In the city center, miles away from the Mana Corps headquarters, a young woman in a suit sat in the penthouse office of a large skyscraper. Her office was...whatever the opposite of minimal is. It was cluttered with small trinkets and toys, pictures and gadgets. The only clean space was her desk, which only contained a computer monitor, and a chess board with two six sided die, and chess pieces set up on it.

What does she use the dice for? Thought the young man sitting across from her. He had been called in to interview with her for a job, even though now that he sat with her he realized she looked younger than him, and he felt a little embarrassed.

“So.” Said the young woman.

“S-so?” Replied the man.

The woman threw her head back and laughed like the man had just told a hilarious joke. “That’s good! You’re receptive. I like people like you. What’s your name again?”

“Briar.”

“Briar. What a good name. You can call me Celeste. So Briar. How do you feel about becoming my minion?” She asked casually, kicking her feet up onto her desk.

Briar chuckled nervously, assuming she was being facetious, but his smile faded when he realized she wasn’t laughing with him.

“Um...I-I’m not sure what you mean.

“Oh no Briar. You have a good name, but you stutter far too much. And you’re too indecisive, that’s a shame.” Celeste said thoughtfully, sounding as though she was talking to herself more than him.

Shit, Briar you’re losing this job. “Actually, I have been told I follow orders pretty well. I mean, what better thing than for a minion to be good at that. Aha...hehe…”

Briar’s awkward laugh grated against Celeste’s ears so much she cringed and retreated backwards into her chair. Then she stood up and walked to her floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the view of the city below. She looked rather regal, standing above it all. Briar felt rather intimidated as he looked at her back.

“Are you from this city, Briar?” Celeste asked. “I just moved here myself.” She didn’t wait for his answer. “Something about this place drew me here. And I don’t know what exactly it was but it surely is an amazing city. It’s such a lovely place to observe humanity from. There is so much hope and despair, pleasurable and painful emotions all swirled up into one here. It makes me a little bit excited.” Celeste mused, licking her lips. “I’m a bit jealous. You humans have the capacity to feel so much, just thinking of how much despair I can cause you makes me feel faint.” Celeste giggled, and eerily childish sound.

“You...humans?” Briar echoed. Then he did that nervous laugh again. “Hehe...that makes it sound like-”

Before Briar finished his sentence, Celeste whipped around, touching her nose with the index finger of one hand, and using the other on the other hand to point at Briar excitedly. “Bingo!”

Briar blinked.

“I personally wouldn’t call myself human. Which in my opinion, makes me inhuman. I mean, who else can say what you are except yourself, right? No one knows you as well as you, that’s what I always say. And boy do I believe that! And boy...do I hate that!” Celeste squeaked angrily. “Because it means I’ll never know you as well as you know yourself Briar. I could dissect you, split you open and climb inside you, take over your mind and your soul, live in your skin, and I still wouldn’t know you as well as you. Isn’t that a bitch?” Celeste looked at Briar expectantly, like she was waiting for his agreement.

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“Uh-”

“And what’s worse,” Celeste cut him off again. “Humans are such fragile little things. It’s such a shame because I like to play with them, but I guess I can get a little too rough...but it is interesting to see what humans can be driven to if they’ve lived through enough despair.” Celeste breathed the word despair with such delicacy, it was as if she were afraid that speaking the word would break it.

“Erm, excuse me Celeste…” Briar spoke up.

“Who? Oh is that what I told you to call me. Go ahead.”

“Well...if you’re not human...what are you?”

Celeste - or whoever - put her finger to her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, I like that question, you’re doing good again Briar.” For some reason Briar felt relieved. “I suppose I’m what someone like you would call a god.”

Briar blinked and Celeste laughed.

“Oh no no.” She said hurriedly. “I mean I certainly don’t refer to myself as a god. But someone ordinary and dull like yourself might see me as one. Because of all the power I have. But honestly, there are many more like me, and we can’t all be gods because god is supposed to be the supreme right? You’re following me right, Briar?”

Briar nodded absently.

“Good, good. See, if gods are all powerful, then that means no one can challenge him or her. No one would have the power to defeat her. But try as I might I can’t figure out a way to get strong enough so that no one could ever kill me. See, I think of it like this. I used to play chess the normal way, protect the king at all costs, use your pawns and your knights and whatever else you need to do so. And at first I thought, how great, wouldn’t I like to be the king. But then I realized, the king can’t do jack shit!” Celeste giggled again.

“I mean, he’s the weakest piece on the board, yet he’s the most important. Ok so, that’s fine then. If I want to be king maybe that means being the weakest. If I want to be god maybe that means I have to have a strong army in order to protect me. I don’t mind that logic, I’m not conceited enough to believe I’m the strongest or anything...except I am! It ticks me off that I have to be the weakest in order to be the ruler! I don’t like that at all! But then...I realized. The king is actually pretty strong. Not because he can move wherever or take any piece he wants, but because he has all these pieces that are stronger and less vulnerable than him, but they all work to protect him. And hey, that’s pretty powerful right?” Celeste looked at Briar expectantly.

“Oh uh, yes! When you think about it like that the king really does have quite a bit of power.” Briar agreed.

“Nah, then I realized that was bullshit too.”

This woman is crazy. Briar thought.

Celeste walked back to her desk and picked up the two dice off the chess board. “That’s why I use these.”

How?

“I won’t tell you how.” Celeste said, as if reading his thoughts. “But I use them to add an element of chance. Because that’s what it’s about really. I mean, does it matter how strong you are when so many things come down to luck. Your queen can be taken by a pawn. Your king can win the whole game. It’s a crapshoot isn’t it. Life. Jesus was taken down by mortals wasn’t he? Kronos ate his own children to stop them from taking power and they still defeat him. It doesn’t seem to matter how powerful you are if your opponent has the right luck. So who am I? I’m the king, this city just doesn’t know it yet. That’s why I like my employees, my army haha, to be lucky. Would you consider yourself lucky, Briar?” Celeste looked down at him expectantly.

A bead of sweat dripped from Briar’s head onto his lap. He wanted to get out of there, but he also felt afraid to find out what would happen if he disagreed with this...eccentric woman.

“Yes. I suppose I am a bit lucky.”

“Ah, I’m glad you think so. I probably would’ve killed you if you’d said no. Now that would’ve been really unlucky! HAHAHAHA!” Celeste threw her head back and laughed again.

Then her body began to glow a bright orange.

“So then, Briar. I’ve decided you’re hired. You’re going to do everything I say, when I say it, without question is that clear? Your life, which I think we both know wasn’t much of a good one, is now mine. I am your king, you are my pawn.” As Celeste spoke, a deep orange light radiated out of her and appeared most intensely on her hand. She reached that hand out to Briar.

“Now, let’s see if you really are lucky.”