Chapter 18 - The Contract.

Tic. Tok. Tic. Tok.

The clock struck seven and only one house in the whole neighborhood still had its lights on.

From the first-floor window, four figures could be seen sitting around a low table, sipping cold tea in awkward silence

A look of confusion passed through the guard's and Elena's faces.

'Partner? With a child?' both of them thought.

Unbeknownst to them, there was one more person in the room – Mikael.

<Passive skill: Reverse Clairvoyance Lvl. 1 is activated.>

"Hmmph! It sure didn't take much for them to convince you." Mikael, who was floating beside George all along, said disdainfully.

"Sir Edmond, please escort the lady out of the room for a while. I need to discuss something with him. Alone." Deon ignored Mikael's cold remark and pointed to George, or more precisely, to the air beside George.

Kerchak…

Although bewildered by the sudden turn of events, the two adults obediently left and softly closed the door, leaving two boys and one spirit alone in the living room.

Mikael wasted no time and immediately got down to business. He brought up the system manual for the contract process.

<The Universal Contract>

<Description: The contract binds the fate of two entities, the Contractor (Party A) and the contractee (Party B).

Term/s:

The resulting partnership requires that all possessions of the two parties shall be shared as conjugal properties, including but not limited to, the physical body (Host) of Party B and the Ascension System of Party A.

Condition/s:

(1) The two parties shall be bound by the life granted by the universe. Thus, if Party B dies then Party A will be forcefully sent back to the underworld's court of justice.

(2) Party A may not harm Party B in any form nor intent (includes self-harm using any of the skills obtained from the System) and vice versa.

The contract is non-terminable and non-transferrable.>

<Contract Ritual Instructions>

<Materials:

(1) Item of great importance to the contractee (Medium).

(3) Drops of blood of the contractee.

(1) Summoning Circle.

Steps:

1. Draw the summoning circle as shown below.

2. Place the Medium in the center of the circle.

3. Put 3 drops of blood on the item.

4. Recite the summoning spell.>

A moment after, Deon dropped his royal act and casually addressed Mikael,

"What do I need to do?"

Mikael read the instructions aloud and asked George if he can fetch some of the materials.

"I'll get my chalk upstairs, Mister!" George offered before dashing off to his room.

Minutes later, the two young boys crouched next to each other, watching the chalk move on its own to draw a mysterious mana circle on the ground.

Mikael double-checked his masterpiece, making sure that every line, every symbol of the complicated circle was neatly drawn. After all, he refuses to know what happens to spirits summoned with a faulty mana circle.

Pah!

Mikael clapped his hands together after admiring his work, "It's finished. You can put the item now."

Deon turned to George as if seeking confirmation—to which the child subtly nodded.

It was an ironic sight. An older prince asking a younger commoner for assurance.

"You're not thinking of backing out, are you?" Mikael asked.

"N-no! I'm just nervous." Deon defended.

He deeply breathed as his hands reached for the aquamarine stud that pierced his left ear.

Tap…

George offered the prince a kitchen knife as the latter carefully placed the earring at the center of the circle.

"Ah… D-don't you have something smaller? Perhaps a needle?" Deon nervously asked, his thumb and forefinger slightly trembling as it made a pinching gesture. It seems like the delicate prince has low pain tolerance.

"Who are you? Sleeping beauty?" Mikael teased.

"W-who?"

"Puhaha! Nothing! Don't mind me." Mikael answered as he laughed at his own joke.

As Mikael was having trouble controlling his laughter, Deon pricked his finger and let three drops of his blood drip on the earring.

Suddenly, a translucent panel appeared in front of Deon.

It was the exact copy of the contract that the system presented to Mikael.

"Wh-What is this?!" the startled Deon reacted much like Mikael – he waved his hands on the panel and gasped when it passed through like air.

"Hoh? So that's what it means to share the system…" Mikael mused.

Another pop-up appeared containing the summoning spell.

<By placing my hand on top of the circle, I hereby acknowledge that I have read and understood the terms and conditions presented in the Universal Contract.>

Mikael almost laughed out loud at the words written on the panel.

He and Deon simultaneously placed their hands a few inches above the summoning circle and recited the spell.

Then, the circle shone in a pulsating blue light; With every pulse, the intensity increased until it engulfed the whole room.

"Ack!" even George covered his face as the light seared his eyes.

Meanwhile, Mikael felt a strong tug at his soul.

'This! It's a familiar sensation…' he thought.

The aquamarine earing sucked Mikael the same way that the underworld did when he died.

When the blinding light subsided, a surprised Sir Edmond and Elena came rushing into the room.

"Your highness! What was that light?!"

"George, honey, Are you okay? Where did that light come from?"

The two adults searched the boys' faces for an answer, but the two young men alternately looked at the floor and each other, a silent understanding passing between them.

The mana circle, the source of light, had disappeared like a lie.

Deon picked up his aquamarine earring and wore it. He wasn't sure what happened but judging from Mikael's silence, Deon was fairly convinced that he was gone.

Ping!

<System Notification: Congratulations! You have successfully entered a partnership with Player 'Mikael Lee'>

Ping!

<Please wait. The system is adjusting its settings…>

<Identifying…>

<Identity confirmed.>

<The system has designated you as a 'Co-Player'>

<You may now switch to 'Duo mode'>

The series of panels and its unfamiliar words made Deon's head spin, but Mikael felt worse.

Inside the aquamarine was an endless white world. A void. A blank canvas—if not for the giant screen that floated before Mikael.

The screen showed the outside world from Deon's perspective.

However, it was not the emptiness of the space that frustrated Mikael but rather the system notification that popped up as soon as he was transported here.

Ping!

<System Notification: Congratulations! You have successfully entered a partnership with Co-Player 'Deon Hensworth'>

Ping!

<Alert! Player Mikael is now in a 'Sealed' State.>

<Players in a sealed state may not use any of their active skills.>

<Players can only be released from this state by either (1) Possessing/Integrating with the partner or (2) going out of the Medium.>

"WHAAT?! Then, what am I supposed to do here?!" Mikael exclaimed, far from his vision of freedom, his contracted life seemed more restrictive than before.

---Chapter end--