Mathew once again woke up in the bed he had called home for nearly two weeks. He was covered in sweat and an echo of pain washed over him.

His soul was pushed too far, he knew he almost died. The ‘Bridge between The Heavens and The Earth’ was almost too much for him. He wasn’t there for a new Axiom. He wanted inspiration for his path.

Agnox was on another bed, also spiritually and mentally exhausted. Mathew saw Wary was checking him over. “How bad did he suffer?” Mathew asked.

“He’s okay. Agnox took a heavy amount of strain for you. I hope it was worth it.” She was the only Dryad against his plan. Mathew knew it was dangerous, but Agnox agreed to it.

They both went to witness the phenomenon. It was powerful. Mathew couldn’t describe it with words, and every time he thought about it, a headache started to form. What he walked out with was a better understanding between himself and his summons. Not to mention the start of something else for his Axioms.

Inspiration was the entire point of going there. Inspiration he acquired. Mathew just needed to find new creatures to form bonds with. He was glad he acquired what he wanted. Now it was time to apply it.

A slap on his shoulder forced him to look over to see Berry and Chuck. “Good job. You did well.”

Mathew noticed Cherry was nowhere. “Is Cherry going to bring me some food?”

Wary glared at Mathew. “You mean the free food she’s been giving you? No. She’s in trouble. Real deep shit.”

This didn’t catch Mathew by surprise. The entire two weeks Cherry had been bringing him food, drink, and the occasional outfit at his ‘request’. When in reality, he just convinced Cherry to bring it of her own choice. Thus giving him free high ranked goods. His personal storage had seeds from fruits, cuts of root vegetables, and two bottles of wine. All free.

Mathew shrugged, “Oh well. Three out of four isn’t bad to say goodbye to. I never paid attention to how much potential I had left to spend. I didn’t know she was actually giving me free things.” Which was the truth. A fact Mathew was gambeling on the entire time.

“You bastard. You knew!” Wary started to scream.

“Wary calm down. We can’t hurt him. You know Gaia will do worse if you do.” Berry said. “Just congratulate him, and see him off. Cherry will be fine.”

“Listen to your brother Wary.” Mathew said. “I wouldn’t want you to become toothpicks.”

Wary gritted her teeth and just walked out.

“Mathew, I hope you actually didn’t know. Otherwise, next time you come here, we won’t be helping you.” Berry said, a bitterness in his voice. Mathew saw an edge in his eyes that anyone who was protecting a loved one would have.

Mathew slowly sat up. “Don’t worry. Like you said. Cherry will be fine. Now, I believe I should have enough funds to request an audience with Gaia, correct?”

“You have enough for an upgrade to your [Summon Bush] spell that was set aside for you. However, if you use that, plus the little you have left over, you could talk to her.” Chuck said with his arms crossed. “Are you sure you want to waste it like that? That leaves you with nothing but an exit portal.”

With a snap of his finger, the charcoal gray three piece suit reappeared over Mathew’s body. “I am. Take care of Agnox for me while I talk to her please. He should wake up soon.”

Chuck shrugged, and made a motion. “Done, you should know your way there.”

Mathew walked out of his room, and continued down the same path he took his first day here. The winding wooden tunnels continued upward until he came to the large branch. At the end wasn’t the tea table he saw last time. Instead Gaia was standing at the end, a bit bigger than last time.

She was standing over twenty feet tall this time, but wearing the same outfit. Mathew walked towards her and stopped when he assumed he was within talking distance. “No tea this time?”

“What do you want, Mathew?” She sounded bitter and tired. “You better have a good reason to talk to me again.”

“Why do you seem upset?” Mathew asked with a bit of a curious inflection. “I figured you would be excited to talk to me, see the progress I’ve made thanks to your facilities, and give me a final bit of advice.”

“I don’t know what sort of game you think you are playing, but actions have consequences. You can’t get free Apprentice ranked wine every day! The System is thundering outside my domain, and it’s your fault. Leave before I reconsider our previous deal.” She waved and a portal appeared next to Mathew. A swirl of lime green mixed with gray.

“What about Cherry?”

“She is going to be punished. Working for several years to work off the debt she has earned. You know her siblings won’t be happy with you next time you come here.”

