New Body, New Name

[Initiating contract and agreement.]

...

Aiden awoke to the monotonous voice of a woman. He opened his eyes and found his naked body at the center of a large magic circle. It was a mixed pale blue and green magic circle that was endlessly spinning below him. His body was glowing with a bright green color, but there was no piece of clothing left. He was naked from head to toe.

Aiden watched as the magic circle floated in endless darkness. There was only nothing.

[Several Spirits have shown signs of interest.]

Right after the woman spoke, hundreds of wisps lit up from the darkness. Suddenly, the endless darkness glowed with bright specks of light. These are the spirits that showed interest in Aiden. Each wisp has its own unique feature. Some were small, some were large, and they glow different colors.

Aiden tried to reach out for the wisps but they suddenly vanished. The boy panicked and searched around him, wondering what happened to the spirits. They were the ones who would sponsor him as he become a Magus. They were vital to him.

[Notice]

[The Thief has shown signs of interest.]

Aiden's eyes widened in shock as a single giant star lit up above him. It was the only one that remained after the thousands of stars. He didn't know if he should be happy or worried about the spirit that showed interest in him though.

Among the Seven Primordial Spirits, the Thief was one of them. But the Thief has its own infamous legacy as the spirit who sponsors mischievous Magi. In the history of the Thief Magi, there were only tyrants and criminals among them. After the Thief loses its interest, it kills its Mage. Aiden wasn't so sure if he wanted to be one of them.

[Do you want to accept the Thief's invitation?]

Aiden took his time to think. The wisp got closer until it was directly on top of him. The boy looked up and watched in magnificence. It really was a God Spirit. There were tiny details in the wisp that separated it from the rest.

The first detail would be its sheer size. Compared to the average orb that has the size of a grape, the Thief was the size of an overgrown watermelon. It also was the only orb that was green in color, while the rest has either yellow, blue, red, or purple. The last detail was the markings on the wisp itself. It was formed with lines and figures that depicted the personality of the spirit.

[The Thief has shown increased signs of interest in you.]

Aiden gulped. 'It shows great signs of interest and it drove all the other spirits away. I don't think I have a choice in this since I lost any other option.'

He watched as the spirit descended. It was still a wisp but now it was in front of him. Aiden observed the spirit's form. Apart from it being an orb, there wasn't anything that was worth noticing. There wasn't a little person inside the wisp, or perhaps a head. It was just a ball of energy.

[Spirits have no physical form and can only communicate through the Spirit Voice.]

The Spirit Voice was the woman's voice that was talking to Aiden. He figured that out before when he heard two drunk Mages talking nonsense in an alley. They spoke about how they would do lewd things to the Spirit Voice if it could manifest a physical form, judging from its beautiful voice.

Aiden shook the sultry thoughts from his head and focused on the problem at hand. The Thief shows great signs of interest in him and he shouldn't ignore that fact.

"What do I want to do now?" Aiden asked himself and almost immediately, his mind flashed an image of Gordon killing Regal.

He almost forgot why he was here in the first place. The man who saved him and the first person to ever show him kindness was killed right before his eyes. If he was given another chance, Aiden wanted to seek revenge.

He looked at the spirit wisp. It was a Primordial Spirit, just like the one Gordon had. But the Thief was weaker than the Father. He's no match for it.

[All spirits have the same level when it comes to potential. Same class spirits have no initial power difference.]

Aiden smirked after hearing the Spirit Voice. If it was true, then he could par Gordon and even surpass him. He could avenge Regal who gave him a second chance in life.

He turned to face the Spirit who was now closer to him. "How do I accept the Spirit?"

[Do you want to accept the Thief?]

Aiden gulped but nodded anyway. He already lost his life, what could he lose after this?

[The Thief is overfilled with joy for your answer.]

The wisp got closer to Aiden and in this proximity, he felt the heat of the spirit. It was a comfortingly warm heat. The bright glow from the wisp almost blinded him, so he closed his eyes.

[The Festival of Blood will now start.]

"Festival of Blood–"

Before Aiden could even answer, his body twitched in an exaggerated manner. He felt his bones crack and his muscle tear from the activity. He screamed in pain as his limbs continued to twitch until his blood was spilled on the floor.

Aiden felt like a wet rag as he was twisted vigorously and his blood spilled on the floor. The spirit bathed in the blood and it was when Aiden lost his consciousness.

[Notice]

...

The Spirit Voice spoke continuously but Aiden could not keep up with it anymore. The excruciating pain that he felt was too much to bear. He couldn't retain his consciousness anymore.

Tweet. Tweet. Tweet.

The sound of gentle birds tweeting awoke Aiden from his slumber. He woke up and felt a difference in his body, especially in the one he wore. When he sat up, he felt long strands of hair, making him gulp.

"What happened?!" Aiden looked around and felt his senses get enhanced by several hundred times. He could clearly see and hear everything around him. He could keep up with every step of every animal in the vicinity.

[You have lost consciousness during the Festival of Blood. The Thief took the liberty of continuing it for you.]

"I lost consciousness," Aiden remembered the pain that he felt earlier. He wondered if he wasn't allowed to faint in the middle of it. He then wondered if anyone could survive that pain.

[I can give you the details of the Festival of Blood and your awakening.]

"You can?" Aiden gleamed in joy. "Please show me."

[I will now display the message history.]

[The Festival of Blood has commenced. The Thief is overjoyed by your blood and flesh.]

[The Thief has requested to continue the Festival of Blood on his own.]

[Permission is granted.]

[The Festival of Blood has finished. You are now blessed by the Thief. Your skills and stats will be shown in your system. The stats will be in accordance to the Thief's own skills and stats.]

[Returning to your body.]

[Your original body has been compromised!]

[Searching for a suitable substitute.]

[Substitute found. Commencing possession of the new body.]

[Possession successful. The original body owner has left a message.]

"New body?"

Aiden looked around and saw a broken piece of mirror. When he got closer to it, he gasped at the sight. He was looking at Regal in the mirror. When he looked away to look around, Regal's body was nowhere to be found.

It didn't take him time before he realized that he was in Regal's body. Aiden fell to his knees in shock. The Spirit Voice must have seen Regal as the new body it mentioned. But Regal died before. Aiden now wondered what happened.

"Spirit Voice, what was the message that Regal left?" Aiden asked.

[Answer]

["Dig the box under the front door."]

Aiden turned to look at the front door of the ruined house. He gulped as he moved his way closer to it. The questions that he had in his mind will be answered now.

"Time to dig."