The Chimera’s triumphant hiss echoed through the crumbling cathedral, reverberating off the building's shattered remains. Dust and debris swirled in the air, dancing like ghosts disturbed from their ancient slumber as Lorelei stood alone. Her heart hammered in her chest as she locked eyes with the abomination.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on her. Every muscle ached as if a thousand tiny elves were jabbing her with pins from the inside out. She guessed she was in danger of wielding the power she had stolen from Hild for too long. The
Then, just as the last trace of the shield blinked out, deep within her, something stirred—a whisper of a voice she’d heard before. A voice that had the audacity to be both omnipotent and irritatingly smug at the same time.
"My word, dearie," Fortuna’s voice purred in her mind. "You do get yourself into some pickles, don't you?"
Ignoring the giant snake that was so close to her she could practically smell its fetid breath—imagine a butcher’s shop left to rot in a swamp during high summer, and you’re nearly there—Lorelei closed her eyes, her breath slowing to a controlled rhythm. “Fortuna,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of crumbling masonry and the Chimera’s menacing growls. “I think I might need another save here. . . I'm out of ideas. If you want me around to enact your plan, I need you to run some interference."
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of Lorelei's own heart pounding like a drum. Then, the world around her shifted. The air grew unnaturally still, the sounds of battle fading into a background hum like someone had pressed the cosmic mute button.
As time shuddered to a halt, Lorelei opened her eyes, and there, standing next to her, bathed in a golden glow that seemed to defy the laws of physics, was Fortuna. Except, this wasn’t the usual Lady Luck in her slutty red dress and poker-player smirk. No, Fortuna had dialled up the divine glamour. She appeared as an ethereal beauty, her form shimmering with the radiance of countless possibilities, each more maddeningly improbable than the last. Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint as if she’d just shuffled a deck and knew precisely where every card would land. Her smile—oh, that smile—spoke of endless gambles and impossible odds, the kind of smile that says, “You’re screwed, but let’s have fun with it, shall we?”
Lorelei wasn't sure which of the two - Fortuna or the Chimera - she was more frightened of at that moment.
“My dear,” Fortuna said, her voice as smooth as melted chocolate but with an edge sharp enough to cut glass. “The whole point of being my Herald is to avoid situations where there’s no way out. I have a reputation to uphold, after all! This is the sort of mess that makes even me question my choices.”
Lorelei’s voice was weary but determined. “We’ve done everything we can, and it’s just too strong,” she breathed, “I don’t know what else we can try!”
Fortuna’s smile widened slightly more than the human mouth was designed to manage, and for a moment, Lorelei was reminded of the goddess’s true, appalling form—something akin to an eldritch nightmare wrapped in a bow of probability. “Ah, but that’s where you limit yourself, my dear. You see, there’s always one last gamble to make, isn’t there? One final roll of the dice. One last deal.”
Something shifted in Lorelei’s hand, and the familiar weight of her Double-Headed Coin of Fate grew warmer, pulsing with a gentle, rhythmic energy like the heartbeat of the universe itself. Curious, she opened her hand, watching the coin shimmer with a brighter and more dazzling light than any star yet still - somehow - tinged with the faintest hint of mockery.
The coin vibrated, the two depictions of Lorelei's face on its surface glowing with an otherworldly brilliance. The faces seemed to come to life, their expressions shifting from angry to playful, as if sharing a disgusting joke at the expense of all logic and reason.
Then, the transformation began.
The coin slowly lifted from Lorelei's palm—hovering before her—and its light intensified, becoming almost unbearable, as though the coin was burning through the fabric of reality. It began to spin rapidly, faster and faster, until it was a blur, a tiny sun that pulsed with power and possibility. Lorelei could feel the essence of Fortuna—luck, chance, and fate—intertwining with the coin, melding it into something new, something dangerous.
Then, with a flash that left spots dancing in Lorelei’s vision, the spinning coin exploded outward, its glow expanding and then contracting, shaping itself into something else entirely. The new object took form—a beautifully crafted six-sided die, each face intricately carved and gleaming in a soft diffuse shine that seemed almost too pretty for what it was about to do.
The die was slightly larger than a typical dice, about the size of Lorelei’s fist, and it was composed of the same material as the coin—a blend of gold and silver that shimmered and shifted as though undecided on which reality it wanted to exist in. The numbers on each face were etched in deep black, their edges sharp like the finality of a life-altering decision.
Each face of the die bore a unique symbol: the number One showed a cracked hourglass, its sand forever spilling into oblivion; the number Two featured a pair of crossed swords, the blades slick with fresh blood; the number Three was adorned with a stack of coins, one of which was clearly counterfeit; the number Four displayed a broken chain, its links twisted and jagged; the number Five depicted a spiralling vortex, ominously inviting, and the number Six held a radiant sun, beautiful yet somehow evil as if daring her to gaze too long.
