~SKYLAR AMBERLY VITALIS

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There was no long tunnel this time. It was like stepping though a door, and the instant change sent my brain’s sense of orientation scrambling again.

Before I could even try and gather myself, I felt the weight of my body quadruple.

It felt like walking through water at the same time as breathing in thin air.

My vision swam. My legs nearly failing me completely.

I stumbled forward as I left the portal, and it took all my strength to stop myself from just sprawling onto my face and lay there on the floor.

A heavy weight of lethargy settled over me, and an overpowering presence filled my lungs, as it displaced the air I needed to feed my cells.

“Ah…” a woman’s voice exclaimed. “My apologies. I wasn’t expecting anyone for another hour at the very least.”

I heard the snap of fingers, and the pressure was lifted from me like a ripped band-aid while I was tethering on the edge of consciousness.

My vision still went black. Blinding me for a moment as I felt the tingling warmth of the blood rushing throughout my extremities.

My tails curled around my legs submissively on instinct as my vision recovered, red and spotty.

I realised that I was doubled over and gasping for breath.

‘What was that?!’ I could feel the terror and dread lingering inside my head.

“My aura can be a bit overwhelming. Especially when I’m stressing over work like this.”

I managed to raise my head to see who was talking.

A small girl sat behind a big wooden desk, upon a chair that was two sizes too large for her.

Her voice was that of an adult and coupled with my still recovering mind, the disparity of it threw me off.

“Sitting down will help.” She gestured at the padded chair that faced me, “I’ll order us something to sooth you as an apology.”

I tried to move to accept her offer, but found that I couldn’t.

Moving to sit down would require me to move closer to her.

My eyes could see a little girl, but my instincts were screaming at me that this was an entity on a level that I shouldn’t even be glancing at! Much less casually approach!

To laugh at something as dumb as ‘aura’ in fiction and anime was one thing, since you could poke fun at it in so many ways. Mocking at the impossibility of merely sensing someone’s presence and intent from a distance or having it imposed so strongly upon someone.

However, to experience even a few seconds of it was almost a fate worse than death.

It was like the person in front of me had a towering, insurmountable wall of water behind her, of which I couldn’t discern the height or width. And that liquid was dark and oppressive, not bound by any walls, just holding itself in place because it was being commanded to do so. Yet, at any moment this person could order this infinite force of destruction and chaos to bear down upon me at the flick of a finger.

It was enough to say several things without the need for words.

I was lesser than a speck of dust in front of this little girl, and that fact was now ingrained into the very core of my being.

“I… I can’t move…” I forced myself to admit through clenched teeth, fighting to undo the locking up of my jaws.

A look of genuine sadness crossed the girl’s face. “I’m truly very sorry.” she lowered her head slightly, “It will subside in a bit, I’m sure. I really do mean you no harm. My ambient power just overflows sometimes… A curse of being a dragon I suppose.” She said, “Unlike other types of demons I produce my own magica, but it gets infused with my emotions and is too saturated to be absorbed by weaker demons.”

“You’re… a dragon… demon?” I asked, still rooted in place and breathing hard.

“A demonic dragon, technically.” she smiled kindly, “Don’t let the label fool you. I wouldn’t hurt a fly… Unintentionally that is.” she added the last part as an afterthought.

That was obviously not a reassurance. I could still see the vision of that towering dark wall of fluid power over her shoulder and I was struggling to not go down on my knees.

‘What the fuck am I even doing?!’ I cussed at myself.

In less than twelve hours I had been turned into a demon, summoned to another dimension – which I was still debating whether it was hell or not despite not seeing any fires – and now I had ended up in front of someone that could very well crush me under her thumb.

My mind had been through a lot and it was a lot to digest.

In my deluge of emotions, I had forgotten a fundamental fact.

I had my training to support me. And in times of uncertainty like this my greatest asset was my mind and my ability to manage the flow of thoughts to keep myself steady on my feet and sharp enough to defend myself.

I had face more crushing situations! Felt the loss of a miscarried brother and witnessed the death of my mother… both due to the same cancer.

Death would not scare me when I had indeed witnessed worse fates.

I was audacious enough – defiant even! – to stare it in the face and dare it to do it’s worse.

Turning into a demon was even less than that to me!

I closed my eyes, and with years of training, calmed myself on a single exhaled breath.

My body relaxed, but the embers within me that I had supressed for so long blazed!

Calmly, I stood up straight. The fear had left, my body was my own, and the newfound demonic instincts respected my will without imposing upon my mental state.

The look of surprise on the girl’s face didn’t escape me.

