"Okay, wait. The geography is confusing me."

Serpentine's voice echoed through the spire, each question a chisel carving deeper into the Primordial's thin patience. A frozen smile flickered across the deific being’s face – calm, calculated, but hollow, a crack barely concealing the tension simmering beneath.

The Ascended Demon cringed, glancing at his spirit companion who was beginning to doze off, before shifting his gaze back towards the Primordial, who was silently clenching his jaw as he played with the dice in his hands, which – Serpentine learnt – doubled as a Rubik's cube somehow.

"Alright, uh, I'll ask that to Deer later. For now, let me just ask one more question before I leave you alone with your merchandise."

Not wishing to waste any more time, he got to the point. "As you might already know, I am being chased by the eight canon Primordials because I stole the budget for the Kickstarter Campaign."

The Primordial nodded, prompting the demon to continue. "Fate got me, and I died. But I was revived since we hit our goal on the Kickstarter, and that's how I ended up in The Nexus of Faith."

Serpentine drew many strange gestures in the air with his hands in an attempt to better communicate what had transpired, hastily adding, "Since then, we have hit four more Stretch Goals, and I have noticed four pulses of the energy from the Kickstarter Campaign's budget orbiting my soul."

This time, the Primordial raised a brow, but the demon simply went on, "My question is, how do I use them?"

A brief pause shrouded the spire, before the deific figure spoke, "You wish to use the pulses of Kickstarter Energy that flow through your soul as a result of reaching Stretch Goals at will, am I right?"

Serpentine nodded, and The Primordial exhaled a sigh – within which the demon swore he saw the birth, death, rebirth, and collision of countless universes. The deific monstrosity closed his eyes, momentarily shutting down the golden flames that burned as his eye beneath his obsidian eyelids.

Seconds passed, and the Primordial didn't open yet open his eyes, either going through the infinite possibilities inside his mind, or having simply fallen asleep.

Fortunately, it was not the latter, as the being soon opened his gaze, the eyelids rising to lead the way for the golden flames that burned beneath.

"It is but a simple task," the Primordial smiled, this time a lot more relaxed. "You simply thread the pulses of your soul energy with that of the Kickstarter Energy, and let your desire guide the fusion pulse."

Serpentine blinked, his heart pounding against his ribcage. 'Is it really that simple?'

The pit of his stomach churned with equal parts anticipation and fear.

...and probably one part starvation. He hadn't eaten in a while.

"And the fusion of energies would result in...?" Serpentine questioned, tilting his head as he crossed his arms, a frown gracing his face.

"That would result in a 'wish' being fulfilled."

The demon blinked twice. "Like, a genie?"

"Like a genie." The Primordial nodded. "An unlimited cosmic precept bound to mortal whims, the pulse should be able to grant any wish you have within reasonable boundaries."

"What decides whether my wish is reasonable or not?" Serpentine raised a brow. "What happens if I wish for more wishes?"

"It simply wouldn't work." The Primordial shrugged, the golden chains that bound his body to the spire rattling as he did.

"There is not a common language among us that I can draw upon to explain the process and criterion behind it to you, but anything that isn't reasonable simply wouldn't work, and the energies would collapse back to their neutral state."

Serpentine hummed softly as he focused on the information, inwardly observing the streaks of light that orbited his soul, resembling golden comets with a serpentine aura... slightly akin to a sperm cell, now that he thought about it.

'I wonder if there's an ovum equivalent? I could cultivate a Kickstarter Baby inside my soul if I found one.'

Before he could even realise he was getting distracted, a powerful, monotonous voice broke him out of his reverie.

"Right here, right now, what is it that you desire?"

The demon paused, the gears in his mind starting to turn. Every possibility he could think of from this moment flashed before him and shattered all the same, a fleeting dream enveloping everything that led up to this moment fading before his eyes as he focused on his immediate circumstances.

He was weakened, more than ever. He was stranded in a whole new dimension. And he had a bone to pick with Faith.

So what was it that he desired? Well, the question had a very straightforward answer.

