Writer's Note: Both this story and The Snake Immortal come out on different days and released every two or three days. I try to keep to that time span as I balance college, leisure time, and writing. Have fun.

Chapter 10: The Price of the Pact

"It seems five people made it to the gorge," Kong noted.

"One of them is your grandson. You are very blessed," Gaofeng said to Sean.

"I would be, if he did not become a black mage," Sean said silently. "I...can't bear to tell him the truth of his decision."

"Is it that bad?" Gaofeng asked and turned to Kong, who was a mage.

"Do you know the effect of the Yin Yang Gate?" Kong began.

"Yeah. We saw it just now. Why?" Gaofeng frowned.

"There is a secret black mages never tell anyone about the Yin Yang Gate. It is the effect of not disintegrating within a black hole," Kong said.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Gaofeng asked, confused even more.

"Do you not know what a black hole is? No one has ever ventured into one and returned. Even Mundane believe in that. Once you go in, you cannot come out as you were before. Why do you think the War God is disturbed? All black mages have to enter a gateway to make a pact. That gateway is a black hole," Kong explained, stunning Gaofeng.

"Eh? Then....why are there even black mages? What about the first black mage, Magnus the Dark Sage?" Gaofeng asked.

"He indeed entered a black hole and came to this reality," Kong answered, Sean nodding silently.

"This reality....impossible! You can't possibly be suggesting.... but how?" Gaofeng cried.

"A black mage will enter our reality, but it won't be the same person who went in," Sean said. "In fact, his soul and body are split into two, one returning here while the other leaves to a new reality. The Rex that returns might not be the same Rex we met. I...am enduring this to tell my daughter how her son fared. However, the system forbids all knowledge of any promotion test to be told to the children until they pass the first. If you had another child, and he or she was a mage; you are also forbidden from telling the truth and will sit where I am now. My grandson remains, but he might not be our reality's Rex. If so, we will never recover the old memories, but we can still make new ones."

"This...is too cruel," Gaofeng said sadly. "None of the warrior promotion tests have this kind of price."

"Warriors are aplenty and rogues are uncommon. However, mages are rare due to their power and must make as rare a sacrifice for it," Sean said. "Maybe we'll meet again in the Immortal Realm. I...have no news of my only son and he is presumed dead by many. My relationship with my daughter is strained, tolerated because of Rex. Since he is leaving this reality, I can only choose to ascend and hope to see him once more. He is the only blood I have that cares for me."

"You are level 300?" Kong and Gaofeng whispered in awe? "Wait, there must be people at level 250 or higher at the banquet hall. How can they not see you?"

"Level 300 is the apex. Not even those at level 299 can inspect my status," Sean said.

"Rex, I can only pray that you are the one who returns. I have done poorly as a father. Please allow me to make amends by being a better grandfather. I can only leave behind so many things for Sarah and Gretel. Well, Mary now. My time for ascension is in twelve years. If you have truly failed, let us both survive until we meet again," Sean thought sadly as the screen displayed four people who met with surprise on their faces.

Unaware of the complicated feelings of his grandfather, Rex was surprised to see five others in the gorge. Those five others were more shocked and terrified than surprised. While they took the same path Rex did in the beginning, they proceeded into the gorge through the the right fork path. It took them an extra two hours, but it was less dangerous than directly going down the gorge. Their clans had told them of the demon horde living there, but they still couldn't believe someone survived until they saw Rex appear.

"You....took the left fork's path?" one of the five gasped.

"Yeah. I had no idea it would be so dangerous," Rex nodded. "Why are you five in the gorge?"

"We need to kill a certain magical beast in the gorge. It always guards a more powerful magical beast that guards something. My clan said the beast was spotted chasing other participants and is separated from the leader. Now, we can kill the magical beast but we're afraid the leader will assist and save it. I brought my four friends to help me kill it, but we can't kill them both," a blonde haired kid said.

"Did you say the leader guards something?" Rex inquired.

"Yes! Could it be that that magical beast is your target? Since you survived the demon horde, you can attack the leader and we can ensure both are targets don't team up," the blonde kid cheered.

"You trust him?" a red haired girl asked.

