The Champion of Chaos

THE CHAMPION OF CHAOS

When the Gods - ALL the Gods! - returned and the world had to cope with their demigod champions wrecking everything, there was no way you were getting involved.  Then you died and an unknown, barely worshiped Goddess decided to take an interest in you....whether you wanted her to or not.
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The sound of water dripping wakes you.

When you open your eyes, it's dark.  Pitch black dark, so dark you wonder if your eyes are working at all.  They must be, because you can 'see' the phosphene patterns in the darkness.  You close your hand and feel rough concrete.  The dust is at least settled, but your lungs burn like you've smoked a pack of cigarettes.  The clatter of debris echoes nearby, and you realize what happened.

The fuckers buried you alive.

Trying to move gets you nowhere.  One arm is free, and that's it.  There isn't any air movement, and other than dripping water....slowly dripping water.  Well, you won't drown; you'll just die of thirst.  Presumably there are rescue crews looking for survivors, so you just have to hope they get this deep quickly.  Without shifting the rubble and killing you by accident.

Although, with no feeling in your legs and other arm, you're not entirely sure you'll be doing well.  It's not like you can sue a God or their fucking champion for damages.

"Maybe Marduk."

The voice is loud in the endless quiet, and you would scream, but you can't get enough air into your fright constricted lungs to do so.

"And it's not water."

What's not....shit, you're bleeding.

"They're not looking for you."

Of course they are, you're a survivor buried in rubble.  They might not be looking for you specifically, but they're looking for people who lived through the fall of the building.

"You're not a survivor."

But you're alive so....

"What makes you think that?"

....

Shit.  Shit shit SHIT SHIT!

A pair of glowing orange eyes open, and a wolfish grin appears beneath them.  Bright red hair ebbs and flows and breaks apart above and behind the girl's face, and a pattern of golden hexagons forms and breaks apart along the locks over one eye.  Her mouth is too wide and gives her a faintly disturbing look, as if the glowing orange eyes and impossible hair weren't enough.

"No, I'm not Loki, though I could be a stand in for him.  Or for Reynard, or Anasazi, or Sun Wukong, or Eris, or Leviathan, or Chernobog, or Angra Mainyu, or Amatsumikaboshi, or Apep.  A bunch of others.  Not all nice ones, you'll notice."  The grin settles back and you can see more of her in the fire-bright light of her eyes.  And the ruined walls of concrete, steel beams and tarmac, with just a space big enough for her to rest comfortably in.  "Don't look down; you'll want to keep your eyes on me.  You're not a pretty sight from the chest down."

It is with a supreme effort of will that you keep your eyes on her.

"That's my girl!  Actually, you're not.  But I'm going to make you an offer to be my girl.  You can refuse, of course, but I'd be unhappy if you did."  She rests her arms on her elbows and looks at you with those greedy, burning eyes of hers.  "The thing you don't notice about all those gods is that they don't have a stake in the current fight.  Not one of them has a champion or a demigod or a hero working for them."

But....didn't all the gods-

"Not the ones associated with what I'm associated with.  No Tiamat.  No Loki.  No Eris.  No Set.  Sure, there's plenty of evil Gods, and lots of good Gods, and all of them are selfish pricks, because Gods are greedy....but no Gods of destruction.  No Gods of chaos."  The grin is back, wicked and knowing and ever so slightly hateful.  "Care to take a stab at why?"

Not if she's going to tell you anyways, because what the fuck is the point?

She laughs at you.  Laughs!  Because you're not playing along?

"Exactly!  Because I don't play along!"  Not quite what you were thinking, but okay.  "They're up there, causing all this chaos, destruction, and pain and suffering, and not one of them wants to be responsible for it!  It's always the other Gods' faults.  It's an accident, mischance, and well, if they fix it up, they get kudos for it, more worshipers for fucking up their lives in the first place."  Her eyes narrow and her hair seethes more rapidly.  "Now, there are a few people who give me my glory, who claim to give me thanks, who follow what they like to think of as my philosophy, but the truth is, I have exactly one worshiper."

Just one?  That's ridiculous.  If that were enough to empower a God, there's be billions of deities running amok.  Shinto alone has-

"There's a difference in a believer and a worshiper, honey.  You're a believer.  You've said a prayer or two to me, in your own little way.  But this girl is my worshiper.  She makes offerings, she gives me prayers in her own special way."  This grin is vicious.  "But she's not champion material.  She doesn't have the drive, and she isn't combative.  Not that I mind passive-aggressive behavior, I love it.  But that has a time and place, and in a fight with people trying to kill you, it's not a great plan."

