Passively keeping the whole stadium in view, Rachel maintained her composure in the face of the rumble that shook the stadium; the skies rippled with their changed location, a deep cavern emerging from the lesser god’s manipulations, taking them to the location she’d set Conner’s next contest.
Conner’s bronze skin glistened with sweat as the environment changed; a grand statue of the Titan of the Earth broke through the hard stadium stone, plant life blooming to fill the world in vibrant colors, yet green soon became the dominant shade.
The man worked around his neck, sober eyes following the rise of the lovely and alien-like entity the statue represented, a glowing, rotating planet held near her abdomen.
Rachel’s gaze drifted from Dionysus’ silent observation to the stadium as it ripped out of the ground and broke apart, carrying them into the air. The segmented stands spun in a slow circle around the developing combat zone, whipping her straightened and unbound hair to the left.
The cavern continued to rise in elevation, widening into a vast valley tribute to the Mother Titan, and not soon after, more statues broke free from the walls, displaying a powerful man holding a trident. Jets of bright aquamarine water burst through the overhead cavern ceiling, walls, and floor, filling the rich, underground biosphere with life-giving liquid that sparkled in pristine, magical glory.
Parts of the mossy ceiling and walls broke away, revealing a deep ocean view, spotted with alien and giant sea creatures, hunting within their brutal habitat. It was surprising to see how many places could exist and that could be called upon within these Legend’s Quests, not that Rachel believed Anthony’s would be the same as this.
Conner rose into the air with the stone platform he stood on before the eyes of Gaia’s statue, and empowered waterfalls with Neptune’s blessing fell from the ceiling to crash against the arena, creating white rapids in the canals that were formed to gush off its edges.
Gasps, laughter, and clapping came from the lesser deities as the ground far below and to Rachel’s left began to glow a bright orange. Magma geysers erupted in fountains of flame, flaring fissures cutting their way across the landscape below the floating platform and broken stadium of gawkers.
Pyroclastic flows soon joined the blessed geysers of liquid, sending steam hissing toward the ceiling for an explosion of sound and black clouds of fumarole to escape the fractured jungle floor. A thunderous roar vibrated the air with sulfuric gasses and vapor that followed a streak of flying molten element, only the winged draconic visage of Conner’s challenge seen in the plume of a nuclear detonation.
Rachel sat straighter against her pillar as the 65-meter-long magma dragon passed underneath them, wingspan likely as much as 70 meters in diameter, bringing scalding winds that lit the vibrant temple to Gaia in a sea of flames.
The blessed water mixed with the fire, yet it seemed Gaia’s power over the earth also empowered the magma because the liquid was having trouble combatting the inferno the dragon brought. Meteors followed the flying stream of death as it dove under the arena Conner stood on before twirling around to swoop up and land on the stony field and release a terrifying roar that brought more eruptions to devastate the temple.
Shit. It is a creature of Gaia, which means it is blessed by her, as well, she internally snarled, trying not to show her anxiety at the intimidating show of dominance. Don’t die, Conner!
The Legend jumped onto his floating dolphin as the stone beneath his feet began to bubble, and the lava dragon lurched for him, the creature’s mere presence igniting the atmosphere near it. 4:59 clicked down on the holographic clock between the broken and rotating coliseum—the fight had begun.
“Is he going to die?” Nia hissed, leg bouncing nervously as she followed Conner’s rise to the ocean above, soon cut off by dense pyroclastic currents that the dragon created to block his escape to the more favorable battlefield. “I know we’re supposed to kill him after our own fight, but I’m kind of rooting for him right now, for obvious reasons…”
That’s one of the points of this competition, Rachel mused, seeing the appeal in such a contest where both contestants wanted the other to win their challenges; after all, she wanted a good fight. It’s going to be tough, but all he has to do is make it past the goalkeeper dragon and enter the ocean half of the temple.
“I see,” Nia frowned, scanning the apocalyptic scene as Conner fought for his life, currently on the back foot and only having 4 minutes and 30 seconds left until his aquatic, supernatural mount was yanked away from him. “Gaia’s domain may not be entirely related to water, but it does include it. If it were me, I’d break the ceiling and dump the whole ocean on the dragon’s spicy ass.”
Rachel’s ears tilted with her head as she waved, her focus returning to the frighteningly quiet lesser god and Arbiter of this competition; the insane man of entertainment still had his gaze on her in the face of such an epic showdown that should captivate him.
I’d do the same… Conner isn’t stupid. He knew the moment Dionysus had it out for me that things would get real. Dionysus selected the lava dragon because it would have Gaia’s blessing; it was something I hadn’t considered.
Nia’s balled hands pressed against her skirt, legs knotting as the dolphin dipped low with Conner on his back, collecting a cyclone of holy water into a spiral drill; they cut through the flames and magma streams, looping to dodge the dragon’s volcanic breath as they attempted to get close enough to pierce the lizard’s wings.
“Conner did, though,” the rabbit mumbled. “He chose Delphinus in order to counter it, but it was then put on a clock. Going first really isn’t the best, is it?”
Yes and no.
A meteor shot right at them but Rachel didn’t flinch as it exploded against the invisible barrier protecting the stadium; Conner was making use of the floating amphitheater when possible. Time was ticking down; he only had 3 minutes until his lifeline was snatched away.
