Chapter 81: Soul Binding Contract

Shortly before the events with the Siion army and a short time before Scitus's realized A-sun had arrived, deep in the dragon's cave was Terra who attempted to rest after a long torturous time spent awake. "Sleep," she told herself as she snuggly dug her claws into the earth as if trying to find a comfortable position as her snout softly petted the earth like a child hugging their favorite pillow.

Dragons were powerful creatures and like many of the strongest fey in the world, were the closet thing to Gods, though dragons had no limitations for at the end of every night, regardless if they rested or not, they would regain their magical power just like all other species. They not only had an enormous magical power that renewed itself at the end of every night but along with this power was an innate knowledge of all things magic as their creators were the great wise kings who originated magic in the world. For that reason alone, Dragons were feared, and only in once the known history had it ever been written down of a mortal who slew a dragon. That story haunted Terra, who was that, supposed slain dragon.

"Sleep" she whispered to herself trying to forget those terrible memories but alas, she was a dragon and her memories were so ever permanent, engraved into her very soul, never to be forgotten. The pain in her chest throbbed whenever she thought of that day, the scar he left on her would forever be remainder of who she trusted, of who betrayed her. Her eyes drooped slowly as her consciousness faded and just as those final wisps of lucid faded, a sudden sense invaded her mind, invaded her being. A familiar smell, a smell that she would never forget. "SAREC!!!" She screamed as the entire Dargon's mouth shook with a thunderous and angered roar!!! The worshipers above quickly bowed down in fear and awe, praying that their idle would show mercy to her loyal subjects.

"You're still alive…" she snarled as stones rose from the earth, her large claws touched the surface and she dug herself out of her bed. She screamed with a wail so powerful that every tribe in her kingdom knelt in fear and anticipation. But just as before, she ignored her subjects, as if they were worthless creatures. Her wings expanded, blocking out sun; graceful, beautiful, majestic, words of praise and words of awe spilled out of her subjects mouths as she elegantly disappeared far into the autumn sky.

"that's one hell of a grip…" Rea whimpered as he soothed his nearly collapsed windpipe, getting ready to counterattack what he thought would be the following attack, but he was only met with a soft cold wind. A moment later Rea noticed that Scitus was already far away. Making haste, Rea cast a soft spell that lit his Feet with a blue glow of energy that propelled him ahead at unfathomable speeds.

Although Rea had a vague understanding that something had happened, he couldn't allow Scitus to do as he pleased. Rea summoned a blue sword from the palm of his hands and struck Scitus's left calf, instantly cutting it off its former owner. Scitus did not scream, he did react; his mind was too preoccupied with a far more terrible circumstance. With each passing nanosecond, Rea noted, his expression grew darker and darker until an expression that would only befit a violent beast stained his face.

Scitus made a quick motion and turned to face Rea, "Scorch!!!" he shouted, summoning a blind flash of red, blinding Rea and charring his flesh black. However, unlike Scitus who had mostly self-trained in the art of combat, Rea had many teachers and was instantly able to mitigate his burns and was quick to heal his wounds. Scitus, however, still had a massive wound that oozed blood like a fountain. Before Scitus could heal himself, Rea made another counterattack with his energy sword, chopping Scitus’s left forearm completely off.

"DAMN YOU!!! JUST LET ME GO FOR A MOMENT!!!" Scitus shouted as he completely halted all movements, Rea was taken aback and readied a defensive position along with his most powerful defensive spell. The phantom of a blue shield with the crested symbol of his kingdom appeared, surrounding Rea's entire body of a blue hue "I don't have time for this." Scitus's lucidity return and eerie calm overcame him. "I can't waste time either." Rea rebutted as he thought of all the hopeful people in his kingdom, expecting his triumphant return. Scitus tightened his right fist, coating it with a similar material that Rea had earlier coated himself in. "Physical attacks will not break this shield!!!" Rea shouted as his gaze grew sharp, expecting some powerful magical attack, his mind raced with possible spells and their counters. "in this world, there are no limits to what is possible." Scitus tighten his fist causing the metal to tear and rip into his own flesh, "today I will set aside my preconceived notions of logic and do that impossibility by infusing this cold fury that I feel and inflict it upon him." Scitus told himself, his heart tightened as he felt countless lives lost with everyone moment he idled about but just as quickly, just like the time he lost his mother and father, his heart grew cold and his body grew distant as if all of existence was meaningless and only he understood that truth.

