== VORTEX QUEST 5-3 ==
== PARADOX RESOLVED ==
Deep within the floating rock that contained the defiled sanctuary, the pantheon kneeled naked – save for the aegises – in a row.
Opposite them were four chained and drugged Gawri, the bipedal but non-sapient dino creatures, with enthrallment pentagrams on their heads.
Kvaff'Ugorg with the split head was fixed spread eagle to a stone altar between the demigods and the beasts. His limbs were pierced by many foot-long golden needles that made blood flow into runic engravings.
Valor and Tranquility were at the head, chanting in Celestial but not to worship heaven. They invoked the power of King Pwen'Gllach.
Chay hoped that wasn't going to get them attention by the realm's overlord. As far as he could tell, the Nephilim hadn't told the whole story but weren't setting a trap per se. Still, there was surely another shoe left to drop.
Thralls could not take on transferred curses, so Tranquility released the Gawri from their bond in the middle of the ritual. They stirred in their chains. Chay prepared to puppet any one able to break free. He felt a little bad, though.
Lighting raced through him.
Blinded and deafened – no, even more, his sensorium shattered, Chay gained an extrahuman sense. He felt something break inside him. Something alien that had latched on so tightly it would have seemed irremovable. It started clinging onto him again but was flipped away from him, violently clicking inside out, to latch onto an entity across the room.
His brain reassembled and he saw dark smoke sink into the Gawri. They'd struggle to survive now, unable to gain satiation from anything they consumed without having been given by someone else.
The paradox curse was transferred.
The pantheon still suffered from Feeding Fate and Drowning Destiny, as well as the open signatures, but could pleasure themselves again. They had agreed to rid themselves of the paradox curse since piss and cum were easy enough to get.
"So..." Chay started the conversation. "We can rub our own nipples again?"
He did so, reaching for his chest, and the others followed his example. A warbling whimper left his mouth. Touching his nipples felt leagues beyond the best sex he'd ever had with any girlfriend.
Goro was leaning back kneeling, a tear rolling from his closed eyes. Xane quivered as he creamed on the inside of his thighs. Marcus' eyes were wide open.
"Didn't realize," Chay whispered, "how much I'd been missing."
They touched themselves while the ex-angels cleaned up around them. It didn't take long for the demigods to finger their own asses. Once again Chay learned how much the curse had taken from him. No longer depending on his friends, he fingerbanged with both hands, legs in the air, until his hands fully slipped inside him for a spread.
Xane was on his back, legs raised, fucking himself with a mage-dick.
"N-no fair," Marcus whined.
Goro was bent over, long hair hanging to the ground, fisting himself. He cried.
"Hey buddy," Xane said, sounding freakishly serene compared to the rest of them. "Are you okay?"
Goro sobbed behind his curtain of lush, black hair. "Yeah, I just... know we'll have to stop at some point... and I don't want to."
Marcus was also spreading his ass with both hands, driving his arms in halfway down the forearm with inhuman, animus-powered flexibility. "Can't believe I've wasted all my live jerking my dick, when my ass was there all along."
"Need something deeper," Chay said. "Xane, be a team player."
"Fucker," Xane said. "If you make me stop mage-dick fucking myself for even a second, the pantheon is having a schism."
"Please," Goro sobbed.
Xane gave a groan so long and loud, Chay would have thought he was magically projecting his voice if that wouldn't have required turning the mage-dick off. "Into a square then. You bitches know you could make a triangle without me."
They crawled into their usual fisting square, this time leaving one hand not to caress the bottom in front but to pleasure themselves, rub their own silky skin and rock hard nipples. Over and over Chay was amazed at how much the paradox curse had denied them.
Fisting each other and themselves alternately, they enjoyed Xane's mage-dick in different shapes going around to give them breaks. At some point, their water had made it through and they pissed into each other. They never stopped the sex, though.
Goro had been right. It couldn't go on forever, but Chay really, really wanted it to.
===***===
After kindly disposing of Kvaff'Ugorg's remains, the Nephilim had at last informed the pantheon of the major problem with curse transfer as already hinted at – blood vengeance.
They were not demonblooded, but any use of a Daemon's essence in a ritual left them vulnerable to several effects. Maybe Kvaff'Ugorg was way too dead to harm them until he reformed centuries later – if ever – but he could also cause trouble from beyond the grave. Possession, temporary curses, drawing the ire of King Pwen'Gllach upon them at the cost of his immortal strength. The list went on.
They needed someone truly powerful – and on their side – to take over the killed lord's estate and weaken the influence of his immortal essence over the world from his throne.
The fallen angels had someone in mind, kind of.
With the distance too far for a Griffnix ride, Mercy had rented space on a speedy realm liner for himself and the pantheon.
