Chapter 11: Spirit Pact
Ian rubbed his sore earlobe, wincing as Charlotte's grip loosened.
The hallway was silent again, save for the faint hum of the clinic.
He stumbled toward the window, peering outside at the golden light of morning.
The sand had shifted overnight, forming strange dunes along the streets, shimmering in the sunlight.
Looking over, he could also see some sand had leaked into the lobby through both the windows and door.
Swiftly, he tried cleaning it up, but was distracted by Ryn's sudden arrival.
"Good morning, Sir." He greeted. Polite as ever.
Yet, Ian couldn't get his previous behavior from when Thar was present out of his head.
Tryibg to subvert his thoughts, he forced himself to answer.
"Good morning." He greeted back. The short sentence was heavier inside him than he expected. Almost like a feeling of dread was looming over him.
As his eyes caught the sand once again, the wolf popped into his mind. Taking priority from any other thought.
"Is something the matter, sir?" Ryn asked. Ian couldn't tell if he really cared or if it was some kind of facade.
Ian uncounciously felt a shift in the air, taking a few steps from the door. Almost as if sensing something dangerous and familiar outside.
'Man, Veyra wasn't kidding with her training.' A thought flew by.
Looking back, Ryn didn't seem oblivious either.
Ian slowly approached the door and opened.
There, stood the white wolf who had attacked. No, been prescent last night.
It looked at him. Then, bolted off as Ryn approached the door as well.
Ian was frozen in shock. Once again it didn't act.
"Are you alright sir? You seem a little shocked." Ryn spoke.
Struggling to speak, only a nod escapes him.
Finally, the words came. "Hey, do you think a creature could've caused all the wind that stirred up the sand?"
Ryn, who had already turned and started walking stopped. A thoughtful hum escaping him before responding.
"Now that you mention it, my fellow knight colleagues mentioned a dull sense of spirituality looming over the city. So a creature could be responsible." He said.
As Ryn responded, a thought flared up in Ian's head. 'A dull sense of spirituality? The hell does that mean?'
Not wanting to dig further, Ian shrugged and walked out.
Ryn followed, silently reminding him of his guardian role.
They walked aimlessly, through construction zones. This time, Ryn took charge and walked first, causing Ian to uncounsciously follow.
They eventually got to a building, one Ian hadn't seen before.
Ryn stopped, causing Ian to stop as well.
Ryn then turned around. "I noticed you've been wearing those weird clothes for a while. So, Charlotte and I decided to give you a "get well" gift."
Ryn rubbed his neck a little letting out a nervous chuckle. "It was intended for when you woke up, but it seems you awoke much sooner than expected."
'Right...I've been wearing my clothes from earth ever since I got here. I'm lucky Charlotte washed them every now and then...' Ian thought.
Turning back to Ryn, who was already halfway inside, he too stepped up the small staircase and walked through the dark wooden door.
11.2Drip Check
As they walked inside, they were greeted by an oddly familiar place. At least Ian was.
Then, it struck him. This was the place he had 'spawned into". He could even see the panties section he had tragically appeard in front of.
Ryn, who was oblivious to Ian's past experiences walked up to the counter.
The same old lady behind the desk seemed to recognise him instantly, plopping a small grey box on to the counter as they chatted.
"Sir! Come here for a moment." Ryn called out. Snapping Ian out from his wherever his mind drifted.
The lady urged him into a testing booth with the box. As he opened it, a nice costume was in it. As well as a lighter brown vest that looked more casual.
Putting them on, he felt almost like a kid on christmas.
Normally, not being a big clothes guy, it was a rare moment. But, when did he last wear something nice?
With the costume on, he fixed his jacket slightly. It didn't feel like the ones from earth, but still felt nice.
Now hat he thought of it, he had seen a lot of people wearing these type of clothes around. He really stuck out like a sore thumb in Zendrya.
He pulled the white linen cloth aside and stepped out. The lady, who was still there looked ecstatic for some reason.
"So handsome! Just like my grandson" She called out.
Ryn nodded. "You look more energetic now as well."
Ian could only chuckle nervously, before stepping back inside.
This time, he put on the other clothes.
The brown vest turned out to be some sort of cloak. And under it was a black tunic and a pair of black linen pants.
As he walked out, a pair of shoes stood in front of him. They were brown and looked well versed in most climates.
Stepping out of his black running shoes, he could feel the soft insides of the shoes.
Finally, he feeled like he fit in somewhat.
The cloak was pretty thick, so it was good for colder places as well it seemed.
"You look very handsome in these too!" The lady smiled sweetly.