Scitus thrust his fist forward creating an auditory sonic boom that tore the air around them and for a moment Rea swore he saw reality itself break from the sheer force of the fist's strength. Rea had already been too prepared for a magical attack and couldn't dodge the fist that easily shattered his defensive shield, but Rea was a soldier and was instantly able to adapt. He turned his entire body into the metal material protecting him from a significant amount of damage but at the moment the fist reached his chest he understood that the fist he was being hit with was impossible to prevent from the very beginning. It was a fist filled with the blood of his comrades. He knew the attack came from that untapped power inside all people, raw motion. The things he'd seen soldiers do in war do to some deep-seated emotion would leave most breathless and now he was seeing this very same unnatural human power manifest itself in his opponent, now in a world in which emotions can truly affect reality, he at that moment understood that he never stood a chance. In the blink of an eye, he felt unfeasible immense pain as his entire skeletal structure was cracked and broken, he felt his now ragdoll like body fly for several thousand feet into the far-off distance. But he had survived thanks to his defensive nature, he was able to protect his most vital organs, but his life was on a single thread. It took a second for him to heal his wounds, the time it would take for Scitus to take his life, but Scitus never came.

Rea flew high and fast towards Scitus's location, which he could sense with his magical awareness, an ability similar to Terra's [Sense] ability. The sight was at first startling to behold, countless corpses littered the ground. Despite his distance, his vision had improved since his arrival in that world, he was able to see every detail of these corpses. Goblins holding small little creatures no more than a foot tall. He saw kobolds holding small dainty creatures in their hands which in life wouldn't have been able to live without the warmth of parent. He saw the strewn about limbs and organs of countless victims. If not for his prior experiences, he may have gaged and tearfully mourned these people but instead the natural reflex his body had built over the ears activated and his heart hardened and his mind became calm with a peaceful quietness.

"I'll make you regret your actions today." Scitus coldly said with a calmness that chilled even Rea. Rea didn't know that Scitus was no stranger to misery, to loss, to brutality. He had lived it and unlike Rea who was sixteen when he joined the army, Scitus was forced to see these things at a much younger age, he saw the countless deaths the eternal war had brought about. Scitus often had bursts of wrath but he would always eventually return to a state of cold calculating calm, his former peers would often claim it was as if a demon had possessed him.

"This is a fight between you and me," Scitus said with a tone of utter indignation. His eyes sparkled with a light that could terrify even the bravest of men and A-sun was nothing close. He gulped down his fear as he stood between two gods wondering what to do. Killing a god was no simple matter, even for him who was considered a demi-god. It wasn't impossible but difficult didn't even begin to cover it, if all his hero ranked allies were with him, that he was sure of his victory but alone, only escape was possible. A-sun lunged forward with a devastating sword thrust, Scitus's protective shield nearly collapsed from that single attack.

Scitus took a few steps back as a wide grin appeared on A-suns face. "haha, you still don't know how to cast a fully functional spell, do you!!!" Rea grimaced, magic was used by every powerful being in the world but using it wasn't so simple. It had taken Rea nearly a decade in his god zone to get to where he was, and he could only use a few spells that were probably only the level of a lesser celestial. Fortunately, he was more physical combat-oriented, but Scitus's had no physical combat experience to speak of, he had been relying on his enormous mana reserve to overpower his enemies but if a truly well-trained mage fought against Scitus, his loss would be all but guaranteed; or so Rea thought.

"Perhaps my technique is not the most advanced, but you are not a mage, you a swordsman and no matter how talented you are with magic, I can guarantee you that you will never be able to compete with my mana reserves." Scitus instantly recast his shield and then coated himself with another four for a total of five shields. A-sun's eyes widened with such a compact defense, it would difficult to fight.

"damn, I guess I have no choice but to use that," A-sun muttered to himself with a grimace. He had avoided using it because it would be admitting that a young god, like Scitus, had pushed him into a corner but with Rea guarding the civilians, A-sun had few cards to play and most of them were retreat which his pride wouldn't allow.

