Eden was sick. Not in a vile sense, he was rather tame when it came to executions or torture. He was emotionally sick which had a major toll on his physical wellbeing. He did not sleep; nightmares plagued his dreary mind. When he did sleep he was connected to his bed, bound by leather and chain. More than a few times had the newly crowned King woke up screaming.

He walked with a limp and was often reminded of the pain and torment the Blood [Queen] put him through. The evening, when the sun dipped behind the grassy crop fields in the distance, was when the memories came back. Deep heart-filled red lit up the sky, blowing away clouds before allowing total darkness to take over.

Eden hated red.

It reminded him of her. He even went so far to remove centuries’ old rugs and nationalistic banners while making sure he was nowhere near a window at sunset.

But today was a special day for the young King. Today was the day he was supposed to visit the class stones and finally grasp the [King] class. The two titles are usually used interchangeably, but without the class, a few of the upper echelons of Salae didn’t respect his rule. That would all change today, however.

Eden put on his best formal attire, the type [Peasants] would grovel at. The kind a typical family would work a few fortnights for enough gold to even be allowed into the shop that sold such highly regarded garments. As the [Royal Esquire] of the King pulled his regal wear slightly too tight, a drowning feeling unleashed over Eden.

A tiding fueled his adrenaline, his breath caught, and sweat began to pour from his neck and back. He did his best to hide the pain not wanting to show weakness to the help. His inner cheeks had become welted and raw over the last few days, pain seemed to be a way he could keep his mind on track – his mouth being the only place an [Attendant] wouldn’t see.

He watched himself in the full-length mirror, breathing rough, sweating like a swine, pain in his eyes. He hated it, he hated everything. He didn’t care if everything burned. He didn’t care if Salae lived.

Well, that wasn’t true. Salae was his home whether he would admit it or not. As long as his kingdom stood, Eden would be content with his rule. But so help Salae if it got in the way of his goals.

The drowning feeling culminated in a rush of blood. His mouth surged with iron and red pigment, to which he swallowed down heavily. Then, there was a knock. Eden knew, he just knew that the messenger behind the door would only have terrible news. He didn’t like knowing. He wished the feelings would disappear.

“Come in.” Eden said with a bit of a gargle.

Zicu, Eden’s [Royal Surrogate] meekly stepped in. His presence removed the [Royal Esquire] from the changing room, and his posture explained the graveness of the situation. Zicu was afraid.

“My Liege.” The mousy man said, “I bring news…”

The King turned to address the man while pulling at separate pieces of his dress for better fit, “What is it? Did they find my… sister.” Eden would have spat, but that would mean seeing wispy red, “Or did the [Assassins] decide to speak?”

“Neither sir. This is about the [Queen].” Eden perked up at this, “One of the three sets of [Master Trackers] have sent in a report. They found an enemy strong hold and were wiped out by outstanding enemy forces. They left one member alive, a [Porter]. He reports that a woman controlled blood to kill-“

Eden held up his hand, silencing the attendant, “I don’t want to hear it. Have the families paid handsomely and send another few sets of trackers to pick up the slack. Tell them to keep their distance this time.”

“Of course, my Liege.” Zicu stepped back out of the door, “If you are ready, the carriage is waiting.”

Eden nodded and the pair strolled through the castle. Now-a-days the King preferred to do much of his bidding during the dark hours. The few times he had been able to sleep were only during the daylight. Something about the warmth and procedural light dawned eased feelings… sometimes.

The city was well lit, well worn, and well maned. Jingles from nearby [Bards], gawks and gasps from citizens, and the eternal noise of the streets were something Eden had long since grown used to. He spent countless nights drunk walking down the marbled cobblestone in the tavern district. He spent many early mornings being shoved from warm unfamiliar beds.

But that was behind him. He was King, about to be [King]. He hoped he achieved a semblance of his father’s class – [Worthy King].

With a deep breath, and a platoon of armed guard surrounding him, Eden placed a hand on the Class Stone.

Welcome to the Class Stones. Take your time, there is no rush.

Transition detected!

Ruler over sovereign state by birthright!

Abandon Class [Royal Diplomat] and [Affectionate Drinker] for a [King]-style class?