"I wish to become stronger." Serpentine’s voice trembled as he declared. "Not just stronger – I want to stand alone, a force that doesn’t need weapons, artifacts, or allies. I want to surpass the peak I once reached as an interdimensional rogue, as a cosmic calamity no one can touch."

His fists clenched, trembling from the force of grip, his knuckles turning white . "And... I want revenge on Fate. I want to break his design."

"Then that is your wish." The Primordial's voice carried him out of his daze once more.

"...what do you mean?"

"The Kickstarter Energy. Use it." The deific monstrosity boomed, its burning eyes of gold gazing down at the demon.

Serpentine's eyes widened, and he hastily sat on the ground, inadvertently striking Deer with his elbow in the process, ruining his sleep.

"Ow!" "Sorry!"

Ignoring the cries of pain, he immediately positioned himself, assuming a lotus posture as his crossed his legs and fixed his hand placement under Deer's gaze, who simply stared blankly as he scratched his head.

As Serpentine focused on his inner world, he saw the brilliant anchor of his being once more.

Spiralling in the same vortex within his soul were the energies of curses, void, chaos, and cosmic, each leaking its signature onto his life energy, which bloomed a fluorescent pinkish-purple, pulsating with light like a beating heart.

And mixed into the vortex was what he sought; golden energy was mired with white, four pulses spiralling violently around the pulsating core of his soul, an enchanting rhythm that danced along the beat of his heart.

Gradually, the demon let out a trembling breath, the vibrant world weaving a thread of energy that burnt a pink hue, coiling around a comet of golden energy. A bead of precipitation dripped down the chin of the creature, yet another thread emerging, walking in the path of the thread before it, many more following right behind it.

As more and more strings of his soul began to intertwine with the pulse of kickstarter energy, the comet soon started to glow a royal mix of gold, white, and purple, the flashes alternating within the vortex in Serpentine's soul. The current of the streak rose, the pulse spiralling faster and faster around his soul, accelerating with each passing second as more threads wove into it.

All the while, the demon let himself loose, the landscape of his emotional, instinctual, and rational domains of his self now unstable, volatile. The shards of shattered memories associated with all three parts of his persona. The memories churned, and the emotions screamed. Logic twisted, and primal desires broke beyond, all of it coalescing into one sole pulse.

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Into his one true desire, a want where every reflection of his ego intersected.

The pulse of energy circling his soul reached its maximal velocity, no longer accelerating as more and more threads coiled into the fabric of the comet. Until, that threshold too was shattered under the weight of the demon's desires.

The pulse shot straight past the edge of his soul, ceasing to circle it as the energy clawed after the fabric of his being, tasting the air as it dove out of the mangled dimensions, shooting into the beyond.

The demon gasped for air, his blurry vision failing to adjust to reality. His face flushed purple, and his blood vessels were sketched clearly over his flesh, a burning sensation spilling into his lungs, and rushing through his veins.

But there was no time to check after his health.

Because the pulse had begun to spiral once more, this time in the glamourous sky above them, tainted with stars. The streak of light circled around the runic constellation of the primordial, and soon, overshadowed it, a mirage forming inside the ring of light formed by its trail.

A mirage no different from the halo donned by The Primordial of Probability, who gazed at the construct with his eyes wide.

'I am about to lose my Gacha Virginity, aren't I?'

Indeed he was, and there was no going back.

A gargantuan wheel appeared above his head, before slowly starting to turn, creating noise similar to the gears in a clockwork, revealing slices of red and white, with black, runic texts marring their pristine surface.

The Tech Power Wheel. The Siren Song Wheel. The Cosmic Power Wheel.

The Demonic Power Wheel. The Angelic Power Wheel. The Almighty Power Wheel.

The Dark Power Wheel. The Wizard Wheel. The Mutant Wheel.

These were the slices on the magnificent wheel suspended above... but there were more. The unyielding whims of fate, destiny, and even time started to violently spiral, caught in the oncoming storm of sheer probability.

The Void Power Wheel. The Psychic Power Wheel. The Vampiric Power Wheel. Powers that had been suggested in the wheel event, but did not yet exist in the canon beyond the nexus... their possibility did, however, and that persistence was enough.

