Rachel looked up at the throng of pantheons as Izanami set the ground rules for the final showdown, the Japanese goddess of the dead making her ears rise as she once again invited the audience to participate.
Dressed in her extravagant kimono, Yseress appeared out of Hellfire beside her as Izanami made a sweeping gesture to the throng. “Eostre has been kind enough to allow me the pleasure of introducing to you the delightful conclusion to this evening’s groundbreaking events!”
Lifting both hands ever-so-slightly, Rachel’s stomach tightened as the red stone floor lifted into the air for all present to see, Conner remaining at an equal level across from her. Unlike the previous crowd, these powerful pantheons did not jeer or cheer but were no doubt entertained in their own hushed whispers to one another.
“I hope you have all enjoyed the opportunity that Eostre has allowed you in stirring up trouble amongst the lesser gods, and those who had thought themselves rid of your rule. I have mingled with each of you and addressed questions and accusations. Now, it is time for this conflict to come to a close.”
Hands folding inside her sleeves, the disguised, rotten Hell Lady’s Infernal eyes drifted between Conner and her, Eostre floating beside her and looking far more dignified than Rachel thought with Izanami’s support.
A devious gleam lit in the corrupted woman’s gaze as she scanned her audience. “Unlike the previous games, I can now modify the rules, and we will dispense most of what our contenders have become accustomed to in order to have a fulfilling conclusion.”
Above them, a screen appeared as she explained, piquing Rachel’s interest. Conner nodded with the fallen goddess’ points.
“Items have already been provided to each contestant.
“Restrictions have been enforced.
“There is no ‘monster’ to be selected in this finale.
“Therefore,” Izanami said, crossing each word off on the board, “we are left solely with a location, and let’s not be stingy,” she chortled. “Instead of one crowd member, I will open this challenge up to six pantheons.”
Mumbles came from that declaration, and the Hell Lady waved her hand, dice appearing in front of the dozens of pantheons. “I have provided you each with an equal shot at making it into one of these slots… A twenty-sided die and the first six to roll three ones and three twenties will enter the selection.”
Her devious lips lifted as she looked down on Conner and her. “The competitors will choose first to add to this stage I’ve prepared. After which, the pantheons will offer their own twists to the field. Welcome, to the End Game.”
Hands exiting her sleeves, arms spreading out, the world cracked and broke away to reveal a black void in all directions as a large glass cage surrounded Conner and her. The stands broke apart to isolate each individual pantheon or singular, isolated deity that represented themselves.
“Now, as Arbiters,” Izanami whispered, gesturing to Yseress and Moongmor, who appeared in between Rachel and Conner. “We are to abstain ourselves from interfering with the choices of those chosen to participate. Here are your referees. Let the gamble begin.”
Rachel swallowed, feeling the tension rising as she turned in a slow circle with Nia, watching the 7th-dimensional entities talk amongst themselves, deciding who should be the one to cast their die. A few gods or goddesses within the pantheons didn’t even hesitate to step forward to represent their group.
“What’s happening?” Nia asked through their private bond as the two referees took control and the Arbiters took their observation seats high above them. “We get our choice of moon?”
Basically, Rachel sighed, giving Conner a smiling, lifted hand that he returned. And then the gods get to mess with the stage… but which gods will it be, because certain ones will have their biases.
“Yikes! Umm… Oh, I know!” Nia was bouncing beside her as if she’d just gotten the greatest idea since sliced bread. “We ask for ALL the Unique Moons! Hehehe. We’d be invincible!”
A dubious smirk lifted the corner of Rachel’s mouth as Moongmor and Yseress went by rounds, having each pantheon roll in unison until one pantheon had three ones and three twenties. She didn’t want to crush the little bunny girl’s dream of becoming an invincible superhero, but there were concerns.
Sure, that could work… or we could explode.
“Huh?! How? The Blood Moon would just heal us! Ha! I win!”
Unless it is countered by the Sun Moon, Rachel snickered.
“The whaaa? You’re making that up!” she accused with a glare.
I am, but who’s to say it’s not real? We have no idea what multiple Event Moons would do to us, or how they’d interact, much less Unique Moons with their powerful affixes. No, I sense an unbelievable amount of misfortune from that idea, Nia.
The girl’s smaller ears tilted to the side with a confused frown. “Isn’t that good?”
Usually… if it wasn’t pointed at us.
“Oh… Blood Moon, then!”
Cheeks bunching to the left, Rachel gave the girl a critical eye. You want to use the Blood Moon… which is instant death under the sun… And Conner has what?”
“Oh… Sun gloves. Shoot. Umm. Umm… Hell Moon?” she questioned, now looking unsure. “I know how to use it better now.”
Think again, little bun, Rachel whispered, mouth pulling in as the Greeks sent a red-haired, beautiful, blindfolded goddess to cast their die, ethereal wings at her back and a flaming halo over her head. Ribbons trailed behind her, and a scepter was held in her hand.
It didn’t take long for the others to send their own representatives, and Yseress’ lilting voice started the first round. Dice were thrown, distracting Nia as the landed numbers were shown above each pantheon’s section.
Rachel’s fingers closed into a fist, gut-churning with the rapid jerks to misfortune, which rattled into oblivion with every toss; powers far beyond her understanding of fate, destiny, luck, and misfortune carried this next round into total uncertainty. Where this went was anyone’s guess at this point.
Nia whimpered as three pantheons took half the available slots by the sixth round, showing a perfect record of twenties and ones.
“Slot one!” Yseress proclaimed, gesturing at the serene, blindfolded goddess Rachel singled out as her greatest opposition among these deities. “Tyche, the Greek goddess of the spirit of fortune, chance, providence, and fate, has taken the crown for her pantheon!”
She couldn’t be sure how they’d respond after Dionysus’ death, and Conner was a Legend from their mythology, which put him in a more favorable position.
If there was one thing working in her favor, it was a chocolate-haired goddess with a stern face, unsmiling full lips, grey eyes, and a graceful build. Clad in full plate mail and holding a majestic poise, Athena would want to rescue her Personification of Victory. The woman was already whispering to other gods and goddesses near her.
Rachel’s gaze drifted to three oriental, bearded men who had taken turns rolling their die, Moongmor introducing the next gods that Rachel already knew. “The Sanxing put the Chinese pantheon in second, Fuxing, Luxing, and Shouxing, looking most radiant in those colors! They took a special shine to our little Living Denier!”
“Yes!” Nia pumped her arm. “The old dudes that liked me!”
Yseress’ amused voice turned them toward a massive group behind them, where a four-armed, radiant woman sat on a lotus flower, an intimidating similar-armed elephant man dwarfing her in size, floating cross-legged beside her.
Eyes closed, two of their hands were clasped in front of them in a praying manner, their two others resting on their knees in a meditative state as they telekinetically tossed their die.
“Third… the Hindu pantheon can thank Lady Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha for their fortune! Who else will make the cut?”
Rachel didn’t have to wait long to see who would add to the stage since the last three spots were filled in the next cast of dice.
Moongmor jumped into the air with excitement as he introduced a raven, who had pecked at the die. “Oh! Oh! And taking the fourth slot is the Celtic pantheon as The Morrigan brings victory!”
The raven transformed in a veil of feathers to a subtly threatening, black-haired woman, showing a certain air of dominance as she observed the other pantheons. Crows came as more birds formed out of the feathers to land on her shoulder to whisper in her ear.
A man with a cobra’s head glared across the stadium at the Celtic goddess, Yseress’ voice holding mirth. “And the fifth is taken by Shai, bringing the Egyptian pantheon into the selection. And last, but certainly not least…”
Moongmor ducked lower as a giant of a man loomed in the background, bearded and adorned with riches. “…Njǫrd, the god of the wind, sea, and its riches brings the final slot onto the door of Lord Odin of the Norse pantheon. Heh-he… I wonder where the Norns are…”
Yseress didn’t waste any time in bringing them to the selection, many of the other pantheons glaring at those that had taken the win; fortune and misfortune had been tugging against all sides.
“You will choose based on your placement within your slot, as shown above,” the Princess of Hell chimed, hugging her black leather purse with the powerful deities staring at her. “Rachel, Conner, who will go first?”