For a competitor, getting the chance to pick your own item or upgrade instead of some pen or toothpick that someone else could hit you with is probably the most important option. The penalty could be seen as the next most important one, but all of it is very rock, paper, scissors if you’re smart enough to see the possibilities each can have.
Conner flashed by them in a spray of liquid, giving her a handsome smile and two-fingered gesture that mirrored Nia’s previous one. It brought laughs, even after he was forced to duck behind one of the protected pieces of the stadium to dodge another meteor. It told Rachel he still saw a way out of this.
The first pick usually sets the pace for where the battle will go, which has its own benefits. I picked this temple to help Conner. Dionysus picks a dragon that will be blessed by it as well while bumping up the Challenge Tier. Conner then picks an item that will help him against it. The crowd gives him a time limit on it to make the fight more tense. See the pattern?
“More complex than I first thought,” Nia whispered. “We couldn’t have won against all these challenges without the Unique Moons or Greater Harvest Moon. Could we?”
Rachel’s gaze lifted with Conner as his blessed water drill split in two, forcing the dragon to pick one to go after, both forking to attack the ceiling. A wave of flames and molten elements swooped over to engulf one, spewing a ray of white fire at the other.
No. Not if I wanted to gain answers. We had to push things this far to kick Dionysus off the stage; he’s too much of a loose cannon, and everyone sees that. We could have won normally. It just wouldn’t have had the same effect.
“I didn’t think so,” Nia sighed. “It really does depend on the type of Arbiter you have, I suppose. Do we want to set the pace next?”
After a moment’s thought, the volcanic zone erupting around them, Rachel knew her answer. Yes, and no.
Nia shot a dull stare at her for being difficult but fell silent soon after as things escalated.
The image projected to the audience showed the lava dragon’s breath encasing its target in a solidified ball of metal—Conner had acted as the bait—leaving Delphinus’ potent mystical powers to further enhance the Neptune-blessed vortex it created, and punch a hole right through the blanket of flames that the creature’s wings cast over it, burrowing into the ceiling.
Fissures split down its length, flooding the colossal cavern as the dragon shrieked its fury, and the dolphin continued to carry its momentum, ripping apart the barrier keeping out the sea. The metal ball encasing Conner hit the molten earth below as the timer hit 2 minutes, only for a bulge to appear near its top. The Legend punched his way out, using his power over earth to bend it outward.
The water spraying from above circled around Conner as he jumped to join the cycling current, skin covered in first and second-degree burns as the rising tidal wave closed in with Delphinus coming from the opposite direction to meet.
Spiraling into a nosedive, the lava dragon tried to enter the molten ground again, only to be cut off as it had done each time to Conner; the crushing currents collided with the living inferno, its cry drowning out as its body cooled.
Rachel had to clap with the rest of the audience as giant, monstrous sea creatures with fangs, tentacles, and orb-like eyes entered to devour the dying lava dragon, fighting with one another for the new catch that had entered their domain.
All scattered to a titanic deep-sea creature that sparked with white electricity as it entered the frenzy, thin, diamond-like teeth cutting the flailing lizard in half in a single bite; the clock stopped at 12 seconds.
A bubble appeared in the center of their broken coliseum, with a golden podium floating for all to see and allowing the soaking Legend to wave at the roaring crowd. Deep-sea creatures now circled them, and Rachel joined the applause. He’d earned that victory.
“My guests! What a show this has been!” Dionysus was once again all smiles and laughter upon entering the stage to walk around Conner; understandably, it took some effort for him to keep his smile, but rubbing the dolphin’s smooth skin beside him seemed to help. “And what a conclusion for Conner’s third stage, just before his final trial!”
He lifted both hands to show them multiple angles from each of their fights thus far.
“I have shown you the power that these Greater Seeds have in Legendkin… The power of a Creation Deity, capable of manipulating an entire universe in all its multiversal fragments. The powers we all have been denied! But now, we can claim the glory Creation Deities have dangled over us for ages beyond number. I can show you the way!”
Rachel hissed as she was teleported into midair, and she leaned back in her fall to land on her feet, her skirt naturally folding in a way to not reveal much in her descent, thanks to Nia’s influence. Dionysus now brought her into the spotlight, taking away from Conner’s victory lap.
“I have shown you how Mythickin enhances the effects of Legendkin through the unnatural resonance between their Seeds, and yes,” he laughed, pointing up at the gears that he brought into focus as they moved. “I can now confirm with certainty that it is because of that resonance that the Legend Quest can be empowered by Mythickin to reach new heights—Challenge Rating 3. Could it go further with another Myth or Legend? Perhaps.”
He leered down at her from his lofty position in the air, taking a long swig of his wine before chuckling at her returned look. “We are only scratching the surface of this new development—some of you called me reckless—and look where we are after I blazed the way! I have more power than my father himself at this moment. So why not push how far we can go?”
Conner stopped beside her, arms crossed and voice utterly sober as he spoke to her, letting the lesser god hype up his audience. “I know you did a Challenge Rating 3 before, but can you do it again? You helped me survive that… What do you need?”
This man would fight her to the death soon, yet there was genuine concern in his eyes, and Rachel suspected it wasn’t entirely for his own sake. He seemed to have grown to respect her; she felt the same after his last battle. Conner was a true competitor.