"He's the grandson of the War God, remember? He would not stoop so low as to attack us behind our backs. He also survived the demon horde! We can trust him to stop the other one from ambushing us. Besides, the four of us already completed our promotion test and just need to go back," another blonde haired kid grinned. "Rex, right? On behalf of me and my cousin, I ask you to comply and ask for your aid."

"My name is Michael and I know we can both succeed our quests," the first blonde boy said, extending his hand for a handshake.

"It might be my target and fighting both might be a problem if they are as powerful as you claim. Very well, let's help each other out," Rex nodded and they shook hands.

"Whew," a brown haired girl and black haired boy sighed with relief.

"So glad he's not one of those guys who target others," the other blonde boy nodded in agreement. "Name's Gabriel. I'm Michael's cousin. You must be a mage, by the staff you carry. Must be some class for you to be down here. Most mages, at most, have to go beneath the mountain and not enter its heart."

"No time to get friendly. We don't know when the magical beast will catch and finish eating those groups of participants. Rex, our uncle is a Cheat Hunter and so is Gabriel. Right now, a lion and ram hybrid magical beast is chasing ten others, already eating five. The guardians and relatives are all watching their chase right now. We need to move. MY target will finish and start heading back soon. Follow us for your target," Michael said.

"Right. Let's go Titus," Rex said and the two followed the five other Night Hunters. After twenty minutes of running, Rex separated from the other five and proceeding down an opening to the right. Michael wished him luck and warned him to be wary of the flames of the magical beast.

"Fire?" Rex laughed inwardly as he waved them goodbye. He was the Fire Lord, immune to fire and burning damage. His only worry was else the magical beast could do. Rex proceeded further in and arrived in a beautiful hidden cavern with lots of plants growing beneath a ceiling of crystals that shined a warm feeling cluster of green crystals.

"Is that the magical beast? It seems, too peaceful for a creature of the Night," Rex said as he gazed upon a cute looking giant tiger with a gold horn and golden claws. However, the peaceful scene changed as the tiger smelled him, a blood red aura rising from its body. It was exhuming its killing intent, actually forming it into an aura. It had to have killed dozens or hundreds of humans or other creatures of the Night.

It looked at him with rage and roared, leaping at him with its paws covered in fire. Due to Prey's Instincts, Rex could see where the attack targeted and relied on his agility to maneuver out of the way. The tiger missed and its paws made small cracks on the ground. As it turned to face him, Rex fired three Shadow Balls into its right flank. The orbs of darkness exploded and pushed the tiger, only serving to infuriate it more than harm it.

"That's strange. Inspect," Rex said.

*Ding*

Inspection CompletedYou encountered a Gold Horned Tiger

This tiger is blessed with affinity to light and fire. Darkness, the main magic of black mages, does not harm it and only furthers its rage. It is tasked with guarding a stone formation in the center of the valley, sealing a powerful destructive force. It is unclear whether the tiger is better left alone than to use its horn to destroy the seal.

Notable Buffs

Immunity to dark magic damage. Knock back effects still applicable.

Resistance to fire and increased fire damage.

"No wonder the sage said I needed to kill the guardian of the gateway. Only its horn can break it. Not only is the gorge very dangerous, even the guardian is powerful against black mages who use Shadow Ball as their primary spells. Witch Fire does do more powerful damage, but the tiger is resistant. Freezing Devil's Claw is also the ice element but the tiger can cover itself in fire. My spirit might not be enough to make my ice colder than the tiger's fire," Rex curses. "Titus, keep running around it and fire ice balls at it."

As Titus annoyed the tiger and distracted it, Rex ran over to the seal. It was a large, circular stone in the ground with a stone statue of a man piercing the formation. His entire body and armor were petrified stone, save for a shining, finger-less glove and shining white sword with a gold cross guard. Curious, Rex attacked the statue and found he could not damage it.

He realized the horn must have been used to destroy the petrified man. With it destroyed, he could loot the glove, pull out the sword, and break the seal. However, the quest said he needed the horn. He could manipulate the tiger into crashing through the petrified man.

"Return!" Rex said and Titus became a black light and vanished into the Freak Dragon Ring. The tiger, surprised the dragon vanished, turned its full attention on Rex.

"Here, kitty, kitty," Rex said, baiting the tiger by flicking it off. "Let's see whose flames hurt more."