So what, you get to be alive again, all it costs is your free will and servitude?  Fuck that.  You've seen the shit these assholes have caused - hell, you died because of the shit they cause.  Why the fuck would you want to get involved in their little shit show and kill other bystanders just because some red-headed bitch wants to keep her worshiper alive!?

"Because I'll give you a weapon that can kill GODS."

....

What?

She rolls onto her hands and knees and crawls towards you, her face right in yours, her glowing eyes hot across your skin.  "I am going to give you my daughter's hand in marriage, place my worshiper at your beck and call, and give you a-"

Why is it that everyone assumes you're gay?  Holy shit, you avoid men and women, you hate everyone, you disowned your family, you don't have any friends, you....you....fucking dammit!

"And what about Victoria?"  She asks casually, sitting back.  "Because that was fucking gay, right there, sweetie.  Hell, I took on an idealized form out of your head, and here I am, a girl half your age!"  The Goddess pauses.  "I can fix that you know.  I want you to be happy being my champion.  Sure, if you say no, you'll be in living hell forever, but if you say yes, I'm going to make you pretty happy while you wade through the shit in my name."

....Victoria broke your fucking heart into a thousand little pieces, in public, ruined any chance at a normal school life from elementary school through college, and you've been dealing with that fucking shit for most of your life.  So excuse you but fuck her choice of mental images, you're not gay or anything else.

"Sure.  I'm still giving you a host of powers and abilities.  As a matter of fact, because of what the other gods did, I can give you the powers and abilities from any deity of destruction or chaos, because I am THE Goddess of Chaos now."  She sits back again and looks at you.  "Yes, there's a down side.  There's a couple, and they're massive ones."  The girl starts listing them off on her fingers.  "That God Killing weapon is going to want to kill everyone.  Gods, champions, bystanders, you, me, everyone.  All the time.  Forever.  No way to fix that either, but I think you're headstrong enough to keep her in check."

....Her?

"My daughter.  Anyways, there-"

A sword is her daughter?  How the fuck....

"It's a God thing.  Complicated.  You'll love her.  Anyways, there's the fact that every champion is going to be trying to kill you as quickly as they can, and their Gods and Goddesses will lie, cheat, steal, beg, borrow, form impossible alliances and do absolutely everything to kill you.  You show up, you're the number one target, all the time, every time."

Great.

"You won't have any allies, obviously, and you're going to be the scariest thing ever.  Humans will be terrified of you, because they will assume you're the worst thing to ever happen.  Except Satanists, death metal bands, and a few esoteric scholars and weird cultists.  The occasional crazy person.  Animals that have a lick of sense are going to be terrified of you, except the ones that I'm associated with, which are pretty fucked up usually.  Snakes, the Set beast, scorpions, foxes, creepy crawlies of all sorts, dragons-"

Wait wait wait!  DRAGONS?

"Duh.  Typhon, Apep, Leviathan-"

But there aren't any dragons!

Are there?

"As I was saying, there's not many people or things that are going to like you.  That's the worst part, really.  But then again, you don't like anyone else, so that suits me just fine.  My worshiper will adore you, so there's that."  She wiggles her thumb at you as she shows you her palm.  "Last but totally not least, you'll destroy any relationship with anyone that isn't a devotee or worshiper of mine, without fail."  She looks at you seriously.  "It doesn't matter who they are, what they promise, what you promise, or how hard you try, if you form a relationship outside of my worshiper, my daughter, or those people who are my believers....you will fuck them over and-or they will betray you.

"Every.

"Single.

"Time."

Great.  And what are the downsides?

"You're cute," she says with a very knowing smile.  The kind that makes you want to slap her, if you could reach her.  "The main things that you'll like are my worshiper is going to adore you.  My daughter will kill Gods and Goddesses and their champions for you - even if they're normally unkillable.  Not even deities can prevent death by this weapon - as long as you can at least hit them with her.  No one else in this entire world will have a real, honest to me magic weapon.  They might seem like magic weapons, but they're just shadows and representations.  You will have the very real thing."

Great, so you'll have to worry about it being stolen or taken from you.

"Oh, if only!  I'd love to see that happen!"

Ooookaaaayyy....