A confident smirk lit Rachel’s lips as Dionysus held up a hand and snapped his fingers, bringing the next lucky crowd member to join the second-to-last challenge for her; a provocative-eyed woman with silky raven hair and black, occultic tattoos appeared beside them.
“I think I’ll be fine. My savior has arrived.”
“My, aren’t you a charming little hare?” A silky chortle shook the fiendish woman’s chest as she appraised them, taking one hand off her obsidian leather handbag to pull up on her bright red tube top. “And you come with a rather adorable bunny outfit. You two could get into all sorts of trouble together, I’m sure.”
Nia took one look at her and practically psychically hit her on the head. “No! No! No! She is strife, drama, and stress incarnate, Cap!”
Conner and the rest of the crowd went quiet to study the enticing Succubus of a woman, and Rachel suppressed a shiver at the phenomenal power the seductive creature radiated; she could probably give Moongmor a run for his money, but, given the rabbit’s personality, she would probably just wrap him around her finger, wind him up, and let him go.
No, I agree, she hissed as the woman turned her illuminated ruby irises to the lesser god with a respectful bow, spotting a beauty mark on the outside of her left eye. But all the misfortune I sense is firmly held in her fingers, and she is wrapping them around Dionysus’ throat.
“What a pleasure it is to have my small voice heard on such a grand display of power. I hadn’t dreamed I would have this chance. Your work, no doubt, Rachel,” she added, devious narrowed eyes and curved maroon lips shifting to her.
“Small?” Dionysus guffawed, throwing up an image of a hellish plane, where a colossal luxurious palace floated, putting to shame an endless sea of castles and mansions; her home was practically the size of Texas as it zoomed out. “I would not say a Princess of Hell that rules a respectable piece of land in the 3rd Circle has a small voice, Yseress.”
Gnarled branch-like wings sprouted out of her shoulder blades, and what looked to be solidified blood was fused in patches along its length, vein-like lights shining in randomized patterns through it. Slim horns grew out of either side of Yseress’ head, and her neck was completely covered by a form-fitting black metal.
Rachel could feel something sinister behind Yseress’ enticing gaze that didn’t even try to hide the devil in them as she turned her small, slitted pupils to her. Black flames, laced with crimson lightning, flickered around her frame from time to time as she moved to appraise the lesser god.
“Oh, don’t be modest, Dionysus.” Her open-toe heels clicked with her suggestive walk while the silver cross on the zipper of her form-fitted dark jeans swayed. “And aren’t you looking fine today? I adored your work on Nike and would love to join one of your private gatherings. Am I asking too much?”
Dionysus rubbed his chin. “When they say Hell is trouble, they aren’t speaking about the devils or demons. Only a fallen half-angel and devil could understand the heaven in Hell.”
Yseress giggled as he showed the gluttonous feasts throughout her home as people hung in cages, unable to die in their starvation. “How are you faring after the 7th Circle was sealed off, cutting you away from your rulers? I hear Hell is on fire right now,” he snickered.
A heart-turning sadness fell over her mature face. “It has been so very difficult with so much chaos in our authority structure. I am grateful for this reprieve and opportunity,” she said in a way that would have made Rachel shoo her off because this fallen Nephilim really was trouble.
“We must roll these dice?” she asked, pointing at the box in front of Rachel, near where hers had appeared when being brought to the stage. “Should we begin? I am screaming inside to see what fun we can have!”
Rachel wanted to double over with laughter at the hungry look Dionysus gave her, his vision sliding over her arms, where intricate skulls, crosses, and complex devilish symbols marked her supple skin. She was temptation’s fruit.
It was very clear to her that Yseress was not here for Conner, Dionysus, or her; this woman only cared about what she wanted, and her delicate fingers were wrapping tiny threads around the insane diety’s throat, piece by piece.
“Let us roll!” Dionysus roared, now back in his festive spirits, as the wine began to flow and grapes grew to satiate his guest’s hunger.
Rachel snatched hers up and tossed it first, making the crowd laugh as it stopped on 5.
Yseress’ black handbag swung as she continued her prance, showing a curious smile that hid her inner thoughts. “Misfortune is a very fickle mistress, I have found, but I do not serve her as you do, so I can feel my two hearts flutter at such a roll. What devilish play do you have in store for me… Now, isn’t that remarkable?”
Nia squirmed inside as the woman’s gnarled, wood-like wings curled around them, and she let her die slide off to tumble a few times until it came to a stop beside hers.
“One… I am to go last. Fortune, or misfortune? Heheh. I suppose we will see,” she breathed, lingering and eyeing her at the border of what was uncomfortable before breaking away.
Dionysus’ viscous grin returned to Rachel. “What twist will you introduce this time, Rachel… 5?”
“5…” Conner repeated with a short chuckle.
Everyone’s gaze darted to Rachel as she showed an innocent smile.
“Am I to blame for everything?” she asked with a teasing laugh that brought a chortle from the Fallen Nephilim. “Roll again?”
Dionysus’ smirk held a suspicious edge. “Again.”
Conner: 13
Rachel: 5
Dionysus: 13
Mouth tightening, he held up his hand. “Again!”
Dionysus: 13
Conner: 13
Rachel’s ears fell forward, showing the pair a grin and shrug.
“Again!!”
Conner: 1
Dionysus: 3
“Agh!”
Yseress giggled and tossed her die again with the dull-eyed Legend.
Conner: 1
Yseress: 2
“Excellent!” the woman chirped, lightly clapping her hands. “Now I’m third.”
