We are predisposed toward like-minded people. It is why those who suffer the same calamity often find a social connection. In the end, we all want someone that understands us.

~Morrigan, The Mysterious Goddess of Fate

“Where are you taking me?” Crow said, hoping this girl got bored soon.

“The barrier, I can sense it on you.”

“Sense what?”

“The key! We can pass through it. Not even daddy would strike that barrier.”

“Oh… neat,” Crow said, feeling at a loss. They were speaking the same language, but he never seemed to understand what she was talking about.

“You better be happy. You are happy, right?” The girl smiled at him prettily, and Crow could only gulp and nod vigorously. “Yes! I knew you’d be happy… Oh! Maybe I can convince daddy to marry me to you. Then we could be together forever.”

Cough!

Crow felt cold sweat beading his forehead. Who in their right mind would marry a dragon?

“Uh, yeah… Let’s save that for later. Right now, your dad would kill me. So we let him cool off and ask him in… fifty years. Yeah, fifty years is a short amount of time.” He tried to keep the quaver out of his voice. As long as he escaped this place, she’d be a memory. Or so he hoped.

“Are you being a meany again?” She stopped and looked at him with her head tilted sideways. Her cheeks ballooned while she stuck her tongue out to the side. It was the most ridiculous look ever, but she managed it all while trying hard to look serious.

Laughter bubbled up out of him, and he tried to stop it. No matter what, he shouldn’t laugh, even when she was being cute. He failed and laughed until he cried. As he laughed, Nin’s face turned red, and she stuck her tongue out at him before stamping her foot. She turned around, her eyes beading up with tears.

“Meany. Hmph.” She grumbled, but Crow didn’t see the sparkle dancing in her eye, nor did he see the corners of her mouth curl upward. It wasn’t even worth mentioning that Crow’s resolve toward escaping her had weakened.

Nin refused to look at him and pulled him again as she ran north. At this point, they were actually catching up to some other contenders. Despite Crow’s condition, these people looked worse off than him. They had many wounds, and their energy was low. Most of them saw him and complained that he was cheating, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

Crow could only put on a strained smile. Silently, he scolded them. “Don’t blame me. Luck is part of one’s power.”

Trees became sparse, and fewer beasts were present. Crow knew he’d have been eliminated before now if it wasn’t for this girl. Still, he was cautious. He did not understand what was happening here.

“Are you ever going to tell me what this place is?”

“Stupid.”

“Fine, I’m stupid. Answer the question.”

“Hmph. I said you’re stupid, and I meant it. This is the realm that hosts the Trial of the Six Dragon Gods, and outsiders are absolutely forbidden from entering. Understand? You aren’t a dragon, so you shouldn’t be here.”

A sense of foreboding settled over him.

“That can’t be right, then why can we access it?”

“Because you’re stupid?” Nin snorted.

“Fine, don’t tell me. It is just a spirit dimension realm, and it’s not like they can really stop me from leaving.”

Nin face-palmed herself and shook her head. “You really are stupid. What don’t you understand about dragon gods, you idiot? They can easily find your realm and destroy it. If they did not anchor my father to this trial, he could easily find your realm.”

“Doubt it. I may not know much about dragons, but I do know Tur Briste protects—”

“You are from that world?” Nin stopped and turned. She gripped the top of his leather jerkin and pulled him down so her face was inches from his. “Shield. Let me see it.”

“I d-don’t have one yet, and this is a trial used to filter those with talent so the bigger sects can take the best and train them before entering the tower itself. I’m too weak to get that kind of advantage, but I took on a master who will help me.”

“Mn, even my daddy fears the Towers of Day or Night, so it’s decided.”

“Damn you, speak plainly. What is decided? I don’t recall agreeing to anything.”

“You are going to take me with you.”

“Huh? Damn your pouty face. Not happening. No way. Even if it was possible, I won’t do it. Nope.”

“You-you-you ruined me. You don’t have a choice—aaaaand we’re friends…” Her face, still inches from his, lit up brightly once more. Crow felt his stomach clench in fear, knowing full well that she was about to ruin his year—no, his decade. “Yup, hmph! A meany like you ruined me, and that means you gotta marry me. It’s settled, don’t try to talk me out of it. I know you are getting the best of this deal—look at me, I’m adorable, but it can’t be helped. You have to take care of me now.”

“What the hell? Marriage your face, I’m not marrying you.” Crow yelled, trying to pull his arm free, and accidentally touched something warm and soft. They both looked down to see his hand resting on her breast.

Nin’s big, fat tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“MEANY!” She shouted and pulled down harder on his leather jerkin until she forced him to stoop down so they were eye level. “You don’t have a choice. Hmph. Hmph. If you don’t… I’ll tell daddy on you.”

