Chapter 199: The Pantheon of Infinite Dreams (3)
[Pantheon’s Philosophy - Dreams are the purest expression of imagination and freedom. They’re not meant to be tools for control, but a space where one can embody their deepest desires and surpass even their greatest potential.
Influence Keys:
1. The highest purpose of dreams is imagination and freedom.
Dream Land and all realms under the Pantheon exist so members can embody their deepest dreams and reach their highest potential without being forced into the waking world.
2. Dreams are infinite, and so is the space for possibility; the Pantheon grows not by taking more, but by creating more room.
3. Members may enter the waking world and enlighten it in their own way, bringing dreams or nightmares according to their nature and will, or they may remain within Dream Land, deepening their potential and evolving without the need for external conflict.
4. While the Pantheon values freedom, it also demands loyalty, with every member’s first duty being to its own people.
The outside world matters only until it threatens the safety or freedom of those under its protection, and every member has the right to live the life they choose.]
----
[The Creed of Infinite Dreams – To dream a dream that never was.
At its highest stage, this creed grants its ruler the ability to fully unlock their hidden potential for twelve hours, with a cooldown period of one month.
At lower stages, members can access deeper layers of their potential, growing stronger as their status within the Pantheon rises.]
--
"Well, I think that’s not bad," Akasha remarked, his fingers gliding over the final glowing panels with a calm, deliberate grace until the last configuration clicked into place.
In essence, he wanted his Pantheon to be a reflection of himself, offering two primary paths through which influence could grow—either by remaining within Dream Land to build power steadily or venturing beyond its borders to live freely as they wished.
There was also a very deliberate reason he had chosen Dream Land over Dreamer’s Peak, something he fully intended to address in the near future.
A quiet, contented smile curved his lips as the complete form of the Pantheon of Infinite Dreams settled around him, fitting as naturally as a second skin.
Without wasting any more time, he shifted his focus.
Yume and Luna stood close by, observing him with an easy familiarity.
Kalpa remained a short distance away in her new form, seven-colored hair shifting softly in the high wind that brushed the edge of the void.
In this moment, Calista began descending back onto the polished wood of the balcony, still wrapped in the lingering afterglow of divinity, her expression open with pure disbelief.
"I... advanced an entire rank," she said, voice low and almost unsteady. "From a single apple."
Yume shook her head, blue-streaked strands drifting across her cheek as a quiet sigh left her.
"We really need to do something about this recurring matter," she murmured. "Everyone has the same reaction the first time they taste one."
Akasha’s smile widened into a soft laugh.
He stepped toward the nearest couch and, without ceremony, caught Luna’s hand and Yume’s wrist, drawing both women along with him until they settled on either side of him once more.
Only then did he turn his gaze to Calista, nine swirling purple stars steady and focused.
"You are now a Devotee of the Pantheon," he said.
It wasn’t just her—every member of Dreamer’s Peak had been granted the title, including Melvin, Liliana, Amber, and now Calista herself.
Yume and Luna, of course, remained unaffected; their deep bond with Akasha made them, in a way, interchangeable with one another, existing outside the need for such titles.
"And while I’d love to elevate your rank... that isn’t something within my power," he continued, his tone calm and unwavering as he spoke of the structure that governed all Pantheons.
"There are several ranks above Devotee."
Without hesitation, he began reciting the stages of hierarchy that held no matter the Pantheon: Vanguard, Herald, Warden, Reaper, Exemplar, General, Apostle, High Apostle, and finally, the Ruler.
With that, he offered her a few parting words before turning his attention elsewhere.
"As my disciple, it would probably look good if you became a High Apostle..." he remarked with a shrug.
"Though honestly, I don’t really care. You’ll be fine as long as you stay loyal to me. Aside from that, your status already has everything it needs."
Calista remained silent, only lowering her gaze for a moment as the weight of his words sank in.
’I... really ranked up from a single apple... an entire rank.’
The thought circled uselessly inside her head, still half-disbelieving.
She could feel the new depth of her power, yet every time she looked at Akasha the difference between them only felt larger.
He lounged there with ease, talking about High Apostles and Pantheon ranks like it was all second nature, and the longer she observed him, the more a quiet weight settled in her chest.
’Technically... he did save me from who knows what,’ she mused, certain that, before, she would have escaped something—though exactly what, she couldn’t say.
Whatever awaited her beyond her escape from the world of Noxara was something she could never quite define.
’And it’s not just that... he’s never shown me any ill will, only kindness and grace.’
’...Maybe I owe him?’ she admitted to herself, thinking back to the ranks and details he’d just shared.
’Right... I have to prove I’m worth keeping. I need to work harder—harder than ever—or else I’ll just become another name on the list of those he’s helped and then moved on from.’
Luna’s soft laugh broke the quiet.
She leaned slightly toward Yume, heart-shaped eyes gleaming with amusement, and spoke just loud enough for the other woman to hear.
"His grace works like a charm every time," she murmured, giving Yume a small, knowing wink.
Akasha shifted his gaze toward Kalpa, but before uttering a word, he took a moment to glance back at his own status, eager to discover what benefits the newly attained Supreme Divinity might hold.
To his surprise, only one prompt awaited his response...
[What do you need for your Pantheon?]