Rachel didn’t hesitate, having already decided what she needed. “The Black Moon.”
A shiver ran through Conner’s frame as smiles and whispers swept the pantheons, and a purplish halo emerged from within the void, expelling its nightmarish energy outward in search of hope-filled victims to feed upon. Not a ray touched Rachel from within the glass cage, Izanami keeping them away from it until the match began.
Nia went stiff as a board. “Wow! That’s, umm… scary. I haven’t felt this one yet… It doesn’t hurt. Hah-ha. R-Right, Captain?”
“Oh, you’ll love it,” Rachel said, giving Conner a challenging grin. “I haven’t been able to test it out, and just like the Haunted Woods, the Black Moon will offer its own challenge to those not connected to it.”
Conner tilted his head, vision drifting to the Greek pantheon beyond the glass cage they were in. Athena was now sitting beside her father, with Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades quietly listening to the goddess, not speaking much by the looks of it.
Taking a deep breath, he laughed. “The holy waters of Poseidon’s golden coral palace.”
A hush fell over the Olympians as a colossal ocean of glimmering water rushed up to surround the prison.
“Touche,” Rachel whispered, getting an acknowledging nod from the Legend.
Nia.
“Huh?!” The frightened rabbit’s head tilted to look up at her as Yseress brought the Olympians into the spotlight.
Pull all of the Black Moon energy out of me and replace it with the White Moon until I tell you otherwise.
“Wait, won’t that make you super weak, even if the Black Moon is shining on you? Will you even do the transformation thing?”
I don’t know, but until Conner uses his gloves’ sun abilities up, I can’t risk using such rare moon energy when it could just evaporate at any moment. We’re going to be powerless at some point in the fight due to the sun abilities Conner’s gloves have. We’ll deal with that when we get there.
“Okay…”
Rachel’s ears drifted forward, cursing as Poseidon walked forward to give their answer; Athena didn’t look happy, but she didn’t look that entertained to begin with.
The man’s strong voice filled the stadium. “The waters will become a maelstrom.”
A surge of motion brought the glimmering, holy waters into a spiral, the mist wetting the air in an aura of positive energy that countered the Black Moon’s pulse.
Shit. What’s this…
“Oh! Oh! Chang’e complimented me, too!” Nia cheered as a lovely Chinese woman stepped forward to answer for their pantheon, smiling at the excited bunny child.
Chang’e? Rachel swallowed, instantly recognizing the name. The Chinese goddess of the moon? I guess she has been a strong advocate on our behalf.
“China has chosen to raise the platform between the two forces, chaining it in place. Gravity will change, depending upon which side the combatants touch.”
A bluish-skinned, four-armed man took the stand for the Hindu pantheon. “Lord Shiva decrees that the chains can be broken, and the glass box fragile. Let them struggle against destruction and dance for me in a tumbling prison.”
The Morrigan’s bright blue eyes lifted into a small smirk, ever-shifting tattoos reforming across her revealed skin. “Let the nightmares of Ceridwen’s moon free, and the champions of the golden coral palace rise to join the festivities.”
A golden-skinned, resplendent woman rose from her seats amongst the Egyptians, striding forward. Wreathed in a sheath dress with wings that flared at her back and displaying a crown in the shape of a cow’s horn, the goddess stole all eyes with the radiant solar disk shining between the points.
“If Shiva demands destruction, Isis demands mercy; slow the fall of the cage, and limit the nightmares and heroes. We are here for a show, Morrigan, not chaos and death. Let them prove themselves against both in this free-for-all.”
Looks were passed between the three pantheons, yet a short chuckle from a ragged-cloaked, one-eyed old man brought everyone’s gaze to the Norse figure that even Rachel knew. Odin was the last to make his voice heard, and Rachel had to wonder if it was planned by the elder god.
His bright blue eye peered out from within his hood, two ravens on his shoulders and wolves by his heels. “Asgard… demands all stage attributes to activate only by destroying the glass bar they are assigned to, the attributes’ placement naturally being placed appropriately to the Arbiter’s discretion.”
A hush filled the stadium pantheons as the old man’s cracked lips curled with a sneer. “After all, rigged games are the easiest ones to beat. So let them rig it.”
With a sweep of his cloak and the cry of his ravens, the man returned to the Norse gods and goddesses, all shaking with mirth at the agitation that spread across a few of the pantheons, while others joined in the laughing ruckus.
Yseress giggled in delight at the sudden shakeup. “Wise and cunning you are, ‘lord of frenzy.’ And just like that, all those plots were brought back into the challengers’ hands, leaving the other pantheons in a buzz. Is such a request boarding too closely to a restriction, Lady Izanami?”
The death goddess hid her face with a fan, but her eyes shone with entertainment. “It is simply a change in format, which is not a restriction since all of them can still be put in effect: quite the devious tactic, Lord Odin. I’d expect nothing less from such a dangerous pantheon.”
Odin tilted his head in acknowledgment at the Japanese fallen Creation Goddess as she spoke it into existence. “So it was said, so let it be done. Rachel, Conner… You may now kill each other.”
Rachel could feel the pulse of battle thumping through her veins as the bickering and yelling gods and goddesses faded away, leaving them inside the void. The water receded, and the celestial sphere sank into oblivion. Glass bars changing color, Conner breathed a calming stream of air as words sparkled into existence, symbols tracing down their length to show what they would release.
Within seconds, the entire cage had returned to its base state with fragments of the gods’ suggestions surrounding them, providing them the opportunity to pick and choose whatever new element they wanted to add. Naturally, their own personal choices were right behind their opponents.
“Ready for this?” Rachel asked, rolling around her shoulders and loosening up as she bounced a few times on her toes, putting a spring in her step. “One wrong move and we could unleash something pretty bad.”
A big smile grew on the Greek man’s face as Conner mirrored her. “Why not make a short run at it without any additions? No weapons. No fancy armor. No pets. Just you… and me. What do you say?”
Rachel’s tail quivered at the invitation. “Work our way up to it? I’m game. We both know you can’t catch me if I’m dancing around, though. Even if we’ve both got the power, I’ve got the speed, while you only have the durability. That means I get the first strike, so how about this… I take three shots, and that gets me in range for you to grapple three times. All our natural Feats. After that…”
“…Anything goes,” Conner snickered, gloves disappearing in a flash of solar light.
Nia gave her a worried stare before jogging over to the corner, Conner’s dolphin floating into the opposite side to wait for the attacks. The girl didn’t like turning off her protection, but Rachel had her pride on the line.
At long last, this Legend’s Quest was at its conclusion. She’d taken down a lesser god and learned things that would make General Dallas salivate when she returned; she just had to take this last win.
Making a few test jabs, elbows, and knees, Rachel hissed out the air in her lungs, testing her new speed limits after increasing the Stat. Her body was filled with 117% of the White Moon’s energy, increased by [Lunar Pool: Overload], [Lunar Amplification], and its Extension, [Blinding Light], pushing her beyond her cap. She couldn’t use Nia’s Lunar Pools in this three-strike challenge; this was all her.
Time slowed as [Mental Acceleration II] activated, [Divine Lunar Surge] and [Lunar Cap] multiplying her Stats based on the amount of lunar energy she carried in her pool. Now was the time to discover how far she’d come on her own, without the help of Nia or these Unique Moons.
Conner’s movements were sluggish and slow as she dashed forward, pushing aside the atmosphere in her race for the man’s face to test something she’d wanted to see since discovering his secret. [Divine Beast Empowerment II] with its Extension [Seventh Sense] brought her senses to their peak, and [Beastial Instincts II] told her Conner was a threat she had to take seriously.
Wind whipping her hair behind her, Rachel pivoted at the last second into a roundhouse kick to add momentum to her blitz. Foot planting into Conner’s face, a stained smile lifted her cheeks as all the kinetic force she’d built transferred down his body and into the two-meter-thick glass, fracturing the floor four meters in all directions. Conner didn’t budge.
A gust rushed past them, drawing her unbound hair forward, and Rachel swept her arms to catch it all while using her grounded foot to twist away just as the Legend’s slow fingers slid through her pink-hued white locks.