“And who said I am coming back?” Mathew asked sarcastically. “I have no reason to. No quest other than to kill Doozkora, that isn’t even an offical System Quest, but a request from a God I do not serve. A request that will take dozens if not hundreds of years to complete on my own. That is, if I do it. I have no obligation to really. No legal requirements.”

Gaia glared down. “Do not test me, McGonald. You are pushing your limits, even with me. You put one of my children in harm's way. I do not like being treated by mortals as if I can be walked all over. If it wasn’t for the fact you are still in Phase 2, I would have killed you. If not for The System, I would have put a stop to your stupid game from the start.”

There was a weight with her words. A weight that pushed down onto Mathew. A weight he couldn’t fully handle even if he was fully rested and healed from his most recent insperation. Mathew was forced to bow slightly, his hands on his knees to prevent him from falling to the ground.

“Wait. Listen.” A panic filled his voice, as he realized Gaia hadn’t possibly realized something. “There is no reason to be angry with me. I have a solution if you would just hear me out.” His words sounded more hopeful and begging than he intended. His true feelings come out in the moment.

The pressure lifted only slightly. “Let me hear your pitiful excuses of how you didn’t know. Come on, get it over with, then you are going to leave here.”

Mathew said nothing, instead he conjured a stack of papers. “Read it. Agree to the terms, then I leave.”

Gaia laughed. It was the laugh someone had filled with pity. “A contract with a God? Your soul can’t even handle the light pressure I’m giving you now Mathew. How will a contract save you now? You can't even make another human weaker than your own level let alone a GOD!” The final word echoed out, filled with true power.

The papers whisked out of Mathew’s hands and flew toward Gaia. Mathew tried to stand up, but the pressure just pushed him back down when he tried.

“Really? A sales contract? What would I ever take that you-” Gaia paused as she read the contract. She finished reading it in silence. Mathew, knowing his face was unseen to the god, smiled. “ Got her.”

“Mathew, I’ve been impressed very few times in all my years. Noticed how I said I was impressed and not surprisied. One of the times I was surprised was you surviving the shattering to your soul. You are lucky you did things correctly with this contract, otherwise I might be tempted to sweaten the deal more in my favor.”

The pressure lightened to allow Mathew to look Gaia in the face. She conjured a red feathered pen and started to write on the papers. “Don’t think you pulled off some trick. I knew you were planning something along these lines. I’m just glad you did it correctly.” Her tone had soften. Mathew was somewhat disappointed he didn’t catch Gaia off guard. On the other hand, he was glad he didn’t make any horrible mistakes.

He kept the contract simple for a reason. He didn’t try to gain anything more than what he needed.

“All the food and wine I didn’t purchase myself went to acquiring a few additional information shards. Along with some presents for my people back at Blue Oaks. I found an interesting clause with System Punishments from a crystal I acquired on System laws. One including that the master or similar role to a mortal can choose the punishment. So long as The System agrees, it will allow it. I am more than sure that thye contractual punishment for Cherry I drafted for you will be more than perfect.”

Gaia looked down at Mathew. A predatory light shone in her eyes. Gaia glanced up at the sky then winked at Mathew. “Done. I agree to create the contract that you drafted for me at my behest in secret. Do you agree to be the overseer of Cherry’s punishment?”

“I do.”

Gaia snapped her fingers, with a pop both Agnox and Cherry appeared next to Mathew. Her face was wet from crying. When she saw where she was she instantly got on her hands and knees in front of Gaia. “Mom, I'm sorry! I-”

“Enough Cherry. I’ve decided on your punishment. If The System agrees, you were caught serving Mathew McGonald free services of a summarized total to equal over 7.3 Million UC. Because of that, you will have to earn every UC back. You are contracted under an employee service agreement to Mathew McGonald who will pay you a salary to work for him until your dues are paid. Upon that time, you are forgiven.”

Gaia looked at Mathew, “As agreed under Paragraph Seven of the contract, I will exchange your [Summon Bush] reward in the previous quest and will instead be binding Cherry to you, to ensure she does not try to escape her punishment. You will be granted an Ability to show she is bound to you, much like another you have bound to yourself.”

A thunder echoed from above the clouds. Mathew felt it deep inside himself. It was not normal thunder. It was something that stretched beyond space to reach everywhere and to be heard by those it wanted to. Mathew felt a tinge of excitement coming from the thunder.

