Hare of Misfortune

Rachel’s eyes widened as the number went up, and the breach warning hit like a maul against her chest; the draw of Hellish energy was stripped away, darkness overshadowing them. In the next moment, she was hovering in the air, Dionysus’ gold-bloodied hand clasped under her chin, the pressure slowly working into her throat and cutting off her airway.

”You did this, Rachel! Whatever you are—whatever plot the creation deities and Hell Lords made by planting you here—you will not take this away from me!”

[System Error - Imbalance]

[System Error - Action Required]

She winced, her hammer just now clattering against the ground next to Yseress. When did I drop—

Her hands reached for Dionysus’ wrist, only for her fingers to pass right through it as if it didn’t even exist. Her legs lashed out to meet nothing but air. There was no way she could fight Moongmor—a demigod—much less a lesser god. Misfortune was now closing around her own throat, her odds of survival tilting the opposite way.

Conner jumped on his dolphin and flew up to them. ”Stop, Dionysus! You’re breaching the Legend Quest laws! If—”

”I am The Law!” he spat, bringing Rachel into a slow spin to see the nearly empty stadium that had once been packed with lesser deities and powerful entities. ”You must entertain me, and I am not entertained! Besides,” he gave a vicious laugh, ”they’re more guidelines than rules, and I can change them whenever I want!”

[System Audit - Rules in Review]

Her airway was cut off; something big was building, but she needed more time.

”Rachel!” Shimmering lights brought a red-faced, snarling five-year-old out to try and tackle the lesser god. ”No—stop hurting her!”

She passed through the laughing man; Lunar Energy punches didn’t even touch him as she flipped in the air and landed on the cracked stone beside Yseress. ”Help her! What do I do, Rachel?!”

”Nothing, little lambs,” Dionysus roared, a sea of vines and alcohol flooding the area. ”What can you do? Not even a princess of Hell can hope to touch me!”

Slow clapping came from the giggling woman beside Nia, a toothy grin igniting her seductive face. ”Quite true, Dionysus. We are all but little lambs in the grand scheme of existence...but sometimes, lambs can grow teeth.”

A bright glow cut through the darkness, filling Rachel with a familiar, confident bud that bloomed with a bright pink, white, and orange flash that exploded between them, forcing the air out of Rachel’s lungs.

World spinning, a short grunt, and small arms closed around her chest, Rachel hit the wine-covered ground. She slid to a stop, coughing and sputtering as she rolled off whoever caught her. Nia mirrored her, holding her chest and groaning as a little, colorful bunny sat beside them in the bubbling wine.

”Ack—Nia... Moongmor?!”

”My chest hurts,” she cried, crawling over to check on her. ”H-He left bruises on your neck—can you breathe—is she going to be okay, MoonMoon?”

”Mhm! Mhm!” he chimed, nervous leg taps spraying them and giving away his lie as his big eyes turned to the side. ”He’s not happy...”

Vision stabilizing, heat filled her heart as three giant celestial spheres orbited above them, cutting through the darkness Dionysus created. Eostre’s auburn hair was alight with life, and a divine glow emanated from her body while she floated in front of the enraged lesser god.

”Eostre,” he said with a crazed laugh, smacking his forehead and shaking his head. ”I can’t believe the only one that stayed beside the fiends was you. I didn’t even consider you would try to approach me—Rachel, Rachel, Rachel... How did you get this...coward to step up for you? You have been orchestrating my end since—no...” he trailed off, his red face going ghost-white as a new System Message appeared.

The threads of misfortune snapped tight around Dionysus’ neck.

* -- * -- *

[Lunar Pool - Advanced to B-tier]

[Divine Lunar Surge - Advanced to C-tier]

[Lunar Cap - Advanced to B-tier]

[Bestial Instincts - Advanced to E-tier]

[Bringer of Misfortune - Advanced to A-tier]

[Strategic Mind - Advanced to E-tier]

[Mental Acceleration - Advanced to E-tier]

* -- * -- *

[System Audit Concluded - Rules Sustained]

[System Correction - Balance Required]

[Arbiter In Breach - New Selection Initiated]

* -- * -- *

Rachel’s head rose to fissures that fractured the sky, Eostre’s moons promptly fading as the tulpa flew to their defense. A sober frown was on the woman’s face; part of her dress had been blown apart, much of her gorgeous hair burnt away, and sections of her divine body were blackened from the excessive power she’d had to channel to free her.

”Rachel!” Dionysus screamed.

His wine started to steam, yet moments later, barbed crimson chains broke through space and sank into the lesser god’s flesh. In an instant, they were back to the original sandy arena, the amphitheater whole, and Dionysus hung in the sky, bound as Nike had been when she’d first entered this Legend Quest.

”What are you?! What are you?!”

A lump sprang up in Rachel’s throat as writhing, shadow-like tentacles reached out of the void to close around Dionysus’ throat in a noose, and a gnarled, seven-fingered hand reached out of the fissure, nearly as large as the stadium itself.

Its slick digits gathered the tendrils, inky liquid seeping out of its claws, and spikes ripped through the obsidian arm. The spikes transferred to the tentacles, moving down its length to puncture the choking Greek god’s body, stakes exiting his bronze skin from the inside out. His golden blood tinted purple as the barbed tips released violet smog. Then, the hand turned scarlet-red and gently, almost caringly, pulled him into oblivion.

She recalled the original Arbiter’s horrific laughter and warning to the lesser god as Dionysus’s misfortune sealed itself, carrying him to a fate filled with nightmares unending for not performing what The Balance required. And in the ensuing silence, the clapping of one pair of hands rang out with the Princess of Hell’s elated laughter.

”Beautiful performance! What an absolutely wonderful act this has been. Such insight and hubris, Dionysus! You gave Icarus a run for his money. Prometheus would be proud to see your noble sacrifice in paving the way,” she cackled, lifting her hand to the host of fiends, overjoyed roars meeting her. ”Now... What will our next act be?”