The tiger roared, flames encompassing its entire body as it charged at him. Rex smirked and used Witch Fire to send five spears of purple fire at the tiger. The tiger, confident over its power over fire, did not stop and only accelerated its charge. Two of the purple flame spears did nothing as the remaining three only slightly burned it. Rex was making small movements to position himself in front of the stone statue, blocking it from view.

The tiger roared with triumph as it leaped at him. Rex bent down and pushed with his feet to the left, creating seven Shadow Balls to smash into the tiger as he dodged. As the tiger leaned its body to the right to catch Rex with its paws, the orbs exploded and returned the leap to its original trajectory. The tiger howled as it crashed through the stone man, a severed hand of stone flying into the air.

"YES!" Rex pumped his fist and grabbed the hand, taking the stone out as he wore the glove on his left hand.

*Ding*

System AnnouncementCompleted Quest: Black Mage Initiation

Due to using unorthodox means, you destroyed the seal and unlocked the gateway without killing the guardian. Still, the tiger's going to die. Do not fight the gateway. The seal was meant to be broken and will be resealed upon your entry.

Awards

Level 10 unlocked.

Gained: spirit energy belt

+2 level up

+$20,000

*Ding*

Level Up

Level Up

Surprised, Rex frowned and distributed four stats into agility and two in stamina. He noticed he got one more stat in spirit and stamina due to the class stat awards. He paused as he realized he distributed his stats. Wasn't he in battle? He looked up as he saw the sword had been knocked out of place. He stumbled and fell to the ground and the whole gorge shook. The tiger whimpered as the stone seal cracked and exploded.

"What have I done?" Rex said lowly as a large suction force sucked the stones into the hole in the ground. Rex quickly turned his staff into a ring and started to run as he saw the nearby tiger roar and split into five pieces as its body approached the hole. The earth and grass around the hole were also absorbed, revealing a swirling vortex of darkness.

"A black hole!" Rex cried, suddenly realizing why the Yin Yang Gate had such an absurd effect. A freaking black hole was his gateway! He clawed at the ground as his legs rose into the air, taking fistfuls of grass and dirt as he was lifted into the air. He screamed as his body became wracked with pain, as if a thousand needles pierced his skin repeatedly, and was sucked into the black hole.

Before his vision turned black, he heard a system message from his grandfather, saying, "Goodbye Rex. You must stay strong."

"What is this?" Rex gasped as he awoke, seeing several screens appear around him. They were all him, Rex seeing screens of his own memories. The first time he rode a bike, the first time he ate a pizza, and even the first time he saw a clown in a circus and saw a lion jump through a ring of fire.

"These are my memories. Why?" Rex said as his body helplessly floated in vast darkness as the screens soon faded. Suddenly new screens appeared, showing different versions of himself. One was Rex as a fat man with a crying woman in his bed. Another was Rex in a Navy uniform as a captain. Another version of him had dark skin and was skinning an elephant.

Again, he floated in darkness as he floated past them after three hours. He tried to use Witch Fire to create wings, but he could not move. Deciding it was futile, he stopped the magic spell and floated aimlessly. He finally closed his eyes as he decided to accept the inevitable.

After what seemed like an eternity, he saw a glowing gold light. His eyes widened as he suddenly stopped floating and floated upright. Soon, a great bird appeared in his sight. It was well over a thousand feet tall and had sleek black feathers with gold runes that glowed over its body. Its eyes seemed to draw a man's vision in darkness eternal and it had three red legs.

"Three-legged Golden Crow?" Rex gasped. Three-legged crows had many myths in several countries in the past and in modern times. It is said that it is the most powerful of birds and guided the chosen to the truth of the world. If dragons were the representation of power and strength, than the three-legged crow represented the unfathomable and mystery.

"So you have heard of me, Rex Cerberus Valentine," the crow's voice said in his mind. "Do you know why you are here?"

"To make the pact with an ancient being as required by my black mage class," Rex answered.

"And what is a black mage?" the crow asked. "A man who wields a staff is as much a mage as a man who wields a sword. Both are just material things the man relies on. Mana and Ki are the same and not the same. They are spirit energy, but are applied in different ways. Like yin and yang, they are both two sides of a whole. That whole is spirit energy."

"Yeah. Mages can use both mana and Ki. What of it?" Rex asked.

