Sacrifices To Jupiter XII

Approaching, I pick up the two balls lying on the floor. They barely fit my palms, almost transparent, hallucinatory. Made of real brilliants.

"You're not just going to use them, no?!" she asks me, stammering to her feet. "Just what the hell is happening? Why are the gods helping demons?! This is unthinkable!"

Blah, blah, blah—shut the fuck up, kid.

I'm as pissed as she is. Am I just a plaything for those beings, or what?

But what can be done, really?

Just like how when one is born into slavery, the best they can do is mine harder, is all. 

Fate holds us as its prisoners.

To break from fate's shackles is no simple task, demanding extraordinary ordinance to weave miracles. 

"Is there any use in keeping these?" I ask, shoving the two balls to her to show them. "What value do these possess?"

"You use! I doubt very much that these can be used by people, only demons. Maybe only by the Great Demons, and possibly even, only by Demon Lords and Archdemons," she blabbers, lifting her round chin, her downturned eyes resolute. "Even if it can be, nobody has seen such a thing before, and we need strength at the moment. Why hold onto resources when we can lose them at any moment?"

"What dangers?" I ask her, peering at her with my gaze. "The fact that you three came means there are more to come, correct?"

Silence envelopes the room.

She then nods, albeit slowly. "Archdemons usually appear in the heart of Darklands… but you're in its very corner… I haven't seen such things happen in historical records…"

"So at the border between humans and demons?" I ask, bringing my hand up my chin.

"Exactly. You right." Mari ups and downs her head. "If the news gets out, the capital will send all they have to exterminate you. Paladins, priests, and even saints will rush to destroy your demonic lair before it has any chance to attain power. They will wage an all-out war."

Just why is my luck so shitty?

Yet again, it can't be helped. We merely adapt, is all.

"Perhaps tomorrow or the day after, the local Adventurer's Guild will send a group to investigate the disappearances," Mari whispers, biting her lip. "A week at most for them to assemble a group of dungeon demolishers."

I nod, raising the left sphere. I forgot which one was which, but it doesn't really matter, or does it?

"Say, if I summon a high-ranked monster, won't it just outright murder us?" I ask her seriously, glancing sideways.

Is it me, or has the fog intensified? The moss of the walls and the floors have watered, whilst droplets drip-drop from the domed ceiling, hitting the floor.

At this temperature? It's cold as fuck.

Mari swings her head left and right. "The monsters you summon are fully under your control. They cannot attack you. Besides, there's a difference between creating and summoning monsters."

"When you create an A-rank monster, for example, it's A-rank from the get-go. If you summon such a monster instead, then it has the potential of reaching A, but it starts from lower ranks. They improve as the dungeon levels up, just as you do," she states, her sapphire eyes lit. "Unless they've changed this mechanic too…"

I still have a shitty premonition, and from what I've learned so far, my instincts are to be trusted.

The worst is that I die. But at least I won't die alone.

I nod, turning my head back to the ball and projecting my will into it.

Gift Pack |S|

60% |A|

30% |A+|

10% |S|

A notification box pops up, red.

Please press your hand against the dungeon core!

I do as it says.

Do you wish to open |Gift Pack |S||?

"Bring it on," I say in regret.

A new hologram appears. This time, a ginormous one.

There's an enormous wheel at the center. Its corners are of brilliant color.

There are various numbered sections, of three types. Gold, an even brighter gold, and diamond.

I presume the gold is A-rank while the diamond is S-rank since there are very few brilliant ones in total.

At the bottom is a lever.

I pull the holographic lever.

The reel starts to spin. 

Here goes nothing.

"Gambling and gambling and gambling and gambling~" I sing and whistle as I watch the lighting and dimming and sparkling wheel spin and spin and spin in hypnotic blurs.

"Umm…" I hear Mari on my left, a book clasped tightly against her chest, her eyes curious. "This looks fun, no?"

Why the fuck are the gods brewing gambling addiction in children instead of providing peace and prosperity?

"Let's pray," I tell Mari, nudging her shoulder.

I clasp my palms together, my fingers turned up.

"Pray…? You a demon, you know?" she bickers, her eyes twitching. "Demons don't pray. Demons sacrifice."

"Let's pray," I insist.

I pray.

Your Lordship, I pray—

That you drown in the weight of your selfish excess,

That your bones break like your empty promises,

That the wails of the lost haunt your palaces,

That you rot away with no grave's tenderness,

That you find no rest in the dark's emptiness,

That you die not well but in a well in no peace but pieces,

That you experience the pain your slaves go through on a daily basis,

"Ah, I think I'm finished," I say, smiling holly, wholly embracing God as I watch Mari's round face, round in confusion. Then the wheel.

Exalted Charlatan |E|

Appear as a figure of legendary renown and create powerful visual and auditory illusions. Lowers the chances of enemies resisting the illusion by an amount proportional to Luck.

Illusion Magic +10%

Charisma +10%

Type: Murk, Luck

Potential: A

Well, fuck. The prayers didn't work. I got the lowest rank…

Plus, it's boring.

