As the pain in her neck slowly withdrew, Sydney finally found herself able to focus on Lode again. “There is no time limit when it comes to the Game. Each of you shall be placed a considerable distance away from the Adamantine Tower. Reaching it, in and of itself, is a major facet of the Game of Gods. But it would be inadvisable to tarry or take too long. After all, who knows what your opponents may be doing while you are idle?”

Sydney narrowed her eyes, slowly scanning the different platforms. She had to wonder what the other Chosen were thinking about. Were they excited about this? Horrified? Certainly, Joshua looked like a nervous wreck.

But she had to at least assume the others had every intention of winning. Becoming a god, whatever that entailed, was doubtless a very tempting prospect.

For her part, Sydney was at least intrigued about the prize. It sounded cool, at least. But more than that, if she was in a competition… she intended to win. That was just in her nature. And she certainly wasn’t about to roll over and let someone beat her to the punch.

“Well shit,” Sydney muttered, rubbing the raw skin of her neck. “Guess it’s more exciting than a day at the gym.” Would she kill anyone? Probably not. At least, she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. But ultimately she doubted everyone would share her compunctions.

Her attention was once more drawn to Lode, who now sported an eerie smile. “I’m sure you all have my questions and concerns. Alas, the Tuath Dé do not wish for things to be delayed for too long. And it’s not my job to offer explanations. But, rest assured, you will have a guide to answer your queries. The very spirit who welcomed you into this plane.”

Sydney’s gaze shifted briefly toward Tulpa, who offered her a sweet smile in return. “You and me are gonna travel together?”

“It will be very exciting!” she whispered back. “I have studied Elmyria extensively.”

Somehow that didn’t embolden her.

“And now, dear Chosen,” Lode called out, his voice louder than thunder, raising his hand. “I bid you good luck… and goodbye!”

He snapped his fingers. A white hot flash engulfed her vision.

A warm breeze caressed her face. When she took a breath, her lungs were filled with a rush of humid air. Slowly, with great effort, Sydney opened her eyes to see a great red sky above her. And, beneath her, was a great swathe of sandy ground.

Sydney struggled to her feet, feeling the grit and sand beneath her palms. Now that she had a physical body again, everything felt much more… sluggish than it had been when she was a spirit. But she told herself she’d adjust again as she dusted off her jogging pants. She looked to her left, then to her right, and saw nought but sandy dunes as far as the eye could see.

Slowly, she turned around in a full 180, and froze at what came into view. The Adamantine Tower was like a distant spike on the horizon. Undoubtedly an immense distance away, yet still so massive that it provided a landmark she could easily follow.

“How the shit am I gonna make it to there?! Walk?!” she called out, her voice echoing into the distant mesas.

“Well, at least some of the way.”

The voice made Sydney glance all around her, fearful that one of the Chosen had been dumped right beside her. Instead all she found was a sleek, blue-furred fox. Sydney stared at it for several long moments. “Tulpa?” she warily asked.

“Indeed! Spirits like myself can freely change our shapes. And when I’m in material planes, I like to experiment with different forms.”

“Oh, uh.. neat…” Sydney murmured. Just so long as Tulpa didn’t start hovering around her as a nagging blue fairy. “So what do we do? I mean, this distance is nuts.”

“You’ll find a way. Some distance on foot, some distance on a mount, some distance in a vehicle… it’ll be a great adventure!” She grinned, as best a fox could, twitching her fluffy ears.

“Yeah, right…” She took a few steps forward, sand and gravel crunching under her shoes. She was still wearing the exercise gear she had died in. Which wasn’t exactly ‘heroic’ as far as drip went, but it was at least somewhat practical for a trek through the badlands. She reached up to rub her neck, only to wince at the patch of raw-feeling skin she touched.

“Tch! Right, this fuckin’ mark…” She shot a quick look to Tulpa. “Alright, well… tell me more about this thing? What can I do with it?”

Lode had called it a weapon, and that it was reflective of a mythological being, but the weird prick hadn’t deigned to elaborate on anything in detail.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“How best to describe this in terms you may understand…” Tulpa padded after her, swishing her brush-like tail from side to side as she went. “A Divine Brand is like a… superpower, each one unique. Growing and evolving through training and exposure to dangerous situations. In your case, your Brand is Hercules… Or, Heracles if you prefer. Frankly we use the names interchangeably in the Place Betwixt.”

“And he’s that strong guy, yeah? Son of Zeus? Did all those great labours?” She had vague memories of watching that one animated movie as a kid. Catchy music aside, she was willing to bet it wasn’t an accurate representation of the myth.

“Indeed. Which means that you, in turn, are strong.”

“Wait, for real?” Sydney asked, coming to a sudden halt. She didn’t feel any different, save for the stinging feeling in her neck. ”I don’t need to shout a magic word or anything, right? I’m just naturally stronger?”