“Impressive.” She smiled, “Some would dismiss this display simply based on how weak your powers currently are. But that was the spark of something powerful. I could feel it!” She leaned forward over her desk with a glint in her green cat-like eyes, “How did you do that?” she gestured for me to sit down in genuine excitement.

“I got tired of being scared and worrying about my fate here in this place.” I answered as I walked up to the desk with fluid ease and sat down on the comfort of the chair. “I realised that I’ve faced worse things, and that succumbing to the feeling of helplessness achieves nothing.”

“Indeed.” she nodded. “But I had no intent towards you, my ambient energy just…was.”

“Then directing your intent at me would be less than favourable?”

“Less than favourable is a matter of perspective…” she said offhandedly. “Though at my full power, you wouldn’t need a perspective.”

I felt the chill run down my spine.

“Are you ready to begin your registration?” she smiled.

“Just like that?” I eyed her, “No questions or anything?”

“Ordinarily there would be. And I’m not usually one to skip properly evaluating new demons. But you’ve just treated me to something absolutely spectacular… of which I’m not even sure you yourself realise of how big of an event it was.” she said. “I look forward to the day, I can challenge you as an equal.”

“Challenge me?”

“Yes.” she shifted her sitting position, “You stood up quite spectacularly against the residual effects of my aura. I respect that. But it’s also a blatant sign of challenge towards a dragon, and I have my pride and reputation as well. Once you can face me as an equal, let us become friends.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh! Right!” she clapped her hands once, “I got so enthralled at your first impression that the thought flew out the window!” she chuckled. “Others have named me Gaia. I am a primordial elemental dragon of earth and nature. The nickname is because of the elements I govern. It has nothing to do with gods or divinity” She sighed, “Which is something I have to keep pointing out to new acquaintances.”

“You can call me Nocturna.”

“It’s a pleasure, Nocturna.” Gaia bowed her head lightly. “Please wait a moment while I go search for the things needed to complete this bothersome registration procedure.”

“Gaia.” I spoke. “How powerful do you need to be, to kill someone with your presence alone?” I asked.

“Finding out is half the fun.” She hopped off the chair and walked off, opening a door in the right wall and shutting it on her way out.

I got a moment to myself and I took it as an opportunity to observe the room.

A miniature crystal chandelier, made of golden and silvery metals hung from the ceiling, casting light that was far too bright to be considered natural. But it wasn’t in any way blinding.

There were a few other large desks in the room, pushed up against the walls and piled with loads of paper and odd trinkets. There was even a glistening gem tiara sitting haphazardly on a pile of what seemed to be gears and cogs.

The floor was carpeted entirely in some sort of white animal fur, and Gaia’s desk was more ornately designed that the bland simple ones in the corners of the room.

Her desk had depictions serpents and birds of prey, as well as the knights clad in armour and armed with various tools to fight them.

The carvings seemed to be telling a story that I couldn’t fully understand.

Her chair and the one I was sitting on, both had similar carvings and design features. Hinting that it was probably all a set.

Gaia had been writing with a fountain pen that had a long and beautiful feather behind it.

I couldn’t understand the document, but it was clear that she had a flawless penmanship.

Other little details stood out that made the room unusual.

An open filing drawer in one of the desks was sorting itself.

What looked to be a tiny eyeball stared intently at me from the dark shadowy corner of a stacked pile of books. Only to roll away quickly when it saw me take notice.

The green designs on the wallpaper very slowly moved, but only in the corner of my eyes and never when I looked directly at them.

I had my tails resting on my lap, since everything was in close proximity and I didn’t have confident-enough control over them to be sure that I wouldn’t knock anything over.

A while later, when Gaia walked into the room again, I had a chance to get a good look at her.

Aside from her eyes she looked human.

No tail, no horns…

Perhaps there had been the glint of sharp teeth when she spoke, but up until this point I wasn’t paying enough attention to confirm.

Her form looked to be about fourteen or sixteen.

She had her black hair tied up in a bun with a green bow that matched her eyes.

Her clothing was a simple dress than any older child would wear…

Plain yellow, with a bow sash. Not even any designs that would set it apart from a regular home attire.

‘Is hiding your extra body features something you can do down the line…? Or is it just how dragons are in general?’

She placed a sizeable metal box on her desk, before she scrambled up the stacks of cushions on her chair to take a seat properly once more.

Gaia took a deep breath through her nose as she settled down and crossed her fingers together with her elbows on the desk.

“Now. According to law I need to relay the rules to you before your registration.” she began, “You’ve been found eligible to do so, and you may choose not to do so.”