Warning! Abandonment concedes 55 levels and 165 stat points.

Proceed? Y/N

Eden gladly selected Y.

[King] classes available:

Hated Tyrant

Sanguine-altered King

Questioned King

Three choices, Eden mused, One that is despicable, another disgusting, and one demeaning. With a sigh, he read through the descriptions.

Hated Tyrant (Royalty - Common): You are brought to the limelight in unfavorable means. Most do not like you: Citizens, politicians, those nearest to you.

Grants the [King] abilities One For All and All For One.

Stats raise with your kingdom’s morale.

Warning: You are at your most powerful during active, and majority favorable, coup d’états.

Eden did not like the sound of the class. Becoming more power the more people hated him? He would be assassinated within a week if he chose this class.

Sanguine-altered King (Royalty – Mythic): Blood has changed you in more ways than one. You have lived through terrible pains, walk the streets at night, and drink blood like wine.

You are worthy of the Legacy.

Warning: This class changes the body and mind.

Grants the [King] abilities One For All and All For One.

Stats raise with age.

Eden didn’t know what to think of the class. He didn’t like blood, but did taking a lousy class outweigh the memories? Sanguine-altered King was very interesting, especially being worthy of the Legacy. Eden very much liked the flattery.

Questioned King (Royalty - Rare): You are brought to the limelight in unfavorable means. Most question your legitimacy: Citizens, politicians, those nearest to you. They do not believe you can become a true ruler.

Grants the [King] abilities One For All and All For One.

Stats raise with your kingdom’s morale.

Warning: Until legitimacy is secured, all stats remained locked at System minimum (10).

When deemed worthy, stats grow with kingdom’s morale.

Again, Eden saw problems with the class. Namely being able to convince those nearest to the throne of his legitimacy. Most of the upper echelons knew of Eden and his… unsavory past. They knew of his lack of schooling and lack of proper knowledge. They knew him to be a bumbling buffoon.

Could he change their minds?

Eden thought long and hard about the choice he had to make. Hated Tyrant was instantly out, which left two very different classes. Blood scared him, unusually so. But did he really want to live in fear? He remembered the look his younger sister gave him as she strolled into the throne room. Bella had power, something he desperately wanted.

Eventually he made his choice.

Eden fluttered his eyes as the menus of the Class Stones faded. He noticed the nearby torches were brighter – a side effect of staring at blue boxes, surely. Around him people shouted, but he couldn’t tell what they were saying. Everything was muffled, everything was spinning.

He felt weak, but then oddly strong, but then back to weak. Losing stats and levels always effected a person, but Eden didn’t think it would be like this. His body felt as if it were fighting for control over basic functions. A gentle, shaky hand pulled the [King] from his wobbles.

“My Liege! Terrible news!” The hand connected to Zicu and his irritable face, “Alia has been broken out of the dungeon! Reports are that a young man and his bonded water monster stormed the lair after appearing from thin air! A [Water Mage] Inspect told one of the stationed guards.”

Eden forced his eyes to focus, “Alia…”

The news wasn’t great, but it wasn’t as bad as Zicu was making it out to be. Sure, losing Alia would be met with questions, but Eden was sure he could spin the ordeal. Lost Lord breaking into the royal castle, would surely turn some heads. He didn’t want to think about that right now, however. He had a new class to get used to.

“My Liege, something else of note happened.”

“On with it. And someone remove those lights, they are rather bothersome!” Eden yelled.

Zicu motioned to a few nearby guards, “Two were taken from the dungeon, both from the lowest level. Alia was one, the other was a man named Isaac.”

“And?”

“Isaac has the [Immortal] class and is said to have created Vast Empire…”

Eden bubbled with a smile; The story writes itself, he thought. Lost Lord breaks into royal castle to kidnap eldest princess while freeing Vast Empire’s creator. Eden had to stifle a laugh – but for now, that was morning problem. He was hungry and tired, red meat he decided, then bed.

A few days prior, Eden would have cringed and refused to eat if he was served red meat. Now? Eden was confused at why he ever felt the sentiment. Blood wasn’t scary. It was life. It was what moved all. If anything, now, he had reason to believe blood was the way to power. Serana Cresthill was onto something, he thought.