I would really want to change it if I could—

Mari sighs in disappointment. "I mean, at least the skill isn't b—"

Time slows.

Huh?

"b– b– b– b– b– a– a– a– a– a– a– a– a– d– d—"

Her lips barely move. Her expression is almost frozen in time.

I try to voice her name, yet my lips barely part, and my eyes barely move too.

What happened? Did the time really freeze?!

A familiar box forms before me, changing in a kaleidoscope of colors, black and white, yellow and purple, blue. 

Tripartite Mandala

The name echoes in my mind.

Scribblings cover everything in my view. The floors. The ceiling, too, in some places, even. Predominantly tiled with caricature mosaics.

The walls aren't spared from the eccentricism either. Bizarre portraits stare holes into me.

Miniatures float and flounder, spinning and circling—zig-zagging hyperactively.

Before my eyes can adjust to the kaleidoscope of panchromatic vividness, it distorts once and for all.

The starry galaxy rearranges itself into a maze of historical tales in and outward to the very corners of the octagonal dome.

Then into the prehistoric records of the once prominent dinosaurs.

Then into something entirely else I don't know what to make of.

Modern art, perhaps.

Do you wish to use your Magical Power |Fate's Three Sisters|?

My head starts to hurt.

I can tell that I cannot remain in this state much longer, so without much thought, I agree with whatever the system is proposing.

The Wheel of Fortune has begun to move.

Three different boxes appear before me.

—1—

Exalted Charlatan |E|

Appear as a figure of legendary renown and create powerful visual and auditory illusions. Lowers the chances of enemies resisting the illusion by an amount proportional to Luck.

Illusion Magic +10%

Charisma +10%

Type: Murk, Luck

Potential: A

—2—

Ravenous Sea Webster |E|

Enhance control over threads to puppeteer objects and the shadows of those ensnared. Increases the clarity of sight, instincts and intuition. Leads to hallucinations and intrusive whispers from the abyss.

String Manipulation +20%

Vision: +20%

Lucidity: -20%

Type: Wise, Luck

Potential: S

Punishment: Pact of Nightmares

—3—

Black Swordsman |E|

Unleash an overwhelming aura of darkness that sharpens blade and presence to a supernatural extent. The sword strikes become heavier and faster and more precise while the encroaching void gnaws at the mind.

Sword Mastery: +10%

Darkness: +30%

Sanity: -20%

Type: Aura

Potential: S

Punishment: Brand of Sacrifice

Punishment?! The fuck is brand of sacrifice supposed to mean? Some aftermath from an eclipse?

Do I have to choose between the three—

ARGH! My head! It hurts!

The colors continue to shift and swirl swiftly.

Fuck it.

I make my choice.

There is nothing to think of to begin with. It is as obvious as it can get.

The thread of your fate has been spun.

The thread of your fate has been measured.

The thread of your fate has been cut.

Ominous voices of three women echo in my mind, protruding my ears, drumming repeatedly in my head.

Pact of Nightmares

You descend into a realm of horrors when asleep. Visions of screaming voids and traumas of your past haunt you. These nightmares actively erode your mind with each nightmare chipping away at reason and sanity. The dreams worsen over time. Giving up causes the body to fail in its sleep. You cease to exist as if erased from reality.

Your body reshapes into a Night Maiden when darkness falls—A spectral figure of feminine grace and madness. You obsess over all things that flimmer be they gold or blood or eyes glittening with fear.

You become enamored with dread.

…?

???

?!!

"Uncle!" Mari shouts into my ear.

Ah, time. Time moves again. I wish it didn't.

My body hurts. I wonder what's happening. No, not really.

"What's happening?!" asks Mari. "Your body is acting strange! It's transforming!"

Ah, I think I know. It hurts. Not outside, no. That, I'm used to. Something inside me breaks.

I think I read it wrongly. Yes. I just lack reading comprehension. Mari was right. I'm fucking stupid. So I must have misunderstood it. Right? Right. Right?! Right!

I look down at the slump of meat protruding from the hole in my robe that I've created when plucking my heart.

Should I just pluck it again and free myself from this misery?

I look further down. At the diamond ball.

There are supposed to be two balls, not one. Also, meaty, not blue. One ball is missing.

I lift my robe. Hahaha. Two balls are missing.

I look at Mari, who now stands at the same height I do, and shed tears, crystal clear, genuine tears of a man. No, not a man. Not even a human. Not even somebody. A nobody.

I've lost my memories.

I've lost my humanity.

I've lost my…

Mari looks at me in fake pity, barely refraining from laughing her ass off.

This must be a nightmare.

"A prank… this is a prank…" I say in the most feminine voice I've ever heard.

Did they just steal my balls? No, no way…

Did I just sacrifice my balls for a gift? No fucking way…

I look back at the nothingness between my legs.

…

FUCK FUCK FUCK

THERE'S NO FUCK!

IT'S FUCKING GONE!

FUCKED INTO OBLIVION!