"So, what's the next roll going to be about?" William asked, inspecting the golden die between his fingers. No matter how much he turned it, it just looked fancy. "I haven't really tried directing my rolls, and so far, I've been getting pretty mediocre results. Not complete failures, but space otters and undrinkable magic water aren't exactly useful."

  Zephar nodded knowingly but shrugged.

  "I still consider them wins, but you do have a point. Even if you can only slightly influence the outcome, you might be able to nudge the dice in the right direction!" Zephar ughed, then pointed at the rge screen beside him.

  A dim image of Earth appeared, though it looked nothing like William remembered. Then again, taking away a pnet's sun would do that.

  "Next up, you’re rolling for a Defensive War Species!" the god decred.

  William groaned, rubbing his face. "Seriously? More animals?"

  Zephar just ughed. "Since you’re the only race left on this pnet and you have the ability to evolve other species, this is the path id out for you! So, give it a roll and see what happens."

  William sighed and looked down at the die in his hand.

  "What am I even supposed to think of? A race that can survive in space without a sun, no air, and defend a pnet against an invasion force that uses meteor strikes?" He mused aloud. William was more into escaping into fantasy than creating it, but despite his uncertainty, the die in his hand began to glow.

  "That's the spirit! Hold onto your compints and channel them into the roll!" Zephar cheered.

  "Maybe you should take your own advice when rolling," William pointed out, but the die glowed brighter.

  "No time to reminisce about past failures! The dice is calling! What crazy new creatures will you introduce to the universe next? A cross between a squid and a starfish? Or maybe a race made of liquid metal?" Zephar cackled.

  William shook his head, but an idea was starting to form. Something both crazy and stupid—but that seemed to be the theme tely.

  "Fine, I’ll just roll with it," he sighed, tossing the golden die. He focused on everything he had mentioned, hoping for something useful.

  Third Roll: Protection Species Evolutionary Tree – SpacebornWilliam blinked at the board as a new screen appeared.

  "Wait, I don’t think I thought about the right thing. I was picturing more of a giant crab or a—"

  "It doesn’t matter what you thought about! Just pick one and see what happens!" Zephar ughed.

  William sighed and read the three options on the screen.

  Starborn, Voidborn, and Sorborn?

  "Just pick one and see what happens," Zephar encouraged.

  William clicked on the first outline.

  StarbornA race of intelligent, sentient creatures born of stars and darkness. Their skin is as cold and hard as stone, and their bodies radiate a faint blue glow, like starlight. Their eyes are empty bck pits, and their mouths are filled with sharp teeth. They are violent and aggressive, seeking to conquer and destroy anything in their path. Their primal instinct drives them to expand their territory and dominate the universe.

  "Yeah, no. Next." William clicked on the second option.

  VoidbornA race of creatures born from the void between stars and gaxies. Their bodies are made of shadows and darkness, shifting shape and form at will. Their voices whisper in the wind, and their bottomless eyes swallow up everything they gaze upon. Cunning and devious, they seek to manipute and control all they encounter, driven by an endless hunger for power and domination.

  "Definitely not." William immediately clicked on the third option.

  SorbornA race of beings born from the light and warmth of the sun. Their skin glows like molten gold, and their voices carry like songs in the wind. Their eyes shimmer with liquid fire, and their presence radiates peace and harmony. They seek to spread joy and happiness, dedicated to maintaining bance and preventing conflict.

  Zephar burst into ughter as William slumped forward onto his podium.

  "Why are you ughing? This is just another nail in the coffin," William muttered.

  "Oh, but you have to admit it's funny! Just when you think you have a choice—BAM!" Zephar cackled. "Still, it’s not that bad. A peaceful race isn’t terrible with the right evolutionary path. Considering how humans acted, creating a species that loves domination might not sit well with Miss Earth over there."

  William gnced at Auracea, who looked deeply focused—either in thought or just pretending not to exist.

  "I suppose so," William sighed, selecting Sorborn. "But that still doesn’t help us survive. Space otters, magic rain, and now sunshine people?"

  "You have no sense of adventure, my boy!" Zephar ughed.

  "No, but I do have a sense of impending doom and a fear of being erased from existence," William grumbled.

  Zephar waved a dismissive hand. "I hear you, but I raise you one more roll! Now that you have races, you can pick two of them to receive a special racial bonus to help with their evolution!"

  Zephar picked up the die, grinning as he tossed it back to William.

  "This is your st shot! No pressure!"

  William caught the die, which immediately began to glow. His shoulders slumped. Auracea was going to devour him if he didn’t get something useful this time.

  Instead of thinking about something specific, he focused on rolling something positive. He didn’t care what, but for the sake of not letting the world end, he needed a win.

  "Just hit," William whispered, tossing the die into the air. He closed his eyes.

  Zephar, however, kept his open, his jester mask twisting into a frown as blue and gold sparks crackled off the die midair. He had never seen one of his dice do this before—concerning, but also exciting. Mostly exciting.

  When it first nded, a huge discharge of energy wiped the entire game show set away.

  The second bounce sent another bst that disintegrated Zephar's clothes.

  By the third bounce, William opened his eyes, his frown turning into a deadpan stare.

  Zephar tried to cover his nonexistent man parts, feigning embarrassment, but William could tell he was not actually embarrassed. In fact, he was enjoying the dispy.

  "What the hell was all that? And where did your stage go?" William asked, ignoring Zephar's theatrics.

  A message fshed across his mind.

  Fourth Lucky Roll: Space Otter Evolution – Otter-MechsOutcome: Space Otters and the dark matter-feeding parasites that sustain them have evolved into mechanical versions of themselves, while retaining their natural pyfulness. Otter-Mechs can reshape their bodies to fit any situation, but their true power comes from combining. The more Otter-Mechs there are, the greater their strength, making them one of the most powerful forces in the universe.

  William blinked, reading the message twice.

  "Well, shit."

  "I concur," Zephar said solemnly, now wearing a fresh pair of beach-print shorts.

  Still, he rubbed his chin. "One has to wonder how that happened. I’ve wanted things in the past, but even with my 45% chance of rolling disasters, I’ve never seen the dice spark like that. And it destroyed my construct! MY CONSTRUCT!"

  Zephar was nearly foaming at the mouth, shrinking in size the angrier he got.

  "It was just an illusion, wasn’t it? Why are you so worked up?" William asked.

  "It wasn’t real, but I created it!" Zephar growled. "Which means my sponsor interfered. Figures. They never help me unless it’s to nitpick!"

  "Sponsor? And I can't imagine why they'd have issues with your ‘ugh-plus-zero’ method of raising up a race to take over the universe," William said dryly.

  "Oh, you’re funny."

  Zephar took a deep breath, regaining his grin. "But never mind that! You still have one more roll! Whatever mojo you used st time—use it again! Knock my shorts off!"