For some reason, Eden knew he was going to sleep well this night.

After hearing Isaac’s story, time moved rather quickly. It was apparent to everyone that the founder of Vast Empire may be lying – after all, terrorists weren’t the most noble bunch. So, a plan was decided upon. Since [Trackers] were going to be sent out in droves to chase Max and now Alia, it was common sense to send Isaac along as well.

The man couldn’t be killed, could wait out being tied down, and was incredibly weak. If a [Tracker] found his scent, Isaac would be found – returning him to Salae was not an option in anyone’s mind. Eden had already proved to expel any advantage, such as suggesting that Max is an enemy to the state. Who knew if the King had a plan to exploit immortality.

Alia assured the others that Eden didn’t know about Isaac, but now that they both escaped, he was bound to know. The possibility of something very wrong happening if Isaac returned to Salae was just too high.

So, Max’s vacation with his bond and girlfriend evolved into housing the eldest princess of the kingdom actively hunting the Lost Lord and the creator of the organization Max had spent the better part of his time on Nava fighting against.

Suffice to say, Max was not happy. Alia was manageable. Isaac… not so much. But, like always, Vel had a plan to combat the immortal man. A magical binding contract. Similar to a slave mark, two parties were intertwined with each other. Opposite a slave mark, the magic only adhered if both parties volunteered and agreed with the contract.

“Isaac will bind to Max through unconditional obedience.” Vel explained, “Anything Max tells the man, he will do. Unless specified specifically in the contract.”

Before Max could respond, Isaac spoke up.

The man had a melting spike of ice slowly drip out of his forehead, but otherwise acted perfectly fine, “I agree, but I have two conditions. Firstly, Max has to try his best to find a way to kill me. Second, I will not speak to any Gods that I do not want to. Max cannot force me to pray, give offering, things of that nature.”

Max was about to respond, but Vel spoke first, “That’s it? Those are your conditions? No torture protection? No clause about Max forcing you to murder?”

Isaac thought for a moment, “On second thought I will add a third condition. Max cannot force me to kill anything.”

“What about torture?”

The man shrugged, “Eh. Used to it.”

Max clearly showed his disgust with the situation and explained as much. The adults of the group all gave their two-cents, even [Arbor] Xylem who had been silent through most of the night. Eventually, the Lost Lord’s qualms were smothered, and he slowly began to understand Vel’s plan.

He categorized it as a dirty job, one that he himself had stake in. Vast Empire was a plague, housing an active member gave them an advantage over many things. While housing a man that was lied to and cursed was a good thing, one that Max may be able to help with. Tiodepth had said it himself, Nava is stagnated, Lost Lords are brought in to move things along in secret.

Maybe Max can move things along by killing an immortal man? Did that sound reasonable? Did that even make sense? Was this all a ploy to tie up Ofes’s or Ikzag’s loose ends? Max didn’t know, but at the end of the day, could he live with himself knowing that he could have helped an innocent man? …That is, if the man was truthful about his innocence.

The simple answer was no. Max knew the lives people on Nava lived. From his first quest with the Humble Titans to the outer villages he protected through the monster waves, life was hammered with struggle and death. If he could make life easier, than he would. He had the strength to do so, and he didn’t want to let anyone else down.

Not again, never again.

Initiating the magical construct was rather simple. Bishop created the rune formation while all Max and Isaac had to do was speak the full contract. Binding magic was something of a templet art. They didn’t require a class – besides contracts involving slaves – and were usually very similar to one another. Vel explained that contracts were not real magic, rather System sponsored rules.

Meaning that someone with a stick and a patch of dirt could make a magical construct they copied out of a book. The number of children or young loves binding themselves to one another was an actual problem, so contract magic was highly regulated by many organizations across Nava.

Bishop finished the circle and Max and Isaac stepped in. To them, the outside world disappeared, and they were left alone, to the others they were standing eerily still. Multiple prompts and blue boxes appeared in Max’s periphery, he filled out the information like Vel explained. Isaac did the same, but for his own contributions.

Warning: A magical contract has been set.

