"Who are you?" Kenji said.
"The Mayor of Essenark," the first mimic said, nearly a spitting image of that man.
"Your beard should be bushier, then continue to revise the document I gave you. If you have any questions of his background that I haven't yet given you, it'll have to wait until we can return to Tariak and I can consult his memory directly."
"Thank you Inheritor, I will accomplish the role you have given me well."
Kenji nodded, his leader of the humans outside the guilds created.
"And you, who are you?"
"Grandfather sir, the now magicless leader of the Furbolgs," the spitting image of the frail old furbolg, the second master actor was doing a much better job.
"And why can you not currently use magic?"
"I'm old and frail. Next time I use my power could be the last, and so I am saving my strength for the coming battles where my death could serve the greatest purpose."
"And...you, my lord?" Kenji said a bad taste in his mouth.
"I am Venom the Spider, leader of the Spider gang and foremost crime boss of Oldeth. How might my presence please you?"
The spitting image of the Venom, he would become Kenji's leader in the Oldeth region.
"This is almost too easy," Kenji muttered.
"Lord Inheritor, may I remind you that us common mimics have a weakness. Touching silver would cause us great pain, and see us instantly revealed. It is important that we not draw suspicion, or those aware of this weakness could out us and see us dead."
"Of course, your bravery is commendable, as is your willingness to take on such stressful roles. Yet they are also critical to our plan. Mayor of Essenark, you will be raised to Lord of Tariak and will take direct control of our human territories. Grandfather of the Furbolg tribe, you will command the druids, and work to bring further druidic species to our cause. Venom the Spider, it will be your duty to seize to influence the powers of Oldeth, and if Lord Exaltier should turn on us, replace him to seize the seat of Oldeth as your own. If successful, each of you will play the greatest parts in the most significant play to have ever been conceived, I wish you the best of luck."
Turning away, Kenji was stepped through a door to a room filled to the brim with glittering treasure. Real treasure too, appearing like that time he went into the treasure vault beneath the cathedral, although this time it wasn't the product of some illusion. And now it was all his.
"I will return to guide you further, for now, please practice by yourselves."
"Yes Inheritor!" they said in chorus, the door softly closing behind him.
Alone, Kenji gathered his courage, shoved down his worries, and used the golden key to open the Waygate. Purple spiderweb sprawled throughout the space, the door appearing sleek and black with brilliantly shining platinum hinges and doorknob.
Inside was a spider made of galaxies, a great cosmic entity that filled an endless space with the brilliant stardust, comets, and spirals that made up the universe.
"Now this is interesting, what have you come for, little one? What has happened to my champion of greed?" the voice was dancing and feminine, each word sung like some lost primordial song.
When Kenji imagined the god of greed, he had not thought her voice would be so pleasant.
"He's dead, so now his key, and his stuff is mine. Is that going to be a problem?"
Kenji stood straight and stared the cosmic entity right into her flaring star eyes.
A little spinning wheel appeared, split into ten segments numbered 1-10. 1-5 were purple, 6-9 green, 10 gold.
"The hell is this?"
"You'll have to win to find out," the huge spider said, it's many legs writing in anticipation.
Diggin through the Spider's head, he found out on his own. Purple meant he would lose his bet, green meant he would gain, gold meant he would gain a lot. The chances changed depending on what was desired and were given. But Kenji didn't remember asking for anything, nor had he-
"Oh, so the fate of your champion was the bet, the information. And me wanting to know what this is is what I'm playing for? Alright, I'll play," grasping the wheel, Kenji spun.
Round and round the wheel went, before landing on 1.
The wheel vanished.
"Want to try again?"
"Damn straight I do, 100 gold coin, and some of these expensive paintings." Kenji left the god's realm to haul it inside and dumped it on the floor.
"And I want to know who you are, how this works, and what happened to Spider. Unless I already know, I only want new information."
That got him 1-7 purple, 8-9 green, 10 gold.
"The hell is with these odds? Do you understand how much this is worth?"
"To you, perhaps," Skadi whispered.
Growling, Kenji spun.
3, all his wealth vanished.
"Shame, want to try again?"
Angry now, Kenji pulled in enough wealth until he got the same odds.
10, the wheel landed on gold, and despite himself, Kenji punched the air with excitement.
"My name is Skadi, the God of Greed, Poison, and my star-sign is the spider. You envied the Spider for what he had, you wanted it for yourself, and in your greed, you killed him for it. Why would I not be glad to see one of my own disciples? Lastly, what you provide is valued at what you value it to be, along with my own interest. You have a spider in a jar procured from another Waykey in your inventory, I value that greatly. For the rest of this wealth, the only things I value more than others either spider related or information. Lastly, you have the ability to gain fantastical things from me. Information you need, magics long forgotten, titles and more."