"You can't be killed.  Naturally, the downside is you can't be killed, but that's usually something they don't find out for long enough for you to kill the first few people you fight."

Wait.  She's saying that you'll never die?  EVER?

"I told you if you said no you'll regret it.  How's that not dying thing treating you?"

Such a fucking bitch.

"Not news to anyone honey.  Anyways, yeah, not dying.  Good thing is, you can't go mad.  Bad thing, you can't go mad.  You'll live."  She interrupts before you can explode, the fucking cunt.  "I have a whole slew of powers to offer, but you you are limited when you start out.  You'll still be better off than the others, but then, there's lots of them, and there is only you.  You're creative, I hope.  Unfortunately-"

Every time she tries to mention an upside, you're stuck with at least two downsides.  You're not getting a lot of confidence boosting here.

"Unfortunately, the only real 'instant win power' you get is the weapon, which you still have to hit with.  Now, she's going to take care of you; her homicidal impulses can be directed away from you, and she'll love you, but she still wants to kill everything everywhere forever.  It's her nature."  She giggles as you spin your finger in a sarcastic 'yippee' gesture.  "Yeah, I know right?  Anyways, the more you kill champions and gods, the more she sustains you.  That counts for any magical monsters, demons, angels, faeries, whatever.  You kill, she gives you more.  You slack off....you lose power."

Well, it's pretty well established you'll be on everyone's hit list forever, so no problem there, right?

"True - but humans are also on her shit list.  She'll happily kill them if nothing else is available.  I suggest you make things available."  Grinding your teeth might be rude, but she doesn't seem to be annoyed by it.  "Now, as for the other gift that you're getting, your body will repair itself quickly as long as there isn't anything actively preventing it from doing so.  I recommend against bathing in lava, acid, or concrete.  I'm sure you've heard about how other champions heal quickly."

Not fucking really.  You don't go out much because the fuckers DROP FUCKING BUILDINGS ON YOU.

"....Point.  Anyways, you'll heal so fast that you can get back up in minutes instead of being bedridden for weeks after someone rips you limb from limb.  And yes, that's a very real possibility, which is why I used it as an example.  A champion can survive that - I mean, look at Osiris' kid.  But you won't have to wait for someone to put you back together.  Neat huh?"

....

"Uh, okay.  So....you get some other boons, yeah.  One of which is that you can call on me for an assist, if you are fighting another deity.  The whole reason for champions is so they wouldn't get directly involved, so if they do - and with you around, it's really likely - you can call on me.  And when you do....well, let's just say I'll be really happy to make their acquaintances again."  She giggles malevolently.  "Yeah....oh.  Two other things.  You'll have some limited shape-shifting ability to start, which you can enhance if you want.  But if you are a woman, you can and probably will get pregnant and give birth, but it'll be a magical pregnancy, so it won't suck too bad usually.  What you give birth to will be a demigod of some sort, or a magical creature.  There's no way around it.  If you're a man, you'll definitely impregnate any girl, woman, beast or man you have sex with, and they'll-"

WHAT?!

"-give birth to a demigod or some magical creature."  She gives you a flat look.  "Seriously, it's like you have no mythological teaching at all.  A beast you give birth to is yours, or you can give it to the person who got you pregnant.  Any children you spawn are going to be wild.  They won't hurt their parents, but anyone else is fair game depending on how monstrous they are.  That's just a fact.  Demigods are cute little twerps, but yours are going to be unpredictable.  They will not be my champions, but the plus side is they won't be anyone else's without serious mojo being used on them.  They can't harm you no matter what."

Fucking dandy!  Way to make you not want to have sex EVER with ANYONE!  Fucking....

"Yeah, that.  Just so you know, yes, you can get women pregnant when you're a woman, if you want to, or if they want you to.  So watch it."  She seems to check off a mental checklist.

"So!  Now you get to choose a few toys...."

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~Choices Start Here~

BODY

These choices reflect your physical looks and abilities.  You will automatically receive Demigod Rank Stats (strength, stamina, coordination, whatever) across the board; those choices with notable requests for more will upgrade it by the intensity of the choice.  Only one choice will be taken for ability increases (the best of them), but some physical ability choices can be combined (true shape-shifting + youth return, for instance).  Maximum of three choices total.