Offer:

Max Fowler gains unconditional control over Isaac Montalle except for points of contention written in Conditions.

Conditions:

1. Max has to try to find a way to end Isaac’s life.

2. Max cannot force Isaac to partake in piety and/or contact with the Divine.

3. Max cannot force Isaac to kill.

Do you accept Y/N

Max agreed – Isaac did as well. The world around the two men sparked with mana and confinement. Blue light glowed below their feet and the air filled with static. Power poured through their Systems, finding purchase within the very souls of the two contracts. To Max, he felt as though a second bond had opened up. To Isaac, he felt as though chains formed around his heart.

A twin tattoo appeared on the back of their left hands, black rather than the slave red. It was three circles intwined with glyphs and geometric shapes. They shimmered with System blue and felt heavy when focused upon before they disappeared into the pair’s skin pigment.

The world around Max and Isaac filtered back to Xylem’s trunk. The rest of the room watched with varying levels of worries, Celenia being the worst off.

“Sit down.” Max commanded following his contract bond – his voice booming with power only he and Isaac could hear.

The Immortal quickly sat, his legs flicked out from under himself without grace or elegance. The man plopped on his tail bone hard enough for a groan to escape his mouth, “A little less power for commands like that, please. I may undying, but I do still feel things.”

Max ignored the man and said his next command, “You must always say the truth from this point forward unless explicitly stated.” He ignored the man’s wishes for less power. This was an important command and in no way was Max going to mess it up.

Isaac’s face twisted for a moment before he leveled out, “Solid command. I thought it may take you a few days to figure that one out.”

“Did you lie to us at any point today?” Vel said next.

“No.” Isaac said instantly. A shocking pain went through his spine. The man fell to the ground and spasmed like a drowning fish. Minutes passed as the man fell into agony, when the torture finally ended, he spoke, “My sister- she wasn’t blood to me. She was- an orphan- I took her in.”

The contract held with his words.

The next few hours devolved to the room asking Isaac various questions about his story. He answered honestly and without magical contract intervention. Alia was particularly interested in the original politics of Vast Empire while Max asked plenty of questions about Isaac’s relationship with the Divine.

In the end, Isaac passed everyone’s tests and was finally left alone. As far as everyone was concerned, the Immortal was cursed and tricked. They each held their own reservations and the cynical few looked for possible loop holes, but for now, the man was cleared.

Before leaving for the night, Max issued a few general commands. Isaac wasn’t allowed to kill, attack, deceive, harm, hurt, or go against, anyone in Xylem’s trunk including Xylem himself. Max also rehashed many of the commands in different terms, creating many redundancies. Finally, he commanded that Isaac was not allowed to contact anyone outside of Xylem’s trunk without express orders.

No way was Max going to allow the creator of Vast Empire to send messages to his old buddies.

Once everyone accepted and gave their blessing, it was decided that it was bed time. Xylem offered to house the two dungeon escapees for the night as moving their scent to Lesterwood for the evening was foolish. Max pulled two beds and the accompanying dressing from his inventory and left them in opposite ends of Xylem’s trunk.

Alia was perfectly happy with the arrangement. Sharing neighboring cells had given her a comfortability with Isaac the others wouldn’t understand. He completely believed in his innocence, and she vowed to help him the best he could. After all, without him Alia thought she would have gone insane in the dungeon.

He was a beacon to her.

Clammy decided to stay with her sister for the night which caused Reep to decide to stay with Clammy. The princesses had many things to discuss, mainly their mad brother and many of the issues that he created. Alia, even though she was exhausted, explained that Clammy had a job to do. Find allies, ones that could help limit Eden’s power or even over throw him if things get bad enough.

Oddly enough, Isaac threw in some ideas as well. He had plenty of time to think about overthrowing a corrupt government while imprisoned – not to mention that was one of the reasons he was placed there to begin with.

Everyone going back to Lesterwood filed into Max’s Pocket World and a few moments later they exited in the mansion.

Icarus quickly appeared. He looked bored and irritated, “Max, you have a guest. She says its important and won’t leave until you talk to her.”

“Who?”

“[Head Priestess] Burk. She said something about dust or ash or something nonsensical.”