Cascade

While John was busy fighting through the Eudorians, John was enjoying the high life.

‘I haven’t used Jack or Jake in forever,’ the Gamer caught himself thinking. ‘No real reason to, I suppose.’

The Creator Puppet was standing inactive in a corner of the room, not needed for anything or by anyone. This left his vast mind to be split merely two ways (ignoring the Ego Blades he was using in combat).

John’s real body had Fianna, Gnome, Nightingale, Undine, Nia, Siena, Metra and Sylph fighting with him. Switches had been done purely on the basis on who felt like taking a break and who did not. Everyone else had retreated from the Raid in anticipation of another day or two of trash clearing. Their enemies were fire and brimstone themed instead of thunder and alchemy, but the tactics involved were largely the same. Not very interesting to watch.

Instead of observing himself fighting the same battles over and over again, the Ambassador Double sucked on his gums and tried to get the same Relics and Cards in Slay the Spire over and over again.

Clearly, a much better use of his time.

“Should have blocked last turn,” Undine muttered.

“Well, I took a calculated risk.”

“You must suck at math then.”

John tried to shut up the slime lady by redoubling the efforts of his fingers. Slay the Spire could very well be played with one hand, allowing him to rub her clit while she gyrated her hips against him. The constant blowjobs were nice, but pussy just felt better than throat, even on a woman whose throat was a nest of abyssal tendrils as sensitive as her folds.

After all, the vagina was set between the two halves of the actual best part of any woman.

Their personalities were interesting too, allegedly.

“Yo, tiger!”

Jane’s voice pulled her husband away from his impending doom by Ascension 20 Timelord. Swivelling on his chair, he faced both pink cat tomboy and grey angel secretary maid. The duo had entered the gaming room together. “Did ya hypnotize the brainwashing trio to think you’re an uppercase-G God?”

“I see you have figured it out,” John admitted and rubbed the back of his neck. “Honestly, I was so horny the dom side went into a bit of overdrive, but I decided to keep it in place in the post-nut-clarity. A bit self-aggrandizing, I know.”

“Yeah… ‘a bit’…” Jane drawled drily. “Your ego ain’t the problem here.”

“There is a problem?” John raised an eyebrow, then grunted. “Okay, one second...” He grabbed Undine by the waist and went on a final spurt of movements. Undine matched his thrusts with rapid bounces. Whatever was going on, it couldn’t have been very urgent, considering both Ehtra and Jane were watching the head of his cock glide in and out of Undine’s translucent body.

Folds rippled around him, clenching in rings that travelled from the entrance to the tip. A final thrust sent his seed pumping into the chamber of the false womb. One day, it would not be false anymore. For now, it served as a gathering spot, a visible spot of white within her lower body that showed just how large the load he filled her with was. The more pooled within her, the more the water spirit squirted, creating a puddle on the wooden floor of the gaming room.

“Unbound debauchery like this is why we have to waterproof all our electronics,” Ehtra sneered.

“Like ya didn’t squirt your brains out this morning,” Jane pushed back. “Like we aren’t all doing that every day. We’re all on a hair trigger. Almost like someone’s been blowing our brains for months or years.”

“And there will be many years more.” John’s butt settled on the chair again. A last, melodic sigh later, Undine rose from his cock. “So, what is the problem?”

Ehtra crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing those magnificent spheres up until they almost popped out of her uniform. They absolutely would have, if the uniform wasn’t attached to her by means stronger than double-sided tape. “The hypnotized creatures have come to me, proselytizing their faith.”

“They have?” John blinked a couple of times. “Who, exactly?”

“All three of them…”

‘All three? That’s unexpected. Claire harbouring such thoughts I can get but Momo and Delicia too? I’m flattered by their devotion. Wonder what kind of nonsense arguments they are making. I mean, it’s hypnosis, they won’t say anything they don’t actually mean.’

“…with Lorelei.”

John’s head came to a scratching halt. “One second,” he said. “I need to call my emotional support crocodile.” ‘Stirwin! Explain! You said nothing would change!’

‘I don’t know!’ The hasty response by the conscience crocodile was perhaps the most worrying one he could have gotten. ‘Investigate first! This may all be overblown.’

