A challenge.

You struggle to think of anything you could offer that he couldn't just take, and remembering Wendell's words that your classmates always submit before Saderos can claim his prize, you realize what His punishment is...boredom. It takes every ounce of willpower you have, and some more you have no idea where comes from, but you rise to your feet and stare into the God's flaming eyes. "I can repay you with amusement. A challenge from me to you."

"HA. HA. HAAAAA. A. MICROBE. CHALLENGING. A. MOUNTAIN." The world around you shudders and seizes, as the planet itself recoils in fear of this dark God. "TELL. ME. CHILD. WHAT. CHALLENGE. DO. YOU. OFFER?"

You almost throw yourself to your knees and beg for mercy you know he doesn't have. Instead you smile, and shout into the fiery depths, "Aren't you tired of weaklings using your name to dominate powerless, pathetic punks and feed you the scraps of their all too eager submission and manufactured lust? Wouldn't you like some choicer cuts? Some more dangerous game? If you give me the knowledge, I'll use my own power to break and bimbofy the biggest badasses at Hades U. All I ask is one week, one bounty a day. If I break seven, I earn my freedom. If I fail once..." before you can finish, his flames envelop you and you are swallowed whole. Indescribable agony and unimaginable ecstasy wash over you, melting you away.

"HEH. THIS. IS. FOREPLAY. COMPARED. TO. WHAT. CUMS. WHEN. I. CLAIM. MY. PRIZE. HA. HAAA. HAAAAAAAA." Your screams are lost in the roar of the flames. When they finally fade away, you find yourself back in your dorm and back in your old skin. You look around in a dreamy daze. You are alone, with no sign that Wendell ever existed. His posters and paraphernalia are gone, his bunk empty. You look in the mirror and search for any sign of tampering. You certainly look the same, but there is definitely something off...

You see the black spellbook that got you in so much trouble in the first place. You hold it in your hands, hesitantly, unsure if you want to know for sure what you strongly suspect. Finally, you open the tome and look at the once inscrutable scrawl. Now, you know every spell at a glance, including the hidden costs behind the inviting incantations. As if to answer the last, lingering question on your mind, your wall cracks to reveal in glowing red letters. "CHALLENGE. ACCEPTED."

You shudder and begin diving into the spellbook. By the time you have memorized every blessed curse in the vile volume, the break of dawn sends wretched rays of sunlight through the window. It is morning. You have until midnight to stalk, seduce, and subdue a suitably powerful predator to feed Saderos. The clock is ticking, and you don't have the first clue where to start.

Tick...

Tock...