After ensuring that Henry and his trusted men would be well taken care of for the night. Arthur left the banquet and headed over to the Village manor.

Seated in the Village Manor’s circular hall, Arthur was currently scanning through five contracts laid out in the hall table, while five individuals sat off to the sides of him.

Finished scanning, he looked up, “everything seems to be in order. Let’s talk.”

Fixing his gaze to the two, twin dark elves, Arthur began. “Araysh, Ozul. Twin male assassins both possessing a dark attributed ability, stuck at the peak of Lunar Stage, and unable to evolve their ability to gain their first rings, correct?”

The duo nodded, as Ozul spoke up. “And long as you can aid us in evolving our abilities within six months, our loyalty is yours.”

Such a contract was pretty common in the Outer Domain. For fear of being stuck at a stage for their entire lives, some people would instead trade their freedom and serve someone who could help them break through those barriers.

Regardless, accepting their words, Arthur pulled their contracts closer.

“Let’s finalize the contracts then.” Said Artur at he nicked his right index finger with his thumbnail, drawing blood.

Dripping a few drops onto the contracts, the contracts shone a red light as they split into copies of themselves.

Storing his copy of the contracts, Arthur passed the twins their copies as he dismissed them for the night.

As for why Arthur decided to accept their contract, it was simply because of Aegon. As a creature, Aegon’s control and understanding of his abilities superseded a plethora of Celests in the same attribute by a significant margin. Primarily because every creature held a bloodline, and those bloodlines contained knowledge passed down from their parents and ancestors. Thus, by having Aegon train them for a bit, Arthur was confident that they would be able to evolve their abilities way before the six months were over.

Nevertheless, as the twins left, the next person Arthur turned to was the to the wind elve. “Amaya, crippled wind constitution, and unable to fully utilize her ability [Gale Burst]. And as long your contractor can fix this within a reasonable amount of time, your loyalty will be theirs, correct?”

“Yes.” Replied Amaya.

And with that, Arthur dripped a few drops of blood on her contract, finalizing it.

Afterward, a soft burst of golden energy slowly began to condense in Arthur’s hand. “Give me your hand.”

Acquiescing, Amaya gave her hand to Arthur, and soon the condensed golden energy began to flow into her body.

The process of Arthur’s energy accelerating and reversing parts of Amaya’s body took a few minutes, with Amaya’s eyes widening with each passing moment.

After a while, Arthur retracted his energy to find an exhilarated Amaya.

Withdrawing his hand, Arthur watched as the finalized contracts burst into particles of light, signaling its fulfillment.

“Thank you soo much!” laughed Amaya as tears started to gather in the corner of her eyes.

Seeing the scene before them, the other two in the room found it hard to contain their shock. ‘Perhaps…’

It should be known that the constitution amongst Celest is incredibly rare. Primarily because Celest’s are people of the spirit and not the body. And because of that, bridging the gap between the two leads to a plethora of problems. It could be considered both fortunate and misfortune for a Celest to awaken a constitution. Fortunate because it means that their growth and strength will be amongst the highest. And unfortunately, because bridging the physical and spiritual aspects of themselves could fail, their abilities could be significantly crippled, or in some extreme cases, unusable.

Hence, it was completely understandable why Amaya’s reaction was one of tears and smiles.

Nevertheless, after a few minutes, Amaya calmed down, and with a final happy thanks, she left the Manor, with a spring in her steps.

The next person, Arthur tuned to was Daphne, the elve. “Older sister was captured, tortured, and killed by a group of pirates known as the Sea Ghosts. As long as I help you eradicate their Eight Hands and recover your family heirloom, your loyalty is mine, correct?”

“Correct.” Replied Daphne, with a hint of killing intent at the mention of the Sea Ghosts.

And with that, Arthur dripped a few drops of blood on her contract.

Finalizing it, he dismissed Daphne.

Though Daphne’s contract seemed a bit troublesome. It was well within Arthur’s plans to conquer all of the surrounding powers, and pirate groups were also within that list. However, what made Arthur agree to the contract was his interest in Daphne’s ability, [Nature’s Child], and the benefits it could bring to Avalon.

Nonetheless, for Arthur’s plan of conquering the surrounding area. It should be known that, that for an entity to move from the Outer Domain to Inner Domain and then to the Core Domain, they must fulfill certain conditions. For Sovereigns, in particular, they had to conquer a certain amount of people and territory before they could advance. Whereas everyone else had to reach a certain level of strength before they could leave. Actually, saying leave is a nice way of putting; it more accurate to say that the realm brutally just kicked them to the next domain.

Nevertheless, the reason why Sovereignty had such stringent conditions was that, when they are kicked to the next domain, every one bearing their loyalty symbol, would be elevated to base power required to be in a domain. And not only that, but hidden racial abilities will begin to appear along with races that can evolve into a higher level. Thus, by submitting to a Sovereign, there were significant benefits to be reaped. However, because of this great power ascension, it was vital for Sovereign’s to fill their ranks with talented individuals to ensure the prosperity and security of their Sovereignty.

