"Seems you would finally give me that answer I've been looking for," Avalon said calmly, her forked tongue slipping between her lips for a brief second. Her glowing serpentine eyes shimmered with curiosity and something darker. "And judging by that look in your eyes… it seems you're about to ask for a favour."
Her words hit with the precision of a dagger, slicing through the silence and catching Josh off guard. Even David Stormborn—the sentient kingly system interface who had been watching silently from the depths of Josh's consciousness—stirred with mild surprise.
Josh blinked, then sighed, shoulders lowering slightly. There was no point pretending anymore. "I came from Earth," he began, his voice low and steady, "and I was trying to prevent a massive disaster… something that could shatter the entire planet. I was facing off with a villain known as the Toad God. Just when I was about to kill him, he pulled a final trick—he summoned the Trickster God from this dimension."
At the mention of the Trickster God, Avalon stilled. Her eyes widened, her pupils narrowing into slits as the realization struck her like a whip.
"Yeah," Josh continued, his voice low and edged with urgency. "Now that lunatic is roaming free on Earth. My followers—my generals—they're all in danger. If I don't return soon, they might not even be there by the time I get back. I need help. I need to use the portal. But to do that… I need you."
Silence followed, thick and expectant.
Then Avalon laughed.
It wasn't a short chuckle or a dismissive snort—it was full-blown, maddened laughter. It echoed off the stone walls, curling like smoke through the magic-bound air of the ancient prison.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! Oh, you poor little worm!" she spat between breaths. "Do I look like your saviour? Do I look like your mother, ready to cradle your broken little ego and send you back to your people with a kiss on your forehead?" Her face twisted, dark amusement warping into something colder. "All I hear are favors for you. What exactly do I gain, hmm? Why should I lift a finger to help you?"
Josh clenched his fists, the veins on his neck tightening. He hadn't spoken a word to her since arriving. Barely four days had passed but it was four days of lack of response. Now, the one time he needed her, he had to beg her like a dog?
He cursed mentally.
David Stormborn's voice chimed in, a bit too cheerful. "Told you she wouldn't make it easy."
"You didn't tell me anything—I was the one who raised that concern," Josh snapped mentally.
"True. But hearing you get roasted like that? Almost makes up for my six-month forced upgrade."
Josh tuned David Stormborn out.
The kingly voice ranted in his head, but he let the words drift like leaves on water. His gaze remained locked on the shimmering arcane barrier that divided his cell from the one opposite—where she stood. The Serpent God of Reversion. Avalon. A woman with venom for blood and chaos in her smile.
Even imprisoned, she radiated a kind of predatory calm, like a python sunbathing just before a kill.
Josh wasn't done. Not yet. Not by a long shot.
"I could get you out of here," he said, voice low, deliberate.
The flickering magical barrier cast dim emerald light across her face as she tilted her head, visibly intrigued. Her eyes sharpened like blades drawn from sheaths.
A slow, amused smirk curled on her lips. "And how do you plan to do that?"
Inside his mind, David Stormborn echoed her skepticism. "Yeah, what she said—how exactly are you going to pull that off? This isn't a roadside inn, Josh. It's the Dimensional Abyss."
Josh didn't flinch. His voice was like stone rubbing against stone—steady, grinding toward something. "This prison is designed to hold… someone—not specific beings. It only knows that each cell must be filled. It doesn't care who's inside."
Avalon narrowed her eyes.
"Go on," she said slowly, fingers brushing the edge of the magical wall as though she might peel it away.
"If I can lure the trickster god back here… and maybe another villain to fill the second cell," Josh continued, "then you walk free. The system will register both slots filled. Simple logic loop."
Avalon's brows furrowed, her mind clearly racing. "Sounds plausible… but you're forgetting one thing—this barrier. I can't cross it. Without a summoner or a portal directly targeting me, I remain bound here like a cursed dog."
Josh didn't blink. "We use the same trick he used to bring me here. We reverse it. Exploit it. Trick the trickster god."
There was a pause.
A long one.
Then she laughed—a deep, unhinged cackle that echoed through the walls like the ringing of death bells.
"Oh, I like you," she purred. "Either you're brilliant… or beautifully insane."
Inside his head, David Stormborn lost it. "Wait, what?! Are you seriously thinking of breaking her out? Do you have any idea what she is? The trickster god at least plays by riddles and chaos. She kills for sport, Josh. She peels minds for fun. She dances on morality's grave!"
Josh answered him mentally, cold and clipped. "Who says I want to break her out?"
Then he turned to Avalon again.
"That's easy," he said aloud. "All we need is misdirection… and a gateway laced with intent. You'll walk out the same way he got in."
Avalon's tone shifted. Sharper now. Calculating.
"If I agree to this, then I want terms. Assurance. Your word means nothing to me, Josh Aratat. I've been betrayed by prettier mouths than yours. I need something… binding."
But in her head, another voice chuckled darkly: "I wasn't born yesterday, doofus. How can I just accept your word for it… You'll just get off too easy if it's a bluff. But if it's real.. oh, this will be delicious."
She stepped closer to the barrier, and for a moment, the shimmer between them seemed to pulse—like the walls themselves were eavesdropping.
Josh had already anticipated this.
With slow purpose, he reached into the folds of his tattered cloak and withdrew a gleaming orb—green at its core, its veins glowing red like the arteries of a heart. It pulsed faintly, eerie and alive.
"This," Josh said, holding it up so the light refracted in her eyes, "is a life bound artifact. Tied to me. If I die, it shatters. There is no way I won't return for it. Every second I'm away from it, I lose seconds of life… and wouldn't live very long."
Avalon's breath hitched. Her eyes widened, ever so slightly.
Inside his mind, David Stormborn nearly shrieked. "You absolute lunatic! That's the Orb of Lights! That's your soul on a platter! Do you have a death wish—"
Josh cut him off. "Relax. It's a fake."
But his heart was pounding in his chest, because he wasn't entirely sure Avalon would believe that.
Avalon leaned forward, eyes glued to the orb. A low whistle escaped her lips.
"The Orb of Lights…" she murmured. "So you carry such a treasure… I'd heard it was lost. But to bind your life to a promise—you must be desperate."
Josh's jaw tensed, but he nodded solemnly, selling the act with the poise of a seasoned liar.
Avalon's smile turned wicked.
"Well then," she whispered, "you may have just bought yourself a deal with a goddess."
And with that, the game began.