The cracking glass hit Rachel’s ears, making her wince as she landed on all fours, sliding on the surface as it suddenly became smooth when desired, teaching her something about the platform. Conner stumbled forward, a little off-balance in his hope to snatch her hair.
“Ugh!” He roared with laughter, balancing himself as Rachel came to a stop near the edge of their cage. “Damn! You sure you didn’t use any stupid lunar boost from the squirt over there because that was a lot faster than you used to be.”
Nia’s face turned red. “I didn’t do squat, loser! I turned off all my defensive stuff. Humph. You’re just a slowpoke.”
“Fair enough,” he grunted, rubbing his face and working around his jaw; Rachel was busy testing how slippery or sticky the traction was on the clear surface after coming to a stop; the boots Nia put her in were far from efficient without her support and weren’t nearly as comfortable after the girl’s affixes were turned off. “I felt that… You broke past my guard and threw me off-balance, so I missed.”
Rachel hopped up and down again with a smile; the floor would change traction as desired, which was a very big discovery. “Clearly not enough; that’s a strike on both of us. Ready for the next round?”
“Go for it, hun,” Conner muttered, now following her example in testing out the floor. “Interesting… You really are a sharp one.”
Bouncing forward with light hops, swapping up her stance, and puffing out sharp breaths to flood her system with oxygen, Rachel waited for the last second as Conner cautiously scooted forward to find a grapple.
Flooding her thighs with power, she jumped to the ceiling, flipped around, and launched back to the Legend’s back in quick succession. Landing, she spun out to trip him, only to be caught slightly off-guard when one of Conner’s legs gave way.
Caution bells went off in her gut, and she pulled her leg away, diving into a roll to get upright; he was trying to fake fall to catch her leg under his shin and take away her momentum. So long as he was touching the glass, she wasn’t going to do any damage.
Flipping upright, Rachel dashed across the bars, kinetic energy keeping her stable as she ran around the Legend before jumping from side to side. Rocketing around the cage, she aimed both of her feet to land against the back of his heel; he’d left an opening for her on purpose, but that was all a part of the plan.
All momentum leaving her the second she touched him, Rachel’s arms stabilized herself against his back, dodging a backward elbow and grabbing Conner by the waist. A grin spread across her lips as she picked him up to throw him against the ground, only for a wet sensation to crawl over her skin.
In disbelief, she felt her arms and hands slide right through the Legend as she tumbled to the side, tucking to dive; she felt the slick substance condense around her hair, but she managed to yank it out before it fully solidified.
Chest heaving, Rachel’s vision widened as she saw Conner’s body partially liquified, slowly taking on a physical state again. “No way…”
He chuckled, flexing his strong fingers. “You didn’t think after everything I saw you do so far, and that mind of yours, that I wouldn’t think you’d try to pick me up? Babe, that was the first Feat I got when the opportunity came. Three tries! Three strikes!”
“Nia, go big!”
“On it!”
Conner’s gloves materialized, a wicked grin on his face as he smashed them together, solar energy pulsing out of them. Nia’s attributes reignited, causing her outfit to shimmer as the hammer appeared in Rachel’s hands. However, it wasn’t meant for the Legend.
Delphinus darted for Nia, Conner shooting one ball of solar energy at the bar that would release his holy waters, and another at her. Rachel wound her arms back and chucked the maul like a frisbee, swiping away the solar ball and sending the spiked hammer’s flat end right into the surprised dolphin’s face.
Thrown off course, he struck a random bar, shattering it as Nia screamed a warrior’s cry, twisting to slam her heel into another. A rumble shook the cage as the bars grew into pillars, and their stage expanded to comfortably fit a boxing match between giants; Conner’s little ball barely left a dent against the thick glass, and Rachel grinned as Nia hopped onto the pillar next to the one she’d destroyed.
“You—what the…”
Hair drifting to the left, Rachel let herself flip into a free fall as gravity shifted, and she landed against one of the bars, Nia three pillars to her right.
“Nice work, Lieutenant!”
“Sir, yes—eek!” Nia squeaked as a flurry of bullet-like rain fell around her. “Ouch! It stings!”
Rachel resummoned her hammer, spotting Delphinus scoop Conner out of the air before falling into the void through the bars; the dolphin broke the gravity-swapping bar as Nia shattered the size increase to the stage. If the peppering hail was hurting Nia past [Less is More], then it would probably make her bleed since the child was currently tankier with the Feat.
You got Delphinus?
“Leave him to me, Boss! Ack! I was spying out his powers while playing like a sneaky bunny!”
Attagirl. Well, let’s get this party started.
The dolphin carried Conner up toward his main water source as Nia ran for the ceiling to flip gravity again and chase after the pair. On the other hand, Rachel brought her hammer down hard on the pillar, causing cracks to run along it and brightening her weapon’s crystals. She managed to strike it one last time, running the fissures clean through before jumping into the void.
Nia touched the ceiling just as Conner jumped off his mount to punch through the giant pillar, sending a shockwave through the column, but his foot didn’t touch it, making him fall to the ceiling.
Gravity shifted for Rachel, her fall swapping to drop in parallel with the rails, and a burst of kinetic energy flung her back to slide across the ceiling; the bar she’d broken started to crumble, igniting a bright purple light inside of all the pillars: she’d broken one of Shiva’s attributes, making the entire stadium more fragile.
Conner landed on his feet and broke his holy sea affix just as Nia and his dolphin clashed near him, and Rachel tossed her hammer at the Black Moon column; it shattered on contact, her weapon twinkling into dust to return to its storage. She was unable to summon it back for a second, finding a hidden internal timer after recalling it once already, but that didn’t matter.
Bright light glistened above them as the sea filled the heavens from their inverted position on the ceiling, holy water whipping up in waves as a solemn, purplish ring of negative energy spun into existence below.
Rachel felt a familiar pulse beat within her breast as the Black Moon’s unholy rays reached up like ten thousand invisible hands to pull her into their cursed embrace.
Delphinus disengaged to spin out of the ring, shooting into the heavens to pull down the holy water, but it didn’t matter; her large clover eyes changed to reflect the hollow hole in reality, pink leaves dyeing an orchid purple as the nightmare stilled her soul.
Breathing a slow stream of air, voices filled invisible spires just beyond the veil, the prayers for deliverance, aid, and hope reaching out to pull more unsuspecting victims into the hope-consuming abyss. A dark, slow corrosion twisted hope, breaking down heroes into the inevitable despair that claimed all those that came to understand the horrific truth of the Black Moon.
[Black Moon: Active]
[Curse of the Wise: Active]
Cerridwen’s baleful smile met her vision with the eye-like ruby gem attached to her chest as the child of the malevolent death goddess fed nightmares into her, morphing Rachel’s body into the monster within her own soul.
The world faded in the sadistic mist that surrounded her, drawing Rachel into her inner world, yet only an ominous, ever-changing mist met her. An echo from the Welsh goddess filtered through a vast abyss, whisperings plucking at her reshaping spirit like strings on an instrument.
“Go to the World Tree… look to the inside to break the seals, bleed out the dark decay, and ascend to places beyond the real. There, you will find me.”
A calm darkness swelled within Rachel as she returned to the stadium. Straightening, she found Conner riding Delphinus, nose a swirling cyclone of holy water as they channeled the powers they’d shown off against the Lava Dragon. The spear-like water cleaved through pillars, zig-zagging to strike the ones he wanted.
Unperturbed, Rachel held her hands behind her back as black fur grew out of her skin, transforming into the horrific hare as she hummed to the ominous choir resonating within her. There was a blindness around her, causing her to ponder the message Cerridwen left her as she descended into the madness.
Solar balls rained down upon her, but all they hit was a misty reflection; Rachel’s head tilted to the side as Conner ran after dozens of psychosis-induced mirages, swept away by his holy attacks. Nia was exploring her new form, giggling as she morphed and divided herself into various nightmarish clones for the pair to pursue.
