Submission and Contract

Jien wasn't conscious for what could be considered the destruction of his soul. He wasn't asleep, nor did he have any sense of perception. His very essence was shattering before the very eyes of those present and the closest thing to what was happening that they could compare to was becoming mana void, but still somehow having mana still within him. Though, to those with a high sensitivity they could feel that that may not be the case if this continued much longer. Mana was leaking from his form like steady streams of steam from a pot that hadn't been covered properly. If nothing was done it was very likely that he would perish here and now.While the adults and children alike had rushed to Jien's side and were doing what they could to stabilize him before it was too late Aqa'krghrift stood within his soul, watching it crumble beyond the point of repair so that she could flee. She felt in her bones that it would only be moments before she would have to flee from this place to be able to access the physical plane again and return home. A smirk reached her lips as the space around her was on the very precipice, the space being more void than actual soul. She started the process of leaving at this point.However, just as she had become a fog of red mist once more a deep sigh resounded through what little was left of the summoner's soul. It was a sigh that rumbled through the space and rattled her very essence and yet the soul seemed to stabilize with its advent. Aqa'krghrift didn't know what to make of it. Where the sigh came from was a mystery and how a soul on the very knife's edge of oblivion could somehow stabilize to the point it felt like an immovable mountain she had no clue.It was then that a voice rang through what was left of Jien's soul, neither loud nor soft, neither hurried nor too slow, as if it had all the time in the world. "You know, I am purposely not interfering with his life because he isn't strong enough for it, yet everyone seems to want to bury the kid." One could almost hear the exasperation in the androgynous voice, as if it were an older sibling asked to clean up their younger sibling's mess. "I can't have him dying, nor laying around in a coma. I will be using you as a patch to make sure he stays stable."As the voice finished ringing in her ears, she saw them, two vast eyes opening atop the shattered background of Jien's soul. The eyes did not have any sclera, they had no iris nor any pupil, in them was what could only be interpreted as the nighttime sky. They were an infinite tapestry of swirling galaxies made of uncountable flowing specks of light.With the opening of those eyes Aqa'krghrift felt an unfathomable pressure on her very existence. It was like she was before the ancestor of all demons, a being that could hardly be looked at even by someone of her stature. Yet she was forced to stare into those two vast eyes that held the cosmos themselves. She couldn't breathe let alone move, it was as if she was nothing but a toy for whatever this was. She couldn't even consider herself prey for such a being, at least not in this plane.There of course were demons that specialized in different areas. This was how demon enhancements were provided, sharing what they were best at with their contractor. Aqa'krghrift thought she was rather gifted in the field of souls. Perhaps not as gifted as some of her peers that were specialized to this area, but far more talented than those dregs that were contracted to the other kids she saw. However, she was more in tune with wisdom and knowledge while this being seemed to be adapt at manipulation of the soul.At least she thought so until she looked at the blinking stars in those eyes. It was then that she realized something that frightened her to no end. The human boy had had an odd set of orbs orbiting around in his soul but this being, behind its eyes were vast galaxies of those very same orbs. There were so many of them that one could only see them as stars in the night sky. They were so far away that their light was cast gently rather than the blazing light of the unknowable suns that they were.It was at that moment that she knew she had screwed up in a way that she would never fix. The vast pressure like the depths of the deepest ocean held her in place and she knew that this being would stick to its word. It would likely tear her apart and use her very existence to patch up this child. She couldn't have it; it would mean her death and the end of her pursuit of knowledge. She spoke with what little air was left in her, in a language that only those of her realm could speak, only because she didn't know any other. She begged the great being to let her live, to let her at least serve the child as it was meant to be as long as he lived.It wasn't like she could escape, nor did she have the power or ability to crush what remained of the fractured soul. Her strength here couldn't compare to the firm hands of this being, holding the soul in place, keeping it from collapsing completely. All she could do was beg for her life and hope that the being was benevolent enough to make a choice that wasn't tearing her apart to fix what she had damaged.After a few long moments after she ran out of breath to beg, moments that felt like the passing of eras, did the voice speak once more. "There will be no bargaining, the contract is that you serve this boy Jien Losler until either you or he perishes. You will protect him with your very existence for if he is to die of anything other than natural causes know that you will walk with him into the afterlife." The voice sighed again as if it was dealing with an annoyance that would only give it a headache. "The contract will use your power to stabilize and fix this soul until it heals of its own accord."The moment the last sentence was spoken there was no magical formation for the signing of the contract like would be normal. There was no fanfare nor celebration, there was only the sound of a high-pitched scream of agony from Aqa'krghrift as a vast contract of runes were seared into her body as if by a brand, rune by rune searing into her very soul. After the last rune was carved into her form she felt a vast pull on her very essence as it was spread over the space like a crimson brace around a broken vase, holding it in place and filling holes and seams where they were present.It was then that she felt a pull so powerful that it felt like she was but a leaf in a hurricane, ending up slammed against the ceiling of the room she had walked into, looking at the unconscious boy laying on the floor, now breathing naturally once more. She felt weaker than she had ever felt as she fell from where she had been tossed, landing belly first on the hard floor, unable to muster the strength to even sit up.