Nonetheless, it is because of such rewards that each Sovereign will have to pass through a few difficult trials to advance. Due to the current changes the realm had just experienced, there was now a sudden urge for the populous to grow stronger and ensure their own safety. However, with the primary way for everyone to get stronger being killing and swallowing other factions, it’s evident that things have become much tenser with the addition of new competitors. Hence the era of Chaos.

Regardless, turning to the final person in the hall. Arthur smiled. “You know if we can’t trust each other. We will never get anywhere, you know.”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man’s eyebrows rose. “You know?”

Arthur smiled. “Of course, Alfred. Though I have not been here for a long time, I can still differentiate between the mannerisms of humans and other races.”

Alfred Chuckled. “Well, then…”

FIZZT!

Well kempt black hair turned to silver as dark brown eyes shifted to gold. And a once regular tunic turned into a well-cut sleek black and red suit.

“Better?” Asked Alfred as two slightly elongated canines flashed.

“Very much so. If I am not wrong, your origin is not of Pandora, correct?”

“Correct, I am what is called a Vampire, from the minor Realm of Daemonium or as my people like to call it Demia.”

“Interesting. So what is your story?” continued Arthur as he looked through Alfred’s contract. “A former merchant, betrayed by his closest allies, forced to flee with his only daughter who is currently in a deep coma. And as long as thy contractor can awaken her, they will have your eternal loyalty…how much is this actually true?”

Alfred laughed. “All of it, but its actual context might need some further information.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“Well, to make a long story short. It began a bit before the fusion of the realms. I’d found myself a lucrative trade deal with few kingdoms regarding mineral known as Aether. To the inhabitants of Demia, this mineral plays a crucial role in our development and strength. We aren’t as fortunate to have an abundance of realm energy in the air like Pandora. Hence, anyone who discovers an Ether mine becomes a subject of envy and plots.”

“Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I became one of the lucky individuals who discovered an Aether deposit and a superior grade at that. Oh, the wealth it would have brought…But regardless, once word got out, anyone I thought a friend began ally amongst one another and scheme for a piece.”

“Though I wouldn’t go as far to call my merchant establishment the strongest. Its strength was definitely amongst the top. Hence the alliance between my former friends. But in their defense, they were great friends, but in the face of wealth and security…sigh…Regardless, after securing my contracts with the surrounding kingdoms. On my carriage ride back to my base of operations, my caravan fell into an ambush... and let’s just say things didn’t end cleanly.”

“Feeling that their victory was at hand, my so-called friends and known enemies appeared one by one as I bled while holding my terrified daughter. Would you believe that these scum dared to offer to spare my life if handed my daughter over to them? The audacity! Nevertheless, after cursing them, their mothers, sisters, fathers, pets, and the eternal damnation of erectile dysfunction. I felt my daughter stiffen as an onrush of power began to gather within her – she’d awakened her celestial ability.”

“I’m still not exactly sure what happens, but I was wrapped in a ball of energy, and when my eyes finally adjusted, I’d appeared in a nearby continent. As for how I got here, it will have to do with my ability [Avere], which basically highlights fortuitous opportunities for me in a golden light. It a guide of sorts, and right, let’s just say you are glowing gold.”

Arthur nodded in understanding but was still confused by one thing. “You’ve mentioned your daughter, but where exactly is she?”

“Ah! I almost forgot.”

And with that, Alfred pulled a small crystal crimson pendant. Injecting a bit of energy into it, the crystal enlarged until it was 180 centimeters long. And encased within was a beautiful girl.

After a few seconds, the crystal began to withdraw, leaving a pale, dark-haired girl on the hall’s table.

Taking a close look at her, Arthur nodded. “I should be able to awaken her. However, unfortunately, I used up a great amount of energy when I fixed Amaya’s constitution, so her awakened condition might not be the best at the moment, but after a few sessions, she should be fine.”

A happy expression appeared on Alfred’s face. “As long as she can be awakened, that is fine.”

“Alrighty, let’s finalize our contract first.”

And with that, Arthur dripped a few drops of blood on Alfred’s contract finalizing it. Though most vampires would lose all sense of reason at the sight of blood, due to Alfred’s age, his control of such a primal urge was a cut above the rest.

Nevertheless, after finalizing the contract, Arthur pooled his remaining energy into his hands and sent it toward the girl.

It should be known that Arthur’s golden aura wasn’t exactly a healing ability. Though, It’s effects make it seem like one. Rather than healing it more accurately, moving things where they belong, and adjusting them. Somethings needed to be catalyzed to reach the desired effect, whereas some things required to reversed to reach their optimal state. And these effects weren’t limited to just biotic things.

Even so, as Arthur’s ability did its job. The eyelids of the girl quivered as they slowly opened.

Her vision was a bit hazy, but seeing an unfamiliar figure hovering over her, she froze as her mind began to grasp at her memories, with the image of her injured father surrounded by their enemies being the most prominent.

*Sob* Sob*

‘Not only have I lost my father, but I have also been defiled by…’

“Julia…?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Julia’s train of thought froze as she turned her head to the side, “father?”

.

.

[Tidbit 1: Avere is Romanian for fortune.]

[Tidbit 2: Julia is based on Julia Remarque, Alfred’s actual daughter in the DC universe.]