Standing beside one particular pillar, the hammer appeared in Rachel’s hand, her thoughts still lingering on the infinite and vast, lurking just beyond sight within the veil of the Black Moon. A hand held behind her back, Rachel brought the mallet against the glass, shattering it into oblivion, releasing a horde of nightmares from the unholy sphere and heroes from the depths of the holy sea to join the cause.
It wasn’t a problem; heroes were exactly what the Black Moon feasted upon, sucking out every last drop of hope from their marrow. Yet, Rachel’s eyes were on a glimpse of the truth that Cerridwen was imparting unto her in this melodious horror.
A wicked, exaggerated smile revealed her fanged, gnarled teeth as she lightly tapped the next column she stood beside, shattering the chains that held the cage still, sending them into a crazed tug-of-war between the maelstrom of holy water and nightmarish sphere.
Rachel stood upside down on the platform, unbothered by the change in gravity as Nia constantly flipped the platform with the horrors and heroes in battle. An army of cackling gremlin bunnies ran Conner in circles, leaving Rachel’s shadows to form within the fog and taunt the Legend.
But Rachel was already beyond what was real. This was not how it was supposed to end, yet it did give her the insight she needed to see the finale. Her manic eyes peered beyond Conner, Nia, and the Legend’s own delusional, hope-inspired vision of defeating her, looking past the corners of their reality. She oversaw it all from her high perch.
Eventually, he would sweep away the negative field to reveal her true body; it would be too late by then, and she’d see what lay within the dark abyss.
Crouching down on her bowed, hare legs, Rachel giggled as the effects of the Black Moon filled her being. Nightmares swirling in conflict as a bright flash of solar energy lit the heavens, Conner attempting to break the spell by depriving her of her power, but it wasn’t her he and his army were fighting: it was the Black Moon herself.
The solar clouds came between the void sphere cage, sparking hope as many nightmares flickered and died, making Rachel snicker and ears drift to the side; an illusion. It would take more than a simple and normal sun to block something as potent as the Black Moon. Lost between herself and nightmare, the real and dream, Rachel found an unusual closeness to the Seed within her.
[Horror of the Dream Adaptation X (Restricted) - Reborn in the twisting abyss of the terror-ridden madness of imagination, the user sinks into the depths of what the wise seek and fail to obtain. A herald of The Truth, the user must descend into the infinite and vast to peer beyond what lies beyond the gateway into Ever-Shaping Horror.]
[Curse of the Wise X (Restricted) - The user can comprehend the vastness and infinite nature of that which cannot be known. By breaking the seals, the user can transcend the prayers on the lips of liars to learn from the Whispering Beyond.]
[Entity of the Nightmare X (Restricted) - Invoke hope in all that is around the user, feeding on the light that it brings. Never truly defeated, only postponed to savor the feast to then be awakened again the next night.]
Rachel’s mind bloomed with the vision of a thousand nightmarish blind eyes, and her gaze peeled back to see the heart of a giant tree, where a sleeping man rested, connected to its core as a somber woman, too beautiful to look upon, cried over him. Her nightmares seeped into Rachel’s soul, allowing her to feel the guilt and anguish that gripped the Nymph.
Vision peeling back, Rachel’s eyes lifted to meet Conner’s as the man swept away the misty veil, revealing her. His solar-charged fist plunged for her head, but this was where hope died; her form flickered, and she was now standing beside Nia on the ground, Eldritch energy sweeping her away.
Lowering to the grinning bunny’s level, Rachel rubbed her head as Conner slowly recovered and looked down at her. “Why don’t you play with the heroes?”
Her swirling clover eyes creased with a smile as a golden-skinned Olympian jabbed a holy spear through her skull, only for her to swirl into smoke and reappear beside Conner in the air, animal-like head tilting to the side as the Legend realized nothing had changed since the opening of the Black Moon.
“Confused?” she chuckled, a dark pull welling up within her as Conner’s unsure eyes shifted to her; his mount was about to disappear from his five-minute limitation.
“I… can’t hurt you. Can I? Why? I have the blessed water of a god. Eh-haha. It doesn’t make sense.”
Rachel hummed, looking up with her oversized, toothy grin to study the sky. “At first, I thought the same as you, Conner… This is Negative Energy that can be purified by a deity’s Positive Energy.” Her large eyes lowered to his. “It only seems negative because it is all that you can comprehend, but I have seen The Truth.”
“Which is?” he sighed, far less angry or annoyed than he should have been, yet he’d already accepted his death before this, and Rachel held no animosity toward him personally.
Motioning to him toward a misty veil she created, Rachel walked through, entering a tinted world between the battlefield and the unreal. Nia’s giggling, twisting form drifted in and out of view as she danced between lines, making Conner shiver as he joined her.
She put her hammer away, the slow, wispy visages of the heroes fighting their illusions in the void. “Welcome to that which is between the real and not… It is not negative except when perceived as such for its alien nature,” she instructed. “Unfortunately, I cannot remain much longer in this state, or I may be lost… The Curse of the Wise.”
Conner scratched his ears as if hearing something just beyond notice. “It’s not Infernal Force. It’s…”
“Eldritch,” Rachel confirmed with a short chortle. “Ascending into places unknown to become the unknown. One cannot fight that which doesn’t exist within their perception of what is and isn’t. Belief doesn’t matter. Reality doesn’t matter. For Reality is but a pale reflection of The Truth past the veil.”
Conner laughed as an Infernal, smiling shadow of her born out of his own nightmares exited the haze, cackling and swinging the spiked end of her hammer into his lower back, punching a hole straight through to his spine and out his belly.
As quickly as it came, the shadow faded away, and Rachel reached out to catch him. “We create our own nightmares. You believed I would kill you here, yet… I can’t kill you, Conner,” she sighed, looking at him with a sad smile as it dawned on him.
“The Black Moon made it so I could never kill you… because you killed yourself. Yet, isn’t it ironic that I am the hope you unconsciously sought to intervene near this end? I am the salvation for your desire for a heroic death.”
Globs of blood leaking out, Conner choked another laugh, arms slowly going numb as the corrupting force seeped into his soul. “I… I just thought it would be, I don’t know… more epic than this.”
Rachel’s smile widened, and the haze drifted away to show the swirling purple pull of the void above them, the song of heroes drawing Conner’s gaze to the maddening abyss. “You cannot find what you seek against me… but in there, you will live out your legend against the greatest foes you can conceive until you obtain the heroic death you seek.”
Chest shaking with mirth, Conner slowly nodded. “Then… I guess I shouldn’t keep those who are calling me waiting. I’m not exactly… the hero they deserve, but I guess I’m all they got.”
Face softening, Nia flipped gravity, sending the box, heroes, and nightmares alike into the Black Moon, where they were welcomed with loving cheers. The world faded away, and her dark fur receded as she stood with Nia in the center of the stadium, Conner nowhere to be seen as he descended into the madness of The Nightmare.
Izanami appeared in front of her, the stadium melting away to then be replaced by the polluted lands of the Hell Lady, the Infernal Moon shining overhead; the stands were empty, no god left after Conner’s demise or perhaps hidden by Izanami’s power.
The woman appraised her as the Eldritch Force drained from her body and was pulled into Nia’s Pool, and a new, sadistic force took its place.
[Lunar Hell Hare - Yomi: Active]
“Well, now that everything is about to collapse, why don’t we talk about the spoils of your victory and your promised rewards, Rachel? Ah…” As almost an afterthought, Izanami gave her a curious stare. “Did I tell you that there is a way you can save Conner’s Seed?”
“No?” Rachel chuckled, now entering a conversation about saving a fractured multiverse, at the minimum. A devilish horn grew out of her skull, eyes creasing at the offer. “Spoils are a welcomed surprise, but what benefits do I get from saving this Seed, and what would I have to do?”
Izanami folded her hands in her sleeves. “Well, not you as a Mythickin, but if you have another Legendkin that you’re fond of, they could take on Conner’s burden. Interested?”
“Maybe I am…” The cruel, wicked edges of her heart reared their head with Yomi’s filthy embrace; she was becoming rather fond of the fallen deity. “A lovely walk under the Hell Moon is a delightful treat. Lead the way; I’m listening.”
