Another spin.
The thrill of it could fill any person with ecstasy.
A test of one's luck is what truly makes us equal.
Whether rich, poor, famous, outcasted, or worthless, when a person makes a bet, when they take that gamble, all of those factors are thrown out the window and everything falls to probability.
The true equalizer.
"I will turn that game of chance into an absolute. I will never lose a gamble... I bet my life on it."
...
One day a man named Matthew hit rock bottom.
He had lost his job, his wife had left him for another man, he was in severe debt passed down from his parents, and he also...
Had a severe gambling addiction.
So much so that he made a deal with the devil.
That devil being his desire, his passion.
He had never gotten lucky or "won big."
But for some reason, ever since the day of that deal, the day that he cast his desires forth into the sea of wishes...
He never lost another gamble.
Although, this came with a catch.
He couldn't simply gamble with money anymore.
He gambled with his life, his soul.
Whether that be his body or his heart, he bet on it.
And when he put himself on the line, that is when it was impossible for him to lose.
Unknown to Matthew, the day that he bet his life was the day that he awakened the Akashic power of "Gambling."
A truly unfathomable power.
...
Outside of Limbo.
"This is the place where Gabe died?" Matthew said to himself, exploring the secluded ruins of a faraway city.
"That strange man... How did Mr. Weisenburg know where he was at?"
Continuing along the area that was closed off to the public, Matthew traced the destruction created from Gabriel's black hole.
"Hm?"
A strange shadow loomed over Matthew.
"So there's still something left of you? Maybe this isn't entirely futile then..." Matthew smirked.
He was ambushed fron all sides as slave-like monsters attacked him.
"I wager my life."
...
A gamble.
His Akashic power allowed him to bet on himself, in turn giving him more strength.
He slammed his fist into one of the monsters, its body contorting as it was blown away through multiple walls of concrete.
He had bet his soul and now had twice the strength he normally had, but there was a catch...
Using his right leg as a point of leverage, he spun and kicked with his left ferociously.
This decimated the remaining shadows completely, the dark dissipating into the dim light of mid-afternoon.
"I didn't know your slaves were so weak, Gabe."
...
As if he had heard the snide remark from beyond the grave, a slithering shadow pounced onto Matthew and a small slash formed on his arm.
"..." Matthew clenched his teeth as if readying himself.
And the small cut made from the enemy suddenly transformed into a gaping hole along his entire shoulder.
"Erghh..!"
...
The catch.
In doubling the amount of damage he inflicted, Matthew quadrupled the amount of damage inflicted onto his body.
...
"He got me good. Winning a gamble doesn't always mean coming out unscathed, but that's why you always go again," Matthew muttered as he stomped out the snake-like shadow.
He walked forward, chuckling to himself and clutching his shoulder until he reached a dark alcove near the ruins of a church.
"Show yourself Gabe. I know someone with such a passionate hatred for monkeys wouldn't die that easily."
...
"Monkeys... I'll kill those monkeys..." A guttural tone emerged from the abyss.
Brutally battered and veiled in a coat of crimson blood mixed with a sludge-like darkness, the corpse revealed itself to Matthew.
A gaping hole in his chest continually filled and spilled formless shadows as if trying to repair itself with an arrogant futility.
Strung across a materialized darkness with the shape of lightning arcing across the sky, Gabe glared furiously.
His head was cast down, dancing on the brink of death.
"Your body..." Matthew uttered.
"I used all my strength to defeat them. For months I've rebuilt my body thousands of times and I've watched as it falls apart before my eyes. I'll succumb to death in a couple weeks, but I'll hold out for as long as possible... Just so I can spite those monkeys."
"Who was able to damage you like this? They must've been monstrously strong."
"Their names were Michael and Matt..." Gabe responded.
"Do you want to kill them?" Matthew smirked at his own question.
"Yes, I'll do anything to kill those basketball playing, watermelon munching, hellcat driving, thieving black monkeys and I'll show them the superior race of this world."
"Then I have the perfect thing. Say Gabe..
Have you ever gambled before?"
...