"Correct. Your new attire fits you quite well." Ryn agreed.
Ian adjusted the cloak slightly, feeling its weight settle across his shoulders.
It was strange, comforting, almost. Like he finally belonged here, even if just a little.
"Thank you," he said, glancing between Ryn and the old lady.
As they stepped outside, the sunlight hit him differently this time. Sharper. Clearer.
The wind brushed past his face.
He froze.
"…Sir?" Ryn's voice came from behind.
Ian didn't respond.
The air shifted again.
Not strong. Not violent.
Just… intentional.
His eyes slowly drifted down the street.
Sand rolled gently across the ground against the wind.
A subtle trail leading further down the street and into an alleyway.
"What could that be?" Ian exclaimed.
Ryn looked over. "I'm not sure. But it has a lingering mana odor."
They trailed it to the alley.
Once again, Ian recognised the place.
Even with the sand dunes leaning against the alley walls, he could tell this was where he saved Charlotte by the masked man.
'First the store, now this?' Ian his eyes narrowed slightly.
But then. As if it was the wind itself, a canine was visible down the alley. All the way.
It was the white wolf. Once again, a gaze bored into his.
It was...challenging him.
"So this is what is causing the wind?" Ryn asked himself.
He could most likely tell from the wind emnating from the beast that it had something to do with it.
Ian walked forward. It was time to test himself.
Either he dies here or his endurance training was for nothing.
The wolf, also stepped forward.
"What are you doing-" Ryn shouted. But, he didn't step in. He had noticed a strange sense of power from Ian since this morning.
One that hadn't been there before.
The wolf lowered its stance, claws pressing into the sand. The air around it tightened.
Ian stepped forward.
Then it vanished.
A violent gust slammed into his side.
Ian was thrown back, his body skidding across the sand as air was ripped from his lungs. Pain flared instantly.
"Sir!" Ryn called out, reaching for his sword.
As Ian forced himself up, coughing, Ryn stepped back again.
Ian's eyes darted, trying to follow the movement, but to no avail.
A blur of white tore through the air.
This time, it had lunged with its teeth into his arm.
A sharp, burning pain ripped across his shoulder, sending him crashing back down.
But the wolf was persistent, following him to the ground.
Sand filled his mouth as he hit the ground hard.
He didn't scream, but his vision shook.
The wolf was ontop of him, biting into his mouth.
As if someone else moved his body, he flipped. Pressing the beast into the dusty cobblestone.
It caused the jaw to open, it's eyes locking onto his.
Ian's blood poured over the beast, but it didn't move. Could it not move?
It's mouth was right there, and he was right there. It was at least one and a half times bigger than himself.
So why didn't it move?
Something else.
Ryn's voice came quietly from behind.
"…Interesting."
Ian didn't act either. But, as the creature moved slightly, he pressed harder.
As he pressed, the wound was pressed, blood squenching out of the bite.
It wasn't as deep as he thought. Almost like it was barely enough to draw blood.
'What the hell is up with this wolf?' He thought.
Ian winced, wanting to clutch is arm. But he was still to wary.
As the wolf bit at his head, he barely managed to move out of the way.
A string of saliva caught him. Splashing against his cheek.
The loud chomp of the jaws almost echoed in the alley.
Without a second thought, he pressed it down by the stomach with his elbow and put one hand around its snout, making it unable to bite.
It struck again, claws. He put his knee on its legs, officially pinned beneath him.
Ryn slowly approached.
Sword still on his waist.
"Wow." He couldn't help but say.
"When did you learn this?" Ryn spoke.
Ian was still bleeding from his arm. His cloak was partially torn by the wound, teeth marks ripping through the fabric around the wet blood bleeding into it.
"I...I freestyled..." Finally escaped him.
Just as his guard was lowered, the creature escaped his grip.
It made distance, still not stopping. But it didn't seem as aggressive this time.
"Hm...This beast is peculiar..." Ryn looked at it with his head propped on his hand, thumb and finger framing his jaw.
Ian helped himself up. Looking at his arm.
"Aw man...my cloak is broken..." He sighed. Beford his gaze returned to the white wolf in front of him.
It slowly stepped forward. Closing in the distance.
It's paw prints made marks in the sand as it walked over.
Ian tensed up, ready to fight again. But Ryn stopped him. "Sir, let us see what it does."
Ian stepped back, simply observing the approaching canine.
It eventually stopped. Urging Ian forward.
Ian's footsteps left marks in the sand under him. Just like the wolf.
Meeting halfway, he looked down at the creature.