Rachel looked up at the throng of pantheons as Izanami set the ground rules for the final showdown, the Japanese goddess of the dead making her ears rise as she once again invited the audience to participate.
Dressed in her extravagant kimono, Yseress appeared out of Hellfire beside her as Izanami made a sweeping gesture to the throng. “Eostre has been kind enough to allow me the pleasure of introducing to you the delightful conclusion to this evening’s groundbreaking events!”
Lifting both hands ever-so-slightly, Rachel’s stomach tightened as the red stone floor lifted into the air for all present to see, Conner remaining at an equal level across from her. Unlike the previous crowd, these powerful pantheons did not jeer or cheer but were no doubt entertained in their own hushed whispers to one another.
“I hope you have all enjoyed the opportunity that Eostre has allowed you in stirring up trouble amongst the lesser gods, and those who had thought themselves rid of your rule. I have mingled with each of you and addressed questions and accusations. Now, it is time for this conflict to come to a close.”
Hands folding inside her sleeves, the disguised, rotten Hell Lady’s Infernal eyes drifted between Conner and her, Eostre floating beside her and looking far more dignified than Rachel thought with Izanami’s support.
A devious gleam lit in the corrupted woman’s gaze as she scanned her audience. “Unlike the previous games, I can now modify the rules, and we will dispense most of what our contenders have become accustomed to in order to have a fulfilling conclusion.”
Above them, a screen appeared as she explained, piquing Rachel’s interest. Conner nodded with the fallen goddess’ points.
“Items have already been provided to each contestant.
“Restrictions have been enforced.
“There is no ‘monster’ to be selected in this finale.
“Therefore,” Izanami said, crossing each word off on the board, “we are left solely with a location, and let’s not be stingy,” she chortled. “Instead of one crowd member, I will open this challenge up to six pantheons.”
Mumbles came from that declaration, and the Hell Lady waved her hand, dice appearing in front of the dozens of pantheons. “I have provided you each with an equal shot at making it into one of these slots… A twenty-sided die and the first six to roll three ones and three twenties will enter the selection.”
Her devious lips lifted as she looked down on Conner and her. “The competitors will choose first to add to this stage I’ve prepared. After which, the pantheons will offer their own twists to the field. Welcome, to the End Game.”
Hands exiting her sleeves, arms spreading out, the world cracked and broke away to reveal a black void in all directions as a large glass cage surrounded Conner and her. The stands broke apart to isolate each individual pantheon or singular, isolated deity that represented themselves.
“Now, as Arbiters,” Izanami whispered, gesturing to Yseress and Moongmor, who appeared in between Rachel and Conner. “We are to abstain ourselves from interfering with the choices of those chosen to participate. Here are your referees. Let the gamble begin.”
Rachel swallowed, feeling the tension rising as she turned in a slow circle with Nia, watching the 7th-dimensional entities talk amongst themselves, deciding who should be the one to cast their die. A few gods or goddesses within the pantheons didn’t even hesitate to step forward to represent their group.
“What’s happening?” Nia asked through their private bond as the two referees took control and the Arbiters took their observation seats high above them. “We get our choice of moon?”
Basically, Rachel sighed, giving Conner a smiling, lifted hand that he returned. And then the gods get to mess with the stage… but which gods will it be, because certain ones will have their biases.
“Yikes! Umm… Oh, I know!” Nia was bouncing beside her as if she’d just gotten the greatest idea since sliced bread. “We ask for ALL the Unique Moons! Hehehe. We’d be invincible!”
A dubious smirk lifted the corner of Rachel’s mouth as Moongmor and Yseress went by rounds, having each pantheon roll in unison until one pantheon had three ones and three twenties. She didn’t want to crush the little bunny girl’s dream of becoming an invincible superhero, but there were concerns.
Sure, that could work… or we could explode.
“Huh?! How? The Blood Moon would just heal us! Ha! I win!”
Unless it is countered by the Sun Moon, Rachel snickered.
“The whaaa? You’re making that up!” she accused with a glare.
I am, but who’s to say it’s not real? We have no idea what multiple Event Moons would do to us, or how they’d interact, much less Unique Moons with their powerful affixes. No, I sense an unbelievable amount of misfortune from that idea, Nia.
The girl’s smaller ears tilted to the side with a confused frown. “Isn’t that good?”
Usually… if it wasn’t pointed at us.
“Oh… Blood Moon, then!”
Cheeks bunching to the left, Rachel gave the girl a critical eye. You want to use the Blood Moon… which is instant death under the sun… And Conner has what?”
“Oh… Sun gloves. Shoot. Umm. Umm… Hell Moon?” she questioned, now looking unsure. “I know how to use it better now.”
Think again, little bun, Rachel whispered, mouth pulling in as the Greeks sent a red-haired, beautiful, blindfolded goddess to cast their die, ethereal wings at her back and a flaming halo over her head. Ribbons trailed behind her, and a scepter was held in her hand.
It didn’t take long for the others to send their own representatives, and Yseress’ lilting voice started the first round. Dice were thrown, distracting Nia as the landed numbers were shown above each pantheon’s section.
Rachel’s fingers closed into a fist, gut-churning with the rapid jerks to misfortune, which rattled into oblivion with every toss; powers far beyond her understanding of fate, destiny, luck, and misfortune carried this next round into total uncertainty. Where this went was anyone’s guess at this point.
Nia whimpered as three pantheons took half the available slots by the sixth round, showing a perfect record of twenties and ones.
“Slot one!” Yseress proclaimed, gesturing at the serene, blindfolded goddess Rachel singled out as her greatest opposition among these deities. “Tyche, the Greek goddess of the spirit of fortune, chance, providence, and fate, has taken the crown for her pantheon!”
She couldn’t be sure how they’d respond after Dionysus’ death, and Conner was a Legend from their mythology, which put him in a more favorable position.
If there was one thing working in her favor, it was a chocolate-haired goddess with a stern face, unsmiling full lips, grey eyes, and a graceful build. Clad in full plate mail and holding a majestic poise, Athena would want to rescue her Personification of Victory. The woman was already whispering to other gods and goddesses near her.
Rachel’s gaze drifted to three oriental, bearded men who had taken turns rolling their die, Moongmor introducing the next gods that Rachel already knew. “The Sanxing put the Chinese pantheon in second, Fuxing, Luxing, and Shouxing, looking most radiant in those colors! They took a special shine to our little Living Denier!”
“Yes!” Nia pumped her arm. “The old dudes that liked me!”
Yseress’ amused voice turned them toward a massive group behind them, where a four-armed, radiant woman sat on a lotus flower, an intimidating similar-armed elephant man dwarfing her in size, floating cross-legged beside her.
Eyes closed, two of their hands were clasped in front of them in a praying manner, their two others resting on their knees in a meditative state as they telekinetically tossed their die.
“Third… the Hindu pantheon can thank Lady Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha for their fortune! Who else will make the cut?”
Rachel didn’t have to wait long to see who would add to the stage since the last three spots were filled in the next cast of dice.
Moongmor jumped into the air with excitement as he introduced a raven, who had pecked at the die. “Oh! Oh! And taking the fourth slot is the Celtic pantheon as The Morrigan brings victory!”
The raven transformed in a veil of feathers to a subtly threatening, black-haired woman, showing a certain air of dominance as she observed the other pantheons. Crows came as more birds formed out of the feathers to land on her shoulder to whisper in her ear.
A man with a cobra’s head glared across the stadium at the Celtic goddess, Yseress’ voice holding mirth. “And the fifth is taken by Shai, bringing the Egyptian pantheon into the selection. And last, but certainly not least…”
Moongmor ducked lower as a giant of a man loomed in the background, bearded and adorned with riches. “…Njǫrd, the god of the wind, sea, and its riches brings the final slot onto the door of Lord Odin of the Norse pantheon. Heh-he… I wonder where the Norns are…”
Yseress didn’t waste any time in bringing them to the selection, many of the other pantheons glaring at those that had taken the win; fortune and misfortune had been tugging against all sides.
“You will choose based on your placement within your slot, as shown above,” the Princess of Hell chimed, hugging her black leather purse with the powerful deities staring at her. “Rachel, Conner, who will go first?”
