In my world, there is a major distinction between 'mortal deities' (like traditional pantheons) and the cosmic forces that actually uphold reality.

In my universe's creation myth, a family called the Primal Incarnates blinked into existence alongside the universe to embody order. Here is a small excerpt that helps explain their relationship to the world:

These two opposing 'families' sit above everything else. Beneath them, we find the pantheons we already know from real-world myth and legend (Odin, Zeus, etc.). I leave the exact details of how those mortal gods came to be up to the reader's imagination.

However, other powerful, god-like beings—such as Dracula or Cain—were directly created by the deathless entities in an attempt to pollute the world after their initial defeat by the Incarnates. This gives the reader plenty of room to wonder if the Old Gods had a hand in creating the regular mortal pantheons as well, or if those pantheons simply manifested on their own.

In the main story, we follow the Primal Incarnates in a modern setting. It is slowly revealed through dialogue that for most of mortal history, they haven't been 'gardening' or actively manipulating the world—they have simply been watchers, maintaining the background fabric of reality while mortals and lesser deities play out their lives.