"A black mage is one that pursues the knowledge of the old ways. Does that mean they are bound by the categorization of the modern era? In the beginning, there was no mana and no Ki. There was just the body and the spirit energy. There were no staffs, daggers, guns, swords, or spears. There was only the body. Tell me, does one need a staff to be a mage?" the crow asked.

"No. The staff just makes you more powerful. It's like an extension of power," Rex answered after a moment.

That is indeed the truth. Yet, Night Hunters of today believe otherwise. The Prime Night Hunters knew the truth but they were forgotten over time as humanity progressed and assumed that their intelligence evolved. That is a lie. Intelligence does not evolve. It just is and only seems to change as the man discovers knew paths of mental processing. That is the truth," the crow said. "Your ring, it is called the Staff of Flame. Tell me, is it a ring or a staff? Is it made of fire or controls fire?"

"It is....none of them but all of them," Rex answered and saw another version of himself holding the Staff of Flame.

"Tell me, what do you see?" the crow asked.

"I see myself?" Rex answered, confused by the question.

"Indeed. It looks like you and has the exact skills and items as you, but it is not you and you are not you," the crow answered as it waved its ring, the other Rex floating before him. "Tell me, what did you see on the way to see me? Was it you that you saw? What of the different versions of you? Are they you as well?"

"I don't understand. This is not like mana and Ki. They are not a part of me," Rex shook his head.

"That is incorrect. What I made was you. You said it yourself. What you saw was you and other versions of what you could have been or will be. Like mana and Ki, they are parts of a whole. However, each of you only see the light. You see yourself as separate and believe them as shadows, fakes of who you are. Is that not so?" the crow asked.

"What do you want from me?" Rex shouted.

"That is not the correct question," the crow replied, looking at him in the eyes.

"What do I want?" Rex asked and saw the crow nod and its runes shined.

"That is the correct question. I am not a crow and you are not a human. Yet, we appear as such. Those you saw were you and not you. I am you, you are me, you are you, and I am me. We are all one and not," the crow answered.

"What happens to me now?" Rex asked.

"You must fight yourself. Succeed and you stay at level 18. At level 30, you will will receive your second promotion test. He is Rex Cerberus Valentine, as are you. There can only be one. Fight!"the crow said and split in two, one shrinking and becoming a gold light that entered his body.

*Ding*

System Announcementunlocked: Beta Phase Test

You discovered the Beginning of Truth and completed your trial. Young Night Hunter, you must now face yourself. Fail, and you will be banished into a new reality. Staff of Flame has become Ink Qilin Sword. The effects are the same as the Staff of Flame, including the locked effects.

Skill books are the equivalent of skill books in the new reality. They will disappear as soon as you learn them and require no training to learn. You see the world in levels and the world sees it through cultivation stages. The new reality combines rogues and warriors as one, yet separates mages as another. Show the world that their truth is a lie. The void element changed to destruction in new reality.

Rewards

Passive Skill: Three-legged Crow's Mark.

Skill: Ink Moon Cutter

+1 to all stats.

*Ding*

Three-legged Crow's Mark: Passive skill. Owner can see through all lies and deceits. Rank: not applicable.

Ink Moon Cutter: Costs 15 Ki per use. Cut the enemy with a wave of ink-colored sword energy. 5% of damage converted to burning damage. Rank: not applicable.

Fossil Bone Glove: A left handed glove that belonged to a young Prime Night Hunter. Made with the bones of a tyrannosaurus rex, it is a glove meant to catch blades with the hands without harm. It is a shame the fingers were not covered but is still a priceless treasure. +4 AGI, +2 SPR and +2 STR upon equip.

*Ding*

Skills have adjusted and balanced for new state.

The purple Witch Fire spell was the first to evolve. It became Qilin Flames, the fire as black as ink and much more powerful. It could even burn in the water. All skills got stronger as the Night Hunter leveled as a balancing feature. Qilin Flames could not evolve further and had darkness affinity. Meteor had become Tri-Meteor, Rex able to summon three meteors at once. The meteors were now covered in white flames containing the death element, increasing the blast radius of each meteor. Ki Blast had evolved into Ki Bolt. Now, his Ki had lightning affinity but the skill could still evolve further. That was the one advantage of common skills. Legendary skills, not including class-restricted ones, also evolved so Rex wondered how many more meteors he could create.

