The Karthi camp has been bustling as usual. So when the best hunting group showed up, defeated, it was a big event. Dhae, Bleit and Gunri stumbled into camp, slinking off of their lizards in a state of exhaustion. The group was covered in cuts and several burns from their efforts to lose the Cerberus. A few Karthi escorted the lizards over to the stable for water, while several others crowded around the three on the ground. Mumbling filled the area as the camp had just watched the strongest hunters of the Karth arrive in such a pitiful state. The crowd parted as the hulking leader pushed his way through them. Andralk stared at the sight before him, but didn't move in to help the hunters.
"Where's the boy?" He asked, a hint of anger in his voice. Dhae, still struggling to arise, was the one to answer.
"We encountered a Cerberus in the forest! Freya and the demon were chased down by it. I don't even know if they're alive." She struggled to say.
"I don't care about the purple haired cunt. That boy is incredibly important to me. Why would you dare bring him out without consulting me about it?" Andralk demanded an answer.
"Father, I didn't think I had to ask to bring out my own member-" Dhae was cut off.
"Your member? The boy is not yours to play with. My unit is the one who acquired him. I may let you have him for your hunts, but he's mine by right. Now you take him on some little excursion and you come back with half the folk you left with?!" Andralk raged. "That boy was beyond special, and you know it. I should end you right here." Before he could continue, Rhan, the shamaness of the camp, jumped in front of him.
"I can handle the boy's job until we find him! Please, Andralk! Don't do this to your own kin!" She shouted. "Do you really want to remove such skilled hunters from your ranks?"
Andralk scoffed and walked back to his tent, while Rhan and a few other folk moved the exhausted hunters back to the shamanesses tent for what treatments she could provide.
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We used the rest of dinner, after what probably looked like a cult forming, to discuss the nature of contracts, and what I've acquired from this exchange. Contracts, in simple terms, bound two beings. It was an agreement of power exchange and information between two sentient individuals. The contracted beings could additionally set terms with conditions if they so wished.
In my case, Era called me an Echo of Divinity. Functionally, the avatar of a god. Iris did call me a successor of sorts. The fact that I was a higher class of being favored me heavily in the contract. Because of this, I basically had free reign over the terms of our agreement. I wish I knew that.I'll have to keep that in mind. I now have access to two of Era's major abilities: Blood magic and Charm. Era and I could also communicate telepathically at will. In return, she gets my assistance with her goal and the ability to walk in the sun with an acquired human form from myself. Her appearance in this form was altered slightly from her current one. Instead of glossy, white hair it now took the opposite of a jet black. She was also lacking fangs from her previous form. Her gemstone ruby eyes however, remained the same. She could swap between these forms whenever she wished.
"Wonderful!" Era exclaimed, examining her new appearance. "This will be excellent for snooping around. I stick out like a sore thumb in my other form."
"Stunning either way." I said.
Era blushed, curtsying. "Thank you, master."
I grimaced. "Master?" I questioned. "Absolutely not. Could we try something else? Like, I don't know, my name?"
"Most certainly, my liege." She said, bowing.
I sighed. "Fine, do whatever you want." Zal'gus was giggling over the interaction.
"What's our next move, my liege?" He said mockingly, imitating Era's bow and laughing.
[Era, please smack him for me] Era smiled, and walked over to Zal'gus. He looked up from laughing to a smack across the face.
"Ouch! Hey!" He yelped.
"Will that suffice, my liege?" Era asked.
I laughed. "Yeah, that'll do."
The servants cleared the table in a flash and we began to discuss the plans before leaving. Era told us that in her home was a personal teleportation sigil that we could use to get to the surface. We would inevitably use this to get out of here, but Era seemed troubled about something else.
"You're practically wearing it on your face, Era." I said. "What's your concern about leaving?" Era cleared her throat.
"I truly apologize, my liege. But frankly, I don't believe you're strong enough in your current state to leave just yet." She said, "I think you should get a grasp of your arsenal before jumping right to the surface." True, my mana core could use a great deal of work if I'm to fight toe to toe with stronger beings.
"What are you suggesting, then?" I asked, humoring it.
"Visit the sub floors of the labyrinth." She began, "They will serve as an excellent way of self improvement. Zal'gus will be joining you as well, of course."
"Sure thing." Zal'gus said, smiling. He smashed his fists together. "Earlier was fun, let's keep things going."
"Alright, sounds like a plan then." I said. The more time I had to work on magic, the better.
The day winded to a close, and we were guided out of the dining hall to go get some rest. Zal'gus and I were each given separate rooms to sleep in, which gave me some much needed alone time. Although I like the guy, I needed some time to recuperate from my eventful last few days. It's been almost nonstop since I got here. I said goodnight to Zal'gus and Era and entered my new room. The room itself was pretty large, roughly thirty by forty feet. It had high vaulted ceilings supported by carved wooden beams and arches. The bed, a massive four poster canopy carved from a dark looking polished wood, sat in the back center or the room. There was a small study area with a desk and several armchairs for lounging or studying. Many beautiful paintings lined the walls, some broken up by bookshelves filled with many texts of various genres. Several magical stones were hung around the room, each giving off just enough light to keep the room illuminated.