‘They got miss “I think you are an actual Saint” involved!’

‘Don’t panic!’ shouted the Celestial Devourer, his high-pitched voice echoing in the vastness of their combined minds. ‘Check how true this is first!’

“Ehem,” John cleared his throat. “Well, they get really into their roleplaying, right…?”

Ehtra squirmed where she stood, her green eyes dashing to the side, to him, then back to the side. This repeated six more times, making the Gamer blink several times in confusion. What was she mustering up the courage to say. “The matter, as such, as it stands, if I may speak plainly…” the tsundere angel muttered, “…and without beating around the bush nor delaying what Master ought to know to come to a mature decision… what I mean to say… their preaching… kind of… made… sense… my… divine Emperor?”

John’s thoughts went to a full stop a second time. His and Stirwin’s thoughts intertwined into a panicked knot that came undone as quickly as it had formed. John stood up. He pressed the buttons to get clothed. He closed his Slay the Spire game. He took a deep breath. He turned back to Ehtra and Jane. “Let’s have that talk with everyone involved. I get the feeling that I am not understanding the whole picture.” ‘Momo!’

‘Y-y-y-yes, my blessed lord?’ Momo stammered.

‘Keep your mind open, I am coming to you. Are Delicia, Claire and Lorelei with you?’

‘Them and Layla:’

‘They went straight to the angel and the obsessed,’ John thought. ‘They’re actually serious about this!?’

‘Did we do anything wrong, my one and only Master?’ Momo’s voice was venerating – but it was also cheeky. The little undertone calmed John’s immediate paranoia. The hypnosis had cascaded into something he hadn’t anticipated, but the bratty maid was still exactly that.

‘That remains to be seen,’ John answered.

They marched on through the house. Jane and Undine were along as observers, while Ehtra seemed something between guilty and annoyed.

They entered a chamber in the uppermost floor of the mansion. By request of its primary user, it was the only room that had a stained glass window. The golden rose was set in amber and wine red into a complicated frame. Moonlight shone through it, a weak source of illumination supplemented by the multitude of candles that had been placed and lit individually all over the lacquered hardwood furniture of the room. The floor was marble. A singular, long carpet divided two rows of benches. With some squeezing, the entire Imperial Choir would just barely have fit on them and been able to look to the altar in the middle.

The altar itself was a simple thing: a slab of white stone with a minimal amount of decorations. Behind it was a podium shaped like a standing tower shield, for sermons to be held. All of this was the usual. Since there were three faithful among the Harmonia, Lee had made them their own corner according to their preferences.

Now a new icon sat on the altar: the six diamonds of Fusion, doubling as John’s personal emblem, had been reinterpreted into a six-petalled lily. The colours involved left no doubt about it. This new flower sat among the Golden Rose iconography as a new but not entirely unfitting addition. Under other circumstances, John may just have smiled and nodded at it.

Instead he found five women kneeling before that altar, hands clasped in prayer. If, at least, they had been furiously pleasuring themselves as they did it, John could have put this away as a particularly intense roleplay.

Calmingly, there was some touching themself. Not from Lorelei, she was entirely dedicated to venerating his Sainthood. Not from Claire either, though her being swept up in this was the one expected development. The other three, however? Momo and Delicia were both sitting on sybians (deactivated but sybians all the same), subtly gliding back and forth as their lips moved in quiet prayer. Layla was not doing anything physical, but she was twitching in all the ways that betrayed she was letting her guard down, causing his presence to send orgasmic shivers through her.

‘I give her a break to keep her from breaking and here she is cumming anyway!’ John thought and glanced at the water bottle within her reach. ‘At least she’s hydrating.’ “Ehem!” he cleared his throat.

“”Welcome, Saint,”” the five spoke in a disjointed chorus, not nearly as well coordinated as the maid actions, and turned around. They all remained kneeling, looking at him in a way that did threaten to break through his current, meditative state of mind.

John momentarily considered lifting or pausing the hypnosis, but elected to get an explanation as was first. “So, I have heard you have been spreading the word of worship around me?”