"Siion, my king, my God, grant me your protection, grant me but an ounce of your power so that I may slay your enemies, so that I may stain their blood with your holy blade." Rea's hairs stood on end as he heard this chant, he had heard something similar before when his kingdom was taken. Many believed it was Wesil and his armies that took him down but that was because Wesil hid the truth very well, it wasn't wesil alone who defeated him, he and an ally, a hero. "Stop him!!!" Rea anxiously shouted but it was too late, A-sun's prayer was complete and even if it wasn't, the prayer wasn't what granted him power. It was Siion, simply requesting it would be enough for Siion to notice one of his greatest warriors calling his name.

A powerful blast of energy tore the air apart, rocks the size of boulders rose from the earth as an unfathomable amount of energy entered A-suns body, causing his veins to bloat to the size of fat worms, his eyes grew white as the energy filled his body with brutal power. “This is called…” Rea telepathically spoke to Scitus who was reinforcing the shield on his people, “[Knighthood]”one of the many powerful god abilities; [Knighthood] which also granted a subject virtual immortality for as long as the god remained in power and along with it came a dormant power that could be released at will. This power was granted by Siion who gave all his knights mana beyond their limits and allowed them to reach the pinnacle of their potential. “In this state, I am no weaker a dragon!!!” A-sun proudly shouted to the heavens.

"SAREC!!!!" a roar so powerful so guttural, filled with a chaotic and uncontrollable emotion, the civilians felt their hearts burst out their chest when they heard it, Rea felt his spine chill from the shriek and even Scitus who had been so focused on A-sun become momentarily distracted by scream, a scream similar to his long-ago; laden with anger, sadness and a sense of self-deprecation, guilt for one's own foolishness.

Terra dug her powerful claws into A-suns shoulders, slamming him down into the stone floor, creating a large crater around his body. When Terra lifted her claws, A-suns flesh was still firmly attached to her thick arm-sized talons, with a flick of her wrist, A-sun was sent flying towards the opposite wall, destroying the still young cliffside. Massive boulder after massive boulder fell atop A-suns already worn-out body but Terra wasn't about to let him rest. Using her massive magic power, she lifted the boulders into the air, lifting A-sun in the process. She took in a deep breath which slowly collected all loose and fallen stones from several miles away to her position. Just above her open mouth was a ball of pure stone which slowly grew in size and before anyone realized, it had already grown to a size equal to herself which she then collapsed into a smaller ball the size of a house. This ball, which was as smooth as porcelain and weighed several tons, was then exhaled with a speed equivalent to a diving falcon. The still dazed A-sun was crushed by the weight of the planet, by the weight of her sorrow.

Scitus casually floated towards the massive stone and exerted his strength and with some trouble, he managed to roll the stone off A-sun who was still alive, much to Scitus's unenthused surprise. "Your boasts were sorely exaggerated." His mocks went unheard for A-sun was completely unconscious, his mind was rattled and from Scitus's perspective, it was likely that A-sun had been put into a coma from the devastating head trauma inflicted upon him by the boulder. The surroundings were a complete mess and if not for his shields, his people would have suffered further injuries from the devastating blow, a blow so powerful that it lifted the earth several feet of the ground, forming a strange bowl-like crater where A-sun rested at its center.

Terra's eyes slowly regained their lucidity as she finally realized what she had done. With a scornful gaze, she returned to her more human appearance adorned with elegant horns that stretched from her skull and rose in a curvature formation until the tips of her horns nearly touched forming an oval like shape with the whitespace of her form. Her horns were reminiscent of a gazelle except thicker and sturdier but still held the same grace as her animal counterpart. Contrary to the timidity associated with gazelles however, Terra's every step forward was like a ruler's, confident and demanding authority.

"Do you know him?" Scitus calmly asked as he simultaneously cast a healing spell for the injured civilians. The civilians smiled for a moment and turned to their fallen loved, anxiously expecting for them to return but after a few moments, they realized that it wouldn't be so simple. Many people sorrowfully cried for those they had lost and fell into silent prayer, not to Scitus but to their old traditions of ancestor worship and some nature worship.