“Mmmgm-hmm-hmm… One, two, three… Start the clock,” he growled, agitation back in his voice while glaring at her. “One. Minute.”
Rachel didn’t need much, though; her time in the Blood Moon had given her a good grasp on how fun it could be to wield a weapon, but there had to be some attributes gained.
“Item Selection: War hammer. Slightly larger, not too bulky, though. Weight negation for the user. Absorbs kinetic energy when desired and can be used to project it in a blast or propel its motion, including its user’s momentum.”
“Make it cool looking!” Nia hastily prompted. “And absorb moonlight, too!”
Smiling, Rachel repeated the first part. I don’t need to talk about the moonlight part because you’re going to eat it, and we don’t want to dampen the other effects by adding too much.
“My first meal is an awesome hammer? Nice.”
Holding out her hand, the smooth metal weapon appeared in her grip, glass-like parts glowing a light greenish blue; a thin pyramid spike was on the back while the front had multiple points to rip into whatever she bashed.
Rachel smashed it against the ground, making parts of the glass portions brighten, showing it had a kinetic charge. “This will do.”
Dionysus’ grin widened as he pointed at Nia across the broken amphitheater, trying to peer around one of the giant deep-sea fishes that had gotten between them.
“I think I am done with this little power-twin duo of hare and bunny. If I can’t do anything to Nike due to the last restriction, I do this… Downgrade: Soul Item’s age. Revert to five.”
“Rachel, if I’m a liability, then don’t—what… No! Why am I so little now?”
A shiver ran down Rachel’s spine, ears rising as Nia jumped up in a panic, but a vortex of wine encircled Rachel, blocking her image of the 19-year-old bunny. When it lifted, Nia was a small child.
Yseress held up her hand and snapped her fingers, making Nia appear in front of her in a flash of Hellfire; the little girl began to tremble, her ears falling back with the woman’s devilish stare on her. “How cute—oh?!”
A splash of light and Nia returned to the outfit to hide.
“I’m sorry, Captain; she’s too scary!”
Rachel breathed out a frustrated growl while turning her tight eclipse eyes to the lesser god.
Dionysus roared with laughter. “If only I could have made her younger! It would have been wonderful to see you carrying around a baby in the fight—and what is that look for?”
“This?” Rachel asked. “I think it’s her turn. Dionysus… meet your misfortune.”
A sardonic gleam came on as Yseress’ lips peeled back into a thrilled smile.
The handsome god’s brow furrowed while looking at the snickering Fallen Nephilim, holding a hand to her left breast and trying to hold in her excitement. A devilish spark glittered in her ruby eyes with the crimson lightning dancing around her black-flame-ignited figure.
“What are you plotting, Yseress?” he slowly asked.
“Oh! Hah. Hah-hah. Umm. Give me a moment, please… I am just—oh, the time has already started. Excuse me! Ahem. It’s just, you were boasting so well about the extent of your power here.”
She looked up at the sky with anticipation, hands clasped tightly around her purse straps as she spoke in almost a reverent whisper. “Location: The 7th Circle. Under the Hell Moon. In the sight of my mistress. Let me hear the Great Queen of Yomi again. Let She Who Invites welcome us to her home!”
Dionysus’ face went whiter than when Rachel had stolen Nike, silence filling the stadium as the world melded away to a hellish plane.
Boiling gore, screams, and an acid-filled sky of blood rain quelled the boisterous atmosphere. World-devouring demons and cackling devils of titanic proportion filled the endless torment. And far overhead, a wicked celestial sphere loomed, wreathed in flames and marred by a hellish symbol across its face.
A rippling, twisting barrier writhed at the edges of the veil protecting them as they entered what Rachel had to assume was a 6th-dimensional sphere.
Yseress floated in the air as a blurry figure appeared between the Hell Moon and them, sitting on a cracked, stone throne. Rachel couldn’t make it out through all the distortions between dimensional zones, but her own face turned ashen as Yseress’ elated words told her exactly who she was supposed to entertain.
“Welcome, Lady Izanami.”
Rachel fell to the ground as the platform began to quake, fissures breaking the stone beneath her while terror filled Dionysus’ face.
“No! NO! I will not allow it! It’s impossible! We can’t be beyond the dimensional wall!” The trembling lesser god vanished to appear in front of Yseress, her throat held in his grip as she giggled at something that probably didn’t even register as foreplay. “Change the location before the time stops!”
Rachel looked up at the Hell Moon, energy not reaching her yet, the flickering Japanese goddess of the underworld overhead, leaning against her throne. She could practically feel the welcoming and entertained pulse she radiated, making Nia tremble and hide under Nike’s spiritual bed like the little girl she now was.
The Fallen Nephilim didn’t so much as wince, hands still holding her purse as she looked straight into Dionysus’ cracking facade. “No.”
With that statement, the world froze, and Dionysus began to choke, golden blood leaking out of his eyes and mouth, refusing to let it lock in.
“You… will not make a bridge to—the higher dimensions!”
Panic flooded the stadium as the other lower deities ran, vanishing in lights or slipping through portals to escape what Yseress had set in motion.
All sound died, and a soft, feminine whisper seemed to enter every mind, pulling their gaze up to the obscure figure, now on their side of the twisting barrier.
“Dionysus. How long has it been? Athena sends her regards.”