“The other option being imprisonment.” I pointed out.

“Ah… That’s purely if you insist of living outside of realm Nostra.” she countered.

“Even if I can’t survive the power saturation of this universe?” I arched a brow.

Gaia nodded enthusiastically. “Accommodations are provided until you can stand on your own two feet.”

I chose not to reply. I felt like there was too much to ask and dissect.

Earth was waiting for me, and without knowing how much time had passed, I didn’t want to stay here any longer than needed.

Neither of the two rooms I’d been in had any windows. Not to mention that this world could revolve on an entirely different measurement of time than Earth’s.

“I will begin.” Gaia said after noting that I would remain quiet.

She pulled an old, frayed scroll of parchment from one of her desk drawers.

“Welcoming notes, blah blah blah… Terms of acceptance, blah blah blah…” She scanned down the old brown-stained paper a few more times. “Ah, here it is!” She exclaimed, reading a few more paragraphs before speaking again, “A chimera – in the case, you, Nocturna – upon late awakening is entitled to one evolution gem to proceed with the completion of their metamorphosis, and five random level two items, plus one Ultra rare item is provided for the use in their mandatory summons.”

“Can you elaborate?” I said, “Is a chimera that common amongst demons? What is this metamorphosis?”

“Well both corelate.” Gaia explained, “A chimera is basically a magica-using entity that’s a mix with a non-magica user, but is still a stable existence. It does not strictly mean demon. Like you, you’re half-human half-demon. Someone else can be half-human half-goblin or half-elf half-mermaid. Those are chimeras too.

“Metamorphosis, is the act of using any means to rid yourself of your non-magica side. Like becoming full demon.” She waved her hand passively, “In case you’re wondering, the process is irreversible.”

“Then why do I need to do it?” I frowned. “Can’t I just register and go back to my life?”

“Well… yes and no…” Gaia winced slightly. “See, if you were any mix other than demonic, you wouldn’t have to. But the rules go back to the very cradle of existence. The short of it is that demons lost the celestial war and were forced into servitude towards the dimensions, and this includes every demon, even those born millenniums after the war. It’s a contract tied to the first universe before any others branched off from it, and is so ancient that even the combined effort of all of the current demons of every universe wouldn’t be able to break it.” She spread her hands flat on her desk and a look I couldn’t place crossed her face. “It’s the reason why we cannot lie. The reason why we can’t choose to remain non-magical mix-breeds. The reason why we need to operate via contracts.”

“I see…” I didn’t know what else to say.

Gaia gave me a sad look. “For you it gets a little bit more complicated.” She continued. “Once registered, you will be tasked with being summoned and making contracts with the summoners to accomplish tasks to pay your debt to the universe.”

“I have a debt to the universe?” I was nearly unable to supress the huff of genuine indignation and disbelief.

“Chimeras who awaken above the set age of awakening, incur an automatic debt. Of course, not all demons gain their powers at the set age of awakening, since it’s more of a threshold set by the celestial contract more than anything else. Once awakened you are required to answer to summons and complete the contracts of your summoners. What this means is that the later you awaken the more of a debt you incur, since you miss more summonings.”

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. Appalled by the blatantly unjust rules. “There isn’t a way out, is there?”

Gaia shook her head. “The debt does become a bit more lenient over time and the more powerful you become. However, regardless of that, you still have to pay back your debt that spans the time during the awakening threshold and when you actually awaken. It obviously gets worse the later you awaken due to the stretch of time, and I’ve known chimeras who had gathered centuries of debt. So, since you’re human, yours isn’t that bad actually.” She smiled at me, “And when you get as powerful as me, you only have to answer to a summon once every century.”

I sighed again. “How often do I have to answer to these summons once registered?”

“Thrice a week.” Gaia paused for a bit, “But if you get a summon with a mission that will clash with your other summons if it takes a few days to complete, then it will count as those other summons. For example… if you get summoned and it last the whole week, all three summons for that week will be deducted from your debt.”

“Can I choose not to answer a summon?” I asked.

“Yes, if you don’t consider the terms of contract to be in your favour, you may decline. However, it will not deduct towards your debt, and you can’t do it more than five times in a row.”

“…If I do?”

“The fifth time in a row you decline to accept the terms of a summon, you will be called by force in front the Seraphim council, and the celestials will brand your soul.” Gaia’s gaze turned dark at her own words. “So yeah, the angels govern our summoning system and hold the contractual chains that bind us. But the nightmare doesn’t end there. I’d advise against meeting them like that. A branding is… a fate I have no words on how to explain.” She rubbed her temples. “I once had a friend and rival on par with my own power. He thought he was powerful enough to face the branding. He declined his fifth summon…” Gaia shook her head, “Lesser demons don’t make it back from the branding, and those like my friend come back an empty husk.