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As Lorelei reached for it, the die settled gently into her hand, its warmth invigorating, like the adrenaline rush before the plunge. It felt perfectly balanced, pulsing with power, ready to be cast at any moment, though whether that moment would be triumph or doom felt still very much up in the air.
“This is Chance's Gambit,” Fortuna explained, her voice holding a note of something dangerously close to glee. “An artefact that bends the very fabric of reality in your favour. Cast it, and for a brief moment, you will become Luck incarnate. The odds will be ever in your favour—or not, depending on how twisted your sense of humour is.”
Lorelei hesitated, the weight of the offer pressing down on her like the proverbial sword of Damocles. “And the cost?”
“The cost is paid via your future luck,” Fortuna said, her tone turning severe, like a gambler finally showing their hand and knowing it was shittier than they'd bluffed. “This power is fleeting. It will last only a moment, and then it will take its due from your life to come. But at that moment, you will have the chance to turn the tide and win the unwinnable. Or to lose spectacularly. But that’s the fun of it, isn’t it?”
Lorelei looked at the Chimera, its massive form looming above her, drooling acidic saliva that sizzled ominously as it hit the ground. Then, she looked back at Fortuna, her resolve hardening. “I’ll take it.”
Fortuna’s eyes gleamed with approval, though Lorelei could swear there was also a hint of something else—sadness, maybe? But the moment passed as quickly as it came. “Then let the game begin.”
With a wave of her hand, the die spun through the air and dissolved into Lorelei’s chest, filling her with a surge of unimaginable power, a tidal wave of energy that threatened to sweep her away. Then the world snapped back into focus, sharper and more vibrant than ever before, and Lorelei could feel the shift in reality, the strings of fate twisting and bending to her will. She could also feel the presence of another god, a cold, calculating being who was decidedly unhappy with this latest development. Too bad.
The Chimera roared, lunging at her with renewed fury, its maw gaping wide to reveal row upon row of jagged, bloodstained teeth. But as it did so, something went wrong. Horribly, hilariously wrong. As it tried to uncoil, the ground beneath its massive weight gave way, crumbling like a soggy biscuit, causing it to slip and slide into the remnants of a stone pillar. The impact sent shards of stone flying, embedding themselves into the creature’s flesh with a sickening squelch. The beast’s head snapped back, dazed, and as it struggled to regain its composure, a massive chunk of the cathedral’s roof broke free, plummeting down like a divine hammer and striking the Chimera squarely on the skull.
The beast roared in confusion, its eyes wide with panic as the improbable sequence of events continued to unfold with all the grace of a drunken dwarf at a knife-throwing contest. It attempted to unleash
The rest of Lorelei’s party watched in bafflement as the Chimera’s tail whipped around uncontrollably, repeatedly striking its own body with enough force to crack its scales, each impact sending sprays of ichor and bone fragments flying. The creature's neck flailed helplessly, teeth tearing at its flesh, slicing through muscle and sinew recklessly. Its roars of fury turned to shrieks of agony as the beast became its own worst enemy.
Rearing back up, the Chimera tried to spit poison at Lorelei again, but its attack misfired, the liquid hitting a jagged piece of rubble at just the wrong angle. The venom ricocheted back toward it, splattering across its face with a wet slap. The acid sizzled, burning through its flesh with a smell that could only be described as a cross between burning hair and rotting meat.
As the creature flailed, trying desperately to regain control, it knocked over a series of columns around the cathedral, each one toppling like a line of grim dominoes. The final column smashed down onto the Chimera’s spine with a sickening crunch, its vertebrae shattering like brittle twigs. The beast let out a final, pitiful whimper as it collapsed, a thrashing wreck reduced to a pile of gore.
Lorelei stood her ground, the power of
As the dust settled, the cathedral grounds grew eerily quiet. The rest of Lorelei's party, still reeling from what they had just witnessed, could only stare in stunned silence as the Chimera’s body lay motionless, its blood pooling on the stone floor, spreading like a crimson tide. The impossible had happened—the unbeatable had been beaten, not by brute force, but by sheer, unrelenting lousy luck.
Even as a slew of notifications popped into her head, Lorelei felt the power within her begin to fade, the rush of energy ebbing away as her roll of
Fortuna’s voice echoed in her mind, a soft, satisfied whisper. “Well played, my Herald. Well played. But remember the cost. There is always a cost. And let’s just say, you might want to avoid casinos for a while.”
And then, just as suddenly as the voice had appeared, Fortuna was gone, leaving Lorelei and her team to bask in their hard-earned victory—or what was left of it, anyway.
Lichfield Cathedral resembled something out of a nightmare. The remains of the Chimera were strewn across the ground. Bits of flesh and bone lay scattered amidst the rubble, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and bile. The scene was so grotesque and utterly over the top that it almost felt like the System was winking at them as if to say, "Is this what you wanted? Are you not entertained?"
Lorelei couldn’t help but chuckle—a low, tired sound. Sure, they had won, but the cost was yet to be seen. She knew it would come as surely as night follows day. For now, though, they were alive, and that was enough.
For now.