It looked up at him.
There was still a few meters between them, but the tension filled it in.
"This is interesting..." Ryn said.
Ian looked back instinctively. "What's so interesting?"
"It seems to be initiating a 'Spirit Pact.'"
Ian was even more confused. But Ryn continued before he could respond.
"A beast may recognise one worthy in a fight. You don't need to have beaten it. Only made it recognise you. Im guessing this isn't your first time meeting this one?" Ryn continued.
Ian nodded. "Yeah. This isn't the first time. How did you know?"
Ryn shrugged. "Just an educated guess."
Ian once again turned back to the wolf.
It was still standing there. Patiently.
"So uh...how do I do this spirit pact thing?" Ian asked.
It took a while for Ryn to respond. "In typical manner, you offer it blood. But I'm not sure how it would work with you. Since you lack mana."
Ian once again looked over to his aching shoulder. His gaze traveled down his arm. The blood was even dripping from his hand.
He closed the distance without hesitating.
The wolf's gaze followed his movements.
As he reached the wolf, it sat down.
"Now what?" Ian called out again.
"Offer it your blood." Ryn answered his call from behind.
Ian reached his hand out, the blood ran down it quickly as it moved.
As it reached the wolf's mouth, Ian flinched as the wolf's tongue swept over his hand, wet and muscular, cleaning the blood with calm precision.
Then, as if a shift happened inside him, he felt it's presence pass through it.
"Feel different?" Ryn called out once again.
"Yeah." Ian turned around, dragging his wet hand against his side.
"That means you succeeded." Ryn smiled, stepping forward.
The wolf growled slightly as Ryn approached.
"Easy, he's a friend." Ian reassured it almost like it was a pet.
"Honestly, I never expected you to gain a soulbound. Nevertheless so suddenly." Ryn smirked. A rare sight.
"I guess." Was the only thing Ian could say. The pain had subsided, replaced by adrenaline.
Ryn stopped."You'll need to name your buddy."
Ian turned back. Looking over the wolf. It once again met his gaze, wagging it's tail excitedly.
"How about Fen? Like Fenrir." Ian smiled slightly.
The wolf barked cheerfully, clearly understanding.
Ian chuckled, patting Fen's head lightly.
"Yeah, Fen is nice."
11.3 Soulbound.
The sun was setting over the horizon. Ian and Ryn decided to head back, Fen following close behind Ian.
"So, how come you know amso much about this 'soul pact' thing?"
There was a bit of silence, the environment filled it in just barely.
Then, Ryn responded. "Well, as the name implies, Soulbounds are bound to your soul. And, I had one myself once."
Ian nodded. "I see...where is it?"
There was another silence, this time the environment wasn't enough.
Fen nudged Ian's hand with it's nose from behind.
"Well, I lost her in battle, she was then stored in my soul."
Ian didn't know how to respond. But, luckily, he didn't have to. As they had gotten back to the clinic.
They entered quietly.
Ryn walked ahead, Ian walked after, but stopped in the lobby.
"Alright, this is where I live. At least for now." Ian said as his hand cascaded over Fen's soft white fur.
Ryn returned, this time Charlotte was behind.
Her eyes fell on Fen instantly. "You...you got a soulbound?" Charlotte stuttered.
Both Ian and Fen looked over.
"Yeah-" Ian responded, but was caught off.
"That's so cool!" Charlotte borderline shouted as she basically lunged over the room, hugging and patting Fen.
"What the...What's gotten over you?" Ian exclaimed. Once again confused. "And why did no one ever tell me about soulbounds before?"
After Charlotte's excitement settled, Ryn stepped forward, his tone serious.
"This will have consequences," he said, voice low. "Soulbounds aren't free gifts.
They bond with your soul. You now share a piece of yourself with Fen. Your life, your energy and your choices will affect each other."
Ian's eyes widened. "Consequences?"
Ryn nodded. "I learned that the hard way. I lost mine years ago in battle. A Soulbound is loyal… but if you fail to protect it or yourselfvit's not just yours to lose."
Ian looked down at Fen, who nuzzled his hand. Somehow, that soft warmth grounded him.
"So… I need to be careful?" he asked quietly.
"Very," Ryn said. "But that bond also makes you stronger. That's the pact you've chosen."
Fen wagged its tail, unaware of the weight of the words, while Ian's hand rested on its head. A smile tugged at his lips despite the lingering pain.
The sun dipped fully behind the horizon, casting the room in shadows.
Ian breathed deeply, feeling the bond settle in, knowing that life from now on would be different… in ways he couldn't yet imagine.