Passively keeping the whole stadium in view, Rachel maintained her composure in the face of the rumble that shook the stadium; the skies rippled with their changed location, a deep cavern emerging from the lesser god’s manipulations, taking them to the location she’d set Conner’s next contest.
Conner’s bronze skin glistened with sweat as the environment changed; a grand statue of the Titan of the Earth broke through the hard stadium stone, plant life blooming to fill the world in vibrant colors, yet green soon became the dominant shade.
The man worked around his neck, sober eyes following the rise of the lovely and alien-like entity the statue represented, a glowing, rotating planet held near her abdomen.
Rachel’s gaze drifted from Dionysus’ silent observation to the stadium as it ripped out of the ground and broke apart, carrying them into the air. The segmented stands spun in a slow circle around the developing combat zone, whipping her straightened and unbound hair to the left.
The cavern continued to rise in elevation, widening into a vast valley tribute to the Mother Titan, and not soon after, more statues broke free from the walls, displaying a powerful man holding a trident. Jets of bright aquamarine water burst through the overhead cavern ceiling, walls, and floor, filling the rich, underground biosphere with life-giving liquid that sparkled in pristine, magical glory.
Parts of the mossy ceiling and walls broke away, revealing a deep ocean view, spotted with alien and giant sea creatures, hunting within their brutal habitat. It was surprising to see how many places could exist and that could be called upon within these Legend’s Quests, not that Rachel believed Anthony’s would be the same as this.
Conner rose into the air with the stone platform he stood on before the eyes of Gaia’s statue, and empowered waterfalls with Neptune’s blessing fell from the ceiling to crash against the arena, creating white rapids in the canals that were formed to gush off its edges.
Gasps, laughter, and clapping came from the lesser deities as the ground far below and to Rachel’s left began to glow a bright orange. Magma geysers erupted in fountains of flame, flaring fissures cutting their way across the landscape below the floating platform and broken stadium of gawkers.
Pyroclastic flows soon joined the blessed geysers of liquid, sending steam hissing toward the ceiling for an explosion of sound and black clouds of fumarole to escape the fractured jungle floor. A thunderous roar vibrated the air with sulfuric gasses and vapor that followed a streak of flying molten element, only the winged draconic visage of Conner’s challenge seen in the plume of a nuclear detonation.
Rachel sat straighter against her pillar as the 65-meter-long magma dragon passed underneath them, wingspan likely as much as 70 meters in diameter, bringing scalding winds that lit the vibrant temple to Gaia in a sea of flames.
The blessed water mixed with the fire, yet it seemed Gaia’s power over the earth also empowered the magma because the liquid was having trouble combatting the inferno the dragon brought. Meteors followed the flying stream of death as it dove under the arena Conner stood on before twirling around to swoop up and land on the stony field and release a terrifying roar that brought more eruptions to devastate the temple.
Shit. It is a creature of Gaia, which means it is blessed by her, as well, she internally snarled, trying not to show her anxiety at the intimidating show of dominance. Don’t die, Conner!
The Legend jumped onto his floating dolphin as the stone beneath his feet began to bubble, and the lava dragon lurched for him, the creature’s mere presence igniting the atmosphere near it. 4:59 clicked down on the holographic clock between the broken and rotating coliseum—the fight had begun.
“Is he going to die?” Nia hissed, leg bouncing nervously as she followed Conner’s rise to the ocean above, soon cut off by dense pyroclastic currents that the dragon created to block his escape to the more favorable battlefield. “I know we’re supposed to kill him after our own fight, but I’m kind of rooting for him right now, for obvious reasons…”
That’s one of the points of this competition, Rachel mused, seeing the appeal in such a contest where both contestants wanted the other to win their challenges; after all, she wanted a good fight. It’s going to be tough, but all he has to do is make it past the goalkeeper dragon and enter the ocean half of the temple.
“I see,” Nia frowned, scanning the apocalyptic scene as Conner fought for his life, currently on the back foot and only having 4 minutes and 30 seconds left until his aquatic, supernatural mount was yanked away from him. “Gaia’s domain may not be entirely related to water, but it does include it. If it were me, I’d break the ceiling and dump the whole ocean on the dragon’s spicy ass.”
Rachel’s ears tilted with her head as she waved, her focus returning to the frighteningly quiet lesser god and Arbiter of this competition; the insane man of entertainment still had his gaze on her in the face of such an epic showdown that should captivate him.
I’d do the same… Conner isn’t stupid. He knew the moment Dionysus had it out for me that things would get real. Dionysus selected the lava dragon because it would have Gaia’s blessing; it was something I hadn’t considered.
Nia’s balled hands pressed against her skirt, legs knotting as the dolphin dipped low with Conner on his back, collecting a cyclone of holy water into a spiral drill; they cut through the flames and magma streams, looping to dodge the dragon’s volcanic breath as they attempted to get close enough to pierce the lizard’s wings.
“Conner did, though,” the rabbit mumbled. “He chose Delphinus in order to counter it, but it was then put on a clock. Going first really isn’t the best, is it?”
Yes and no.
A meteor shot right at them but Rachel didn’t flinch as it exploded against the invisible barrier protecting the stadium; Conner was making use of the floating amphitheater when possible. Time was ticking down; he only had 3 minutes until his lifeline was snatched away.