Damn you, luck! Damn you straight to hell!

He sighed before he suddenly had a thought. The direct approach didn’t work with this girl, so indirect and shameless it is then…

“Do you know what married people do?”

“They stay together forever. Married people aren’t allowed to leave each other’s side. They are so cute. I could just gobble them up.” Nin was blabbering on and on.

“Wait. Aren’t you already engaged? If you love marriage that much, why did you run away? You aren’t reliable at all.”

Grrrrrr-ARRRGGGHHH!

Nin’s growl and face were scary. Crow tried to back away, but she gripped his arm so hard his bones creaked. “You dare bring up that old bastard!?”

“Hold on… you should know what married people do.” Before she could do anything crazy, he put his lips closer to her ear and started whispering. Her face went from her normal color to pale white, to red hot fury, and finally settled down to an emotionless state, albeit she still looked pale.

“You… PERVERT!” She shouted so loud that the entire forest probably heard her, including her father.

“No-no, I told you the truth. That’s what they do.” Crow sighed in the most deprecating manner possible, as if it pained him to tell her all this. “I’ll do my duty. If we have to get married, then there is nothing for it. I just worry that you wouldn’t be able to fulfill your duties as a wife… As a man, I cannot let you suffer.” He said and looked wounded, as if he didn’t want to do all the dirty things he just told her, but it was his job as a husband. Little girl, you want to toy with me, you better be prepared to—

“Fine, I agree. You should do your job as a husband. Now that you’ve fully ruined and defiled me with your words and hands, my only choice is to have you remain with me forever.” She grinned sweetly. He froze, and only his left eye twitched. “Dear husband, you want to play games with me? I’m over five hundred years old, which is young for a dragon, but old enough to know that I trapped you into being my husband with your own words.”

Nin giggled and pinched Crow's pale cheeks.

“Ahhh, damn you heavens! I’ll tear you apart.” Crow wailed. “Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

The skies above grumbled, and Crow winced, expecting lightning, but nothing came. Only Nin’s odd stare.

“Little Nin!” A voice boomed over the forest. “Who dares touch my daughter? I’ll grind you to paste and slurp you down!”

Errrrrr.

An audible sigh, like the last breath of a dead man, escaped Crow’s lips. Unwillingness settled in, and he stepped around Nin, who had temporarily let him go, and ran.

“You can’t run from me, you big meany. Get back here, husband!”

“Husband, your ass,” he howled and kept running. The other contenders stared at Crow in bewilderment. Most knew who he was and didn’t know what they were watching right now. Crow and Nin were extremely loud and vocal, but the booming voice of a massive being from the south shocked them the most because it was heading in their direction.

Soul Burn or not, Crow turned, maximized his speed as much as possible, and endured everything that followed. He could always crush the token if needed, but he wasn’t ready for that yet. Focused on reaching the barrier, Crow didn’t bother lamenting on his luck—it was acceptance. It was a sad day, but he accepted he was heaven’s abused dog. No, he was doomed to be a toy, a plaything, of heaven’s obedient dog.

A giggle followed him as he fled.

“You are so romantically adorable,” Nin squealed as she chased him. A sharp sting on his butt made him turn around to see her pinching it. “It is soooo cute that you think you can outrun me.”

She wasn’t wrong. All the skills he’d learned over the years were still useless until he could fully activate his Source. The energy stored within his chakras wasn’t enough to use any combat techniques, and it was barely enough to empower his body. Ghost Steps was a high-rank movement ability, but Crow lacked the energy required to make it really shine. There wasn’t even a chance in hell he could outrun this girl.

Only one solution came to mind, and it was stupid. He uncapped his Source and powered Ghost Steps with wild abandon, which lasted maybe a minute—probably less—before he fell to the ground, twitching in pain. As he laid there, spasming and spitting fire and blood, he wondered why he even bothered to do this. It served no point.

A small finger touched his forehead, and it felt like glacial water flowed through his veins once more. The inflamed areas recovered, and the black flames that tried to escape their bounds were quenched. In a matter of moments, he could breathe easier once more.

“Do you really not like me?” She asked softly. “You will hurt yourself this much to get away from me?”

Crow turned his head to see the girl—no, that wasn’t fair. She was definitely a woman, and she bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. She’d lived here all her life and rarely met new people. Knowing all this and the fact that he had been acting like an ass, he felt a little guilty. His hand reached up to grab her smaller one. He placed the palm of his other hand on her cheek and used his thumb to wipe away the tear forming there. No idea why he was doing this, and maybe this was his fault for tempting fate. Regardless, he pulled her into a hug, and in her shock, she didn’t resist.

“You are funny, and I don’t dislike you. I just don’t know why you are messing with me. There is an entire forest of people more qualified to help you. Besides, there is another woman that I plan to marry.”

