“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”

Aristotle Onassis

The rampaging bull had stopped, and silence had taken over the North End Savers Supermarket. Bethany listened to the stillness and peeked her head over the cooler. A half dozen eye cameras sailing over the store to capture the action, but the bull was nowhere to be seen.

Rocky gasped for breath, bent over at the waist. Emily gentle rubbed his back. “Take deep breaths, Rocky. You can do this. It's still easier than the week I made you work out in the refinery gym with me, right?”

Rocky gave Emily a weak thumbs up. “I’ll… be… fine,” he said with feigned confidence.

“I know you will be. You’re the toughest man I know,” Emily encouraged, then turned to Bethany. “Now… um…”

“Bethany.”

“Bethany. I’m Emily. This is Rocky. Do you have any idea what is going on?”

“No,” Bethany admitted. “I mean, a little. I was attacked by one of those orbs this morning. Mine was made of leaves though. These things seem to use whatever is around them to make a body. We have to destroy the orb inside to kill it. But... this one is stronger and faster than the leaf one. We should try to sneak out of here so we don't have to fight it.”

“It can’t be real,” Emily said, shaking her head like she was trying to wake up from a dream. “It’s not possible.”

“Not only that,” Rocky said as he took his first deep breath. “It's impastabull.”

“Really, Rocky?” Emily whispered with a practiced groan. “Really? If the bull doesn’t kill us, your puns just might. Bethany, do you have an idea how to sneak past it? I've been in my fair share of brawls, but I don't want to test myself against this thing."

“The bread aisle is directly across the entrance,” Bethany said, tracing her finger across the floor to create an imaginary map. “If we can get to the end of that aisle without alerting the bull, it is only a short sprint to your truck. I'll go first. Stay close.”

Bethany crawled along the floor, hidden behind the coolers until she reached the bread aisle. Emily followed on her heels, still shaking her head at the atrotiousness of Rocky’s pun. Rocky took up the rear.

“Ready?” whispered Bethany, and she waited for Rocky and Emily's nods of agreement. The three dashed to the bread aisle, keeping their footfalls as silent as possible.

Halfway down the aisle, Rocky stumbled and grabbed onto a shelf for support, sending a dozen bags of hotdog buns tumbling to the floor. They all froze, hearts pounding and listening for the sound of charging hooves.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when none came, and Emily shot a withering glare in Rocky’s direction.

They continued moving slowly past the cinnamon rolls, bagels, and muffins until they reached the end of the aisle. Bethany ducked her head out, glancing down the main corridor. There was no sign of the bull, other than the destruction that had been left in its wake.

“Careful, stay low,” whispered Bethany as she stepped out of the aisle.

Bethany made herself as small as she could, wincing at her every step. She felt exposed. There was nowhere to hide. She perked her ears up to sense the bull, but was greeted only by silence.

The exit was in sight. All they needed to do was get through the entrance and drive away.

"The bull will hear when we start the truck and come charging," Bethany realized. "Can I make it to my car?"

Her entire life was in that car. She patted her pocket, feeling the outline of the only key she had ever owned. It rested against the golden disc she had received in Dolos’ Arena.

She decided she could not abandon her Civic. She would leave Emily and Rocky at their truck and make a break for her car.

Bethany circled around the trampled cauliflowers, then carefully stepped over the splattered pies that Rocky had hurled to the ground. It was only a few more steps to the exit, and Emily and Rocky were right on her heels. They were going to make it.

The automatic doors opened, and Bethany's hope was crushed.

The bull was standing outside the doors, between the doors and the truck, waiting for them.

Bethany gasped in surprise as Emily gripped the back of Bethany's shirt and pulled her backwards, just as the bull thrust forward with its horns. It skewered the space where Bethany had just been standing.

“Shit! Get back! Get…” shouted Emily, except now she was directly in the bull’s path. It charged forward and rammed Emily in the chest with its skull. Her metal pole flew out of her hands as Emily was propelled backwards. She struck the floor hard and did not get up.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Emily!” shouted Rocky, his panic quickly transformed to raw anger as his fist connected with the bull's face.

There was a sickening crunch, a mixture of snapping pasta and cracking bone as the punch of the four hundred pound man landed. The blow shattered the linguini that comprised the bull's nose and mouth and scattered it across the supermarket floor. It left a gapping hole in the head of the bull, and Bethany could see the glimmer of the orb beneath. Rocky yelled out in pain as he clutched his now broken fingers.

The fragments of pasta on the floor began to float back towards the bull, already being reabsorbed back into the creature's carapace and filling the gap Rocky had created. The same thing had happened with the leaf orb in the park, and Bethany knew they only had a few moments before it would finish the repair and resume its assault.

Bethany jumped to her feet and swung her ball-peen hammer wildly. She needed to reach the orb, but she was not storng enough. The orb was reabsorbing the pasta as fast as she could break it away. All she was doing was buying them time.

“Rocky, grab Emily and run!” Bethany shouted, frantically swinging her tiny hammer. “I can’t keep this up for long!”