For a competitor, getting the chance to pick your own item or upgrade instead of some pen or toothpick that someone else could hit you with is probably the most important option. The penalty could be seen as the next most important one, but all of it is very rock, paper, scissors if you’re smart enough to see the possibilities each can have.
Conner flashed by them in a spray of liquid, giving her a handsome smile and two-fingered gesture that mirrored Nia’s previous one. It brought laughs, even after he was forced to duck behind one of the protected pieces of the stadium to dodge another meteor. It told Rachel he still saw a way out of this.
The first pick usually sets the pace for where the battle will go, which has its own benefits. I picked this temple to help Conner. Dionysus picks a dragon that will be blessed by it as well while bumping up the Challenge Tier. Conner then picks an item that will help him against it. The crowd gives him a time limit on it to make the fight more tense. See the pattern?
“More complex than I first thought,” Nia whispered. “We couldn’t have won against all these challenges without the Unique Moons or Greater Harvest Moon. Could we?”
Rachel’s gaze lifted with Conner as his blessed water drill split in two, forcing the dragon to pick one to go after, both forking to attack the ceiling. A wave of flames and molten elements swooped over to engulf one, spewing a ray of white fire at the other.
No. Not if I wanted to gain answers. We had to push things this far to kick Dionysus off the stage; he’s too much of a loose cannon, and everyone sees that. We could have won normally. It just wouldn’t have had the same effect.
“I didn’t think so,” Nia sighed. “It really does depend on the type of Arbiter you have, I suppose. Do we want to set the pace next?”
After a moment’s thought, the volcanic zone erupting around them, Rachel knew her answer. Yes, and no.
Nia shot a dull stare at her for being difficult but fell silent soon after as things escalated.
The image projected to the audience showed the lava dragon’s breath encasing its target in a solidified ball of metal—Conner had acted as the bait—leaving Delphinus’ potent mystical powers to further enhance the Neptune-blessed vortex it created, and punch a hole right through the blanket of flames that the creature’s wings cast over it, burrowing into the ceiling.
Fissures split down its length, flooding the colossal cavern as the dragon shrieked its fury, and the dolphin continued to carry its momentum, ripping apart the barrier keeping out the sea. The metal ball encasing Conner hit the molten earth below as the timer hit 2 minutes, only for a bulge to appear near its top. The Legend punched his way out, using his power over earth to bend it outward.
The water spraying from above circled around Conner as he jumped to join the cycling current, skin covered in first and second-degree burns as the rising tidal wave closed in with Delphinus coming from the opposite direction to meet.
Spiraling into a nosedive, the lava dragon tried to enter the molten ground again, only to be cut off as it had done each time to Conner; the crushing currents collided with the living inferno, its cry drowning out as its body cooled.
Rachel had to clap with the rest of the audience as giant, monstrous sea creatures with fangs, tentacles, and orb-like eyes entered to devour the dying lava dragon, fighting with one another for the new catch that had entered their domain.
All scattered to a titanic deep-sea creature that sparked with white electricity as it entered the frenzy, thin, diamond-like teeth cutting the flailing lizard in half in a single bite; the clock stopped at 12 seconds.
A bubble appeared in the center of their broken coliseum, with a golden podium floating for all to see and allowing the soaking Legend to wave at the roaring crowd. Deep-sea creatures now circled them, and Rachel joined the applause. He’d earned that victory.
“My guests! What a show this has been!” Dionysus was once again all smiles and laughter upon entering the stage to walk around Conner; understandably, it took some effort for him to keep his smile, but rubbing the dolphin’s smooth skin beside him seemed to help. “And what a conclusion for Conner’s third stage, just before his final trial!”
He lifted both hands to show them multiple angles from each of their fights thus far.
“I have shown you the power that these Greater Seeds have in Legendkin… The power of a Creation Deity, capable of manipulating an entire universe in all its multiversal fragments. The powers we all have been denied! But now, we can claim the glory Creation Deities have dangled over us for ages beyond number. I can show you the way!”
Rachel hissed as she was teleported into midair, and she leaned back in her fall to land on her feet, her skirt naturally folding in a way to not reveal much in her descent, thanks to Nia’s influence. Dionysus now brought her into the spotlight, taking away from Conner’s victory lap.
“I have shown you how Mythickin enhances the effects of Legendkin through the unnatural resonance between their Seeds, and yes,” he laughed, pointing up at the gears that he brought into focus as they moved. “I can now confirm with certainty that it is because of that resonance that the Legend Quest can be empowered by Mythickin to reach new heights—Challenge Rating 3. Could it go further with another Myth or Legend? Perhaps.”
He leered down at her from his lofty position in the air, taking a long swig of his wine before chuckling at her returned look. “We are only scratching the surface of this new development—some of you called me reckless—and look where we are after I blazed the way! I have more power than my father himself at this moment. So why not push how far we can go?”
Conner stopped beside her, arms crossed and voice utterly sober as he spoke to her, letting the lesser god hype up his audience. “I know you did a Challenge Rating 3 before, but can you do it again? You helped me survive that… What do you need?”
This man would fight her to the death soon, yet there was genuine concern in his eyes, and Rachel suspected it wasn’t entirely for his own sake. He seemed to have grown to respect her; she felt the same after his last battle. Conner was a true competitor.
