Damon's Ascension

Felicia's hand trembled as she accepted the Genesis Heir Elixir.

She turned it in her fingers, the golden glow reflecting in her cool blue eyes as Damon watched her with a small, approving nod.

His attention though, was already moving on because the scroll of knowledge she'd also won was no trinket.

It shimmered for a moment, then dissolved in a swirl of silvery light that flooded straight into his mind.

A slight shiver ran down his spine as the knowledge took root, expanding in his thoughts like the slow unfurling of a great map.

Damon's eyes shut briefly, his brow furrowing as he braced for the flood of information. When he opened his eyes again, they were full of shock.

"Listen carefully, the Chaos Casino's true nature is… far beyond what any of us thought." He said through the mental link, his voice full of heaviness.

......

The Chaos Casino.

It was a fragment of history, literally a relic of the Bright Realm's forgotten past.

Once, it had been known by many names: The House of Chance, the Eternal Game, or the Bright Wager Hall.

In those days, it was not hidden, but a proud monument where Pre-Chaos Species, immortal and unbound, gathered to test their fates.

Its wealth was limitless, its stakes fair beyond comprehension. For countless cycles of existence that Post Chaos minds couldn't fathom, the Casino served as a hub for those who sought to prove themselves against the odds and also increase their power quickly.

But everything has a cost.

As the cycles of the Bright Realm turned and went on, the Chaos Casino became too well known and too familiar, with tales of its difficult bets and cunning games spread wide.

Even those who would once have danced on the gamblers table happily learned to fear the odds. They drew a line with the casino and stayed far away, causing the once bustling establishment to become a ghost town.

Its wealth was beyond measure.

The Casino had everything that any Pre-Chaos or Post-Chaos Species could desire, from items of myth, skills lost to time, techniques that could shatter worlds and potions that defied biology or logic.

It was a treasury without bottom, a storehouse of every desire, every ambition. Its power lay not in what it could take, but in what it could offer.

And yet, for all its splendor, it was a place of immutable rules.

The Casino could not interfere directly with its guests. It could not reach out and force a bet to end in ruin, nor could it tip the scales outside of its hidden rule-bending luck manipulations.

It was bound by its own foundational rules, rules set down by an unknown hand long before even the Bright Realm had fully formed.

More chilling still were its occupants.

Every figure in the Casino right now was a Pre-Chaos Creature of some sort.

These fellows casually standing around and passing comments like some low level peanut gallery were literally beings older than the stars, timeless and eternal.

Once, they had walked the Bright Realm in their prime.

Now though, they were here, trapped for near eternity not by choice but because the Chaos Casino had become their prison. They were not those who had failed to win three bets, but rather those who had gambled everything they owned to the casino - including themselves - and lost.

The Chaos Casino's overt rules were simple. One must win three bets to leave, bettors and the casino cannot use force on each other, any form of manipulation of the gambling process using skills, items or powers that were not Post-Chaos species abilities were banned.

However, its hidden rules were plentiful and no one would tell you of them, but you had to be wary at all times.

The first was that as a Hidden Area, the Chaos Casino did not have to obey the Amoco rule of the Sector, otherwise the spectators, Zivar, Atticus nor Nyros could be able to communicate with them.

The second was that cheating was banned only for those not affiliated with the casino. One should always remember - and Damon swore to remember henceforth - that the micro rules one read when entering an Area were mostly for those Post-Chaos species entering.

Not all of them applied to the natives of the area.

The third was that one could negotiate with the casino when taking on house bets. You did not always have to let it dictate what it wanted to take or dictate what you wanted to give. You could offer something while looking for something specific and it was up to the casino to accept.

The fourth was that the casino did not have living areas and one could not leave the gambling area, so it was best to finish one's tasks before the day ended otherwise you would have to sleep on the floor.

Aside that there was other important information, like the number of playable games and their rules. The basic dice throw they were playing was just one of many, and the casino had all sorts of game ranging from normal ones you'd see in a real casino to some rarer ones.

Seeing them, Damon narrowed his eyes as he patted Felicia's seat, prompting the young lady to stand up. Just as the next member of the Vanguard Team was about to seat themselves, Damon spoke calmly.

"We are tired of playing dice. We would like to partake in other games, specifically sports and combat games."