“Many have tried to stand up against the gods to free us from this life of servitude, and the only thing I can do is to advise the young demons that I initiate against trying to act like heroes.” she gave me a sad smile. “We’re demons after all.”

“Okay.” I replied. “So, I answer three summons a week or perhaps answer one summon that will last me the duration of that week… Then how does becoming a full demon come into this? Can’t I do the summons and remain half-human?”

Gaia shook her head. “I can answer this one from experience.” she replied, “I was once half-human and half-elf. You will find out how to use the complexity of the evolution system to change your race later, but that’s not my point right now.

“The summons are basically tasks that the angels just dump upon us and can’t be bothered with. So, you can see where the trouble is already. Some of them are mundane tasks like answering the summoner’s questions or helping them dust a room… but it can escalate to subduing armies or taking down magical golems the size of literal mountains. And if you’re human, you wouldn’t want to refuse contracts of that magnitude, especially not five times in a row. Obviously, accepting them would kill you, if not worse.”

“I… I see how that can become a problem.” I acknowledged it. It was a sound explanation.

“Of course, over the centuries, us demons have tried to mellow out the rules of the Alpha Contract. We have a sorting that only assigns summons based on your rank and capabilities. Gives important notifications. And can be personalised via an artifact to the comfort of it’s individual user.”

“The aether system.” I noted. Remembering how Nim had avoided telling me why they kept tabs on registered demons. “So, you keep tabs, to keep demons safe.” I stated.

“In the big picture, yes.” Gaia nodded. “But don’t be disillusioned. Not all demons are good, and remember, you’re doing contracts and answering summons to keep your own life. So, if you meet another demon out there and your contracts conflict, the system won’t save you, and others are very much inclined to kill to avoid the punishment for failing an accepted contract.”

“There’s punishment for failure?”

“Of course. The aether system was built upon the loopholes of the Alpha Contract between demons and angels. We can actually try our best to minimise the punishments by dealing with them in demon court, but we have to apply them regardless. Not because we want to, but because we don’t want the offending demon to have to go face an entire court of angels alone… and they do love the opportunity to torture us.” Gaia sighed heavily. “But even our system has chinks in it’s armour. Every summon awards you experience points. Every experience point makes you stronger. And the stronger you get… the aether system assigns you to more powerful summons and complicated contracts.

“Since refusing your debt isn’t an option, it directly leads to being assigned to greater contracts… Again, you can’t remain half-human. Statistically, there are no half-human half-demons who have survived past their fiftieth summon.”

“The aether system can’t evolve humans?” I asked.

Gaia shook her head, “It’s a flawed system to begin with. Us higher demons have tried to patch it as best we can. But this is our limit in manipulating loopholes. And once a half-demon, you immediately fall under the hold of the old celestial contract, and even turning fully dragon like me won’t exempt you from that.”

“Is that why you’re considered a demonic dragon?” I furrowed my brows.

“I found out the hard way, that no amount of power can free us from the fate of being summoned for the use of the multiverse and it’s inhabitants. We are forever bound to obey the whims of the angels, and sometimes to even dirty and bloody our hands at the command of the insane and power-hungry.

“Yet there is still hope. Reach my level and you’ll only have to deal with this crap only once a century.” She sat up a little straighter.

“Do we live that long?” I asked.

“We’re demons, we’ll live for as long as we’re not killed.”

“What about non-human friends… family…?”

Gaia didn’t speak. She only lowered her gaze.

“Are you ready to register and start your evolution in the aether system?” She grabbed the metal box she had brought in without waiting for my answer, and popped it open.

“Last question.” I spoke, “You said I can choose not to register, and that lodging would be provided. Does that mean I won’t need to answer summons then?”

“Lodging is provided, but you still get summoned. However, you don’t gain access to the aether system or benefit from it’s leniency and evolutionary management without registering to it.” She elaborated, “Of course, refuse five times, and…” she trailed off.

“What other choice do I have…?” I closed my eyes for a moment. “I’ll register.” I relented.

“If you choose to kickstart your evolution tree right here, I can help you with the choices and perhaps explain some things.” Gaia said. “Of course, you have the option of just registering now and choosing to consume the evolution gem later at your own discretion. Most don’t like others to know what they’ve chosen, especially when you’re still just a lesser demon.”