“The System has agreed.” Gaia said. “As I am the creator of this contract, and as advised by the second party, Mathew McGonald, I witness all allowed parties have agreed to the terms. Mathew, are you ready to sign your side of the deal?”

Mathew took a deep breath. He nodded stoically and braced himself for what could happen next. After he signed the dotted line, Gaia reached down with two fingers. She pressed one of each into the chest of Mathew and Cherry.

In a moment, Mathew was surrounded by blackness. Numbed pain echoed through his body, but he ignored it. Just as he hoped, he was able to see his soul once again. The shattered pieces floated through space. His soul was white with a faint color of blue surrounding it. There were four spots of other colors.

One piece that fit perfectly near his abdomen was a chunk of dark red energy. Mathew knew this was Agnox. The piece had grown larger, and filled in more of the space. Growing into the hole he placed it into.

Another red section that belonged to Jeffery hadn’t grown at all. Parts of it covered his own soul and left gaps.

A twinned color section of denser blue sat on his left arm. Mathew couldn’t tell if it had actually grown or not, but it wasn’t a perfect fit either. The last piece was a black part connecting his foot to his left knee. He ignored it for now.

Instead he looked around. He saw floating through space a green piece of soul. Just like last time a chain appeared in his hand, but he didn’t use it forcefully. He instead used it as a connection.

He tossed it to the green soul, and called out. “Cherry, if you can hear me grab on.” Mathew had no intentions of truly binding her to him just yet. He wanted more time to see if Cherry was what he actually wanted to join with him.

Due to time restraints and to keep both The System and Gaia unaware of his plans till the last minute, he hadn’t prepared her for this. But he ensured he was kind to her. Treating her no differently than he would Agnox.

“I’m sorry for tricking you, but I had no other choice. I need to gain powerful creatures like yourself to fix my soul. You seemed to want to help me. You are kind and generous. I need you Cherry. You won’t be stuck with me forever, the moment you want out, I will let you go. I promise you. However, together, you can grow strong. Just as your Mother said to me, a weed can grow in any environment. Life adapts and finds a way. I see you growing to be powerful. Look at Agnox. An imp that was treated like a nobody by his own clan, and he stands toe to toe with foes of his own rank.”

“No other Imp has ever done what he has from his clan. You can do the same, if you accept my deal. Remember when I asked you to think about the outside world? Now you can experience that with me.”

The chain floated right next to Cherry. Mathew felt her grab onto the chain, and suddenly he was back in front of Gaia. He was on the ground. “Mathew, be nice to my child. Keep this up, and I won’t be the only person who continues to watch you closely.”

Gaia watched as the portal closed behind Mathew. She was in a giddy mood. She had known Mathew was planning something for the last week, but was unable to truly figure it out. She could see many things, but reading minds was not something she was allowed to do. Not to those who were not under her power.

The contract she just agreed to was desperate. She could tell Mathew was going for a large risk play. Yet, she allowed it to happen. Not only did she have a direct tie to Mathew now to keep proper track of him, but she also now had a representative on Earth. One that was truly devoted to her.

The Contract would mitigate Cherry’s normal duties, but Gaia could accept a minor short term loss. As for what Mathew just gained? She was a bit disappointed. Gaia wanted Mathew to reach out and try to take everything and more. To go for a total victory of sweeping reward after reward from under Gaia’s nose.

Instead, he took a loss. Gaia knew his loss was minor, temporary, and short term as well. Being forced to pay Cherry at least one thousand UC a month wasn’t going to hurt his wallet. Such a low amount just meant Cherry was stuck with him for even longer.

That was, unless she grew into a beautiful blossoming flower like she herself did.

Wary, Berry, and Chuck appeared infront of Gaia. “My children, do not cry more about Cherry. She is taken care of. She is entrusted to serve Mathew for a bit longer it seems.”

“That asshole has her now?” Wary shouted. “Why? I thought you loved us!”

“Calm down please.” Gaia said as she shrunk down to the same size as her children. She grabbed Wary’s hands. “I promise you, this is a good thing. You trust me don’t you? The strings of fate are forever twining. I expect you will see her again, and she will have changed. Plus, Mathew isn’t a bad guy. He’s a manipulative control freak who will do what it takes to win, but not at the risk of his pride or honour. If he says he will take care of her, he will.”