“It’s fine, and definitely marry big sister first. Once I tell her everything you did to me, she’ll force you to marry me too.”

“Pfft,” Crow burst out laughing, but when he saw her serious face, he couldn’t help the exasperation that was in his voice. “You were serious about the marriage thing?”

“Of course, you are a pervert, and you sullied me. I can’t let you bully big sister too.”

“Sully, your ass!” He tried to be angry but started laughing instead. She giggled along with him. “I’ll make you a deal. If I can get you out of here, I will. But you have to promise me your dad won’t kill me or target my clan.”

“Easy. Since I won’t leave your side, I’ll beat daddy up if he tries to hurt you. Hmph. Marry me to that grumpy old venom dragon who stinks like swamp and shit.”

“Woah, little girls can’t use language like that. It’ll scare away future husbands, and it’s not becoming of a lady.”

“Hmph. Call me a little girl one more time, and you’ll be one too…”

“What the hell…?” Crow tried to cross his legs, but she was still on top of him, and the movement was awkward. “Evil gir—oman, woman, yes definitely an evil woman.”

“Better.” She grinned and kissed his cheek. He couldn’t even dodge, and he could feel the burning heat from her lips.

Crow tried to clear his head, knowing this was getting too far out of hand. He felt like he was taking advantage of her, but that felt wrong. Up to this point, Crow wondered if she manipulated him instead and realized he’d never understand women. Every time he dealt with one, it felt like he was a small boat on a stormy ocean.

*You are in so much trouble.* Lily giggled and laughed inside his head. She was practically hysterical. He could almost see the fae rolling around on the ground with tears of joy coming out of her eyes.

*What are you going on about?*

*Dragons are a strange bunch, but one thing is absolutely certain. Once they pick their mate, the choice can never be undone. If she is serious, eventually you are going to have to meet her father. You better get stronger, and do it fast.* Lily kept on laughing, and Crow tried not to show his shock because he knew now that Nin missed nothing.

“Err… so how do I help you leave? Is that even possible?” He tried to redirect his thoughts.

“Stupid.”

“You can’t keep calling me that,” Crow growled in frustration. “At least tell me why I’m stupid.”

“I’m what humans like you call a spiritual beast…” she said, and her voice trailed off as if that explained everything.

“Wait-wait-wait. You want us to form a Beast Contract?” He asked. This time he pushed her off him and stood up. Contracts like this were tricky, and most of the time, people used those that specialized in Beast Contracts to guide it. There was always a risk that a contract would turn into a forced bonding which went against quite a few Druid laws. Forced contracts turned beasts into mindless slaves unless they had enough intelligence to resist.

“Hmph, good. By the horrified look on your face, you at least have a conscience. However, there are other contracts besides the slave ones, which would never work on a dragon, anyway.”

“It wouldn’t? Why?”

“Dragons are born kings. Even other king beasts will bend the knee before a dragon. However, there is a simpler method, and it’ll fail with no adverse side effects of either of us insincere.”

“And that is?”

“We both agree to help and protect each other. It cannot be coerced and must be accepted without reservation, or it will fail. Also, either of us can end the contract if there is a sense of betrayal or broken trust. Once formed, I can live in a beast tamer ring or your Soulscape. Hidden away, you can easily take me across realms, even if you aren’t here physically.”

“But the tamer rings aren’t physically here. How would you escape that way?”

“The space in a beast tamer ring doesn’t exist on either of our planes, and yes, the rings here really call forth their beasts. If they die here, they are really dead.”

“Oh… that’s bad. The Elkan beasts are noble animals, and they aren’t in slave contracts—we have to warn everyone.” Crow said and then realized he didn’t have any tamer rings. He had a Soulscape, but Lily was there, and his curse surrounded it.

“We will. But first, we form the contract, and you put me in your Soulscape.”

“I can’t. I’ll need to get a tamer ring.”

Nin paused and stared at Crow.

“I’m not kidding. The curse I suffer from is Soul Burn, and its black fire currently surrounds my Soulscape. Hell, the only reason I even have a Soulscape is through a series of lucky events. If you are trying to escape that way, I’d recommend finding another method.”

“First, we’ll form the contract,” she said and then pulled his arm, so they ran in a northwesterly direction. There was no pause as she ran through the beasts, and her fists directly obliterated those that interfered. The further they went, the emptier the area became, until the only thing around them was dead trees and bones. So many bones that they cracked underfoot like twigs. They entered an overgrown town, and in the center was the foundation of a keep. Everything else had collapsed around or on it. Debris piled against the walls, and gnarled roots jutted out from the ground in random places. The place unnerved Crow, but something he read made it seem vaguely familiar. He’d have to spend time later sorting through some information to figure out why.

She pushed through a doorway that was still standing.