Shape-shifting into a creature maintains your Demigod attributes, unless said creature is a dragon, mythical beast, or other true monster (as opposed to zombies, vampires, or werewolves, which are not mythical or God-spawned beasts), in which case you gain Mythic Beast status.  Sharing the power of the magic weapon will raise your physical capabilities to Titanic, but without it you'll be reduced to Inhuman.  You automatically have Beast level shape-shifting, which allows you to temporarily take another human form of your approximate height and weight (of any or no sexual characteristics, as desired).

It will quickly become obvious that it is impossible to take certain combinations of gifts....for now.

RANKS

The One:  Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Neo.

Deity:  Yes, an actual God.

Titanic:  Heracles, Maui, Jörmungandr.

Mythic Beast:  The Nemean Lion, the Hydra, Cú Chulainn during warp-spasm.

Demigod:  Perseus, Susano-Oh when expelled from Heaven, Baba Yaga.

Inhuman:  Odysseus, Hags, Cú Chulainn.

Beast:  Lions, Tigers, and Bears. Jason Voorhees; the strongest human, the best sharpshooter, the Tri-State Run winner.

Human:  The average human, big dogs, medium hunting cats, wolves.

Child:  Medium dog, big fish, children.

Animal:  Small dogs, cats, medium fish.


VOTES
You want your youth back - being in your for- your ~thirties~ is fine and all, but face it, if you're going to be dealing with the scions of Gods and Goddesses, you want to look your best. (Retain Demigod stats and Beast level ~Shape-shifting~, and gain Demigod level ~Allure & Charm~. Lose one Magic choice.)

If you're going to be having to chose your battles carefully, you want full on, no holds barred shape-shifting (Mythic Beast level ~Shape-shifting~, Lose one Magic choice).

You're fine as you are, but perfect health, some inhuman strength and stamina (Mythic Beast), and a slight smoothing of age would be appreciated.

Well, there might not be dragons now, but you'd love to pull a Maleficent! (One form [Dragon, Great Old One, or Force of Nature] with Titanic attributes.)

You against the masses? You need some serious physical upgrades NOW! (Titanic strength and stamina are constant, but you lose two Magical Ability choices.)

Turning into the beasts your Goddess has power over is more than enough. And what the fuck is a Set-beast? (Demigod level ~Shape-shifting~.)

You're willing to invest in the magic weapon: you feed off each other's power, so that you're twice as powerful with (Titanic physical attributes) and half as powerful without (Inhuman attributes). Doing so also grants the magic weapon the ~Humanoid Manifestation~ ability, and she will no longer seek to kill YOU. (Everyone and everything else is fair game, including your Goddess.)

Magic is fine and dandy, but you're going to be fighting. You need the power of the God of Martial Arts. (Gain Deity physical attributes, receive only a single Magical Ability choice.)

Well....if you're going to champion the cause of Chaos, you need to be able to sow chaos like no other. So you want the most powerful shape-shifting possible, and you'll sow discord and chaos the way trickster deities have been doing for ages: deceit, trickery, and sowing the seeds of strife with lust and desire. (Gain Deity level ~Shape-shifting~ along with Mythic Beast level ~Allure and Charm~. Only gain one other Magic choice.)



MAGIC

These are your powers, the magical abilities you can use for many purposes.  You start with Titanic levels of Regeneration, Titanic Immortality, and Deity levels of Fecundity (whether you want them or not).  You also have the ability to Commune with your Deity.  Whether or not she answers is largely up to her, but she must listen.  You also gain the ability to Commune with Worshipers, and the Divine Sight which grants you knowledge of a person's allegiances and/or belief levels, as well as a general idea of what religions they believe in, and can see magical influences and effects.

The top four choices will be granted to you.  Some abilities have no scaling, while others have a general power level.  It is entirely possible to use trickery or underhanded tactics to make a power more effective than it's listed power level - it's in fact expected for you to do so by both your enemies and your Goddess.

Note that taking certain Body choices limits your Magical Ability choices.  If you take an ability that is duplicated (such as gaining Demigod level of Allure and Charm twice) you gain the next higher level of that ability.  If they are of differing levels, you receive the higher of the two or an upgrade depending on the levels of difference between them, as appropriate to the situation.  It will quickly become obvious that it is impossible to take certain combinations of gifts....for now.



RANKS

The Creator:  That guy who made everything, all the Infinity Stones, Bruce Campbell.

Deity:  Rewriting reality in a localized area, infinitely powerful curses, horrific acts of magical might with repercussions worldwide, all Solomon's 72 Daemons at once

Titanic:  Aladdin's Lamp-Genie, Baba Yaga, a single Infinity Stone, Daemons.

