In the heart of an ancient abyss so deep even Death sometimes lost her way in its vastness, under the soft, ethereal glow of an enigmatic light, bereft of any source, stood a solitary table. Upon it rested a game board with its pieces half-shrouded in shadow, and around it, two figures gathered. An elderly gentleman with a face weathered by time, and a woman as elusive as a midnight whisper. An ethereal figure wrapped in hues of crimson, an alluring enigma. Every aspect of her being, from her fiery locks that cascaded down her shoulders to the ruby gloss of her lips, her long, manicured nails, and her penetrating gaze, all mirrored the same sanguine shade. Her attire, as arresting as the woman herself, skirted the edge of propriety. The garment’s gossamer-thin material clung to her figure like a second skin, revealing and concealing in equal measure, locked in eternal dance of seduction, leaving just enough to the imagination.
“What happened with not playing games with mortal’s lives? I thought you were not interested, old timer?”
Old timer? Kunfayo gazed at the smiling goddess, sipping her thick, burgundy wine right beside him. Old timer? A frown creased the face of the elder god. If anyone, this old hag deserved more than anyone the name of THE ancient one but, he gazed into her eyes of blood and remained silent. Some things were better left unsaid. Instead, he focused on the game, shook his dies in a wooden cup and cast them against the board with a THUD! All under the watchful eyes of his companion.
“People change. Times have changed. Can I not change my mind as well?”
He asked, removing a dwarf shaped pawn from the board and letting it dissolve in his palm after it did his bidding.
“Is that so?”
The woman’s manicured fingers greedily closed around the deserted dice. The Game again hers to play. Kunfayo could see the pleasure she felt as the dice rolled.
She watched the dice with a smile and where they stopped, she pressed her finger against the board. And that was that. No smirking, no cursing, no emotion at all. As if the act of casting those dice dwarfed the game itself.
Then he saw the other pawns move throughout the board and his ears twitched, twisting his face into a content smirk. That should be interesting.
“Love, I don’t think this is the right place. It does not feel like the right place. Are you sure it was here?”
Guided by the steady hand of her lover, another heavenly patron approached their table and their solitary game.
“Ah, but it is the right place and the perfect time.”
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Kunfayo watched as the woman in red left her place and went to greet the newcomers. He watched as the women hugged, theirs lips locked in a passionate kiss. He watched as the stern eyes of god of vengeance, Sherltion, measured the one flirting with his love. Kunfayo saw his jaw tighten and his hand clench around the hilt of his sword but still, the god of vengeance suffered it in silence. He too knew what it would entail.
“I see you got my gift and my invitation. How do you like it?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
With her cheeks bathed in scarlet, Aria, the goddess of justice responded with a meek smile.
“I just… Are you sure it suits me? I honestly can’t tell and this bum of mine won’t say a thing even if I nag him whole day.”
Aria poked her lover’s arm, pouting her lips. Her eyes forever closed and her world shrouded in an eternal night, left her ignorant of the gifts nature. The dress she wore, shimmering like a moon-kissed river under the faint light, outlined her figure with a shocking boldness, the neckline plunging in an audacious dare. Each sway of her hips made the hem of the dress dance dangerously high, revealing more than it hid.
A palpable tension threaded the air as Aria made her way for the table and sat with Sherltion’s help. The gentleman’s genteel facade slipped for a moment, his gaze lingering longer than it should. The woman in red watched them with an inscrutable smile.
None of them dared to protest the scandalus nature of the dress Aria wore or the heavy golden choker locked around her neck. Sherltion spent long three days, persuading her she did not need the chain leash that came with the collar for him to guide her. His arm would suffice. Although, he almost rolled his eyes, Aria still insisted on wearing the other gifts that came along the dress.
“It is perfect and you came just in time for your turn.”
Aria found herself holding the simple wooden cup. The dice inside gave a pleasant clicking sound while she rocked the cup in her hands.
“Oh, this is nice indeed.”
She made one more vigorous shake and cast the dice against the board. Her cheeks flared up when a defining thud rocked the silence around them. Terrified mortals thought the world rushed for cover for it seemed as if the sky was to fall and crush them, punishing their sins.
“I cast the dice. Um, what do I do now?”
“Now, you move your pawn.”
“My pawn?”
“Here, let me help you.”
The woman in red leaned over Aria and guided her hand over the board, making her blind fingers close around a pawn. Her pawn. Of that the goddess was sure. Well, not really. It was a slightly slimy one with questionable moral core and… the longer she held it the less she was sure this indeed was her pawn. Aside its title, it had little to no qualities she favored.
“Now, move it.”
Putting her trust in her old friend, Aria pushed the pawn in the direction her judgment told her fitting. At first it did not want to budge. She had to rock it to make it move but when it did, It’s movement pleased her.
“That felt good. Was it a good move?”
She raised her unseeing eyes at her friend.
“Yes, a very good move indeed.”
A certain lowly human, screaming obscenities and waving his fists at the sky, begged to differ.