Hare of Misfortune

Rachel’s gaze drifted to three oriental, bearded men who had taken turns rolling their dice, 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’s amused voice turned them toward a massive group behind them, where a four-armed, radiant woman sat on a lotus flower, an intimidating, similarly-armed elephant man dwarfing her, floating cross-legged beside her.

Eyes closed, two of their hands were clasped in front of them in a praying manner, their other two 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 Irish pantheon as The Morrigan brings victory!”

The raven transformed in a veil of feathers into a subtly threatening, black-haired woman, exuding an air of dominance. She observed the other pantheons. Crows came as more birds formed out of the feathers, landing on her shoulder and whispering in her ear.

A man with a cobra’s head glared across the stadium at the Irish goddess.

Yseress’s voice held 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, Major?”

”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 on behalf of 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 Cerridwen’s moon be free, and the champions of the golden coral palace rise to join the festivities.”

A golden-skinned, resplendent woman rose from her seat amongst the Egyptians. Wreathed in a sheath dress with wings that flared at her back, a crown in the shape of a cow’s horn sat atop her head. The goddess stole all eyes while striding forward, her crown’s 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 Odin’s cracked lips curled with a sneer. ”After all, rigged games are the easiest ones to beat. So let them rig it.”