“But... but what about you?” Rocky stammered as he bent down to Emily’s unconscious form.

“Just… just go,” Bethany said, growing desperate. For a fraction of a moment, she wondered if she should run and sacrifice Rocky and Emily to the bull to save herself. It is what Becka and Daniel tried to do.

“I will never be like them,” Bethany whispered as she swung faster. Her eyes stung from the sweat pouring down her forehead.

Rocky grabbed Emily by the arms and dragged her across the floor towards the entrance. Bethany glanced at his shattered fingers and saw the immense pain beneath Rocky’s eyes, held back by sheer force of will.

Bethany tried to buy him time, but she felt her arms growing weak and her swings beginning to slow.

The bull shifted its weight, and her final strike missed. The movement caught her off balance and she fell to her knees. She tried to recover, but it was too late.

The last piece of the pasta was reabsorbed into the bull and it was fully formed once more. It turned its head towards Rocky and Emily, only a single step away from the truck.

The bull lowered its head, pointed its horns towards its victims, and charged.

“Rocky!” shouted Bethany in a desperate warning.

Rocky glanced up and saw the oncoming bull. Without thinking, he fell to the ground and covered Emily’s body protectively with his own.

“No!” shouted Bethany, scrambling to her feet to chase after the bull. She was not going to make it.

Her Oracle Eye began to shine with a golden light, and Bethany could feel a vibration in her pocket. It was the golden disc from the Arena of Dolos. The disc with the shining hammer that she had shoved in her pocket as she fled Daniel and Becka. She could hear its whispers in her head, calling to her.

She reached into her pocket, and the moment her fingers touched its surface it shattered into innumerable fragments. Knowledge flooded Bethany's mind. She knew what the disc was. She knew its power. Its magic. And she knew how to control it.

Bethany dashed towards the bull with the last of her strength. She felt the magic of the disc – her magic – flow through her veins and emerge as solid light from her fingertips. Thread after thread of golden light folded itself around her ball-peen hammer until it had increased its size ten-fold. The light that had formed into massive hammer was hard as steel but weighed less than a feather.

Bethany leapt forward and swung her hammer of light as a shout of defiance escaping her lips. The hammer struck the bull’s backside with a resounding crack and shattered its back. Fragments of pasta cascaded across the floor as the bull collapsed forward, its face crashign to the floor as its hindquarters disappeared.

It skidded to a stop in front of Rocky and Emily, its horn coming to a final rest against Emily’s steel toed boots.

Bethany could feel the hammer of light feeding on the energy within her. She felt her strength fading away. She swayed on her feet, struggling to keep her eyes open, but she knew the fight was not yet finished.

Bethany could see the orb resting in the centre of the beast, where its heart would be. It was exposed, but the carapace was already reforming itself. She struggled through the pain and exhaustion and stood over the orb. She would not get another shot at this.

She poured the last of her strength into the hammer, and struck with a mightly vertical blow.

The orb shattered into countless fragments that scattered across the supermarket floor. Its pasta carapace collapsed into an inanimate pile that spilled over the prone Rocky and Emily's.

Rocky looked up in awe at Bethany, her form illuminated by the glow of her magical hammer.

Bethany wanted to say something clever. All she managed was an exhausted smile.

Her hammer of light faded away, and Bethany collapsed to the ground.

The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was the cheer of a distant, unseen audience celebrating their victory.

* * *

The Gods exchanged golden coins in the aftermath of the battle at the North End Savers Supermarket - payment for bets won and lost. The finest wines flowed like a river, and drunken voices cheered on in excitement. The first day of the God Contest was everything they had been hoping for. It was a marvelous beginning that promised many more thrills in the days ahead.

Yet not all the Gods were partaking in the celebrations. In a dark corner, two figures huddled together, their voices low and conspiratorial.

“The child has taken her first steps. But she's damaged, sister. Haunted by the demons of her past. How can we place our lives in the hands of such a flawed human?”

“You must believe, brother. We five made a pact, and we must see it through. Oracle played her part and paid her price. She gave this child the ability to see what must remain unseen, and in doing so, she set our path in stone.”

“Belief is a dangerous thing, sister. You always relied too much on belief, and you'll forgive me if I do not do the same. I have no desire to follow Oracle blindly to the edge of oblivion.”

“Yet it is the path we committed to follow, brother. We five agreed to oppose both the Authority and the New Order, and we cannot fail. We must stay strong, and we must stay hidden.”

A God made of rainbow mist floated past the two siblings and its shapeless form waved a friendly greeting. The brother and sister waved back their faces beaming with false mirth, until the God passed them by.

“Trust in Oracle, brother, and let us place our faith in this human.”

The brother gave a gruff snort, which she knew to be agreement.

The sister raised her wine glass in a toast. “To the end of it all.”

“To the end of Eternity.”

Name: Bethany Fox

Job: Player

Attributes:

Strength: 3

Agility: 3

Toughness: 6

Magic: 5

Unspent Attribute Coins: 1

Talents:

Oracle Eye (#error#)

Hammer of Light (Rare)