The morbid beginning of a peculiar relationship, part 1

As soon as the words were spoken, Shin felt a connection spring to life between himself and the wounded demon. It was thinner than hair, but stronger than steel and threads of fate.

A Contract couldn't be broken, only dissolved by agreement of both sides. Since this moment, a part of Shin's soul and a part of the demon's soul were merged into one.

Shin could feel every wound of the demon, and there were a lot of wounds. If he wasn't kneeling already, he'd fall to the ground from the wave of pain.

He grit his teeth as the other demons laughed around him.

"Too late for regrets," the horn-crowned demon said. "We won't hold you here any longer, human. But we will watch you, and we will speak with you again. The show begins!"

Shin smirked despite the pain. He didn't regret a thing. Here, only himself and the horn-crowned demon really knew what a jackpot he found in the wounded demon—the only lesser demon Shin recognized. But he didn't have the time to think about it.

The light filled Shin's vision again, and everything drifted away, except for the demon he was now connected to.

***

Shin didn't know when he fell asleep, but then he woke up in a bed. He blinked in confusion, wondering if everything that had happened was just a vivid dream and he was late for his shift.

'Oh, this is so nice, my new partner! I'm really grateful that you made a Contract with me. I wish I wasn't hurting you right now, but I really need to heal a little… Maybe eat someone? If there's anyone. That'd be even nicer. Then I will be able to come out of you and play together with you.'

The high-pitched voice inside his head was familiar, although now it sounded much less hoarse and was pleasant to ears. It reminded Shin about the dull pain he felt in his entire body, or that this really wasn't a dream.

Groggily, Shin sat up and tried to make sense of his surroundings again. This time he found himself in an ordinary bedroom—but not his. Morning sun shone from the single window, and birds chirped in the trees.

His hands weren't his, either. Or the rest of his body. From what Shin saw, it looked several years younger.

It must've belonged to a high school student. Shin wrote plenty of short stories about high school students, just like he wrote a story about the Fourth God's ascension.

"Damn, just when I was about to save money for a scooter…"

Shin rubbed his face and tried to make a plan of actions. He wasn't sure yet how much of this world really fit his stories, but so far it was pretty spot-on.

If so, he could be attacked by a monster or another anywhere. And if the Fourth God was after his soul, then it was even more likely.

Until his ascension to the seat of true power, the Fourth God couldn't influence the world directly. But he could share his name with some people, and then manipulate them to do his bidding, or eat their souls.

Shin's soul was currently protected by a Contract, but if he or his demon died, the Contract would be broken and Fourth would be able to eat his soul immediately.

'Fourth probably will try to send his minions to kill us,' Shin mentally said for himself and the demon. 'You will need to heal quickly, demon. And… I can't just call you a demon all the time, and I can't pronounce your true name. I will call you Tetsu instead. And you call me Shin.'

'Tetsu-Tetsu-Tetsu. I like it! It's like a part of me already.'

Because their souls were connected, Shin could feel Tetsu's emotions near his own. The demon was almost wagging its tail.

Shin nodded. 'That's because your power lets you manipulate iron,' he explained.

The demon gasped, then felt suspicious. 'You know about my power? Were you an occultist before?'

'I just know a lot,' Shin replied. 'That's why I'm going to be in charge, and you will do as I say.'

'Alright, boss! You really are something special, then. I think I can trust you to do us good.'

Shin wasn't sure what to think about Tetsu's personality. After all, his short stories couldn't go deep into it, even though Tetsu was a major part of one.

A long ago Tetsu was a demon of nine Verses—one of the strongest in the Court of Words. But it was attacked and brought low by other demons, reduced to a shard of its former self. It lost all its power except a single Verse, and most of its memories, becoming just a trophy.

But demons were unchangeable—their entire being was written in their true names. If Tetsu fed well enough, with time it would return to its former glory, giving Shin much better chances for survival.

In the short story where Tetsu was mentioned, a similar thing happened, except Tetsu was saved by an accidental summoning and wasn't Contracted. That story ended with Tetsu killing half the summoner's home village before the demon was sent back to its dimension.

Shin got out of bed and dressed in someone else's clothing. There was a mirror on the closet's door, and it reflected a face of an extremely ordinary dark-haired teen.

Most of Shin's characters looked like that. Especially side-characters. Shin must've been in a body of one—there was blandness on his new face that just screamed 'nameless extra'.

'There must be some people here you can eat, Tetsu. If I kill the first one for you, will that heal you enough that I could summon you?'

'Yes, yes. I am already healing, my friend. With some food, it will take even shorter!'

'Alright.'

This was when a sound of footsteps coming from outside the room made Shin freeze. A knock on the door followed.

"Hamada-kun, are you still asleep? You will be late for school!" a woman's voice called.

Mother?

Shin had no desire to pretend to be someone's son.

'She will do.'

Shin only murdered once in his past, but he wasn't scared to do it again. Nervous, maybe.

Those weren't even real people. They were side characters of short stories, very few of them even named.

All that mattered was Shin's return home, to the world where monsters were only human and Shin was finally on his way to getting his life together.

He opened the door.