A confident smirk lit Rachel’s lips as Dionysus held up a hand and snapped his fingers, bringing the next lucky crowd member to join the second-to-last challenge for her; a provocative-eyed woman with silky raven hair and black, occultic tattoos appeared beside them.
“I think I’ll be fine. My savior has arrived.”
“My, aren’t you a charming little hare?” A silky chortle shook the fiendish woman’s chest as she appraised them, taking one hand off her obsidian leather handbag to pull up on her bright red tube top. “And you come with a rather adorable bunny outfit. You two could get into all sorts of trouble together, I’m sure.”
Nia took one look at her and practically psychically hit her on the head. “No! No! No! She is strife, drama, and stress incarnate, Cap!”
Conner and the rest of the crowd went quiet to study the enticing Succubus of a woman, and Rachel suppressed a shiver at the phenomenal power the seductive creature radiated; she could probably give Moongmor a run for his money, but, given the rabbit’s personality, she would probably just wrap him around her finger, wind him up, and let him go.
No, I agree, she hissed as the woman turned her illuminated ruby irises to the lesser god with a respectful bow, spotting a beauty mark on the outside of her left eye. But all the misfortune I sense is firmly held in her fingers, and she is wrapping them around Dionysus’ throat.
“What a pleasure it is to have my small voice heard on such a grand display of power. I hadn’t dreamed I would have this chance. Your work, no doubt, Rachel,” she added, devious narrowed eyes and curved maroon lips shifting to her.
“Small?” Dionysus guffawed, throwing up an image of a hellish plane, where a colossal luxurious palace floated, putting to shame an endless sea of castles and mansions; her home was practically the size of Texas as it zoomed out. “I would not say a Princess of Hell that rules a respectable piece of land in the 3rd Circle has a small voice, Yseress.”
Gnarled branch-like wings sprouted out of her shoulder blades, and what looked to be solidified blood was fused in patches along its length, vein-like lights shining in randomized patterns through it. Slim horns grew out of either side of Yseress’ head, and her neck was completely covered by a form-fitting black metal.
Rachel could feel something sinister behind Yseress’ enticing gaze that didn’t even try to hide the devil in them as she turned her small, slitted pupils to her. Black flames, laced with crimson lightning, flickered around her frame from time to time as she moved to appraise the lesser god.
“Oh, don’t be modest, Dionysus.” Her open-toe heels clicked with her suggestive walk while the silver cross on the zipper of her form-fitted dark jeans swayed. “And aren’t you looking fine today? I adored your work on Nike and would love to join one of your private gatherings. Am I asking too much?”
Dionysus rubbed his chin. “When they say Hell is trouble, they aren’t speaking about the devils or demons. Only a fallen half-angel and devil could understand the heaven in Hell.”
Yseress giggled as he showed the gluttonous feasts throughout her home as people hung in cages, unable to die in their starvation. “How are you faring after the 7th Circle was sealed off, cutting you away from your rulers? I hear Hell is on fire right now,” he snickered.
A heart-turning sadness fell over her mature face. “It has been so very difficult with so much chaos in our authority structure. I am grateful for this reprieve and opportunity,” she said in a way that would have made Rachel shoo her off because this fallen Nephilim really was trouble.
“We must roll these dice?” she asked, pointing at the box in front of Rachel, near where hers had appeared when being brought to the stage. “Should we begin? I am screaming inside to see what fun we can have!”
Rachel wanted to double over with laughter at the hungry look Dionysus gave her, his vision sliding over her arms, where intricate skulls, crosses, and complex devilish symbols marked her supple skin. She was temptation’s fruit.
It was very clear to her that Yseress was not here for Conner, Dionysus, or her; this woman only cared about what she wanted, and her delicate fingers were wrapping tiny threads around the insane diety’s throat, piece by piece.
“Let us roll!” Dionysus roared, now back in his festive spirits, as the wine began to flow and grapes grew to satiate his guest’s hunger.
Rachel snatched hers up and tossed it first, making the crowd laugh as it stopped on 5.
Yseress’ black handbag swung as she continued her prance, showing a curious smile that hid her inner thoughts. “Misfortune is a very fickle mistress, I have found, but I do not serve her as you do, so I can feel my two hearts flutter at such a roll. What devilish play do you have in store for me… Now, isn’t that remarkable?”
Nia squirmed inside as the woman’s gnarled, wood-like wings curled around them, and she let her die slide off to tumble a few times until it came to a stop beside hers.
“One… I am to go last. Fortune, or misfortune? Heheh. I suppose we will see,” she breathed, lingering and eyeing her at the border of what was uncomfortable before breaking away.
Dionysus’ viscous grin returned to Rachel. “What twist will you introduce this time, Rachel… 5?”
“5…” Conner repeated with a short chuckle.
Everyone’s gaze darted to Rachel as she showed an innocent smile.
“Am I to blame for everything?” she asked with a teasing laugh that brought a chortle from the Fallen Nephilim. “Roll again?”
Dionysus’ smirk held a suspicious edge. “Again.”
Conner: 13
Rachel: 5
Dionysus: 13
Mouth tightening, he held up his hand. “Again!”
Dionysus: 13
Conner: 13
Rachel’s ears fell forward, showing the pair a grin and shrug.
“Again!!”
Conner: 1
Dionysus: 3
“Agh!”
Yseress giggled and tossed her die again with the dull-eyed Legend.
Conner: 1
Yseress: 2
“Excellent!” the woman chirped, lightly clapping her hands. “Now I’m third.”