Rachel didn’t hesitate, having already decided what she needed. “The Black Moon.”
A shiver ran through Conner’s frame as smiles and whispers swept the pantheons, and a purplish halo emerged from within the void, expelling its nightmarish energy outward in search of hope-filled victims to feed upon. Not a ray touched Rachel from within the glass cage, Izanami keeping them away from it until the match began.
Nia went stiff as a board. “Wow! That’s, umm… scary. I haven’t felt this one yet… It doesn’t hurt. Hah-ha. R-Right, Captain?”
“Oh, you’ll love it,” Rachel said, giving Conner a challenging grin. “I haven’t been able to test it out, and just like the Haunted Woods, the Black Moon will offer its own challenge to those not connected to it.”
Conner tilted his head, vision drifting to the Greek pantheon beyond the glass cage they were in. Athena was now sitting beside her father, with Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades quietly listening to the goddess, not speaking much by the looks of it.
Taking a deep breath, he laughed. “The holy waters of Poseidon’s golden coral palace.”
A hush fell over the Olympians as a colossal ocean of glimmering water rushed up to surround the prison.
“Touche,” Rachel whispered, getting an acknowledging nod from the Legend.
Nia.
“Huh?!” The frightened rabbit’s head tilted to look up at her as Yseress brought the Olympians into the spotlight.
Pull all of the Black Moon energy out of me and replace it with the White Moon until I tell you otherwise.
“Wait, won’t that make you super weak, even if the Black Moon is shining on you? Will you even do the transformation thing?”
I don’t know, but until Conner uses his gloves’ sun abilities up, I can’t risk using such rare moon energy when it could just evaporate at any moment. We’re going to be powerless at some point in the fight due to the sun abilities Conner’s gloves have. We’ll deal with that when we get there.
“Okay…”
Rachel’s ears drifted forward, cursing as Poseidon walked forward to give their answer; Athena didn’t look happy, but she didn’t look that entertained to begin with.
The man’s strong voice filled the stadium. “The waters will become a maelstrom.”
A surge of motion brought the glimmering, holy waters into a spiral, the mist wetting the air in an aura of positive energy that countered the Black Moon’s pulse.
Shit. What’s this…
“Oh! Oh! Chang’e complimented me, too!” Nia cheered as a lovely Chinese woman stepped forward to answer for their pantheon, smiling at the excited bunny child.
Chang’e? Rachel swallowed, instantly recognizing the name. The Chinese goddess of the moon? I guess she has been a strong advocate on our behalf.
“China has chosen to raise the platform between the two forces, chaining it in place. Gravity will change, depending upon which side the combatants touch.”
A bluish-skinned, four-armed man took the stand for the Hindu pantheon. “Lord Shiva decrees that the chains can be broken, and the glass box fragile. Let them struggle against destruction and dance for me in a tumbling prison.”
The Morrigan’s bright blue eyes lifted into a small smirk, ever-shifting tattoos reforming across her revealed skin. “Let the nightmares of Ceridwen’s moon free, and the champions of the golden coral palace rise to join the festivities.”
A golden-skinned, resplendent woman rose from her seats amongst the Egyptians, striding forward. Wreathed in a sheath dress with wings that flared at her back and displaying a crown in the shape of a cow’s horn, the goddess stole all eyes with the radiant solar disk shining between the points.
“If Shiva demands destruction, Isis demands mercy; slow the fall of the cage, and limit the nightmares and heroes. We are here for a show, Morrigan, not chaos and death. Let them prove themselves against both in this free-for-all.”
Looks were passed between the three pantheons, yet a short chuckle from a ragged-cloaked, one-eyed old man brought everyone’s gaze to the Norse figure that even Rachel knew. Odin was the last to make his voice heard, and Rachel had to wonder if it was planned by the elder god.
His bright blue eye peered out from within his hood, two ravens on his shoulders and wolves by his heels. “Asgard… demands all stage attributes to activate only by destroying the glass bar they are assigned to, the attributes’ placement naturally being placed appropriately to the Arbiter’s discretion.”
A hush filled the stadium pantheons as the old man’s cracked lips curled with a sneer. “After all, rigged games are the easiest ones to beat. So let them rig it.”
With a sweep of his cloak and the cry of his ravens, the man returned to the Norse gods and goddesses, all shaking with mirth at the agitation that spread across a few of the pantheons, while others joined in the laughing ruckus.
Yseress giggled in delight at the sudden shakeup. “Wise and cunning you are, ‘lord of frenzy.’ And just like that, all those plots were brought back into the challengers’ hands, leaving the other pantheons in a buzz. Is such a request boarding too closely to a restriction, Lady Izanami?”
The death goddess hid her face with a fan, but her eyes shone with entertainment. “It is simply a change in format, which is not a restriction since all of them can still be put in effect: quite the devious tactic, Lord Odin. I’d expect nothing less from such a dangerous pantheon.”
Odin tilted his head in acknowledgment at the Japanese fallen Creation Goddess as she spoke it into existence. “So it was said, so let it be done. Rachel, Conner… You may now kill each other.”
Rachel could feel the pulse of battle thumping through her veins as the bickering and yelling gods and goddesses faded away, leaving them inside the void. The water receded, and the celestial sphere sank into oblivion. Glass bars changing color, Conner breathed a calming stream of air as words sparkled into existence, symbols tracing down their length to show what they would release.
Within seconds, the entire cage had returned to its base state with fragments of the gods’ suggestions surrounding them, providing them the opportunity to pick and choose whatever new element they wanted to add. Naturally, their own personal choices were right behind their opponents.
“Ready for this?” Rachel asked, rolling around her shoulders and loosening up as she bounced a few times on her toes, putting a spring in her step. “One wrong move and we could unleash something pretty bad.”
A big smile grew on the Greek man’s face as Conner mirrored her. “Why not make a short run at it without any additions? No weapons. No fancy armor. No pets. Just you… and me. What do you say?”
Rachel’s tail quivered at the invitation. “Work our way up to it? I’m game. We both know you can’t catch me if I’m dancing around, though. Even if we’ve both got the power, I’ve got the speed, while you only have the durability. That means I get the first strike, so how about this… I take three shots, and that gets me in range for you to grapple three times. All our natural Feats. After that…”
“…Anything goes,” Conner snickered, gloves disappearing in a flash of solar light.
Nia gave her a worried stare before jogging over to the corner, Conner’s dolphin floating into the opposite side to wait for the attacks. The girl didn’t like turning off her protection, but Rachel had her pride on the line.
At long last, this Legend’s Quest was at its conclusion. She’d taken down a lesser god and learned things that would make General Dallas salivate when she returned; she just had to take this last win.
Making a few test jabs, elbows, and knees, Rachel hissed out the air in her lungs, testing her new speed limits after increasing the Stat. Her body was filled with 117% of the White Moon’s energy, increased by [Lunar Pool: Overload], [Lunar Amplification], and its Extension, [Blinding Light], pushing her beyond her cap. She couldn’t use Nia’s Lunar Pools in this three-strike challenge; this was all her.
Time slowed as [Mental Acceleration II] activated, [Divine Lunar Surge] and [Lunar Cap] multiplying her Stats based on the amount of lunar energy she carried in her pool. Now was the time to discover how far she’d come on her own, without the help of Nia or these Unique Moons.
Conner’s movements were sluggish and slow as she dashed forward, pushing aside the atmosphere in her race for the man’s face to test something she’d wanted to see since discovering his secret. [Divine Beast Empowerment II] with its Extension [Seventh Sense] brought her senses to their peak, and [Beastial Instincts II] told her Conner was a threat she had to take seriously.
Wind whipping her hair behind her, Rachel pivoted at the last second into a roundhouse kick to add momentum to her blitz. Foot planting into Conner’s face, a stained smile lifted her cheeks as all the kinetic force she’d built transferred down his body and into the two-meter-thick glass, fracturing the floor four meters in all directions. Conner didn’t budge.
A gust rushed past them, drawing her unbound hair forward, and Rachel swept her arms to catch it all while using her grounded foot to twist away just as the Legend’s slow fingers slid through her pink-hued white locks.
