Zoe stared into the Gambler’s eyes. For a long minute, neither of them blinked. Though maybe the Gambler only blinked for her benefit. As far as Zoe understood things, his whole human appearance was for her benefit.
This was a trap. It had to be. The offers of rewards — of killing Trinch — had a catch, she just didn’t know what it was. She felt stupid for even considering it. This was the worst kind of trap, the kind that didn’t hide what it was.
“What are the stakes?” she asked in a stalling attempt that fooled nobody.
The Gambler smiled.
“Let’s say everything? Yeah? Or more concretely, there will be multiple games and multiple prizes. You will wager your levels, your soul, and the lives of others. In return, I will offer bounties beyond your wildest dreams.”
Zoe nodded, considering, but they both knew what she was about to say.
“I’ll play.”
And she knew, deep down, that it was her need to win that made her agree to play. It wasn’t her curse — it wasn’t her scars of gluttony — no, her system was removed in this enclosed dimension, and so she had to face the knowledge that she would risk the unknown for a chance at revenge.
After watching Trinch murder Crik and Princh. After feeling the shock run up her arm as his bone buried itself in their bodies. Being used like a tool…
She was not a blade; she was a surgeon.
A deep, uncomfortable rage bubbled up…
But this wasn’t news to her, just more of the same, and she felt her mood sour. Change was difficult, and enlightenment was difficult, but it felt like she had made no progress since the system first rang her head like a bell.
The Gambler snapped his fingers, and the office went dark. The complete darkness of a room removed from all light. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t be.
For a single slice of time, and then she was somewhere else.
###
Bella stood in the doorway to the study with her sword brandished against the invisible assailants coming down the corridor. Heat pulsed from her blade, and the rippling air made the blade squirm.
Behind her, in the book-lined confines of the study, Anton pored through the journals of the man who kept this mansion. The journals of Zazzatha. Within them lay the clue to the second Mirrorbell Fragment. Even if Zoe fell down the hole, Bella had to believe they could finish the quest.
At first, they both read, but when the thin men ripped the door from its hinges, Anton defended them. He fought with fists like the wind, but had no other weapon, and so Bella’s runeblade joined the conflict. She couldn’t hit the thin men without Anton’s guidance. Piercing the veil between dimensions requires a precision that she couldn’t guess. So she relied on him to point out the advancing monsters. Her blade packed enough of a punch for both of them, and it turned out his advanced Insight let him read faster.
His nine ghostly eyes hung about the room and corridor.
“Two feet at twelve o’clock,” he said over his shoulder as he opened a new leather-bound book. “Thrust and slash.”
Bella stepped forward. Her blade leaped into position. Powered by intent and the threads of her Skein, she stabbed between dimensions. The side table in the hallway rattled. A vase fell and hit the floor and cracked.
“Three more coming,” Anton said. “Slash left, right, up.”
Bella burned her Skein to boost her Dexterity and sliced her way down the corridor. Heat peeled and bubbled the wallpaper. Sweat dripped down her neck and plastered her blonde hair to her forehead. It felt like cutting through nothing at all, but she swung as hard as possible, slashed with all her might and coordination. The tension was real.
[Attention Earthlings. I have incorporated your world into the Crimson Armada system, and now you have a genuine chance to join our civilization. Settlement Polyps will launch toward your planet. They will land within twelve hours. By accessing these polyps you will build safety and order amongst the chaos of the system’s other changes. I will disable all safe zones upon the launch of the polyps. Should you find a polyp and activate it, you will generate new safe zones. Good luck.]
A chill ran down Bella’s spine. So, it was aliens. Someone had done this to Earth, trapped her in this situation. Not a random phenomenon, not something accidental.
She sighed. This wasn’t fair. So many people’s lives — the entire world — all destroyed, and not even a reason given. She didn’t recognize the voice. Was it Earth’s new leader? And what the hell was a Settlement Polyp?
“Did you receive that, Anton?”
“Sure did. Don’t think it changes much.”