“Mmmgm-hmm-hmm… One, two, three… Start the clock,” he growled, agitation back in his voice while glaring at her. “One. Minute.”
Rachel didn’t need much, though; her time in the Blood Moon had given her a good grasp on how fun it could be to wield a weapon, but there had to be some attributes gained.
“Item Selection: War hammer. Slightly larger, not too bulky, though. Weight negation for the user. Absorbs kinetic energy when desired and can be used to project it in a blast or propel its motion, including its user’s momentum.”
“Make it cool looking!” Nia hastily prompted. “And absorb moonlight, too!”
Smiling, Rachel repeated the first part. I don’t need to talk about the moonlight part because you’re going to eat it, and we don’t want to dampen the other effects by adding too much.
“My first meal is an awesome hammer? Nice.”
Holding out her hand, the smooth metal weapon appeared in her grip, glass-like parts glowing a light greenish blue; a thin pyramid spike was on the back while the front had multiple points to rip into whatever she bashed.
Rachel smashed it against the ground, making parts of the glass portions brighten, showing it had a kinetic charge. “This will do.”
Dionysus’ grin widened as he pointed at Nia across the broken amphitheater, trying to peer around one of the giant deep-sea fishes that had gotten between them.
“I think I am done with this little power-twin duo of hare and bunny. If I can’t do anything to Nike due to the last restriction, I do this… Downgrade: Soul Item’s age. Revert to five.”
“Rachel, if I’m a liability, then don’t—what… No! Why am I so little now?”
A shiver ran down Rachel’s spine, ears rising as Nia jumped up in a panic, but a vortex of wine encircled Rachel, blocking her image of the 19-year-old bunny. When it lifted, Nia was a small child.
Yseress held up her hand and snapped her fingers, making Nia appear in front of her in a flash of Hellfire; the little girl began to tremble, her ears falling back with the woman’s devilish stare on her. “How cute—oh?!”
A splash of light and Nia returned to the outfit to hide.
“I’m sorry, Captain; she’s too scary!”
Rachel breathed out a frustrated growl while turning her tight eclipse eyes to the lesser god.
Dionysus roared with laughter. “If only I could have made her younger! It would have been wonderful to see you carrying around a baby in the fight—and what is that look for?”
“This?” Rachel asked. “I think it’s her turn. Dionysus… meet your misfortune.”
A sardonic gleam came on as Yseress’ lips peeled back into a thrilled smile.
The handsome god’s brow furrowed while looking at the snickering Fallen Nephilim, holding a hand to her left breast and trying to hold in her excitement. A devilish spark glittered in her ruby eyes with the crimson lightning dancing around her black-flame-ignited figure.
“What are you plotting, Yseress?” he slowly asked.
“Oh! Hah. Hah-hah. Umm. Give me a moment, please… I am just—oh, the time has already started. Excuse me! Ahem. It’s just, you were boasting so well about the extent of your power here.”
She looked up at the sky with anticipation, hands clasped tightly around her purse straps as she spoke in almost a reverent whisper. “Location: The 7th Circle. Under the Hell Moon. In the sight of my mistress. Let me hear the Great Queen of Yomi again. Let She Who Invites welcome us to her home!”
Dionysus’ face went whiter than when Rachel had stolen Nike, silence filling the stadium as the world melded away to a hellish plane.
Boiling gore, screams, and an acid-filled sky of blood rain quelled the boisterous atmosphere. World-devouring demons and cackling devils of titanic proportion filled the endless torment. And far overhead, a wicked celestial sphere loomed, wreathed in flames and marred by a hellish symbol across its face.
A rippling, twisting barrier writhed at the edges of the veil protecting them as they entered what Rachel had to assume was a 6th-dimensional sphere.
Yseress floated in the air as a blurry figure appeared between the Hell Moon and them, sitting on a cracked, stone throne. Rachel couldn’t make it out through all the distortions between dimensional zones, but her own face turned ashen as Yseress’ elated words told her exactly who she was supposed to entertain.
“Welcome, Lady Izanami.”
Rachel fell to the ground as the platform began to quake, fissures breaking the stone beneath her while terror filled Dionysus’ face.
“No! NO! I will not allow it! It’s impossible! We can’t be beyond the dimensional wall!” The trembling lesser god vanished to appear in front of Yseress, her throat held in his grip as she giggled at something that probably didn’t even register as foreplay. “Change the location before the time stops!”
Rachel looked up at the Hell Moon, energy not reaching her yet, the flickering Japanese goddess of the underworld overhead, leaning against her throne. She could practically feel the welcoming and entertained pulse she radiated, making Nia tremble and hide under Nike’s spiritual bed like the little girl she now was.
The Fallen Nephilim didn’t so much as wince, hands still holding her purse as she looked straight into Dionysus’ cracking facade. “No.”
With that statement, the world froze, and Dionysus began to choke, golden blood leaking out of his eyes and mouth, refusing to let it lock in.
“You… will not make a bridge to—the higher dimensions!”
Panic flooded the stadium as the other lower deities ran, vanishing in lights or slipping through portals to escape what Yseress had set in motion.
All sound died, and a soft, feminine whisper seemed to enter every mind, pulling their gaze up to the obscure figure, now on their side of the twisting barrier.
“Dionysus. How long has it been? Athena sends her regards.”
