“We have to stop him,” Roman said with concern in his voice as he watched Liam jump right for the giant’s head. “He’s lost his mind.”

“What is he thinking jumping in right after those vials went off?” Artem questioned with worry as Liam landed on the giant’s head.

“I…What…what are we going to do? He’s pushing himself even more than he’s ever had on the other floors,” Ariyana asked as she turned her head to the others. Tears threatened to start forming as her eyes started to water.

Blair and Avery looked at Mercer. A stern yet neutral expression rested on their faces.

Mercer felt their stares on him, but he didn’t turn to look at them. Instead, he continued to watch Liam.

“Do you think that’s what he meant?” Blair asked, finally getting the Tiefling to look at her.

“What do you mean?” Mercer inquired.

“When he said if he survives,” Blair clarified.

So, someone else did catch that. Mercer thought as he looked at Avery and saw she had the same question on her mind that Blair voiced. She did too.

Ariyana, Artem, and Roman gave her a confused look after she asked her question.

Mercer, still not entirely sure what was going on with Liam, let out a sigh. “I do think that was what he meant.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?” Ariyana asked.

“Before he left he said he couldn’t tell us what it was, but if he survived he would,” Avery explained as she watch the three look at her with the realization that he did say that.

“Then…,” Ariyana tried to say, but felt her words catch in her throat.

“I think he took a gamble on something he wasn’t entirely sure would happen,” Mercer helped her by saying what she couldn’t. “And I think he drew the short stick on that gamble.”

He turned towards the direction of where Liam was. He blinked in and out attacking anywhere and everywhere he could while a crazed laughter echoed in the room. He then disappeared right before the giant could clamp his enormous hands over him and reappeared right next to Aranis.

Anger and frustration built up within him as he watched his friend lose himself. The same feelings weren’t created just from that, but also from the fact that once again he couldn’t do anything to help. That giant being was just too powerful for any of them to handle.

He was angry and frustrated with himself.

He knew he couldn’t do anything to help but knowing that didn’t help quell these feelings and it frustrated him entirely. A sense of helplessness touched him deeply, especially after all the work he put in to try and catch up to his friend; so he didn’t have to overthink things and take on a sense of burden to make sure they were safe.

“And because of that I think he’s losing his mind to whatever power he received is consuming him,” Mercer added trying to reign in his warring emotions.

“Then we need to stop him before he gets completely taken over,” Roman stated.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Mercer snapped back. His anger slipped out as he said that and added, “Don’t you think I have tried to think of something?”

“Just because you haven’t come up with anything doesn’t mean there isn’t a way,” Roman snapped back. His anger now showing on his face as well.

Mercer was taken back from Roman snapping at him. He then took everyone else in. Really took them in and noticed each of them were trying to control their raging emotions as they tried, and failed, to hide the scowls on their faces.

Mercer could see it now. They, too, felt exactly like he did. They wanted to help their leader, but they had no clue how to. They wanted to fight by his side just like they had during the other floors, but the stage wasn’t set for them. It was those four who were the characters on this stage set up by some unknown force.

Mercer then turned to look at Aranis, Jude, and Liam. Jude had just ripped the goggles off of Liam’s face revealing his eyes.

Mercer let out a gasp as he saw the madness radiating from them. It hurt him to see his leader, his teammate, his…friend falling deep in whatever madness that was coursing through him.

“There just has to be a way to help him,” Mercer quietly whispered.

There just might be. A voice suddenly said in his mind.

Mercer’s eyes widened as he whirled around. He tried to see if he could find the source of the voice and couldn’t, but he did notice that the others were looking around as well.

I’m not in the room. I’m talking to you in each of your minds. The woman stated.

Alarms bells grew in Mercer’s mind as he heard her say this, but there was something else he noticed when she talked. It was a sense of worry and urgency.

This made Mercer confused.

“Who are you and why are you talking in my mind?” Roman said out loud, confirming Mercer’s guess that the woman was speaking to them as well.

We don’t have much time to get into everything. I’ll give you the cliff notes. The woman started again speeding up. My name is Eri. I am the Goddess Liam has mentioned to you all before.

“Are you serious?” Ariyana gasped as she brought her hands to her mouth.

“Then you know what’s going on with Liam?” Blair and Avery asked in unison with narrowed eyes.

Yes. Eri started. I wont go into full details right now. He accepted being my Champion in order to up your guys’ survival. He received the power to unseal his other half and used it to use his Zodiac Ability. However, it’s too much for him. His mind is slowly getting swallowed by the mixture of my nature and his…race’s nature.

“So, this is your fault? Can’t you retract what you gave him and save him?” Avery questioned; her hands clenched by her side.

