In a private booth attached to the same arena where Toltura had transformed Participants into lesser chaos proteans, Orochi scrolled through the PAD Chat, reading the Patrons' reactions to the latest announcement.
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▻OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Toltura, Goddess of Chaos and foremost Patron of the Storytelling Games, has grown bored of the event. As such, as of this moment, all but twenty-two Participants are being drafted into her Army. The remainder of the Gladiation Story will be conducted Tournament style beginning in one hour. Any questions and/or concerns are to be directed to the employees of the event. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
▻▻IH8U: BOOOOOOOOOOO the Games are ending early?? SO lame!
▻▻▻NoRe$pawnSuckas!: Fr man, fr. What a riipoff. Refund! Refund!
▻▻▻▻IHeartChz: ialsowant a refddn!! Refnd! refngd!!
▻▻DirtyDergi: tbh i was getting bored too
▻▻iAloneAmTheExaltedOne: i don't blame her. Tournament style tho?? Why not just an all-out brawl??
▻▻AbyssalBlackDarkness: 'Tis the end of such delights already? Myself doth protest this inequity!! The Participants' lives were like fodder beneath mine glorious hand! Bring them back posthaste! I shan't suffer to repeat myself, do it now!
…
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Alarmed, he navigated to the Participant viewing screen and selected Alesha's viewport.
She was sitting quietly on her bed, clearly unaware of what was going on.
"Does this mean she wasn't recruited?" Orochi muttered. "Sweet."
He rolled over on the couch, looking a lot like the draconic version of a lazy dog.
"I'm so boooooored," he whined, wishing he was allowed to misbehave. Back home, no matter what he did, his father would praise him; he could break things, attack the servants, prank the other generals, and otherwise get up to all manner of mischief and never be punished.
Now, however, he'd pulled one tiny prank on a few Patrons, and his attendance to the Games was now contingent on good behavior?? What did that even mean?? He assumed it meant not hurting people or breaking stuff, but his prank hadn't hurt anyone either, so he was at a loss.
Maybe it wasn't worth it to attend the Games anymore?
He'd only been attending them because they were entertaining, but since he wasn't allowed to do anything fun (and another Patron had stolen his opportunity to Sponsor and meet Alesha within the Story rules), was there any point in staying?
He could wait until the Games were over, but … did he really need to?
Uncle Zoro would probably leap for joy if Orochi didn't have a reason to attend the Games anymore, so why not?
Grinning, Orochi rolled off the couch; then, in his excitement to leave the room, he knocked over a few pieces of furniture.
----
Alesha stared at the updated Role and Goal sheet, at a loss for how to react.
That's it.
There was no way she'd be able to get enough XP now.
Just like that, any chance of her reverting to a human form (or anything like a human form) before the end of the Games was over.
[HAHAHAHAHAHA! Toltura, Toltura, Her Eminence Toltura! Praise Her Chaotic Glory!] Rogork trumpeted.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Alesha grumbled. "You're never like this, it's disgusting."
[Hey, give a guy some credit. She's the Goddess of Chaos. I'm the 'Seed of Chaos' System. I've got to admire art when I see it. With one fell swoop, everyone's neat and orderly plans for the future were upended and a new future was constructed.]
"I really don't see how this is something to admire," Alesha complained.
[You're just salty that our evolution was put on hold.]
"And I don't understand why you aren't!!" She snapped. "Seriously! You stand to gain a lot from my evolution, too, so I don't understand what's wrong with you! How can you sing the praises of a Goddess who overturns everything we've worked for!"
[Haaa,] Rogork sighed. [You misunderstand something. Yes, my goal is to turn you into a proper Seed of Chaos. Yes, your evolution furthers my goal. But my deepest purpose and highest form of enjoyment is found in Chaos itself. You yourself are merely a means to an end. Corrupting you is, therefore, also a means to that end. I can rejoice in Toltura's Chaos because it is pure, unrestrained, and divine -- even if the Chaos I can make is delayed by the presence of her Chaos, I can genuinely rejoice in the beauty of that which she wrought.]
"... You're lying," Alesha eventually concluded. "You're just as mad as I am, and using sophistry to cope with the fact that things aren't going your way."
[If that's what you wish to believe, then sure, why not.]
Alesha sighed, then plopped down backwards onto her bed, which she'd been sitting on before.
"What am I gonna do now?" She groaned miserably.
[... I don't know either,] Rogork said softly.
The tentativeness of its response led Alesha to believe even more firmly that her conclusion was accurate: Rogork was just as upset about this development as she was.