“Please calm yourself, Maximillian Carter, you are safe here.”

The voice seemed to come from the very air around him. It enveloped Max like a warm blanket, the sound of it easing the aching burn of his muscles and slowing his breathing. Even the constant heat of the surroundings seemed to lessen to a more comfortable level. Then he saw who the voice belonged to and he knew why.

Standing at one end of the room, where she clearly hadn’t been a second before, was the most perfect woman Max had ever seen. Even through the haze that surrounded everything in this place he could tell that everything about her was perfectly proportioned, perfectly structured, just… perfect. And then he understood that there was only one possible answer to who this woman could be. She was a god.

The gods were the one universally agreed upon good thing to come from the gates. It was largely believed that it was their influence that allowed for the first hunters to emerge and whenever someone was lucky enough to receive their blessing directly and become a champion, said person almost always became a core pillar of their country if not the world at large.

Max’s parents, like most hunters were devout worshipers of the gods of the gate. And he had remained so even after he lost contact with them. It was believed by some that paying tribute to the gods could raise one’s chances of awaking as a hunter. Max didn’t totally believe that rumor, but he would take any chance he could get.

“Yes, Maximillian Carter, I am one of the beings you would refer to as gods.” She spoke as if reading his mind.

This confirmation would have made Max kneel or bow or something, if he wasn’t so stunned. So he only stood there staring dumbly at the true vision standing in front of him. The goddess twittered a laugh that wasn’t quite sweet and continued on.

“Be at ease, you have been brought to this realm with a very special purpose. I believe you are in possession of something of great value.”

Max felt a slight tugging as the necklace he normally kept hidden just beneath his shirt began to levitate up until it was hanging free on the outside for all to see. It was the last thing his mother had entrusted to him before she left to see her family. She told him it was very special, an artifact from the time of the original dungeon breaks. She said it was supposed to bring him luck, but he knew the real reason she made him swear to keep it on his person at all times. One theory was that prolonged contact with a magical artifact could increase one’s chance of awakening as a hunter.

But Max now knew that theory was bullshit. Because he hadn’t taken it off once in the years since his mother’s disappearance and not a single thing about him had changed. Until now, he thought ruefully as the goddess started speaking again.

“It is your purpose to deliver that relic to me, and in exchange I promise that you will be well compensated.”

It seemed almost too good to be true. Like an offer Max would get in a dream. Images of the little girl’s terrified face flashed through his mind. No, not a dream. This was the furthest thing possible from a dream.

“Um, miss uh… goddess; do you think instead of me, could you do something for all of those other people?”

Her face didn’t change from its serene form as she answered him, except for her eyes which flickered as though he had just mentioned something unsightly.

“Yes, I must apologize for your rough treatment. Please understand that it was never my intention to frighten you. It was simply a necessity in order to bring you into a space more closely aligned with our realm.”

Max’s mind caught, like he’d just snapped his head back from walking into a wall.

“D-Does that mean that you were the one who caused that dungeon break?” his voice was quiet, no longer filled with the same reverence that it once was.

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“Of course,” she said with more than a hint of pride filling her voice. “Did you really think there was anything that we were incapable of doing? Everything that has transpired in your world has been according to our designs from the very beginning.”

Max’s mind stopped. He couldn’t think. It was as if his entire world had just disappeared and left him in pure void. The gods were responsible for the dungeons. Not the other way around. Then all the deaths, all the suffering… everything that had ever gone wrong in his life, the reason the world had been so twisted was all…

“It’s all your fault you bast-!”

But before the spur of the moment thought could finish leaving his throat he felt a massive pressure crush him into the floor. It was as if a boulder had suddenly been placed onto his back.

“You dare!” This voice was male and the force pushing Max down seemed to swell with each syllable he spoke. “An insolent mortal dares to pass judgment on the gods! I ought to crush you into the dirt where you belong for even thinking such an affront!”

“Now, now,” the goddess said with a hint of mirth in her tone, “this mortal was kind enough to bring me a very valuable gift; it wouldn’t do to be so inhospitable with him.”

All at once Max felt the pressure lift from his body but in the same breath he could feel a tug from around his neck as his pendent was torn from him and hovered over to the goddess. Next to her stood another figure, equally as obscured by the haze of this world, but no less perfect looking.

“Really sister, I don’t see why you feel the need to coddle these mortals. Just take what you want.”

“Good brother, you and I will simply never agree on how to best handle mortals. You may only wish to see the strong, but I find the ebb and flow from weakness to strength infinitely more entertaining.

She turned to address Max with her next line.

“So my dear mortal, won’t you accept my blessing in exchange for your precious pendent? Please allow me to help with the struggle of your everyday life.”

Despite it all Max almost laughed. Five minutes ago he would have killed for an offer like this. For the chance to finally gain the power he’d been lacking his entire life. He’d be lying, as much as he hated to admit it, if he didn’t confess to some temptation even now, to accept her offer. To be able to go back and show all those bastards who made his life hell for years what it meant to feel weak with his own power.

But would it be his power? It was true that those hunters lucky enough to be blessed by the gods were incredibly powerful, but it was a borrowed power. And as he had just learned it came from a source that had been responsible for the worst tragedy in human history. These gods didn’t care about humanity; at least not so much more than what they could do to entertain them.

Max wanted power; he wouldn’t lie to himself about that. But the thought of getting it by becoming a game piece for these pricks. Nothing but a tool for them… The face of the little girl flashed through his mind once more. No not for them. Anyone but them.

“Go fuck yourself.” He said it calmly. The most self-assured he had sounded in a long time. And then the screaming started.

Pain, white hot and agonizing invaded every pore of his body. It felt like he was suddenly thrown into the center of the sun. A cold laughter echoed out across the room. As Max strained to look up, he noticed that the haze surrounding the goddess had lifted a bit, and then he understood. That fog had not been to obscure his vision; it was for his protection, some kind of barrier between him and the god’s divine power. It was a courtesy and now she wasn’t feeling quite so kind.

“I do beg you to reconsider. Without my power you will never have a chance to get your due from all those who have wronged you. Please don’t make me so rude as to be unable to show my gratitude in this way.”

Max had never heard something so polite sound so threatening. And with each step closer to him the goddess took he felt a new more intense wave of pain overtakes him. All thoughts of trying to tough it out were eradicated as Max shrieked in agony.

“Please, you don’t need to do this to yourself.” Her words may have been gentle but the satisfied smile on her face showed how much she was relishing this. She looked down on Max’s face clearly expecting an answer.

And he had one for her. He knew that her next step would be too much. If he didn’t do this now he’d never get another chance. So he mustered up his remaining strength, thought of every last low life who had ever condescended to him like this over the course of his life, and stuck up his middle finger at her.

“A-And you really need to do this to yourself.”

The goddesses eyes widened in genuine surprise and the brother let out a roar as if he was about to rip Max limb from limb, but before either of them could act an incredible rumbling shook the entire tower they were in. The goddess looked around frantically and true fear flashed across her face for the briefest of moments. She went to take another step before a deeper rumble once again stopped her.

She hissed under her breath.

“Well, I tried, but it seems you’ve caught the attention of a truly despicable creature. May your death be swift and painless, though if it’s him then I doubt you’ll be that lucky?”

And then Max felt another pulling sensation and once again he was gone.