“We have spoken to the others. We have spoken the truth. We have spoken of your divinity,” Claire agreed readily. “I assume Sister Ehtra told you of this?”

“I told Jane of this,” Ehtra admitted. “We then went to John.”

“Have we committed a sin against you, Master?” Claire asked, her head softly tilted. “I apologize if we have. This deep certainty and peace, it yearns to be spread. To withhold it felt wrong, though we will certainly cease if you demand we turn inwards.”

“I am trying to make a judgement on that,” John said, trying his best to keep the horny at bay. This whole scenario was very much to his liking in an ego-stroking sense. He had known his maids venerated him. Being devoted was part of what made a maid of the Imperial Choir. However, there was a stark difference between a ‘Master’ and a ‘God’. ‘At least to me,’ he thought. “Let’s unpuzzle this. I’d like to ask each of you in turn a few questions. Please don’t chime in unless prompted.”

“As you desire, Saint John,” Lorelei answered for each of them.

‘Might as well start with her,’ the Gamer thought. “Lorelei, why are you going along with this? You know that this is hypnosis.” Saying it aloud changed nothing. After all, it was them actively choosing not to remember that made it so. Whether he said it or not, their decision was still theirs.

Which was the same logic Lorelei immediately hooked into. “All control you exert upon us is voluntarily given. If I may, I can see their hearts. Your deeds have changed the words on their tongues but not the truths in their soul. Truly, this is a manifestation of your foresight accidental.” Lorelei’s hands, still clasped, tightened with growing fervour. “You continue to deny your own piece of divinity, my Saint, despite the certainty of the signs. It saddens me and it is unbecoming of you. This event will force you to confront it well ahead of the ecumenical council. My true belief that you ought to embrace your nature, duties and privileges has never wavered. You are a king of kings and I will treat you as nothing less.”

That was… everything he could have expected. John sighed and scratched the back of his head. As per usual, her arguments were theologically sound and she wanted the best for him. One certainly could make the point that he was going through the ‘I am not an emperor’ struggle all over again, though on a lesser scale.

“Layla, what about you?”

“If there is a god, it’s certainly you!” the brunette chirped and smiled innocently. “Want to keep proving it by pumping me full of cum that makes me stronger than the ‘gods’ or would you want to wait until our blessed child is born with power above any other mortal?”

‘Fair enough,’ John just thought, then turned to the trio of maids that were hypnotized into this state of affairs. “Claire, why do you feel I am worth proselytizing?”

“What is a god?” Claire asked. “Certainly, the fundamental answer is power. This is why the mages of this world elected to call those most powerful, mana-spawned entities that way. Everyone venerates power, for power is what changes the world. In all ways that mattered, Arkeidos was the god of the Iron Domain. Unquestionable, unassailable power that had reshaped every land and rewritten every law.” Claire’s tone had drifted to a growl, to rise again into a happy sermon. “He was a devil, a demon god, a horrific entity. He was a god absent morality. You are not.” She raised her hands as if she could embrace him despite the distance. “Your might is wielded for the betterment even of those who struggle against you. You understand the extent of your power. I worship you not because you are a god but because you are a perfect man with the power of one! That is what makes you truly divine, Master!”

John suppressed the internal screaming of imposter syndrome and looked to Momo. “What are you thinking?” he asked, hoping she would cut down his ego a bit.

“Well… I love you…” she started, all wholesome and blushy, “…like, really love you… lots. That’s despite me….” She paused for a moment, then shook her head. “Master, I spend more time doubting you than almost anyone else in this harem. The only ones that really compete with me are Lydia and Delicia. I try to find the problems in what you are doing, partially because I think that’s my job and partially because that’s just who I am. I ask questions. The past and the future are always to be explored. Who is John? What are his motivations? Who am I without him? Has he made me to be his or has he made me to be me?”

The questions hung heavy in the air, to all be pulled back into Momo when she inhaled deeply.

“Of course, I’ve deciphered the answer to most of these over time – as best as one can answer the core of who an individual is. My Master, my… Saint….” The word crossed her lips with a sincerity entirely her own. “I’ll speak without the hypno-stuff for a second.”

