Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

A week later.

[ Inheritor of Elder Ichor, what do you want to talk about? You have 10 minutes. ]

Goddess Menaka asked Eren in a neutral voice. The latter's consciousness was pulled inside a void where he and the goddess could communicate with each other directly. He had spent 5000 Menaka's Runes to have this talk.

"Greetings, Goddess Menaka," Eren offered a bow to the beautiful and stoic looking goddess before answering her question. "I called you here because I have a business proposition for you."

[ what is it? And how can it benefit me? ] asked the goddess in return, sending her thoughts directly into Eren's mind instead of voicing them through her mouth.

"My proposal will allow you to grow your divinity at a rapid pace," Eren said confidently, his emerald-green eyes admiring the goddess' beautiful form. "I have to be honest by saying that it will cause chaos in this world and disturb the order that you are benefitting from right now. But soon, the risks you have taken will be well compensated by the number of people spending their Menaka's Runes through the Mesh."

Eren knew that there was only one way to get Goddess Menaka aboard his plan. And that was to make her his ally in a true sense. And he needed to give her tangible benefits for that to happen.

He figured that Goddess Menaka wanted people to spend and accumulate Menaka's Runes in an endless cycle from the moment they had access to the Mesh till the day they died. This was why the goddess had allowed her blessing users to buy and sell things on the Mesh. She didn't need to spread her faith like the rest of the gods. She could benefit from sitting on the sidelines while the others did the work for her.

Eren knew that the goddess was a pragmatic capitalist in nature who had been bound by her divinity to stay neutral. However, that same divinity had forged a unique path for her while influencing her to go after anything and everything that suits her.

He was sure that the goddess would be at least interested to hear about his plan if nothing else. Thus, he had prepared his business pitch for his meeting with her.

[ Explain. ] Said the goddess in short. The latter nodded before explaining what his proposal was.

"I want to communicate with people using the Mesh."

[ You can do that through the communication channel ]

"You've misunderstood, and understandably so. Let me clarify," Eren paused before continuing. "I want to communicate with all the people of Labh Salem—those I know and those I don't."

The goddess fell silent, indicating she still hadn't grasped Eren's intentions.

"It's akin to a one-sided communication channel where only I'll speak, and the audience will listen. It's like a recorded message accessible to everyone using the Mesh. I believe there's a term for it..."

Eren wracked his memory for a term Argo had mentioned back in Anfang. His face lit up as the recollection surfaced.

"I think it's called social media. The Mesh will serve as a platform for this social media to thrive in Labh Salem."

Eren detailed his vision for the Mesh, drawing inspiration from Argo's experiences in another world. He carefully integrated specific features to align his social networking concept with the envisioned benefits.

[What will you gain by having this feature in the Mesh? And more importantly, what will I gain?]

The goddess appeared unimpressed with Eren's idea, not because she deemed it impossible—most of his proposals could be easily incorporated with a snap of her fingers.

Rather, she failed to see the purpose behind these changes. Eren wasn't presenting anything novel; the Mesh already facilitated communication for various entities, such as priests updating followers or armies disseminating orders.

[Are you going to sell your recorded message on Menaka's Market? I don't think it'll generate much revenue in terms of Menaka's Runes.]

The goddess responded bluntly, suggesting Eren was overestimating his influence in the eyes of billions. She doubted anyone would pay attention to a recorded message, especially if it came from him.

"No," Eren shook his head, anticipating the goddess's reluctance. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "We have to create a separate subpanel for this thing. We want everyone to have unlimited and free access to this subpanel, where they can freely consume live or recorded messages of other people they are interested in."

[ And how are we supposed to generate revenue if we give free access to this subpanel?] The goddess asked in a cold and callous manner. If true neutrality wasn't embedded in her persona, Eren was sure that she would have given him an irritated look.

"Um... consider this new subpanel of the Mesh to be an investment," Eren explained awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "It's a plan that will surely benefit you in the future."

The goddess remained silent. Eren knew that the time he had with the goddess was limited so he pressed on without her response.

"My dear Goddess, let's be direct with each other. Implementing these suggestions won't cost you a thing. If you desire, you can charge users a minimal one-time fee in the form of Menaka's Runes for access to this sub-panel. Additionally, you could impose a standard rate for featuring messages in the sub-

panel.

In short, the sub-panel will remain free for the most part once the people get in. And the ones who put up messages there will have to pay a bit to make their voices heard. The messages themselves remain free for the listeners.

The Mesh serves as a platform for people to communicate. While I understand that my ideas might not be groundbreaking, they will undoubtedly spark the transformation you seek once they gain traction."

The goddess regarded Eren differently when he suggested modifications to his original plan. The prospect of a Mesh feature being freely accessible without her receiving any share displeased her.

Nonetheless, she was open to incorporating these changes if it meant she could charge the masses even a minimal amount, be it one or two Menaka's Runes. After all, she understood the concept of "making big wealth by charging small" better than anyone.

[Alright. You answered what I gain from this social media. But what would you gain by doing this? What are you planning?]

Eren sensed, for the first time, that the goddess had set aside her true neutrality and regarded him with sheer curiosity. It seemed as if she was trying to fathom his intentions behind these proposed changes to the Mesh.

'I sure hope she remains neutral when this thing goes big,' Eren thought to himself and chuckled. He then locked eyes with the goddess before speaking confidently.

"Did you forget who I am?" Eren asked Menaka rhetorically and smiled mysteriously before continuing.

"I am a mere demi-god, Goddess Menaka. Of course, I want to use this thing to grow my faith.

I don't want to align myself with any other pantheons. I don't want to expose myself to other gods who may not have good intentions towards me. And I certainly don't want to find enemies within my demonic pantheon either.

I want to focus on growing my faith and not battle with the endless hordes of enemies that may come my way once I expose myself as a demigod. If the regular folks are my target audience, why would I waste my time talking and battling with entities who would never support my endeavors?"

Eren's voice turned serious, and his gaze blazed with passion as he continued.

"I want to be the progenitor of a new faction that is neither divine nor demonic. I will rewrite the rules of the game. I'm sure you are aware of what I'm talking about. The same game factions on both sides have been playing among each other for so long.

The Mesh gives me the opportunity to gain new followers. I don't have to build my temple. I don't have to create my sacred grounds. I don't have to ask for sacrifices. And I don't have to make people follow a certain set of rules for them to show their faith towards me.

I, Eren Elijah Idril, will become a god unlike any other. And my divinity will be like a violent storm that no god or demon could stop on their own," Eren declared, clenching his fists, his determination shining through his eyes.

For the first time in a long while, the goddess' face was painted with a particular emotion — a mixture of shock and awe.

[ You sure seem confident in saying this to my face, Aleph's Inheritor? Did you forget that I am also a goddess– one of the participants of the so-called "game" that you want to destroy? ]

The goddess asked in a cold voice, regaining her composure. Eren shook his head before responding.

"No, my goddess," Eren said casually before adding further.

"I wouldn't place you in the same league as the rest of the "usual suspects" so to speak. You are part of the game but you have never played it like the other players.

The fact is– you have been benched. Forever and ever. The fact that you chose to bench yourself doesn't take away from what I said about you and your divinity earlier."

[ It will offend a lot of Immortals ]

"Not a lot," Eren corrected the goddess. "You will almost offend everyone in the celestial hall. And by offending all of them at once, you will retain your true neutrality."

It had to be said that Eren's confidence was palpable when he said these things to the goddess.

"That being said, I can always go find other ways to do the same thing. These hurdles have never stopped me from doing what I want. There will not be an exception this time either.

So I ask you– what will it be?"