So it spun. Faster, and faster it spiralled, carved from brilliant diamonds and shining pearls that burnt with a silver blaze, gleaming golden.

Its momentum rose higher and higher, as if refusing to stop as long as planets turned. Time trickled away, reminiscent of a were a rivulet born of a melting glacier, and as if a decision had been made, the possibilities converged into one, the wheel slowly coming to a halt.

A Void Power; the power of Voidwalkers; a nihilistic oxymoron for existence.

Serpentine watched with bated breath as the slice that represented The Void Powers cracked off the Wheel of Kickstarter Energy, before being rebuilt out of thin air into its own wheel , the wooden edges and splinters restoring itself as if flesh, as the wheel of white and red started to fade away.

The Almighty Power Wheel spiralled all the same, emanating a voiden force, reeking of alienation and a suffocating absence, before landing on an ability that both thrilled and frightened Serpentine.

Void Zone. The power of deprivation, utter and absolute, indiscriminate yet selective.

But Serpentine frowned.

'Is that it?'

Sure, an extra ability was nice, especially one of this magnitude, but given all the hype, it proved... underwhelming. It was simply not enough.

At least, those were his last, before he broke down screaming.

Black, voiden energy pulses within his flesh and soul, seeping into his cells as he was restructured bit by bit. His blood boiled, and bones rotted, flaking away like dust, before bathing in a prismatic life, and funnelled back into his body, their colour washed away by the wave of voiden black energy, the memories of void branding itself onto his body in a kaleidoscopic storm of light and darkness.

Every single area of his brain activated all at once, a life-threatening seizure arising as whispers of wisdom, experience of his selves from possibilities that have not yet been realised, and knowledge of the all consuming void pervaded his mind, burning into his mind and soul.

He didn't know how long it had been. He didn't know how long it was going to be. But regardless, he grit his teeth, persevering through the pain. And at long last, the pain started to fade.

Blood. Sweat. Tears. Mucus. And what he assumed to be vomit.

Serpentine found himself kneeling on the ground, gasping for air as his body burnt with pain, heat, and exhaustion, every inch of his muscles quaking.

A minute passed in silence, followed by several more. Serpentine did not know how long had passed before he had recovered enough to speak, his lungs still burning.

"Dude... are you alright?" Deer's voice trembled beside him, reminding him of where he was.

"What... just happened?" Serpentine managed to gasp out between pained breaths, the Primordial staring at him in silence, before he spoke.

"I believe your quest for individual power has cumulated in you achieving an ability of great measure."

Serpentine parted his lips to retort, but the deific existence went on.

"But it did not stop at merely handing you the ability. No, it restructured your physical body, engraving familiarity and muscle memory onto your flesh. It burned knowledge, wisdom, and experience from possibilities and timelines that have yet to be realised into your mind, and it branded the affinity with void onto your soul."

Serpentine's eyes widened, with Deer exclaiming on his behalf, "Does that mean...?"

The Primordial nodded. "He's starting from Cosmic Mastery at the very least, with a very fast growth potential he adapts... and it doesn't end there."

His gaze shifted from the Quest Giver to the Ascended Demon. "The child's body was already accustomed to Dimensional Travel, an Almighty Power possessed by every Voidwalker at birth. Moreover, he possesses a symbiotic Void Scythe bound to his flesh and soul, the voiden energies swirling in his soul."

The corners of his lips curled. "That means his affinity, expertise, and experience with the Almighty Power of Dimensional Travel as well as the Void Scythe has risen leagues and bounds, his physiology more adapted to his skillset than even the most talented of Voidwalkers."

"...Holy Joe that is busted." Deer could not help but curse, as Serpentine laughed between his pain.

'Underwhelming my sweet, juicy arse!'

This was exactly what he needed!

A tremendous, outright unreasonable boost to his powers, not only with the addition of a new one that was already nonsensical beyond logic, but also his Void Scythe and Dimensional Travel being augmented by extreme magnitudes as a bonus.

He felt a surge of excitement and anticipation, forcing himself onto his feet.