Finally, Prey Instincts had evolved into Prey Domain. Not only could Rex see the areas of danger, he developed a supernatural sense to predict what kind of move would be used. Life Drain was skill that gave the most change when it evolved into Death Miasma. He could create a black cloud that not only drained health, Ki, and mana; it could also cure abnormal effects. Not only that, he could also transfer health, Ki, mana, or heal the abnormal effects of others. It turned from a light only spell to a light, life, and death spell.

Name: Rex Cerberus Valentine

Level: 18

Class: Black Mage

Title: Fire Lord (hidden); Ancient Berserker (hidden); Thousand Soul Eater

Health: 1585 (1525+60)

Mana: 650 (630+20)

Ki: 590 (550+40)

Stats

STR: 58 (54)

AGI: 42 (38)

SPR: 49 (47)

STA: 44 (40)

"Oh shit," Rex said, normally happy but he had to face himself. Still, Divine Bear's Blessing made his health, mana, and Ki bars really impressive to begin with. The added effects of his glove, medallion, and the Yin and Yang Gate effects also boosted his stats. As he leveled up, the importance of having such passive skills became more apparent.

Whichever Rex lost would be banished to a new reality. As he thought of this, ten Shadow Balls flew at him. Rex cursed and created a wave of Qilin Flames to counter, creating a large explosion. The other Rex appeared from the blast, his hand wrapped in lightning as he attempted a Ki Bolt palm. Rex's left hand became covered in a giant ice spike. The two connected, ice and lightning pushing them back. The alternate Rex lifted his staff into the sky, three meteors crashing downward.

Rex focused all his spirit energy into his feet, seeing where he should be to avoid the meteors through Prey Domain. As he dodged, he saw the other Rex covering himself in a sphere of Witch Fire, turning into a missile as he flew to Rex. Rex could only retaliate with Ink Moon Cutter, his body emitting ink black spirit energy as he slashed at the other Rex.

"So it ends in your victory," the crow said. "It seems its intelligence was not enough, resorting to fire. Since you no longer wield a Staff of Flame, another is made. Give it to your mother. Unlike you, she has a vendetta against the Witch King. With this, she will finally return to the Night Hunter life. She cannot deny the truth of who she really is. Mary is lie, Gretel Gorgon Valentine's means to escape reality. Your level and skill updates are yours to keep."

A gold rune appeared on Rex's chest, his body burning with energy. The dormant red energy became a gold red, moving in harmony with the ink black spirit energy. His purple witch energy was drained into his black spirit energy, returning his body into a body with two active spirit energies in harmony.

"We won't meet for a time, Rex Cerberus Valentine. Remember, you bear my mark and is proof of our pact. There is a truth in the night. Lionel saw the truth and awakened your Night Hunter powers. It is only fitting that I am the ancient being to whom you make a pact. Surpass two hundred and you will see the truth of the Night. Farewell," the crow said and Rex saw a sheath for his sword appear on his back, a ring similar to the Staff of Flame's ring form appearing and entering his tattoo.

"Someone passed the black mage promotion test!" a voice cried, many looking up to see Rex appear from a tear in space above the plaza. He crashed onto the ground, cracking it with his feet. Sean, Kong, and Gaofeng warily approached him with the Galoi and the twins.

"Hi, grandpa. You could have warned me about the black hole," Rex said, Sean wiping a tear as he smacked Rex's shoulder.

"Stinky brat! Dumb punk, you worried the hell out of me. Your mom hasn't forgiven me yet. You did good to beat yourself. You did good," Sean laughed.

"We all survived," Gaoli grinned. "Rex, see you later. The three of us only remained to see how the other participants fared. Fifty eight are dead and you are the seventh to pass. Well, congrats and see you later."

"What did you make a pact with?" Sean asked as they headed back to the elevator as they returned to Earth from the Night.

"The Three-legged Golden Crow," Rex answered.

"Truly?" Sean chuckled. "Well, its test is different than a typical fight against yourself. I suppose you learned a glimpse of the truth. Let's go back home to celebrate. You kids still like pizza with green bell peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, and cheese, right?"

"Combo pizzas are the best," Rex grinned as they left returned to Rex's hometown of Los Cielos, Calfornia.