"No," Terra said taking a step closer to see who he had just beaten to a bloody pulp. "He' smells similar to someone I know, that means they are around each other a lot." Terra completely ignored Scitus and proceed to kick A-sun onto his back, she then mounted him and began to inscribe words upon his back with her half-formed claws. "Terra, I'll help you, if you help me." Terra scoffed, "what could you possibly help me with?" she furrowed her brows as she dug her miniature talon deeper into A-suns flesh, forming a visible gaping wound that did not bleed. "whoever your enemy is, he most likely is protected by a kingdom with the power of a greater god. Not only will finding him be difficult but getting to him will be that much harder." Terra began to laugh and then suddenly stopped, " I know who he is, I just didn't want to acknowledge it, but with this" She dug her talon so deep that it nearly went through to the other side of A-sun's body, "I now know he is alive and well." before Scitus could ask she answered, "Siion" is his name now, he probably changed it when he became a god." She finished her inscription and got off A-sun. "it means Holy king in his old tongue." Terra turned to face Scitus. "all the more reason for you and me to join forces." Terra smirked, "I don't trust humans but if you truly wish for my assistance, I'll grant it, on a single condition." Scitus's waited for her to continue, "I want to bind your soul to mine." Scitus blinked a couple of times unsure how to respond. "what does that entail?" he finally said. "I take a part of your soul, and you take a part of mine. Once our deal is complete, our souls will be returned, however if you have malicious thoughts against me or I towards you, our souls will be in agony until the day we are reborn again, which I feel inclined to tell you is period of time a lot longer than a few hundred human life cycles." Scitus raised his chin, "I may be many things, but a liar is not one of them, I promise to you that for as long as you do not harm my people, I will have no ill thoughts against you." Terra Sneered, "I've heard those words before, which is why I created this spell. Come closer, if you do not fear this contract."

"how do we do this then?" Scitus asked as his mind thought of how to help the dead people in his kingdom which he was unsure how to revive without crippling his future projects. "Simple, you state your terms, I state my terms, if you and I both agree, our souls will be bound until the contract is complete." Scitus smiled, if he asks for her assistance, he may be able to revive his population and in the same moment as this thought, came a far more malevolent and cruel thought, "yes, that may also be an option" Scitus said to himself.

Scitus slowly stepped forward, "you, Terra," in return for my assistance, will give me a large portion of your power so that I may revive those who have fallen today and any who may fall in the future, do you accept these conditions? Terra smiled, "fine, You, young god, Scitus you will help me end this unending revolting hatred inside me, will help me until this hatred is soothed, this boiling wrath quelled, until your dying breath. " Scitus took one final step forward and was no face to face with the gargantuan woman, who stood at an impossible twelve feet tall, a little over twice his size, "I agree to your conditions"

In front of countless witnesses and Rea who with widened eyes watched the spectacle, they saw Terra raise Scitus off the ground by grabbing his shirt collar and then kissing him. Scitus's eyes widened, he had expected a blood ritual or a special dance to bind the other's soul but beyond all his expectations, it was a kiss that bound their souls. To Rea and Scitus this was peculiar but to everyone else present, this was not so strange, although they only tangentially understood it was a magical spell by the appearance of a black stone above terra and an orb of white ice above Scitus. , Eyes were windows to the soul but a kiss, to the people of Orana, was like touching another's soul, that was why during a marriage, people kissed which was also a form of soul contract though the penalty was much lighter. Seresa couldn't help but feel a burning envy grow inside of her as she whispered to herself, "I would never ask for a break if I could have just a single moment like that." valentine who was close by smiled, "you love our god?" he said with a playful smile, he was met with a firm punch to the stomach that, despite his improved muscular and skeletal body, still forced a pained grown out of him.

Seresa smiled and responded, “Subjects can marry gods. Sia told me so.” Her eyes glowed with a mischievous determination.

As Seresa discussed her plans to conquer Scitus’s heart, Terra Released Scitus and silently flew off, not bothering to turn into her dragon form. Scitus looked on as Terra fled with awkward shame, Scitus had unintentionally learned a part of her secrets and she a part of his.

"you didn't know this would happen did you?" Scitus said as he weakly knelt down, the contract for a moment felt as if they had become a single person and he swore that if he relaxed for even a moment, their souls truly would have melded into the other, forever destroying both of them. finally, he calmed himself and to destroy the remainder of the army, as he tried to suppress the tragic memories of Terra, once known as the legendary beast of Eruit.