Bella ran a finger down the blistering hot metal blade. Her skin remained untouched. More thin men would come down the hallway soon. They always came in waves.
“No, I don’t reckon it does."
“Look out.”
A chair flung at her from the dark end of the hall. She swung. The halves of furniture clattered upon the wooden floorboards as she backed up to her position in the doorway. First, they threw objects, then they charged.
[Initiating Phase 9: spawning Demons, Angels, Dragons, and Mubilashi.]
What?
The voice was not the usual system voice, but it still sounded familiar. And hadn’t the last phase been 5?
[Initiating Phase 6: launching Settlement Polyps…]
“That’s concerning,” Anton said as he compared two pages of similar handwriting. “You think it’s in our favor or not? Stab at two o’clock.”
Bella stabbed. The unlit chandelier shook as ghostly blood sprayed across it in another dimension.
“What do you mean?”
“If the system mixes up its phases, then it means that it’s not an organized machine. It can make mistakes. But whether that’s good or bad…? Oh, I think I found it.”
Bella shook her head. If Earth was being hacked apart because of some mistakes in the cosmic gears, did that make it more tragic? Or less?
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“What did you find?”
Anton pulled a bookshelf aside. The heavy timber crashed into the floor and sent books and scrolls spilling. He stepped through the billowing cloud of dust and rapped his knuckles against the wall. On the second rap, a hollow echo sounded.
He punched through the wall and pulled out a fragment of the Mirrorbell that looked like a large metal bowl.
“Found it!”
Bella hoped the quest would update, but it seemed they needed Zoe for that. Before her disappointment settled in, the mansion groaned.
[You have triggered a trap!]
Dust fell from the ceiling as the walls and floorboards breathed.
[Escape the mansion before it collapses into the dimension of the thin men!]
[Seconds remaining: 60]
[59]
[58]
Anton sprinted past her.
“The windows in the greenhouse!” he said as he bolted. “It’s our only hope.
Bella gritted her teeth and ran after him. She clutched her sword in one hand, its heat dying, and hoped she didn’t brush past any thin men on her way to the greenhouse. She didn’t want to be disemboweled by clawed fingers she couldn’t see or feel.
But the faster she ran, the slower she went. The hallway stretched out like warm caramel. Her feet sank into the floorboards. Air stuck to her skin. She called out to Anton but the words caught in her throat as time crawled.
[57]
[57]
[57]
[Hello Bella, it’s good to speak with you again.]
If her eyes could have widened, they would have. She recognized the voice as the same person who announced Phase 9. The same person who gave her the Charm of the Monsoon Fairy.
The Gambler.
[57]
[I’m delighted that you remember me! Absolutely tickled pink. If I could be tickled that is…. well… maybe I can! If anyone finds out, I’m sure it will be you. But enough about you and me, let’s get back to you and you alone!]
[57]
[56]
[Appears you’re in a sticky situation. Do you think you can make it to the greenhouse in time? You’ll have to run through the whole of the west wing, pass through the library, and then climb the stairs to get around the billiards room. By my calculations, it will be close! Not to mention all the thin men!]
[55]
Bella struggled to run, to move, to speak. If she could move she could make it, she had to believe she could make it.
[55]
[55]
[Yes, it’s not fair that I’m holding you in place while the building prepares to eat itself, but still, life isn’t fair, is it? Nothing is fair except the toss of a coin, the roll of a die, and the spinning of a wheel. Some prefer cards, but me? I prefer chance, and that is what I am offering you, Bella, a chance! A chance at greatness, a chance at life. All you have to do is accept my offer and I will pull you away from this explosion. Once the game is over, I will place you outside the mansion. You have my word, so will you play?]
Bella felt her throat unfreeze while the rest of her body remained stuck in molten time.
[54]
“Anton are you…,” her frozen words emerged, and she took a second to think of how to respond. “This is obviously a trick.”
[54]
[Did I mention I have Zoe here waiting for you?]
“I don’t believe you.”
[Now that hurts my feelings. I promise she’s here, in fact, she’s your team captain.]