Kenji had to think on that all for a little while, and searched through Spider's memory for new information. He had been building up a huge amount of wealth for some time, but for why? Finally, Kenji grasped it, what Spider had wanted. Not for himself, however, but for Gravitas.
Daario had instructed him to shatter the sky, to break the world's defences, to attack the fabric of reality itself. The spider hadn't known why, but Daario had guaranteed him resurrection if they succeeded, and death if they failed. Apparently that was enough for Venom.
After bringing in enough for another bet (roughly eight more cashes of wealth in reserve) Kenji asked, "I want to know what would help me most."
1-90 purple, 91-99 green, 100 gold.
"What the hell is with those odds?" Kenji hissed.
"They are, what they are," Skadi replied.
Kenji spun the wheel.
8.
Kenji spun again.
99.
"HELL YEAH!" Kenji did a little jig, even if being so close from 100 did kind of piss him off.
"What you currently need to know most, is that Gravitas has an agent in the Far King's realm. If this agent if not stopped, the fae will turn against you, Tariak will be annihilated, your armies destroyed, the world shattered, and Tenko never returned."
Hearing Tenko's name made Kenji halt - guilt flowering in his heart.
"Ahem, where is Tenko?" Kenji pulled in another load of wealth, five more in reserve.
1-5 purple, 6-9 green, 10 gold.
10.
"FUCK YEAH!"
"She is currently in Leningrad, is a member of the communist party alongside her pack, and is married to a rather robust man who treats her well. Her residence is the 15th building, in the 3rd block, Stalin St. To reach her you would need to pass eight military checkpoints."
Grinning ear to ear, Kenji thought of what to do next. Obviously the fae had to be dealt with, but now that he knew Tenko was safe he had enough info. He could dig into what Gravitas was doing, what this shadow imp in Spider's memory was, what the Three's church was doing...
"You can also gamble for favours. The more you bet, the more potent a request you can ask for, as well as the more favours you get. They are very much like a wish to mortals like yourself, so how about it?"
Wishes, huh?
"I suppose getting equipment for my friends is a good idea. A powerful form for myself-"
"No need for a separate form, I could also upgrade your current ones."
Kenji thought deeply, then smiled.
"Deal! let me just bring in the rest of my wealth."
The five remaining stacks of gold, treasure, art and valuables assembled Kenji eagerly awaited his odds.
1-30 purple, 31 - 90 green, 91-100 gold.
"Come on, can't you give me something better than that?" Kenji said.
"I approve of your wreckless gambling, but the odds are always what they are."
Adrenaline pumping as Kenji literal bet mounds of treasure, he grasped the wheel and spun.
Round and round the wheel went, to finally land on 28. Purple.
"FUCKING BULLSHIT!" Kenji raged as all his treasure was swept away at once without pause.
Skadi meanwhile hummed with pleasure.
"Very good, very good, what to gamble some more? That spider of yours, your soul, your friends' lives?" she seemed near ecstatic, "what more will you risk for your greed? Because I'll tell you this for free, if you go to the fae lands as you are, only the one named 'Arwen' has a chance of returning alive. The rest of you will die."
That floored Kenji, and slowly he welled up the courage.
"I bet the spider in a jar, the troll form I won from the arena, the Spiderknight champion body, the Sidkhani bodies, Dana's body, my copy of the sun elf Queen, and Grankash's body."
Altogether that netted him a 1-20 purple, 21-85 green, 86-100 gold chance of success. Not to mention Skadi seemed positively thrilled, her galactic body bittering earnestly as he approached the spinning wheel.
"I commend your greed mortal, truly I do. Such lust for power, placing so much on mere chance, it is most noble, most wonderful!"
17.
Kenji collapsed, everything draining away, not a single thing returning to him. Nothing gained. So...so much lost. Skadi's laughter filled his ears, as Kenji slowly pulled himself to his feet. Without the power to stop the fae, his plans were ruined, everyone would die, gravitas would win.
"I bet my soul, for enough power to give me a shot at stopping the takeover of the fae and ultimate victory against Gravitas."
Skadi froze, her lust near overwhelming Kenji''s senses as he was flooded with her adoration of him.
"You would...bet your soul? You realise that gives up...no no, I'll not get in the way of your noble deed. Indeed, such greed, such overwhelming GREED, you are truly worthy of becoming my champion, if you succeed of course. Because if you don't, then you'll become just another pawn for me to play with, and your body will be used to promote greed on an extent that Venom could never have hoped to achieve."
There were only two outcomes on the wheel.
1 purple, 2 gold.