Mythic Beast: Circe, Medusa, Doctor Strange, Accursed spirits called from Mirrors or Books by weird rituals (Candyman, Bloody Mary, I Madman).

Demigod:  Medea, Merlin, the Genie of the Ring, Elementals of Myth (not D&D ones).

Champion:  Most champions fall between Inhuman and Demigod level of power, with occasional stats and abilities reaching Mythic Beast levels.

Inhuman:  Houdini, Hags and Witches, Vampires, Spirits, Tutelary Deities, Haunts, Tardigrades.

Beast:  The most skilled magician or the most talented human ever, Werewolves, Ghosts, Psychics, Whales, Sharks.

Human:  The average human, everyday person, a bit of talent or a surprising level of skill.

Child:  Resilient and cute, adorable, powerless, but charming.

Animal: Snakes hiding in corners, cats vanishing from rooms, bats' echolocation, spiders under your toilet seat.


VOTES
Well there isn't anything more destructive than nature. ~UnNatural Disasters~ are part of your power now: you can control Air, Water, Fire and Earth alike at Mythic Beast level of ability; you can use these as weapons (this includes lightning, throwing or breathing fire, or hurling storms of ice and snow), or with effort use them to create actual localized disasters.

You can ~Discern True Natures~ which allows you to see not only through all disguise and trickery, but also inform you of strength and weaknesses. With this comes Demigod level ~Charm and Allure~, allowing you to influence your enemies with a few words or some well placed rumors and whispers, or even while talking to them.

You have the power of magic itself, for good and ill alike. You achieve Mythic Beast level of ~Sorcery~, enabling you to transform others, curse, heal, create life, build, and destroy with effort and willpower. This counts as two Magical Ability choices; it provides no ~Shape-shifting~.

You have the power of ~Imbuement~, also known as Wish Granting. This is similar to ~Sorcery~ in that you can do a variety of things, but these things can only be done at the request of another, to another or itself. With the Demigod level of ~Imbuement~, you can affect people as if you had Demigod level ~Sorcery~ if the effects are temporary or affect large areas or groups of people, Mythic Beast level if you are affecting a small area or group of people, or creating permanent wealth or valuables, or Titanic level ~Sorcery~ if you are affecting a single person or creating temporary wealth or valuables. You can also create magic weapons or charms that are truly effective, but only at the Inhuman level of power, and only upon demand by another. Use of this ability attracts deific attention quickly.

With an act of will, you can create a ~Barrier~, shifting the reality of a location slightly out of sync with the real world. This has three effects. First, humans are excluded from the area while any non-humans and unnatural beings of any sort are dragged into it. Second, the damage and destruction caused are not inflicted on the real world, but only the shunted world. Third, this has the effect of increasing ALL of your powers by one factor (Demigod to Mythic Beast, Mythic Beast to Titanic, Titanic to Deity level). This only affects your personal power (though if you have forged a bond with the Magic Weapon she too is affected). The downsides are that any destruction caused will occur in the real world at some point, in a lesser version (though total destruction will still be devastation), and any champions or demigods in the area are brought closer to their respective deity, meaning their deity may take notice that much easier. Their powers do not increase otherwise - barring actual intervention by a deity. Demigod level power can escape given time, but Mythic Beast level power can escape relatively quickly, but only Titanic Power can bring down the ~Barrier~ unless you will it otherwise.

You have the power of ~Corruption~. You can influence and affect anything you touch, speak to for a short while, or possess a piece of or a link to in the most dire ways. Be it physical, spiritual, or mental, you can ~Corrupt~ slowly but surely. It begins at Demigod level, which can affect any creature of Demigod status, who can attempt to resist (resistance can be influenced in many ways though!). If you have ~Charm and Allure~, it increases by one step. If you have ~Imbuement~ or ~Sorcery~ it increases by one step, but is two steps harder to resist. If you have ~Charm and Allure~ + ~Imbuement~ OR ~Sorcery~, it increases by two steps. If you possess all three abilities, it becomes Deity level, and you can command any creature so corrupted by will alone. It goes without saying that this power is reviled and feared.