The Vanguard Team were surprised and puzzled, while the spectating crowd began to buzz, concurring with each other that this would be interesting. Nyros' smile faded as he glanced at Damon darkly, having expected this when the information was put as a bet, but disliking it when it came to being.

"Of course, it is the customer that comes first. What game would you like to play first?" He asked patiently.

Damon curled his lips. "The first is naturally the Powered Battle Royale. My entire team of 11 will go against the house's chosen team of 11."

Nyros raised an eyebrow in surprise at Damon's daring, while the crowd exploded with jeers and excitement.

"Look at the human! Does he think he can fight the house's chosen warriors and win?" A hunched creature with three jaws sneered, its voice thick with derision.

"His arrogance will be the death of them!" A tall, chitinous figure croaked, its mandibles clicking in excitement.

"Foolish mortals! They think themselves gods!" A whirling vortex of light and shadow shrieked.

Others began chanting in twisted harmony, their voices echoing with dark glee: "House! House! House!"

Damon's eyes remained cool and steady, ignoring the peanut gallery with a calm that only made them laugh harder.

Felicia's voice came through the mental link, tense but curious. "Damon, are you sure about this? A battle royale with the house's chosen? That's… reckless, even for you."

Henry's mental voice trembled with worry. "What if the house picks monsters with stats that blow us away? Even our SSS-rank abilities might not matter if we can't even keep up physically!"

Nicholas's mental tone was steady but laced with concern. "If they pick seasoned Pre-Chaos powerhouses, we'll be at a huge disadvantage."

Damon's lips curled in a small, confident smile. "Relax. The house's team is forced to match our average stats as well as available skills and items, excluding our awakened abilities. That means no matter who they pick, they're balanced to us."

Bane's mental voice rumbled with approval. "So, the only edge we have is our abilities."

Levi let out a mental laugh. "Which is perfect for us, because even if they match our stats, they can't copy our unique abilities. And that's where we shine."

Connor's voice was cold and precise. "It's a gamble… but one in our favor if Damon's Probability Manipulation can keep any of their luck-altering abilities in check."

Damon's eyes narrowed, his mental tone calm and deep. "Exactly, the house will try to tilt the odds, but I've been dealing with their luck manipulations all this time. They can shift numbers, but they can't break me."

The peanut gallery's taunts rose to a fever pitch, voices clashing in a chorus of challenge.

"Pick me! I'll shred them with my claws!" A spindly shadow-being cackled.

"No, pick me! Let me roast them with my flame breath!" A living inferno cried.

"Give me a shot! I've been waiting for a challenge for eons!" A massive armored figure rumbled, its eyes burning with ancient fury.

Nyros regarded Damon with his cold, star-filled eyes. His lips curved into a thin, dangerous smile. "Very well. The house accepts your wager. An eleven-on-eleven Powered Battle Royale."

He paused, his fingers tracing the air as if reading an invisible screen. "The house's team is assembling. They will be… balanced… but that does not mean they will be weak."

Damon's eyes flashed. "We wouldn't want them to be."

Nyros's eyes glinted with cold amusement. "Your arrogance will be your downfall, human."

He lifted his hand and flicked his fingers, sending ripples through the air.

A swirling vortex opened beside the gaming table, swirling like a storm.

One by one, eleven figures stepped forth, each alien and monstrous in its own way. Some were tall and regal, others squat and brutish while a few seemed more ethereal than real, like living illusions given form.

Yet each exuded an undeniable power with a cold and merciless presence that made the air itself vibrate.

The crowd erupted in cheers and evil laughter, their voices like a tidal wave of anticipation.

"House! House! House!"

"They'll be crushed! Torn apart! Bled dry!"

"Look at those faces!! They are ready to die already!"

Damon remained motionless, his expression serene.

His voice, calm and unwavering, carried through the mental link. "Remember. They match our stats, our skills, and our items, but not our abilities."

He let his words hang in the mental space between them, because this was the key thing to note.

"They might be powerful, but they are simply fools who overestimated themselves and are now slaves for eternity, whereas the ones who made it this far and we're the ones who will walk out of here, no matter what." He continued, his voice now low and intense.

As Nyros's eyes glowed, the vortex pulsed with energy, solidifying the house's chosen team.

Damon took a single step forward, his eyes locked on Nyros.

"Now lets discuss the wager."