“Please do,” John encouraged her.

“Ehtra, what’s the argument I made that convinced you?”

The grey angel shifted uncomfortably. “I am not yet convinced,” she grumbled. “I am merely conceding to good points.”

“Okay.” Momo rolled her eyes. “What's the argument you regard as good?”

“It is not dissimilar to what Claire said. In the empires of old, the king was called many titles, most of which ultimately translated to an equal or above the gods – for a true king is. Sargon may have been weaker than Enki or Tiamat, but he still guided them. You are or will be stronger. Your will can reshape the order of the world. You may not be a god in the way the dominant religions of these days see it, but in the ancient ways your status is unquestionable. In almost all times, in almost all places, they would have built shrines to you.”

“And they will,” Momo chimed in. “We already know they will. You have already said it yourself: it may take 10 years or 3 generations, but eventually the people will see you as divine in all ways that matter, just like they do Romulus.” Momo crossed her arms and smiled. “I do get a bit of enjoyment out of making you flustered, but the why I am doing this… it’s because I know this is the truth. I love you, John, and you may not be able to rewrite fundamental assumptions of reality like Gaia can, but you have a much greater power than that.”

“What’s that?” John asked.

“You will act.”

The Gamer’s jaw clenched and his eyes leapt to Delicia.

“Guess as the other chief doubter, I’ll just put it plainly.” The shortstack grabbed the edge of the altar. Rather than stand, she translated from the floor to the top of the stone slab. Gingerly, she picked up the flower idol, raising it to her face. “You are exceptional.” She laughed drily at her own words. “I know, pointing out the obvious. Pfft, can you imagine a more worthless contribution to this talk?” A self-deprecating chuckle. “I don’t like monarchs. Aristocracy has ridiculed me for my birth and tried its best from letting me reach places. I’d become so desperate to prove myself that I conducted experiments that ended up dislodging my own soul from my flesh.”

Memories of necrotic tissue on a dying woman flashed in John’s mind. “I helped you for Nightingale’s sake,” he said. “Even I am not nice enough to go to war with other worlds to find a cure for anyone.”

“No, you aren’t… but you are nice enough to do that for someone. You are also so stupidly determined to make things better that you, when offered the cure, will refuse it if it means you won’t liberate that world. No, you’d rather risk your own life in pursuit of what is good.” Delicia turned the idol in her hands. “You are a big stupid penis person,” she said, “and I don’t think you are a God in the way you take the term with all of your Christianity-steeped upbringing. I don’t like monarchs. I don’t like people that’d make themselves out to be deities… but you are my exception.”

Delicia looked to the side, carefully putting down the flower idol. She pushed it as far as her arm would go without her leaning over.

“You aren’t perfect. You do things for power when it suits you. When the time calls for pragmatism, you use it. When you can get away with being idealistic, you will be. The power you have, the women that surround you, we are here because you kept doing the right thing. That’s why you have a harem of adorable ladies and not exploitative gold diggers. We are the proof that you kept acting for the benefit of others. They say respect is earned and I think you have earned a saintly sum of it.” She smirked. “So, big shot, your little lewd hypnosis has simply stirred my brain into realizing what you deserve. I know I’m an irreverent brat, so trust me when I say this: you can stand to let others worship you a bit in ways that don’t involve your dick. You are a good person. Comically good, even.”

‘Max and Magnus said the same during my bachelor’s night,’ John thought, recalling the alcohol-hazed conversation. “Still, actually worshipping me is a bit…”

“Much?” Momo asked. “Delicia and I are with you on that, for the most part… well, I’ll speak for myself – if we weren’t doing the hypnosis, I wouldn’t be kneeling before an altar to you three times a day.”

“I would!” Claire chirped.

Layla nodded.

Lorelei didn’t even see the necessity to comment with a gesture.

“But I think… as Delicia put it… you have earned a saintly amount of respect… and though I don’t want to change what we have as a couple, the way I express what I think of you as a person, especially to others, still has room for upwards improvement…” She hesitated for a moment. “If you are comfortable with that?”

“…I’ll need to reflect on that for a moment,” John said. “Jane, Undine, can you come with me for a second?”