1 For a price

There are some common truths in this world that can be easily found in any history book:

All magic comes from a related deity.

Humans survived the millennium long war against the goddess Mirthe of calamity wich fell a hundred years ago.

The god Zarte of life disappeared after the war, abandoning humans, believers and no believers alike.

Because of this, ever since the war this world no longer has strong healing magic and the power to resurrect the dead is something so mythical that now just exists in legends, some people even think that it never really existed.

But I know the secret that isn't on any story book:

Zarte didn't just abandoned humans, he fell from grace, ended it's godly life himself and became something else. It's easier to understand this when you really think about it: Gods power comes form prayers.

Nobody has ever stopped praying to him, even when no more miracles or magic is granted, his temples remain, his fame stands tall amongst the common people. Offerings croud the squares in every city every January first. So where does all that power go?

Why did he killed himself? Why rip apart his core and destroy his Godly body?

As crazy as it sounds, he did it for love, his heart had long settled for Mirthe, as blasphemous as that might sounds to some.

And how do I now this?

I'm staring at his demonic avatar in this very moment as he's telling me that part of his story and offering me the deal of a lifetime:

To be able to use the long lost life magic, for a price.

You have to give it to demons, when it comes to contracts and deals nobody is as lawful as them. They'll abide by it to the very end, even if they somehow get the short end of the stick the contract remains unmoving, unchanging, perpetual.

But really, they have had several millenniums to perfect their craft, so finding loopholes in them is harder than finding a needle in a haystack, at least with the needle you know it exists and that It won't end on a fool's errand.

Why me? why now? he refuses to answer.

I'm just me, as average as a middle class novice can be, 17 years of age as of last summer, almost at the end of my apprenticeship with the town blacksmith.

Normal parents, an older brother that had long gone to become an adventurer, a little sister already betrothed and waiting to come of age for marring away. Never even gone farther than the neighboring town of Hardrith

My name is Lucien, no last name as only nobility can have those, no special bloodline in our family, ever, almost zero talent for magic, maybe if the magic propose was to explode in my hands before casting then I would be the best at it.

So what in the nine hells does this God turned devil wants from me? well it's a devil, the only thing they ever want its living souls.

But here's the catch and one of the reasons why I'm confused as hell: Demons can't harvest a soul until the contractor dies, so the easiest way to avoid paying a demon is to avoid dying an elevate yourself to the God's realm. What baffles me is that the life magic the contract offers include the mastering of autolife, the highest, most powerful, difficult to master life magic spell ever recorded in the ancient tomes.

It's even the first spell granted, "the freebie" as some demon worshipers call it. Upon signature this spell would be engraved in my soul at full mastery. What does it means? It would render me unable to die, well not to die specifically, but I would be unable to stay dead.

My soul would get back inside my body at once and healing power would restore my body in the blink of an eye. So Zarte would be unable to claim my soul as his prize with this contract.

So why offer a contract to me at all? to be unable to see what the other side has to gain from this makes me unable to move, since its too good to be true there has to be a catch, something I'm missing.

Why me? Why now? Why this?

As if carved form marble the avatar remains unmoving, not a single answer is given to my query.

I have already lost track of how many times have I read this soul bounding contact already, the terms are quite easy to understand.

I offer my soul to Zarte after experiencing true dead (that means when I'm deemed unable to live by all forces of the world, even becoming a lych or a zombie doesn't count as true dead) in exchange I'm granted with the ability to learn, practice and master life magic with no strings attached as how I wish to use it.

The "freebie" would be engraved at max level on my soul as a sign of trust.

The knowledge and mastery I get on all the other spells will depend on my hard work, the granting party (Zarte) will be allowed to issue task with such knowledge as reward but all of them will be voluntary on the receiving party (Me)

I'm not allowed under any circumstances to teach life magic to anyone, breaking this clause would make the contract void, losing all powers granted and with a penalty of one thousand one hundred and eleven years of servitude to Zarte also a marker would be put on my soul that would need at least five rounds of reincarnation to be wiped clean, preventing my following reincarnations to be granted any kind of blessing nor deal.

This doesn't include forceful coercion as of the moment the contract is signed a protective layer would be cast on the receiving party, with the full strength of the granting party, preventing the knowledge of the contract to be shared if not willingly. So, I can tell anyone I want about it, but only if I have the will to do it.

Lastly, the contract can be forcefully terminated only by the receiving party if the correct actions are performed, this way to terminate the contract would be given to the beneficiary after signing it. It isn't advisable to break the contract in this way, since it would leave a very angry demon looking forward to your demise, but it has to be added on all devil's contracts as a way of hope for the signer.

It is also common knowledge that such ways of forcefully terminating a contract always end badly for the signer.

So where's the catch? I still can't find the way Zarte would be able to take my soul nor force me to do something I'm not willing.

The devil's temptation is usually like this, people aren't able to see the forest for the trees, so after what it felt like an eternity pondering I willed my soul to sign the contract, binding myself to it for the knowledge it offers. Dreaming not really of riches but of helping my loved ones.

You see, in a world of magic, life is as ephemeral as can be, at least for the common folk. Curses spread far and wide, diseases run amok, healing magic is rare and expensive, not within everyone's reach.

Maybe by becoming a healer would my life find its purpose, maybe I'll be able to help my family and the tragedy of loosing a beloved would never come to pass again.

Oh Gods above was I wrong! as my soul binds itself with my first spell I learn yet again a painful truth:

The price of life is life.

For me to raise from the grave in case of an untimely demise another would take my place, someone I know, even perhaps some I love. As the world needs its balance and the God turned devil wont interfere in it for anyone's behalf ever again.