A darkness lurked in John’s soul, prodding and probing for any weakness it could find. An incorporeal entity with a single purpose explored its new vessel, unaware of the identity of its new host. The emptiness inside demanded fulfillment, and it would not- no, it could not rest until it found what it desired. It felt the source, the empty radiance of unadulterated Nothingness. It permeated the fabric of existence within its host, tainting everything in a landscape of dreariness.

This darkness spewed out from the center of its host. A weak and feeble thing with limitless potential. Too bad for its host that the darkness couldn’t resist.

Hunger.

A soul-wrenching hunger that dared taunt the darkness into acting rashly. It circled the Nothingness - a sphere of pure delight - with great greed, slowly drawing closer and closer until it could no longer fight its primal urges to devour.

It launched itself forward impatiently and latched onto the Nothingness, vigorously draining the delightful core to satisfy its insatiable need to consume. Its body wrapped around the core so wholly that f the Nothingness leaked out in insubstantial quantities, greedy sucking away at the energy of its host.

And there it stayed, preening as the energy filled its body, washing over it in a powerful destructive force that fueled its growth.

-

John woke up chained down to a large formation, glowing brightly in a green tone beneath his body. He struggled to lift himself, but he felt weaker than he’d ever felt before. A deep invasive cold wracked his body and he lay there bound shaking with no idea of what happened around him. He looked around and realized he was at the center of an eight-sided star formation with countless engravings.

He could hear muted chanting around him, but he couldn’t focus on any of the large room’s occupants, not that the words made sense to him either way.

“Kharmina, Goddess of Monsters and Men, Benefactor of Ghulda, and The One, hear us on this day! We pray to you to bless this coupling so that they may fulfill your will and Ascend to the Heavens. We, of Ghulda, beseech you!”

John noticed that as the chanting got louder, the glowing of the green circle brightened to a painful extent. He had to close his eyes to stop the pain that threatened to send him back into the darkness of slumber.

The procession continued and a young, battle-worn woman walked to the center of the circle with a knife. John’s eyes were still tightly shut, but he could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. He knew he couldn’t resist whatever happened next, so he kept his eyes closed and hoped for the best.

The pervasive cold slowly abated as power funneled into him from the strange circle. He cried out more in surprise than in pain as a sharp pain cut across his body multiple times. He felt the warmth of his blood pooling and coalescing as the painful ceremony continued. Struggling was futile as he continued feeling the pain of a sharp object cutting him over and over again.

It was odd though, as the more he felt his blood flow, the stronger he felt. The cold nearly vanished despite him now laying in a puddle of his own blood that pooled beneath his body. He realized that there was far too much to be his own and opened his eyes.

In front of him stood a young woman with several gnarly scars sitting in front of him, cutting away at her own flesh.

Her breathing was labored and she grit her teeth as she continued bleeding, words barely managing to slip out of her grit teeth.

He had to admit, her voice was heavenly.

“I sacrifice my blood and flesh to show my loyalty and willingness to suffer with my Contracted. I swear that I will cherish my Contracted and share my power. In turn, my Contracted will share his. I will treat my Contracted with utmost respect and value its life as if it were my own. Kharmina, should my Contracted ever perish in this life, I swear that I will uphold the Curse of Failure. I will give up my ability to move, to taste, to feel happiness, and to rest easy ever again. With this, I bind myself wholly to my Contracted.”

The strange green luminescence condensed into an orb that surrounded them. Magical shackles exploded from the orb and reached into their bodies, connecting their souls. The girl screamed in pain, but her wounds visibly healed over. Her scars disappeared in front of his eyes and he watched on as magic bound them together.

He had no idea what just happened but was glad that when the orb faded, the people he could barely see in his peripherals unshackled him. He raised to his full height, realizing that his body was far larger than it had before. He hadn’t been much bigger than a dog before, but now he was the size of a small horse.

‘This must be Rank-one. Bellathorne and Xexel said that I’d have enhanced growth until Rank-two. I grew far more than I expected,’ John thought to himself as he looked around.

He saw a figure with a knife in hand walk towards the woman that now lay crumpled on the ground. His gaze said it all, so John did the only thing he thought appropriate.

He attacked.

His two tails flicked forward faster than his eyes could perceive and slammed into a barrier that blocked his attack from across the room. He shrieked at the perpetrator in challenge and covered the woman’s body with his own.

The man looked behind him at a voice he couldn’t see and then set the knife on the ground and backed off with his hands up.

A cloaked figure walked forward with folded arms and a slow gate, taking in the sight that was John’s new form.

“Impressive. I’ve never seen a variant grow so fast, and that attack would’ve killed you before you could react had I not shielded you. The test was successful and the Contract completed. The Tribunal’s will has been enacted. Get them out of here, and be careful not to anger the grphon.”

With that, the hooded figure turned and walked out of a door that shed daylight into the room. John took the opportunity to look around and realized that he was in some kind of ceremonial room, though it was far larger than anything he had seen before. It looked like it was for exactly what had just happened.

Binding monsters.

‘Well, that’s interesting. I wonder what that green magic was.’

More hooded figures began to approach with their hands raised, magic glowing in their hands that focused on him. He watched them intently, still hovering over the woman protectively. In a coordinated motion, a shield popped up that cut him off from the majority of the room towards a large slab door that had just opened up.

He looked at the woman and wondered if she would be okay before backing away into the slab. The shield was closing in on him and shrinking all the while, though it let the woman through just fine.

‘Looks like they want me to have some alone time, so I guess I’ll just…’ He turned and walked through the large open door and found something unexpected.

Inside the door was a large dome that had luscious trees and several strange monsters roaming around. He got several looks from the strange bull-like creatures he’d seen when they traveled from the farm.

With a little bit of observation, he also saw large cat-like creatures prowling about in the trees. He decided that he’d stay away from those, as the teeth and claws glistened with strange power. He found somewhere quiet to lay and decided that a nap wouldn’t be too bad. He’d be able to pass some time resting while he could before things got exciting.

Invasive thoughts decided that sleep would be restless as he thought of Elaine and Lily, the strange dreams he had, the pervasive coldness that had wracked him with pain before the ritual, and the new woman that had bound herself to him.

He didn’t like uncertainty, but that seemed to be the way of his life now.