"You mean I'm going to get my arm back? Like right now?" Kody asked, his hand shaking with excitement.
"Yes. I had planned to do so after this mission was over, but after giving it some thought, I feel you deserved it, after all, you can't save us if you aren't complete."
He indeed deserved it; tears of joy threatened to fall but he held them back. Finally, someone was seeing his value.
Although he didn't know how she expected him to save them, he wasn't one to reject a good thing; besides, she was most likely speaking metaphorically. Someone like him was of little value to them.
"If not for your help, the fight against the wolves wouldn't have ended so easily. Think of this as a… reward, of sorts."
Kody wouldn't say he had adapted to the one-armed life, but he had certainly gotten used to using his changed body over the past few days. Still, doing things with half the body required twice the effort, and this was something that was both stressful and terribly inconvenient for him.
With freedom currently in sight, he didn't waste an extra second, lest his benefactor change her mind.
With the usual unfamiliarity, he took off his shirt with his single arm, revealing his scarred chest—memories from Earth.
Aphena was surprised to see so many scars on his body as her finger brushed against them, some caused by humans, others by monsters.
Kody instinctively jerked back at her touch. Physical contact wasn't his forte; it always left him bruised.
"You don't need to be scared," Aphena said. "Relax. Trust me."
Nodding his head, Kody took a deep breath and let her fingers brush against his skin. He felt shivers crawl down his spine, but he forced himself to stay put.
"I'm really curious about you," Aphena said, getting his attention. "But sadly, I'll most likely die with that curiosity."
He didn't understand what she meant by that, but there never came a chance to ask questions.
"This might hurt a little bit," she said, taking out a small strip of paper the size of her palm. Kody braced himself as she placed the paper on his chest. He had no idea what type of sorcery she was about to perform but if it would help him get his arm back, he didn't mind.
He closed his eyes, expecting the pain to hit. But nothing happened.
When he opened his eyes, he realized why nothing was happening.
There was a system notification in front of him:
Requirements for binding have been met.
Do you wish to bind with this item [Seal of Fire God]
Yes. No.
Fire God seal?
He had no idea what that was, but when his eyes focused on it a bit more, the system gave him a description.
[Seal of Fire God] Granted to Aphena Evilion, this ordinary piece of paper has been touched by the Flame God.
Enchantments
[Pawn of Flame] Grants the binder an indirect connection to the Flame God. This dead god can interact with the living realm through the binder. If the binder prays hard enough, then god might answer.
Kody wasn't religious, and all these words about some god were making him dizzy. But if it meant being restored, he didn't mind becoming religious.
There was always the possibility of running away when all this was done after all.
Going back to the previous interface, he mentally clicked 'yes'.
And then the pain hit.
It felt as if a red-hot sword was being slowly pushed into his chest. He had no idea when he started screaming; all he knew was that he was screaming, as his limbs thrashed about.
The pain was slow and increasing by the second, as if it was deliberately trying to break.
His pupils went up as his body vibrated violently. Just when he felt he couldn't take it any longer a voice came.
"Be in less pain." It was Aphena, but she was talking to him, she was ordering him.
He had been curious about how the contract worked and his curiosity had now been satiated, although in the worst of situations.
As she had ordered, the pain lessened enough not to make him pass out. But still so overwhelmed that he felt he was having a seizure. Foam leaked out of his mouth as only the white in his eyes could be seen.
Luckily for him, it didn't last long. The pain subsided, and a few seconds later, he was able to breathe once more—he didn't even realize he had stopped breathing.
"Are you alright?"
Do I look fucking alright to you!
"Yeah, I'm good," he replied with his back against the floor. His breath was haggard, but he was still alive. "Just one question, why hasn't my arm been restored?"
Aphena chuckled. "And what made you think it was going to be that easy?"
Easy? Nothing about what he had just gone through was easy. If he had to go through something worse than that then he might as well remain one-handed.
"Don't worry, that's the most painful part," she said as if reading his mind. "What comes next, however, is not up to you. There's a chance the Flame God might notice your presence but ignore you, although I think that's very unlikely."
Just when Kody was about to inquire about what was actually going on, another bout of pain hit him.
But this one was…normal, or physical at least.
He felt the muscles in his left shoulder twitch and stretch. It was painful, but it only made him grit his teeth. Biting on the soft linen blanket, he was able to hold his screams in till it stopped.
When it finally stopped, he let out a sigh of relief.
He couldn't feel his hand but when he looked, it was there. Although pale, it was as good as new.
His eyes watered as he said, "Thank you."
Aphena smiled, patting him on his back, she whispered, "Don't worry, you'll get your chance to repay me eventually."
He was dismissed soon after and went back to his tent. It took a while for sensation to return to his hand. But when it did he spent the entire night flexing his hand, reminding himself what being whole felt like again.
The night soon took him away into another world.
That night Kody dreamed. He stood at the highest point in the world and everything was beneath his feet. The forest, the cities, the kingdoms; he could see them all.
Then all of a sudden the heavens opened and a drop of fire fell on his head.
His eyes were replaced by flames and all he saw was fire. The world burned and he stood at the epicenter as flames ate him up down to his bones.
He couldn't scream; he couldn't even move; he just stood there marvelling at the beauty of a burning world.
Kody jerked awake. His wet clothes stuck to his skin as his heart pounded. He tried to stabilize his emotions, recalling what he had seen.
That night, his eyes stayed open, glued to the top of his tent.