“In here. Daddy never finds me here. Look.” Nin was pointing at a formation on the ground that was still active. Amazingly, the room appeared entirely intact.

“What kind of formation can remain active after all this time?” He asked. His studies of formations had been thorough and intense, so he found the core of it all and quickly memorized the entire style and layout. It was too complex for him to understand now, but in time he could pick it apart. Looking around the room once more, and by the layout of the formation, he concluded they were in a prison cell. The formation hid a prisoner from being viewed by any source, almost like using pseudo-dimensional space to hide the person. It was intriguing.

Crow grabbed his token and looked at it. The rune etched into it had gone dark, but it didn’t shatter. He didn’t know for sure because he was unfated, but there was a good chance that this place could hide people from scrying. The formation was beyond profound, and Crow wouldn’t be surprised if it could block many methods used to track people.

“What is this place?”

“Humans lived here once until my daddy killed them all in anger. T-they stole my mom away,” Nin said softly. “Daddy never found her, but he knows she still lives. So I’m going to help daddy, and you are going to help me. And that’s what is going to happen. Now, let’s form a contract.”

She spoke so fast and just as quickly tried to change the subject so Crow wouldn’t ask.

“My mom was taken too.”

Nin’s gold eyes stared into his warm green ones.

“What do I do?” He asked decisively. If humans took away her mom, he’d help Nin hunt down the evil bastards. It was his sore spot, a weakness, and Crow didn’t care if this manipulative girl exploited it.

“Cut your palm and bring forth your blood essence, and I’ll do the same. Then we clasp hands.”

“That’s it?”

“Dummy, it doesn’t need a big ritual, just intent. We can sense the other’s intent and resolve, and once we’ve cleared that hurdle, we project our promise to each other. I will warn you, this isn’t a Beast Contract, but a Soul Contract.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Let’s be honest, a Beast Contract still gives humans an advantage. I’m not saying it’s a slave contract, but the beast is still somewhat subservient. A Soul Contract is different. All your thoughts and emotions will be exposed to me during the process, and mine to you. If either of us lacks sincerity, it fails. The repercussions of betraying a Soul Contract are much much higher than a beast one. This is a bond formed on trust.”

Crow thought through that for several moments, and Nin didn’t say anything to influence him. She’d long since decided, and she was feeling a little nervous. Nin had a rare trait, and even among dragons, it had never manifested. She was an empath, and the primary reason she chose Crow over the others was his aura. It was easy to tell he’d killed before, but he lacked the arrogance of most cultivators and felt more in touch with the world around him. There was no way to explain all the details she felt, but she knew he was decisive and honorable—trustworthy. It was this that gave her hope.

While she was contemplating the boy before her, Crow sliced his palm before she even registered what he was doing. His blood essence was part of his soul and required coaxing to bring it to his palm. It wasn’t something someone could take from him by force, and even on death, his blood essence would dissipate. Few would choose to give up their essence because it would effectively shorten their life. With time and a bit of luck, he’d recover his blood essence, but it was still risky.

Nin quickly cut her palm and mirrored Crow.

The two clasped hands, and Crow thought about what Nin had said earlier. Losing his own mother had hurt and set him on a trajectory he couldn’t avoid—he wouldn’t avoid. Crow would do everything in his power to get her back. Knowing Nin had lost her mother too broke the last of his resistance to this bossy little girl, and now he could feel how vulnerable and lonely she was. It sparked a sense of protectiveness towards her—a willingness to share her burden and keep her safe. Back and forth, their thoughts and emotions battered each other. Crow knew all her wants, worries, and hopes, and now she knew his. On some level, this was the truest form of their souls.

“T-this is my soul intent?” Crow asked, finally coming back to reality and realizing where all these thoughts were coming from.

“Hmph. I knew you were the right one.” Nin had a big smile on her face and real tears in her eyes this time. Crow felt overwhelmed by Nin’s overbearing personality, that of a dragon protecting its hoard. She saw him as a shiny treasure that she refused to let go of and would tear apart anyone that dared harm him. The girl felt warmth and peace while she was near him, but held no rage or anger for all the perverted things he said to her.

Nin’s thoughts were simpler than his, pure, uncomplicated. There was no confusing mass of emotions like he’d expect from a human. Almost with no effort, a link formed between man and dragon. Then it solidified and grew stronger and stronger. Before long, it felt like an unbreakable chain.

Soul Burn flared, and he felt something invading—

“No! You’ll die,” Crow cried out and dropped to his knees, trying to grasp onto Nin and prevent her from entering those dark flames of his Soulscape

“Idiot,” he heard Nin say as her voice slowly faded. “What dragon is afraid of fire?”

“Y-you tricked me!” Crow chased after her, entering his own Soulscape alongside her.