Kenji spun and closed his eyes. The second his fingers let go, he heard the whirring, but the pounding of his heart soon overwhelmed it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Blind, he was blind. He couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't bear to watch.
What had he done? How would they ever forgive him for this? Why was Kenji such a piece of shit that he had to always ruin everything by gambling, couldn't he have at least tried any other way?
When Kenji opened his eyes, he saw his feet were shaking. Slowly, ever so slowly, he raised his eyes.
1.
Skadi cackled.
"You've lost, you bet your soul, and you've lost!" she laughed and laughed, as Kenji felt her cruel arms pierce his soul. Her webs wrapped his mind. His will was no longer his own. His thoughts no longer his own. He was no more than a puppet. A thin veil over Skadi's desires.
Her greed flowed through him, her love of him, her desire to spread his same self-destructive tendencies to the world. Her plans for his friends. Her plans for those that believed in him. He felt it all, and the true depth of his failure unfurled like a rotting flower, the true majesty of the destruction he would unleash upon the world beyond his ability to grasp.
"I will bet, for the salvation of my crusader's soul, and the promise to fulfil his needs to counter the fae," Truthblade said, the god having used Kenji's own mouth. Skadi froze, her overwhelming joy surging through Kenji, threatening to break his mind with the potency of her ecstasy.
"What do you bet?" She asked, breathless, sounding on the verge of some cosmic orgasm, "what will you gamble for this mortal?"
Kenji wanted to beg the god not too, but he could not speak, his mouth was not his to use.
"My watch over truth. If I lose this bet, the lies that come hand in hand with greed with a flourish across Alandria. What is my bet worth to your little spinning wheel, creature?"
1-5 purple, 6-99gold, 100 platinum.
Using Kenji's body, the Truthblade spun the wheel.
Kenji was forced to watch, a galatic entity's version of dopamine burning every nerve he had as the wheel spun round and round to eventually land on...
52.
Immediately Kenji was released, although it took some time for him to come to his senses. The feeling of being even temporarily owned had left him hollow, and after some time he could finally bring himself to think.
"What - the Truthblade, where has he gone?"
[Do not disappoint me Kenji Aztec. If you fail me again, I'll smite you from existence myself. But I have no choice, you must stop the fae turning against our plans, as my most powerful agent in Alandria I must entrust to you that this pivotal moment ends favourably. Do not disappoint me.]
Kenji could think again when the Truthblade left his mind, Skadi sighing in the heavens above.
"A member of Gravitas has the power to turn the fae into a different species. Those that are turned back powerful beyond belief, and completely loyal. She has allied herself with one Lord Greenbeard, and the Pixie King, seeking to control a critical number of the fae. If successful they will crown a new king, and Gravitas will seize control of one of the most powerful armies in Alandria. To defeat her you'll have three days, to get there in time I will provide a one-use portal spell. To defeat her creatures you'll require a level of battle skill unheard of by any in humanity not including Arwen Swan. For this, I give unto you three Prosperity Peaches. Each is pulled from a galactic fruit tree, and is guaranteed to power the consumer far beyond their normal ability. I sugged you give one to Arwen and eat one yourself to maximise your chance of success. Unless of course, you wish to gamble with your winnings?"
Kenji hated the face the offer felt tempting.
"Not this time, although when I've gotten more resources in the future I'll be trying again."
"Then, for now, let me make you a champion of Greed. My mark is giving to only so few, but after all you risked, I think you deserve it," a dark tattoo of a spider appeared on Kenji's arm.
[Requirements for the next level have been exceeded - special conditions met - bonus option presented]
That got Kenji's attention, having been accepting nothing more than additional [Forbidden Slots] and expanded internal storage banners for months.
In his mind was presented the option to evolve into the [Forbidden Mimic - Aspect of Greed].
Combined with the Mark of Greed, three Prosperity Peaches, and a high level, Kenji could be reborn as a new creature. This creature would return to only having three [Forbidden Slot]s, a vast storage, and the ability to transform into an evolved version of any creature he had the original dead body of in his forbidden slot. Oh, and he would gain the power to summon his own dice, spinning roullet wheel and other gambling devices that would compel all parties involved to hold to their promised bets.
The cost was that he wouldn't be sharing these amazing fruit, and would be forever linked to the God of Greed. But all the power that came with it...
Kenji smiled and agreed to start his transformation.
"One last thing, if you wish to succeed, the pixies are key. Pair them with the power of the Truthblade, and one component to your victory will be acquired. Fail to save them from corruption, and a scourge will scour Alandria clean."
Purple energy pulled itself from the space and stars, the three peaches fused into him, the Mark of Greed sank into his soul. Kenji became liquid, his soul reforming within something new. Somthing new, and very, very powerful.