The cracking glass hit Rachel’s ears, making her wince as she landed on all fours, sliding on the surface as it suddenly became smooth when desired, teaching her something about the platform. Conner stumbled forward, a little off-balance in his hope to snatch her hair.
“Ugh!” He roared with laughter, balancing himself as Rachel came to a stop near the edge of their cage. “Damn! You sure you didn’t use any stupid lunar boost from the squirt over there because that was a lot faster than you used to be.”
Nia’s face turned red. “I didn’t do squat, loser! I turned off all my defensive stuff. Humph. You’re just a slowpoke.”
“Fair enough,” he grunted, rubbing his face and working around his jaw; Rachel was busy testing how slippery or sticky the traction was on the clear surface after coming to a stop; the boots Nia put her in were far from efficient without her support and weren’t nearly as comfortable after the girl’s affixes were turned off. “I felt that… You broke past my guard and threw me off-balance, so I missed.”
Rachel hopped up and down again with a smile; the floor would change traction as desired, which was a very big discovery. “Clearly not enough; that’s a strike on both of us. Ready for the next round?”
“Go for it, hun,” Conner muttered, now following her example in testing out the floor. “Interesting… You really are a sharp one.”
Bouncing forward with light hops, swapping up her stance, and puffing out sharp breaths to flood her system with oxygen, Rachel waited for the last second as Conner cautiously scooted forward to find a grapple.
Flooding her thighs with power, she jumped to the ceiling, flipped around, and launched back to the Legend’s back in quick succession. Landing, she spun out to trip him, only to be caught slightly off-guard when one of Conner’s legs gave way.
Caution bells went off in her gut, and she pulled her leg away, diving into a roll to get upright; he was trying to fake fall to catch her leg under his shin and take away her momentum. So long as he was touching the glass, she wasn’t going to do any damage.
Flipping upright, Rachel dashed across the bars, kinetic energy keeping her stable as she ran around the Legend before jumping from side to side. Rocketing around the cage, she aimed both of her feet to land against the back of his heel; he’d left an opening for her on purpose, but that was all a part of the plan.
All momentum leaving her the second she touched him, Rachel’s arms stabilized herself against his back, dodging a backward elbow and grabbing Conner by the waist. A grin spread across her lips as she picked him up to throw him against the ground, only for a wet sensation to crawl over her skin.
In disbelief, she felt her arms and hands slide right through the Legend as she tumbled to the side, tucking to dive; she felt the slick substance condense around her hair, but she managed to yank it out before it fully solidified.
Chest heaving, Rachel’s vision widened as she saw Conner’s body partially liquified, slowly taking on a physical state again. “No way…”
He chuckled, flexing his strong fingers. “You didn’t think after everything I saw you do so far, and that mind of yours, that I wouldn’t think you’d try to pick me up? Babe, that was the first Feat I got when the opportunity came. Three tries! Three strikes!”
“Nia, go big!”
“On it!”
Conner’s gloves materialized, a wicked grin on his face as he smashed them together, solar energy pulsing out of them. Nia’s attributes reignited, causing her outfit to shimmer as the hammer appeared in Rachel’s hands. However, it wasn’t meant for the Legend.
Delphinus darted for Nia, Conner shooting one ball of solar energy at the bar that would release his holy waters, and another at her. Rachel wound her arms back and chucked the maul like a frisbee, swiping away the solar ball and sending the spiked hammer’s flat end right into the surprised dolphin’s face.
Thrown off course, he struck a random bar, shattering it as Nia screamed a warrior’s cry, twisting to slam her heel into another. A rumble shook the cage as the bars grew into pillars, and their stage expanded to comfortably fit a boxing match between giants; Conner’s little ball barely left a dent against the thick glass, and Rachel grinned as Nia hopped onto the pillar next to the one she’d destroyed.
“You—what the…”
Hair drifting to the left, Rachel let herself flip into a free fall as gravity shifted, and she landed against one of the bars, Nia three pillars to her right.
“Nice work, Lieutenant!”
“Sir, yes—eek!” Nia squeaked as a flurry of bullet-like rain fell around her. “Ouch! It stings!”
Rachel resummoned her hammer, spotting Delphinus scoop Conner out of the air before falling into the void through the bars; the dolphin broke the gravity-swapping bar as Nia shattered the size increase to the stage. If the peppering hail was hurting Nia past [Less is More], then it would probably make her bleed since the child was currently tankier with the Feat.
You got Delphinus?
“Leave him to me, Boss! Ack! I was spying out his powers while playing like a sneaky bunny!”
Attagirl. Well, let’s get this party started.
The dolphin carried Conner up toward his main water source as Nia ran for the ceiling to flip gravity again and chase after the pair. On the other hand, Rachel brought her hammer down hard on the pillar, causing cracks to run along it and brightening her weapon’s crystals. She managed to strike it one last time, running the fissures clean through before jumping into the void.
Nia touched the ceiling just as Conner jumped off his mount to punch through the giant pillar, sending a shockwave through the column, but his foot didn’t touch it, making him fall to the ceiling.
Gravity shifted for Rachel, her fall swapping to drop in parallel with the rails, and a burst of kinetic energy flung her back to slide across the ceiling; the bar she’d broken started to crumble, igniting a bright purple light inside of all the pillars: she’d broken one of Shiva’s attributes, making the entire stadium more fragile.
Conner landed on his feet and broke his holy sea affix just as Nia and his dolphin clashed near him, and Rachel tossed her hammer at the Black Moon column; it shattered on contact, her weapon twinkling into dust to return to its storage. She was unable to summon it back for a second, finding a hidden internal timer after recalling it once already, but that didn’t matter.
Bright light glistened above them as the sea filled the heavens from their inverted position on the ceiling, holy water whipping up in waves as a solemn, purplish ring of negative energy spun into existence below.
Rachel felt a familiar pulse beat within her breast as the Black Moon’s unholy rays reached up like ten thousand invisible hands to pull her into their cursed embrace.
Delphinus disengaged to spin out of the ring, shooting into the heavens to pull down the holy water, but it didn’t matter; her large clover eyes changed to reflect the hollow hole in reality, pink leaves dyeing an orchid purple as the nightmare stilled her soul.
Breathing a slow stream of air, voices filled invisible spires just beyond the veil, the prayers for deliverance, aid, and hope reaching out to pull more unsuspecting victims into the hope-consuming abyss. A dark, slow corrosion twisted hope, breaking down heroes into the inevitable despair that claimed all those that came to understand the horrific truth of the Black Moon.
[Black Moon: Active]
[Curse of the Wise: Active]
Cerridwen’s baleful smile met her vision with the eye-like ruby gem attached to her chest as the child of the malevolent death goddess fed nightmares into her, morphing Rachel’s body into the monster within her own soul.
The world faded in the sadistic mist that surrounded her, drawing Rachel into her inner world, yet only an ominous, ever-changing mist met her. An echo from the Welsh goddess filtered through a vast abyss, whisperings plucking at her reshaping spirit like strings on an instrument.
“Go to the World Tree… look to the inside to break the seals, bleed out the dark decay, and ascend to places beyond the real. There, you will find me.”
A calm darkness swelled within Rachel as she returned to the stadium. Straightening, she found Conner riding Delphinus, nose a swirling cyclone of holy water as they channeled the powers they’d shown off against the Lava Dragon. The spear-like water cleaved through pillars, zig-zagging to strike the ones he wanted.
Unperturbed, Rachel held her hands behind her back as black fur grew out of her skin, transforming into the horrific hare as she hummed to the ominous choir resonating within her. There was a blindness around her, causing her to ponder the message Cerridwen left her as she descended into the madness.
Solar balls rained down upon her, but all they hit was a misty reflection; Rachel’s head tilted to the side as Conner ran after dozens of psychosis-induced mirages, swept away by his holy attacks. Nia was exploring her new form, giggling as she morphed and divided herself into various nightmarish clones for the pair to pursue.
