CHAPTER 43: THE BENEFITS OF WINNING

Nellie gave Dante a defeated look, and rightfully so. After all, the game he wanted her to play was basically just another way to say suicide. "Survive the Night, yeah right, more like die a miserable death in a haunted asylum while some cosmic freak watches for fun." Nellie said in a sarcastic tone, it goes without saying she was not enjoying this one bit.

She didn’t even know if she could trust him on that part about "...not dying if she loses." Spirits lie all the time. Contracts twist meanings after all, Emilia was indeed right about that, and her contract with Dante was more of desperate escape born from being back in a corner. She wasn’t stupid, at least not anymore. Still, she also knew that if she did lose, some form of punishment awaited her by the end of the game. The only upside here, the only good news, was that if she somehow managed to win, she would not only survive but walk away with something in return, her freedom, and whatever mysterious reward Dante was hinting at. "Sigh, I have shitty luck."

It wasn’t like she had any other choice anyway.

No matter how much she tried to find a loophole, the deal was already sealed the moment he saved her from that crazy exorcist bitch.

He did keep his end of the bargain after all.

And in a world where the supernatural was as real as bullets, not keeping your promise to something like him usually meant disappearing from existence. Becoming their play things, or them taking away something precious, deals like these are never really good for the one making agreeing on them.

So she sighed...a deep, tired sigh, as if accepting whatever twisted fate was coming to her. Then she turned her head toward Dante and said quietly, "Before we start this game, I have some questions... at the very least I hope you’ll answer them." Dante leaned back slightly, his creepy smirk never leaving his face, as his eyes drifted from the screen to her trembling frame. "Of course." He said casually. "Ask away, human."

Her lips twitched a bit at the human part, to her it was like he was looking done on her for being human, or atleast a variant of the species, but she didn’t bother arguing. Instead, she crossed her arms, though her voice was still uneasy. "If I beat this game... will my freedom be mine again? No tricks or games."

Dante nodded once. "Yes. Plus more."

"More?" She repeated, and Dante continued to speak, explaining how and why. "You heard me the first time." He said bluntly, resting his chin on his hand. "You’ll also carry home your reward for completing the game, if you complete it of course. And it goes without saying you’ll also fulfill your contract and leave with a gift from me, something tangible you can use back in the real world if succeed in completing this game of course."

Her eyes narrowed at the news. Weirdly enough she find herself a bit intrigued. So much so, her tone was bit calmer now, as she asked. "And what exactly is that reward supposed to be?" Dante smiled, as scared a living creature can be, humans especially where one of the greediest, as such they where easy to win over, for that reason he made his reply short and simple. "Power of course." He said, as if the word itself tasted sweet. "If you win, you’ll get your own supernatural ability by spinning the Wheel of Dreams, basically you will get a fragment of my power in some shape or form."

That caught her off guard. She blinked twice, unsure if she’d heard that right. "Hold up... power? As in like a personal self dependent Spirit Technique?" She asked genuinely curious now. And Dante chuckled at this. "Something like that. Though the origin differs. The Wheel of Dreams is basically a part of me, however I don’t control what you get, and you don’t get, it is passive and a neutral mechanism of myself that governs the reward of each complete games. Think of it as a slot wheel with an infinite number of random abilities. Some weak, some decent, some incredibly powerful. Others completely absurd.The point is, if you spin it, whatever you land on becomes yours permanently, it is still my power but it’s becomes yours, and I can’t even take it back from you. It is your until you die of course."

She leaned back slightly, her expression half disbelief, and the other half full of intrigue. "And that’s it? I just spin a magic wheel and suddenly I can do... what, shoot fire out of my hands?"

"Maybe." He said, shrugging. "Or maybe you’ll get something useless like the ability to change the taste of water. Luck decides it all in the end. That made her snort despite herself. "Of course it does."

"But." Dante continued, raising a finger, "... A fair warning to you, if you do end up winning my little game, keep in mind that every ability that can be won here comes with a flaw in the form of a curse. The stronger the power, the heavier the curse. That is the balance of my abilities. And I need not remind you that victory only gives you the right to spin, not the right to choose, so don’t go bitching if you get a dud ability." Dante explained causing Nellie to frown at his words "So even winning comes with a risk."

He nodded. "Pretty much yeah." She sighed again, rubbing her temple. "This is insane. I’m talking about slot machines for powers with built-in curses. What the hell did I even get myself into? What even is this conversation? Sigh, I could really use some shrooms right now." Dante smiled faintly, his tone light, as sarcastically replied. "Into my world, of course."

She wanted to curse him out again, but there was no point. Every time she looked at him, that feeling of unease crept in without end. It wasn’t just his presence; it was the way space itself seemed to behave base on his emotions, what if get so angry a star explored and she was close to it.

Still, she forced herself to speak again, her voice a little quieter this time. "Alright then... let us say I do lose. What happens to me then?" He didn’t answer immediately, why well just to fuck with her, but skin he replied. "Well human If you lose... you won’t die, that much I promise you. But you’ll be forced to become my Player Avatar."

"Player Avatar?" She repeated, confusion flashing across her face.

He turned toward her again, his expression unreadable. "Yes.... As The Spirit of Administration, I see the world differently from everyone else. To me, everything, your reality, your soul, even this interaction, functions on my own unique set of logic. Like a game or a dream. I can’t physically exist or act freely in your world, so I need... intermediaries to do so. I do this via my avatar’s."

Her face tensed when she heard Dante explained this, as she continued by saying. "So basically... a vessel."

He smiled at that. "That is a crude but accurate description but yes. A vessel, a bridge, a representation of me in your realm, it means basically the same thing in the end."

She exhaled slowly, processing this news, as she asked. "So I would basically be your puppet and slave if I lose this game?" The worry in her voice was even more prominent now, but Dante response to this was as followed.

"Not exactly." He said. "You would keep your mind, your will, your body, and soul, alongside everything that makes you well you. I wouldn’t interfere with your personal life unless I had to. Think of it more as... partnership with conditions."

"Conditions?" She repeated warily. "Yes you would have to obey when I call upon you." Dante said simply. "When I need to interact with the real world, you would serve as my connection. My eyes and hands, if you will. Sometimes I might possess you temporarily, or issue commands you must follow. But beyond that, you would live most of your times freely."

"Yeah, that sounds a lot like being a damn puppet to me." He smirked. "Puppet, emissary, avatar, the words change, the bond remains. But there are benefits too. Becoming my Player Avatar would grant you access to power beyond your wildest dreams. Meaning, power beyond what humans can imagine, and power that operate under different logic, as such you alongside the others under me are all rule breaking anomaly of your world."

Her eyes flickered, curiosity momentarily overpowering fear. "Power, huh... And you mentioned other, are there other out there that is your official avatar?"

"Yes." He said, his tone lowering slightly. "You wouldn’t be the first, nor the last." Dante explained, but that aside Nellie sighed as she began to comment. "Fine, let’s just get this over with, I am not going to lose easily, I just want you to know that."

"Hehhehe... we will see." Dante answered back, matching her energy.