Heavy. Everything was heavy. Noctis could barely pick himself off the murky ground. Wasn’t I on a bed? Why is it so dark? All of the sudden he froze under the gaze of a predator. Two scarlet red eyes were beaming at him through the darkness. He found it hard to breathe with the eyes fixated on him.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, boy.” the guttural voice wasn’t in his head anymore, it passed through his ears this time. “I am known in the spirit realm as the Sovereign of Midnight. You will know me by a different name though. You may call me Tyrant, the one who seizes power.” as he spoke, his form was revealed. Four sturdy legs the size of houses carried a robust body, completely covered in pitch black scales. It’s long tail rested on the ground as it sat up. Two jagged wings unfurled and spread wide, making the beast seem even larger. The two bright eyes never removed him from the center of it’s attention.

Its a dragon, I’m contracted with a real dragon. Noctis thought to himself in disbelief.

“Not just any dragon, boy. You’ve managed to make a contract with the oldest and strongest dragon in the spirit realm.” Coming from anyone else it might have been seen as boasting, but after looking at the dragon, he felt suffocated from the amount of power he was emitting.

“This dear boy, is your soul. I will teach you how to control my power and make it your own while you sleep. It seems as though it will bring you trouble quite quickly if you were to reveal it. Human greed remains their biggest vice after all.” the tip of a razor sharp claw made its way to Noctis’s chest, just outside where his heart was located.

“In your heart there’s great inner turmoil. It will lead to an interesting outcome. Darkness is the essence of destruction. Whether you’re able to bend it to your will or become its slave is a matter of how well you can maintain control of yourself and your desires.” The claw moved up and now it was coming in contact with his forehead. “Here is where all your inner conflict will occur, but that’s besides the point. This is where all contractors and spirit beasts visualize all their magic to stem from. You, however, have no need for such a silly process. Darkness is ever present in you now.” The hand of the dragon was taken back then lifted into the air, palm facing up. “All you must do is simply think of a form for it to take.”

A ball of energy void of any light appeared above his hand. “With very few exceptions, including your own body, it will destroy anything it touches as long as enough energy is provided. For example.”

A stone wall as tall as the dragon appeared behind it. He turned around, and slammed the ball of energy into the wall. Seconds later the entire wall began to shake as spiderweb cracks began to form all over it. After 10 seconds, the entire structure had shattered like glass.

“Your turn now, boy.” he turned around and found that a fully grown oak tree had appeared behind him. “Don’t expect it to turn out like what you just witnessed. You don’t have nearly enough energy for that to happen just yet.”

Noctis began to concentrate, and held his palm out with his fingers curled inwards. He imagined the darkness turning into a ball over and over but to no avail. It looked like the blood vessels on the side of his head were about to burst from thinking too hard.

“You’re trying to visualize the darkness becoming the ball. All you really have to do is imagine the end product and if you’re able, it will take form.”

Taking the advice, he imagined a black ball the size of a tennis ball appearing in his hand, and black tendrils made from pure energy emerged from his palm, all feeding into the same point, as the energy was emmassed. Exactly what he had imagined had appeared in his hand, and the tendrils burrowed back into his hand. He then looked to the tree and slapped it hard. When the ball made contact with the tree, the energy exploded, and he could feel the energy tearing into the tree, ripping everything it came in contact with apart. He pulled his hand away revealing a whole had burrowed into the center of the tree.

“Alright boy, that’s enough for the day. Just so you’re aware this is the most brutish way you could approach this magic. But it was the easiest way to introduce it to you. Enjoy what’s left of your rest for the night.”

Noctis blinked and realized he was now sideways. The sunlight entered the room through the window and went directly into his eyes. He checked his surroundings and saw he was now under the covers of the bed. There was a set of clothes neatly folded on top of the desk with a note on top. He put the clothes on and wandered the halls until he ran into the old priest.

“Good morning Noctis, why aren’t you getting your breakfast? Didn’t you see the note I left?” He spoke gently with a smile on his face.

Noctis looked down, embarrassed. “I...can’t read.”