The Bleeding Pearl was a black ferry with a single deck maneuvered along the cliff faces of Hiwinymb, sails by the sides sparking with the red energy of its soul stone engines. Whenever they cut through a bubble cloud, dark red lightning sparked up the few pointed arches spanning the deck as rafters.
Chay and Marcus leaned on the railing, self-fingering past their fundoshi straps, while the free hands caressed each other. Xane was laying on the ground with his tongue poking out, mage-rimming his own ass, seven butterflies lazily hopping around him.
"Back to a plain buzz, huh?" Marcus asked.
Chay kept his hands on the kung-fu-god's nipples instead of driving them through his short hair. "Yeah. I mean, I got it to heal. Bit longer than I'd like though. Xee's going to have to give it a good shave to even it out."
"You don't want the patterns back? No more matchy-matchy with your big, strong lover boy?"
Chay gave Marcus' face a playful shove. "Suck my dick cage."
A Kobold dropped from the arches above – Captain Toothcracker.
The Bleeding Pearl belonged to the Snoutfucker clan who were the Nephilim's go-to ferry service. Toothcracker was a more nimble version of the Sexy Godzilla template, with orange stripes along the back and arms making him as memorable as his conical hat of tiny bones.
"Say, you there," he started in Pandemonic. "You're some kind of divine god-human freak things. With magic. Right?"
"Yeah," Xane answered for them in Boldian, sitting up. "Need some repairs done, captain? I can mend metal, rope, sails."
"Oh," Toothcracker said, surprised. "That would be... nice. Very `divine' of you. Not lowering my rate, though. No, I'm just asking you to collect your freak friend at the bow. He's creeping out my crew."
"Will do." Xane gave a lazy salute and dropped back down.
The Snoutfucker Kobold nodded with narrowed eyes and swung himself up into the arches again.
"Hey," Xane said, voice projecting. "Gogo-boy, come back here. Don't know what you're doing to give monsters the heebie-jeebies but we gotta play nice."
Chay watched as Goro arrived from around the deckhouse, walking with legs apart, lightly squatting, giving slaps to his fundoshi every ten seconds.
"Wow," Marcus said with exaggerated amazement. "You ran out of worthy foes so you're fighting yourself. Who's winning?"
Goro stood before them, massive legs in a half squat, continuing to slap his crotch at intervals. "Remember when Diego pulled our open signatures and it let us swim in pure bliss forever?"
Chay was curious where this was going. He could tell Goro was feeling great and eager to share his thoughts for once.
"Not how I would have phrased it," Xane said, "but it kept us at peak while he took turns ravaging our tender behinds."
"I've been plateauing at peak since we boarded," Goro said and slapped his crotch. "Punched my hole a few times to get going and used ball slaps to keep the sensation up. Works like a charm once you find the right combo."
"Man," Marcus said, "I was trying to bend myself to the point where I can auto-fist to the shoulder. Sadly, my celestial powers have limits. But if ball torture is all it takes..." The animus-fighter went on all fours, pulled the fundoshi aside and pointed his hole at Chay. "Punch me, boss. Xee, lube?"
Xane chuckled. "Cap Toothcracker is going to kick us off the boat."
"Worth it," Goro said. "I'm peaking ninety percent as hard as if we're having an orgy."
"Maybe," Chay interrupted, "we should postpone this. Spending every waking second fucking in some way or another probably messes with us."
"In that case," Xane said and shot up, "time for a new hairstyle. Are you sure you're not feeling experimental anymore?"
The thaum-mage gave a cute pout, enlarging his eyes with an illusion so subtle it took umbra-magic to see past it. Still, it was pretty adorable. Hm, maybe that was the sex hormones speaking. When had Chay becomes so soft and easy to manipulate?
"You know what," he started. "...fuck it. Do whatever experimental bullshit you feel like. I'm in your care."
Xane punched the air in joy and the umbralist felt a ghostly lick along the asscrack.
They sat at the ship's rim.
While the wizard worked, Chay let his legs hang off the deck, enjoying the sights. Stone-skull riddled mega-stalactites; wild, illusory gardens and lord castles in vision bubbles along the walls; bubble clouds above, dropping from immense upside-down trees like lost leaves; Hiwinymb's many little volcanoes and teal plasma lakes far below. An imp flock passed close to the vessel, chattering.
Xane at last conjured a reflective disk to let Chay see the fruit of his labors. Chay had vowed to give praise and shrug it off, but his eyes widened.
Shaved into the top of his head was a cartoon skull the size of his palm – if he lowered his head the skull was looking forward. Around it were more abstract lines reminiscent of Goro's warrior mark, weaving between smaller symbolic motives.
