Chapter 52 - A Golden Opportunity

After walking for nearly five minutes in this impossibly large mansion, we turn and enter what looks to be a conference or living room.

Before I'm able to react or say anything, Teresa points at me and chants faster than I can listen, and suddenly, I'm face first slammed into the ground.

I can feel that I'm able to cast, yet I'm unable to move my body much, and I feel as if resisting would just make it worse. I'd rather just cycle healing magic through everywhere but my arms and try to weather the storm.

"A FEMALE ASSASSIN? ARE YOU TRYING TO BUILD A HAREM OR SOME SHIT!" Teresa yelled, delivering a kick to my side with a little more emotion than I was expecting. "YOU'RE GONNA BE MY KNIGHT NOT SOME CHEAP ADVENTURER!"

///

"So, am I fired?" I ask sheepishly after around thirty minutes of berating from Teresa.

With a deep sigh, Teresa sits and releases me from my gravitational prison. I never knew that magic could be so scary.

On one hand, I got to experience gravity magic first hand, and I have a rough idea of how to do it now.

On the other hand, even if my physical body has been spotlessly healed, I don't think I ever want to experience gravity magic again.

"No, you're not fired. An idiot? Maybe. I just can't believe that you'd not only let one of the assassins that killed Surge live but then later recruit them. It seems very out of character for you." Out of character? What was I to Teresa? A cold magic casting robot of a person?

Actually, I may appear that way.

Also, I know she's trying to stab at me with the whole Surge comment, but those tears are behind me. In public anyway.

"Funny story actually, she wasn't the one who killed Surge. I buried that guy alive." I should not have said that.

"You did WHAT?!" I SHOULD NOT HAVE SAID THAT.

"Well- uh- you see when we were fighting-" Before I'm able to cobble together an explanation, an all too familiar feeling of falling comes over my whole body, and I collapse.

Yet for some reason, this one seems a bit, quicker?

Snapping my eyes open, instead of awaking on the nice fluffy couch that I'm used to, instead I awaken on a hard, cold, floor.

Thanks for the save, but this place is different.

"What gives? You disappear on me and then put me on the floor? I thought we were better friends than that man," I say, rubbing my head and sitting up.

Looking around, the mansion and elegant surroundings are nowhere to be seen. Instead, it appears I've been dragged into the gaudiest castle in the world.

The floors are made out of muted silver, walls of golden brick, and every piece of furniture detailed in red and gold.

What the hell is this place?

"This place isn't mine or yours dipshit, it belongs to a friend of mine," Ego said, his normal cocksure grin and attitude present, yet his form almost worse for wear.

His body that used to look as if was carved out of one solid piece of jet black rock had lost all of its shine and was now littered with cracks.

Lose a diety bar fight or something? You look like you've dropped down a flight of stairs.

A hearty laugh could be heard, yet instead of belonging to the smooth-voiced Ego, it instead sounds as if it was the deep cackle of a car salesman.

Glancing in the direction of the laugh, I spot a statue, made of precious metals, sitting on a throne made of gold.

You've got a weird sense of style Ego, that statue looks nothing like you.

This time, Ego was the one to laugh.

"That's no statue, smartass. That's my friend and your new ally, Greed." Ego says as we begin to walk towards the gaudy man on his gaudy throne.

Nice to meet ya, I'm assuming you can hear me based on the laugh from before.

"You would be correct. Now, I've come to offer you and your benefactor a deal." Greed said, standing up and gesturing towards a set of comfortable yet overly detailed couches. Finally, now that's more my style.

Sitting down across from the Golden Giant, there's a small bit of awkward silence before Greed clears his throat and speaks up.

"As I was saying, I have a deal to propose. I will offer you a fraction of my divinity in the form of a blessing, and in return, I will lead you to one of my emissaries. He is currently being held in prison within the Magic Kingdom, break him out." Greed said, laying out everything he wants right from the get-go.

How, uh, greedy.

"And I get what? A temporary blessing? Sounds like a rip-off to me." I say, sitting back. C'mon man, I was expecting to negotiate with Ego, you gotta do better.

"As I said, I chose him for a reason. Give us something to chew on or we're not biting." Ego said, his confidence feeding into my own. It looks like they already discussed this beforehand and the big guy lost.

Why do I feel a bit of pride in Ego and our relationship? He's using me, isn't he?

I don't understand deities.

"Fine. I'll convert a portion of my divinity and bless you with it, meaning it is wholly yours. That way you don't lose the blessing and it's tied to your soul, but in exchange, you have to help my guy kill someone. Deal?" Greed said as I could feel some sort of anger begin to bubble up in Ego.

"That was not the deal! The deal was you handed over that blessing to me and I give it to him, you're talking about giving a mortal independent divine power. That's insanity!" Ego exploded, standing up, his face curling into a look of disgust, yet Greed ignored him and stuck out his hand.

Giving Ego a raw deal, getting free power, all without having to leave the Magic Kingdom? Deal!

Sticking out my hand and shaking his, it dawns on me now that this deal sounds good to be true.

"You wound me, I'm not so full of myself to provide nothing to you but expect a bunch of favors. Here." Greed said, as his golden and silver form began to lose more of its luster as an orb of golden energy floated into my chest.

It felt, euphoric.

As if I had just hit the biggest dopamine high you could imagine, combined with all the adrenaline in the world.

"Now, I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about." Greed said with a smug grin as Ego glared between me and Greed with a glare of death. However, with a wave of a hand, I was sent back down into my body.

Great, now I've pissed off a guy I owe two undeniable favors to, meaning he's gonna chew me out as soon as he can. But, based on the fact he's not talking to me right now, probably means he's not mad at me and instead, mad at Greed.

Which is who exactly? This just compounded the stuff on my plate huh.

At least I got stronger. Maybe.

--- Point of View: Ego ---

That golden weasely bastard!

Not only did he further reduce my influence on my ace, but he got a one over on me!

Now Vinny is gonna feel indebted to that golden freak and much less likely to just kill his emissary if I tell him to without a favor.

Also, he gave Vinny a fraction of his divinity! I should be rejoicing since big G is gonna be watching us like a hawk and he won't be able to recover it, but I'm not!

Now that little dickhead can generate divinity! Making it even harder for me to control him without sacrificing any more of my own!

I swear, I may just call in a favor and have Vincent just kill all of that golden bastard's emissaries, but even doing that would risk being seen by Fate, since to talk with someone with such a strong connection would take a huge toll on me, especially after Greed's little stunt.

I never should have trusted that weasel, no matter how beneath me he is.

I need time to recover my divine presence for now.. Time to lay low and observe, no need to get hasty.