbed deity running them. One hundred trillion years after the start of her all-encompassing rule, and the last stars formed naturally. Etris culled many civilizations before than though: far more than half, in fact. With all the resources the mortals devoted to her, no civilization left could achieve the ability to survive without a star. In a few billion years, those last quadrillion civilized worlds would expire as their stars either died or bloated so big they’d get burnt up.

That seemed a boring way to end things. Etris was the ultimate example of godhood, and she’d do better.

Her voice reached into all the surviving minds in the cosmos.

“These last trillions of years have been fun! I hope my mortal subjects enjoyed the time we shared. All good things must come to an end though: for you, at least.”

She giggled, her mirth permeating all space-time in her little ‘toy’ of a universe.

“As a reward for making it this far, you all get to witness my true form. Well, at least as best as your pathetic sense can. As your lives dissolve in my luminescence, know that you bring me another bit of pleasure in the process.”

Dark void permeated space between the stars and planets and dust. That abyssal blackness made up most of the universe. Yet, when Etris manifested in her true form, it was like someone turned on a light switch. All that dark became shining, golden, burning light. Every city, planet, star and whatever space stuff melted away in her luminescence. The remaining mortals, all of the most devout, burnt away in its agonizing embrace.

All mortals except Utixx.

Countless Utixx’s languished with one another in Etris’s illumination. All her eyes were dull and sore from constant exposure to the divine’s light, ameliorated as it was for her. For trillions of years, more of her bodies piled up here, trillions of miles apart and in varying shapes and sizes--mostly humanoid. Utixx would have gone mad if she was able, but insanity was a mercy Etris’s powers held from her.

The divine light-form had finished with the universe, and all those bodies of Utixx’s were no longer needed. To the sound of her giggles, Etris dissolved them one by one. Utixx felt each body melt away in the light, till only Utixx’s human body remained: black-haired and green eyed with plain clothes. Her eyes stopped hurting just in time for her to take in an Etris avatar.

Her monstrous ex-student had formed a smaller body within her own light, it’d seem. The avatar stood 50ft tall, and hovered over Utixx to let the former professor linger by her toes.

“Well, it’s definitely funner to make people want to worship you, than just overriding their will. I noticed you getting into all that worship yourself Utixx.” she giggled, poking the woman with her toes.

“I did what I had to survive and protect others.”

Etris smirked, her blue eyes stared down as she patronized her old teacher. “Of course you did.” She ruffled the mortal’s hair with a toe, giggling.

“So, tell me, how did it feels to be outperformed by your own student? To be so humiliated? I’m only 20 divine eons old and you’re millions. Yet, I’ve upended your entire life’s focus.” she sighed. “It’s to be expected, I’ve always been something of a prodigy and I’m definitely the superior being here. I mean, you’re not even divine anymore!” she giggled again. “Some beings are just better than others. Far, far better.”

By now, Utixx had lived too many mortal lives to work up much anger at the taunt. There was truth to those words, too.

“There’s no need to answer, I can read how myself. Anyways, this was fun. You know, I took this class just for the gen-ed credit. After all this though, I think I’ll make it not just a hobby, but something more. I just needed to do things my way was all to realize that.”

Etris giggled, thinking back on all the fun times she had with her mortal subjects. Soon, she spoke again.

“Now, I don’t think you can deny any longer my methods are superior. I’ve thoroughly shown that. All that’s left is to finalize that to writing, along with some other things.”

A piece of paper appeared by Utixx, alongside a glowing green pen.

“Like it? It’s your favorite color. Anyways, if you just sign that I’ll digest you and get back to the university.”

Utixx looked the paper over. It was a simple, one page document. She read parts of it aloud, skipping over the plentiful paragraphs of pure praise. Reading as a mortal was so very slow.

“I Professor Utixx hereby proclaim Etris as the best student I’ve had had... not only has she aced her practical exam and my class, but she’s done so by revolutionizing the field of deifics itself... so impressive was her performance that, effective immediately, I resign from my position, forsake my divine essence to her, and leave to pursue a life as a mortal till my end comes...”

Utixx looked up at Etris, who glared back down at her. “Keep going, there’s more.”

Utixx continued. “For the future of the course, I highly suggest-”

The woman paused.

“No” she said. “No I can’t sign this.”

“Yes you can. I gave you back your ability to do a divine signature.” said the divine.

“No. I can agree to everything else Etris, but not that last part!”

