The lounge fell silent as all the other immortals gaped at the sight of Mr. Wobbles prancing through the wood. Hunting down the campers. The view kept shifting back and forth between what the other campers were doing (i.e. running for their lives) and what my cabin’s campers were doing.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” said Lamont. Losing his shit almost instantly and looking like he really wished there wasn’t a geas in place keeping him from flipping the table. The same geas that had been folded into the released we’d all signed before we’d even entered the building, in order to get involved in this little venture.

“I...I...This has to be a cheat of some sort!” snarled Darla. Eyes wide. All flirtatiousness drained from her voice, as she picked up our demonic MC and shook them by their collar.

“He...He’s not. I’ve read those rules front and back. Technically, nothing he or his piece did was against the rules.” Said Barnabas

“I’m really not...Now, who’s going to give me my prize?” I said. Shrugging and smiling like the events taking place in the room had nothing to do with me.

Stefanos got up and walked out of the room. Shaking his head.

“Where’s he going? Where the hell are you going, Stefanos?!” said Lamont. Still clearly far from calming down.

“To take a leak. What are you one of my wives?!” said the annoyed voice of the Meditteranean storm-god.

“Mhm...I wasn’t aware deity-class entities still needed to use the lavatory.” said Maci. Her expression as even and unmoved as it had been during the beginning of the game.

“Look, I’ve clearly won. Everyone in the camp is dead besides my team. Give me my prize.” I said. My tone a bit more deep and growly than it should have been. These were grown-ass immortals acting like children, and I’d be damned before I let them walk all over me. I might play nice most of the time but I sure as hell wasn’t a push over.

“What are you even talking about?! The game’s not over yet...It can’t be over yet. It was supposed to last thirteen nights. Plus...Plus, Maci’s team will respawn by next evening so…” said Barnabas.

Maci caught my eye and favored me with what I could tell was a very rare smile. The expression was as pretty and refreshing as the first day of spring after a long winter.

“Actually, I’m fine leaving things as is...None of my pieces signed up to actually die, so they’re contracted to be pulled out early.” said Maci. Dowsing water on Barnebas’ last hopes.

The little devil slumped in their chair looking like they were about to faint. It took a great deal of sweet talk and cajoling for me to get the immortals to give me what I was owed.

Once I had the lump of freshly processed hyperdimensional matter sitting in front of me. I slice through it. Dividing it into ten pieces. The four thickest slices were taken by me. Then after a moment’s pause, where I read the faces of those in the room, I proceeded to flick the other six slices at other immortals.

Lamont’s dour expression brightened. Stefanos stopped looking like I personally was responsible for all the pollution in the world’s oceans. Darla went from looking aggrieved to looking flirtatious again. Maci’s expression didn’t really change much, but the look in her eyes softened. And Barnabas kept crying, but I think the remainder of his tears became tears of joy.

I didn’t suddenly turn generous. I just genuinely didn’t need ‘all’ of that hyperdimensional matter. If it weren’t for the fact that doing so would have likely been perceived as an act of weakness I could have split the block evenly between the six of us, without any problem.

Plus, leaving the room with all of it in my pocket would have been a great way to paint a target on the backs of me and Margot.

Thus after taking the lion’s share of the block for myself, I decided to use the remainder to buy some favor from the group of immortals seated before me. After all, no man is an island, and that includes those of us who’ve served as living galaxies.

While I wasn’t intending to toss myself into the den vipers and villains that was the political landscape of your average universe’s ‘immortal realm’. As a new face, in a new universe, it seemed like it’d be wise for me to start building up a network. A crowd of friendly faces that I could tap as a resource.

Giving the other players in the lounge a slice of my prize was not only a first step in building that network. It was also a test. I watched each immortal’s face, aura, and akashic data-flow. Watching for any traces of greed or hatefulness.

I was thoroughly surprised to find none. At least I didn’t see anything that was a cause for concern.

Sure, there’d been some ugliness showing before I started dividing the pie. Barnabas had been holding a tiny grudge for getting their game ruined and might have ended up calling a hit on me.

Lamont had been intending to hunt me down if I left with the whole crystal to either make an offer for the energy, or try to pry it from my dead body.

Stefanos and Darla had apparently long ago made an agreement to either split the crystal or work together to steal it from the victor.

Maci was just here as an observer but would mark whoever won as a future threat, if it wasn’t her or her sister.

However, that kind of scheming and double-dealing was kind of par for the course for us undyings and all those plans went away as soon as everyone got their slice of the cake. With plenty of smiles all around and surprisingly few hidden flashes of greed and subdued hatefulness.

It made me wonder if there’d been some kind of cultural revolution amongst the immortal segment of the population during the eons while I was gone. Or if I’d somehow wandered into some paradisal realm of not assholes. Where the immortals were still jerks, but generally managed to retain some semblance of chill.

Then I remembered that fuckboy Julian, who might or might not end up make me kill him later, and changed my mind. This universe was probably a universe like any other, complete with the usual group self-interested overpowered jerkasses. I’d probably just managed to end up meeting a group of mostly decent immortals.

I eyed the remaining slice of hyperdimensional energy and then tapped the table.

“Oi, Barnabas. You look like a connected fellow. I don’t suppose you’d know where I could auction this off?”

Barnabas jolted and then their expression brightened.

“I...Yeah...Yeah. Definitely, I’m an archdemon of greed and gluttony, mate. Of course, I know where the best shit gets sold.” said Barnabas.

“Excellent...I don’t suppose I could ask you to handle this for me. In exchange for the three percent of the profits.”

“Make it five percent and we have a deal.” said the little demon. Wiping their mouth as their greed made them drool.

“Fair enough,” I said. Proffering my hand. A glowing, gloomy, radiance emanating from my palm.

We shook on it. Cementing the bargain in complex magical structures. Barnabas’ eyes widened as they felt the flow of magical data structures that served as my end of the contract enter their consciousness.

I don’t think they’d suspected me to be able to exchange bargains like a demon would. They might have recognized me as being dark-aspected, or demon adjacent, but now I’d tipped my hand and revealed that I too was a proper devil and one far older than they were.

The contract that I’d had them agree to was iron-clad, reinforced by sharp wording and enough magical backing to end a universe. By the time I was done with them, my contract-magic had swallowed up their contract magic like a sea dragon swallowing a tuna.

The little demon looked me up and down and then nodded. Chuckling to themselves and shaking their head.

“Shoulda known...Shoulda known…”

“...What? What’s so funny?” said Lamont. Speaking telepathically to the little demon.

Barnabas looked over at me as they pocketed that final slice of hyperdimensional.

“Nothin’....Just uh, step carefully with our new friend here...He’s not so much a new face as he is a very old face that no one alive remembers.”

“Huh?” said Lamont. Looking over at me speculatively.

I just sat, leaning over the table. Hands steepled as if I wasn’t listening in on their communications. Peering through their sloppy encryption they had covering the channel they were using to communicate.

“Anyway...It looks like that’s it for today. I’m assuming I can take my team and leave?” I said. Standing.

“Huh? Oh, sure…They’ll be in the lobby.” said Barnabas.

“Ah, do you really have to go so soon? Even if the game is over, I'm sure there’s other fun things we could do,” said Darla. Her tone plainly suggestive.

“A tempting offer, but I’m afraid I’ve other things to see to, and since the game didn’t take as long as I thought, I best put that time to use,” I said. Smiling and stepping away from the table, with my prize in hand.