An image flashed into Bella’s mind of Zoe sitting in a dingy office with a glass of bourbon in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She looked dazed and worn out, but alive, and uninjured.
“Will you take Anton as well?”
[Do you want me to? I could leave him behind. Trip him up a little. He doesn’t have to make it out of the mansion if you don’t want him to.]
[54]
[53]
The bizarre cosmic entity's attention made her skin crawl, but she could do nothing to shake it off. Her gaze remained fixed on Anton’s back. He still held the Mirrorbell fragment. His eyes glowed like floating dandelion seeds throughout the hall.
She didn’t like him, but they worked well together. Would he do the same for her? Maybe he was speaking with the Gambler right now. This could be a classic prisoner’s dilemma where they each had a chance to sell the other short.
[No, don’t worry about that. I’m only interested in you. He can be your plus one.]
[53]
[52]
“Why are you obsessed with me?”
[I’m not obsessed! Just interested.]
[52]
[52]
[Now tell me your answer. I don’t enjoy waiting, and you’re out of time.]
[10]
[9]
[8]
Bella stumbled forward. Time moved around her at a disconcertingly normal pace.
[7]
“Take us both!”
Anton turned around.
“Huh? What do you —”
And the Gambler plucked them from one dimension and threw them into another.
###
Zoe appeared behind a tan podium. Her entire body tensed, heaved, and she stumbled in the dark. There was enough light to see a floor covered in sand and a ceiling painted a brilliant sky blue. A large circle of glass sat above the stage.
In the dark, she could make out rows of shuffling silhouettes. Eyes glinted as a seated audience watched her with rapt attention. Aliens and humans of different shapes and sizes chattered among themselves, but Zoe only saw their lips moving. No sound reached her over the pounding of her heart. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead as she gripped the podium.
Her guts felt like they wanted to crawl up her throat and leap out of her mouth.
A hand gripped her shoulder. She spun, ready to lash out in the first steps of the Grasping Vine. Mirror flushed her skin as she activated [Self Reflects The World].
Bella stood behind her.
Zoe’s technique canceled in surprise. The blonde woman seemed tired and frazzled, but intact. For a moment, they both stared at each other and then Zoe wrapped her up in a hug. It was so easy to lift her, to spin around, and plant her back down on the ground. They laughed, but there was no sound. Zoe’s heartbeat spiked as she realized she was muted, but it did not diminish her joy at seeing Bella again. She wanted to kiss her on both cheeks and tell her about everything that happened.
Anton blinked into appearance upside down. He landed hard and awkwardly on the ground and swore. Zoe could tell the words, but couldn’t hear them. He rose, rubbing his neck, and gave her a nod.
She nodded back.
And her ears popped.
Lights blinked on. The chatter of the audience became a deafening buzz. Two other podiums appeared, with three humans standing behind each one. A deep, syrupy voice roared out over hidden speakers.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the system, get ready to meet your favorite host! The Gambler!”
The audience roared their approval. Clapping. Stamping feet. The Gambler danced out from behind a khaki curtain and waved. Someone threw flowers at his feet. Several aliens swooned. It was so over the top that Zoe couldn’t even tell if it was real or not, but the applause still struck her.
The hollering grew painful. Sound throbbed. The sand on the ground bounced and skipped. Blood leaked from Zoe’s ears. Her temple pounded, as though her eyes might pop.
The Gambler snapped his fingers, and the brutal auditory assault ceased.
“Welcome, one and all, to your favorite show, my favorite show, and the greatest opportunity of our contestants’ lives! It’s. The. Magnifying Glass!”
The audience roared again, and blood poured from Zoe’s nose and ears. Her eyes leaked tears like Miserable Henry as she swayed. Bella and Anton collapsed to the ground. Zoe leaned against the podium but her sweaty fingers slipped. Darkness pounded into her vision in rhythm to the applause.
She fell unconscious before she hit the sand, but the audience only cheered louder. And, egging on their cheers, the Gambler waved and smiled his golden grin.