This was more artistry than Chay had ever seen put into a haircut. It make him look like the most stylish rebel punk.
It just... wasn't him. Although... correction. It wasn't something "college debate club leader" Chay would have done. It was perfect for "fuck-the-abyss gang leader" Chay.
"Glorious," Chay said, letting a genuine smile spread on his face. "I'm having a hard time finding words, but if I could suck your dick to say thanks, this is where I'd open wide."
Xane hugged him from behind. "Appreciate it, bro."
Marcus stepped up next to them, spinning the chakram on his pointer. "Wow, holy shit, Xee. A masterpiece. I'd ask to be your canvas, too, but," he drove his unoccupied hand through his currently two inch mohawk, "I like this strip. And that I can make it pure white with my own magic."
Xane used an illusion to change his shorter black mohawk to match Marcus' bright white one. "How about we match, too?"
"No way," Marcus said, let his chakram snap onto his wrist and tried to rumple up the illusion on the wizard's head. "That's my thing."
"Hehe, it can be our thing, bestie."
"Fuck you, I've earned being the anime protagonist here."
Xane hummed, ducking under Marcus' slaps. "Hm, I think I'll keep it this way."
They fell on top of each other, lips finally meeting. Chay was torn between joining and breaking them up.
"Am I interrupting something?" asked a demonically deep but melodic, sweet voice.
Mercy was joining them, his shimmering wings slightly flared to enlarge his presence. The golden giant's lose, almost skimpy robes, held together by green pearls and broches made Chay want to jump his muscles and lick until he got fucked.
Xane's hair faded back to his original short black mohawk and the struggling men got up, standing to Chay's sides. Goro sat on a crate further back. He was motionless safe for his long black tail fluttering behind the hair tie, looking out at a flock of humanoid creatures with beaks and gorgeous feathery wings. But Chay knew the mania-warrior was paying rapt attention.
"There is something among our treasures," Mercy said, "we'd like you to have. We think it may have been constructed for a human or a devil originally."
It was a golden butt plug with a bulb the size of a fist and a flat garnet worked into the base.
Marcus snickered. "I thought I was over how gay things have gotten but this is hilarious."
Xane grinned. "Goro's been getting the least equipment throughout our adventures. I say he gets to wear it."
The berserker hummed, his eyes glancing at the golden plug without his head moving.
Chay looked closer. It was of angelic make, intensely ornate once you were up close, but smooth to the touch. He took it from the Nephil. "Thank you. I'm not sure we'll be able to lug it around but it's appreciated."
"And then there's this." The fallen angel handed over a bracelet, inset with purple amethyst shards.
Chay hadn't had time to read as much as he wanted to, but vaguely recognized an Alethium matrix in a semi-polar Uunh-circuit.
"Kvaff'Ugorg's illusion ring? Can we use this to turn invisible?"
"It doesn't require demon blood to turn on. But it does take souls. There's two still inside."
Chay had an urge to set them free but he knew the Reapers were going to collect them again on their way out of the abyss whether he used them or not. He turned over the ring – or large bracelet – in his hands.
Chay turned himself invisible. It wasn't much different from merging with his magic mist, worse even because he couldn't move fast without breaking the spell, but he could encompass an entire area big enough for the whole pantheon.
"This is great, thank you," Chay said, reappearing. "Not sure we'll be able to get many souls but... wait, does the assplug also have a soul stone?"
"I believe so," Mercy said. "You'd have to pour a soul in to find out."
"What are you waiting for?" Xane asked and raised their bag of ectoplasm. "Fuck yourself and turn it on."
"Me? We're playing rock-paper-scissor," Chay said nonchalant and `unfortunately' lost.
The winner Goro stepped between them, pulled his fundoshi aside and took the fist-sized bulb without flinching.
Chay crouched behind the massive glutes and tapped the vision bracelet to the garnet in the plug's base, pushing one soul through the magic conduit.
Goro's ass and thighs quivered. He went into a light squat, hands shooting to his nipples. He whimpered, which turned into a guttural groan.
"Vibrator?" Marcus asked. "Fucking hilarious. Absolutely fag-tastic. Are... Man, are you crying? That good? Let me try. My turn. Me next, come ooon."
Goro didn't put up a fight, handed over the deactivated plug and sat down, shaking. Marcus dropped his thong – crotch shining bright – and sat on the plug before activating it. His face was one of horror similar to his first fisting. He refused to let anyone else use it until the trapped soul's power had run out.
===***===
The tunnel swirled around them, black stone spirals centering on distorted skulls, silver chunks or needle sharp protrusions.