The power of ~Command~ is yours. Humans, natural animals, ordinary plants and trees....they listen to you. They will help you. You can ~See Through Minions~ whom you have brought under your ~Command~, and they will follow your will even unto death, destruction, or suffering. No mortal can withstand your terrible power; only creatures of a power level of Inhuman or greater can withstand your will....unless you have the power of ~Charm and Allure~, in which case only Mythic Beings can withstand your power easily; even Demigods and Champions can be swayed by your will, though the stronger ones can fight back. While this power does not increase the power of ~Corruption~, ~Corruption~ makes this power contagious!

You have the power of ~Strife~. While it seems redundant, this wicked little power grants you Titanic level of ability to cause discord, distrust, and discontent - especially if there is some present to work with already. You can also make an object this focus of this, either imbuing the object to curse the one who carries it or owns or holds it, or to cause ~Strife~ among all who see it or even hear about it. A subtle effect, it is difficult to notice, and even when noticed, it still has a strong effect on those interacting with it. This power as no effect on worshipers of the Goddess you serve, your magic weapon, or you. If you have this power, you are completely protected from others who have it....but they suffer from the effect of their own ~Strife~ power.

You have the power of ~Destruction~. You can manifest this power in a huge variety of ways, be it blasts of powerful energy, the ability to negate the magic of others, the creation of diseases or plagues, or the creation of natural disasters, you ~Destroy~ things. This counts as three magical choices, and is Titanic level of ability; you can literally wipe out nations with this ability, and most demigods and champions are not going to stand up to you easily without backup. Lots of it.

~Upgrade~ This is not a choice, but an option. You may attempt to ~Upgrade~ another option by submitting a Custom Choice and putting ~Upgrade~ as the first word, and then describing which power or physical ability you wish to increase. Anything Demigod or worse is automatically raised to Mythic Beast level. If you with to ~Upgrade~ a Mythic Beast ability to Titanic, it costs two Magic choices; you can upgrade a Titanic ability to Deity level, but it costs 3 magical choices, and is most often not worth it (but if you want it, it is there).

You may give someone a ~Shard of Power~. This grants them Demigod status, with attributes all raised to that level. You may also grant ~Imbuements~ of powers that you have, but at a lowered level (decreased by one level each). They do not have any power that you do not ~Imbue~ them with; that includes ~Regeneration~ and ~Immortality~. The power lasts as long as you will it, and you may create up to 5 ~Shards~. Deities (and only deities) can steal these ~Shards~, so be wary. On the other hand, you know where the ~Shard~ is and who has it, and can exercise your powers through the ~Shard~, regardless of barriers and protections; most deities are familiar with this power.

You may become an ~Avatar~. You willingly allow your Goddess to become one with you. All your powers increase by two orders of magnitude. The downside is that your Goddess can take control regardless of your wishes. This power also allows you to ~Summon~ her temporarily; she must come, but she isn't under your control. This power costs two Magic choices.

You may form a ~Greater Bond~ with your magic weapon. If you do so, she gains the ~Humanoid Manifestation~ ability, and no longer seeks to kill YOU. Your physical abilities and attributes increase to Titanic levels when you are with her and using her, but without her they decrease to merely Inhuman levels. If you have both the ~Greater Bond~ and you have ~Invested in the Magic Weapon~ from the Body choices, you no longer suffer from the loss of power when you are away from her, and you and she can instantly ~Teleport~ to one another at will. She will also no longer seek to kill the Goddess or her Worshiper. The rest of the universe is fair game, and you'd better believe she is jealous.

You receive two items of power. A ~Second Magic Weapon~ and a ~Black Jewel~. The second magic weapon is the counterpart to the first (as described in the following section) and is the same in every respect, save for perhaps a sightly different personality. The Black Jewel is a more sinister version of the magic weapons, and is just as alive, intelligent and destructively malicious. You can peer through the Black Jewel regardless of its location or what protections are made around it except for literal solid objects. But these do not hinder your ability to find it or to use your powers through it; obviously some powers will easily be used through it, others may not work. If you use it upon yourself, though....then things get really weird. This counts as three Magical choices; Investing in the Magic Weapon and ~Greater Bond~ apply to these items as well, including the combined power upgrading each other. (Thus, if you chose this, ~Greater Bond~ and Investing in the Weapon from the Body section, your physical abilities are upgraded to Deity level....but you have a trio of very jealous weapons that want to kill EVERYTHING except you, your Goddess, and her worshiper that are permanently bound to your body and soul. Good luck).



THE MAGIC WEAPON

Your new patron Goddess is giving you a weapon.  Her daughter, a sword....but that's a euphemism, apparently.  The sword part, not the daughter part.

