The Hall of Probabilities had no ceiling. Only an infinite void where constellations and floating mathematical equations spun.
Nemesis, with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face, drummed her fingers on the great quartz table. Each tap echoed like distant thunder. Beside her, Tyche didn't even blink. She was entirely focused on moving spheres of light across a sort of three-dimensional abacus.
"She is two cosmic centuries late," Nemesis muttered, clenching her jaw. "If she doesn't show up in the next ten seconds, I'm issuing a decree of retribution against her. Tardiness is a form of arrogance."
"Relax," Tyche replied in a monotone voice, never taking her eyes off her calculations. "The probability of Gad arriving in the next three seconds is 98.7%."
Right on cue, the massive bronze doors burst open. The goddess Gad rushed in. She was wrapped in a tunic that seemed woven from stardust and gold coins, panting heavily.
"I'm here, I'm here!" Gad exclaimed, resting her hands on her knees. "There was a traffic jam in the Andromeda galaxy, total madness. But listen, I have a proposal you can't refuse."
Nemesis let out a heavy sigh. "You had better justify my time, Gad."
Gad grinned from ear to ear and snapped her fingers. In the center of the round table, a glowing crystal urn emerged. Inside it floated a high-definition hologram showing the mortal realm. Specifically, it showed a young man soaked in the rain. He was watching a tow truck about to take his car away.
"Meet Gael," Gad announced, as if she were selling the product of the century. "Look at him. His bad luck stat is so high it's creating a negative energy sinkhole in his hemisphere. If he keeps this up, the gravity of his misfortune is going to alter the probabilistic tides."
Tyche adjusted a pair of invisible glasses and peered into the urn. "His numbers are deplorable. A statistical anomaly."
"Exactly!" Gad continued, leaning her hands on the table. "I propose an injection of pure fortune. We turn him into a beacon of absolute good luck. That will stabilize the quadrant, provide a subtle but crucial balance to human destiny, and besides... it'll be hilarious to see how he reacts."
Nemesis narrowed her eyes, evaluating the drenched human. "Fine. But it will require the balance clause. For every ounce of luck he receives, the universe will exact the toll from his surroundings. Equivalent collateral damage. I myself will be the judge."
"Deal. Let's do the ritual!" Gad clapped, thrilled.
Tyche went first. She extended her glowing hand over Gael's hologram. With that, she established the existing web of probabilities. Nemesis sighed and placed her hand over Tyche's. It was heavy and dark, symbolizing the chains of consequence and karma.
Finally, Gad raised her hand, channeling a sphere of blinding golden light. It was pure energy of good fortune. She only had to place it gently over Nemesis's hand to seal the pact and give Gael a perfect life.
But, as she brought her hand down, something buzzed near her ear.
It was a stellar moth, a fat, glowing, disoriented cosmic bug. It crashed right into Gad's nose.
"Ah, get off!" Gad shrieked.
The startle sent a violent spasm through her entire body. Her right arm came down with the force of a meteorite. Instead of laying her hand down softly, Gad slammed her palm against the hands of the other two goddesses with a sharp thud.
The crystal of the urn cracked. The golden light didn't flow like a stream; it exploded like a broken dam. Gael's hologram was flooded with a radioactive torrent of pure, uncontrollable luck.
Tyche was thrown backward, her abacuses bursting into mathematical sparks. Nemesis fell to her knees. She clutched her head as she felt the balance of the entire world shatter.
Gad just blinked. She stared blankly at her own hand. The hologram looked shattered and opaque. Finally, the stellar moth that had been fluttering calmly flew out of the room.
"Uh..." Gad murmured with a nervous smile. "I think I gave him a little too much."
Nemesis rose slowly, her eyes burning with a cold, ancient fury.
"Gad... What did you just do?"
Down on Earth, Gael sneezed. And in that precise second, a lightning bolt cleaved the tow truck taking his car in two, leaving the vehicle entirely intact on the street.