Chapter 199: Bound as Equals

Anthony got to his feet with a curious smirk, summoning his spear. "I assume you’ll restrain your awesome power so I’m not turned into fried chicken the moment we start? And, why don’t we make this interesting?"

Rachel sat a little straighter, whatever constituted blood in her current form beginning to pump at the prospect of a fight as the redhead moved to up the stakes. She’d been itching to get back into a fight, and watching one was the next best thing. Sadly, she had her own objective with Mei.

Tintreach grinned. "Oh? What plot spins within that devious human mind of yours?"

The redhead flipped his spear around his body to test his momentum in the space before twisting it up to rest it on his shoulders. "You’re a higher being, right? If I win, then you tell me how to cure my fiancée of her cursed cancer. If I lose... turn me into charcoal."

Tail going stiff at the death wish, Rachel was about to interject when the electric personage shook his head and retracted his glaive. "I cannot give you what I do not have to give."

"Dammit," Anthony growled, frustration replacing his enthusiasm as he glared off to the side. "You can’t even give me a cure."

It clicked in Rachel’s mind; she was so stupid. He hadn’t wanted this meeting to talk about Taranis’ blessing; he’d wanted to get another angle on curing his woman’s illness. Everything he’d done in the Quests was for Amelia’s benefit. His association with Rachel was for Amelia’s benefit. The man’s work as a chemist was for Amelia’s benefit. His entire world revolved around fixing her life because he loved her.

Dammit... I miscalculated his investment.

Rachel’s fingers tightened against each other as silence ensued, Anthony probably working on another angle while the two higher beings patiently waited. She needed his Quests, though, and him having two separate Greater Seeds had to have been for a purpose; the threads of misfortune closed in around her without Anthony inside Omen.

If I offer a temporary cure for Amelia at the price of him joining so that she can live a somewhat normal life with regular transfusions, I’m a total asshole, forcing him into work that takes him away from her. Then again, he would jump at the opportunity, but Amelia would be opposed to that kind of condition, and that divide between them could cause a lot of trouble. Dammit...

Her ears straightened when Tintreach broke the somber atmosphere, cupping his chin and appraising the Legend. "I see you fight for someone other than yourself and your own glory... I will offer you this then:

"I shall accept your determination to bet your life for your love, and should you prove to me your love is true, I will bind my soul with yours to see your journey through, not as some arbitrary blessing, but as equals. I will take nothing from you, and grant you my power. Should you die, I will perish."

Rachel forced a laugh. "Why... would you do that? Are you saying you won’t even gain any strength from this kind of deal? How does that work, Mei?"

The bunny maintained her graceful cadence while producing a Chinese teapot from a hole in space to fill her cup. "Lord Tintreach has his own personal reasons to connect to such a circumstance, which is why I believe Lord Taranis has sent him down this path. Besides, I would not call this a transparent deal. Lord Tintreach has merely found someone whom he can resonate with."

"Meaning?" Anthony carefully asked.

The Lightning Lord looked off into the void, white clouds tinting black. "I seek vengeance for a wrong committed, and my prey has bound himself to a man on your planet. It is... difficult to pass between veils after the Sundering, requiring the aid of someone on the other side. As you grow, so too will your spirit be able to handle more of my power."

Anthony thought on his words for several seconds before meeting Tintreach’s gaze. "A deal then. I help you achieve your vengeance, and you help me save my fiancée. We hold nothing back from each other, and only if our goals conflict will we be opposed."

Tintreach took a moment and nodded. "Should you prove you’re worthy to hold my glaive and find my enemy amongst the Fomori, then I will be your arm to strike judgment upon your foes until your quest is done."

"Then we talk while we fight," Anthony said with a grin, swinging his spear into a ready position. "Who are the Fomori?"

The Lightning Lord mirrored his stance, glaive touching the Legend’s spear. "The nether demons that rebelled against The Morrigan and sought power for themselves on Earth."

Rachel winced, ears flying back as a flash of light carried them away, leaving a loud rumble that shook through her entire being. Seeing spots, she saw the trail of lightning dancing in a wide circle around them.

Mei’s own ears were laid back as she placed her pot into the hole in space before massaging them, Rachel mirroring her. "This is why I do not enjoy sharing space with other factions... Hmm. At least he took the battle to a separate location."

The silver-haired Chinese woman looked at her with a smile. "It speaks to your mother’s aptitude that she is able to accommodate us to this level. Please, give her my appreciation for her grace in providing us with this opportunity."

"Of course," Rachel mumbled, shifting into a more comfortable position and trying not to read too far into the praise; it was hard for her to accept that her mother was facilitating all of this. "Was Tintreach talking about the nether demons that served The Morrigan? The same Morrigan that accepted Izanami’s invite into the Legend Quest?"

"Indeed, he was," Mei said with a long, drawn-out sigh. "Quite a few lower courts and former servants of the gods and goddesses have broken free of their oaths and duties the second they learned the dimensional barriers prevented retaliation. The Morrigan hasn’t always been viewed in a... positive light, and the Fomori have a... spotted history with that pantheon. It is further complicated by the fact that we only survived due to our Lords and Ladies winning their respective fights for domination amongst their counterparts."

A lump formed in Rachel’s throat at the insight. Countless versions of Chang’e had fought one another, and it put things into a new perspective to view it from the angle that she was fighting for all the lunar bunnies that she loved, and perhaps her other versions fought for the same, only to lose in the end. She could see the heavy burden Chang’e carried now.

"So... does that mean that Eostre only survived due to Cerridwen’s victory over her other counterparts?"

Mei closed her eyes and took a sip of tea before focusing on her again. "You are steering this conversation back to Moongmor, even if you cannot consciously see it."

Rachel strained a laugh. "Was I? I won’t say it isn’t a topic I wanted addressed."