Etris smiled. She slid her avatar’s foot forward onto Utixx and pressed down. The mortal was squeezed against an invisible floor, stuck between the sole of her former student and a perfectly smooth, hard surface. The blonde being tutted.

“Tsk tsk. I thought 100 trillion years would teach you not defy me. I guess it just shows how stupid you really are. To think you used to have the nerve to try and teach me of all beings.”

Etris pressed down with her foot, wracking Utixx’s body with pain. No death or injury of course, just the pain the gesture should have brought. Utixx writhed and screamed.

“Please! Please don’t make me sign this.” said Utixx in between bursts of agony.

Etris sighed. “I kind of want to get back to the lecture hall, announce my success, then handle my other finals for the semester. Oh, and of course, try and talk with the dean. So I’ll make this simple for you.”

She continued.

“Imagine the worst pain one of your bodies felt during my reign of my little universe there. Was it when I seared the Krotathalik again and again with you one of them? Was it the time you and the other mortals on planet Noktunak digested into chyme? Maybe it was when I boiled the Banoillian capital city, where one of your bodies dwelt, for bungling that parade I asked for?”

She twisted her foot, smirking. Her voice sung with a piercing hum. “I know the answer of course, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that whatever it is, imagine it times a million, spread over ten trillion times how long you’ve been mortal thus far, compressed to a mere instant from my perspective. How’s that sound?”

Utixx didn’t want that. She knew she lost.

“I’ll sign it.”

Etris gave her foot one last twist, causing the mortal to let out another scream.

“Of course you will.”

Utixx gave her signature, and the paper poofed away with the pen. Etris smiled wide.

“The student has became the master” she said, chuckling softly.

Utixx hung her head low in shame.

“Well much as I’d like to keep you around, I do need to kill you to get technically unexpelled and get back to University. First, why don’t you thank me for the lesson. I imagine it was quite thorough.”

Utixx didn’t bother fighting that. What was one more bit of humiliation to her now? She bowed her head by Etris’s big toe.

“Thank you for the lesson. You truly are the best deity there ever was and will be.”

Etris grinned.

“I know.”

Utixx screamed as the luminescence held back no longer. Her form disintegrated into Etris’s light.

The student dissolved her avatar, then warped out of the universe back to the lecture hall.

Etris reformed without the professor, holding in her hand a piece of paper. The student’s gasped at a body new to them: white clothes, fair skin, blue eyes and golden blonde hair. Her body still glowed some, of course, and had the same slender and feminine shape they knew.

From the perspective of those in the university, Etriss was taking the practical test for just a second.

“Etris” Galigiu began. “You look different.”

“I know!” she said with a smile. “I decided to model my body a bit more after the humans.”

She spun around on her bare feet. Her garbs and hair twirled with her.

“Where’s Professor Utixx?” said Galigiu.

“Oh she thought I did so good she resigned on the spot.” said Etris.

“Well, where is she now?”

“She left to live the rest of her days as a mortal. Probably fell into a black hole or something.” said Etris.

Galigiu blinked. The other students tilted their heads, confused.

“Don’t worry.” said Etris. She waved that paper around. “She signed this beforehand, giving everyone an A on the practical exam.”

The students cheered, waving their arms and tentacles.

“Wew” said Galigiu, flipping her star-hair back behind her ears. “That’s one less thing to worry about then.”

Etris smiled. “Well, now that you are all filled in, I need to get this paper to the dean. Good luck on your next finals everyone.”

Signed paper in hand, Etris headed straight to the dean’s office. She had to wait a bit, something she wasn’t entirely pleased about, but she got that audience soon enough and slid the paper over the desk.

The female voice spoke to her. “Very interesting. You must’ve really impressed Utixx for something like this to happen. She taught that class for quintillions of years, you know.”

“I do.” said Etris, nodding her head.

“Normally I’d refuse but I feel, given the circumstances and splendid praise here, it’s at least worth a try. You say you can keep your schedule clear for it?”

“Yes absolutely.” said Etris.

“Alright then. Starting next semester, you’ll be teaching Godhood 101 as one of the Omnimento University’s first student-professors. You’re expected to keep atop your own courses, however.”

Etris smiled.

“Don’t worry dean. I won’t you let you down.”

Etris walked out of the office overjoyed. Over the break, she planned to practice her godhood on a few more universes. Deifics was more than just a gen-ed credit or hobby to her now; it was a real passion, one she couldn’t wait to share her opinions on with the other students. Plus, as a professor, she could lord her superiority over her peers in new and exciting ways.

‘Next semester will be fun.’, she thought.

Fin