The Hiwinymb crawlway was more flowing and meandering than the usual craggy zigzags they'd come to know. A feather-hung signpost pointed at Grubbub's Pass (deprecated)', Level 3 Exclusion Zone' and `Ruins of Do'og-Uech City (unclaimed)'.
Mercy was leading them. Chay was only half trying to memorize the path, too busy digesting the new information.
"I just assumed," Chay started, "we'd be freeing your ally from some kind of siege or oubliette but he's been trapped here for... how long again?"
"In human terms," the ex-angel said, ducking his baby face under the narrow ceiling, "over a millennium. This Light Aelf army chose to freeze itself here after betraying their masters. They expected to be rescued within a couple of Sphere Turns. The plan failed."
"Light Aelf?" Marcus asked. "Doesn't sound like something you'd find in the abyss."
"Indeed," Mercy said, shimmering wings swiping away grasping moss tangles. "Earth is not the only realm the abyss has ever tried to invade. I don't know the details but these Aelves chose to stay as part of a rebellion within their own realm. Still, they are vastly more trustworthy than any demon."
"Good point," Chay said. "I assume. So we're just handing them a palace."
"King Pwen'Gllach would scarcely allow celestial creatures to make a major bid for power, but he might be lenient with other realms."
"Hey," Xane said and caught up with a few hops, arms spread in joy. "Look what I can do."
Chay looked at the wizard, surrounded by randomly drifting, tiny butterflies. Nothing happened. Chay gave a confused shrug.
Xane crossed his arms, flexing unnecessarily. "Count them."
"Oh shit," Chay said. "Eight motes, congrats. I'm wondering if we're all becoming more powerful and you're just getting the most discrete upgrades. Gut feeling says yes."
Marcus shoved himself between them. "You are becoming stronger. I am becoming sexier. We're not the same."
Xane created an illusion of Kobold cocks hanging over Marcus' head, jizzing down on him. "So sexy."
Goro pushed past them. "Sounds of battle."
"He's right," Mercy said, frowning. "Maybe it's time to test the vision ring."
"Vision bracelet," Goro corrected, nodding at his shoulder where the metal ring sat, above his left bicep. "I'm ready."
The team of five moved in on the war zone, shielded by a light fog.
In a larger cavern, two Goblin tribes were colliding. Feather topped bone spears flew back and forth, one side hastily erecting fortifications while the other advanced with clubs and axes, the leader riding on an armor-clad Vark.
Goro sighed, the warrior mark resting on his pecs.
Chay gave him a pat on the back, flinching at the erotic charge of feeling the godly muscles. "Wish you could enter the fray?"
Goro gave a hum. "I don't want my life to only be fighting and fucking but I want there to be a lot of it."
"Neither side is ours. You can be a mercenary another day. Okay?"
"Sure. Vision coming online... now."
The sight of an expanding soap bubble from Goro's shoulder faded as invisibility took over. Xane gave himself butterfly wings and hopped onto Marcus' back to carry him along. Chay received the gift of flight, too, and carried Goro. Mercy had wings by nature.
Staying inside the vision bracelet's range, they moved across the battlefield at a snail's pace. The test run wasn't a full success, with various limbs poking from the invisibility field here and there but the distracted greenskins never noticed.
The bracelet was not even depleted when they reached the other side.
"Great test run," Chay said.
"Slow as fuck," Marcus spat. "If we have just flown overhead, they couldn't have done anything."
"As a test run of the item, to learn its capabilities, it was a full success."
"Being slow as fuck is not a success," Marcus insisted. "You can pull shit like that without me."
Chay had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Okay, unsuccessful test run... on member patience."
"Now listen h-"
Goro uncorked two bota bags and shoved one in Marcus' face while taking a deep swing from the other. The white-haired man drank.
"Hey you two," Xane said, "leave some for the rest of us."
Marcus pulled Xane into a kiss and pressed his tongue into the wizard's mouth. Drops of nectar ran like honey down their chins.
Goro took another big swing and grabbed Chay by the neck. The man with the tribal tattoo roughly kissed the man with matching patterns around his skull haircut.
Drinking nectar from someone else's mouth wasn't different on the surface. But hopping onto Goro's hip, Chay's visions and reality could fade into each other with ease until it seemed like Goro himself was a devil fucking him.
After the mouthful of demonic sex-drugs had long been swallowed, Chay was still aggressively making out with Goro, grinding on his hips, delaying the time it would take for his body and mind to realize he wasn't actually having a ten-devil orgy where every top was Goro.
"We..." Xane mumbled, "...we should do that more often."
Mercy's dick snaked out from between the scant robes. "Ah," the Nephil made. "It seems I'm in the mood to refill your bags, with a little assistance."
All friendship forgotten, the demigods crowded around the swinging, golden hose to lick and worship, jostling to service divine cock.