The magic weapon takes one of six forms.  The core abilities and nature of the weapon remains the same, except for some of the personality traits that the weapon has.  She is definitely female, and she absolutely adores and cherishes you, but that doesn't mean she won't kill you given half the chance if she's not kept busy killing other things.

Lots of other things.

Most of the weapons carried by the demigods - Gae Bolg, Excalibur, the Thunderbolts, Gugnir, Mjolnir, Kavacha, the Iron Crown of Lombardy, Fragarach and many more - are but shadows of the true weapons, though they are powerful when wielded by those demigods and champions.  These weapons are not.  These weapons can kill deities, if you can strike the deity with them.  They impart the knowledge of their use and the skill to work with them, and they are fully self aware.

They are also entirely focused on killing everything in the universe and laying waste to it all.  They don't do it out of hate, but out of sheer joy in the destruction of things and people and gods and buildings and worlds and galaxies and universes.  In a way it makes sense; they are daughters of the  Goddess of Chaos, the combined avatar and will of every single destructive and chaotic deity that has been left out of the war or the deities.

As potent and deadly as they are they do have some drawbacks.  They can't wield themselves; they have to be used by you.  Not anyone else either - you have to wield them.  The Goddess hinted that even deities would find picking them up....troublesome.  Maybe even dangerous.  Corollary to that, is that they're useless if you're not holding onto them.  A sword lying across your lap is as useful as a lump of lead if you can't pick it up, no matter how much it loves you.

The weapon empowers you as well:  you're stronger than all the champions, and most of the demigods as well....but only if you keep feeding the weapon.  Without a steady diet of death-dealing, the weapon loses strength and so will you.  It doesn't take much to feed it, just killing.  But they're all absolutely indiscriminate; they'll just as soon kill their Divine Mother as you as the average person on the street as the neighbor's cat.

Creepy.

Finally, it won't take any time at all to gain a reputation.  You're going to be killing demigods and champions of the gods.  With all the powers you've been given, you're still going to be the single most hated and feared person in the world in no time at all.  Demigods take a lot of killing normally; part of the reason the world is such a mess is that they don't actually manage to kill each other that often, and they wreck cities and lay waste to countrysides trying.

These weapons will kill them very dead, very fast, and there are more than likely going to be lots and lots of witnesses.  The weapons will have definitely thoughts on solving that problem....

Note:  If you have chosen a Second Magic Weapon from the magic choice list, you may chose a second identical weapon, or the counterpart to the original weapon choice; the Black Jewel granted by that Magic Ability choice is not the same as the one listed here, though she is a relative.


VOTES
The Black Sword: A hand-and-a-half sword you'd normally have trouble picking up. It is a glossy black material with glowing red runes. Apparently it is neither named Stormbringer or Mournblade, though she does call them 'those greedy, glory-whoring sluts'. Counterpart: The Death Ray.

The Black Crystal: A six foot long crystal that is impossible to break; it seems like black sapphire, except for the ever changing, glowing runes in the material. In addition to being a weapon, you can use it agaisnt magical effects, even those created by gods, or powers manifested by demigods. She likes being polished. Counterpart: The Black Ring.

The Black Dagger: A slender dagger of black metal with red runes, it lends itself to being used in secret and by surprise. There is nothing it can't cut; used properly you can in fact cut light or even atoms. Needless to say, you can cause some horrible devastation with her if you're careless. She encourages carelessness. Counterpart: The Black Jewel.

The Death Ray: You hear about them in all the old science fiction stories. Death rays, black hole guns, disintigration pistols. This is the real thing, and it's alive. The Graviton Beam Emitter has very little on this elegant little black pistol, and she loves it.

The Black Ring: If you could negate the forces that make the universe work, what would the results be? Catastrophic is an excellent way to describe it, and that is exactly what the simple rune-covered black metal ring ring does: catastrophe. It removes physics and logic from localized areas, at short range....and your God can't help you if it's touching you. It is also the only weapon that won't turn on you....but she also won't come off or be covered.

The Black Jewel: The only one not covered in runes, the jewel is a beautiful, octahedral, cushion cut black diamond that has a faint red glow in the center. It sees all, and it knows even more, and it tells you much. There is no deadly secret it cannot uncover, and it will guide you to your enemies ruin every time. The problem is that she likes to be close to you....like, embedded in your flesh.