I can not. Eri replied. Once when you accept a blessing from a Deity it can not be taken back. There are only…

“A blessing?” Ariyana suddenly shouted, tears threatening even more to escape her eyes. She threw a hand towards Liam’s direction and chastised, “How is that a blessing?! That looks more like a curse to me!”

Eri hesitated for a brief moment. She then stated, You can say that. Any blessing anyone gets from a deity can be a curse. However, he is like that because he is shouldering it all by himself and due to the nature of my blessing. He is currently the only one I have blessed.

“You’re not helping your case here,” Blair stated with a scowl. “If he is like this because of you then you have a resp…”

Mercer cut her off as he put a hand out.

Everyone turned to look at him.

They noticed the glare that was resting on his face and were taken aback. It was one thing for Avery and Blair to show open hostility, but for Mercer to look like he was trying so hard to restrain the hatred bubbling inside of him was another. They had never seen him look so mad before.

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“You said there is a way to help him?” Mercer asked, trying to keep a calm and collected mindset.

I am not going to mince words with any of you. Eri responded. After Liam and I met on the fourth floor I have been watching him and all of you. Only when you were in the dungeon floors. I have seen how he has tried to protect and make sure you all survive. I have seen his conviction and resolve to do so. What he chose to gamble on a few minutes ago can attest to it.

The six members were about to say something, but were cut off as Eri continued, However, I have seen the same in all of you towards him. Blair, you are right that I have a responsibility for what I have allowed to be unleashed and I plan to do so. But I need your help.

Avery’s, Blair’s, Mercer’s, and Roman’s eyes narrowed. Artem and Ariyana looked confused.

The two ways to save him are if he accepted a blessing from a different deity. That would cancel out everything. Eri continued. However, due to the state of his mind I don’t think he would accept it. Not only that they would have to offer him the same level of blessing I gave him, so it would be impossible.

So, the only other option we have is other one…No one will be able to truly catch his attention due to the nature running rampant. No one except for those with a blessing from the same deity. We don’t have enough time for me to fully explain how it works, but if you accept a blessing I give you, there is a chance you can get through to him long enough for him to regain some form of consciousness and deactivate his Zodiac ability. If he can manage that then he will return to normal.

“Accept a blessing you give us?” Ariyana question with a scoff. “Wouldn’t we lose our minds too like Liam?”

No. Eri said. The blessing I give you wont be at the same level of his. A Deity can only have one Champion and that level of blessing is the highest anyone can get. Instead, you will get a different one. One that should be enough for him to hesitate and listen to your words.

The six looked at each other.

Mercer noticed the unasked question lingering in their minds and decided to voice it, “What if it isn’t enough?”

Silence. The silence hung for a few seconds that Mercer thought maybe she didn’t hear him and was about to ask again, but stopped.

If you can not reach him and get him to deactivate his Zodiac Ability then…you and everyone will have to kill him before he leaves this room. Eri finally replied.

The six felt their body stiffen. Ariyana and Artem let out a gasp as Avery, Blair, and Roman felt their balled up fists dig into their palms.

“How much of a chance is there?” Artem asked.

This brought everyone’s attention to him.

He looked at them and gave them a hardened face. The resolve in his eyes spoke volumes as he continued, “If there is a chance it can work I will accept wholeheartedly. I may be a coward and not like to face scary things like this, but…How can I stay here in fear when he took the chance to try and save us. It might not have gone the way he wanted, but he did what he thought was right. I am going to do the same. For him. SO, I’ll ask again…How much of a chance is there?”

There is at least a five percent chance. Eri stated. Due to how he feels towards you guys I think it might be higher, but I don’t want to make guesses based on hope. However, I must warn you. If you do accept my blessing you will be tied to me just like him. So keep that in…

“I don’t care. I accept,” Artem repeated with no hesitation, trying not to waver.

His resolve hit Mercer. He knew Artem was right. Liam always took a risk when it came to their safety. What kind of a teammate would he be if he didn’t take a chance in saving his leader, his…friend.

“Fuck it. I accept too!” Roman said.

“Same here,” Blair joined in.

Avery looked to have some hesitation, but that was for a brief moment before she announced her choice as well.

Mercer let out a breath of air, still feeling a bit mad, but not as mad as he was before. A chance had presented itself and he wasn’t going to let his old habit of not taking chances on low probabilities stop him.

“I accept too,” Mercer finally stated.

Everyone turned to look at Ariyana. She seemed hesitant as she looked from Liam to them. They could see some conflict warring inside her head.

Mercer was about to tell her it was okay if she didn’t accept, but Ariyana beat him to the punch.

“We wont lose our minds if we accept, right?” Ariyana asked.

No, not at that level. You will still be conscious and be able to make decisions for yourself with this level of blessing. Eri answered.

“Then I have one last question for you,” Ariyana started, looking unsure of herself again.