I got into bed, and this thing had to be the best sleeping arrangement I've ever had. It felt like I was resting on a cloud. As an assassin, until I started doing big jobs I didn't have enough money for a place to hide out. Several nights were spent outside, wherever I could find a secluded spot. This was wonderful to say the least, and it didn't take long before I drifted off.
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I awoke in the middle of the night. Something was off, but I couldn't tell what. As I sat up, my gaze shifted towards the study, and I saw someone sitting in one of the chairs staring back at me. Her leg was raised to support her chin and hands. Her gaze was piercing, although, at the same time, held tremendous admiration.
"Ah, you're awake! You were just so cute lying there, I couldn't help but watch!" The woman said.
I decided to brush off that comment. "Who are you? Did Era send you?" I asked her, gripping the knife I kept at my side under the sheets. This is odd, Era would've reached out to me if this was one of her people, right?
"Calm down, love. You can put the knife down. And well, I mean, you didn't even put up any wards or shields. I kinda just walked right in." How can she see the knife? I thought, getting up out of bed. The knife remained in my hand, and the woman spoke again. "Anyway, how's Iris been these days?"
Ah, now how should I go about this? I now had a clear idea of who this was, and I was flooded with thoughts about what she possibly had in store for me. The woman's hair was dark black with streaks of my own new hair color in no particular pattern, and her eyes were a beautiful crimson.
"Aera, I presume?" I asked. The woman smiled and laughed.
"Ah! So she is still bothered enough about our separation to mention me to the new girl! Yes, I'm Aera. I was the previous successor of the Beastkin. I bet that bitch told you a bunch of lies about me."
All Iris told me before rudely knocking me out and throwing me into a forest was that this Aera person was a liar. And right now, I'm unaware of how long this woman has been in my room. She mentioned 'watching' me, it could've been any amount of time. She likely had the chance to kill me if she wanted to already. I could only assume she wanted something from me. Before I could gather a response, she spoke again.
"Whatever, I don't really even care about that pretender anyway. I just came to check in on her new pawn." Aera stated. Looks like a classic case of a messy breakup. With both parties acting this way, I couldn't take either woman's word at face value. Perhaps I shouldn't put my trust into either one just yet, even if one is a literal Goddess. For now I'll try to get as much information as I can out of Aera.
"Iris didn't exactly give me a ton of insight on this place, nor about you. I didn't really have too long to chat with her. You say I'm being used, care to enlighten me on how?" I asked.
"Of course! That fox may have gone on about replacing her. But, she's actually raising you as a vessel for her personal use." Aera responded. A what?
"But why would she even use someone like me for that? I'm a human being from Earth. Isn't she a literal Goddess?" I asked.
"Oh boy, she really told you nothing of your station. Alright, Freya, crash course in the 'creators' of Zuter." Aera responded, quite annoyed I might add. "The current beings who run this world, as I said earlier, are imposters. They all used to be mortal like you or I."
"So how does one become a god from being a mortal?" I asked.
"During the early days of this world, there was a great war that forced all of the intelligent races together to stand against the god who used to take care of this place." She continued, "Once the mad god was finally subdued, the leaders of each clan took a portion of the mad god's power for themselves, effectively turning them into divine beings."
"Alright, where do you and I factor into all of this, then?" I asked.
"As Iris and the other clan leaders were once mortal, their bodies cannot contain the power they stole forever. The power wasn't originally theirs, so their bodies are breaking down over time. That's where people like you and I come in. Once we're accustomed to 'their' power, they will move their consciousness into our bodies. In turn, our own personalities get overridden." Well that's fucking rude. I quite like having my own body.
The more Aera explained about the past the more my situation started to make sense. Also, this was way more information than Iris was willing to give me on the matter. There was however, one thing still bugging me.
"While all of this information is very helpful, I'm curious about what happened between you two to make Iris summon me instead?" I asked.
Aera's attitude became very coarse. "I'll put it this way." She began, "I didn't fucking ask to be here. That bitch doesn't care about what happens to either of us, nor what we've already been through on our own worlds. Do what you will with that woman but don't come crying to me when you inevitably get in trouble." I wasn't super happy getting taken myself, but I didn't have any family or friends that would miss me at home. Iris didn't give either of us a choice in being here, so I understand where she's coming from, at least. "Anyway, I just wanted to stop by before that fox got any brainwashing into you. I'll also give you something before I go." She handed over a necklace with a small pendant.
"And what is this? Decoration?" I asked.
"No, silly!" She exclaimed, attitude completely changing. "This necklace should conceal your abilities to a certain extent. This will help you with any beings who have an appraisal type skill. Wear it at all times. Consider it a token of gaining your trust." She turned around. "Sadly, I must go, my love. Do think about severing that little pact with Iris. Ask around for Discarded Oath if you need to find me." She blew me a kiss, and I woke up. Although I thought I had been awake this whole time, here I sat in bed again. I'm getting really sick of these people and sleep manipulation…