"Careful–" Deer caught him as he staggered, helping him find his balance.

"Can you... maintain... some distance?" Serpentine spoke with ragged breaths. "I might... hurt you..."

Obliging, Deer stepped several steps back, yet his gaze was still focused, ready to act the moment the demon exhibited weakness.

With a deep and heavy breath, Serpentine stretched his arm forward. Within less than a moment, black bolt-like fluid tore out of his shoulder, skin, joints, and tendons, closed to bolts of lightning as they hardened into a scythe than fleshy appendages, woven between his muscles.

The demon smiled wide.

'Absolutely no sense of pain.'

The summoning of his scythe was swift, faster and more comfortable than ever. And if he wasn't wrong, the scythe could also channel his void energy, but that would have to be tested later.

Beyond that, it wasn't just his abilities that were strengthened.

Serpentine raised a trembling hand, his fingers curling into a fist. His veins burned with an intoxicating rush of power – raw and primal. The air around him seemed heavier, charged with a presence that hadn’t been there before.

He took a deep breath, flexing his fingers experimentally. No resistance. No hesitation. Just power.

Muscular power, alongside a more refined energy system.

This meant he could strike, grip, or lift harder, run, jump, or swim faster, and tank more powerful blows than ever. It also meant that would no longer get tired so easily, his stamina too having benefited immensely from the restructuring of his body.

All that was from a single Kickstarter Energy pulse.

He still had three left.

He inhaled a deep breath, spreading his arms out wide as if hugging the sun, before relaxing. His sleazy eyes locked onto the Primordial, who looked down at him with wide eyes of burning gold.

"Enjoyed the show, pops?" Serpentine laughed, loud and unrestrained.

The Primordial shook his head with a smile. "Indeed, I did. That said, you have long since overstayed your welcome."

Deer suddenly frowned, lowering his head as he spoke with a sigh. "I... I will have to stay here in the Auxile District for a while. You know, The Quest Wheels and all. You'll have to be alone for a bit now."

"Well, that's a little depressing." Serpentine scratched his head. "But you don't have to be sad over it. I'll still visit you when I can."

"Where are you going now?" Deer asked, his eyes trailing down Serpentine's ragged clothing and body.

"Well, I'll go explore Ajofempyres for now. At least until the Primordials come after me again. I might gain some more opportunities to strengthen myself, or at least find more creative ways to apply what I already have."

"Then so it shall be." The Primordial's voice boomed once more, a declaration descending upon the two. "I will now send you to one of the thirteen factions within Ajofempyres, and one of the five empires currently in power, each having won many small countries from their trials."

"That works for me." Serpentine nodded.

"Say your goodbyes. I will not wait long."

Serpentine stood in silence for a moment, staring at Deer. The usual smirk faded from his face, replaced by something softer – something almost vulnerable. He pulled his friend into a tight embrace, gripping him as if he might never see him again.

"Stay safe," Serpentine murmured, voice low and sincere. Before Deer could even react, he pulled back, flashing a fleeting grin, and twirled on his heels, saluting the Primordial with a flourish. "Thanks for the trivia, pops. I’ll make good use of it."

And with that, The Primordial waves his hands, both the mortals vanishing from the spire, the air crackling with residual energy as Serpentine and Deer vanished, the vortex of probabilities closing behind them like a door shutting on untold futures.

The Primordial of Probability stood alone, his golden eyes fixed on the horizon of Ajofempyres far below – a city teeming with the weight of destiny, chaos, and ambition.

For a moment, he remained still, the only sound the faint rattling of the chains that bound him to the spire.

Then, with deliberate precision, he raised his hand, the dice in his grasp hovering above, shifting into blocks as it rearranged itself like a puzzle as he laughed to himself.

“Let’s see how far the Nexus can stretch before it snaps.”

The wheel before him began to turn once more, its ancient mechanisms grinding as new probabilities wove themselves into the tapestry of fate.

And with a quiet smile, the Primordial whispered, “In the end, the game is far from over.”

He opened The Wheel of Faith mobile game on his dice-turned console.

After all, even gods had stakes to claim.