What is it? Eri asked.

“You wont get mad if I punch him after we save him right?” Ariyana meekly asked.

The question caught everyone off guard after she asked it. So much so, not only did they start laughing, but Eri did as well.

I wont get mad. Eri answered. In fact, could you please punch him once for me too?

Ariyana let out a chuckle as she nodded her head.

Alright then I take it you all accept my blessing? Eri asked.

Mercer and the others glanced at each other once more before they said, “Yes, I accept.”

Eri smiled, happy to know her champion had people willing to take a bet that could possibly not go the way they wanted to.

I want to inform you that you might not be able to truly fight on equal terms with those four after receiving this blessing, but you will be able to aide them with it. Eri said. However, you have one shot at helping Liam return to his senses. When the right moment comes I’ll signal when to…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jude stared at Liam who was just laughing at him.

Before he could do or say anything however, three Shadow Hands and three Lunar Hands appeared around Liam. He took out several daggers and threw them up for the free hands to grab and then suddenly disappeared from his sight.

Jude looked around and saw Liam had reappeared right in front of the giant’s face and slashed with each hand.

Liam then puffed out of sight to reappear behind the back of the creature to strike again.

The giant turned around to slap a massive hand at him, but missed as Liam puffed out of harms way.

Jude watched him as he not only continually did this, but also successfully grabbed the giant’s attention. He was like an annoying fly that he couldn’t catch. That wasn’t the only thing that Jude saw though. This next bit had him a bit worried. He noticed it when the Shadow Hands had appeared and confirmed it as he puffed in and out.

The raven black shadow like substance that covered his legs to his knees were starting to grow and cover more of his body. The same was true where his shadowy cat ears were. They were slowly covering the top of his head.

If he continues to use that power he will be engulfed in the shadows. Jude thought. But at the same time, it because of him doing that he is able to grab the giant’s attention allowing us to do what we can. Maybe with this we can send…

Before he could finish his thoughts he heard several shouts of rallying cries coming from each corner of the room.

Aranis, Inyis, and Jude looked around to see their teammates rushing towards them.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Jude started.

“You need to get out of here before you get hurt!” Aranis ordered.

“No,” Bernard replied. “We are here to back you up however we can.”

“What do you mean?” Aranis questioned as he took a few steps back from them. If you get any closer I might…”

“You don’t have to worry about us getting hurt. Especially by your new powers,” Anna interrupted.

Jude looked at his teammates.

They all stared at him with resolve as Mica stated, “We can help you keep the balance where it is needed.”

“But how? There’s no way you can…,” Jude was starting to argue, dead set on wanting to make them leave the room before one of them died.

“We received a blessing from the Goddess that made you her champion,” Lapis said to Inyis as each of her teammates nodded.

“She did what?!” Inyis shouted.

“That troublesome bitch,” Jude muttered to himself. He then focused his thoughts on the one person he was both angry with and relieved with, You just like to make things more difficult don’t you, Themi.

Please don’t confuse me for my sister young Jude. The Goddess stated back to him, with a somewhat warm tone in her voice. I am just balancing things out since you have your hands full with just that one Chaotic child running amok.

Jude grew a slight scowl as he growled in a low volume, “Don’t remind me.”

He then turned back to the look at the giant before letting out a long groan as he watched three figures suddenly run straight for the giant.

Artem, with as much speed as he could push, placed his shield right in front of him with hard wooden spikes protruding from it. Blair, her dragon-folk physique on full display with her scales covering parts of her body and her small wings flapping, flew right above Artem with her axe trailing right behind her. The last was Roman who ran besides Artem with lightning covering his hands.

Behind them, Ariyana was channeling a massive amount of mana while Mercer, revealing all of his Tiefling physical traits, played his violin loudly and proudly.

Avery too looked to be doing something, what it was she was doing he wasn’t sure, but he noticed Aranis staring at her with wide eyes. It looked like he knew what she was doing and it was enough to make him surprised.

As Jude stared at them he noticed the look on their faces. Their eyes were hardened, ready to take on the world no matter how powerful the opponent they were facing was. At the same time, he felt a shiver run down his spine as he also noticed the slight smirk on their faces. The smirk they had reminded him of the crazed smirk that was currently on Liam’s face.

They, just like the other members of each team, were not done with this fight. They were willing to fight and help take down the creature just like the four of them were. He couldn’t turn that down, no matter what.

Jude resigned the argument he was ready to make, but instead shouted, “Alright, my team you’re on damage control. Do not let anyone lose control over themselves. If you see any signs of that try to balance it out.”

“What if crazy man causes it?” Henry questioned as he stared at Liam.

Jude looked to Liam then back at Henry and replied, “Then call for me. I’ll handle whatever kind of chaos mess he makes.”