Tulpa shrugged her fuzzy shoulders. “You can shout whatever you wish. But, yes, the power needs no activation.”

Time to test the theory, Sydney reasoned. She quickly spied a rock that was nearly as large as her torso, partially covered in prickly blue moss. Sydney made her way over and crouched in front of it, settling her hands beneath it. She braced herself and moved to lift with her knees-

And rose up so sharply, with so little resistance, that the boulder was catapulted high into the air. It soared skyward, the air violently whistling in protest, and vanished into the thin clouds high above.

Sydney stared, slack jawed and wide eyed.

“All Chosen are stronger and tougher than normal humans by default. A little something to aid with survival,” Tulpa casually explained, looking up to where the boulder had disappeared. “Of course, in your case, your strength and toughness have been massively magnified beyond those levels. It would be prudent to be mindful of your own strength.”

“Holy crap,” Sydney mumbled, only half-hearing her.

“Still, that is a rather impressive level of strength to have when you’re just starting out. Hercules certainly ranks highly in that area. Still, don’t get careless and overconfident in brute strength.”

“Holy crap,” Sydney repeated. She finally snapped to attention, examining her raised arms. She had always paid ample time toward weight training, but her old dumbbells had nothing on this. “Wait… if every Chosen has one of these Brand thingies, what if someone has the power to fly or whatever? That’s kind of an unfair advantage,” she reasoned.

Not that she wasn’t pleased with her new strength, of course.

“I can’t divulge details on the other Divine Brands. Yours is the only one I was briefed about. But, I assure you, the gods would not give any single Chosen an unfair advantage like that.”

Sydney gave her companion a flat look. With how bizarre and, frankly, fucked up this entire situation was… she didn’t know if she could entirely believe her assessment of things. But, she supposed, it would make the Game rather boring if one Chosen could massively outpace the others.

A sharp whistling sound tore through the air, growing louder by the second. The rock returned to the earth with a thunderous crash a few dozen meters behind Sydney, kicking up a colossal cloud of dust and debris. The tremor nearly knocked Sydney off her feet. She winced, running a hand through her tangled mane of hair.

She’d need to be careful with strength like that.

“Let’s… keep moving.” She trudged on, flanked by Tulpa. “Making it to this Adamantine Tower is the most important thing. Even if I start jumping across this wasteland Hulk-style, it’ll take ages to make any real progress. And I’ll probably tire myself out. So before I get into anything crazy, I’ll need supplies.”

“Ah, most astute! Indeed for as tough as you are, you’ll still need to eat, drink, and sleep like any normal human. So, stocking up would be ideal.”

They kept walking for some time. In the intense heat and humidity of the day, Sydney was unwilling to exert herself too much until she had access to water. The great red sun beat down on them every step of the way. Sydney was grateful whenever a cloud drifted overhead, providing some modicum of shade.

Tulpa never seemed to notice the heat at all.

Eventually, their path took them up a steep and rocky incline. While it was an awkward trek, the altitude would help give Sydney a better lay of the land. Ideally, it would point her toward some semblance of civilization so she could stock up.

Though, admittedly, she hadn’t got any money. Or whatever passed for money on Elmyria.

Eh, she’d figure something out.

As they reached the top of the incline, Sydney scanned the horizon, squinting against the harsh sunlight. In the distance, she spotted what appeared to be a cluster of squat buildings, bordering a shimmering oasis. Relief washed over her at the sight of it, and Sydney soon found herself grinning stupidly. She wouldn’t die of thirst right out of the gate, at least.

Plumes of smoke rose from several of the buildings, belched up from an assortment of tin chimneys. The Elmyrians had some kind of industrial technology, at least.

Tulpa chuckled softly at Sydney's eager expression. "Looks like we have our destination," she remarked, her fluffy tail swishing back and forth.

Sydney nodded, a determined look breaking out across her face. Come on, let’s get moving.” She started downhill, mindful of her footing on the jagged rocks. “So like… Do I need to be worried about language? Somehow I doubt English is the local dialect out here.” Academics had never been her forte, and having to learn an entire alien language just to survive out here… the thought alone sounded painful, making Sydney wince.

“It’s not, but… well, don’t worry about it. The necessary precautions have been made to handle the language barrier.”

Sydney gave her a curious look. “Which means…?” she asked.

Tulpa offered her a knowing smile. “You’ll see when we get there.”

“Fine, fine, be cryptic about it if you want.”

The two pressed on toward the settlement side by side. This was all still borderline insane as far as Sydney was concerned. But she had always been a woman to take life as it came. If this was where circumstances, or even the gods themselves, had conspired to dump her then so be it.

“A battle royale to become a god?” she mused, tucking her hands into her jacket pockets. “Bring it on.”