Standing beside one particular pillar, the hammer appeared in Rachel’s hand, her thoughts still lingering on the infinite and vast, lurking just beyond sight within the veil of the Black Moon. A hand held behind her back, Rachel brought the mallet against the glass, shattering it into oblivion, releasing a horde of nightmares from the unholy sphere and heroes from the depths of the holy sea to join the cause.
It wasn’t a problem; heroes were exactly what the Black Moon feasted upon, sucking out every last drop of hope from their marrow. Yet, Rachel’s eyes were on a glimpse of the truth that Cerridwen was imparting unto her in this melodious horror.
A wicked, exaggerated smile revealed her fanged, gnarled teeth as she lightly tapped the next column she stood beside, shattering the chains that held the cage still, sending them into a crazed tug-of-war between the maelstrom of holy water and nightmarish sphere.
Rachel stood upside down on the platform, unbothered by the change in gravity as Nia constantly flipped the platform with the horrors and heroes in battle. An army of cackling gremlin bunnies ran Conner in circles, leaving Rachel’s shadows to form within the fog and taunt the Legend.
But Rachel was already beyond what was real. This was not how it was supposed to end, yet it did give her the insight she needed to see the finale. Her manic eyes peered beyond Conner, Nia, and the Legend’s own delusional, hope-inspired vision of defeating her, looking past the corners of their reality. She oversaw it all from her high perch.
Eventually, he would sweep away the negative field to reveal her true body; it would be too late by then, and she’d see what lay within the dark abyss.
Crouching down on her bowed, hare legs, Rachel giggled as the effects of the Black Moon filled her being. Nightmares swirling in conflict as a bright flash of solar energy lit the heavens, Conner attempting to break the spell by depriving her of her power, but it wasn’t her he and his army were fighting: it was the Black Moon herself.
The solar clouds came between the void sphere cage, sparking hope as many nightmares flickered and died, making Rachel snicker and ears drift to the side; an illusion. It would take more than a simple and normal sun to block something as potent as the Black Moon. Lost between herself and nightmare, the real and dream, Rachel found an unusual closeness to the Seed within her.
[Horror of the Dream Adaptation X (Restricted) - Reborn in the twisting abyss of the terror-ridden madness of imagination, the user sinks into the depths of what the wise seek and fail to obtain. A herald of The Truth, the user must descend into the infinite and vast to peer beyond what lies beyond the gateway into Ever-Shaping Horror.]
[Curse of the Wise X (Restricted) - The user can comprehend the vastness and infinite nature of that which cannot be known. By breaking the seals, the user can transcend the prayers on the lips of liars to learn from the Whispering Beyond.]
[Entity of the Nightmare X (Restricted) - Invoke hope in all that is around the user, feeding on the light that it brings. Never truly defeated, only postponed to savor the feast to then be awakened again the next night.]
Rachel’s mind bloomed with the vision of a thousand nightmarish blind eyes, and her gaze peeled back to see the heart of a giant tree, where a sleeping man rested, connected to its core as a somber woman, too beautiful to look upon, cried over him. Her nightmares seeped into Rachel’s soul, allowing her to feel the guilt and anguish that gripped the Nymph.
Vision peeling back, Rachel’s eyes lifted to meet Conner’s as the man swept away the misty veil, revealing her. His solar-charged fist plunged for her head, but this was where hope died; her form flickered, and she was now standing beside Nia on the ground, Eldritch energy sweeping her away.
Lowering to the grinning bunny’s level, Rachel rubbed her head as Conner slowly recovered and looked down at her. “Why don’t you play with the heroes?”
Her swirling clover eyes creased with a smile as a golden-skinned Olympian jabbed a holy spear through her skull, only for her to swirl into smoke and reappear beside Conner in the air, animal-like head tilting to the side as the Legend realized nothing had changed since the opening of the Black Moon.
“Confused?” she chuckled, a dark pull welling up within her as Conner’s unsure eyes shifted to her; his mount was about to disappear from his five-minute limitation.
“I… can’t hurt you. Can I? Why? I have the blessed water of a god. Eh-haha. It doesn’t make sense.”
Rachel hummed, looking up with her oversized, toothy grin to study the sky. “At first, I thought the same as you, Conner… This is Negative Energy that can be purified by a deity’s Positive Energy.” Her large eyes lowered to his. “It only seems negative because it is all that you can comprehend, but I have seen The Truth.”
“Which is?” he sighed, far less angry or annoyed than he should have been, yet he’d already accepted his death before this, and Rachel held no animosity toward him personally.
Motioning to him toward a misty veil she created, Rachel walked through, entering a tinted world between the battlefield and the unreal. Nia’s giggling, twisting form drifted in and out of view as she danced between lines, making Conner shiver as he joined her.
She put her hammer away, the slow, wispy visages of the heroes fighting their illusions in the void. “Welcome to that which is between the real and not… It is not negative except when perceived as such for its alien nature,” she instructed. “Unfortunately, I cannot remain much longer in this state, or I may be lost… The Curse of the Wise.”
Conner scratched his ears as if hearing something just beyond notice. “It’s not Infernal Force. It’s…”
“Eldritch,” Rachel confirmed with a short chortle. “Ascending into places unknown to become the unknown. One cannot fight that which doesn’t exist within their perception of what is and isn’t. Belief doesn’t matter. Reality doesn’t matter. For Reality is but a pale reflection of The Truth past the veil.”
Conner laughed as an Infernal, smiling shadow of her born out of his own nightmares exited the haze, cackling and swinging the spiked end of her hammer into his lower back, punching a hole straight through to his spine and out his belly.
As quickly as it came, the shadow faded away, and Rachel reached out to catch him. “We create our own nightmares. You believed I would kill you here, yet… I can’t kill you, Conner,” she sighed, looking at him with a sad smile as it dawned on him.
“The Black Moon made it so I could never kill you… because you killed yourself. Yet, isn’t it ironic that I am the hope you unconsciously sought to intervene near this end? I am the salvation for your desire for a heroic death.”
Globs of blood leaking out, Conner choked another laugh, arms slowly going numb as the corrupting force seeped into his soul. “I… I just thought it would be, I don’t know… more epic than this.”
Rachel’s smile widened, and the haze drifted away to show the swirling purple pull of the void above them, the song of heroes drawing Conner’s gaze to the maddening abyss. “You cannot find what you seek against me… but in there, you will live out your legend against the greatest foes you can conceive until you obtain the heroic death you seek.”
Chest shaking with mirth, Conner slowly nodded. “Then… I guess I shouldn’t keep those who are calling me waiting. I’m not exactly… the hero they deserve, but I guess I’m all they got.”
Face softening, Nia flipped gravity, sending the box, heroes, and nightmares alike into the Black Moon, where they were welcomed with loving cheers. The world faded away, and her dark fur receded as she stood with Nia in the center of the stadium, Conner nowhere to be seen as he descended into the madness of The Nightmare.
Izanami appeared in front of her, the stadium melting away to then be replaced by the polluted lands of the Hell Lady, the Infernal Moon shining overhead; the stands were empty, no god left after Conner’s demise or perhaps hidden by Izanami’s power.
The woman appraised her as the Eldritch Force drained from her body and was pulled into Nia’s Pool, and a new, sadistic force took its place.
[Lunar Hell Hare - Yomi: Active]
“Well, now that everything is about to collapse, why don’t we talk about the spoils of your victory and your promised rewards, Rachel? Ah…” As almost an afterthought, Izanami gave her a curious stare. “Did I tell you that there is a way you can save Conner’s Seed?”
“No?” Rachel chuckled, now entering a conversation about saving a fractured multiverse, at the minimum. A devilish horn grew out of her skull, eyes creasing at the offer. “Spoils are a welcomed surprise, but what benefits do I get from saving this Seed, and what would I have to do?”
Izanami folded her hands in her sleeves. “Well, not you as a Mythickin, but if you have another Legendkin that you’re fond of, they could take on Conner’s burden. Interested?”
“Maybe I am…” The cruel, wicked edges of her heart reared their head with Yomi’s filthy embrace; she was becoming rather fond of the fallen deity. “A lovely walk under the Hell Moon is a delightful treat. Lead the way; I’m listening.”
